This is For Beaver.
Chapter one
Elly the third smiled sadly as her mother rode by. The queen, Eleanor the second, on her large chestnut horse, did not look down and did not notice her daughter hiding under a large bush. The hillside around them was covered in trees which were usually a bright green but as winter approached only the radiant reds and oranges could be seen.
Elly was thinking hard about how to escape her mother who was looking for her along with the other servants in the castle. She lay low, not daring to move incase her mothers sharp eyes were to catch hold of her dark curly hair and light blue dress under the shrubbery in the failing light.
She would never escape, the security of the castle was to strong it was made as a fortress to keep enemies out, but she wondered if it had really just been made to keep other princesses in. The intricate passages make it hard to find your way around and you are always being watched.
'Eleanor! Eleanor?' the shrilled voice rung out through the cool crisp air as she stood up and sighed. 'Yes mother?' Elly said disheartened, knowing when to give up. 'My gosh Eleanor, my dearest Elly! How could you leave your mother? You are always trying to escape me. Like your father did. But if he had had a choice at least HE would have stayed with me. "Till Death Do Us Part".' she sniffed loudly, she smiled and looked down so the queen would not see. Her manservant Thomas flanked her as she rode away. The other servants mingled for a while and slowly accompanied Elly back to the castle. None spoke to her except for one, Annie her loyal maid.
Annie's sandy hair was graying but her eyes, like her heart, still had flare. She, keeping her reverent silence winked at Elly 'Please don't try that again. What is this the fourteenth time?' she sarcastically smiled and continued 'What is so terrible to get away from?' raising her eyebrow Elly answered 'What is not to get away from? I would swap places any day with….' Annie interrupted 'Me? An old spinster? I think not!' Elly ran ahead wanting to be alone… to plan her next adventure all the while the same things going over in her head. A planned husband! A grieving mother! A dead father! And no one even talks to me! No friends! No NICE relatives! No Life!
As she neared the castle a carriage drew near and she could see an unfamiliar face inside the window, a face of a trickster, it smirked as she drew closer, his features looked hansom even through the darkness. It was Leopold, her beloved savior, or soon she would soon find out.