Home Alone in Christmas Castle by Annabelle Abraham

The date was December 22, 1940. The United Kingdom looked like a winter wonderland around Christmastime, as there were snow drifts covering the trees and ground. Little snowflakes littered the air, and the air was dense with thick, gray clouds. The McCarthy’s, King Richard, Queen Georgina, Prince Alfred, and Princess Kara, were the reigning royal family and had decided to spend Christmas at the Christmas Castle located in Derbyshire.

The King was known for harshly ruling over the United Kingdom, performing more selfish acts of service rather than selfless ones. The people also knew that the Queen and Prince were no different, but Princess Kara had a heart of gold.

Clomp, clomp, clomp.

The golden and white detailed horse-drawn carriage came to a stop in front of a huge castle, white from the recent snowfall. Royal guards opened the carriage, and the King, Queen, Prince, and young Princess were escorted into the castle. Jolly trumpets could be heard from the balconies, and a man, the Head steward. walked up to the royals to welcome them.

“Your Majesties, welcome to the Christmas Castle. We have prepared for your arrival, and food and refreshments will be served when you’re ready. Please, come inside.”

The royal family walked through the castle gates, and once inside they were greeted by a huge, magnificent Christmas tree. It glittered in the light and featured huge ornaments strewn across it. The rest of the palace was decorated, with hanging mistletoes and wreaths in preparation for Christmas.

“Wow! This is amazing!” Kara exclaimed.

“Hush, remember what I said about raising your voice,” Queen Georgina said cooly. “Maids, please escort the Prince and Princess to their private quarters.” Kara frowned.

“Of course, your Majesty.” A young maid replied. She began walking up the grand staircase circling the tree, and Kara and Alfred followed behind her.

“Can’t you believe it, Alfred? This castle is amazing! I can’t wait to spend Christmas here,” Kara said excitedly. “We could play hide and seek in the snow- oh, and even go sledding!”

Alfred frowned. “Kara, what did Mother say about raising your voice? Anyway, don’t get too excited, we have business to attend to here in Derbyshire, so you won’t be seeing too much of us,” he said harshly.

“Oh,” Kara said, feeling her heart break.

“Your royal highness, your room is just right here,” The maid interrupted, pointing to Kara’s room. “Get comfortable. If there’s anything you need, please ring the bell and I’ll come as quickly as I can.”

“Thank you,” Kara said politely. The maid and her brother continued to walk down the hallway. As Kara looked around her room, she couldn’t help but feel amazed at how grand it was. Sure, her private quarters at home were impressive- but this was on a whole new level.

The wallpaper was , with roses that seemed like snow had fallen on them, and a huge canopy bed sat in the center with bright, white drapes. The chandelier was mounted on the huge arched ceiling, and it seemed as if little snowdrops and icicles hung from it. And of course, there was a little, decorated Christmas tree in the corner.

Not wanting to disturb the maids or her family, Kara laid on her bed and fell into a deep slumber.

~*~*~*

“Your royal highness,” a voice cut in, interrupting Kara’s dream. “It’s time to wake up. Your mother, father, and brother are leaving.”

Kara sat straight up in bed, discovering a man, who was the head butler, the source of the voice.

“Oh, sorry.” She scrambled on some clothing and ran down the hall to the stairs to say goodbye to her parents and brother.

“We will be leaving to attend to business in Derbyshire, Kara,” King Richard, her father, announced. “We’ll be taking all of the royal staff, so you will be left here alone,” Kara’s heart sank. Please behave. We may be gone through Christmas, so don’t be surprised if we are.” The King, Queen, and Prince were then escorted out of the castle and into the grand carriage, leaving Kara alone. 

“Now what am I supposed to do?” Kara sighed, as she stood there. She decided to spend her day exploring the inside of the castle, all by herself with no company.

~*~*~*

That night, Kara had a hard time falling asleep. Loud, billowing winds could be heard all around the castle, with a promise of a huge snowstorm. The castle seemed to get colder by the minute, as the blizzard seemed to continue through all hours of the night. Kara put on her warm, furry coat and sat by the fire to read a book, as it was impossible to fall asleep. 

