Ok, so this is the first two chapters of my book. I still am not cetain of the title, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Chapter 1
Morning sunlight filtered through the stained glass windows, spreading colorful designs all over my room. I blinked through the aurora as a tear streaked down the side of my face. I wiped it away slowly. I had to be strong. Tears were unacceptable. I knew what I had to do. In fact, my entire life had been focused on what I was about to do. How could I show weakness now? I couldn’t.
Marriage had been something my father had always talked about. Every moment I was with him, he spoke of the glorious prince that would someday ask for my hand in marriage. I had never actually believed that this day would come. It would have even happened earlier if it were not for my dying mother’s wishes that my father had eventually and reluctantly agreed to.
It seemed unfair that I would have to marry a stranger for my kingdom. It didn’t matter. Why would my father care? He hardly knew his daughter. I had grown up almost completely on my own, as the nurses that were placed in charge of me could never handle the job and my father had had no time for a small child demanding attention, no matter how hard I had cried. Eventually I was old enough to realize this and by then, I had already been raising myself. Belated, my father realized that I had learned nothing from my nurses and soon after had hired more tutors than I could count. Now, I was one of the most educated citizens in all of England and probably the most educated woman in the world.
I had everything I had ever wanted, but I wanted more. Staring out my window to the rising sun, I dreamt of running away. But reality seemed to slap my face.
“My Lady,” called a servant behind where I sat. “Your father is ready to see you.”
I nodded slowly. “Thank you,” I said politely as I stood up and walked away from the morning view. The servant opened the door for me, but did not follow me out as I continued down the long corridor. I knew the way well, but for the first time in my life, time seemed to slow down making the passageway seem to last forever.
Finally, I reached a door guarded by two men in armor. Both bowed quickly to me. I only nodded back, as they were socially too low for a real curtsy from someone as high as me. The guards opened the two wooden doors together.
“Lady Elaine the Beloved,” one of the men announced. I took a deep breathe and squared my shoulders at the sound of my title. Gracefully walking in, I stopped in the middle of the room. Twenty or so chairs had been placed in a U-shape around the chamber with the opening facing the door. At the center, stood the king’s throne, decorated in red and purple cloth.
I bowed, facing the man in the throne. “Good morning, father,” I spoke slowly.
The King nodded, but made no more communication. I waited for him to say something encouraging to me, but realized that he never would. He never had.
A Lord directly to the right of my father stood up and cleared his throat. He unraveled a scroll and began reading. I listened numbly as he spoke of the duties of royalty and their responsibilities towards the nation. I had heard this speech countless times before; however, this time listening seemed to make my blood boil. I did not choose my position; I was born into it. If I could change it, I would. But of course, how could I change the family I was born into?
It wasn’t the family I wanted to change. My mother was an amazing woman, one of the best in the country. And though she hadn’t been there for me most of the time, I knew she had loved me. My father, too, was a very caring father, when he forgot his responsibilities. That rarely happened. The chief job of the King’s Council was to keep the country running properly, and how could the country run when its king was playing with his children? It’s obvious I had always hated the King’s Council.
“Lady Elaine.” I was startled by my name, but remained expressionless as the Lord continued. “Do you agree to your authority and obligations of being a member of the royal family of England?”
No. “Yes,” I spoke in an even voice.
The man nodded. “The King’s Council has chosen a proper country to unite with by wed lock. My Lady, you will marry Prince Tomas Aziz of the Vermogen Country on the day of April the third. Do you, Princess of England, agree to meet these demands to serve your country?”
I hesitated, causing most of the men in the room to shift uncomfortably, including my father, expecting me to refuse. I held my head higher, and answered in a firm voice I thought I would never have again. “Yes.”
The room relaxed, and the speaker continued. “Then, My Lady, you are free to go.”
I looked to my father, hoping for some sort of sympathy or encouragement, but he looked away, avoiding my eyes. I bowed quickly and walked out of the room as slow as I could possibly make myself go. Once I cleared the chamber and the guards standing by the door, I ran.
The way back to my room seemed to take longer than it had taken me to leave it, but eventually, I reached the familiar door way. I burst through and closed the wood behind me. I collapsed on the bed, tears already flowing smoothly.
I don’t know how long I stayed there; an hour, maybe two, but by the time my tears had run dry, the sun was already at the top of the sky. I stood up and slowly walked over to the window. Looking down, I could see the helmets of two soldiers, obviously sent to guard me. I sat down in the same chair I had sat in to look at the beautiful sunrise that morning. Now, the forest that had cast shadows across the castle grounds only looked like a speckle of green on an otherwise bear and brown landscape.
