I woke up to hear the sound of voices.
"Good morning," Adrian called cheerily into the hut. "Get up. Our breakfast is ready, and we have things to do today."
Things to do? When you're living in the forest, wouldn't you think the only thing you needed to do is find food? And finding food isn't difficult in Greenwood Forest; there are plants all over to boil and eat.
I walked out of the hut and sat down on one of the logs beside the fire pit. Ray was already eating, but he was glaring at his brother. Probably for making him wake up at such an ungodly hour, when even the sun was still asleep.
"What do you mean, 'things to do today'?" I asked crossly. "What kind of 'things' do you people have to do in a place like this?" I, too, glared at Adrian. "You have enough bloody food right here. In case you haven't noticed, we're surrounded by LOTS of edible vegetation."
"She's right, Adrian. We've been living on this food for quite some time now. I think it's safe to believe the food is not poisonous." Ray said that slowly, as if he were talking to a very young child. Adrian stopped what he was doing and frowned.
"There are plenty of things to do in this forest! Unlike you two, I don't want to sit around idly!" he said angrily. I looked away and rolled my eyes. With that, he stormed away through the underbrush.
"Uh-oh," I murmured, and bit my lip shamefully.
"Don't worry about it. He'll get over it soon enough, and then he'll be as jovial as he was before." Ray continued eating, but he seemed happier.
"Well, I kind of agree with Adrian. We ARE being idle here, just sitting around and eating. At least he's being useful here. I think we ought to join him."
"Suit yourself," Ray mumbled as I walked away.
The forest was beautiful. There were many tall trees in it, with wide, strong, brown limbs upon which hundreds of delicate green leaves grew. Mosses grew on the trunks, along with mushrooms, seeming to form a kind of elegant staircase leading to the sky. The canopy of trees had scattered holes in it, through which long streams of sunlight escaped to reach the ground. Ferns and flowers and plants of all kinds spotted the ground, and a vast array of wildlife lived there, while above us birds sang cheerfully.
"Adrian!" I called out. "Wait!" I ran over to the pond he sitting by. In one hand was a sharp rock. In the other was a sturdy stick, while on the ground before him lie a piece of vine. He was making a spear.
"Fishing?" I asked. He nodded.
"Hand me the vine," he replied solemnly. I sat down and watched as he tried to tie the rock to the stick using the vine. After making several attempts he got it, and held up his spear proudly.
~*~*~*~
"What's the problem?" I asked later that evening as Ray watched the fish Adrian had caught earlier bake above the fire. He glanced up at me, scowled, and then returned back to gazing into the flames. I sat down on the opposite side of the fire and looked at him.
"All right then." I sighed. "I'm sorry for leaving you to go see Adrian, but I wanted to make sure he wasn't mad at me for what I said… You know, he was also kind of correct when he said we weren't doing anything."
"I did things!" Ray exclaimed.
"Yes, you did. You sat on a log all day, and then stared at the flames while the fish that your brother worked hard to catch bakes in front of you. You really must have it rough, with all that work."
"Shut up. I saved your life, remember?"
"Somebody needs an attitude adjustment. Just because you saved my life doesn't give you the privilege of doing absolutely NOTHING at all, and sitting idly all day long," I retorted.
"Neither does it give you the right to reprimand me." He glanced up again, but this time I noticed the ends of his mouth curled slyly upward in a grin. I scowled at him and tossed a twig into the fire.
~*~*~*~
The next day after I woke up and bathed in the pond by our clearing, I asked myself why I was here in the forest, and what my goal was in being here. Well, I'd managed to get away from that creep who'd tried to marry me. And I didn't have to sit around sewing inside the castle anymore. Nobody would try to find me here in the forest. They were all too afraid to actually see what was inside of it, and they only made uneducated guesses about what was in it.
So what was I going to do next? What was there to do? I could wait a while until I was sure that my family had stopped searching for me, and then after that I might be able to explore the other kingdoms and find adventure and a new life. Until then I was probably stuck in the forest with His Majesties, Ray and Adrian. Just then Adrian came walking up to me, and asked where I'd been.
"Come on. Ray and I have been looking all over for you! Next time you wake up before us, tell us where you're going." He looked genuinely worried. I raised my eyebrows and stared at him in disbelief.
"I was ten yards away from you, Adrian." He went red and turned away to lead me back to the camp.
"I'm curious," I said once we'd gotten back to the hut. "What do you two plan on doing? How long will you stay here in the forest?"
Ray answered. "Well, once we're sure that the guards whom our parents have sent out to search for us are gone, we'll probably go back to our kingdom." I stared at him for a while.
"Okay… You ran away. Guards are looking for you. Once they leave, you're going to go back home. I think I missed something… Why did you leave in the first place?"
