AN sorry for taking soooo long to update but I had no choice. Honestly! Well thank you to ALL my reviewers and a HUGE THANK YOU to my betta reader who read and edited my horrible work P well hurry up and read and Review!
IMPORTANT: well um the stuffs that I added extra to chapter 4 is down here if you've already read it then continue to second paragraph-
Chapter 5
I woke up with the sun shining down onto my face. I blinked and then all last night's events came back. I was so angry with everybody. At HIM. It was all his fault. What was up with him anyway? Why did he do that? I got up and looked down at my dress again and saw it was covered with dirt and leaves. I dusted them off. I better get back to the castle. Mother and father would be worried. I didn't want to go back yet though. I wondered around for a bit looking around me and I found out I didn't know my way back to the castle. Great. Just great. I bent down and rested my head on the ground again trying to find any of my footprints leading to the castle. I found one, two… I continued following them until the edge of the forest. It seemed a long way. I'm pretty sure it wasn't that long. At the edge of the clearing I looked out and there to my relief and fright I saw father!
As soon as he saw me, father ran up to me, hugged me while he said, "Ally, honey are you alright? We looked for you all night. What happened to you?"
"Father, I'm fine. I just kind of ran into the forest and fell asleep." I replied in his warm hug.
It had only been 2 hours since I returned and after mother hugged me and cried. I don't know why she cried probably because I was found and back to annoy her. After a bath and dressed in another light blue gown I was sent to the throne room where mother and father were waiting for me. They both looked tired and angry.
"Princess Sabrina Alliane Emelia Marie you have shown very irresponsible, shocking and disrespectful behavior at the ball. You went into the forest alone at night and came back in the morning looking like you have just… done something, which I will not utter here. What will the people think? That their future queen is a… they'll have no respect for you and bad mouth you. Spreading rumors all over the continent. How will you control a kingdom when you can't even control yourself? You have ruined the royal family's reputation not to mention Rohan's. We are both very disappointed in you and we both think that you should not be able to do all this and get away with it, without punishment." Mother said very firmly.
What? Did they think I went into the forest to do… that! How could they think so low of me? This is so unfair! I don't need to be punished. This isn't even my fault for god's sake. And the people. People can be so… argh… and since when did mother and father care about what other people said?
This is all Cowens' fault. If it weren't for him the ball would have been better and there would have been none of this.
I voiced that thought aloud.
"Mother, father this is all Cowen's fault. He was the one who tripped me, he was going to embarrass me in front of everyone he…"
"Who was the one who stepped on his foot and made him fall?" mother retorted. That shut me up.
"But…" I tried again but couldn't think of anything.
"Cowen in our opinion is not guilty and has done absolutely nothing wrong! However Ella and Char think differently and he too shall be punished. Your punishment includes remaining in the west tower for a week. You may only see the servants and us; no one else will be permitted to see you unless we give them leave. And you are not to step outside the tower. No buts. However, if Ella, Char, your father or I wish to add some things to your punishment, then they shall be necessary as well." Mother settled the matter.
"Mother, my room is not in the west tower, where will I sleep?" I asked desperately trying to see a way out of this.
"Sleeping arrangements have been made for the both of you and as part of your punishments you will both be required to take lessons from an etiquette teacher about behavior and manners during a ball."
This was too much. This was a life and (wasn't it 'or'?) death situation here! I'll try once more.
"Father, mother surely if you punish me, people will think something is really going on and something did happen in the forest" I pleaded.
"You are not getting out of this punishment Alliane and as for people talking about you, you still have to do your royal duties so the people will see you and besides the news of your punishment has only been made to certain people. Though we may make some exceptions in your punishment for example, you will eat with us at dinner and so on. Now that's enough Ally, if you say anything else we will extend your punishment to two weeks! You are excused. Please go to your room."
I walked out depressed. They had thought of everything. There is absolutely nothing good about this punishment. Life is so unfair.
I grudgingly walked up the stairs leading to the west tower with Cowen, mother and Ella. Our fathers were busy doing business. The tower was extremely high up so there goes my chance of jumping out of a window. We passed many doors but finally mother stopped at one and standing outside and standing outside there was two guards. Both bowed when they saw us then resumed their position. Mother opened the door and we walked into a narrow hallway. The walls were painted white and had paintings of Cowen's great grandfathers. The hallway led to a drawing room joined with a dining room that seemed to be the centre of the part of the tower we were staying in. There were three ways leading out of the drawing room. One was the way we came in, the second and third ways I supposed lead to our rooms. I was right. The left way was Cowen's and the right was mine.
The drawing room and the dining room were also painted white. We all sat down on the coaches and then mother and Ella started to go through our "duties" and the rules. Cowen and I didn't really pay attention as our mother's had given us this same lecture the night before.
After showing us around Ella and mother walked into the hallway and Cowen and I followed.
