The Fullness of Quiet by Natasha Orme Read Free Book Online

pinks, blues and oranges. I pointed to the colors and drew their boundaries in the air with my fingers. I talked about the blending of colors.
    “Do you draw?” he asked me. I nodded.
    “Not very well though. I just enjoy it.” We went back to my house so I could get my sketchpad and we sat on the porch so I could draw the sunset. Joshua sat silently next to me. Looking from the scene before me to the depiction on the paper. I felt nervous to begin with but as soon as I started sketching I felt myself relax into it and I soon forgot completely about everything. When I had finished, I held it up to compare it to the real thing. Joshua applauded me and smiled.
    “It isn’t finished yet,” I signed.
    “Why isn’t it?”
    “You’ll see.” I gave him a smile and Helen came out to fetch us in for dinner.
    After Joshua had left for the evening, I brought my sketch into the living room and settled myself down in the corner. I had a small easel that was kept down by the sofa because it was the best room in the house to paint in. It had the freshest sunlight throughout the day and when it wasn’t sunny, the lamp behind the sofa served as a perfect replacement.
    “What are you painting?” asked Daddy as I was setting up. I took the sketch over to show him and he admired it for a few minutes before handing it back. “Very nice.”
    I sat contentedly painting for most of the evening. Helen came over several times, interested in what I was doing. She would sit by me, silently for several minutes and then move away to do something else. Half an hour later she would come back and sit with me again, curious to see how my piece of art had progressed.
    Once I’d finished I took the piece of paper and laid it out on the oak dining table. I let Daddy know where I’d put it so he wouldn’t accidentally ruin it and took Helen up to bed.
    “Can I have a story, please?” she asked me, once she’d snuggled down under her covers.
    “Yes.” I smiled and sat for a minute, collecting my thoughts. “Once upon a time there was a beautiful Princess and she lived in a big castle with her widowed father. The King was very sad because he was all alone in his castle. His blue moods often affected his poor daughter and he knew that she would never find a suitor that way.
    “One night, the King had a dream and in the dream, his dead wife had spoken to him. She told him that the only way to find a suitable husband for his daughter was to hold a tournament. So when the Princess was eighteen, her father held a tournament for all eligible men in the kingdom and the winner would be given his daughter’s hand in marriage.
    “The tournament began and Knights from near and far all fought viciously against each other in the vain hope to win the fair Princess. One boy was deeply upset by this. He was a servant boy in the castle and had played with the Princess as a child. As they had grown up and grown apart, the boy had found himself in love with the beautiful Princess but he had never been able to tell her.
    “He so badly wanted to declare himself but he was no Knight. Then an idea struck him. He ran to the armory and polished up all the spare pieces of armor he could find. They were a little too big. The young boy trotted out into the tournament to see how he would fare against the other Knights.
    “The Princess heard about what the servant boy had done and ordered that the tournament be stopped immediately. In the moment when she was told where he was, she felt a sudden unhappiness at the thought of him being hurt and knew from that moment on that she loved him. The servant boy and the Princess got married that same day and they lived in the palace with King. They all lived happily ever after.”
    Helen smiled at me and closed her eyes. I was surprised that she was so tired she couldn’t ask me any questions. I tucked her down under her duvet, gave her a kiss on the cheek and left her to dream of Princesses.

Chapter 8
    I was sat