Hofburg, 1865

Young seven-year-old Rudolf wandered out to the palace gardens in an effort to escape from his princely duties and his intimidating grandmother who seemed to want nothing more than for him to be miserable.

At least out in the gardens, there were many places to hide should someone come looking for him.

Although…if it was his mother who came looking for him, he would never hide from her. He wished he was able to see her.

He still didn't understand why his grandmother forbid them from seeing each other. What was so wrong about seeing his own mother?

Once the young prince was inside the gardens, he saw a little girl sitting amongst the flowers on one of the benches.

She must've worked at the palace since no one aside from servants and members of the Royal household were allowed inside the palace gates. He hadn't known there was someone here who was his age.

"Hello," he said as he approached her.

The girl looked up and her eyes widened when she saw the familiar blue coat he wore. She quickly stood up and bowed to him.

"Hello, Your Majesty," she said with a high voice.

"What's your name?"

"Charlotte, Your Majesty."

"I'm Rudolf."

"I know, Your Majesty."

"You don't have to keep bowing."

The girl straightened up. "Sorry, Your Majesty."

"And you don't have to keep saying 'Your Majesty'."

"Sorry, Your…uh, sorry."

"What are you doing out here?"

"The head maid sent me out here while they worked. They won't let me help them because they think I'll break something and then the Empress will get mad."

"She won't get mad."

"Really?"

"I don't get to see her, but I've seen pictures and she's very pretty. Someone that pretty couldn't get mad about broken things."

"Why don't you get to see her?"

"My grandmother won't let me. She says I need to study and train."

"I can't see my mother either."

"Why not?"

"She's very sick. And they don't want me to get sick too."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be! Mama's going to get better, and then I can help her work again!"

"Charlotte!" a woman's voice called. "Charlotte? Come here!"

Charlotte bowed again in Rudolf's direction. "I think she's going to tell me Mama's all better! Bye, Rudolf!"

Rudolf waved as she bounded off. That was the first time he had ever had a conversation, short as it was, with someone who treated him like a person, not a prince or a student. Someone who didn't use big words he didn't understand or yell at him for doing something wrong.

He liked it.

Charlotte sat in the gardens crying.

None of the other servants disturbed her, allowing the young girl her time to mourn.

"Hello, my child."

Charlotte turned to find a very handsome man in dark clothing. Everything was black from his long coat to his leather pants to his large boots. Even his nails were painted a deep black. His very long blonde hair was tied back into a low ponytail though his hair remained parted to the right.

"Who are you?" she choked out through her tears.

"A friend," he answered with a smile.

"What are you doing here? Do you serve the Emperor?"

"No, child. But I am a…friend of the Empress, so to speak."

He slowly walked over to her, and though Charlotte knew she should be afraid of him, she found that she wasn't.

"I know about your mother."

More tears made their way down Charlotte's cheeks. "Mama said she was going to get better. But she didn't!"

"She was very sick. But she lived a good life and she no longer feels the pain of her illness."

"I want Mama back! She's supposed to take care of me! Who's going to take care of me now?"

"Are there no servants to watch you?"

"Yes…but they don't care about me the way Mama did. Mama let me help her with her work, and she always tucked me in at night and told me stories. The other ladies don't like me very much. They think I'm going to get them in trouble."

The man knelt down in front of her so that his head was lower than hers. He had a nice kind smile that made her feel like she could pour her heart out to him and he would gladly listen to her.

It was his eyes that were strange. She couldn't explain it, but they were like black holes that pulled her deep into his world. They didn't seem totally…human.

And yet, she still wasn't afraid of him.

"If you chose to come with me…you would never have to worry about the other servants again. You would be free of them forever."

"Forever?" Charlotte asked softly.

The young girl looked at the man in front of her, contemplating his strange offer. It was quite tempting. To never have to put up with the mean ladies who seemed to hate her?

