The first time I saw her, I knew she was different. I didn't know what that meant, I think I was ten years old at the time, I just knew I wanted to talk to her, I felt compelled to be her friend, to make sure no one was mean to her. I remember seeing her with a group of girls in one of the courtyards. It was a rare time that they had a break from their studies, and they were all laughing and giggling, making those silly flower chains. The way the sun shined behind her almost made her glow, and when she looked up and met me with those big brown eyes, I couldn't look away. She smiled and then went back to what she was doing. Peter had to knock me in the head to bring me back down to earth.

The next time I saw her, several years later, I actually spoke to her.

I had went into the stables and she was there brushing out one of the horses. At first we just did that awkward smile thing, and I broke out in a sweat trying to think of something to say to her. She however didn't have that problem.

"So, did they actually let you out to go riding today?"

Everyone knew how hard they were training anyone that could possibly fight in the royal army someday. All the knights wanted us prepared just in case the day we became of age, we would need to be sent out. I would never admit it, but I always felt like they worked me harder since my father was already knighted. That in addition to the fact that Peter led our daily training, and took advantage of being able to be hard on his little brother. I could definitely tell, though, that it had been a good outlet for my specific type of energy, or 'demon' as my mother had always called it.

I smirked back at her. "Yeah, can you believe it? I guess they were afraid our arms would fall off if they didn't give us a break." Wow, that was easier than I thought! Why had I been so nervous?

"So how long did they give you?" She asked as she strapped on the saddle.

"They actually gave me the rest of the afternoon. I think they know how hard it can be on us, and maybe are going to start letting us have more breaks. But I'm sure we'll pay for it at our next training." I said with a small laugh. I was just finishing up with the bridle when she slung herself up onto her horse. And the girl didn't ride side saddle either. So I could tell she meant to really do some riding.

"That's good!" She said with a smile. "Maybe once you get the hang of riding more, you'll be able to keep up with me." She grinned big and took off out of the stables. I was just left completely dumbstruck. It probably took me a couple minutes before I finally realized she had intended for me to follow her, but by the time by brain kicked in, she was long gone.

I saw her sporadically over the next few years, sometimes we would be able to exchange a few words, but we never got a chance to have enough time to really talk, although I got the distinct feeling that she wanted to just as much as I did. We would catch each other's eye across the dining hall, or out in the fields if her and the other ladies happened to walk by the area that we were training in. The first time I saw her out like that, I nearly took a sword to the knee. I still think Peter did that on purpose, even though he leers at Charlotte every chance he can get. I could tell she was watching me too, since she had to cover up a laugh at my slip up. I slit my eyes at her with a smirk on my face and she stuck her tongue out at me, to which she was quickly reprimanded by one of the older women. I laughed at her this time, and she slit her eyes back before they walked on.

After that, I felt like we had some kind of silent communication. We would go weeks without catching a glimpse of each other, but whenever we did, we would always grin like we had a secret or something. Peter always looked at me funny if he saw me looking at her, but I couldn't care less what he thought.

Peter was all business. He lived and breathed his job, and wouldn't let anything stand in his way. He was loyal to a fault to the crown. We were both raised that way. Our father was a knight, so we always knew we would be too. While I was just as loyal, and never thought twice about my role in the kingdom, I also felt that there was room for both doing your job well, as well as doing other things that you actually enjoyed. Peter said I would grow out of that later on, but I was hoping he was wrong.

It was several seasons later, several long seasons later, by the time we met again on our own. Once again it was the stables. I was just strapping the saddle on when I heard the last voice I expected to hear.

"Well, look who it is." She said with a smile.

I quickly turned around and met her with a matching smile. She had her hair pulled back in a long braid, and was wearing the same thick, brown dress she had wore every other time she had been out on her horse, with dark brown riding gloves.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" I said teasingly. She slit her eyes, still keeping the smile on her face.

"About as much as I know you." She came back with.

"Well I think it's about time to change that, don't you think, m'lady?" I have no idea where I had suddenly got my confidence, but as long as she was smiling, I was sticking with it.

"Let me just saddle up, and maybe you can keep up with me this time." She laughed, walking over to her stall. I went ahead and mounted to make sure she didn't leave me in the dust this time. I wasn't about to let her slip away again, who knows when I would get this chance next. I watched her fluid motions as she prepped and saddled up. She had obviously done this her whole life, she could do it in her sleep. She was ready in half the time it took me.

"Lead the way, m'lady." I gestured.

"You can cut the lady stuff out right now." She laughed. Oh I love that laugh. Everytime I heard it, my heart swelled a little bit more.

We rode out in a comfortable silence through several fields and worked our way into the forest several miles out from the castle. She wound around trees methodically, and knew exactly where the streams were that she needed to jump. Luckily my horse had an easier time following hers than I would have on foot. We finally came to a grassy clearing with a small stream running through it. There was a log of a tree that had fallen long ago that had a soft blanket of moss covering it. She unmounted and led her horse over to a tree and tied him up, so I followed. There was a berry bush there that horses could munch on while they waited on us. She walked over to the log and sat down silently. This time I was the one to break the silence.

