IN A LAND, FAR AWAY FROM HERE
A/N: I know…new story. Well this one is completely AU with all the characters of the TV show 'Higher Ground'. It is also my first fairytale. I hope it will be completely cheesy, because that's the aim! It will contain multiple chapters too!
Time and Place: Another time, another world.
Summary: Scott and Juliet are respectively prince and princess and are forced by their parents to marry each other. But they aren't in love with each other…
Rating: T/M. It depends of the chapters. It will probably have some violence and sexual content in future chapters.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my mind (I hope I really do! Who knows?)
Characters: All of the cliffhangers and their family, Peter and Sophie, maybe some OC. Elaine is still evil but in another style…means no raping or seducing Scott. Walt will have a part in this story later…but I can reveal why now… Oh, and Susan, Scott's mother is dead since several years.
∙SOME EXPLANATION: (main characters' roles and places.)
Scott: He is the son of King Martin and will be King at his turn one day…only if he marries a princess chosen by his family.
Shelby: She is coming from a very poor family and is working as a maid in King Martin's castle. She is a nice and very good friend who anyone can rely on.
Juliet: Born to be a princess, the only thing she's dreaming of is living far away from her possessive mother the Queen who wants her to marry an arrogant prince called Scott.
Auggie: A good guy, poor too. He tries to survive with being a groom at the royal court of the Queen Sharon, but also with robbing rich people. He is secretly in love with Princess Juliet.
Daisy: Strange girl living as a courtesan at the Barringer's castle. Some people say she has some magical powers. She is also Countess Elaine's niece but doesn't like her at all.
David: Best friend of Prince Scott, he is also the son of the General Robert, minister of King Martin's army. He despises poor people and servants.
Ezra: Heis Scott's own servant.Pretty solitaire, he spends a lot of time alone in the woods. Some people even say he goes to talk to the trees. He is also good friends with Daisy.
Peter and Sophie: Married to each other, they live at Queen Sharon's castle. Peter is only a cooker, but Sophie is Sharon's principal councilor. They are the perfect example of a family success with people coming from different social classes.
Katherine Ann: Best friend of Princess Juliet, she is one of her company ladies. She is nice and friendly. But more important: discreet and trustworthy.
Countess Elaine: She has simple hopes: becoming the Queen by marrying King Martin. She is willing to eliminate everyone who will be in her way. And is also, the evil aunt of Daisy Lipenowski.
King Martin: Fearless King of the land, he founded all his hopes in his only son. He is completely in love with Countess Elaine who is his fiancé, soon to be wife.
Queen Sharon: Beloved queen, Sharon is leading her people alone since the death of her husband. She has two daughters with whom she is really close and has a good acquaintance with the King Martin.
Alive and Jess: They are respectively Shelby's mother and sister. Alice is a servant at King Martin's castle and is really close to her daughter. She would protect them until her death. Her husband, who is now dead, left her with serious debts towards a dishonest merchant. Jess, her, is the first person of the family to go to school.
About the other characters, I'll tell you info only when they'll be a part of this story…
Chapter One: In another world, at another time…
It was a time when princes and princesses were forced by their parents to marry someone of the same financial condition, when maids, grooms and servants were treated like they were nothing by rich people, and when democracy didn't exist.
Prince Scott lived in this world. But, of course he was in the best side of the barrier; although sometimes, he would have thought otherwise. He knew that sooner or later, his father was going to force him to marry some random princess and make children with her. The thing was that he had another plans, another dreams…with a 'special friend' as his mother would have called her if she was still in this world. His mother…only thinking of her was hurting him more. She had been killed years before by poisoning. It had been the worst period of his life.
King Martin's Castle
"Scott, couldn't you wait for me?" David Ruxton yelled at his best friend, as they were both coming back to the castle riding their horses. Prince Scott turned his bay horse around in a circle, smiling at him.
