Chapter 4
When they walked around the corner they saw Kal and Kono being interrogated by the guy who gave them directions and a group of boys. "You peasant what are you doing here in the Palace? And who is this girl? She is dressed like a boy. I think we had better take them to the King and Queen." The guy seizes Kono and one of the taller boys grab Kal and they start to walk down the corridor. "Unhand them," Crystal demanded. The group stops suddenly and they turn around. "CRYSTAL MAKE THEM RELEASE US!" Kal cried when she saw Crystal and Dagger. "Who are you to be making orders?" The guy demanded. "I am the Training Master Darin. I have no clue who you are but you are meddling in affairs that that you know nothing about!" Darin shouted. I don't really want to embarrass him in front of the boys, Crystal said. It is just a chance that we'll have to take, Dagger answered. "We will be taking Kalismíen and Kono back to their guest rooms," Dagger said in a deadly soft voice. Crystal looked at him. She had never heard Dagger use that tone of voice before and she was pretty sure she never wanted to hear it again. "You will not be taking them anywhere," Darin told them. "The boys and I are taking them to the king and Queen." "No you will not," Crystal said, "My brother and I will be taking them back to their rooms. And you can't stop us, because you have no authority over us." Crystal told him shortly. "I will ask you one more time who are you? I f you do not answer me then I will also take you to the rulers of the realm." Crystal and Dagger said nothing. "Fine then, boys seize them and we will take them as well." A boy grabbed a hold of Dagger and another grabbed Crystal. They started to walk back to the throne room. "Do you know," Crystal started to say something but a boy quieted her with a slap across the face. She felt fury grow in her chest. "My Father and Mother will kill you for such treason!" Crystal shouted. The boys said nothing so as soon as they were in sight of the throne room Crystal started to struggle and shout. She knew the throne room door was open and she was hoping some of the people would remember what her voice sounded like. She was in luck her mother heard her and rushed out to see what was going on. " You Darin, Pages unhand my son and daughter immediately!" Her mother shouted. The Pages and Darin stopped dead still looking at her and Dagger. Slowly they released them. Crystal rushed to her mother and Fiona hugged her daughter tightly held her at arms length to make sure she was unhurt. Fiona spotted the bruise on her cheek. "Crystal! What happened to you?" She cried. "The boys were carrying us to the throne room and I was trying to tell them who we were when they slapped me for talking." Crystal looked upset. She saw that her mother was furious. "Darin you know better than to tell one of your Pages to slap any girl for talking. You will be talking to my husband for your serious lack of judgment." Fiona beckoned for William to come to them. "Dear I think Darin and his Pages need to have a talk with you about how they judge people. I will be taking the prince and princess and their friends to their rooms. Oh, and can you assign a guard or two to follow them around and to make sure that they don't get hurt. Thank you." And with that she and the children and Kono were off to their rooms. The next morning Crystal was awakened by sunlight pouring into her rooms. She sat up in bed and to her surprise she saw that there was another person in the room with her. It was a girl who appeared to be around 13. She had long blond hair that was put into a braid. Her eyes were such a light blue color that they looked almost see-through. She saw Crystal sit up and she smiled. "My name is Katarina. I am your servant." Katarina said. "Your mother asked me to have you put on a dress. You will be shown part of the capital city today." "What about my brother?" She asked. "Won't he be coming as well?" "I am not sure." Katarina answered. "Your mother didn't say." So for the next hour Crystal took a bath, got dressed, and had breakfast. When she was finished she had a pure white dress on and her long fiery red hair was cascading down her back in waves. Katarina entered the room with a very ornate box in her hands. Crystal looked at it curiously. Katarina saw the look of curiousness that came across the young princess's face. Katarina set the box down on Crystals' bed. She opened the box up and there sat on a bed of red plush velvet was a golden tiara set with Diamonds, and Emeralds, and Rubies, and Safire's and just about every precious and semi-precious stones imaginable. Crystal gasped; she had never seen anything that beautiful in her life! "This was the queen's very fist tiara; she told me that it was time to pass it on to you." At that Fiona came in and placed the tiara on Crystals head. "You better take good care of this. You will wear the tiara that you wore last night for your tour of the town. It will mark you as a princess but not the Crown Princess. It would be too dangerous for you to wear the tiara that marks you as such. Now your brother will be wearing a silver circlet around his head. It marks him as a prince but not the Crown Prince. Now how about you going and getting your brother for breakfast and meeting your father and I down in the entrance hall. If we aren't there just ask one of the servants to show you where the eating hall is." Fiona turned as if to leave and then turned back around. "Crystal, wear the golden tiara to breakfast and then when you come back upstairs to change for riding put on the silver tiara." At that Fiona left and Katarina began fussing with her hair. "You have