The young prince of Quincy has come to stay at our palace as some sort of “truce conference.” There are whispers that my father wishes us to marry, though I have no intent in doing so. I have a secret, you see. There is this young peasant boy, James, who lives down in the village, just outside the castle walls that I met on one of my “adventures” outside of the castle walls. We have continued to see each other and have fallen desperately in love with each other. My stepmother is the only person who knows about it, and she thinks it to be something that will blow over after a time, but I know that is not true. There is nothing that can stifle our love for one another.
As I turn the corner, I see servants bustling in and out of the rooms that have been prepared for the young prince and his father. I hear my father greeting the prince and his father in the banquet hall, and I start to run so I won’t be too late. I turn around the corner and enter the banquet hall just as my father stands to welcome the young prince.
“Annalise, I would like to introduce you to the young prince of Quincy and his father, King Thomas.” My father says to me.
I bow low before King Thomas, “It is an honor to meet you, my lord.” I rise and smile, though I don’t really care that he is here.
The prince and his father are the fourth to come and stay at our castle in the past year, seeking my hand in marriage. By now it is routine, for it seems we always have a guest.
“Princess Annalise, may I introduce my son, Prince Phillip.”
Phillip turns to me. It is the first time I am able to get a good look at him. He has blue eyes, blue as the sea. And a childish smile that makes you think that if you blink he’ll be gone, running off to the stables, jumping on a horse and riding away. His blond hair is swooped over to one side and combed neatly.
I smile and curtsy then take my seat next to my father at the head of the table. King Thomas sits down at the other end of the table, his son next to him. I look over at the young prince as I sip my wine. The servants bring out our food and I’m forced to look away. I strike up a conversation with my stepmother, Lady Carissa.
The entire meal I can’t concentrate on this room. Tonight I’m meeting James in the woods. It seems like forever before I can get away from everyone. By now it’s black as ebony outside. I walk up to my father and kiss him on the cheek. For a moment, our eyes lock, and his face shows a smile, but his eyes have no sparkle. There is no joy at my presence. Only a coldness that makes me shiver. But there is something else behind the emptiness. Something like a hidden longing for love. He has had that look since my mother died when I was four. Even marring my stepmother, Lady Carissa didn’t change that look in his eyes.
As I shake myself back to reality and try to forget, I walk to the door. Before I can get there, Phillip impedes and says, “Tomorrow morning would you do me the honor of joining me for breakfast in the meadow?”
I smile and reply, “The honor is all mine, Prince.”
“Phillip. Just Phillip.” He smiles.
“Tomorrow morning then,” I say and walk through the door and down the hall to my room. I grip my fingers around the ice cold brass door knob and slip soundlessly through.
Elena is sitting at the table, reading, waiting for me. As I walk in the room she rises soundlessly and curtsies. “You don’t need to do that Elena. I see you as a friend, not a servant,” I say.
Elena giggles, and I turn around for her to unlace my silk purple party dress. It falls to the floor, revealing a simple green dress that I will wear to meet James. I look at my reflection in the mirror and smile. I’d much rather be in this comfortable dress then the silk purple dress that I can barely breathe in. I take off my earrings and purple ring but decide to keep my charm bracelet on. James gave it to me, after all. I let my hair fall around my shoulders and turn toward Elena.
“You look beautiful,” Elena says, beaming. I smile, and Elena smiles back on her way to the door. She puts her finger to her lips and disappears into the dark hallway.
I climb into bed and wait – wait until I am sure that the festivities are over and everyone has retired to their chambers. Then, I throw back my covers and pull my boots on. I grab my green cloak and fasten it around my neck as I emerge from my room. I run softly down the dark hallway out into the courtyard. I pull the hood around my face so the guards won’t recognize me. Once I am outside of the castle walls, I run. Run like I have only moments – seconds – to live. I reach the clearing where I am to meet James. I sit down on a rock and wait.
I wait for what feels like hours. I stand up to stretch my legs and fall against a dark shadow.“How many times do I have to tell you? You are the clumsiest princess I have ever met.”
I turn around and James is smiling at me like I am the most beautiful person in the whole world. We embrace. When I pull away I exclaim, “I thought you weren’t coming!”
“You really don’t trust my word?” James says teasingly.
I laugh; I’m just so glad to see him. We sit down and talk until dawn.
“I must go,” I say as I rise and start to walk away. James grabs my arm.
“Meet me tonight, right here,” He says.
I nod my head and break a smile. James kisses my hand and retreats into the woods. I run back to the castle, past the guards, down the hall and into my room. I close the door softly behind me, unlace my dress and hop into bed in my undergarments. I fall asleep for a little while before Elena wakes me up for my picnic with Phillip. I rush out of bed, comb my hair and put my earrings from last night back in. Elena laces up my blue dress, and I put my muddy boots back on. Elena pulls my hair up into a beautiful bun, and I slip out of my room and run down the hall toward the stables. My horse has already been saddled and bridled, so I jump on my horse and ride to the meadow.
Prince Phillip has laid out a beautiful breakfast for us. I jump own from my horse, and Phillip hands me a plate. I pile it high with fruits and cakes. We begin an awkward conversation about the matters of state and etiquette for princes and princesses. After breakfast, we take a ride through the countryside. Around dinnertime, we head back to the castle. All afternoon my father and King Thomas have some sort of meeting that Prince Phillip and I have to listen too. As soon as it is over, I go to my room and stay there until supper.
