CHAPTER 1
Elizabeth
Elizabeth Isabel Marie Anne Dain pulled her black hood over her head as
she walked through the freshly snowed over streets of Guildenstar, not wanting
people to recognize her lest she got into trouble. Winter had come early this
year- it was almost the end of October, and her birthday was coming up soon.
But for now she had to focus on her orientation. Although she had lived and
grown up here her whole life, Elizabeth was constantly confined to the indoors.
Racking her brains as she trudged through the snow, she took a left turn
onto a wide street, which was so used that the cobblestones were already
managing to peek through the layer of white. One left, two right, and
another left, go straight, she thought, an image of the village’s map
flashing in her mind as she followed her instincts.
Glancing up, she smiled to
herself, satisfied. A wide, dangling sign flashed above her as it reflected the
sun’s last rays as the day began to fade, its hinges creaking faintly in the
light, cool breeze. Her breath coming out in faint plumes, the teenage girl
walked into the Golden Pony, shutting the cold out behind her.
Still shivering from the after
effects of the cold that still clung to her body, Elizabeth sat herself down at
a table meant for two people in the far corner of the large, boisterous room.
The clamor in the pub was deafening, but it was better than the deadly cold
outside that took away many lives over the course of three months.
Peering out from the shadows of her hood, Elizabeth’s emerald eyes took
in everything they could hold as the girl waited for the bartender to come. It
had been exactly four and a half weeks since she’d had enough time to take the
risk to sneak back out into the town and come to the Golden Pony. She couldn’t
help but notice a man who had an abnormally large frame sitting at a bar next
to another so thin they were impossible to compare in size.
Tearing her gaze away, she
smoothed out the folds of her simple, navy blue dress, and waited for the
bartender, her ‘friend’ to come. He was more of an acquaintance, but the two
had a lot of respect for each other.
“Yes, miss?” A female voice asked, leaning down to get a look underneath
the hood. Elizabeth scowled in mild frustration, pulling the fabric of her
cloak further over her face. She looked up to see a waitress clad in a simple
farm girl dress with a bosom that was by far too large for the bodice.
Elizabeth took a while to realize that the waitress was asking for her order.
“Aren’t you a bit too young to be in a bar?” the waitress questioned, tapping
her foot lightly against the ground to show she was waiting for Elizabeth to
order.
“I do what I want, and when I want,” Elizabeth snapped, lying, but she
wasn’t about to let the woman know that. “One hot cocoa, please,” she
continued, changing the subject.
The waitress nodded and left to walk behind the counter, where wheat
beer, a Guildenstar speciality, sloshed in great quantities to the floor. Careless
servers, the thirteen year old thought, playing with the single flame that
danced to and fro from a long white candle in front of her.
Then something caught her attention. A boy of about sixteen walked into
the bar noisily enough, but he was ignored by all but the waitress and
Elizabeth. His dripping wet and thin cloak clung to his dirty clothes, he had
dark, auburn hair that fell in messy, unkempt bangs all over his forehead,
though had a charming smile of what seemed to be relief as he closed the door
behind him.
He seemed to Elizabeth like a
farmer, bits of straw stuck out of his hair, and even from where she sat the
young girl could see that his hands were covered in many callouses. From where
she sat, Elizabeth could see that dark rings shadowed his eyes, giving them a
hooded appearance. They stood out clearly against the pale contrast of his
skin. He had high cheekbones and bright eyes, silver with a ring of gold around
the pupil, like a wolf.
However, underneath the portrait of
the tired, worn out, stable boy, Elizabeth had to admit he was rather handsome.
Apparently the waitress thought so too, or found him more interesting than
placing out Elizabeth’s order.
He was instantly overpowered by the waitress, who grabbed his hands,
pulling him towards her, stroking his chest and taking him by surprise.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. Women these days, her thoughts told her. The
boy angrily pulled away from the waitress and squeezed his way over to the bar,
where he placed three rusty bronze coins, which could easily be recognized as
Joncs, the least valuable part of the currency in Guildenstar and its
neighboring country.
He shot the hooded figure in
the corner an odd stare of mixed bewilderment, curiosity, and boredom.
