This is where you would normally find a disclaimer telling you about the charecters that i don't own, but, unfortunaly, Cartagia got hold of it and desided to kill it - so blame him and read the story...



The girl looked down the busy street and grinned. This was where everything was. This was the place where things happened, and she liked that. It wasn't that she disliked life in the palace, no that was certainly not the case. It was just that life was here in the busy streets of Centauri Prime. In the palace there was hardly anyone the same age as her. They where very much older, almost all adults, and most of them where only their for a breif time. Usually on buisness with people that lived in the palace.

People brushed past her on their way to buy food, drinks and anything else they happened to need. She walked on confident that no one would recognise her here. No one from the palace would ever dream of coming down into the crowded Centauri streets like this, it would be too dangerous. She wasn't worried though. No one would know who she was.

She smiled and walked onwards. She mused on how easy it was to get out of the palace if you knew how. She remembered being told how no one could get in or out of the palace without being spotted by the guards, and she laughed inwardly. Fools! She had managed to get out plently of times, and never been caught yet. It was all a matter of knowing where the secret passages where, and how to assess them. She had lived in the palace her entire life, and that was certainly long enough to figure out where most of them where.

She turned to look at a stall as she passed, where a very toothy woman was grinning at the passers by. The girl smiled to herself. One of her favorite things to do in the market place was to pretend that she was interested in the things they where selling. To see the look on their faces as they thought they had a sale, then the look as she told them she wasn't interested afterall, and just walk away laughing to herself. She smiled and walked over and looked at the things she was selling. She picked up a very nice looking knife, and the woman turned her attention to her.

"Lovely knife that," she smiled. "But be careful with it! We don't want you to cut yourself,"

Almost automatically, as if perposly doing it to defy the women, the girl slowly ran her middle finger down the blade of the knife and smiled.

"Have anything thats sharper than plastic?" was the sarcastic reply.

The womam looked suddenly perplexed, which made the girl grin inside. She frowned, turned to the right and picked up a very shiney knife which glinted in the sunlight. She handed it to the girl, who took it her hands and examined it closly.

The woman watched her. There was definatly something different about this one. She had seen her come up the street, and had noticed her walk was.......more gracefull and, well, just different.

Most people in these places walked with their heads down, and their eyes forever watching for anything or anyone they felt might threaten them, and when they found such a thing - the fight's would usually start. This girl, however, had walked with her head high, almost as if these things didn't matter to her, as if she belived nothing could harm her.

The girl turned the knife around in her hands. "Quite nice," she said with a slight sigh.

"Would you like to buy it?" asked the woman eagerly.

The girl seemed to consider this for a moment. "No thankyou," was her eventual reply. She turned around and walked away into the crowds.

She carried on around a corner with a slight smile on her face. Commoners could be so amusing at times. She thought for a minute and desided maybe it was time she returned to the palace. She had been out for a while now, and it was almost certain if she wasn't back soon, someone would notice she wasn't anywhere in the palace grounds, and this, she desided firmly, was not a good idea.

Setting off, she went the same way she had come. It wasn't very far to the palace really, but she walked fast anyway. When she got back she would still have to bypass anyone walking around the place.

She came to wall's that surrounded the palace and looked mockingly at them. 'Impossible to get over or under?' she thought 'Well that may be the case for most people, but not for me,' She walked round behind the palace, and used the passageway as she had done, so many times before. She hid behind a bush and removed the jacket she was wearing to reveal clothes that would hopefully pass as acceptable to anyone who might see her. Then, she emerged from the bush gracefully and started to walk towards the beautiful fountain, which stood in the centre of the flower garden.

Across the palace gardens she noticed a woman looking frantically about. She sighed . It was her governess, which meant someone had noticed her disapearance. Her governess spotted her, and ran over to her with a look of anger and worry on her face, "Though," she mused to herself. "That worry will be about looosing her job, rather than my safety,"

"Where have you been?!" her governess almost shouted.

"Around," came the reply "If you lost me, it must mean you haven't been looking hard enough,"

Her governess sighed a long sigh. "Cartagia, can't you for once just do as your asked? When we ask you to come to dinner with another house, can't you just, for once come?"

"I come when i am required. When i am not needed, i see no reason for me to there,"

The governess frowned. She'd never met anyone like Cartagia before, and secrety hoped she never would again. She was a governesses worst nightmare.

"Is there anything you want me for?" Cartagia asked

"No," said her governess, giving up for now. "Just try to stay somewhere we can find you,"

"I shall be in my room,"

Cartagia walked off down the path into the palace. Sometimes she wondered why she bothered with anyone here. Always trying to get her to do things she didn't want. Didn't they realise, she was better than them? Pondering on this, she entered the palace and desided a little sleep untill tea, would be nice.

So wadda ya think? Any good? Constructive critisism is ALWAYS welcome, as long as it isn't about my spelling ;)