At the door they both turned and mother said; "Now you two behave. This door will both be locked and guarded at all times so don't try anything. We have thought of everything. Look I know this isn't good but both of you deserve it, be good or we may have to keep you in here another week. Well that appears to be all." with that mother and Ella went outside, closed the door and locked the door. We both heard the click and winced. This is going to be a long punishment.
I went into my new room. This room was extremely small and dull compared to the other one but it was still good. There was a bed with white sheets and covers, the walls were all white and there was only one small window.
To the right of the bed stood a chest of drawers and to the left of the bed there was a small table and a bookshelf was beside that. The books had titles such as "Etiquette Today", "100 ways of eating politely" and "2000 polite ways of accepting a dance." Great. Just great. I will kill Cowen. Actually I think there is a good thing about this punishment- I get to do whatever I want to Cowen! No I did not mean it that way. You know what I mean. Cowen is gonna pay.
Girlish sounding laughter could be heard in my room that afternoon. If you went inside you would find two very suspicious looking girls. One of them a pretty dark brown haired and the other a cute looking blonde.
"Cowen is so gonna pay" I giggled.
"Yes, now all we have to do is somehow get the dye" Edwina said also giggling excitedly. Ella, Char and my parents though reluctantly had agreed to let Edwina and Joren to visit Cowen and me. Both Edwina and Joren had to beg for permission and then they along with Cowen and me had to agree to take lessons without complaint for two whole days. It was tough but it was worth it.
"Don't worry about the dye you just send the letter and everything will be perfect."
"This is gonna be so much fun!"
"Edwina, Alianne, Joren and Cowen please come into the hall. Edwina and Joren have to leave." Edwina's mum called from the drawing room spoiling the girl's fun.
"Coming mama" Edwina replied, "Let's go Ally"
Edwina was an exact replica of her mother, who was also a blonde with blue eyes. They were both very good-looking and had men swooning at their feet. Joren even though he too had blonde hair and icy blue eyes, had a sharper face like his father. Nonetheless he was also good looking.
Joren and Cowen had already reached the hall before us and were standing to the side. Edwina's mother was talking to another woman with brown hair and brown eyes. Crap. The etiquette teacher had arrived! She had black hair tied up in a tight bun with not a single bit of hair out of place and her face was very stern.
Madam Nadira was a horrible woman. In my opinion. She would always make me practice everything she taught at least four hundred times! Slight exaggeration but still. I mean what is the point of learning how to fall to the ground like a damsel in distress properly? Heck why would you want to be a damsel in distress in the first place?
I curtsied not wanting to get on her bad side just yet. Unfortunately Madam Nadira saw that my knees didn't quite reach a 38-degree angle and made me do it again. So much for not getting on her bad side.
"Well Ally, Cowen we'll leave you two to it. Edwina and Joren need to go to practice self-defense. Well have a nice evening." With that Joren and Edwina left leaving Cowen and me to 4hours of non-endless bowing and curtsying. We both, according to her, needed to start from the basics and perfect our bows and curtsies.
We were saved any more bowing and curtsying by the dinner bell. A servant knocked on our door and entered saying, "Please excuse me your highnesses but their majesties would like you both to have dinner in the great hall. Please come as soon as possible and dress appropriately." With that the servant exited and Madam Nadira dismissed us.
Free at last! I walked into my room, had a shower and got dressed into an extra fluffy pink gown. Gross! But hopefully mother will notice and perhaps forget about the punishment. I was going to have my best manners tonight. I put on light make up and silver earrings with matching bracelet and necklace that Duke Bunder had given as a birthday gift and I exited into the hall.
There I found Cowen waiting for me also trying to look his best. Unfortunately Madam Nadira was also there and watched our every move. Cowen offered me his arm and I knew I couldn't refuse. I gave him my right hand and we both walked to the door. There Madam Nadira took out a key and unlocked the door. Our parents had decided to lock our doors and make them only accessible from the outside. They were not going to take chances. We walked out the door in front of Madam Nadira because she had made us so she could watch us.
At the bottom of the stairs before Madam Nadira could see us Cowen whispered into my ear so that only I could hear, " Sabrina um how about we call a truce. I mean this punishment is horrible and I'd hate to stay here any longer. We'll act our best and see if we can get out of it. Actually I might try reverse psychology but you shouldn't, because then our parents would guess what we're up to right away. No offence. After that things can continue the way they were and you can ask me all about what I said last night."
Madam Nadira had reached us by now and looked at us suspiciously and although I hated to do it I giggled like an excited girl as if Cowen had said something funny and to let him know I agree I squeezed his arm. His arm was warm and he gave a slight nod so only I could see and we continued walking. Behind us Madam Nadira looking extremely pleased at our flirting behavior as if it was something to be proud of. Well if she's pleased this easily maybe if our plan tonight doesn't work we'll try flirting. If flirting doesn't work then we'll tie our sheets together and climb down the tower or something. When she couldn't see us, we both rolled our eyes though we did not know that we did it at the same time, and walked into the great hall.