"All our lives neither of us have wanted to be royal. Neither of us wants to be a king one day. We told our parents and tried to discuss it with them, but they didn't want to listen, and they didn't care what we wanted. So we threatened to run away if they didn't listen to us. We tried to run away, but our parents kind of… intervened. This time our plan worked. I think once the guards return and tell our parents they can't find us we'll have proven our point, and be able to return… As much pressure as there is on us when we're there, I kind of miss being there."
I thought about what he'd said after that. I missed home too. Although I was mad at my mother and father for allowing the rat-man to court me, I loved them, and I hated to think what they would say when the guards came and told them that they couldn't find me. Still, I couldn't return just yet or else I'd be forced into a very dysfunctional marriage.
~*~*~*~
Later that day I was sitting back against a tree, looking at the sky, when Ray came by and sat down beside me.
"What are you thinking about right now?" he asked.
"Home," I replied.
"Why did you leave?"
"I was being forced into a horrible marriage." He looked surprised.
"I thought peasants were given the choice of who they wanted to marry." Oh! I'd forgotten that here in the forest, with these royal brothers, I was a peasant, not a princess.
"I guess I made the wrong choice."
"Adrian was supposed to be getting married this summer."
"To whom?"
"Another kingdom to the east of us had a daughter named Eleanor. Our parents were, and still are, good friends with the king and queen there. When we were young our parents and the girl's parents arranged that their daughter would marry Adrian this summer. Then the girl's parents received an offer from a man wealthier than our family, and they told Adrian that he wouldn't be marrying her anymore."
I sat in shock. My name was Eleanor. I lived in a kingdom east of the one that Ray and Adrian belonged to. My parents had spoken of that kingdom, and of the king, queen, and two charming princes there, and I would be getting married to a very wealthy man at this time if I was still at home. I was supposed to be getting married to Adrian. Ewwww… I barely knew him!
"Elle, are you all right?" Ray asked me when he saw my shocked face.
"Yes, I'm fine." I think I said that a little too quickly, because Ray still gave a puzzled look. I decided to change the subject.
"When do you think you'll be safe to return to your kingdom?"
"Why? Are you anxious to get rid of us?"
"Maybe."
"We'll probably be leaving in a week."
"Oh."
After that we just sat in silence, staring at the clouds.
~*~*~*~
"Good morning," Adrian called cheerily into the hut. "Get up. Our breakfast is ready, and we have things to do today."
Things to do? When you're living in the forest, wouldn't you think the only thing you needed to do is find food? And finding food isn't difficult in Greenwood Forest; there are plants all over to boil and eat.
I walked out of the hut and sat down on one of the logs beside the fire pit. Ray was already eating, but he was glaring at his brother. Probably for making him wake up at such an ungodly hour, when even the sun was still asleep.
"What do you mean, 'things to do today'?" I asked crossly. "What kind of 'things' do you people have to do in a place like this?" I, too, glared at Adrian. "You have enough bloody food right here. In case you haven't noticed, we're surrounded by LOTS of edible vegetation."
"She's right, Adrian. We've been living on this food for quite some time now. I think it's safe to believe the food is not poisonous." Ray said that slowly, as if he were talking to a very young child. Adrian stopped what he was doing and frowned.
"There are plenty of things to do in this forest! Unlike you two, I don't want to sit around idly!" he said angrily. I looked away and rolled my eyes. With that, he stormed away through the underbrush.
"Uh-oh," I murmured, and bit my lip shamefully.
"Don't worry about it. He'll get over it soon enough, and then he'll be as jovial as he was before." Ray continued eating, but he seemed happier.
"Well, I kind of agree with Adrian. We ARE being idle here, just sitting around and eating. At least he's being useful here. I think we ought to join him."
"Suit yourself," Ray mumbled as I walked away.
The forest was beautiful. There were many tall trees in it, with wide, strong, brown limbs upon which hundreds of delicate green leaves grew. Mosses grew on the trunks, along with mushrooms, seeming to form a kind of elegant staircase leading to the sky. The canopy of trees had scattered holes in it, through which long streams of sunlight escaped to reach the ground. Ferns and flowers and plants of all kinds spotted the ground, and a vast array of wildlife lived there, while above us birds sang cheerfully.
"Adrian!" I called out. "Wait!" I ran over to the pond he sitting by. In one hand was a sharp rock. In the other was a sturdy stick, while on the ground before him lie a piece of vine. He was making a spear.
"Fishing?" I asked. He nodded.
"Hand me the vine," he replied solemnly. I sat down and watched as he tried to tie the rock to the stick using the vine. After making several attempts he got it, and held up his spear proudly.
