"Hello there Mary Bo Peep." Lillian Hood said to her friend. She had come out of her tiny house to see her pretty little friend standing on the worn dirt path watching her sheep only a few feet away.

"Hello." Mary Bo Peep was a year younger than Lillian and very pretty. She had long golden curls and sparkling blue eyes. The only thing that marred her doll like appearance was her patched and faded pink dress.

"I'm going to visit grandmother today, do you want to come?" They were close friends despite their age difference because there wasn't many little girls in the area, well, human girls anyway.

"I wish I could but I have to tend to the sheep." Mary pointed toward the herd of fluffy white sheep that were grazing in the grass near by.

"Ok. I just wanted you to come because today is grandmama's birthday. She's turning seventy-five and mothers going to come with me today. She baked a cake!"

"A cake! With sugar and vanilla?" Fifteen-year-old Bo Peep was astounded at the news. The kingdom was going through a poor period. There was hardly any white sugar in vicinity because the merchants couldn't afford it.

Lillian lowered her brown eyes in sorrow. "No white sugar or vanilla but mother got some honey from the three bears and she used that as a substitute."

"Oh. It sounds delicious." Mary said wistfully. "I really want to come but father wants me to watch the sheep for today." Her voice cracked.

"Of don't be stupid! Your drunken father makes you watch the sheep every day because he's to passed out or at the tavern." Lillian scolded. "If only your mother would snap out of her denial and kick him out."

"He's not drunk all the," She hesitated and cast her big eyes down, "time."

"Lillian! Come in the house now and get ready to go! I just finished sewing that red hood and cloak for you and you're going to wear it for grandmamma." A plain woman with brown hair and brown eyes had poked her head out the window. Lillian bore a striking resemblance to her except she was slimmer and her complexion wasn't as dull and faded as her mother's. Her cheeks were a bright pink and her brown eyes had flecks of green at times.

"I'll see you later red riding hood." Bo peep teased, almost happy to see her friend go. Lillian had a way of getting to her. She was so blunt and no nonsense about her opinions and she didn't care that it hurt Mary's feelings when she talked about her father.

"Little Bo peep has to watch her sheep." Lillian snickered. "I'm going to finish my poem about you and your lamb. Mary had a little lamb-" she started but her mother interrupted.

"I told you to come in the house now! We're already late!"

Lillian said a quick "good bye" before running into her little house.

Mary watched her run with longing. At least Lillian had a mother who loved her and took care of her. All Mary had was a mother that was forever working and a father who was forever drinking and hitting her. A small smile flitted across her face when she remembered the stupid poems Lillian had been telling her. Lillian already had a poem about little Bo peep loosing her sheep and now something about a lamb.

*~*+*~*

Meanwhile an angry discussion was taking place at the castle in the lovely sitting room.

The lovely queen was glaring at her youngest son. "I can't believe you! You're the last of my sons and you're refusing to get married! Love is nothing! I definitely did not marry your father out of love!" she frowned as she remembered her wedding day and seeing the short unattractive man she was forced to wed.

"Oh hush Arabella." Parses rarely called his mother by her name unless he was very angry.

"Don't you dare tell me to hush! And call me Mother! Your brothers were never this much trouble!" She remembered the scandal of one son marrying a servant girl by the name of Cinderella and her other son marrying some girl that had lived with seven men! Seven! Only one her boys had married a proper princess except she had been under a sleeping enchantment and it had nearly killed him to wake her. Perhaps her other sons had been just as much trouble.

"Well they all married beautiful women that they loved." Parses argued.

"Yes but they found those girls in the time limit, before they turned eighteen!" She sighed, her anger draining. "Your father is going to die soon and you won't receive as much of the family fortune unless you're married."

"I'm only seventeen though." He sank back more heavily into the chair. "I don't want to marry unless I'm sure that I can stand the girl and I won't know that after one night of dancing. Every single girl over thirteen will be in the castle ballroom struggling to catch my eye."

"Your brother allowed us to throw a ball."

"Yes but he went off and married that blond serving girl."

"She was a lovely girl from a nice family it turned out it was her stepmother that forced her to serve!" Arabella's temper had flared again.

"Fine!" Parses leaped to his feet. "Have the bloody ball just don't expect me to pick anyone!" He stomped out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

Arabella gave a sigh of relief. She figured that there would be so many lovely girls to choose from that he would end up finding a wife after all.

~*~

Lillian took another large slice of the cake and began to eat it greedily. She hadn't had anything this sweet in a long time.

Grandmamma shot her a look of disapproval but didn't comment.

They were gathered around the square wooden table eating. A small pile of gifts had been shoved into the corner. The woodcutter who chopped grandmamma's firewood had joined them for her birthday. He was an attractive boy by the age of sixteen with sun bleached blond hair and brown eyes.

"Are you enjoying your cake Hansel?"

Hansel looked up and smiled. "Yes ma'am it's very good. I'm very glad you invited me."

Martha, Lillian's mother, glanced at Lillian then at Hansel. "Why don't you two go play outside?"

"But mother I'm to old to 'play' outside." Lillian whined.

"You listen to your mother!" Grandmamma snapped. "You would have listened to your father if he had told you to!"

"Well he's dead!" Lillian snapped back.

Hansel tactfully stood. "I'm going to go outside and chop you some more wood 'cause the fires getting low anyhow." He smiled flashing two rows of perfect white teeth. "Please join me Lillian."