But would this stranger really provide freedom from them or was he just attempting to trick her? Something about him made her feel like she could trust him…

"Charlotte?"

Charlotte quickly turned around and saw Rudolf approaching her. She started to bow, but she stopped when she remembered that she was a girl so she was supposed to curtsey.

"What's the matter?" Rudolf asked when he noticed her tear-stained cheeks.

"Mama's dead," she told him quietly.

"But I thought she was better."

"She was supposed to get better! But she didn't."

"I'm very sorry."

Charlotte turned around to look behind her, but she did not see the kind man from before. Where could he have gone?

"What is it?"

"Um…nothing," Charlotte answered.

Had she simply dreamed of her encounter with the man due to her grief and her longing for someone who cared about her? Was he only a figment of her imagination?

"I started learning how to dance today," Rudolf told her in an attempt to make her think about something other than her mother's death. "My grandmother said that a prince needs to know how to dance for when he goes to balls."

"I want to go to a ball," Charlotte smiled a little. "Mama said she worked at one before. All the girls get to wear pretty dresses and dance with the boys all night long. But she didn't get to dance that night because they needed her to work instead. One day, I'll get to go to a ball and I'll get to dance just like the pretty ladies."

"Can I teach you?" Rudolf asked excitedly.

"Yeah!"

Rudolf went up to her and took her hands. "Okay, this hand goes here." He placed her left hand on his shoulder. "Then you hold my hand like this. And then you step back with your right foot."

Charlotte took a tentative step back while Rudolf stepped forward with his left foot.

"And then go to the side like this."

The two of them slowly stepped in a square around the garden, both sets of eyes locked on their feet so they didn't make a mistake.

"And then you turn like this."

When Rudolf attempted to make them turn, his feet entangled with Charlotte's and they both went sprawling onto the ground.

Charlotte laughed loudly, and Rudolf began laughing next to her.

The two children could not stop laughing at their poor attempts to waltz together.

"Rudolf! There you are!"

To Rudolf's dismay, his grandmother, Sophie, marched out to the gardens. She came over to the two of them and yanked her grandson off the ground with enough force to make his arm hurt.

"Don't lay on the ground in your nice clothes!" she ordered with that especially scary face Rudolf hated. "You'll get them dirty!" Her stern gaze turned to Charlotte. "Learn your place, girl. The Crown Prince does not have any business associating himself with the servants."

"Charlotte," one of the servants called. She quickly curtseyed in Sophie's direction. "Please forgive her, Your Majesty. Her mother recently passed away, so we allowed her time in the gardens alone to mourn."

"You will do well to teach her her place in the palace."

"Of course, Your Majesty." The maid took Charlotte's hand. "Come along, Charlotte."

The maid curtseyed to the two royals, and Charlotte followed her example.

"Bye, Rudolf," she said to the child.

"Young lady, you will learn to address the Crown Prince with the proper respect," Sophie admonished. "You call him 'Your Highness' or 'my lord'. You never address him by his first name."

Rudolf looked at his new friend sadly as she was escorted away from him.

Charlotte did not dare to glance back at the Prince for fear she would get yelled at again. It was then she was reminded that though she and Rudolf were around the same age, they were from very different worlds and no one would ever let her forget it.

Charlotte thought back over the countless lectures she had received over the past several days.

The maids of the palace had been teaching her proper etiquette as a servant for the Emperor and Empress. In addition to that, she also had to take lessons so she could learn how to read and write properly in order to serve them better. Her head hurt when she attempted to remember all of the information, and she was exhausted from the sheer amount of work they were all making her do.

Her mother had allowed her to help her with her daily chores and she made the work fun. Whenever she taught Charlotte her lessons, she too made that an enjoyable experience. But she never let her daughter do too much so that she didn't wear herself out being the young child she was.

Now that she was gone, the other servants took it upon themselves to teach her what to do. And it was not nearly as fun as it had been with her mother.

