The Princess and the Pea. Chapter 1.

In the Beginning...

There once was a writer who spun an old wife's tale into a story. A story that had a prince and a princess that fell in love over a contest, mostly with the help of a single pea. Such a simple love that lasted for 'happily ever after'. Now, no one knows where or when this story supposedly took place but there are some that tell it a little differently then the normal cookie cutter outline, and it went a little something like this...


The doors to the great hall were slowly worked open and in dashed a ruggedly handsome man. As he swiftly crossed the threshold of the large space the luscious fabrics of his clothes curled around his heavily muscled body. Pared with his long and determined stride there was no stopping the swoon that enveloped the entire female side of the royal court.

Without noticing the fact that all of the women were openly staring at him he kept up his impressive stride, finally making it to the thrones where the king stood watching out the windows directly behind his impressive seat.

"You wished to see me your majesty?" He asked as he performed an impeccable bow for the older man in front of him. As the younger of the two lifted his head he took notice of how the king had grown more lively since the last time he had seen him. His well groomed hair had greyed considerably but that fact never took away from his noticeably happy smile or the way his eyes danced around the room. To the people of the castle they often compared the king to an ox, built like a solid stone wall, an iron pillar of reliability.

The king turned at that moment to see the man that had greeted him. "Seeley, my boy!" He cried affectionately. The older man glided slowly down the steps from his throne and enveloped him in a warm embrace. He was silent for a time but then let a scowl form on his lips. "I thought I told you not to act so formal in front of me." He whispered into Seeley's ear, then, promptly pulling away he held the prince at arms length and smiled at him. "I am related to you after all..." He finished.

"Yes grandfather." Prince Seely said as he bowed once more. Then, rising for the second time Seeley brought the king's attention back to what had started everything in the first place. "Grandfather, you sent a messenger to find me... was there anything you needed?"

The king thought for a moment, confusion playing on his features as he took a heavy seat on this golden throne. When it seemed he had finally remembered what he wanted to talk about the aging man motioned for his grandson to come closer. "We Booth's are doomed to a life of solitude are we not?"

Confused by what he was talking about the prince just nodded and waited for him to continue.

"Well Seeley, I want you to be the first Booth to break that cycle."

"And how do you expect me to do that grandfather?" Seeley asked, slightly intrigued.

A sly smile played onto the older man's lips and it gave the prince an eerie feeling. "I've decided that I don't want to see my grandson end up like me, completely alone. You, son, are going to get married to a wonderful girl and then I'm going to get lots of grand kids!" King Hank chuckled out the last part, especially when looking at the reddened face of Seeley Booth.

"A-and how do you propose that this happen grandfather?" The younger Booth sputtered out, forcing the words around the embarrassment.

"Oh." The king shrugged. "That was the easy part. I'm having a contest for your hand in marriage. A letter went to every eligible young woman in the land, from a decent upbringing of course." King Hank then allowed a mighty clap to come from his hands and afterwards went to rubbing them together in a diabolical fashion. "They should start arriving withing a fortnight so we must be ready. You too m'a boy."

And with that the conversation between king and crown prince concluded and Seeley Booth was sent forth to question the sanity of his elderly father figure.


Across the country in a quaint little town by the river there stood a grand house off to the side of town. It was three stories tall with cute little shutters and a delicate southern finesse. But the most important part of the entire house was located at the very top. The attic, which was full of books; stacked one upon the other until all of the walls were completely blocked out. Here we find our heroine, asleep on a cot. Head turned to the side and firmly planted on the pages of a large leather bound volume of something or other.

Her locks of auburn hair cascaded around her face, framing the beauty that shone even when she was soundly unconscious. Her clothes were nearly comparable to rags. Which then raises the question of why she was in this expensive and extravagant house to begin with. The answer comes with a loud shriek that wrenches our poor character from her pleasant slumber.

"MAID! Come here this instant!" A barely feminine voice calls from below.