to have your hair up somewhat so your tiara won't fall off." She explained to the Young protesting princess. As soon as Katarina was finished she speed off to find her brother so they could get some breakfast. Crystal was hopelessly lost. She hadn't seen a single servant in the last ten minutes so she had no one to ask about how to get to Dagger's room. She heard footsteps in the hall behind her and she turned around to see a very young boy walking behind her. She could tell that he was a prince because of the silver circlet that he had on. She took a closer look at him. He looked a lot like Dagger but he was way too young. "Excuse me," she said, "but could you tell me how to get to Prince Dagger's rooms? I was sent by Queen Fiona to fetch him down to breakfast and I got lost." The boy looked at her funny and said, I don't know who you are talking about there is no prince around here by the name of Dagger. There is only one prince in this palace and that is me. Queen Fiona is my mother. Seeing as how I'm their only child I guess that would make me the Crown Prince wouldn't it?' He said. Crystal ignored him. "Dagger is a visiting prince. I am his sister Crystal. So do you know where his rooms are? Queen Fiona will be terribly worried if we don't come down soon." She said trying to put a worried look on her face. It must have worked because he started listing off places of where Dagger could be. "By the way my name is Anthony but my friends call me Tony." "It's nice to meet you Anthony but I really must find my brother immediately." "I will find a servant to show you where he is staying. They will certainly know where he is." And with that He led her off into the main part of the palace. A few minutes later the very young prince had found a servant and told her to lead Crystal to Prince Dagger's room. The servant motioned for Crystal to follow her. Soon they arrived outside of a pair of double doors that looked identical to hers. "This is Prince Dagger's rooms. Do you know your way to the eating hall?" "Yes I do, thank you very much." "Then I will leave you here princess." And with that she left. Crystal knocked on the door and she heard a lock sliding out of place. The door opened and Dagger's head poked out. "Crystal! Good morning, is it time for breakfast?" He chirped. Crystal glared at him. How could he be so awake in the morning? "Yes its time for breakfast. Come on mother and father are waiting for us." "Okay let's go." And with that he grabbed his other shoe, tugged it on, and closed the door. Crystal and Dagger walked down to the Entrance Hall but their parents weren't there. Let's ask a guard where they are, Dagger suggested. Alright, she answered. "Excuse me, guard, the King and Queen asked us to join them but we don't know where they are." The guard looked at them suspiciously for a minute then all of a sudden he spotted Crystals' tiara. "Right this way your highnesses." He said, then he turned and walked down a corridor and said, "The King and Queen are right through these doors. They are eating in the company of the Pages and Squires today." And with that he hurried off to his post. Crystal and Dagger looked at each other and started to push open one of the heavy doors. They heard a bunch of people talking when they got it slightly open, but all sound ceased when the people realized that the door was being opened. When they got inside a bunch of boys was starring at them and they didn't know where to go. They spotted their parents on a dais and walked over to them. "Crystal, Dagger take a seat you must be hungry." Fiona said kindly. Crystal spotted the boy from earlier sitting one seat away from the Queen. "Crystal why don't you sit next to me. Dagger please go sit next to the King." Crystal sat down and Dagger sat next to the King on his right hand side. A servant brought her a plate of food and sat it down in front of her. Crystal decided to be nice so she tried to start up a conversation with Anthony while her parents told the boys to finish eating. "Hello Prince Anthony. It is a pleasure to see you again." Anthony just glared at her and started to eat again. "Anthony, that is no way to treat Princess Crystal," Fiona admonished, "she is just trying to be nice to you." Anthony looked at his mother. "Is Crystal and Dagger of any relation to us?" Anthony asked. Fiona looked at him and answered, "You will find out right before the pages and squires are dismissed." And with that Fiona told Crystal that she should at least eat a little something so she wouldn't get hungry later on. Half an hour later the King and Queen stood up. Every page and squire started to get up but Fiona told them to sit back down. She motioned for the children sitting at the dais to stand. She said, "The King and I have an announcement to make. Yesterday some of you may have seen this young man and young lady walking around the palace. I am sure that you are all wondering who they are. Last light the council was interrupted by two guards bringing in a girl and a boy. We asked to talk to them in privet. Later that night the council was yet again interrupted by the King, Queen, and the same two young people walking back into the room. We told them that they were the lost prince and princess. And now I would like to introduce you to some children. Pages, Squires, we now present you with Dagger, Crown Prince of Karnià, and Crystal Crown Princess of Karnià, and Prince Anthony of Karnià. Some of you have already met the Crown Prince and Princess. If you can't tell they are twins. You are dismissed." And with that Fiona, William, Crystal, Dagger, and Anthony walked out of the hall, leaving many stunned young boys in their wake.
