by Sarah Olson
When I recovered from the sight, I wandered back into the room to explore it. Charlotte and I used to make up stories as to what may have gone on in the different rooms of the castle. This room in particular was much larger than I had realized. I slipped the yellowing sheets off beautiful dressers, a vanity, a small table, and two high backed chairs. A door at the end of the room opened into a living room with covered sofas and paintings that hung from the walls.
I spun slowly, taking in all the ornate woodcarvings and the old rug. There was a dusty painting above the stone fireplace and when I looked at it, I realized whose room this was. The painting was of Queen Aria sitting in a chair with King Hector standing behind her. They both stared back at me from the canvas, solemn and peaceful. I kept my eyes on it for a while, trying to imagine that King Luther was not a bad man, and neither was Prince Richard. I wanted to believe King Hector and Queen Aria had done something terrible that made them lose their kingdom. But no matter how many times I told myself that, my mind couldn’t wrap itself around the idea I wanted so badly to accept. I tore myself away from the painting and went back to the balcony. I stood there for the rest of the day and watched the sunset light the sky on fire with pink and orange flames. I wondered how many times King Hector and Queen Aria stood on this same balcony looking out into the magnificence of the Western Sea.
When the pink sky faded into a dark purple, I left the castle and returned to Dusk. She was excited to see me and pawed the ground impatiently, wanting to go home. I mounted her and took one last look at the castle. It was now a looming shadow against the darkening sky, mysterious and threatening. It was good to see it again.
“Where have you been?” Betsy asked sharply when I returned.
“I needed some time alone.”
“You can have time alone when you have actually done your chores, which you managed to escape for yet another day,” she said, looking down at a dress she was sewing.
She was not being fair. I normally did my chores, and yesterday she gave me a break by her own choosing.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized, suddenly feeling hungry.
Betsy must have seen me look towards the kitchen because she told me to go to my room. “I was nice earlier and brought you your lunch. Then you did not have the decency to show up for dinner and you know how important it is for us to have dinner as a family. So as punishment, you will go to bed hungry and think about your disobedience.”
I decided there was no point in arguing. Truthfully, I had used all my anger up in our earlier confrontation, so I headed up the stairs and went to sleep to the growling of my empty stomach.
☐☐☐☐
The following week passed slowly. I had the same schedule every day, which Betsy made a point to write out before she and Robert headed into town for work. Wake up, collect the eggs, milk the cow, eat, and then study the lessons Robert left me. Robert and Betsy kept me busy and I did not get any time to myself. Betsy even had Robert fetch the water when they returned from the town each day so it would not take hours the way it usually did when I went. It was Betsy’s way of punishing me for my outburst and running off. However, I did not let it bother me. I kept myself busy with thoughts of Prince Richard. I clung to the hope he would come and visit me.
On Friday, Betsy finally let me have a break, ‘due to my good behavior,’ she had said. As soon as she and Robert left for Eagle’s Nest, I ran upstairs to get my riding boots. Now that I had finally returned to the castle, the balcony over the sea was calling to me. Since Robert and Betsy said they would not return until after dark this time, I planned to spend my whole day there. While humming to myself, I shoved the boots onto my feet and started tying up my hair when a knock sounded at the front door.
I felt my heart start racing and head pounding as a tremor set deep into my bones. We never got unexpected guests. The only ones who ever showed up unannounced had been Tristan and Charlotte. All I could hope was that it wasn’t some forest bandit looking for trouble.
I peeked down the stairs, but was unable see who it was, since they stood away from the windows. They knocked again, and I took the opportunity to get down the stairs quickly and pick up the fire stoker by the smoldering fireplace. I held it tightly in my hand and swung the door open to find Prince Richard.
Chapter 6
HE STOOD THERE smiling, in his perfectly tailored riding clothes, brown eyes sparkling. “Were you expecting someone else?” he asked, looking down at the stoker I still gripped tightly in my hand.
I dropped it and bowed my head still trying to overcome the shock of seeing him. “Your Highness, forgive me. I did not know it was you.”
“Please, its Richard, remember?” he asked, lifting my chin.
“Richard,” I repeated. “Wh—what are you doing here?”
“Well I told you I’d visit,” he laughed. “And you weren’t hard to find. I asked around town, and they pointed me this way.”
“You asked people in town?” I asked, queasy at the thought of everyone in town knowing he visited me.
“Well, I didn’t personally—if you are worried about people knowing I was here. I asked one of my men to.”
I smiled back weakly.
“Are you going to invite me in?”
“Yes! Yes, of course,” I said, moving out of the doorway.
He winked at me as he passed. “It’s a cozy place. I like it.”
“Well, it’s nothing like your palace—but it’s all I’ve ever known.”
“And it really is nice, I’m serious. Living in the palace can be dull.”
“Really?” That was hard to imagine.
Richard nodded. “It’s maddening at times. There is always someone after you for something and the servants don’t know the meaning of peace and privacy.”
