A.N: Ok, ok, ok…… I am really sorry that I haven't updated in forever. Part of that has been because I've been majorly stuck on what exactly I was going to write for the story; part of it was because I got lazy. Another more recent part is that my computer hates me and won't let my open anything, but that's another issue. But I am going to finish this story, and I promise I won't take too long for the next update……that is if people like it……but a heap of people seem to like it so far, so coolies

Disclaimer: Nothing, Zip, Zilch. I own nothing except the thoughts inside Jacqueline's head

Notes: This chapter is the first real meeting between Jacqueline and Laurent. It's a bit corny, but I like corny and I think with all that Jacqueline has to deal with, she deserves some corniness in her life.

Chapter 4: Finding Comfort

I awoke later than usual the following day. Danielle was opening my curtains, and a beam of sunlight shone directly into my eyes causing me to shriek in pain.

"Well, that would be God's way of telling me to get up, I suppose," I laughed, reluctantly climbing out of the bed. "Oh, what time is it?" Danielle also laughed, handing me my dress.

"Jacqueline, it is almost midday. You slept through breakfast, and stepmother demanded I come and wake you immediately," she explained. "I was happy to let you sleep, but if I had defied stepmother I may as well have signed my own death warrant." I nodded in understanding, as I accepted the dress.

"Danielle, you don't have to do this you know," I said, signalling to the dress. "I know mother and Marguerite are happy watching you work as a servant, but when it is just the two of us, you are my stepsister." She smiled mischievously.

"Well I suppose you have no need for this then," she teased, taking the dress from my hands. "Hmm, it's quite lovely. Perhaps it will suit me well!" I laughed at her joke and snatched the dress back from her.

"Danielle, I still need to be dressed. I couldn't very well wander round all day in my nightgown." Danielle continued laughing, obviously in good spirits this morning.

"Alright, well I had better continue doing my chores with Paulette. You may not require me to work for you, but your mother has very different ideas." She laughed before walking out to help Paulette. I quickly dressed and ran down the stairs to find Marguerite and mother in the sitting room. Marguerite was dashing around the room in a frenzy of excitement while mother was seated in an armchair inspecting a letter with a secretive grin on her face. She looked up from the letter just as I entered the room.

"Well, how nice of you to finally grace us with your presence," she welcomed as I took a seat next to her, before gazing back down at the letter. "I certainly hope you have no plans for tomorrow Jacqueline, as the Prince has invited Marguerite to watch him play tennis against the Marquis De Limoges tomorrow afternoon." She raised her eyebrows excitedly as she spoke.

"But if he invited Marguerite, why must I go?"

"Because Jacqueline darling, Marguerite must make a good impression if the Prince intends to make her his bride, and as her sister it is your duty to support her in whatever way you can," mother explained in exasperation as if it were obvious. I narrowed my eyes in confusion.

"But mother, how can you expect the Prince to make Marguerite his wife if he's already engaged?"

As her reply, mother simply handed me her letter, still smiling excitedly at Marguerite.

To the Baroness De Ghent

& the Ladies of the house

Their Majesties Lord Chamberlain

Cordially invites you to a masque

In honour of

Signor Leonardo Da Vinci

On the eve of the feast of

St. Jude

"Oh my, well that's exciting," I exclaimed, when I had finished reading.

"Exciting? Jacqueline, this is more than exciting!" Marguerite ranted. "Are you really too daft to understand what this means? Prince Henry has called off his engagement to that Spanish pig, and he now must find a bride before that very night. Oh mother, I swear to you now, if any other girl tries to steal my crown, I'll have her head!"

"Well we can't have that now can we?" promised mother. "We shall just have to make you appear irresistible to the Prince. Come now, we must find you the perfect dress to wear." I followed my mother and sister up the sisters to Marguerite's bedchamber, where Marguerite emptied her entire closet of gowns onto her bed and with each one, come up with a new excuse for what was wrong with it.

"It's blue!" she exclaimed in despair, when mother produced the 10th gown for inspection.

"But darling, Henry loves blue!" mother protested.

"Yes and fifty other girls will be wearing the exact same colour!" Marguerite collapsed on the bed pouting, as I continued trying to squeeze into a pretty green gown, which was so small it may as well have been made for a child.