"I am sorry but we were doing a race! I am not supposed to wait for you to catch up with me."
"I know, I know…it's just that the world is unfair! You have the best stallion of the kingdom with you. I still wonder why you keep doing races with me." David complained, smiling back a bit.
"You know I love winning." Scott answered with a grin. They went in front of the stables and both jumped of their horses, and then went to give them to the grooms. "Thank you." Scott said as his own groom helped him with his coat. He gave him a handful of coins and heard David snickering behind. "What is it?"
"Nothing…" Scott looked at him not quite convinced and David sighed. "Well, I do not know what happened to you but since a while you treat your servants with more respect than you should."
"What are you talking about?" Scott asked hoping David hadn't caught him with Shelby.
"I never heard someone of our condition thank a groom for doing his job."
"What is wrong with being a human, David? They have feelings too, you know?" Scott said a bit mad at his friend.
"Whatever Scott." David muttered, not wanting to exasperate the Prince more.
"Well, anyway I need a bath! I am sweating, it is disgusting. I will see you at dinner." Scott said harshly, leaving his exasperating friend.
Queen Sharon's Castle, at the meantime.
"Please Auggie, could you help me with this stupid horse. It must have been an ass in another life!" Juliet struggled against the troubled mare. "I don't know what's up with it lately, but it seems it is nervous."
"Maybe the Princess should think of buying a quieter horse. I'm sure I could find her a perfect one." Auggie suggested, taking the reins from Juliet's soft hands. Juliet sat down on the ground and sighed loudly. She took her gloves off and put them beside her.
"That is sweet of you dear. And please, I already told you to call me Juliet. I like it better than 'Princess'! I think it is too odd." She laughed a little and looked astonished at Auggie's actions. The horse wasn't moving anymore. It looked like it was sleeping. "How did you manage to stop him from moving? It's quite amazing!"
"Quite simple too. It just takes to calm it with a sweet and caring voice instead of screaming against it." Auggie said quickly, hoping she wouldn't take his remark badly. She laughed again, a bit embarrassed and Auggie smiled down at her. He quickly took his work back, where he had stopped it and unsaddled the horse. Juliet looked at him for a while and finally decided to leave, noticing it was already late. She got up and stood in front of him, pretty close to his body.
"Well…I have to leave now. I hope to see you soon. Bye Auggie." She leaned over and kissed his cheek just as quickly, not letting him reacting. She then turned back and ran embarrassed. Auggie smiled inside and touched his cheek when she had left the kiss. 'What a powerful dream…' He thought still smiling, right now he felt like this was the happiest day of his life. He had been dreaming of it since he was a little boy and now…it had finally happened.
King Martin's Castle
Shelby quickly followed the boy she hadn't seen for almost two days. She knew they were forbidden to frequent each other because of her condition, but she didn't care. They had known each other for years now and had always been friends. She quickly understood he was going to his bedroom and followed him inside the tower, carefully looking around to be sure no one had seen her. She climbed the stairs two by two and finally reached the third floor. Just as he was about to close the door, she stopped it with her foot and met his eyes. In less than a second she crashed her mouth against his and captured his lips with a passionate kiss, pushing him inside the room and closing the door behind her with her foot. Unfortunately the prince broke the kiss too quickly and sighed. Shelby questioned him with her eyes but didn't let him explain and kissed him again, running her fingers through his sweaty hair.
"Shelby, you should not be here!" Scott whispered against her lips. Shelby ran her tongue against his mouth before entering it softly between his teeth. He eventually pulled away. "And you should not kiss me here!" He complained, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Shelby could tell he was not mad at her for being there to see him and giggled a little.
"I know…I know. But I can't help myself. Every time I see you, I need to touch you. And I missed you, so much." Scott allowed himself a small smile; he only had gone away for two days…but he also had to admit he had missed her too.
"I missed you too, my love. But we can't take risks! What if Father or Countess Elaine find out about us?"