“At least you have servants,” I sighed. “I have to do all the chores my aunt and uncle give me.”
“You don’t live with your parents?” he asked curiously.
“No,” I answered quietly. “They died when I was very young.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t be. It was a very long time ago and I was too young to remember them. My aunt and uncle are my parents now.”
He smiled. “Well, I’m sure your parents would be very grateful to them for raising such a beautiful young woman.”
My head spun at his words. I was beautiful?
“I apologize for being so forward,” he said. “It’s just you have this strange effect on me.” He plopped down into a chair by the fireplace. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking of you since the day we met, and trust me, that has never happened to me before.”
I stared back at him blankly.
“See, I can’t even shut my mouth!” he exclaimed.
“It’s all right,” I said when I found my voice again. I had a strange effect on the prince?
He glanced down at my riding boots. “Am I keeping you?”
“No, I was going to go riding, but it’s fine.”
“No,” he said, standing, “let’s go riding. I’ll accompany you—if you would allow me, that is.”
“Of course,” I said, forcing a smile as I tried to calm my nerves. “The barn is this way.”
Richard followed me out, and watched as I saddled up Dusk.
“She’s beautiful,” he said, stroking her nose. “I have never seen a horse so white. How did you come by her?”
“A man that was traveling through here about three years ago gave her to my uncle when he helped one of his sick horses. She was a filly then and the man said she was for me. I raised her myself,” I said, tightening my saddle.
“If my father saw her, he would offer you anything,” he said, laughing.
“Well, she isn’t for sale,” I said, a bit too forcefully.
Richard smiled. “I wouldn’t sell her either.”
When Richard mounted his horse, we rode off into the forest. The leaves fell from the trees much quicker now, carpeting the forest floor wit
h reds and oranges. They crunched under the horses’ hooves as we rode through.
“You really like horses, don’t you?” he asked.
“Yes, I’ve been raised around them all my life.”
“Most of the girls I know refuse to ride them. They would rather ride in a carriage. The idea of a saddle horrifies them, even if it is sidesaddle.”
As he said this, I could not help but picture Emily panicking at Rupert trying to get her onto one. I stifled a laugh.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing. It just seems ridiculous. I actually tried sidesaddle once though—my aunt said I needed to ride like a lady.”
“How did that go?”
“I fell off within seconds and my uncle was furious with her for having me ride like that. He said it was ridiculous that she chose for me to learn when we were still training Dusk.”
Dusk’s ears perked at her name.
“I won’t ever try to ride her like that again,” I laughed, running my hand over her mane.
“I wouldn’t have thought that very safe, anyway,” Richard laughed, “even if she seems so well behaved for a young horse.”
I laughed. “She has her moments.”
“So besides riding, what else do you like to do?”
“Well . . . I enjoy exploring.”
“Exploring?” he asked. “That’s different. What do you explore?”
I had to be careful in what I told him since he could not know about my trespassing in the old castle. “I don’t know . . . caves and parts of the forest,” I said, avoiding his eyes. “I guess I just like walking through the woods to see what I can find.”
“Now I’m beginning to wonder why I’ve never courted a commoner. They seem like fun.”
“Only certain ones,” I said, laughing. “But in the end, I’d be surprised if they ended up being your sort.”
“My sort?” he asked, frowning. “I have a sort, Layla?”
I blushed. I liked the way my name sounded on his lips. “You know, the sort of women with lavish gowns that spend the day drinking tea and embroidering.”
Richard laughed. “Is that what you think I’d look for? That’s very cliché.”
“But not unrealistic,” I pointed out.
“Perhaps not for every prince, but if that was true, then why would I be here with you? I mean I am supposed to announce an engagement in less than three months. If those women were my sort, then what am I doing here?”
I thought about that for a moment. “Are you saying you are interested in me?”
“Mayhap. I may not know you well yet, but you are beautiful, full of energy, and don’t constantly try to please me. It’s very different from what I’m always around and I like it.”
We rode in silence for a few minutes as he let that sink in.
“I don’t know what to say,” I said, when I found my voice again.
“I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable but you have this way of being interesting. This way of being the girl who didn’t even look at me at the ball until I spoke to you. The girl who was able to become comfortable in talking to me realistically. You aren’t afraid to tell me what you think.”
We had stopped and our legs were brushing together as they swayed in the stirrups. He leaned toward me but I kicked Dusk into a trot. I feared his intention, and did not know if I was ready.
“Layla!” he called. “I’m sorry.”
His horse caught up to mine and kept Dusk’s pace.
“No, I am. I’m just not used to a man paying so much attention to me,” I said without thinking.
“I suppose you will just have to get used to it now.”
I forced a smile, but I was drowning in the confusion that his words offered me.
We had entered the small meadow where a section of the river ran through. I decided to dismount and let Dusk graze for a while. Richard followed my example and watched me as I removed my boots and dipped my feet in the cool, clear water.