~*~*~*~
"What's the problem?" I asked later that evening as Ray watched the fish Adrian had caught earlier bake above the fire. He glanced up at me, scowled, and then returned back to gazing into the flames. I sat down on the opposite side of the fire and looked at him.
"All right then." I sighed. "I'm sorry for leaving you to go see Adrian, but I wanted to make sure he wasn't mad at me for what I said… You know, he was also kind of correct when he said we weren't doing anything."
"I did things!" Ray exclaimed.
"Yes, you did. You sat on a log all day, and then stared at the flames while the fish that your brother worked hard to catch bakes in front of you. You really must have it rough, with all that work."
"Shut up. I saved your life, remember?"
"Somebody needs an attitude adjustment. Just because you saved my life doesn't give you the privilege of doing absolutely NOTHING at all, and sitting idly all day long," I retorted.
"Neither does it give you the right to reprimand me." He glanced up again, but this time I noticed the ends of his mouth curled slyly upward in a grin. I scowled at him and tossed a twig into the fire.
~*~*~*~
The next day after I woke up and bathed in the pond by our clearing, I asked myself why I was here in the forest, and what my goal was in being here. Well, I'd managed to get away from that creep who'd tried to marry me. And I didn't have to sit around sewing inside the castle anymore. Nobody would try to find me here in the forest. They were all too afraid to actually see what was inside of it, and they only made uneducated guesses about what was in it.
So what was I going to do next? What was there to do? I could wait a while until I was sure that my family had stopped searching for me, and then after that I might be able to explore the other kingdoms and find adventure and a new life. Until then I was probably stuck in the forest with His Majesties, Ray and Adrian. Just then Adrian came walking up to me, and asked where I'd been.
"Come on. Ray and I have been looking all over for you! Next time you wake up before us, tell us where you're going." He looked genuinely worried. I raised my eyebrows and stared at him in disbelief.
"I was ten yards away from you, Adrian." He went red and turned away to lead me back to the camp.
"I'm curious," I said once we'd gotten back to the hut. "What do you two plan on doing? How long will you stay here in the forest?"
Ray answered. "Well, once we're sure that the guards whom our parents have sent out to search for us are gone, we'll probably go back to our kingdom." I stared at him for a while.
"Okay… You ran away. Guards are looking for you. Once they leave, you're going to go back home. I think I missed something… Why did you leave in the first place?"
"All our lives neither of us have wanted to be royal. Neither of us wants to be a king one day. We told our parents and tried to discuss it with them, but they didn't want to listen, and they didn't care what we wanted. So we threatened to run away if they didn't listen to us. We tried to run away, but our parents kind of… intervened. This time our plan worked. I think once the guards return and tell our parents they can't find us we'll have proven our point, and be able to return… As much pressure as there is on us when we're there, I kind of miss being there."
I thought about what he'd said after that. I missed home too. Although I was mad at my mother and father for allowing the rat-man to court me, I loved them, and I hated to think what they would say when the guards came and told them that they couldn't find me. Still, I couldn't return just yet or else I'd be forced into a very dysfunctional marriage.
~*~*~*~
Later that day I was sitting back against a tree, looking at the sky, when Ray came by and sat down beside me.
"What are you thinking about right now?" he asked.
"Home," I replied.
"Why did you leave?"
"I was being forced into a horrible marriage." He looked surprised.
"I thought peasants were given the choice of who they wanted to marry." Oh! I'd forgotten that here in the forest, with these royal brothers, I was a peasant, not a princess.
"I guess I made the wrong choice."
"Adrian was supposed to be getting married this summer."
"To whom?"
"Another kingdom to the east of us had a daughter named Eleanor. Our parents were, and still are, good friends with the king and queen there. When we were young our parents and the girl's parents arranged that their daughter would marry Adrian this summer. Then the girl's parents received an offer from a man wealthier than our family, and they told Adrian that he wouldn't be marrying her anymore."
I sat in shock. My name was Eleanor. I lived in a kingdom east of the one that Ray and Adrian belonged to. My parents had spoken of that kingdom, and of the king, queen, and two charming princes there, and I would be getting married to a very wealthy man at this time if I was still at home. I was supposed to be getting married to Adrian. Ewwww… I barely knew him!
"Elle, are you all right?" Ray asked me when he saw my shocked face.
"Yes, I'm fine." I think I said that a little too quickly, because Ray still gave a puzzled look. I decided to change the subject.
"When do you think you'll be safe to return to your kingdom?"
"Why? Are you anxious to get rid of us?"
"Maybe."
"We'll probably be leaving in a week."
"Oh."
After that we just sat in silence, staring at the clouds.
~*~*~*~