A Journey of a Thousand Miles

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As her carriage trudged on through the countryside, Christine contemplated her new fate. She was headed towards Nothvale, a country she barely knew anything about. It was much farther north than Flerin, and the people there were rumored to be much more warlike than the people of her country, but that was all she really knew. She had never met anyone from there, nor paid the country a visit. Christine suddenly realized how very alone she would be in her new 'home.'

Christine's carriage traveled without stop until the following night. She had just managed to fall asleep when her stage coach opened her door.

"Princess Christine, we have arrived at the inn we will be staying at tonight. May I help you down?" The stage coach asked as he offered her his hand.

Christine silently stepped down, taking the man's hand. Once her eyes adjusted to the dimness she looked at her surroundings.

It was quite a stumble from what she was accustomed to. The inn itself had been cleared out; her mother didn't want anyone recognizing her or her carriage, and Christine was thankful. The small wooden inn looked like the kind of place criminals and prostitutes would frequent. Without a word, Christine followed one of the four guards that had made the journey with her into the inn, and up to her room. The guard opened the door for her but did not enter.

"I will be just outside your door, Princess. If you need me, please do not hesitate." The man said, and Christine noticed that he didn't seem any more thrilled with the surroundings then she was.

"Thank you…" Christine mumbled and walked inside her small room. Although her back ached from the constant jostling from the carriage, the small bed the room presented didn't look like it would be offering her much more comfort. With a resigned sigh, Christine removed her traveling cloak and starting getting ready for bed.

---

The prince of Nothvale stood on one of the stone balconies that overlooked the inside of his castle. For the first time in years, people were bustling around the place. Maids were cleaning the floors and windows ferociously, seamstresses were sewing new blankets and pillow cases, and the cooks were sending their servants to the markets repeatedly to gather all the ingredients that they would need for the celebratory feast that would follow his wedding.

The prince nearly scoffed aloud when he thought about that. A wedding, planned by the devil the voice in his head laughed. It was rather remarkable, the one thing he never thought he would have, he was getting, and all thanks to his mother. Yes, but it won't be a happy marriage, she would never allow that. The girl is probably just like her, spoiled and pampered and wicked. The prince exhaled heavily before turning around, he needed to clear his mind and a visit to the horse stables was exactly what would do it.

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Christine's journey was, for the most part, uneventful. She saw the ocean for the first time since she was a little girl, and although she begged for her coach to stop, he refused. They were on a very tight deadline, he argued, and he had a family to feed with the money from her successful departure to Nothvale.

Christine was bored to tears during her trip. She had no lady-in-waiting to travel with her, just her guards around her carriage. Apparently, she would receive a slew of ladies once she arrived in Nothvale, and Flerin ladies weren't good enough to serve her once she was the Princess of Nothvale. She had packed books to read, but the weak lighting and constant bumping in her carriage served as a very poor environment to read in. Since she had never learned to sew, that was out of the question as well.

Sunday turned out to be new and different for Christine. When her carriage stopped by the inn they would be staying at that night, her coach opened the door and an older woman, perhaps in her early fifties, stood waiting for her.

"Hello Princess Christine of Flerin, I am Mistress Elizabeth Hollis." The woman said in a strange accent.

"Hello, a pleasure, I'm sure." Christine replied as she stepped down. Once on the ground she quickly assessed the woman. Elizabeth Hollis was taller than she was, and plumper too. Her blonde hair was pulled up on her head in an elaborate bun and her hands were covered in gloves. Christine soon realized that she was getting very close to Nothvale; in fact, she guessed that this woman was a resident of her new country.

"Come, let's go into the inn and have a bite to eat. We have much to talk about." Mistress Hollis said briskly as she turned and made her way into the inn.

Christine quickly learned that Mistress Hollis was not a nice woman. She was sent from the castle by order of the queen so that Christine wouldn't appear ignorant of her new country. Hollis informed her that wearing her hair loose was inappropriate and unacceptable, 'Only whores wear their hair like you do,' that her hands she be covered at all time, 'No man respects an easy woman,' and her attire was unsuitable for the future queen, 'The clothes must look as royal as the wearer.'

Mistress Hollis also briefly filled Christine in on the country's history. They fought for their independence from Kisguard for nearly 400 hundred years. They were a proud people. They worked on Sundays, just like all days. Christine's head swam with information, and she knew she would never be able to retain everything this horrible woman was screeching at her.

"Now, I will be traveling with you in your carriage until you reach the castle. There we will part ways, and you will become the Princess of Nothvale."

Christine merely smiled as she heard the wonderful news.

---

Vincent sat at one of the grand chairs surrounding the main entry's fireplace and watched as his prince paced the carpeted stone floors.

"You are going to have to replace that carpet soon." Vincent remarked, pulling his friend out of his trance-like state.

"What? How can you be so calm? She arrives tomorrow!" The man nearly yelled. Vincent simply shrugged his shoulders.

"I am already married." Vincent replied as he stretched out his long arms and legs and reclined fully in his chair.

"Darling, you look nervous." A high voice called from above them. The prince didn't need to look up to recognize it as his mother's.

"I am nervous mother. The man I hired to kill you is late you see, and that really throws a knot into my plan." He replied as he looked up to the balcony his witch-mother was standing on.

She clicked her tongue at him, "Oh dear boy, you are so very ungrateful. I get you a wonderful present and you say such horrible things to me. Vincent, I assume you have the guard ready to meet our future Princess?"

Vincent stood up to salute and address his queen, not before he noticed his prince roll his eyes at his actions, "Yes, Your Highness. We set out tonight just after our final patrol, and we will met up with her at the inn."

The queen smiled widely, her thin lips nearly disappearing. "Wonderful!" She chirped before she turned around and left.