"Well this one's too small," I declared, trying to hide my exasperation with a laugh. "I can barely breathe!"

"Well, when one cannot breathe, one cannot eat," recited mother, quite oblivious to my exasperation. "Perhaps if I knew what you were looking for," she said turning her attention back to Marguerite who was now practically tearing up the room.

"Something fit for a Queen!" my sister yelled angrily falling back onto the bed. A mischievous look caught in my mother's eye, as she smiled wickedly.

"Come ladies, I have just the thing, but we must speak of this to no one!"

"Oh I do love a good intrigue," Marguerite declared jumping off the bed and running after mother as they stole into mother's bedchamber. I sighed before following them, feeling anxious that whatever mother was up to could amount to no good.

When we were in mother's room, she reached under her bed to produce a large dusty wooden chest, which I can't remember ever seeing before in my life. She opened it to reveal a dainty white cloth concealing further secrets. Carefully, mother unwrapped the cloth and pulled out the most beautiful gown I had ever seen in my life. It was pure white, and made with fine silks and satins as well as beautiful white jewels held in place in the bust of the gown.

"Perfect!" Marguerite whispered, obviously as fascinated with the gown as I was. Glancing down into the box I noticed a pair of heels, which I lifted out, gasping as I touched them.

"Look at these shoes!" I exclaimed, holding them delicately as they were made of pure glass, with blue and white gems attached. "Where did you get these?" I asked, curious to know why we had never been shown such treasures.

"They're Danielle's dowry. For her wedding," mother smirked.

"Cinderella? Married?" Marguerite laughed, joining in the joke. "To who, the chimney sweep?" I didn't think it was quite as funny, though I did smile to think of Danielle wearing these precious clothes. Why, she would look beautiful!

"Well if they're hers, perhaps she'll want to wear them to the ball," I suggested innocently.

"Since when does a royal function include commoners?" chided Marguerite, angry I would even suggest such a thing.

"Well, never," I agreed. "But she is our stepsister, and the invitation did say 'to the ladies of the house…'"

"She's not of noble blood!" Marguerite declared, cutting me off. "Honestly Jacqueline, who's side are you on?" Danielle's I thought to myself, shaking my head at Marguerite's cruelty.

"What are you doing?" I heard another voice join the conversation, and turned to see Danielle standing in the doorway carrying firewood and holding a hurt look on her face. I turned to mother and Marguerite, trying to avoid a smirk spreading across my lips as I wondered how they would get themselves out of this. They glanced at each other, neither knowing what to say, mother smiling awkwardly.

"Airing out your dress, for the mask," mother said finally. I too now gazed at mother in

confusion.

"Her dress?" I asked. "But you just said…"

"I suppose for a commoner it'll have to do," contributed Marguerite, again cutting me off. "I mean look at it. It's practically an antique." I gazed at Danielle, finally realizing what mother and Marguerite were trying to do. Danielle couldn't really be buying this could she? It was so obvious what they were doing, but from the hopeful look on Danielle's face I could see she was believing every word.

"You wish me to go to a masque?" she asked, her hopeful smile widening at the mere thought. "I don't know what to say."

"Say? Honestly Danielle, it hurts you don't feel like one of my daughters," mother said brightly, but I could feel the lie so strongly it crushed the words. "I thought we could all go together, as one big happy family. That is if you complete your chores on time, mind your manners till then." I could only look at her, my mouth open in shock, the anger growing inside me. They would never let Danielle attend, I thought to myself angrily. No matter how hard she tried or what she did. And then when it was over and she realized that mother and Marguerite would never allow her to be an equal part of the family, her spirit would be crushed. Not able to watch this charade continue any further, I threw Danielle's shoes back into the chest and stormed out of the room.

Outside the room, I leant against the balustrade of the stairs, feeling my blood boiling. My fists were clenched tightly by my sides, as it was taking every ounce of my strength not to scream every obscenity under the sun and break everything in sight. Standing in that room, listening to mother and Marguerite filling Danielle's head with lies, and her heart with false hope was far too disgusting a sight to witness.

"What's the matter with her?" I heard Danielle ask from the bedchamber.

"She doesn't want you to go." Marguerite answered the sickly-sweetness of her lie almost too much to bear. I gasped in shock at their maliciousness. Only seconds before Danielle appeared in the doorway, mother and Marguerite were contently mocking her, using every excuse they could find to ridicule her misfortunes, and reprimanding me for wanting her to attend the masque.