The girl on the bed rises and slides off of the creaking matress. Her face doesn't show the normal reaction that one would expect from a woman who was just reprimanded. Her facial expression was completely stale, likely comparable to a governess dealing with an unruly toddler. Nevertheless she goes trodding down the narrow stairway that leads her to her distressed mistress.

The sunlight caressed the body of the blond woman lovingly, somehow ignoring the fact that she was pacing back and forth. Taking each step as if she were stomping on a particularly frightening insect.

Turning once more, possibly to complete another circut around the room, she sees her intended target.

"What took you so long, maid?" She growled out through perfect teeth.

The woman she was talking to performed an exquisite curtsy. "Most apologies, Lady Payton. I'm afraid I was studying until very late last night."

With blond hair swirling the young heiress turned on her employee with a vengeance undeserved. "My father was generous enough to let you use his personal library for free, but I'm the head of the family now and I think you should earn your keep!"

The maid stiffened. "Well, I am serving you now; though, if its not too much to ask would your please call me by my name?"

Her master was quiet for several moments, presumably weighing the pros and cons of the simple request.

"Fine... Brennan... er, Temperance." Perrotta seemed quite uncomfortable calling her servant by her true name.

"Brennan will be fine m' lady." Temperance said back rather coolly.

"Alright, Brennan." Perrotta sneered while looking the other woman over. "Go. Fetch me the stable boy, then go and lay out my best holiday dresses."

"Are you going somewhere?" Temperance asked her mistress confusedly.

A grating laugh bubbled into the space. It ended as the smug expression on Perrotta's face grew more pronounced. "Yes, I am." She said with a smile. "I just received word from the castle that I am to be entered in a contest for the prince's hand in marriage."

Temperance remained silent. Then, after curtsying once more to the lady of the house she quietly made her way out to the stables. There she found the only other friendly companion she had in the house, Zach Addy. He was a younger lad, only in his teen years with mousy brown hair and a leveling gaze. Still, he was pleasant company and very intelligent.

"Zach." Temperance called to her friend, knowing all to well that he would most likely be too absorbed in his horse's training to pay attention to visitors. Seeing that nothing had appeared from where she was standing at the entrance of the barn she determined that the young man was out at the training grounds behind the large building. Making her way through, it never ceased to surprise her how much equipment it took to train the horses.

Stepping out once more into the light she was temperaraly blinded. As her eyes adjusted they focused on the magnificent white mustang prancing in the practice ring. Well toned mucles expanding and contracting under the rippling skin of the great animal. The crack of the wip on the ground then brought her gaze to the very person who was controlling such a great beast.

His face was stoic and his orders sharp and to the point, which the horse followed immediately. They were a team, he and the horse, and Temperance was reluctant to break the trance that they seemed to be in but she could almost feel the anger starting to stew back at the mansion.

"Zach!" She called once more. This time he heard and brought the animal to a slow and gradual stop. She watched him as he brought them both over to where she was standing.

"Yes, Miss Brennan?" He asked in a flat voice. It didn't skip her mind that he might have been perturbed that she had interrupted his favorite part of the day.

"Sorry to interrupt while you were training." She apologized. "But Lady Payton has received word that she has been requested to travel to the capital to meet the prince." There was no visible change in the boy's features. Obviously he didn't care, which didn't surprise her even the slightest. "She wishes to leave as soon as possible." Temperance finished. Zach watched her intently for a few more moments, until she actually became uncomfortable but then looked away and brought the great stallion around where she was standing to lead it to its stall.

"Tell her that everything will be ready by the time she gets out here." He said as he was walking away. It was a very ambiguous answer but both Temperance and Perrotta had learned that when asked to do something Zach would always have the task completed by the intended deadline he gave everyone else.

Returning to the house our heroine relayed the message to her master, barely escaping from the imaginary fumes that were starting to rise from the blond woman. It was then that she made the journey up to the second level and packed the appropriate gowns for the trip they were to embark on.

TBC

Please please PLEASE! tell me what you think of this! I know its kinda corny because I based it off of the children's story but I thought it was cute