(-a/n- la la la! Tum te tum … what are we doing again? Oh yeah writing a chapter.., got it…here goes)

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Confusedknight & Queenoftheostlers

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The day started just as normally as every other day in my life had. I got up and after grabbing a hunk of bread I hurried out of the back door to the tavern named the 'Dancing Dove.' I had been staying at the 'Dancing Dove' for almost a year now, ever since my father, a merchant of spices and fine materials had died when his ship sunk just off the coast of the Copper Isles. Ma and Emma, my younger sister who was only 5 at the time of the shipwreck, went to live with my Aunt Carris in the farming country near Barony Olau. I however, aged 9 came to the city to look for work. It was then that I met Tem who offered me work in return for food, lodgings and a small pay. Tem was part of a spy network that ranged across the Eastern lands and islands; in Corus they called it the Rogue. My work involved running errands, eavesdropping and helping in the kitchens and stables of the Inn.

On this particular day I made my way across the winding streets of Corus to deliver a letter to a mysterious man who went by the name of Felix. After completing my task, I must've wandered aimlessly for a bit, for when I returned to the Inn Cook sent me with a list and a jangling purse to buy ingredients for that evening's supper. So there I was, in the bustling market of Corus, selecting fresh apples from rotten ones when a shadow fell across the basket. I turned around and gazed up into the face of Crown Prince Roald.

'Can you pass us up two apples please?' Asked Prince Roald.

As I did so, the prince flicked two copper pieces at the stallholder, then he turned to his companion and passed her an apple. I glanced up and stared at his companion, she looked about 10 or so, and she bore a strong resemblance to Prince Roald. She had the same glossy balck hair thought it was tied back elegantly in a plait and her blue eyes sparkled. She grinned widely as her brother tossed her the sweet fruit.

'Come on Lianne,' said Prince Roald, and they turned their horses round and moved slowly away through the milling crowd. I stood transfixed a s she rode off with her brother. Suddenly a voice jolted me out of my reverie.

'Are you gonna pay for those apples?' Demanded the stallholder. So I paid up and returned to the Dancing Dove in a daze, having forgotten to buy the rest of the ingredients for that evenings meal. But throughout the rest of the day; as I was sent back for the missing ingredients, as I mucked out the stables and delivered important messages, I couldn't rid myself of the image of that girl. It seemed to be imprinted on my brain, and when I lay down to sleep that night I knew I had to see the Princess again.

Several weeks later a chance to see the Princess arose. It was the Queen's birthday celebration and as all the pages had returned home for the summer, they needed boys to act as waiters and servingmen for the night. The pay was small but it could provide me with an opportunity to see Princess Lianne again, so I signed up immediately. On the night we were all dressed up neatly and scurried around fetching and carrying, pouring wine and serving the many guests who had been invited.

At last I spotted her, on the high table with her parents, her three brothers and her elder sister who was due to soon become Empress of Carthak, when she married later on that year. All of the family looked very alike, but she was something special, she had undoubtedly inherited her mothers beauty but her father's charming smile. Unfortunately only the trained footmen were allowed to wait on the high table, but whilst serving other tables I tried to watch her subtly as she laughed, ate and talked with her family.

That night had opened my eyes to the differences between us, she was on the high table, dining with the most important people in the country, and I was holding finger bowls out to some of the unheard of nobles from fiefs far away. As the music started, all the guests stood up and it was our job to clear the tables as quickly as possible and move them to the edge of the room.

Later on as the dancing continued, I was asked by a surly, broad-shouldered man if I would replace the empty the pitchers of wine, situated at the side of the ballroom. So I skirted around the edge of the dance floor carrying a fresh pitcher of wine, it was heavy and took me a lot of effort not to spill it. As I was replacing the empty pitcher with a new one, the Princess came over, she walked straight past me and stopped a few metres away in front of a boy with dark black hair, they began to engage in an animated conversation and again it struck me that to her I was nothing.

I lay in bed that night and stared at the eaves of the roof, deep in thought. I was so convinced, like a fool in love that if she could just get to know me then everything would turn out right somehow. I just needed her to notice me, and there was no way that was going to happen at the present. I was just a boy from the lower city, worth nothing to anyone. Little did I know how important this would be the next day, when I made a decision that would change my life forever.

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