“This is where farmers get their water,” I said, desperate for something else to talk about.
He took off his boots and sat next to me, soaking his feet. “That’s a far walk.”
“Oh, the river extends for some time. There is a stretch of it much closer to my house.”
“Why not get a well?”
“We don’t live in the town so my uncle doesn’t find it fit to hire people to dig one.”
“I guess that’s understandable. But do you ever get tired of it? The walking back and forth?”
“Sometimes, but it’s what I have to do. Don’t you get tired of people doing everything for you?”
“I guess,” he said. “But I fare well without the chores.”
I smiled and looked back into the glittering water that ran over my feet. “Why are you wasting your time here with me?” I asked quietly. “I’m not as exciting as you may think I am. I mean, here we are talking about fetching water.”
“I don’t waste my time.”
I felt his eyes studying my profile.
“Is it impossible everything I have said about being drawn to you is true? I came here because I genuinely wanted to see you again. You have caught my attention in a way I don’t think I will ever be able to escape.”
I frowned as I absorbed his words. He was being truthful—I felt that in my heart. At the same time though, I could not understand why he had chosen a commoner like me, to be around. I turned to look at him and was immediately overwhelmed by his deep, brown eyes that seemed to look into my soul.
Before I knew what was happening, he placed his hand on my neck and gently kissed me.
I stilled. His lips sent a strange tingling down my spine.
“I’ve wanted to do that since the moment you agreed to dance with me,” he whispered as he pulled away, his eyes never leaving mine.
I was at a loss for words and filled with desire, fear, and confusion. I had never felt like this before.
“I should go,” I said quietly and began to stand.
“Of course,” Richard said, jumping up to his feet. “Will you let me see you again?”
He wanted to see me again? “Yes,” I stammered, still reeling from the kiss.
“Wonderful.”
“I’d just prefer if my aunt and uncle weren’t around when you did,” I said quickly. They could not know about this.
“May I ask why?”
I blinked back at him trying to find a sensible explanation. “Let’s just say I don’t think they’re warmed up on the idea of me seeing someone right now.”
“Sounds reasonable enough. When aren’t they here?”
“Most weekdays,” I said, grateful he bought my words. “My aunt works in a seamstress shop and my uncle does some work around town. They normally leave in the morning and return late in the afternoon. But they leave me with chores and lessons to study and I will be in trouble if I do not get them done.”
“What if I came over after they leave and help you with them and then we can spend the rest of the day doing something?”
“A prince helping me with chores?” I said, raising an eyebrow.
“What’s wrong with that? I can learn.”
“All right then,” I said. “We can do that.”
Richard smiled and we mounted our horses.
“Well, Lady Layla, I will see you soon.” With that, he urged his mount forward and took off into the trees.
I suddenly felt like my head was spinning with uncertainty. It felt wrong to lie to Betsy and Robert, but I could not help myself. I wanted—needed—to see Richard again.
I would eventually have to tell them, though—it was unavoidable, but it could also wait. I wanted to get to know Richard better so when I did, I would have reason to defend him.
Chapter 7
ON THE DAYS Richard visited, he would arrive after Robert and Betsy left and help me with my lessons and chores. It was a little difficult to teach him how to work on a farm, but he caught on quickly. We would milk the cow together—
sometimes squirting each other in the face—feed the chickens, and muck out the stalls. It surprised me how willing he was to work.
Once we finished my chores, we would ride to the river and spend the rest of the day talking and splashing in the water. I always tried to apologize for making him travel so far to see me but, of course, Richard and his charming self would give me a kiss and say it was worth it. His knock at my front door always made my heart skip a beat and filled my stomach with butterflies.
“I want you to meet my family,” he said one day after helping me finish a lesson Robert had left me. “And I want to meet your aunt and uncle.”
“I—I do not know if that is a good idea,” I stammered as I closed the book we had been reading.
“Which part, you meeting mine or me meeting yours?”
“Both,” I replied quickly. “I don’t think yours will like me. I’m a commoner, and if they realize it was me this whole time you have been courting, they would be upset.”
Richard sighed. “Layla, there isn’t a single law in this kingdom that states that I cannot marry a commoner.”
There he went again talking about marriage. It wasn’t that I did not want to be with him, but with every word and kiss there came the guilty feeling I was involving myself in something I should not. Betsy and Robert would be furious when they learned I had been spending so much time with him. I pushed all the thoughts and warnings away, and cleared my head.
“I’m sure your aunt and uncle wouldn’t be too upset. After all, it is not as if you would be marrying into a bad family. Is there another reason why they would be so upset?”
I looked at him uncertainly.
“I promise I won’t say anything,” he said, taking my hand. He looked deep into my eyes.
“They aren’t too fond of your parents as king and queen,” I said slowly, tasting the bitter words.
He smiled. “I figured as much. After all, you live in Maplewood Forest—the only province of Asteria that was directly under King Hector’s rule. Most of those loyal to him still live here.”