My mind soon began to wonder back to this morning’s events. How could my father do this to me willingly? And without any words from his own mouth? Of course, he had his kingdom to consider, but don’t I mean anything to him? No. I never had. I sighed out loud, feeling the tears coming back. Alright, what could I do about? Could I change my fate? Probably not, considering that to change the court’s mind, you actually had to be in the court, which I was not. And, I don’t even need to bring up that I’m a woman which is just another reason the court wouldn’t listen to me.
“Men,” I muttered under my breath.
Well, did I really have to change the court’s mind? What if I… I bolted up. Could it really be that easy? Could I pull off a massive escape? I wouldn’t be able to sneak out the window, but what if I went riding. I would, of course, be escorted by a soldier, but they weren’t that hard to loose. I thought through my plan quickly, considering every possible solution. All seemed perfectly fine to me.
I quickly ran to the door, and ordered the posted guard that I wished to go for a ride. He nodded and walked away to prepare the horses and our meals. I closed the door slowly. What would I need to bring?
Clothes. I walked to the other side of the room where my two chests of clothes were kept. In the first chest, I pulled out my dirtiest, poorest outfit I owned. I had bought it in the village recently, for no apparent reason at the time. I quickly threw off my beautiful gown and climbed into the cloth. For a moment, I stood, pondering what the soldiers would think if I went riding in this filth. Their reaction wouldn’t be good, so I went to my second chest and pulled out a decent, red riding dress. I put it on and let out a sigh of relief to see that it covered the brown cloth beneath. Over this dress, I tied on a natural, green cloak.
Money. I crouched beside a large chest at the foot of my bed and opened the lid. I stared at the shiny gold for a moment before choosing a large and a small bag. I put these two bags in the pockets of my dirty outfit, pulling the dress back down, making sure that they were not visible.
A direction. I walked slowly over to the map, trying to slow my breathing. I easily picked out the capital and, with my finger, followed the river south. Finally, my finger found a small village that was far enough away from the castle; Coppington. I nodded.
I quickly looked around my room, making sure I didn’t need anything else. All of my supplies were hidden in my riding bag; a knife, a bow and arrows, a small supply of food, and a little more gold. That would have to suffice.
By the time the soldier knocked on my door, I was ready. I walked out slowly, trying not to seem as if I were in a hurry. We walked together down a long corridor, down a flight of stairs, and out through a side door. Two horses stood outside, ready to go. One was my very own Empress, a beautiful horse with a black pelt and a grey mane. I shook my head. Empress would be well known throughout the entire kingdom.
“Excuse me,” I began politely. “I do not want to ride Empress today. She…” I tried to come up with an excuse. “She was a bit slow last time I rode her. I think she needs a break.” I walked over to my horse and began petting her face softly.
“Oh, um… Which horse would you rather ride, My Lady?” I hadn’t thought of this, and the question threw me off guard. I quickly went through all of our horses in my mind. It would have to be a fast horse, if we were going to outrun my companions. It took a moment, but I found the horse that I wanted.
“Destrier would be fine,” I said quietly. The guard nodded and went to go tell the servants to prepare the new horse. Not too long later, the large, warhorse walked around the side of the stables. Destrier had been bred for war, and my father had ridden her on the last war party he had been on. I smiled as I climbed onto her saddle attached to her pitch black pelt, her white mane flowing to the side.
While I waited for the servants to tie my ridding bag on to Destrier’s back, I looked over to my companion, who was having problems getting on his horse, a brown male with a black mane. I smiled and shook my head. Calvary. I kicked Destrier to a slow start and began heading towards the forest. The man caught up to me a moment later and we continued on in silence. I waited patiently until we reached the first layer of trees before I pushed Destrier to a run.
At first, we stayed at a slow jog, but as the guard continued to keep up, I pushed Destrier faster. As we continued to fly through the trees, I could hear the guard slowly falling behind. I turned my head around and smiled when I could not see the man.
Turning my head back around to face the front, a branch grazed my right cheek, causing pain to surge through my face. I ignored it and continued on quickly until I was sure the guard was lost.
Finally, I slowed Destrier to a stop. We both sat unmoving, trying to regain our breath. I looked down at my beautiful dress and smiled. My original plan had been to ditch it in the woods. Now, as I pulled it off over my head, I smeared blood from my cheek on the sides. I dug through my riding bag until I found my knife. A moment later, the dress was thrown next to a tree, ripped and covered in blood. The Princess Elaine the Beloved of England was now dead.
