~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selene woke up the next morning strangly exuberant, until the clasp of the smooth gold on her first finger awakened her memories. Doing an impromptu dance around her attic, she hugged her ball gown and dressed quickly.
Tripping down the stairs, she collided directly with Elesia. "Lessie!" she cried. "It's a wonderful day!"
Her stepsister grinned, curly brown hair bouncing. "It's wonderful because..." she teased. "Really, Selene, this is fantastic! You can escape, in a way..." She paused. "How are you going to tell Mother? And Elenia?"
Sobering, Selene twirled a bit of golden hair in her fingertips. "I have no idea," she mumbled. "I'm...scared?"
~~~~~~~~~~`
Corren took the deepest breath he had ever inhaled in his life. "Corren," his father prompted, "You've been standing here for seven minutes, did you have something to say?"
He sighed. "Yes, I do." Swallowing hard, he muttered, "I asked someone to marry me, without your exact permission, and..."
"Why, thats wonderful!" his mother exclaimed.
"Besides, the people were just about ready to commit mass suicide," the King commented sourly. "I never suspected what complete idiots my subjects were, but I underestimated their compacity for stupidity. But back to the subject," he smiled, "who is the bride-to-be?"
"I have to get this straight," Corren said candidly. "She is not a noble, has no dowry, no formal craft title, and she has accepted."
"Ella?" his sister asked.
"Yes." He cringed, waiting for the scathing teasing only an older sister could perform.
"That's wonderful!" she exclaimed. "I always liked her, she'll keep a good eye on you, little brother. And you need it. Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I thought you wouldn't like it," he mumbled.
"We approve," his parents chorased. "You would have been so unhappy with someone stuffy."
"We agreed on one thing," Corren began. "Her...her name isn't Ella, for one. They call her that at Duchess Pertia's home, but her name is really Selene."
His father sat silent for a moment. "Selene, you say?"
"Yes."
Standing up hastily, the King grabbed his wife's hand. At a near run, the family quickly followed him to the library, where he grabbed a thick leather-bound volume,The Book of Nobles, from the shelf. Running his finger down the pages, he halted over one gold-inscribed name: Selene of Arelde, daughter of the late Duke Roane.
"Gods," he moaned, not appearing like a King but rather like a man who has made a grave mistake, "I forgot his daughter!"
"What?" Corren gasped.
"Selene, Duke's daughter," his mother whispered. "Would Pertia have...she couldn't have..."
"But she did," the King said grimly.
"Pertia stole the estate? Hid and enslaved the girl?!" the princess said, a wrinkle forming on her brow.
"It appears so," the King replied. "We have to set it right. The Gods only know what will happen when Selene announces the marriage to that witch-woman! Grab a horse or two, and Trenel," he commanded Corren, "We'll be right behind you. Hurry, boy!" As he ran through the hall, Corren could hear his father's furious roar as he called the palace to his assistance.
Banging on Trenel's door, he barged in and grabbed the sleepy boy by the arm, shouting into his ear while his cousin yawned and protested. Within two minutes, a fully dressed Trenel and an anxious Corren were off on horseback, racing through the castle's silver gates.
~~~~~~~~~`