Baby Daniel's Arc

Chapter 3 of 3

Daniel held the blue blanket tight and pushed up onto his feet. The hall was long and cold. He had been heard once. He would be heard again. He toddled toward the warm smell. It pulled him past a pair of mud-scuffed boots left by the wall — the big one's boots, set down right where he had walked by without listening. Daniel frowned at them and kept going. "Coo-kie," he said to a passing skirt. The skirt did not stop. "Coo-kie," he said to a quick pair of small feet. They only sped up. One word. One sound. Nobody slowed. The smell got stronger. A red door stood open at the end of the hall, and inside were trays and jars and shelves stacked high with sweet things. Daniel stopped at the doorway and tried once more, softer now. "Coo-kie." Footsteps came quick behind him. Princess Allee knelt down on the stone. She set a big golden cookie into his open hand. "I heard you," she said. "I always will." Daniel held the cookie close to his chest. He had been heard by one person, twice now. The castle still had not listened. He looked back down the long hall at the boots by the wall, and knew one word was not going to be enough.