Barely able to hold back my rage, I stormed down the stairs and flew out the door, running as fast as I could to get away from the manor, and everyone inside it.

I ran all the way into the forest, until I was only a few hundred meters from the river, where I let myself go. I dropped to the leafy ground and screamed my lungs out. I just kept screaming and screaming until there was nothing left to scream. When I was done screaming, I felt relieved, as though a weight had been lifted from my stomach, though I still felt terrible for Danielle. Oh, how I hoped she didn't believe what Marguerite had said about me.

I tried to assure myself that Danielle was wise enough not to trust Marguerite over me, but I also knew that she was hopeful enough to be accepted as part of the family that any glimmer of acceptance would be taken to heart. And what if she believed Marguerite's lies? Then she would hate me and I would certainly have no one, I thought with a sinking heart. Paulette and Louise were never fond of me, and I knew as hard as I tried I would never be loved by my mother as Marguerite was. As for Marguerite, I am well aware that the only person on the earth who she dislikes more than Danielle is me.

Tears stung my eyes, and I let them fall in a flood down my cheeks. Feeling the emotional weights return to my centre, I allowed the rest of my body to fall to the ground, so I was laying on my back with my hands covering my face as I sobbed my heart out.

Hearing hoof beats approaching; I sat up on the dirty, leafy ground, and wiped the still-streaming tears from my face. I did not glance up to see who was intruding on my privacy, I merely waited for the horse and it's rider to continue past. But to my surprise, instead of riding directly past, the galloping only slowed its pace and grew closer to where I was sitting. Now intrigued, I allowed myself to gaze upon the rider and I couldn't help but gasp when I saw it was none other than the Prince's captain, who I'd encountered just yesterday morning.

"Mademoiselle De Ghent!" smiled the equally surprised captain. "Why, what a pleasure it is to see you again." Any words I considered for my response caught in my throat and I was forced to remain silent. In an effort to not appear so dishevelled, I once again wiped the still-wet tears from my face. The captain chuckled.

"Obviously you do not remember me," he said. I tried to protest but he'd already begun speaking again. "Forgive me, of course you do not remember, we were not even introduced. I was riding with Prince Henry, when he came to return your horse. Which, I apologise for on his behalf. The Prince was not himself yesterd…"

"I remember!" I exclaimed, cutting the captain off, almost choking on the words. I smiled before continuing, trying to hide the fact I had been crying, for if there was anyone in the world I did not want to see me cry, it was him. "I do remember seeing you at manor." I repeated. His smile broadened and with greater confidence now, he climbed off his horse.

"Perhaps this would be the time for introductions, seeing as they were not made on our first meeting," he suggested, offering his hand to help me off the ground. "Frederic Laurent. Well, Captain Frederic Laurent in any case." I accepted his hand and lifted myself up.

"Jacqueline De Ghent, captain," I said, my head still bowed, trying to avoid staring into his warm eyes. As much as I liked him, I did not wish for him to see me so troubled, though I could feel he already knew.

"Mademoiselle, forgive me for saying so, but you seem rather distressed. Is there anything the matter?"

I could feel tears pricking my eyes again as I remembered the events that had upset me so greatly.

"Captain Laurent, I am quite pleased to be introduced to you, but please understand, I am not myself today," I explained, as I sat back against a tree, the tears once again falling freely down my cheeks. I half expected him to bid me farewell, climb back upon his horse and ride elsewhere, but he surprised me by sitting beside me against the tree.

"Captain Laurent, you do not have to trouble yourself," I began. "You work directly for the King, I am sure you have far more urgent matters to attend to than idly conversing with an emotional-nightmare."

"You are right," he agreed, nodding his head and chuckling. "I do have far more urgent matters to attend to, such as searching for an insolent Prince who has once again disappeared with his new confidant Signor' Da Vinci. But I must admit conversing with an emotional nightmare seems significantly more amusing, so I believe that seems like the more promising option." I laughed at his wit, now allowing myself to look into his eyes.