Chapter 2
The trees glistened with the newly fallen raindrops, making the world seem as if it were a handcrafted painting. The peaceful forest hardly made a sound as the sun set in the distance, turning the small speckles of white cloud that dotted the horizon a pinkish hue. As I stood on a small hill, overlooking the tops of the trees, I spotted a small mob of fallow deer grazing in a clearing. Destrier shook her head, tossing water droplets from her mane, and caused the buck to jerk his head up. I sat motionless; bewitched by his lithe shape freckled with small white spots. Noticing her mate had stopped grazing; the doe looked up and followed his gaze. When her eyes reached mine, she turned and began walking away, followed closely by her fawn. I waited for the buck to follow, but he made no movement until the family was out of sight, covered by the trees. Destrier finally showed her irritation with my dawdling and stomped her foot. The buck, startled, jumped around and sprinted away with graceful maneuvering.
I sighed after the elegant mammal, but eventually nudged Destrier forward. We wandered through the trees together until I reached the river that would eventually flow through the small village of Coppington. I urged Destrier to a stop and looked around at my surroundings. The sun’s last rays had set, and now the moon owned the sky. The trees looked dark and sinister enclosing me. I could hear the “who” of an owl close by, waking from its long day of rest. I sat, pondering what I should do for the night. I tried to imagine sleeping on the ground; however I knew that there was no possibility of that, on the other hand, going into a town this close to the castle would endanger everything I had accomplished.
My mind changed direction as my stomach let out a growl. I sighed. I hadn’t eaten since this morning, and now would be the perfect time to hunt. I quietly climbed down from Destrier’s back and pulled out my bow and quiver. I grabbed Destrier’s reins, picked a random direction, and started walking.
It wasn’t long before I spotted a small rabbit munching on some grass not too far away from my path. I dropped Destrier’s reins and crept forward, preparing my bow as I went. About three steps away, I crouched down to the ground. I breathed quietly for a moment before I pulled the string back. I aimed the arrow.
I started as I heard a twig snap behind me. The rabbit lifted its head up, and looked toward the sound. I listened noiselessly, hearing nothing. Soon, the rabbit went back to its eating. I pulled back the string again and aimed.
Out of nowhere, a knife fell; landing perfectly on the rabbit’s back. It squealed loudly, alerting the crows nearby before dying. A second later, a man landed on his feet beside it facing the opposite direction as me. He turned to his left and knelt down beside the dead animal, pulling his knife out of its body and whipping it on the ground before putting it in its sheath. As the man turned back to his prey, he caught a glimpse of me out of the corner of his eye.
“Oh,” he said, standing up. I did not release the bow string, keeping it pointed towards the man. He looked at the bow and down at the dead animal. “Oh,” he said quietly. “Were you hunting this too?” he asked.
I groaned and rolled my eyes, lowering my bow. “Yes, I was,” I said, turning around and beginning to walk back towards Destrier. I had only walked a few paces when I felt a light touch on my hand. I quickly turned around and pulled on the string of my bow, pointing it right to the man’s face. He stepped back and put his hands up in the air in surrender.
“Hey, easy, easy,” he said smoothly.
“Don’t touch me!” I demanded. The man nodded quickly.
We stood there a moment in silence before the man spoke. “You can put away the bow,” he said, as if it were obvious, taking a step closer to me. Instinctively, I took a step back, placing my foot half way on a log. I lost my balance and began falling backward. My right hand left the arrow, shooting it straight up in the air. The man jumped forward and grabbed my free arm, catching me before I hit the ground.
He rolled his eyes. “Really?” he asked, almost mockingly. I glared and ripped my hand from his, barely catching myself before I hit the ground. I quickly jump to my feet and stomp off in the opposite direction, too aggravated to speak back.
“Oh come on,” the man muttered behind me.
A moment later, I was back on Destrier’s back and heading away from the clearing, still holding my bow in my right hand. We walked for awhile alone before I heard the man’s footsteps running behind us. I stopped Destrier and turned her around. The man barged through the first layer of trees, nearly running into Destrier.
“Oh, there you are,” he said, sounding surprised as he took a few steps back. He held up his right hand, showing me the dead rabbit. “Want it?” he asked. I tried not to be offended at the thought that the man believed that I was incapable of catching my own prey, and simply shook my head.
“No,” I said quietly.
“I knew you wouldn’t want it,” the man said, inspecting the dead rabbit.
“What gives you the idea that you know what I want?” I asked.
The man shrugged. “I don’t know. You just seem like that type of girl.” The man began walking around Destrier, looking curiously at me.
“What type of girl?” I turned Destrier around to face the man, keeping her head between us.
“The type to deny a piece of meat when it’s offered to you.”
“I can hunt my own prey,” I said before the man was finished speaking.
