As Aria walked toward the window, she had to steel herself. It was a long drop to the bottom and this would be the most unsure jump she had made in her entire career. But, then, what do you expect when you're trying to escape your brother's best friend's castle where you're being held prisoner.
Aria's brother's best friend, probably ex-best at this point, Shane, had been oggling her for almost a year before he asked Aria's brother if Aria was available. No, Aria most certainly was not, and everyone who knew her knew that. Shane was greiviously offended and demonstrated this fact by literally grabbing her around the waist, throwing her on his horse, and galloping away. That's not to say Aria didn't fight. It's just that he was stronger than her and no one else had time to react.
He took her straight to his rather sizeable castle where he locked her one of his four towers. Of course it was the one farthest from the only gate into the castle. A few hours later, Aria heard sounds of a scuffle outside the gates as her family's loyal men, led by her brother, seiged the gates... to no avail. After about two days of fighting and no casualities, the battle wound down and her would-be-rescuers were now camped outside the gates, blocking all imports to the castle. Shane made it a point to keep Aria update through the Ogre that watched her room day and night even though he was too busy to come himself.
As would be expected, Aria's first few days of confinement were spent banging on the door, crying on the bed, or begging to be freed. That tiresome period was finally dispelled when Aria began exploring her new surroundings. The room was very basic and octagonal in shape. There was a purple bed in the center of the room that matched the posters of maidens in distress hanging on the walls. She found it ironic, but not very interesting. There were two chairs, one blue, the other yellow. The yellow was a wooden chair set up against a matching desk. It was for make-up only. The blue chair was filled with cushions and had a whicker basket filled with sewing materials next to it. Aria spent most of her time there because it was something to do. However, the most interesting object in her new space wasn't inside the room at all. Hanging two feet away from her balcony and about two hundred feet off the ground, a large blue ball floated steadily.
At night, or times when she knew she wouldn't be spotted, Aria would sit on top of the ball and watch the "haunted" forest below that protected the rear of the castle. She would sneer at the thought of monsters and wonder why her brother didn't just save her from this direction. It certainly looked easy enough. At those times, she knew she was becoming bitter and she would simply go back into her room and sew to calm herself down.
One night, while sitting on the blue sphere, Aria saw a glowing green light almost directly below her. She should have seen it coming, but instead, it seemed to have just appeared. She shook the thought out of her head and continued to stare at the unmoving illumination. While she was staring, she thought she heard something in her ear, "Hey you." Aria was so startled that she almost slipped off the edge of the globe. Before she could answer, the voice called again, "What are you doing up there?"
Aria knew there was no way any sound could reach her from the light over two hundred feet below and seem like it was whispering in her ear. Looking behind her, she could find no pretender and nothing that would carry the sound. Well, just because she couldn't find a reason for the sound didn't mean she was gonna be rude, "Well, really, I enjoy sitting on large floating balls two hundred feet in the air while being held captive in a man I hate's castle." Okay, so maybe she was going to be a little rude, but sarcasm never hurt anyone!
Avren Community Member 
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