Suddenly, loud bangs could be heard from a far part of the castle. Wanting to investigate, Kara stealthily snuck down to where the source of the noise was coming from. Outside the side doors of the castle, she could see two cloaked figures standing in the snow, looking around the castle. The figures then disappeared in the darkness.

Bang. Bang.

Kara heard a noise, this time coming from somewhere upstairs, and cautiously crept towards the commotion. Suddenly, a chilly breeze blew through the castle, as if a window was opened. That can’t be right. Then, Kara heard faint footsteps and whispering voices.

“It has to be here somewhere,” a man’s voice whispered. 

“Are you sure no one’s in the castle?” a woman’s voice said worriedly.

“Of course, I saw the royal family leave earlier today,” the man’s voice whispered back, reassuringly. “The King’s crown should be hidden here somewhere…”

Kara wondered why they wanted her father’s crown on Earth. Perhaps it was because of its ancient history and value. The people of the United Kingdom already had so much distrust toward her father. 

While the thieves were sneaking around, Kara suddenly had an idea. She could somehow lead them down to the dungeons and lock them in there, just until her family got back. Kara began to create her master plan.

“Okay, I know it’s on the first floor, so follow me,” the male voice said. The soft footsteps walked to the stairs and began to descend. Suddenly, the carpet below the thieves began to move backward, causing both of them to fall on top of each other.

From this angle, Kara could see who they were. They were the old guards exiled for attempting to steal the kingdom’s jewels, Mr. Abrams and Mrs. Brown. But Kara almost felt sorry for them, as she was very close to both before they got kicked out.

“How did that-” The carpet was tugged more, sending the ex-guards tumbling down the rest of the stairs from the landing.

“Someone has to be here!” Mrs. Brown whispered anxiously. “We should just leave-”

“No! We can’t leave! We’re already so close, trust me.” Mr. Abrams insisted.

The thieves began walking quicker. Little did they know, Kara knew a quicker and secret way down…and a way to trap them in the dungeon. The thieves began to run through a hallway, but suddenly a huge candy cane smashed into them, sending them flying down the stairs and descending into the dungeon. 

“What the-” As they tried climbing up the stairs, they began slipping down the stairs on ice. Kara couldn’t help but let out a giggle.

“Okay, someone’s here, we have to get out while we still can!” Mrs. Brown hissed. Right before they could run out of the dungeon, a huge inflatable Santa began inflating, trapping the thieves and squishing them at the same time. 

“Why are you here?” Kara yelled through the darkness of the dungeon.

“We’re sorry! We’re trying to steal the King’s crown! Trust me, it’s for the best. People need to not trust him because he’s terrible! He shouldn’t be king!” Mrs. Brown sobbed.

“Wh-what has he done?” Kara said, shocked. 

“He’s put people through suffering by not paying them enough! Thrown innocents into jail and left them to rot! Doing everything just to benefit him, not his kingdom,” Mr. Abrams said sadly. “Please don’t turn us in. At the very least, let us go. Or even give us the crown and we’ll leave.”

“If I give you the crown…” Kara gulped. “Can I come with you? The King is my father, and my family has been so cruel to me. I need to…escape.”

“Oh! Of course Your Royal Highness. We’re going to New York City, in America. After all, Christmastime in New York is like no other,” Mrs. Brown said warmly. “Now, uh- can you deflate the giant Santa that’s currently suffocating us, please?” 

“Of course.” Kara giggled.

Once the Santa was deflated, Kara, Mrs. Brown, and Mr. Abrams found the crown. They ran to the front door of the castle, but were shocked to see that the royal family had arrived home.

“This way!” Kara said urgently.

The three of them sprinted after Kara and were able to escape through the back door into the snow. 

“I can’t believe we did it!” cried Mrs. Brown joyfully. “It’s a Christmas miracle.”

“We couldn’t have done it without you, kiddo,” Mr. Brown said,  smiling. Kara felt surrounded by comfort and love for the first time in her life. “Now, let’s go to New York. Trust me, the civilians will be enraged at the King for losing the Kingdom’s prized possession.”

The three of them safely made it to New York on Christmas day. Snowflakes were gliding through the sky, and jolly music could be heard from everywhere in the city. Together, they formed their own family. Kara may have been a runaway princess, but she couldn’t wish for anything more. After all, her dream of a loving family had finally come true and was the best Christmas gift she could’ve ever received.

The End.