I woke up very early the morning of our voyage. I told myself that I needed to wake up early to make sure that I had everything ready, but really I was so excited that I barely slept that night.

I washed in the large basin, trying desperately not to wake the rest of the sleeping souls in the house. As I was getting my traveling clothes on the baby cried and there was stirring from up above. I quickly dumped the dirty water and boiled fresh water for my brother.

It felt like the day got off to an agonizingly slow morning. I had awoken so early that I had enough time to make a large breakfast and check my trunk two more times. Jacob moved at such a slow pace that I had to keep reminding him to hurry. He would then reply by patting my cheek, smiling that annoying "you're so cute" smile and tell me that Dr. Smith wasn't going to be at our house until after 10. So from 7 to 8 I played with the children. From 8 to 9 I unpacked my trunk and the repacked everything…twice. From 9 to 10 I sat in front of the window and pretended to do my sowing. But I was so distracted that every other stitch had to be taken out and redone.

"You know time will go faster if you find something to take your mind off of it." Debra laughed as I growled at the horrible stitching job. Momma would be ashamed.

"That's what I'm trying to do with this." I said tossing the fabric onto the table. She smiled.

"What do you think it's going to be like?" She asked.

"I don't know… bright, colourful, beautiful!" I sighed.

"I'm sad that I don't get to come along."

"I will tell you everything when I get back in four days." I said, feeling the nervous butterflies again.

"You have a different dress for every party?" Debra asked me.

"Plus more."

"Well, you better kiss your father before you leave."

"I did that already…three times." I blushed and she belted out a laugh. When her laughter died the sound of a horse's neigh caught my attention. My head spun around so fast that a sharp pain stabbed my neck. As I gently touched my neck I looked out the window and smiled at Dr. Smith's buggy stopped in front of the house.

"He's here!" I said, jumping out of my seat.

"Jacob looks like he already has your trunk."

"He better. I placed it by the door and then told him that that's where it was." Debra laughed at this. She grabbed my arms and kissed my cheek.

"Be careful!" She said.

"I will." I smiled brightly and then kissed Samuel and Aggie's cheeks before I raced outside. Jacob disappeared behind the buggy and Dr. Smith stopped and smiled at me.

"Miss Simon." He said, tilting his hat.

"Dr. Smith." I said curtsying. He laughed and kissed my hand.

"Have you been practicing?"

"I have." I said proudly.

"She's much better at it now then she was before." Jacob teased. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Ready for the trip?" He asked me and I nodded enthusiastically.

"How long will it take?"

"About two hours." He said. "We should be at the castle just in time for lunch."

"Well lets get going then, I don't want to be late." I said climbing into the carriage. I looked down at Dr. Smith and he stared at me as if I had three heads. "What is it?"

"You didn't even need help getting into the carriage." He said completely dumbfounded.

"I've never needed help getting into a carriage." I said. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No it's just, most girls…I mean women, usually require assistance." He explained, playing with the pair of gloves in his hands.

"She's not exactly a delicate flower." Jacob said as he patted one of the horses. Smiling up at me he said, "Can we spare a few minutes so that I can kiss my wife good bye?" I squinted my eyes at him and then nodded.

"Alright but make it quick. I don't have all day." I said, proud that Dr. Smith laughed at my joke. He climbed onto the seat beside me and grabbed the reins.

"Nervous?" he asked, handing me a wool blanket to cover my lap with.

"A little." I said glancing down at my firmly clasped hands in my lap.

"This will be fun." He spoke as if I saw this as a civic duty. But instead of correcting him I simply nodded and looked towards the house. When I thought Jacob would never come out, he emerged from the house, walking backwards and waving to Samuel, who was crying in the doorway.

"Everything alright?" Dr. Smith asked as Jacob climbed into the buggy on my other side.

"Yes, he's just going through a phase. Or at least that's what Debra calls it." Jacob explained, waving again as the carriage started moving. I looked behind and watched the house fade away. I sighed and looked forward to seeing a castle, and the king. But more than anything I looked forward to seeing Jesse.

