Joyful at the prospect of an hour's freedom from the rather stuffy kitchen, Sarah galloped down the cobblestones of the back courtyard, golden curls streaming behind her, cheeks rosy with the activity. She had put in a good four hours work that morning, hauling water, scrubbing pots and pans, and finally, oh joy! Carefully arranging nuts and raisins on the little pastries her mother was making. That, certainly, was the best job of all. But it would get better still for her mother had informed her that, starting tomorrow, she would receive lessons in baking. Fancy that! For the first time in her young life, the dreams of royalty, of silk dresses and sparkling gems had been replaced by another and more attainable dream. She saw herself, in due time, as the mistress of the palace kitchen… famed throughout all of Euphrania as the best pastry cook in the land. People would flock for miles just to get a whiff of her breads and pies turning golden brown on the hearth. They would clamor to buy them, for any price, any at all. But she would have to turn them down. Her pastries would not be for the common people, but for royalty alone. And yet, in spite of these dreams, little Sarah was not proud. She worked hard to please and it was her greatest ambition to be useful to others and thus to make herself beloved for her hard work and loyalty.
As she danced along the courtyard, immersed in these pleasant dreams, she forgot to pay attention to where she was going. And when she at last remembered that it is always wise to see where you are heading, it was too late. She ran smack into something, what it was she wasn't quite sure for stars were suddenly spinning before her eyes and she felt herself falling, but her fall was broken as someone caught her.
"Steady there!" someone laughed. "Where are you going in such a hurry? Major domo after you? What'd you do, steal a pie?"
Gasping for breath, Sarah pressed her hands to her whirling head. She didn't bother to answer, for everything was still swirling about her and who could possibly talk when the world won't stand still? But everything gradually settled back into place and when she looked up, there were two boys towering above her. To an eight-year old girl, they seemed rather large and formidable but they weren't much older than twelve or thirteen. The one who had caught her she recognized at once as she had seen him often… he was John, who sometimes worked in the stables but lived in the palace. The other was slightly taller with auburn hair and hazel eyes and dressed much more grandly than his companion. For a moment she frowned in confusion, then realized who he was with a sudden start.
"Your royal highness!" she gasped in equal fright and admiration, dropping a rather clumsy curtsey and nearly falling in the attempt.
"What have we here, John?" The prince spoke to his companion while regarding the girl with amusement flickering in his eyes, although he managed to keep a straight face. "A young renegade, eh? Goes around running into innocent people… should we report her to the major domo?"
"Not so," the other boy replied, also forcing a solemn expression. "Yon fair maiden seems to be in distress. It is up to us to defend her from whatever wild thing must certainly be after her."
Childishly, Sarah believed both of them at once. Surely the prince meant to punish her and John had pledged himself to protect her. But surely the prince, being more important, of course, would punish her anyway. Frightened, she backed away from him, cowering halfway behind the more chivalrous of the two. But the prince had dropped his serious mien and was laughing now.
"Don't worry, Miss, no one's going to hurt you."
Miss! Here was a state of things! She had always been just "Sarah" or "You, Girl!" Never, ever "Miss". What distinction! She could hardly wait to tell Mama! And Will also!
"What's your name?" the prince was saying.
"S-Sarah," she faltered. But in the split second that followed, she noticed that his eyes were friendly and all at once she seemed to find her tongue. And so she launched into her characteristic monologue, forgetting that it was a prince, and not just a mere boy that she was talking to. "Sarah Foster. Mama told me that Sarah means princess. Isn't that wonderful? And Mama is going to teach me how to make pastries, just like her! She's the best pastry cook in Euphrania, you know. Her pies and cakes are for royalty! And soon I'll be just as good as she is and I'll…"
"Whoa, whoa, slow down!" John interrupted the steady stream of words. "Sure can talk, can't she?" The prince grinned.
"Have you ever heard the story of King Arthur, Miss Sarah?" he asked, rather unexpectedly. Sarah's eyes glowed.
"Oh, yes, your highness!" she cried exuberantly. "Mama has told me all of it, of the brave King Arthur and the beautiful Queen Guinevere… and the traitorous knight Lancelot!"
"Traitorous, eh?" John grinned. "That's pretty strong."
"Well, we have here an Arthur and a Lancelot…" he paused and raised his eyebrows at John. "The traitor…" John grimaced. "And now, I think, we've found a Guinevere. What do you say, Miss Sarah?"
Sarah's eyes grew wide in astonishment and, forgetting her manners, gaped at the boys.
"You want me to… to play Guinevere?"
"Why not? Will you?"
"Well…" Sarah frowned and hesitated. "I'd be honored, your highness, to play with you, of course, but I'd much prefer the Lily Maid. Elaine of Astolat. I like her… Mama says that Guinevere did some bad things and I don't want to be like that… could I be the Lily Maid?"
"The Lily Maid, then," the prince laughed. "Although that might end up being dangerous…" But Sarah went on, in her excitement.
"I've always loved those stories but, you know, my friends in the village didn't really know about them. I tried to tell them but they never would play with me… And if we do play, we need a Sir Galahad, he's my favorite, and I know who can be him, too!"
And so poor Will was dragged into the story of King Arthur, of which he knew absolutely nothing, and managed to play the quietest and most unadventurous Sir Galahad that history has ever seen. He followed his lady Elaine obediently, albeit unenthusiastically. She had insisted on changing the story and would have none other than Sir Galahad as her knight-errant. She obstinately refused to pine and die over Lancelot and in the end, rather than a dead Elaine floating melancholily down the river, a very much alive Elaine wed Sir Galahad. Sir Thomas Malory would have been quite aghast.
This was for the guest who wanted to see what Edward and John were like as kids. Hope this was what you had in mind! Thank you for the inspiration!
When I write a fanfic character from a movie, I try to get as much about them as I can... mannerisms, way of speaking... all that sort of thing. So I will occasionally watch the same actor in other films. Sounds dumb, I know, but the actor is just as much a part of the person as the character is. So I checked out Romeo and Juliet (of all things... I hate that story .) to see Keith Skinner (aka Willoughby) as Balthasar. Let's just say that he makes a much better 18th century character than 14th century. Good grief, he didn't even look like Willoughby! But at least I know what his voice sounds like now =P Poor Will didn't have so much as one single line in the Slipper and the Rose. And voices are important to me when I'm writing. Btw, did anyone ever notice Will during other scenes of the movie... standing in the throne room and all that? He's in it a lot more than you realize, once you start looking for him! Next time any of you watch the film, I'll expect you to be watching for him... and Sarah too! =D (No, I'm serious. She's actually in it. See chapter one, I think that's where I talked about that. The cover image on this story is Sarah from the film.)