He rolled his eyes and stopped walking. “If you could, you would have killed the animal before I had gotten to it.” He chuckled once.
I gasped, shocked that the man would outright insult me. I tried to come up with some comeback to say, but nothing seemed to be as cruel as I wanted it to. The man looked as if he hadn’t meant it, but my anger had reached boiling point and I did not wait for him to apologize. “I can’t hunt?” I yelled. “You ignorant fool!” I spat. “Who was the one who snapped the twig? You were lucky that the animal was stupid enough not to run!”
“I would have killed it before it ran away,” the man insisted.
“But only after it alerted all of the animals in the forest!” I argued. “Which it did anyway.” The man was quiet for an unusual long time. I waited patiently for him to find a fault with me other than the fact that I had taken too long killing the rabbit.
When he came to no other conclusions, I turned Destrier around and began walking away. Turning over my shoulder, I called, “Strategy is a better weapon than brute force. Every good hunter knows that,” I said, emphasizing ‘good’.
“It was my mistake,” the man said quietly, following me. “I’m sorry…”
I didn’t answer.
“For being so rude… and for stealing your prey,” he sounded apologetic.
I was moved by his atonement, still, I could not let my contention subside. “You were not just rude, you were an ill-mannered barbarian,” harsh, but I didn’t apprehend the man would take it to heart. He was quiet, and I soon realized that the man had stopped walking. I stopped Destrier and turned around.
The man stood looking after me, ruefully thoughtful. With my indignation dwindling, I noticed the man clearly. He was strongly built, though he was unusually thin, making it obvious that he had gone through some hard times recently. His eyes were a striking blue that shimmered in the moonlight. He had dark brown hair that was short, barely covering his ears. His face looked scruffy in the dark. It was unshaven, granted I knew he was poor.
His clothes were brown and dirty. He wore a long-sleeved, dirty white shirt under a dirty brown, leather vest. His light brown pants were tucked into leather boots that were mostly covered in mud.
In all of the fortunate men I had met, none of them compared to this man, even covered in mud. I was shocked by how admirable he looked.
“What is your name?” I asked slowly. He walked a few steps closer to me.
“William,” he stated. William…
“William,” my tongue tested the name slowly on my lips. “I am apologetic for what I said.” William smiled, making my heart speed to a standstill. I could not understand why this man whom I had just met made me feel this way. I tried to breathe as he spoke with a laugh.
“That’s alright, it’s probably all true,” he chuckled. I smiled back cautiously, uncertain by William’s sudden mood change. Something behind William caught my attention. I turned my head to the origin. Glimmering brilliantly behind William; a pair of massive, yellow eyes. The animal growled low. William stopped smiling and turned around. I rolled my eyes; just my luck.
Destrier was moving before the wolf surged through the trees. Against all of her instincts, she ran forward on my command, towards the wolf. As we past William I pulled Destrier to a sudden stop. She pulled on her hind legs, kicking at the predator. I leaned back and offered a hand to William. I could see the bewilderment on his face, but he didn’t wait a second. He seized my hand firmly. With little help from me, he was on Destrier. I let go of his hand the instant I knew he was secure. Pulling Destrier to the side, we darted away, the wolf close on our heels.
We pelted through the trees. I knew William was behind me; however his arms were not wrapped around my waist in the way a normal passenger would keep them. I could tell he was struggling to stay on. We bent around another tree, almost causing William to slide off. I reached back and felt around for his hand. When I found it, I pulled it up to the front, leaving it on my stomach. His other arm soon found its way up and I could feel his warm breathing on my neck, even through my hair. I tried to ignore it as another wolf came through the trees. Its path herded us to the right.
Destrier ran until we again reached the river. She stopped and took several steps back. I heard the wolves breaking through the trees close behind us. I turned Destrier to face our enemies. She breathed heavily as three craving ravenous wolves emerged from the forest.
They crept their way out of the shadows and into the moon light, their eyes glowing brilliantly. Their grey tails swished slightly at the thought of their next meal. I tried to think of a possible solution, a possible way out of this inevitable end, but I could think of none that would leave all of our blood un-spilt.
Destrier seemed restless, willing the battle to fight. I knew how she felt; sitting, waiting, for death to enclose its claws around my soul, for the pain of this world to end. I would rather die quickly on the battlefield than die slowly and painfully anywhere else. Though I wished that were the case, I would fight to the end. Fight… An instant realization came to my mind, making me feel as if I was the ignorant fool. I looked around at the wolves in the clearing. Not one had moved. I opened my mouth slowly, making sure not to make any sudden movements.
