Dangling her feet over the edge of the lake so that her toes just touched the cool water, Aeron sighed. It was a beautiful day; the sun shone brightly over the kingdom of Githlen, but she wasn't happy as she would've been under normal circumstances- and neither were her two older sisters.

Earlier that week, their father- the King of Githlen- had announced his intentions to marry off his three eldest daughters. They'd been putting it off long enough, he had declared, and it was well past time for them to be settled down. Expectedly, the news hadn't gone down well with his daughters. They enjoyed their life as it was and always had been; lazing about, swimming in the lake, exploring the many acres of woods surrounding the castle, and, most of all, being together- as each of his five daughters were very close.

Too deep in thought to be paying any attention to her surroundings, Aeron never noticed a small, delicate hand reaching out from the watery depths. Groping blindly, it found her foot. It clasped its fingers around her ankle and pulled. Startled, Aeron let out a yelp.

"Annabel!" she cried out, grabbing hold of fistfuls of grass as not to be pulled into the lake. "Annabel, let go of my foot!" Kicking wildly, she finally managed to loosen the tight grasp and pull her foot free.

Tucking her feet underneath her, Aeron scowled at the giggling girl swimming about gleefully in the water. "Don't be angry, Aeron," she urged, smiling. "Please, won't you come in?"

"No," Aeron retorted, backing away from her younger sister. She was not going to be pulled in. With a shrug, Annabel splashed back underneath the water, her features becoming distorted and blurred. She could've been a mermaid; she swam so gracefully and swiftly. Not to mention her beauty- not only was she the youngest princess of Githlen, she was also the loveliest. Her long golden hair flowed out behind her as she swam, and her blue eyes sparkled like diamonds when she looked up sorrowfully at her sister. She was also overly dramatic.

With a sound of annoyance, Aeron got to her feet. "I wonder what father has planned for us," she mused aloud.

Annabel glanced over at her. "What was that?" she asked, smacking one side of her head as though to get water out of an ear. Aeron held back a chuckle; did mermaids get water stuck in their ears? If so, they most certainly didn't bang their heads to get it out. "What?" she demanded, eyes narrowing.

"Oh nothing," Aeron responded. "I was just wondering what father has planned for us. Who will he force us to wed?" The humor had disappeared entirely out of her eyes and she reseated herself in the grass, looking glum.

Annabel's face turned sympathetic. Setting both hands on land, she pulled her sopping body- dressed in naught but her underclothes- out of the lake. She shivered in the soft breeze that was hardly even refreshing to Aeron. And then, with a sigh, she plopped herself down beside her sister. The girl set one wet arm over Aeron shoulders, and rather then object, Aeron welcomed the brief coldness.

"I don't want you to marry," she said and her sorrow was true now. "I want things to stay as they've always been." She set her head on Aeron's shoulder and sniffed.

"We'll still see plenty of one another," Aeron assured her, patting her back comfortingly. "I'll make sure of that."

"What if you hid out in the woods?" she demanded, suddenly sitting upright. "I could sneak food out to you and-" She broke off with a bitter smile and shook her head. "Of course, that would never work." Resting her head up against Aeron's shoulder once more, she remained quiet.

Soothingly stroking the girl's silky hair, she struggled to keep her own tears from spilling. She hadn't yet shed a tear for this, and wasn't going to. Her father would surely let her choose whom she wanted to marry- it wasn't so bad. He loved each of his daughters dearly and disliked seeing them suffer; he wouldn't force them to marry someone they loathed.

"Come on, Annabel," Aeron said, getting ready to stand. "Supper will be ready soon, and you must dress." With an exaggerated sigh, Annabel slowly rose from her spot. She went to the small heap of clothing she had cast off and began to put them back on.

As the two walked back to the palace, they came across Avelyn, their eldest sister. She was standing upright on the branch of a tall tree. Setting on a branch above her sat a small frightened cat. "Avey!" Annabel cried out in alarm. Startled, Avelyn stumbled, nearly losing her balance. "What are you doing up there?"

"Annabel!" she snapped back. "You nearly made me fall down! You shouldn't startle people in trees!"

