So this has been a crazy long hiatus, and I'm sorry. Life is pretty much crazy right now, so I thank you for your patience. And if you weren't patient, then I thank you as well for coming back to read. :D I'm going to start putting up the chapters more quickly now, since I've got them all laid out and done already. Please continue to review! Thanks, and God bless.

Chapter 3: Play for Me

Her breath caught in her throat. A choking sensation overcame her as she tried to find words. Her eyes darted around; where was Alia? She looked back at the king. It was then that she noticed that he did not look mad or even upset. Whatever words she thought of saying to explain why she was there died on her lips.

Peter had been standing in the middle of the room, but now he walked towards the platform.

"I had no idea you knew how to play! Why did you not say anything before?"

Her eyes widened. Her lips pressed together and she continued to stare at him with big brown eyes. She played with the edge of her sleeve. He could see fear in her eyes. He desperately wanted to comfort her, but he had no idea how. She was terribly afraid of men; this he could clearly see. He wondered if he'd ever be able to get close enough to her to ever get her to open up to him. His mind searched for something to say.

"Um… well… you play wonderfully. You should play for one of the banquets sometime!"

She felt like she was going to pass out when she heard this. She swallowed hard and tried to push down her rising fear. She could tell that he was just trying to make light conversation, but she couldn't help it. She broke her long gaze with him and looked down at her feet.

"If I must," she whispered. Since she was looking down she couldn't see the hurt expression on his face.

"I would never make you do something that made you uncomfortable. It just seemed to me that you enjoyed playing, that's all," he said firmly. He was not a dictator! His pride stung from her comment, and he wanted to sit her down and pull out the answers to all of his questions. She was the most mysterious person he'd ever met, and it was driving him nuts.

"Where did Alia go?" she asked. She wished the maid was here; she would have felt much better!

"Mrs. Beaver needed her for something, so I was the closest one available to go find here," said Peter more casually. He rolled his eyes and smiled. "That's what you get when you try to taste-test."

She glanced up at him, and almost smiled. Hope rose in him. Maybe she was more reachable than he thought. He had noticed that she had been cleaned up since he had seen her that morning. Her brown hair was combed and pulled back loosely, and the dress looked much nicer than the rags she had been in earlier. She was pretty, in a very different sort of way. She was extremely thin, but Peter guessed that was from being under-fed. Everything about her was tall and thin. Her face, hands; everything. Not so that she looked odd, just so that she looked very graceful and stately. The only thing that countered that was her rigid stance and her fearful eyes. He paused before saying,

"Would… would you play something for me?"

She glanced up, looking surprised. Her mouth opened, closed, and then she said,

"Of course." She hesitated before sitting down on the bench again. Before she started playing she heard him walk up onto the platform. Her heartbeat quickened. She mentally told herself to calm down, and then she began.

The song she chose to play told a story. Not a specific one, but you couldn't have heard the song without coming to that conclusion. Peter was transfixed. He could see what was happening in the story so clearly in his mind. Neither of them knew at what point it happened, but by the end of the song he was sitting on the bench beside her, watching her hands move perfectly over the keys.

Near the end of the song the story took a heart-rending turn, and Peter closed his eyes. He suddenly got the thought that maybe the story was about Katriana. He opened his eyes and looked at her face. She wasn't even looking at the keys as her fingers flew over them. She looked above them, out into the back of the room. Her lips were barely parted. Katriana seemed to be in a trance, and as she reached the climax, a tear rolled silently down her cheek.

The song came to a sad end, and Peter continued to look at her face. She sat there for a moment before she reached up and harshly wiped away the tear on her face. He spoke after a moment.

"That was about you, wasn't it?" he asked gently. She didn't look at him. He waited before saying, "It's all right; you don't have to tell me. I just want you to know, no one here will ever, ever hurt you."

She glanced up sharply at him, with a questioning look in her eyes. He looked back at her steadily. Her bottom lip quivered slightly as she searched his face.

"I promise," he said even more quietly. She blinked several times, and he could tell she was fighting back tears. Suddenly, she turned and got up. He watched as she walked quickly to the door. As she reached the doorway, however, she stopped. He got up slowly and sauntered to the edge of the platform.

"Is something wrong?"

