Sweet Memories
It certainly felt like it was a lifetime ago..that first time she got out of the castle with Luke, the Duke's son, who was about her age. Madam Fabre had brought him to the castle not long ago so that he could meet Princess Natalia and they could become friends, especially since Madam Fabre knew what arrangements were likely to be made for their futures, since the young Princess was likely going to be an only child.
He would have been brought by sooner, but they didn't feel he was old enough yet to visit the castle, and since he was always getting himself into trouble with the young serving boy, Guy, his parents felt that he shouldn't be in such an adult place. But the time had come for him to meet the young Princess that he was likely going to end up betrothed to at some point.
When they first were introduced to each other, Madam Fabre was so afraid they would not like each other, as they both appeared shy at first. But until then, Natalia had not been around anyone near her age, and Luke had never been around a girl. But eventually they spoke to each other and seemed like they would get along well, so she left the children with Natalia's nanny for a time.
They played for a time in Natalia's playroom, when Natalia asked Luke "What's it like outside the castle? Nanny won't ever take me outside and all I can see is the area outside my window."
Luke seemed astonished. He and Guy ran all over town all the time, much to the annoyance of House Fabre's servants who had to chase after them to make sure they did not get hurt. "It's fun, at least until you get caught and taken home, since me and Guy don't get to go far off the top level."
"Guy?" Natalia asked.
"He's one of the serving boys at home. When he has free time from his duties, we play together." Luke told her.
"You are so lucky to have someone to play with, until you came, I only had Nanny." Natalia said sadly.
Luke looked around her room and saw a window. "Do you think you could climb out that window?"
"I-I don't know. I have never tried before." Natalia said, nervously.
"Don't worry. I'll go first, since I am good at climbing. Then I can help you down and you can see the town with me." Luke told her. "Could you do that?"
"I think so." Natalia answered, still nervous. "But I trust you to make sure nothing bad will happen to me."
Luke opened up the window and climbed out it. There was a tree right by it that he climbed down, it wasn't a long way down, and he was good at sneaking out windows, since he and Guy did it all the time. Once he got to the ground, he looked up at Natalia who was peering out the window, still looking a bit scared.
"Luke, I don't know if I can do it after all, its such a distance to the tree." Natalia told him.
"Don't look at anything besides the tree. I am here and will catch you if you fall, okay?" Luke said to her.
"Okay" Natalia said and climbed out the window into the tree safely.
"Good. Now you just need to climb down, this is the easy part. Just don't look down and you will do fine." Luke told her.
Natalia climbed down, but as she got halfway down, she lost her footing and fell. Luke reacted quickly and caught her before she hit the ground. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I am fine. Thank you, Luke." She told him, and hugged him in thanks.
"I am glad you didn't get hurt." He said to her, smiling. "Now let's go before anyone sees us. We won't get far if they catch us right away."
They ran off, Luke led her to the lower levels. He showed her what the town was really like, then they went off for a ride on one of the aircars to the port area. They stopped and stood by the edge of the harbor for a bit.
"It's so pretty! I have never seen so much water before!" Natalia exclaimed.
"There's much you can't see from the castle, the port is one area. Guy and I love playing down here because the water is so neat, but Mother and Father don't like it, so we usually have to sneak out." Luke told her.
"Do you two do this often?" Natalia asked.
"Yes, we love this part of town. The manor is so small and so sheltered, and Mother is also very protective of me. If it wasn't for Guy, I would never have found this place. I am glad he showed me what the town is really like. How can I know how to best serve the people if I don't know how they live?" Luke told her.
"What do you mean?" Natalia asked.
"Mother told me that it is the duty of nobles to help shape a better future for the country we live in for all of its residents, We are given the means to do so, and so we should help others." Luke told her. "It is hard to help people you never see, so that is why I brought you, so you could know what their lives are like."
"Really? Your mother sounds like a caring woman. Father tries to do the same, but he is so busy all the time with his duties as King that he cannot teach me such things." Natalia told him.
"That is why I brought you here, and I will bring you again if you want." Luke said.
"Really? I would love to come here again with you!" Natalia said.
"I will bring you again the next time I come visit the castle with Mother, okay?" Luke said. "But for now we should go back before they notice we are gone, as Mother likely will come up to check on us soon. For some reason she seemed worried about how we would get along. I wonder why? You are a nice girl and I am happy to have another friend."
"I am your friend then?" Natalia asked.
"Of course. Now let's go back" Luke said. They then ran back to the castle and climbed back into Natalia's room. Natalia went first and she didn't slip this time. Then Luke followed her up and closed the window behind them. They were just in time, as Madam Fabre came back for them right as Luke finished closing off the window.
"Luke, it's time for us to go back home. Did you enjoy your visit with Natalia?" Madam Fabre asked him.
"Yes. We had lots of fun, didn't we Natalia?" Luke said.
"Yes we had fun. Will you bring Luke back?" Natalia asked.
"Of course. I am glad you found a friend your age, Natalia. Your Father was worried that you were lonely. I will bring Luke along when I can." Madam Fabre told them.
"Thanks Aunt Susanne!" Natalia exclaimed, hugging Madam Fabre first, and then Luke, who was quite embarrassed at her show of affection. Madam Fabre just smiled.