"I'm sorry," Annabel responded. "I wasn't thinking. But, really, you must come down immediately."

"No," she responded flatly. "I'm going to rescue that cat."

"Avey, you ought to let someone else rescue the cat," Aeron said carefully. "It's too dangerous. You might fall and break your neck." But Avelyn ignored her. Cooing softly at the cat, she lured it closer to herself. And then, as soon as it was in her reach, she snatched the small creature up.

Annabel and Aeron were both silent and wide-eyed as she cautiously began her descent. She cursed in a very unprincess-like way a couple times as the cat dug its nails into her flesh, but finally succeeded in making it to the bottom branch. "Here, take him," she commanded, holding the feline out to Aeron.

Taking the trembling animal, Aeron pressed him up against her chest. "You poor thing," Annabel murmured, stroking his back.

Avelyn jumped from the tree. "Back to the streets you go, kitty," she said, taking him from Aeron's arms.

"To the streets!" Annabel protested. "But this is a palace cat, Avey. We mustn't put him on the streets." Avelyn looked at the cat with a smirk. It most certainly was not a palace cat- he was much too scrappy looking.

"Do you seriously believe that you could fool anyone into thinking this is a palace cat?" she snorted.

"Would you seriously save a cat only to drop him back off into the streets?" Annabel countered. "Besides," she added. "I would hide him away in my room until he grew fat and shiny." Avelyn was silent for a moment, examining his dull orange coat- tufts of fur were missing and he was also terribly skinny.

"All right," she said at last, to both Aeron and Annabel's surprise.

"But you must get him checked for disease and worms and such. There's a witch down in the village that would be glad to help you," said another voice from behind them. Alianora, their second to the eldest sister, had snuck up on them.

Annabel turned around eagerly. "Will you take me to her after supper, Ali?" she demanded.

"I've things to do after supper," she complained, and then stopped for a moment, looking thoughtful. If Annabel were left to find the witch by herself, she would most likely not come back for a few days at least. They all knew that their sister had an awful sense of direction and could get lost very easily. "Fine. I need some more supplies anyhow."

"What supplies?" Avelyn asked suspiciously. "And how do you know about this witch?" Alianora raised an eyebrow at her sister.

"That," she said, "is absolutely none of your business. And if you start sticking your nose in things that don't concern you, I'll have it lopped off."

"I'll stick my nose wherever I please!" Avelyn retorted. "And if you dare try to lop it off, I'll put toads under your sheets!" Aeron grinned, wondering which unlucky men they'd be wed to. With Avelyn's fiery temper and stubbornness and Alianora's bossiness and wry intelligence, they wouldn't make very suitable wives. Both were quite lovely, though, as all of King Philip's daughters were.

Aeron frowned suddenly, her attention diverted back over to marriage.

"What's wrong, Aeron?" Alianora asked, noticing her sudden sullenness.

"Oh nothing," the girl responded, but right away knew it was of no use to lie to her sister. "I was just thinking of- of our marriages."

"Little sister, don't fret," Alianora said. "You won't get married until you find someone you love- or at least like well enough. And you will definitely not marry anyone who lives too far away."

"How do you know?"

"Because," she responded. "I won't put up with it otherwise."

"None of us are marrying anyone over a two hour carriage ride away," Avelyn added. They all glanced over in Annabel's direction when they heard a loud sniff. Two large tears were sliding down her cheeks.

"Oh, dear, don't cry," Alianora said while Avelyn patted her back uncertainly. Crying made her uncomfortable and she was not good at consoling people.

Watching Avelyn's hesitant attempts at comforting Annabel with amusement, Aeron stepped over to give their youngest sister a half hug. "Everything will turn out just fine," she promised.

"Here, take him," Avelyn said, trying to shove the scruffy little cat into Annabel's arms.

Tearfully accepting the creature, Annabel said, "What shall I call him?"

"I don't know," Avelyn responded, tucking a lock of dark hair behind an ear. "I'm sure Alana would have plenty of suggestions, though." She spoke of the second to the youngest princess, who had an active imagination.

"We really should be heading to the dining room," Alianora announced. "Or we'll have to eat our food cold."