"So this is your place, huh?" She looked at me with a crooked little smile.

"You can't tell anyone. I'm letting you in on my deepest darkest secret." I could tell she was only half serious, but I knew I would never tell a soul.

"Well it's very nice out here. I love how quiet it is." I said as I looked around. And it was quiet. You could only hear the sounds of the birds and the rustling of the trees by the wind. It was perfect.

"That's exactly what I like about it. I hate all the noise and chaos with the court. If I could just stay out here forever, I would truly be happy." I turned and looked over at her and she was facing toward the sky, smiling with her eyes closed, like she was just trying to melt away.

"You've always seemed like a happy person to me." I said, without really thinking that I had no reason to think she was happy, since we had never spoke more than a handful of words to each other.

"I am, I guess." She continued. "Well, I know I don't have much of a choice, so I might as well be." Her smile faded, and my chest ached for her.

"What is it that makes you unhappy?"

She stopped to look at me before she continued. I assume to gauge whether or not she could trust me. I hoped she somehow knew she could.

"I just hate living in the court." She breathed out quickly.

"Really?" I was shocked. I thought every girl dreamed of growing up with the princess and being one of her 'ladies in waiting'. She turned quickly to me, I could tell she was scared I would say something. "Don't worry, " I rushed to assure her, "I would never say anything. I'm just surprised. That's all." I offered her a small smile, and she relaxed a bit.

"I know. All the other girls adore their position. I've begged my mother to just let me be a seamstress for the crown. I would much rather work by myself all day long, than sit around listening to those girls prattle on about the most insignificant things. What so and so was wearing, who so and so is courting, who slipped into whose room after dark. Just absolute nonsense that is absolutely nobody's business."

"So why aren't you a seamstress then? I would think there would be a line of girls waiting to take your place."

"Oh, there is. But my mother was a lady, my grandmother too. My family has always had good position in the court, and in my mother's words, 'it would be not only a disgrace to this family, but be an insult to the crown.' So I'm not exactly free to make my own decisions. I do still get to do some seamstress work for the ladies, so while I'm doing that I can kind of zone out and let my mind wander to other places. Places I would rather be, or people I would rather be talking to."

She looked at me at this point, and I felt my stomach tighten. Was she talking about me?

"I'm so sorry you feel so trapped." I sympathized.

And I truly was sorry. This was a girl who should be free to make her own decisions. If she wanted to be a seamstress, she should be able to do just that. But then again, I wasn't in any better situation.

"I guess I kind of know what you're talking about, but I never actually stopped to question if there were other options. Like you, my family has always been in the army, some of whom were knighted. It was just always a given that I would follow in their footsteps, although I don't think I take it as serious as they think I should." I started thinking about if there was anything I would rather do. I loved riding, but I never got to do that enough. I was always jealous of the court musicians. They always created such beautiful music, and I had always had a desire to do that. And of course, I would love to do anything non violent. Now that I had tamed my demon through years of practice, as well as releasing any pent up aggression through battle training, I would love to live a life of peace. As it was now, I was guaranteed to go to war at some point. We were always fighting someone it seemed.

"Hey." She nudged me. "Where did you go?"

"Huh?"

"You kind of went into your own little world there for a minute. I was saying we need to get going soon, the sun will be setting."

"Oh. Oh yeah. Sorry." I mumbled back.

"You ok?" She looked at me with concerned eyes.

"Yeah. I guess. You just got me thinking about some things I haven't really thought about before."

"Uh-oh. Is that a good thing or bad thing?" She asked hesitantly.

"No! It's a good thing, sorry. No, anytime you make someone start thinking it's definitely a good thing." I smiled, assuring her. She gave a small smile back.

"Ok, if you say so. Whenever you want to talk about it though, you owe me." I raised my eyebrows at her.

"I owe you?"

"Yeah," she smiled. "I laid out everything for you, I deserve for you to do the same."

I gave her a big smile right back. "You've got a deal." She giggled at me.

We rode back in another comfortable silence. I don't know what she was thinking about, but I was thinking about everything that I could be doing if I wasn't tied to the court. Just like she was. It was a much shorter trip back to the stables than I anticipated. As we finished putting the horses up, she looked up at me with bright eyes.

"I'm Isabella, by the way." She gave me one of those blinding smiles again, holding back a laugh. I wasn't as lucky, I couldn't hold it back. Here we had shared, or she had at least, shared some very close secrets, and we didn't even know each other's names. I bowed to her deeply exaggerated.

"Jasper Whitlock at your service, m'lady." She laughed again.

"Well, sir Whitlock, I do look forward to engaging you in the very near future." I stood up and looked her straight in her eyes.

"As do I, Isabella."

And she was gone.