When they walked around the corner they saw Kal and Kono being interrogated by the guy who gave them directions and a group of boys. "You peasant what are you doing here in the Palace? And who is this girl? She is dressed like a boy. I think we had better take them to the King and Queen." The guy seizes Kono and one of the taller boys grab Kal and they start to walk down the corridor. "Unhand them," Crystal demanded. The group stops suddenly and they turn around. "CRYSTAL MAKE THEM RELEASE US!" Kal cried when she saw Crystal and Dagger. "Who are you to be making orders?" The guy demanded. "I am the Training Master Darin. I have no clue who you are but you are meddling in affairs that that you know nothing about!" Darin shouted. I don't really want to embarrass him in front of the boys, Crystal said. It is just a chance that we'll have to take, Dagger answered. "We will be taking Kalismíen and Kono back to their guest rooms," Dagger said in a deadly soft voice. Crystal looked at him. She had never heard Dagger use that tone of voice before and she was pretty sure she never wanted to hear it again. "You will not be taking them anywhere," Darin told them. "The boys and I are taking them to the king and Queen." "No you will not," Crystal said, "My brother and I will be taking them back to their rooms. And you can't stop us, because you have no authority over us." Crystal told him shortly. "I will ask you one more time who are you? I f you do not answer me then I will also take you to the rulers of the realm." Crystal and Dagger said nothing. "Fine then, boys seize them and we will take them as well." A boy grabbed a hold of Dagger and another grabbed Crystal. They started to walk back to the throne room. "Do you know," Crystal started to say something but a boy quieted her with a slap across the face. She felt fury grow in her chest. "My Father and Mother will kill you for such treason!" Crystal shouted. The boys said nothing so as soon as they were in sight of the throne room Crystal started to struggle and shout. She knew the throne room door was open and she was hoping some of the people would remember what her voice sounded like. She was in luck her mother heard her and rushed out to see what was going on. " You Darin, Pages unhand my son and daughter immediately!" Her mother shouted. The Pages and Darin stopped dead still looking at her and Dagger. Slowly they released them. Crystal rushed to her mother and Fiona hugged her daughter tightly held her at arms length to make sure she was unhurt. Fiona spotted the bruise on her cheek. "Crystal! What happened to you?" She cried. "The boys were carrying us to the throne room and I was trying to tell them who we were when they slapped me for talking." Crystal looked upset. She saw that her mother was furious. "Darin you know better than to tell one of your Pages to slap any girl for talking. You will be talking to my husband for your serious lack of judgment." Fiona beckoned for William to come to them. "Dear I think Darin and his Pages need to have a talk with you about how they judge people. I will be taking the prince and princess and their friends to their rooms. Oh, and can you assign a guard or two to follow them around and to make sure that they don't get hurt. Thank you." And with that she and the children and Kono were off to their rooms. The next morning Crystal was awakened by sunlight pouring into her rooms. She sat up in bed and to her surprise she saw that there was another person in the room with her. It was a girl who appeared to be around 13. She had long blond hair that was put into a braid. Her eyes were such a light blue color that they looked almost see-through. She saw Crystal sit up and she smiled. "My name is Katarina. I am your servant." Katarina said. "Your mother asked me to have you put on a dress. You will be shown part of the capital city today." "What about my brother?" She asked. "Won't he be coming as well?" "I am not sure." Katarina answered. "Your mother didn't say." So for the next hour Crystal took a bath, got dressed, and had breakfast. When she was finished she had a pure white dress on and her long fiery red hair was cascading down her back in waves. Katarina entered the room with a very ornate box in her hands. Crystal looked at it curiously. Katarina saw the look of curiousness that came across the young princess's face. Katarina set the box down on Crystals' bed. She opened the box up and there sat on a bed of red plush velvet was a golden tiara set with Diamonds, and Emeralds, and Rubies, and Safire's and just about every precious and semi-precious stones imaginable. Crystal gasped; she had never seen anything that beautiful in her life! "This was the queen's very fist tiara; she told me that it was time to pass it on to you." At that Fiona came in and placed the tiara on Crystals head. "You better take good care of this. You will wear the tiara that you wore last night for your tour of the town. It will mark you as a princess but not the Crown Princess. It would be too dangerous for you to wear the tiara that marks you as such. Now your brother will be wearing a silver circlet around his head. It marks him as a prince but not the Crown Prince. Now how about you going and getting your brother for breakfast and meeting your father and I down in the entrance hall. If we aren't there just ask one of the servants to show you where the eating hall is." Fiona turned as if to leave and then turned back around. "Crystal, wear the golden tiara to breakfast and then when you come back upstairs to change for riding put on the silver tiara." At that Fiona left and Katarina began fussing with her hair. "You have to