"I'm so terribly sorry. But I heard you saying you needed a bath and well…you know. I just didn't want another woman to see your naked skin." She said gently, a seductive smile dancing on her lips.
"Shelby, the other women do not care about me or desire me like you do. You don't have to be so jealous. Because I am only yours just like your only mine, am I right?" She nodded softly and sighed.
"I suppose I own you an apology then. I'm sorry for putting you in an uncomfortable position." She said a smile still visible on her face. Scott slowly wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a small kiss.
"You're completely forgiven, my love. So are you going to give me that bath?" He asked slyly smiling down at his lover.
"It will be my pleasure sir!" Shelby joked, as she began helping him taking off his horsemanship clothes.
'This isn't good.' Miss Lipenowski thought looking through her window at Prince Scott. He was with this maid again, and she couldn't help but wonder if she was the girl she had seen in her crystal ball.
"Daisy! Look below, my beloved friend." Ezra yelled from outside. She opened the window and felt the cold wind hitting her face. She looked sceptically at her friend and sighed. He was standing on one knee, with a guitar in his hands.
"What are you doing again?" She said exasperated. Ezra began singing a well known love song in a childish voice (I was thinking of 'You and Me' by Lifehouse…I don't know why). It was completely out of tune and unbearable for Daisy's ears. She shook her head and closed her window. But still, the sounds of his voice crossed the pane. Daisy sighed painfully and dressed her fur coat. She just couldn't let him stand there on the public place, ridiculing himself once more. She went down the stairs and opened the door just as her aunt the Countess Elaine opened it from outside. Daisy bend down, excusing herself for being in a hurry. The Countess sighed and didn't even stop walking. She looked pretty mad and Daisy was sure King Martin had upset her again with political matters. She had heard that the King had proposed to establish a sort of small democracy but that the Countess had voted against. The two did seem to have lots of disagreements those last weeks. Daisy shook all those thoughts out of her head and walked towards Ezra who was still singing. 'Duko Yansi Opmis!' She said under her breath this magical formula coming from a very ancient dialect. The guitar disappeared from Ezra's hands and view and he instantly lost his voice. He began to stir frightened at the idea of Daisy using magic against him. Daisy smirked at him then said: "Promise me that you never will do this again, and your voice will come back." Ezra nodded fervently and Daisy said another sentence. "Hoik Fytzé Yansi!" She smirked as he gave her a thankful smile and turned back to leave. She turned around one second and looked at her friend then talked again. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some business to intent." And then she left poor Ezra alone clicking her fingers together and disappearing just as fast as a shooting star.
Queen Sharon's Castle, later
Sophie sat next to the Queen in the council room, listening carefully to her. "The King Martin and I are going to meet again next week to discuss our plan. Our kingdoms, separated, are not as powerful as they should be. The King William III owns most of the lands of the country and begins more powerful days after days. That is why we decided to organize a wedding between our children. They are now our only hopes."
"I understand Milady. The thing is that Juliet is still young to be married to the Prince Scott. Why don't you marry the King Martin yourself?"
"I would have done it if he had not already planned his own wedding with a Countess."
"Did you talk to your daughter about your choice?"
"Not yet. I wanted your advice before."
"I already told you what I thought of it. I do not think your daughter is ready for any commitment."
"She is sixteen for God's sake! I was only fourteen when I married our regretted King Gareth (Juliet's father, dead years before by natural causes)."
"I know it's not a matter of age, it's more a matter of feelings and maturity."
"Well, it's not like we have a choice anyway. And I heard Prince Scott was only seventeen and really charming. I am sure she will find him fine and they will make a cute couple."
"If you say so…" Sophie said still reluctant of the fact that she was going to lose the one she considered like her daughter.
End of First Chapter
Please R&R, good or bad reviews; they both deserve to be read. Believe me! Oh and next chapter of Regrets will be up very soon, like before the weekend!
Linkie.