“William?” I whispered, about to ask him to reach for my dagger; I didn’t get the chance. A grey blur bolted towards us in the corner of my vision. Before I knew it, I could feel William’s hands pulling me to the ground. I could feel myself slipping off the back of my only chance for life. I held on to Destrier’s back, William’s hands already gone. Steadying myself quickly, I jerked the blanket on her back away, and drew my long dagger from its sheath.
I turned around just in time to see another wolf springing towards me, unaware of the knife pointed directly towards him. He slammed into me, pinioning me between him and Destrier, though by the time I could feel the fur, his body was already limp. I collected as much strength as I could and pushed the wolf away from me.
William, having no weapon, had not had the same success. He had, luckily, escaped the grasp of the wolf’s claws without bloodshed. The wolf now sat crouched to the ground, ready to spring, not ten feet from me. I ran as silently as I could until I was standing right behind the wolf. He must have caught my sent because he whirled around to face the place where I had just been standing. He was too slow, however; I was already on his back with the knife poking out of the fur.
I pulled the knife out and turned, prepared to see the other wolf jumping towards. I smiled when instead the wolf was being blocked by Destrier. I whipped my hands in the grass quickly, cleaning off any traces of blood. I put my fingers to my lips and whistled. Destrier took one more kick at the wolf, and then galloped towards us. I jumped on her back while she was still in motion, and only slowed to let William on.
We followed the river downstream until I could no longer hear the paw steps behind me. Even then I didn’t stop until I knew Destrier could not take any more. I slowed her to a stop a little ways below a large waterfall. I took a deep breathe as William climbed down. The sudden absence of his warmth caused me to shiver. I dismounted, falling to the ground instantaneously. I sat there breathing heavily. William collapsed beside me. It felt like an eternity until either of us regained our natural breathing habits. Even when we did however, we were silent.
“Thanks,” William said after a while.
Confused I looked up at him. “For what may I ask?” He looked over to me.
“For saving my life,” he spoke with sincerity that I couldn’t recall ever hearing. I shrugged my shoulders and looked away as I felt the blood rush to my checks: blushing. There was silence between us again.
“Do you need a place to sleep?” he asked, almost too quiet for me to hear.
“What do you mean?” I looked over to him, but he was looking away.
“Do you need a place to sleep for the night?” William finally looked to me. For a while, I couldn’t find my voice. Instead, I just shook my head slowly and looked away. “Oh come on,” he said jokingly. “Don’t try to tell me you don’t need one. I know you do. No sensible girl would be riding through the forest at night if she had a place to sleep.” I looked up at him. He chuckled once and looked away. “Plus I kind of owe you for saving my life…” his voice trailed off.
I sighed, looking towards the river. “Where do you live?”
“Coppington.” My gaze went back to him. “Not a mile from here,” he concluded.
“All right,” I answered at last. He smiled and climbed to his feet. I sat, unsure that I could get to my feet, let alone stand or walk. William’s hand suddenly appeared in my vision. I took is graciously, and he pulled me to my feet. I hadn’t noticed before how rough William’s hands were compared to my soft delicate fingers. I hoped he didn’t notice the difference.
William helped me up to Destrier with ease, coming on slowly after me. This time, his hands stayed to himself. Destrier didn’t want to move, still, on my command, she took a step forward. We walked slowly for a moment before I heard William groan behind me.
“What?” I asked slowly.
“I dropped the stupid bunny when we were attacked by the wolves!” William shouted. “No wonder they didn’t follow us… you know, other than the fact that they’re dead and can’t follow us,” he muttered the last part, slowly fading off quietly.
I looked confused of my shoulder. William looked away from my gaze. I turned back to the front, trying not to burst out laughing.
“Hey,” William said a moment later. “Where did you learn to fight like that?”
“Uh…” I thought quickly, searching through possible excuses. None of which seemed very likely and there was no way I was going to tell him the truth. “I… uh… I don’t know. It just seemed natural,” I muttered. I knew William was probably rolling his eyes behind me, but I didn’t turn around to look in case, in the darkness, William caught a glance of my blushing pink cheeks.
“Alright,” William said, unbelieving. “If you didn’t want me know, you could have just said so. You don’t have to try to lie, especially because you suck at it.”
I smiled, but did not reply as we continued on to William’s house. It was a longer journey than I had expected. It probably hadn’t been five minutes before I was beginning to doze. William saw. He reached slowly up and pulled my fingers off the reins with ease. He then took the reins firmly in his hands.
“You can lean back if you want,” he whispered in my ear. At first, I didn’t want to lean against him. However, exhaustion soon overtook me. I only let my head touch at first, but I soon found myself resting completely against his warm, firm chest. His breathing lulled me to sleep…
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