Up close they were even more fascinating than I imagined on our last meeting. Sparkling with life and humour, they held so much depth and intrigue. At my glance a red tinge spread over his cheeks as they had done yesterday, and he quickly glanced downwards. I was delighted with the effect I had on him. He glanced upwards once again to look at me, shaking his head.

"Mademoiselle, I may be out of place in saying so but you seem too kind to feel such sadness," he said, allowing his hand to wipe the remaining tears from my cheeks. "I must know; what is it that has you so upset?"

I opened my mouth to explain everything, but quickly closed it. He did not need to be concerned with such matters. It was my issue and I knew I had to deal with it alone.

"It was merely a trivial misunderstanding with my family, sir," I lied quickly, avoiding his gaze. He only nodded. He obviously could see I was hiding something, but he did not press on.

"And that is why you chose the woods for your solace?" he inquired.

"I felt I had to escape from everything familiar," I explained, feeling a strange desire to share everything with this kind stranger. "Everything I knew only frustrated me more and I thought by escaping here, to nature, I would be escaping my life and troubles. Don't you ever feel that way, sir?"

"Indeed I do, unfortunately it happens a little more often than I would wish. Though I usually do not seek the woods for my comfort. Perhaps, I shall have to start. Most certainly, the company is incentive enough." He said smiling softly, looking into my eyes.

I bit down on my lip in an unsuccessful attempt to stop the blush that was working its way across my cheeks at a furious speed. I had never before been made to feel so self-conscious yet so free. I couldn't understand how or why I felt this way; I just knew I liked it. And it certainly was a welcome distraction from the distressing events of the morning. I shook my head not wanting to think of such things.

A low rumbling of thunder caused me to look up at the sky and the dark storm clouds that were threatening to drench both myself and Captain Laurent with rain. I sighed, my disappointment clear.

"Perhaps I should head back for the manor. If I arrive home soaked, it will only lead to more trouble, I am sure." as I stood up to leave, Laurent also stood, not allowing me to take two steps before speaking again.

"Jacqueline, I would feel terribly if you were caught in a storm, please allow me to give you a ride home…I believe I remember where it is."

I was more than a little surprised by his generous offer, but I could not help but feel delighted by it. I nodded, smiling as I walked to his horse. He hoisted himself onto the creature, before taking my hand to assist me on behind him.

We rode slowly back to the manor, and to be perfectly honest if I had walked I probably would have reached the house earlier. Even still I was in no position to complain. It felt awfully nice being in such close proximity to him. I had one arm wrapped around his waist as to not fall off the horse, and as we were riding he placed one hand over mine sending shivers through my body. I smiled to myself, loving being this close to Laurent, being able to feel every feel and smell every smell. If Danielle had forgiven me I would have to tell her every detail.

When we reached the manor, the Captain climbed off the horse first in order to assist me in climbing off. I slid off less than gracefully falling into him, and only succeeded in almost knocking the poor man over.

"Oh, please! Forgive me Captain Laurent, I assure you I did not mean for that to happen," I stuttered my apology, feeling guilty for being so clumsy and envious knowing that in my position Marguerite would have handled the drop as gracefully as a swan. I was so busy apologising, I didn't even realize he was holding me in his arms. When I realized, I quickly stepped backwards, which ended in me falling into the horse, losing my balance, and tripping into the dirt. I couldn't think of anything else to do so I laughed. Captain Laurent also laughed as he extended his hand to help me off the dirty ground.

"Jacqueline De Ghent, I admit you are the most entertaining young lady I have met in my entire life," he chuckled. I was so embarrassed by my own clumsiness, but his gentle demeanour was certainly reassuring.

"Well I do try, Captain Laurent." I curtsied and began walking towards the house but instead he caught hold of my hand. "Frederic. Please?" Once again my face became warm and I knew I was blushing, but instead of hiding it I merely nodded.

"Frederic," I repeated not taking my eyes away from him. He quickly blushed the same shade of red I'm sure I was and looked away, starting towards his horse. I found it fascinating that by just looking at him I could spark such a reaction in him. He smiled at me once again when he was on his horse.

"Until we next meet," he said warmly, before riding off towards the gates. Oh dear, I thought to myself as I walked towards the house. And I thought Marguerite's life was complicated.

And…………done :) Hope you enjoyed that, and my story return. Again, I apologise for the delay in updating, but I promise to get the next chapter out really soon. Ta ta