There was a pause before she said, "I don't know my way back. I can't remember the way." Her voice sounded exasperated, but still on the edge of tears. He smiled in spite of this. He had reached her by now, and stopped beside her. He offered her his elbow, and said,

"Come on, I'll escort you back." A smile played on his lips, and the mischievous look was in his eyes again. She hesitated; wondering if he was teasing her. He nodded though, and she cautiously took his arm. Chills ran down her spine as he covered her hand with his.

As they walked down the halls Peter began telling her the history of some of the decoration. It was very interesting, and he made a wonderful story teller. Time flew by, and before she knew it, she was back at her room.

As they reached her door, he reluctantly let go of her hand as she slipped away from him. Katriana had told him that Alia had given her a tour, but he secretly wished he had been the one to show her around. He bowed to her now before he left.

"Thank you for the honor."

Katriana was at a loss for words. She had never been treated so… decently before. As she met his gaze, she realized that he'd been telling the truth before. Maybe she was safe here. She swallowed before she replied.

"Thank you," she said, and Peter realized that the fear had left her eyes.

"The pleasure was mine," he said with a smile. Then she opened the door and went inside, leaving him to stand there looking at the door and thinking about what had just happened. He turned and walked down the hall. What he didn't know was that as he was looking at the door Katriana was leaning against it doing the same thing as he was. Trying to figure out what had happened.

Katriana sat on her bed that evening letting Alia braid her hair. She really liked Alia, and found that she was very easy to talk to. As they sat there in the twilight, Katriana noticed a mirror on the wall. She got up and walked over to it.

"Hello! I wasn't finished with your hair yet!" exclaimed Alia as she scrambled to grab the remains of the braid. Katriana stood in front of the mirror, and touched her face. Alia finished the braid, and looked up. "What's wrong?"

Katriana was silent for a moment, then answered, "Nothing. I've just not… seen myself in a mirror ever."

Alia gave her an incredulous look. "You've never looked in a mirror before?" Katriana shook her head. "Then how did you ever do your hair?"

Katriana thought about this with her head tipped to one side. "I've never done anything with my hair until I came here."

Alia stared at her for a bit, wondering if she was joking. She finally shook her head and said, "Wow, that's amazing to me. We'll have to do you up special for the banquet next week." She winked at Katriana in the mirror as she wound the braid around into a bun on the top of Katriana's head.

Katriana turned around and looked at her full in the face. "What banquet?"

Alia had hair pins in her mouth, so her answer came out, "Dere's a banket later next week in re-e-er-ence of our irst alliance with Archenland." But Katriana was not worried about that. She was concerned about something else.

"What will we do? Will we have to help serve?"

"Yes, probably," answered Alia now that the pins were out of her mouth. "We will usually help out at things like that, only because there will so many people there. It's fun! We dress up a bit, which is very nice, and the guests are always very polite and kind, so it's really not that bad. Some of the creatures will play music during the meal, so knowing your talent, you might get roped into that!" Alia smiled at Katriana, who had turned back towards the mirror. She then turned to pick up some ribbon she had brought with her from the dresser, so she didn't see the look on Katriana's face. Agony. Pure agony.

King Peter had said that she didn't have to play. He would tell them that she wouldn't do it. He would help her. He understood.

What if he had a costume that he wore to try to get in the castle? Katriana swallowed as Alia walked back towards her. She forced herself to calm down so she at least didn't show her fear.

Alia brought the pink ribbon she had chosen up to Katriana's neck. She tied it loosely around it; making a choker necklace out of it. She also put two pearl earrings in Katriana's ears. Katriana stared at herself in the mirror. Alia had transformed her into a completely different girl than the one she had seen there a few moments ago. She reached up and touched the smooth, white surface of the pearls.

She looked back up in the mirror to see her new friend smiling at her. Alia had no clue; she was not to blame. Maybe she would understand someday. Someday when he was dead. But he didn't seem like the kind of person who could die! She decided to tell Alia some of the truth.

"I… I'm afraid to play in front of large crowds."

"But you're so good! What would you have to be afraid of?"

"I don't know," it was a lie, and she knew it, "I just am."

Alia took this in for a moment. Then she said, "Maybe you could play with others so that you're not the center of attention."

Katriana shook her head. "No, that doesn't help."

Alia frowned, but didn't say anything else. Finally she shook her head. "Oh, well. But you will be beautifully done up, none the less." She said this last bit with an impish smile. Katriana gave her friend a warning look.

"Not too much! Remember, their majesties are the center of attention; I'll just be help."

"Oh, I don't think they'll mind too much…"