The entire kingdom was thrown into an inevitable flurry of excitement by the royal proclamation. A bride-finding ball! It must be confessed that the only persons in the realm that were not unbelievably thrilled by the prospect, other than the persons not invited, that is, were the ones most affected by the news. Edward, John, and Caroline were most certainly not delighted. Edward because he hated the entire thought of the whole ridiculous farce, Caroline because she understood how he felt and was a little frightened herself of another attempt to marry her off, and John because he was concerned for both of them. Especially for Caroline for if anyone tried to force her into an unwanted marriage… what could he do but stand by and helplessly watch it happen?

Edward was in such a state of distraction in the days leading up to the ball that he did unusual things. And nobody said anything. The king and queen were as indulgent and solicitous as they possibly could be, afraid to set him off. He was highly explosive and that rather frightened them.

It was in such a state of mind that Edward decided to pay a visit to the royal mausoleum. Why on earth he would want to do that, John could not fathom. But he went along, obligingly.

"This place fascinates me, always has. Ever since I was a child." Edward's voice echoed in the great marble building. "It isn't just thoughts of destiny or morbid curiosity. Look here." he pointed to a tomb with the inscription "Edward Augustus Philip, 1765-"

"When they first brought me here it was part of my royal education, you see." he continued. "I was only knee-high to a tombstone. They stood me in front of this and they said, 'that's yours. That's waiting for you.' "

"Very cheerful!" John laughed.

"Humor was never the family's strong point." Edward shrugged. "I wasn't frightened… I was intrigued."

"I see they've even put your name on in advance," John noted.

"It's a sobering thought, isn't it? No matter what I do or don't do, no matter how I do it or don't do it, my last appointment is here. What a comforting thing to know!" Edward wandered among the tombs, pointing out a name here and there, marking the difference in the reigns of the various kings… evil, benevolent, treacherous, beloved, lazy…

Suddenly, a slight noise caused the prince to turn towards the window. He caught a glimpse of a girl, running back through the field, before she vanished into the woods. She looked vaguely familiar somehow…

"Who was that?"

"Sir?" John had not seen the girl.

"The girl. There. She was hiding there."

"I saw no one, sir." John shook his head.

"I could have sworn." Edward murmured, frowning. "A servant girl." Something about that girl stayed in his mind, even after he had nearly forgotten the incident. A certain feeling that persisted in hanging about him. Some strange premonition that the girl he had seen in the graveyard and the one in the funeral procession last winter, with the sad, lonely eyes, were somehow connected to each other… and to his future.

oOo

The girl caught up her skirts and ran, ran like the wind, not pausing to look back. She would be late, and there would be consequences. And so she ran on, like a wild, frightened thing, stumbling along through the underbrush.

She could not understand this strange feeling in her heart, this feeling that would not leave her. Ever since her father's funeral last winter, she had wondered about this. Her world had ended the day he had died. But, at the moment she looked into the prince's eyes, she felt an odd assurance that a new world would soon begin... that everything would somehow be all right. Why she should feel this way, she did not know. She had recognized him right away, of course, as the prince of Euphrania and heir to the throne. And what on earth would he ever have to do with a poor servant girl? She was nobody. But that brief moment that she had looked into his eyes she had felt comforted. And she had felt hope. And so she persisted in clinging to that one little shred of comfort and hope. Even though the thought that he would ever have anything to do with her fate was utterly ridiculous.

Because of that one little moment, she had watched again for another sight of him. She knew he went out riding nearly every day and often she saw him, in the distance, riding with his companion, and sometimes the lady she had first seen. She felt an odd curiosity about the lady as well, for such a kind look of sympathy and understanding she had never before seen in anyone's eyes, other than her father's. She felt drawn to the other girl and the remembrance of her sympathetic smile had warmed her heart.

Many times did she linger in the meadow, watching as he galloped across the plains, never noticing her, never knowing that she watched him. She was glad of this, for she hoped that no one would ever know the foolishness of a little servant girl. But she was always glad to see him. And those little glimpses of him carried her through the toil and misery of each long and dreadful day.

Anna1, How'm I doing? Did I capture what you had wanted?

Oh, in case anyone's interested, Sarah, the main character in my future story, can be briefly seen in the scene Position and Positioning (does anyone else realize how much that choreography is like Step in Time from Mary Poppins? It's all so odd...) Anyway, in the end of the song, when they all line up, Sarah is the first girl from the left in blue. I'll try to put her picture on the actual story when I write it.