Heya! I know it's been forever, but school started and we haven't had a chance to work on it together.(one thing i can say-thank god for googledocs!) But here's chapter one. Hope you enjoyed!

Chapter One

Brenna impatiently sat next to her father, while he and the king discussed political matters that she had no interest in. She had long ago tuned out their voices, and was instead watching her sister and the prince attempt to get past one of the guards, whose job was to keep that very thing from happening. When they finally succeeded, she turned back to her father, who at this point was trying to get the king to agree to allowing the newcomers from a neighboring country to settle in Saratopia with no problems.

"Father, may I be excused?" Brenna asked during a pause. The two men looked at her. "I have something to ask my sister," she explained.
Lord Henrie and the king both examined Brenna's face. Lord Henrie thought for a moment, then said, "Yes, you may, be excused, but both of you need to be back by dinner. The king has been so kind as to invite us all to dinner tonight in the palace. And," he added, exchanging a glance with his friend, "We have an announcement to make."

She nodded once and rose, lifting her skirt with one hand. "We shall." She left the throne room, following the path her sister and the prince had taken. She ran into them eventually. They were sitting on a little couch, quietly talking.

"Zephyria, father wants us back in the throne room by dinner time," she instructed her younger sister. "Be there. I'm going to go get dressed. I'll see you in our room." And off she went.

Zephyria smiled over at Christophe and said quietly "Well that means I'd better go and get dressed as well. I will catch up with you later on." She then grabbed the book that had been her excuse to go into the quietness of the library, which was never used, and turned to follow her sister's path.
Zephyria caught up with her sister, who smiled at her. "So, how are you and Christophe?" she asked, her smile widening into a grin. "When do you plan on telling Father and the king that you wish to be married?"

"Christophe and I are fine. Dad and King Jasper have been quite busy lately with these immigrants coming into Saratopia. Dad wants no problems, but King Jasper thinks we should fight them," Zephyria says sounding as though she were there for the whole conversation held in Brenna's presence. "Christophe says they are too busy to worry about things such as our wishes to be wed."

"Yes, but you might wish to tell them before it's too late," Brenna advised her. The two sisters had reached the room they held while staying at the palace. "I wonder what father and the king want to announce. They said they had something they would at dinner. What do you think it is?"

"Maybe they want to announce that they finally have agreed war is not in the best interest of Saratopia or the Saratopians. Then Christophe and I could tell them that we wish to be wed, and you can calm down because we will have it done before it's too late," Zephyria smiled, hoping her sister caught that she was just playing around.

Brenna smiled back at her sister, then sighed. "Oh little sister, you are so lucky," she said quietly, going through her dresses, trying to find one appropriate for dinner at the palace. "I wish I could tell father about Jesse. But he would never approve." She held out a dark green gown. "What do you think of this one?"

Zephyria smiled and said "You know that is the one I always tell you brings out your eyes. So, of course I love it." Zephyria then proceeded to pull dress upon dress of her own out, trying to find the right one.

"Go with the silver one," Brenna said, slipping her own dress on. "You always look gorgeous in that one."

Zephyria grabbed the silver one and quickly threw the others back where they belonged. She then rushed to change, unsure of how long she had left before dinner.

Her sister stood in front of the mirror, messing with her hair. "What do you think I should do with it?" she questioned her sister, turning to her. "Long braid or twisted braid?"

"I love the twisted braid you do. I can't ever get mine to go right." Zephyria said, demonstrating how her twisted braid was failing.

Once Brenna had her hair fixed, she turned to Zephyria. "You know, if you use the pins Lukas brought back from France, you might be able to get your hair to do it. Do you have them here, or are they home?"

Zephyria rummaged through her top drawer, emerging with a handful of fancy looking hair pins. "These ones?" She knew that Lukas, their older brother, had come home with them from one of his many trips but she was unsure of what country it was.

"Oui," Brenna told her. "Here, sit," she instructed, gesturing to one of the chairs. Her sister obeyed. A few minutes later, she had gotten Zephyria's hair up. She handed her a hand mirror. "Well? Do you like it?"

"I love it," Zephyria was a tad louder than she had meant to be. "Sorry I was a tad excited. I didn't mean to be loud." She then quickly busied herself with the rest of the dressing she had to do when attending a dinner at the palace.

When the two sisters were finished getting ready, Brenna turned to the younger girl. "Are you ready for the announcement?" In her mind, she added, 'And let's hope it's something good.'

She smiled at her older sister, and said, "Yes, I am ready. Let's just hope it is a good announcement this time."

We would have written more, but Sarah R had to get off, so that's it. Sorry again for the wait, and please review!