Cowen and me walked into dinner looking civilized for the first time in our lives. When we're with each other during dinners we usually fight or at the very least I have a deep scowl on my face. Both our parents looked shocked and when we reached the table mother said, "Oh they're behaving so wonderfully tonight! It's good to see your getting along well, maybe we should punish you more often like this."
"Mother, if you don't mind me saying don't you think that since the both of us have been so good so far you should maybe cut down our time by a little bit."
"Wow Ally you have manners now and that's just after 1 night! No I must see what happens to you if you two stay seven nights." Mother squashed my "plan."
Cowen tried his reverse psychology "plan", "Oh but surely Juliana you can see right through us and you know we're only doing this to get out of trouble and this punishment has actually made us resent one another even more." As if to prove his point in a final moment of desperation he grabbed the salt shaker and threw it onto my face.
"Cowen I see that maybe you should have more hours with the etiquette teacher. Ally here doesn't seem to have lost it as much as you have." Ella said strongly though you could tell she found the situation amusing.
"Thank you Cowen" I glared at Cowen for the salt but he just stared back with a face that said, "at least I tried."
I looked away and tried thinking of something else to say but I couldn't so to keep my part of the deal up I ate silently adding only little bits into the conversation. At last when we had finished mother and father broke the horrible news to Cowen and me. We were to start our first real royal duties. The practice ones was horrible and I can not imagine how the real ones would be. It involves riding around the city and paying noble's places visits. What we really are doing though is looking for suitors or possible brides in Cowen's case! And checking to see whether the noble is up to no good. Today little party was going to be held at Duke Mont's but afterwards we were going to go to Edwina's house as a treat but the bad part was we had to discuss issues on the kingdom with the adults instead of hanging out with our friends.
Ten minutes later my horse was all saddled up and ready to ride. I had to ride sidesaddle! I hate riding sidesaddle but nevertheless I did not forget about our deal and I got onto the horse with no complaint. This was extremely unusual for me and I did not miss the looks that my parents exchanged which were full of confusion and nervousness.
Why were they nervous? I soon found out.
"Ally honey, Cowen is going to ride with you just to make sure you don't fall of with you riding side saddle and all." father said uncomfortably.
You have got to be kidding me. That jerk is not getting my on a horse with me. How can they trust him not to push me of? Besides I have only fell of a horse… a couple of times riding sidesaddle.
"Father why do I just not ride normal that way no one will need to share horses and Cowen is free of being responsible for me" I said sweetly. That always works with father and he never refuses that voice.
I could see he was finding it hard to refuse. Score! But no, mother just glared at him.
"I'm sorry dear but the public have their expectations and also what if you get lost? It is especially dangerous for a girl and a princess at night" and with that he mounted his own horse.
Cowen who was standing near my horse coughed. I looked down at him and saw him looking at my mother. I turned to her and I saw she was urging him to get onto my horse. He sighed and climbed up behind me. He was so close. He grabbed the reins off me. How dare he? My eyes flashed dangerously at him but he just took his other hand and wrapped it around my waist. I glared at him but he just held onto me tighter and shrugged. Stupid Cowen, that ass. He wasn't taking chances either. I saw that both our mothers were also riding with our fathers. The guards around us started to mount and after they did we took of.
Char screamed, "Race you guys to the Duke of Mont's house," and with that Ella and Char both galloped off, with mother and father not too far behind.
Cowen looked at me and I looked at him and we both kicked the sides of our stallion and galloped behind our parents with the guards not too far behind. We were catching up to my parents now who were just about a foot behind Char and Ella's horse. We raced until the front of the house and Ella and Char won.
"Don't worry son I'll try not to boast too much. Even though Jon's still better than you, I dare say" Char said.
"Why are you boasting Char? I was the one doing most of the work you just added extra weight" said Ella (AN yeah I kind of stole that line of Lord of the Rings.)
"What are you talking about Ella?" Char protested.
But before they could argue any longer father stopped them and said, "Shouldn't we knock or something now?"
After staying for at least 20 hours we finally managed to leave and go to Edwina's uncle's house! Edwina was staying here and now I could finally ask her if she sent the letter yet.
We knocked on the door and walked in. Edwina and Joren both came rushing down the steps and after refreshments and more pointless talking Edwina lead me to her room.
Her room was decorated with lilies, her favourite type of flower. We sat down on her bed and continued planning. She had sent the letter. Now all we had to do was wait for the dye and make some last minute preparations. Tomorrow morning Cowen won't know what happened! (this sentence is a bit strange, I think Cowen will know what happened to him tomorrow as he will find out but you can do whatever way you want)
I was lying in bed under the covers feeling butterflies in my stomach. Tonight is the big night.
AN Well I have discovered (Betta reader coughs) that using cliffies makes people review more so voila!
PS I am really sorry to leave you there but… Blame my betta reader!
Thanx to my reviewers again and I really need to post this right no so I'll thank you personally in my next chappie! Sorry and Review!