The servants got frustrated with her very easily when she was doing chores or lessons. There was no time for patience when they taught her, and there was no time for mistakes which made it even harder for her to learn.

Charlotte felt like every little thing she did was wrong. She was constantly berated for the work she did or for the things she said.

Her mother had never gotten frustrated with her.

Sitting alone in the gardens, she was finally free, if only for a few precious minutes.

"Hello, Charlotte!"

Charlotte quickly stood up and curtseyed. "Good afternoon, Your Highness."

Rudolf frowned a little. "When it's just us, will you call me Rudolf?"

Charlotte smiled. "Okay!"

"I haven't seen you in a while."

"I've been learning how to be a good servant. It's horrible. The head maid, Katrina, yells at me all the time. I feel like I never do anything right."

"I know how that feels. My grandmother yells at me all the time too. And she makes General Gondrecourt train me every day and he yells even more than she does."

"I don't like it when people yell. I wish Mama was still here. She hardly ever yelled at me."

"I don't get to see my mama. But I think that's going to change! She's standing up to my grandmother and is going to be able to choose when she gets to see me!"

Charlotte's eyes lit up. "That's so good! Then you'll be able to see your mama as much as you want to!"

"Yeah! I hope my friend keeps coming to see me though."

"What friend?"

"A few nights ago, I was calling out for Mama, but she didn't come. So this man came to me and told me he was a friend and that he would always be there when Mama wasn't. I liked him. He was really nice to me."

"I'm glad you have a new friend."

"I have two!"

"Who's the other one?"

"You, of course!"

"I thought we weren't allowed to be friends."

"We already are!"

Charlotte smiled broadly. "You're right! We are friends!"

"Charlotte," Katrina said firmly. "The Crown Prince has fallen ill. Take this tray up to his room. Remember to knock on the door and announce your presence before entering. You are to set the tray on the table next to the bed, curtsey, and leave. Do not speak unless spoken to. Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," Charlotte answered.

She had been working as a maid in the palace for a little over a year now. She had considerably improved in her duties, but Katrina still disciplined her many, many times even when she didn't do anything wrong. She wished she could understand why the head maid disliked her so much.

Charlotte took the tray from Katrina and headed up to Rudolf's room.

Per her instructions, she politely knocked on the door.

"Come in," a stuffy voice said on the other end with a sneeze and a cough.

Charlotte entered the room. "Hello, Rudolf."

"Charlotte?"

"I've brought some soup, water, and medicine for you."

"Thank you."

Charlotte set the tray down on the table in the room. "How are you feeling?"

"Horrible."

The girl sat down on the bed next to him and felt his forehead. "You're very hot."

"One of the servants said it's a fever."

Charlotte's eyes widened. "That's what they said Mama had. But you're going to get better, right?"

"I think so. They said it's normal for people to get sick. Especially boys like me. As long as I take my medicine, I'll be fine."

"Good."

"I wish my mama would come see me."

"Your mother hasn't taken care of you? My mama always took care of me when I was sick."

"No. I haven't seen her very much at all."

"I thought she was going to see you a lot after she talked to your grandmother."

"So did I."

"Well, don't worry. I'm sure she'll come see you soon. Mamas always come see their children when they're sick."

"Thank you for the food, Charlotte."

"Of course. I hope you feel better, Rudolf."

The girl got up off the bed and curtseyed. Then she left the room to let the young prince rest.

Charlotte lay in bed miserable.

She had been put in one of the solitary rooms instead of the servants' quarters so no one else who slept there would get sick as well.

Katrina felt the girl's forehead again. "I told you not to linger in the prince's room. Now because of your foolishness, you've gone and gotten yourself sick."

Charlotte sighed. Why was she getting yelled at for simply falling ill?

"Take your medicine and rest. I need you working again as soon as possible."

Katrina quickly left the room, closing the door just a little too loud.