As Dr. Smith had said the castle started coming into view after two hours of our journey. Windsor castle was beautiful, even from a distance. I could practically feel the festivities radiating from the place. I bit my bottom lip from squealing with excitement.

The drive up to the castle was a long one, a three-mile long drive. And with the other carriages arriving at the same time, it seemed to take even longer. But as we rode along we got to study the castle a little better.

It was the largest castle in England, built by King William the Conqueror in the 1100s. He built the castle to guard the western approaches to the capital of England. I glanced between the trees and spotted the river Thames, drifting peacefully along the cold, snowy banks. The castle was famous for the Round Tower. In the Round tower, King Edward created Order of the Garter, which was his version of the legend of King Arthur and the Round Table. I studied the round building that the high walls, and the guards that walked the grounds around us. I had never seen anything like this before. As we got to the end of the drive, I noticed a statue on a small hill.

"Dr Smith, what is that?" I asked pointing to it.

"That statue is called the Copper Horse." He said smiling at it. "It's a monument to King George the third." He said. I nodded as if I understood and studied it. There was a man riding a horse and waving, giving you a sense of comfort with his smile. I turned away as we passed through the gates and felt myself grow more and more nauseous. I was so nervous that when I went to climb out, Jacob had to help me. He looked at me carefully and held me tightly as we walked to the large front doors. A tall skinny man with a white beard and a top hat greeted us.

"Good afternoon Dr. Smith." He said nodding his head towards Dr. Smith. "Nice to see you again."

"And you Mr. Banks." He turned to Jacob and I and smiled. "I present Mr. Jacob Simon and his sister, Miss Susanna Simon. This is Arnold Banks, the castle's caretaker." Jacob nodded and I curtsied slightly.

"Well, come in out of this cold and we'll find you a nice warm lunch."

"Shall we bring in our trunks?" Jacob asked, looking back at the carriage.

"Not at all. That's what the lads are for." Mr. Banks said, tossing one of the young boys a silver coin. He caught it carefully and rushed to the carriage. Jacob looked at me for an answer but I just shrugged. "This way." Mr. Banks coaxed, leaving us no choice but to follow.

The entrance Hall was large and golden, with statues of all sorts leading up the grand staircase. I couldn't move, for there was just too much to take in. As I stood there staring I noticed all the different people that walked by and none of them were in traveling cloaks like ours. I looked at Jacob and he had noticed to, partly because one girl snacked when she looked at me.

The rest of the tour I missed because I bent my head to avoid seeing people stare at us as we walked by. After Mr. Banks explained the three wards (upper, middle and lower wards) he led us to our rooms and told us to take the staircase downstairs for some lunch. We were each given a separate room and each one was beside the other.

"Lets meet in half an hour and we'll go for some lunch." Dr. Smith said.

"Sounds good." Jacob said opening his door, which on the right side of mine, and disappeared into his room. I smiled at Dr. Smith and opened my door.

"See you." I said and went into the room. I closed the door behind me and took a deep breath. The smell of candles and feathers filled my nose. I closed my eyes and turned around. When I opened them I smiled brightly. The room was about the size of my room at home, plus David's room. The walls were painted light yellow and the floor had a white carpet on it. There was a large bed in the middle of the room with a red blanket and white pillows. There was a small fireplace, which would keep me warm at night, and a dressing curtain was set up in the corner along with my unopened trunk. I walked to the bed and touched it gently. My hand sunk into the material and I sighed. I stepped back and threw myself onto the bed. I laughed as I landed softly on the material. I sighed again and marveled in the soft, plush feeling of the mattress. It was so comforting that I closed my eyes and dreamed that I lived here every day woke up in this room every morning and roamed this castle for hours.

"It's made of goose feathers." A woman's voice startled me and I sat upright. She was wearing a black dress and a white apron. Her blonde hair was tied into a bun and her bright purple eyes twinkled with amusement.

"I-uh…" I stammered, sliding off the bed. She chuckled.

"Don't worry, I did the same thing when I first came here." She said with a smile. "My name is Cecily Thompson." She said smiling brightly.