When supper arrives, I walk quietly to the banquet hall where I sit in silence, my heart yearning for the moment when I can see my beloved James again. Lady Carissa, my stepmother, tries to talk to me during dinner but gives up after a while.
I run to my room as soon as dinner is over. Again I wait until dark to leave for the woods. I pull my cloak around my neck and rush off into the woods. James is already waiting in the clearing, and we embrace. He kisses my check. Suddenly, I hear a clang of metal ringing through the trees.
“The palace guards! How did they find me here?” I exclaim as I bury my head in James’s chest, knowing it is no use to run.
The guards surround us, grab my arm, and pull me away from James. “I love you, James!” I scream as they continue to pull me away from him toward the palace.
“I will come for you! I will always find you!” James yells after me.
The guards carry me away into the dungeons. I fall limply onto the dungeon floor and weep bitterly. After a short time, my father and stepmother run into my cell. Lady Carissa embraces me and starts talking fast, “How could you do this? We thought you were ill, considering the way you acted at supper so we came to check on you earlier. When you were gone we thought you had run away!” She exclaimed.
“Lady Carissa, I’m very sorry for not telling you about meeting him.” I say sullenly, knowing that my stepmother will be forgiving, while my father will not pardon me so easily.
“Leave us,” My father says to Lady Carissa. She rises and walks away, back up the stairs and around the corner to her room.
“Get up, you filthy traitor.” My father says as he yanks me up from my space on the floor, where I have not moved since I had been thrown there. I stand, not bothering to wipe the dirt off my dress.
“What makes me a traitor?” I ask.
“The Prince of Quincy has asked for your hand in marriage. And I have accepted.”
I stare at my father blankly, “I have no obligation to marry him!” I say, stomping my muddy boot on the stone floor in defiance.
“You will marry him or die,” my father says, staring at me with his cold brown eyes.
“I will die,” I say. “If I can’t be with James, then I die.”
“Very well, you have forced my hand,” My father looks away, sad. I believe that my father even shed a tear.
“Have the guards start building a platform, she will die by fire.” My father’s face looks pained, but he masks his pain with anger. My father glares at me and walks out of my cell. The door swings closed behind him, and I fall on the cot in the corner and cry myself to sleep.
Next thing I know the guards are waking me up and carrying me away. I don’t fight it; I just walk along softly into the courtyard, where the whole kingdom has gathered. One of the knights grabs my hands and leads me up the steps to my death. As my hands are being tied, my father stands and begins a speech.
“Citizens of the Ninth Realm, let this serve as an example for you a-” My father is cut off by the sight of a villager running up through the crowd toward me, just as the fire is standing next to me, ready to light me ablaze.
“Wait!”
It’s James’s voice! “Don’t kill her please! I’m begging you!”
Lady Carissa stands next to my father and whispers something in his ear. My father glares at Lady Carissa, but she stands her ground. My father turns toward the knights and says, “Let her go.” The knights cut me loose and I run to James’s outstretched arms.
“Will you marry me?” James whispers in my ear.
“What?” I exclaim.
“I realized how close I was to losing you and I knew I couldn’t live without you.”
I smile and nod my head and James slips a silver band onto my finger. I hold my hand up to the sun and smile. I turn back to James.
“We will be together forever,” I say, smiling.
“Forever.” James agrees.
---
I grab my cloak and slip out of my room. As I walk quietly down the long hall I see closed doors, of the numerous rooms, that where only weeks before, dark and empty. Now they are filled with light and the quiet sounds of sleeping occupants who have retired for the night. I turn the corner and see an open door. As I pass it I see James carrying his nine year old sister to her bed. His twelve year old brother is playing on the floor with a wooden plane. James walks over and picks up a second plane and tussles his brother’s hair. I smile and walk past the open door and walk into the courtyard. I swing my cloak around my shoulders and walk up to Lady Carissa.
“Lady Carissa, shouldn’t you be getting some rest for the wedding tomorrow?” I say.
“I could say the same about you,” Lady Carissa says to me with a smile.
“I haven’t got a chance,” I say as I laugh, “I don’t think I could sleep if I wanted to.”
“I felt the same way on my wedding night,” Lady Carissa says.
“Can I ask you something?” I ask.
“Of course, my daughter.” Lady Carissa turns to me, interested.
“What was it that you said to my father that made him change his mind about killing me?” I ask, truly interested.
“I simply reminded him that I was a peasant once,” Lady Carissa turns toward the sunset as she replies.
“I never knew this!” I exclaim, bewildered.
“Yes, it’s true,” Lady Carissa responds as she turns toward back toward me, “Nobody deserves to be without love, Annalise.”
I smile and hug Lady Carissa, “Why don’t we head to bed? We have a big day tomorrow.”
“Yes, it will be a day to remember.” Lady Carissa takes one last look at the sunset and turns back to the castle. We walk hand in hand back to the castle. This is the first time in my life that I’ve been able to let my mother go and except Lady Carissa as my new mother. I love you, Mother, but it’s time to move on, I think to myself and smile. I feel a peace wash over me, as if my mother is agreeing with me. It’s a wonderful feeling.
– By Colleen Cooper Cook
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