Elizabeth noticed and raised her hand to beckon him over to sit at her table,
which was the only seat left in the pub, unless the boy was insane enough to
squeeze himself between the two largely and thinly disproportionate men at one
of the high chairs at the bar. Unfortunately for Elizabeth, he declined the
offer, pushed his way to the counter, disappeared from view for a minute, and
then came back out carrying a barrel of presumably beer. It could sustain a
family for a winter, but could kill them too if they had too much. He was taking
a huge risk.
Elizabeth watched him exit the Golden Pony, mildly angry with herself
for losing her chance to make a friend and to speak with a commoner. She
thanked the barman as he placed a steaming hot mug of cocoa in front of her.
She pressed three silver Tarn into his hand. Only the wealthiest could afford
cocoa, and she knew it.
As he sat down in front of her, she wrapped her hands around the mug and
felt an involuntary shudder down her spine as the beverage warmed her up
completely. Taking small but savoring sips, she looked at her acquaintance.
“Good evening,” he said, then teasing, because he knew she wouldn’t like
it, “Your Highness.”
“Oh shut it,” Elizabeth snorted in her family’s faint English accent.
The barman himself had a faint Scottish one, and he smiled as he knocked
his wooden mug of ale against her cocoa. “Cheers,” he said and drank from it.
“Cheers,” Elizabeth said sullenly.
Noticing there was something wrong with her, the man stood up. “Well,
I’ll be seeing you around, yes, Lassie?” he said, and gave her a friendly clap
on the back. She nodded from under the cloak, drinking some more cocoa, but
only her physical form was still on earth as she looked out the window, where
it was already night time. She finished the beverage quickly, and, refastening
her cloak around her shoulders, swept out of the bar like a shadow. She didn’t
even notice another man enter the bar, crossing her path as she left.
Elizabeth walked out on the street without even so much as a backwards
glance, and slowly made her way back home. The first stars were already coming
out, and a strong wind was brewing up. Elizabeth picked up her pace. She was
not at all in the mood of continuing her way in the middle of a thunder- or
snowstorm.
Her father and brothers were probably waiting for her. Relieved to see
the oaken doors of the castle entrance hall in front of her, she forced her
numb legs and feet to sustain her until she could collapse onto a couch.
Elizabeth walked over the portcullis and squeezed through the doors,
which were always left slightly ajar for the guards to slip in and out of the
castle. She closed them after her with a grunt, and immediately took off her
cloak, wringing it over a bucket so as to not wet the floor. She had a certain
respect for the servants, unlike her elder brother, Peter, who was the heir to
the throne and a twenty three year old busy man, who had the potential to being
a great brother, but who was too occupied with his tutors. He was determined in
becoming a great ruler.
There was a good but faint
relationship between the two, though Peter could sometimes be horrendous and
unforgiving to his little sister. If he wanted to be.
Elizabeth removed her boots and socks and sat down next to the fire on a
pillow, warming up her hands and feet. Thank goodness only the hem of her rich
navy dress was wet. She thanked her servants for providing her with such great
protection as she looked at the cloak which she had hung over the pail.
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes as she felt a sudden presence around her.
Looking back, she called, “Hello?” Only the black, flickering shadows replied.
Shrugging, Elizabeth let her thoughts
wander off again, getting lost between reality and dreams as her green eyes
followed the dancing of the flames, that licked the marble hearth with a
shimmering soft orange glow.
Elizabeth sighed and leaned against the leg of a couch, just as her cat,
Shadow, pounced into the entrance hall, a strutting gait in his walk. He jumped
onto her lap, his tiny claws digging into Elizabeth’s dress, and deposited a
small brown thrush at her feet. The tiny creature was unstirring, its wings
folded delicately at its sides. The girl picked the bird up in a silken
handkerchief. Its tiny black eye opened up, not glassy but vibrantly scared,
and it opened up its wings with a shrill birdcall, and fluttered away
unsteadily. Elizabeth looked up as it landed on the windowsill, sang one last
tune, and flew off into the darkness.
Elizabeth stroked Shadow’s grey fur absentmindedly, and he purred contentedly,
his black-tipped tail wagging from side-to side. It was not long before his
throaty vibrations against her skin lulled her to sleep.