"Susanna Simon." I said smiling and curtseying slightly, to which she repeated.

"You are here for the coronation tomorrow?" She asked as she looked around the room.

"Yes." I said. "Are you?"

"No." She said laughing at my ignorance. "I am here to help you. You're personal maid."

"Maid?" I said, my eyes growing wide. "I don't…I don't mean to offend but I do not need a maid. I'd feel…"

"You're a farm girl aren't you?" She asked, crossing her arms over her flat chest. I nodded and shrugged. "Me too. Or at least I was a year ago. I come from a family of 10, and one day my father decided that I was old enough to go out and help the family stay alive." She smiled sadly. "So here I am. Telling a complete stranger my entire life." As she spoke her face went pink and I smiled.

"I come from a family of 4. My mother died when I was 12, giving birth to my sister who we pretend is my niece because it hurt my father to much knowing that she killed my mother." I froze as the words left my mouth. "I've…I've never told anyone that before." She smiled at me and shook her head.

"Odd isn't it, how you meet one person and you can tell them all of your secrets in under five seconds." She said with a smile. I nodded and blinked at her.

"How did you get in here? I didn't even hear the door." I asked. She laughed and pointed to the fireplace. I squinted and noticed that there was a small square in the wall that was barely detectable unless you looked more closely. I smiled at her, very impressed.

"Almost every bed chamber has a secret door that only the servants enter from. We are only supposed to enter the rooms when there are vacant or when we are needed. Which reminds me, if you want to call me, pull this string." She said pointing to a piece of string that hung from a whole in the wall beside the bed.

"How does it work?"

"There is a bell in my sleeping quarters. And when it rings the person in charge of the room answers the call." She said.

"Do they work at night?" I asked.

"They work at all hours of the day." She said.

"That sounds awful." I said, frowning and she laughed.

"You get used to it. Besides I'm not in any position to be picky." She said. "See there I go again."

"I don't mind. One poor girl venting to another is common where I come from." I joked and she laughed.

"Would you like me to do anything for you, before I go?" She asked.

"I…I do need help getting into my dress." I said, looking at my trunk. She smiled at me and opened the trunk.

"These are beautiful." She said staring at all the colours.

"I borrowed them from a friend." I said. "You can have one if you would like." She stared at me with wide eyes.

"I couldn't possibly." She said staring at the dresses. "I would have no where to wear them."

"Well I'll give you my address and if you need a dress I'll send one to you. They'll just get dusty in my closet anyways." I said, smiling as I remembered Gina saying the same thing.

"Which one are you wearing?" She asked, looking up at me.

"I think I'll wear the green one. But I only have one corset so we'll have to be careful with the strings." I said with a laugh and started untying my cloak.

When I finished dressing I thanked Cecily and left the room. I touched my bare neck self-consciously. I was so used to wearing a cap that having my hair in just a bun felt like I was too exposed. I knocked on Jacob's door and was answered with a loud snore. I smirked and shook my head before heading across to Dr. Smith's door. He answered his door rather quickly. He was wearing a black dress coat and a white shirt with black pants, shiny black boots and a tall black top hat. He looked like a doctor that was going to a funeral. I smiled at him and nodded.

"You look lovely." He said, looking at the green dress that I had tried on at Gina's house.

"Thank you. You look very nice too." I said. He closed the door behind him. "Jacob not joining us?" He asked, looking at Jacob's door.

"This is Jacob's first time away from the farm and the baby. He needs some rest." I said with a laugh. Dr. Smith nodded and held out his arm for me to take.

"Ready?" He asked.

"I hope so." I said and slid my arm through his.

"My man servant was telling me that dinner will be served at six and then music shall be played at seven for anyone who likes to dance and socialize. Tomorrow night is the large celebration, which will then lead on to the next night. And then we go home." He said.

"Don't say that. You're rushing this trip. I just want it to go slowly, I want to see everything I can." I said smiling brightly. He studied my face and then nodded.

"I'll see what I can do." He said and led us down the staircase. This time I took in my surroundings and people smiled at us as we walked past them.