The prince turned to face Vincent, his golden eyes reflecting the glowing embers, "You are going to her tonight?"

Vincent nodded, "Yes, I will bring you a full status report, of course. I won't be making the journey back with her; I travel ahead of her carriage."

The prince nodded and turned away, making his way back towards his room. "I need a drink."

Vincent chuckled and watched as his friend left.

---

Christine had never been as thankful as when she felt her carriage stop, signaling that they had reached the last inn of her voyage, and that she would be rid of Mistress Hollis. During that day's trip she had rallied off facts of the castle she was to call home faster than Christine could blink.

The castle of Nothvale's royalty was called Dunvegen, after the King who had freed the country from the tyrannical kingdom of Kisgaurd. Currently, the castle and country was run by Queen Gwendolyn Despri, and her son Prince Erik Despri, her fiancé. Prince Erik was the only child, and obviously the heir to the throne. He was twenty seven years old and never married. After that, Mistress Hollis rattled on about the country and what crops it produced and Christine merely nodded and pretended to listen.

Prince Erik. Christine let her mind wander; He was only ten years her senior, so at least she wasn't marrying someone old enough to be her father. He is closer in age to Augustus than me, Christine thought but quickly dismissed it. It was very rare for a girl to be the same age as her husband, she should be lucky he wasn't some diseased old man. Did he know what she looked like? Is that why she was part of the treaty? If that was true, he must be a spoiled, selfish boy, using his power to force a girl he had never met to marry him.

Christine was still thinking about her fiancé when she stepped out of her carriage, but her mind quickly jumped to the sight of the inn.

"Oh…" Christine exclaimed as her blue eyes took in the sight of her last resting place.

It was exquisite. The outside shone in the early evening light; obviously it was made with marble. It had a dark burgundy trim and above the door was a golden falcon, a crown in its claw.

"That's the royal crest of Nothvale." Mistress Hollis quickly pointed out as she made her way inside.

The inside of the grand inn matched the outside. It had a huge fireplace, lush carpets and beautiful tapestries on the wall. Christine realized that this must be the last inn that every important person who travels to Nothvale stays in. Christine was about to retire to her room when she heard a man's voice from behind her.

"Princess Christine of Flerin?"

Christine nearly jumped a foot in the air. When she turned around she was faced with what she guessed to be a Nothvale guard. "Yes?"

The man bowed low, "I am Vincent Regin, Captain of the Guard. I assume you have had a safe and comfortable trip thus far?"

Christine immediately relaxed and nodded, "Yes, thank you. My trip has gone very smoothly."

Vincent took a moment to examine the girl before him. She was tiny, he guessed barely above five and a half feet tall. But she was a beauty; her eyes were bluer than any sky he had ever seen and her hair a lovely mass of chocolate curls. He nearly sighed; Prince Erik would not be pleased. "Then I am glad. Now, I am sure you are tired from your travel and your teachings," Vincent tilted his head slightly in Mistress Hollis' direction and winked at the girl, "So I shall let you retire. It was simply my duty to make sure you had arrived to Nothvale Inn safe and sound."

Christine smiled, "The prince wouldn't want damaged goods, is what you are really saying."

Vincent smiled back and held back a laugh. She was pretty and clever! "Exactly, Princess."

---

Erik was a wreck. His normally impeccable suit was disheveled, and his dark hair hung loose around his masked face. He was sitting at the grand table he conversed with Vincent the night before, waiting for the Captain of the Guard to return. He needed to know what the girl was like, and damn it, it was nearing noon. She would be here within the hour.

Just as he was ready to tear his hair out, Erik heard footsteps. Vincent stepped into the room and briefly saluted. Erik impatiently waved it away, "Well?!"

Vincent dropped into his normal stance. "Well?"

"What does she look like!? What did she act like!? Dear God Vincent, do not toy with me right now!"

Vincent chuckled as he walked over to the fireplace. "She seemed nervous. She is rather short, but she seemed…pleasant." In all honesty, little Christine of Flerin looked like an angel. Vincent had watched her as she relaxed in the inn's longue, and she seemed polite and well-mannered. She had seen right through his motive, and he admired a girl who could think. He suddenly felt a wave of pity for her. How sad that a girl like her had been pulled into a feud between a mother and son.

Erik didn't reply, he just ran his hand through his hair and stared at the fire. Vincent seemed to approve of her, yet that didn't change anything. There was a reason his mother had picked this girl, and if it took him to the end of his days, he would find out.

"Vincent, you're back!" The queen called as she entered the room. "Erik, you are a wreck, go and get ready to meet your fiancé!" She barked. Erik scowled, but left the room, apparently to go and ready himself. "So, she was in good condition? Her dowry was still intact?" The queen asked once Erik had left the room.

Vincent nodded, "Yes, Your Highness, everything was in good condition. She said she had suffered no hardship on her journey, and she looked to be in fine spirits."

"Good, she will need to be, she is getting married tomorrow, after all." The queen replied, "Now, if you will excuse me, I must go check the kitchens, Lord knows they haven't had to prepare a meal like this in years!"

Vincent saluted as his queen passed him by. Then he heard the sound of horns blaring outside. It seemed the princess had arrived.

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Thanks to everyone for their feedback! To address one issue though, yes I did have a crazy amount of spelling/grammar mistakes in those last two chapters and I apologize! I don't have a beta reader, it's just me, myself and I. I guess I was so out of shape in the writing department that my personal spell checker was out of it to. I promise to be extra diligent about that stuff.

Also in the last chapter, when Augustus was talking to Christine, I said the people of Esterguard instead of the people of Nothvale. I had just finished reading a completely different story and that was the setting, I suppose it was stuck in my mind. Sorry about any confusion that may have caused!