have your hair up somewhat so your tiara won't fall off." She explained to the Young protesting princess. As soon as Katarina was finished she speed off to find her brother so they could get some breakfast. Crystal was hopelessly lost. She hadn't seen a single servant in the last ten minutes so she had no one to ask about how to get to Dagger's room. She heard footsteps in the hall behind her and she turned around to see a very young boy walking behind her. She could tell that he was a prince because of the silver circlet that he had on. She took a closer look at him. He looked a lot like Dagger but he was way too young. "Excuse me," she said, "but could you tell me how to get to Prince Dagger's rooms? I was sent by Queen Fiona to fetch him down to breakfast and I got lost." The boy looked at her funny and said, I don't know who you are talking about there is no prince around here by the name of Dagger. There is only one prince in this palace and that is me. Queen Fiona is my mother. Seeing as how I'm their only child I guess that would make me the Crown Prince wouldn't it?' He said. Crystal ignored him. "Dagger is a visiting prince. I am his sister Crystal. So do you know where his rooms are? Queen Fiona will be terribly worried if we don't come down soon." She said trying to put a worried look on her face. It must have worked because he started listing off places of where Dagger could be. "By the way my name is Anthony but my friends call me Tony." "It's nice to meet you Anthony but I really must find my brother immediately." "I will find a servant to show you where he is staying. They will certainly know where he is." And with that He led her off into the main part of the palace. A few minutes later the very young prince had found a servant and told her to lead Crystal to Prince Dagger's room. The servant motioned for Crystal to follow her. Soon they arrived outside of a pair of double doors that looked identical to hers. "This is Prince Dagger's rooms. Do you know your way to the eating hall?" "Yes I do, thank you very much." "Then I will leave you here princess." And with that she left. Crystal knocked on the door and she heard a lock sliding out of place. The door opened and Dagger's head poked out. "Crystal! Good morning, is it time for breakfast?" He chirped. Crystal glared at him. How could he be so awake in the morning? "Yes its time for breakfast. Come on mother and father are waiting for us." "Okay let's go." And with that he grabbed his other shoe, tugged it on, and closed the door. Crystal and Dagger walked down to the Entrance Hall but their parents weren't there. Let's ask a guard where they are, Dagger suggested. Alright, she answered. "Excuse me, guard, the King and Queen asked us to join them but we don't know where they are." The guard looked at them suspiciously for a minute then all of a sudden he spotted Crystals' tiara. "Right this way your highnesses." He said, then he turned and walked down a corridor and said, "The King and Queen are right through these doors. They are eating in the company of the Pages and Squires today." And with that he hurried off to his post. Crystal and Dagger looked at each other and started to push open one of the heavy doors. They heard a bunch of people talking when they got it slightly open, but all sound ceased when the people realized that the door was being opened. When they got inside a bunch of boys was starring at them and they didn't know where to go. They spotted their parents on a dais and walked over to them. "Crystal, Dagger take a seat you must be hungry." Fiona said kindly. Crystal spotted the boy from earlier sitting one seat away from the Queen. "Crystal why don't you sit next to me. Dagger please go sit next to the King." Crystal sat down and Dagger sat next to the King on his right hand side. A servant brought her a plate of food and sat it down in front of her. Crystal decided to be nice so she tried to start up a conversation with Anthony while her parents told the boys to finish eating. "Hello Prince Anthony. It is a pleasure to see you again." Anthony just glared at her and started to eat again. "Anthony, that is no way to treat Princess Crystal," Fiona admonished, "she is just trying to be nice to you." Anthony looked at his mother. "Is Crystal and Dagger of any relation to us?" Anthony asked. Fiona looked at him and answered, "You will find out right before the pages and squires are dismissed." And with that Fiona told Crystal that she should at least eat a little something so she wouldn't get hungry later on. Half an hour later the King and Queen stood up. Every page and squire started to get up but Fiona told them to sit back down. She motioned for the children sitting at the dais to stand. She said, "The King and I have an announcement to make. Yesterday some of you may have seen this young man and young lady walking around the palace. I am sure that you are all wondering who they are. Last light the council was interrupted by two guards bringing in a girl and a boy. We asked to talk to them in privet. Later that night the council was yet again interrupted by the King, Queen, and the same two young people walking back into the room. We told them that they were the lost prince and princess. And now I would like to introduce you to some children. Pages, Squires, we now present you with Dagger, Crown Prince of Karnià, and Crystal Crown Princess of Karnià, and Prince Anthony of Karnià. Some of you have already met the Crown Prince and Princess. If you can't tell they are twins. You are dismissed." And with that Fiona, William, Crystal, Dagger, and Anthony walked out of the hall, leaving many stunned young boys in their wake.