"I feel like I'm an imposter." I said, through a false smile.

"Just pretend that you are these people and you will fit right in. Forget about that beautiful house and think that you are the richest lady in town and being in some of these people's presence is a chore." He said and I gasped with laughter.

"Reg, that's horrible!" I said laughing.

"Well that is how these people think. To blend in you have to think that way."

"My mother would kill me if she saw me act like that." I said with a final laugh. "But I suppose as long as I'm pretending, she wouldn't mind too much." I said and he laughed this time. He laughed so loud that an older man and woman turned to see what was so funny. When they spotted us they too smiled and nodded a greeting.

We entered the dining hall and noticed the little trays of desert lined up along the wall beside us. He smiled at me and led me towards the table, but I was too busy searching the crowd to think of food. Every dark head, every male laugh, every pair of blue eyes made my heart jump until I realized that none of them were Jesse. At one point I was so tempted to go and ask for him, but with Dr. Smith so close by I didn't want to risk anything.

As I picked up a small cake with white icing, that was the size of my palm, a young lady with dark brown eyes and bright red hair approached us. She wore a dark purple dress with white beads that sparkled in the lights and had long sleeves to keep her arms warm. She curtsied to Dr. Smith and I and smiled at him.

"How are you?" She asked him, studying his face carefully. He looked at me, his face pale and then looked back at the girl.

"I'm fine thank you, how are you?" He asked and then girl laughed.

"You don't remember me do you?"

"I…" He studied her face and I smirked.

"Penny, Penny Ward." She said, placing a hand over chest. At this Dr. Smith's face lit up.

"No! Penny? You've changed so much!" He said taking a hold of her hands and twirling her around. She giggled and laughed as he studied her closely. "Susanna, this is Penny Ward, my best friend as a child."

"Some best friend if you cant even remember her name." I teased as I smiled at the girl. She didn't look older than I did and she stared at his face as if it was the only thing to look at. I smiled and looked away.

"I don't mind." She said, practically gushing admiration. "I'm sorry, your name is?" She said frowning at our lack of introduction.

"Susanna Simon." I said smiling at her. Her eyes flicked to Dr. Smith and there was a crease in her forehead.

"Susanna and her family are patients of mine." He explained and Penny nodded. "So tell me all about yourself. How are your parents?" He asked and I felt a yawn coming on.

"I'm just going to get a drink." I said, excusing myself and leaving the pair alone. I smiled at men and women I passed and got a glass of pink punch. It tasted sweet yet sour at the same time. I took my new favourite drink and sat on a chair that was placed against the wall and watched people interact with each other.

I learned a lot from just watching. One man was drunk, but was trying to hide it by drinking large amounts of my pink juice. Another was eyeing a young blonde girl, while his wife stood beside him talking away without even noticing. Then there was the girl who looked younger than me, who stood beside her parents and was obviously pregnant. I shook my head and tried not to judge her because my friend had been in the same situation and I had promised not to judge anymore.

I watched Dr. Smith interact with Penny, who kept laughing loudly and touching his arm. I smiled, trying to rid the feeling of jealousy and loneliness that was rising in my chest. Jesse was nowhere to be found and I had the sinking feeling that I wouldn't get the chance to see him. As my eyes filled up with irrational tears, a man sat beside me. I quickly wiped my face and smiled at him. He was a priest, I noticed from his white collar and his brown outfit. He sighed and smiled at me. His hair was once dark but now was streaked with grey. His blue eyes were tired and bright, with wrinkles and laugh lines that characterized his face.

"Hello Father." I said politely.

"Hello. How are you this afternoon?" he asked.

"Fine." I said giving my false smile. He frowned at me.

"Why are you sitting over here in the corner all by yourself?"

"I…I'm just taking in the scene. I've never seen…" I stopped myself unsure if I was supposed to continue my charade to a man of God.

"It is something to see isn't it? The difference between the way the wealthy interact and the way the poor interact." He said with a sad smile. "The poor people seem to be more sincere and caring." I nodded as I watched two women laugh, but neither smile reached their eyes. "I grew up away from the castle too." He said and I blushed. "Dear girl, don't be embarrassed to be who you are."