Charlotte forced herself to down the red sticky liquid that tasted like an old shoe. The soup sitting next to her was extremely watery and in a very tiny bowl. It tasted awful and wasn't nearly enough to fill her up. She felt even sicker once she had finished it.

A few hours later, the door opened. She mentally prepared herself to face Katrina's wrath again.

To her surprise, Rudolf quietly entered the room.

"What are you doing here?" Charlotte asked with a cough. "You'll get in trouble if Katrina finds you."

"I heard you were sick."

"How?"

"The servants were talking about it as they worked." He looked over at the small bowl sitting on the table next to her. "Is that all you've gotten to eat today?"

"Yes."

"I'll be right back."

The young prince left and when he came back, he held in his hands a bowl of piping hot soup that looked infinitely better than the one she had been given earlier.

"Where did you get that?" she asked with another cough.

"I went to the kitchen to ask the cook for some."

"Why?"

"Because you need it to get better."

Charlotte slowly sipped it. She sighed in happiness as it went down her sore throat. It tasted so much better than what Katrina had given her. She had a feeling that the awful soup had been intentional as some sort of punishment for getting sick.

"Thank you, Rudolf."

"It's the least I could do since you got sick because of me."

"It wasn't because of you."

"Yes, it was."

"I wasn't supposed to be in your room anyway."

"But if you hadn't, who would've talked to me?"

"What about your friend you told me about?"

"He comes, but it's not the same. It's more fun to talk to someone my age."

Charlotte smiled a little as she finished her soup.

Rudolf took the bowl from her. "I'll get this back to the kitchen so no one thinks you stole it."

"Thank you. You know, Rudolf, you're my best friend."

Rudolf smiled. "You're my best friend too."

Charlotte sneezed.

"Bless you."

It was a very busy day at the palace.

It was the Crown Prince Rudolf's twelfth birthday.

The young boy spent all day celebrating with a lot of people he didn't even know. It was insufferable and the longer he 'celebrated', the more he wished he never had another birthday as long as he lived.

Sophie made sure that he never strayed from her side as he attended each celebration in his honor.

His mother was off on a trip for her health and was not in attendance.

Once the longest day of his life had ended, Rudolf retreated to his room and collapsed on the bed. He was exhausted and wanted to sleep for the next three days.

But he knew where he needed to go first.

The young prince discreetly snuck out of the palace and down to the gardens. Over the last several years, he had gotten very good at sneaking out since he met Charlotte outside often. It was the only way the two of them could talk to one another freely without the complaints of Sophie or Katrina.

"Charlotte!" he called quietly.

"I'm over here," she whispered back.

He followed her voice and found her smiling at him.

"Happy birthday."

"Thank you."

"I have something for you."

"What?"

She handed him a book. "I couldn't wrap it. But one of the servants took me out shopping a few days ago, and she helped me buy it since she wanted me to learn how to read better. I didn't tell her that it was really for you."

"Will you get in trouble when she sees that you don't have it anymore?"

"No. She may be a little upset, but I'll just get another one the next time we go out."

Rudolf looked at the book. It was a collection of stories by the well-known Brothers Grimm.

"Thank you very much," he said quietly. "I can't believe you got this for me."

"I had to get my best friend a present on his birthday."

"It's just…it's harder for you to get things for yourself much less other people."

"It wasn't that hard."

"This is the best present I've gotten all day."

Charlotte smiled. "I'm glad."

"Thank you, Charlotte."

"You're welcome. Happy birthday, Rudolf."

To Charlotte's surprise, Rudolf hugged her. He had never hugged her before. She tightly hugged him back.

"You're the best friend ever."

"It's just a book."

"But it's the only present I got today that I actually like."

"You didn't get anything at all that you like?"

"My grandmother told everyone to only get me practical things. So everything can only be used for lessons or for training."

Charlotte frowned. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be because your present is something I can use over and over again."

Charlotte's heart swelled with pride, thankful the servant she had been with had suggested the book under the impression it was for her.