Lillian stood and marched out of the house with her nose in the air. Hansel swallowed nervously before following her.

Martha waited until she heard the door shut before speaking. "That girl is a handful. I don't know how I'll ever find her a husband." She said mournfully.

"That's part of the reason I invited Hansel. He's a handsome lad and it's high time a sixteen-year-old girl started meeting potential suitors." Grandmamma said.

"It is time." Martha admitted. "He's a nice boy, very polite. I wish she would be kinder to him."

"Well I didn't invite him entirely for Lily. He lives in a tiny little shack down that way." She pointed at the window toward the darker part of the forest. "His stepmother doesn't exactly treat him kindly from what he told me and he has a little sister, Gretel, which is another mouth to feed. They don't have a lot of food, the poorness of the kingdom is hitting his little family harder than most." She shook her head. "I don't really need him to cut wood for me, but he needs the food I give him."

Martha nodded sympathetically. "Yes I believe I saw his sister one day gathering berries. She's a very pretty little girl it's sad that they won't let her go off and get a husband. She looks a lot like Hansel come to think of it. She has darker blond hair though and she's paler. I think she stays inside more often than him."

"Speaking of abused children, how's little bo peep? Or Mary was it?"

"Oh, yes. I saw Mary today. She looks bedraggled. She still wears that pink dress and it's so faded and patched that it can't give her to much warmth. I saw her mother the other day and that woman looked so tired that I felt it! All Suzanne does is work and that worthless husband of hers drinks it all away." Martha shook her head pityingly.

"Why didn't you invite her to come today? That child was bone thin last I saw her."

"I told Lily to invite her but Mary couldn't. She had to watch the sheep."

"Every day now? I feel horrible for that child. Someone needs to kill off her papa." Grandmamma shook her gray head.

"Oh! By the way did you hear of that horrible accident in Claysville?"

"No? That town is as boring as they come. What happened?" She asked curiously.

"You know how the town well is up on that steep hill?"

"Yes?"

"Two children, twins, were sent up there to fetch water for supper. The boy's name was Jack and the girl's Jill. They got the water and as they were walking down the boy tripped and went head first down the hill; he broke his neck. If that weren't bad enough since they had been holding hands the girl was yanked forward too and went tumbling after." She finished sadly. "I can't imagine what would do if Lily died like that."

"What a horrible tale. Poor little children." She paused and thought for a moment. "Who saw the accident?"

"Elsie Myers was picnicking with her beau at the bottom of the hill and they saw the whole thing. Horrified they were."

Grandmamma shook her head and climbed to her feet wearily. "I'll wrap the cake for you to take home. I expect you to give a piece of it to that Mary Bo Peep." As she spoke she put the half of the cake that was left into a basket and put a checkered napkin over it. "Here you are."

Martha stood and took the basket. "Thank you mother. It's very kind of you. I'll send Lillian over next week so you'll have company."

"It was nice visiting with you dear. Stay healthy."

Martha walked to the door and opened it, letting in a blast of cold air. "Lillian! Come say good bye to you grandmother." She stepped out and Lillian brushed past her.

"Bye Grandmamma." She gave her a quick kiss before hurrying outside after her mother.

Grandmamma walked over to the window and watched her pretty granddaughter trail after her mother on the path. She noticed Hansel had paused in his chopping and was watching them too.

~*~

"Mary had a little lamb whose fleece was white as snow. Everywhere that Mary went the lamb was sure to go." Lillian said to Bo Peep. They were sitting on her bed eating the remainder of the cake two days after her visit to grandmamma's.

"Is that it?" Mary asked with a smile.

"No I'm still working on it." Lillian assured her.

They heard a knock at the front door. Muffled voices followed the knock and the door closed.

"Come on! Let's go find out who it was!" Lillian was already off the bed and flinging open her bedroom door to see her very surprised mother poised to knock in front of it.

Martha regained her composure. "The royal family is throwing a ball for their so he can choose a wife. The man at the door gave me an invitation for it. He told m that every girl over the age of thirteen was to attend." She handed the white envelope to her flushed daughter.

"He's going to pick me! I know it! You have to buy me a new dress! I have to get Grandmamma to loan me her pearls! It has to be a red dress! Of course we'll need a carriage, it's to far to walk you know. I'll have to borrow your rouge for the night so I can powder my face and-"

"Hush Lillian! We can not afford half the things you just mentioned." Martha scolded. She looked past Lillian to see Mary standing uncertainly, her eyes darting toward the envelope every few seconds. "Would you like to see it? You'll be invited too. The messenger said he's going to every house you know."

Lillian shot a glare at her mother then ripped open the envelope. Inside was a piece of creamy white paper asking that all members of the household that were above thirteen to attend the ball.

Mary looked over Lillian's slim shoulder to read it too. "I probably won't be allowed to attend." She mumbled.

"Why ever not?" Martha asked in confusion. "This is the chance of a lifetime! It would make your family incredibly wealthy."

"My father said that the royals are to blame for our poverty. He refused to bow when the prince's honeymoon carriage rode by our house."

"That's absurd though. The only reason the countryside has been doing so poorly is because of the drought earlier in the year. It destroyed the farmer's crops."

"We know that but he doesn't." Mary muttered. "I have to go home now. Thank you for the cake."

Lillian and Martha watched her leave, her golden head drooping and her eyes flashing with bitter tears.