"I'm not embarrassed about being a…poor girl." I said. "I'm embarrassed that I tried to hide it." I said and he smiled.

"Finally someone who speaks the truth." He grinned and I felt drawn into his smile. His teeth were a miracle from God. They were perfectly straight and the whitest teeth I had ever seen. He noticed my staring and smirked. "What? Is there something stuck between my teeth?"

"No, they're perfect." I said and he laughed.

"Yes, I've heard. One of God's many gifts to me I guess." He said looking away.

"Are you visiting Father…?"

"Father Dominic and no. I am in charge of St. George's chapel right next to the Round Tower."

"I see. Is it difficult, living here and trying not to get swept into it all?" I said waving my hand around the room.

"Sometime temptations are stronger than others, but I have been in close relations with the royal family for most of my life. I feel that it is God's will that I stay and help the new king in any way I can." He said with a tired smile. "But I should be going, mass is at five o'clock this evening, if you would like to attend." He said, gazing down on me, daring me not to accept.

"Of course. I hope that I will not get lost." I said with a laugh and Father Dominic smiled.
"Just follow the angels." He said looking up. As I followed his gaze I noticed the angels painted in the ceiling, leading out of the room.

"Do all the ceilings have them?" I asked, but got no reply because Father Dominic had disappeared into the crowd without another word.

After dragging Jacob to the five o'clock mass with me, we got ready for dinner in a rush and headed down to be seated. What we found out was that, like lunchtime, the dinner was set up as a buffet, to keep the formality of ceremonial dinner a secret. Dr. Smith disappeared into the crowd in search for his recently discovered friend and I chatted with people that Jacob and I met.

There was still no sign of Jesse, even at dinner. But then again Adam, the future King was not at dinner either. When I asked a guard where the king was he told me that no one is allowed to see the king before his coronation, unless asked for. So I sighed and told myself to be patient and wait for the coronation the next day.

The dancing started at seven, as was planned, and I danced with a couple men, none that I took a particular interest in. When asked what my bloodline was, I always froze, or stammered. I was supposed to blend in but I felt like because of my lack of noble blood, I stuck out. At 9 o'clock I found myself exhausted and I went back up to my room.

Cecily was waiting in the room, fixing up a porcelain bowl with a small white towel and a pitcher of hot water.

"How was it?" She asked as she poured the water into the bowl. I sighed and turned around for her to untie my dress.

"It was alright. Different from the parties back home, but alright."

"They kept asking you about your blood?" She said from the other side of the screen.

"Yes." I said with a tired sigh.

"Tell them you are from France. You're father is a wealthy jeweler who sells the king the jewels that were put into the crown."

"But isn't it the same crown that the king's wore before him."

"The one that will be used for the ceremony is, but not the one that he will wear after."

"What if I meet the actual jeweler?" I asked stepping away from the screen and turning so she could untie my corset. She handed me my nightgown and smiled.

"He died on the way here. Besides you're his daughter remember?" I smiled as she laughed. I slipped the nightgown over my head and yawned. I splashed the hot water onto my face and rubbed the dirt off of it. After drying my face with the towel, and yawning for the thirteenth time, I climbed into the bed and closed my eyes.

"Would you like me to brush the tangles from your hair?" Cecily asked.

"No thank you. I'm too tired tonight. But maybe in the morning?" I asked opening one eye and smiling at her. She nodded and picked up the dirty water.

"As you wish." She said.

"Ceecee?" I said, too tired to say her full name. 'Do you think I stick out here?" I said, turning on my side to look at her.

"I don't think you do. If anything you blend in very well." She said with a smile. "And Ceecee?" She asked and I smirked.

"It's a nickname." I said with tired grin.

"Does that mean I get to call you Susie?" She chuckled and opened the door.

"If you'd like." I yawned.

"Goodnight Susie." She said.

"See you in the morning Ceecee." I said. As the door clicked closed the world faded around me and I fell into the best sleep that I have had in my entire life.