A Fairytale

By: Belle

NOTE: This fantasy is about what I think should have happened with J&B. How they should have met, fell in love etc. It starts when they were children. This first installment is in the past. Next time will start in Port Charles. If you like it or have ideas - e-mail me! Hope you enjoy it. :-)

- Belle

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The Australian sand was hot underneath her bare feet, but Brenda didn't care. All that was important to her was escaping her father and Julia for a few precious hours. Feeling out of breath, she stopped running for a moment and turned back towards the water observing that her father and Julia were still seated on the top of the yacht busily engaged in a game of chess. "They'll be busy for hours," she thought to herself. "and even if they take a break - they'll never think to look for me."" Turning away she started running again, fleeing into the Australian town to see what adventures awaited her. She tried not to think about how angry her father would be when he realized she had left the yacht. When they had arrived on the Australian coast, her father had given both her and Julia a lecture about how trouble was brewing in the town and how his business had bought out a local land owner who now felt especially bitter towards the Barrett family. Harlan Barrett was an outsider and his children were also. Brenda knew that by entering the town she was taking a risk since some people wanted to hurt her father. Yet somehow this made her more eager to leave and face the unknown.

Much to her disappointment, the small town was nothing like the beautiful villages she had visited in Europe. Everything seemed dusty and dirty. She felt asthough she had traveled back into the old west out of the storybooks her nanny had read to her. Passing a saloon she suddenly realized how thirsty she was and she peered into the windows to see whether it was an "acceptable" place for her to get something to drink. What she saw startled her twelve year old eyes and mind. Men and boys stumbling drunk were talking loudly and playing cards. Something inside of her told her that this bar was not a place for children - especially female foreigners, but she was thirsty and the danger excited her. Holding her head up high, she pushed open the door and strode into the smokey, alchohol-drenched room.

Every eye in the saloon turned on her. At twelve years old Brenda was already beautiful. Her dark hair hung to her shoulders in two braids and her skin was a rich brown from sunning on the yacht. Dark eyes sparkled with mischief underneath thick black lashes. She was dressed in a pale yellow sundress which was now covered in dust and a little mud from running through the beach and town. Trying to ignore the murmurs and glares, Brenda walked up to the bar and loudly announced that she wanted a glass of sparkling water. The bar tender made no move to help her or acknowledge her request. Glancing around the bar she noticed that everyone had suddenly become quiet. "Excuse me sir - " she said loudly, "perhaps you didn't hear me before. I would like a glass of sparkling water." Again, the man made no motion and continued pouring other drinks. The man next to her murmured something to the person next to him and she heard him say something about "Harlan Barrett and his bratty children."

Suddenly a man jumped up from a table across the room and began ranting about how her father had stolen everything he had and how he was going to make him suffer. Brenda began to regret entering the saloon and her thirst was seeming less and less important. The man jumped onto the table and called for his townsmens support and help in seeking revenge on these wealthy Europeans. Before she knew what was happening, Brenda was being dragged to the back of the room. She tried to scream, but her voice was muffled by someone's hand. She was gagged by a red handkerchief and shoved into the wine celler. Everything was dark and all the men left. They were going to "decide what to do with her. They could use her to get what they wanted from Harlan Barrett."

Brenda sat in the cold wine celler wondering how she was ever going to get herself out of this mess. Too bad the men didn't realize that her father wouldn't care if she was gone. After all, she only saw him 4 weeks out of the year. Why would it matter to him if he never saw her again? And besides, he was going to kill her once he realized that she had disobeyed him. Perhaps she'd be better off if she just died in this celler. She closed her eyes and tried to think happy thoughts.

Maybe she would be rescued by a dashing prince who would sweep her into his arms and take her away from this cold celler and her terrible father. Away from boarding schools and nasty teachers. She thought about the fairytale her nanny had once read to her about a princess who only wanted one day with her prince. That was all she wanted - one day. Was that truly too much to ask for? Her self pity and guilt caused her to start crying. "Stop crying." she ordered herself. "You are acting like such a baby. Now you have to find a way out of this. There must be some way to sneak out of this wine celler." Wiping her tears away, she twisted her hands slowly working off the cloth they had tied around her hands. One thing was for sure - these people were amateurs. She had been playing spy with her friends for years and their gags and ropes were more complicated than these. Free from her gag and cuffs, she felt the walls around her searching for a way out. Her father always kept secret passages in wine cellers. They were usually behind the wine racks. Sliding her hands between the bottles she searched desperately for a latch, string anything. Just as she was about to give up, she felt a switch. Flipping it up she was delighted to see the racks parting and a sliver of light appear. She squeezed into the opening and through a passage into a dark alley way.

"Wow - I was in that celler longer than I realized." Brenda thought to herself. The alley was dark and uninviting. Worst of all, she had absolutely no idea where she was and how to get back to the boat. And there was always the danger that someone would recognize her. She paused for a few moments contimplating what she should do and she didn't see the men coming towards her. Glancing at them she broke into a run. She flew through the alley trying to see through the darkness. Turning the corner she didn't see the young boy coming towards her and she crashed into him causing them both to fall to the ground. She looked up into the bluest eyes she had ever seen. They were the color of the ocean and for a second she was lost in them. Both Brenda and the boy paused, spellbound - neither of them knew what to say because for some reason there was a connection between them they had never felt before. It was asthough every moment in their lives had been leading up to their meeting one another on this street corner. Brenda broke the eye contact first, and jumping up, she gained control of herself and turned to keep running. She was stopped by his hand which grabbed her hand and pulled her into a doorway on the street. Her hand burned at his touch and she was embarrassed to feel her cheeks flush with color. "Please." she said to him. "I've got to go. They're going to catch up to me."

"Who?" the boy questioned in a concerned voice. "People are after you? You don't seem like the kind of girl who causes trouble."

"If only you knew." Brenda shot back. Not having time to explain her entire life, Brenda tried to explain how these men wanted to use her to get to her father. "I need to run because I have to get away from them. My father's going to kill me."

"Come with me." The boy silently grabbed her hand and pulled her through the doorway into an dimly lit apartment building. Closing the door behind him he motioned for her to follow him into the fireplace which led to a secret tunnel. "A few months ago, Mum, Dad, my brother and I had to escape the police and we used this way to get to the beach. If you follow me we should be able to get back to your boat without the men catching you. Then you can tell your father that you just got lost sightseeing."

Brenda nodded, too spellbound and awestruck to speak. She silently followed the boy through the tunnel and out onto the beach. As she stepped out of the tunnel onto the now cool sand, the boy took her hand one last time and raised it to his lips. Because of the night sky, she couldn't quite make out his face, but his eyes sparkled like stars. Kissing her hand he gave her a quick wink and disappeared into the tunnel.

As she ran back to the yacht Brenda stopped and stared at the now empty beach. A glimmer on the sand caught her attention and she leaned down and found a carved minature lying on the sand. It was carved from stone with a shiny mother-of-pearl in the middle. From what Brenda could make out, the statue was of a warrior or prince. The boy must have dropped it when he went to leave. She smiled and dropped the statue into her dress pocket, happy she had something to remember him by. The boy's kiss still burned on her hand and when she closed her eyes she could still see his sparkling eyes in her mind. He's my prince charming, she thought to herself. He's out of a fairy tale.

to be continued.....

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Belle