Second Names (Temporarily discontinued)

Chapter 2 -I feel like harming a lacquered table with my head

Isabelle's POV

I wanted to bang my head on the lacquered table as my Governess paced elegantly in front of me, but etiquette held me back and also my very scary governess.

I took a few deep calming breaths, trying to listen to her governess who was talking about wars, which didn't make much of a difference. My Governess glanced at me, while I nodded her fake understanding. In reality I wanted to jump outside in the sunny day, instead of being stuck in a stuffy room trying to learn, Ancient Alantian, Literature and History, among other things.

"Who was the general who betrayed the supreme king in the battle of Morlia?" Mrs. Malory (her governess) asked in a accented voice.

"General Norsay, fifth cousin twice removed to the supreme king Artern the annihilator of the fourth dynasty" I answered.

I had gotten lucky this time, it was literally the only thing I remembered at the moment. Mrs. Malory's eyes narrowed in suspicion

"Correct" she said in a clipped tone, while slapping the book shut with a heavy thud

"let's move on to ancient Alantian" I internally groaned.

A few hours later....

My classes had finally ended! I wanted to squeal with excitement, but the few people around me wouldn't approve, I was already as everyone knew, rather odd, no need to add to their opinion of me some other negative thing.

I pretended to elegantly walk down the corridor, but as soon as the few people in the corridor were out of sight, I tore down it heading towards the garden, before any guards had the chance to be informed to follow me. I tore straight into the garden, tripping a few times thanks to my heeled shoes, but at least they weren't as high as some of the other lady's shoes I'd seen.

I cautiously stopped, the exit to the garden was just around the corner.

I peeked around the wall. No guards!

I sneaked slowly towards the doorway, listening intently for any noises. Almost there! And I was through! Finally! I hid behind a cypress when I heard the marching of a guard, it was the sound of heavy thumping mixed with metal as he passed by, clad in full amour, hand on his swords handle. Once he had left and I judged it safe to walk out in the open.

I rushed to the wall which surrounded the palace Scepre , my home. Dodging a few more guards I made it to the tall wall which impeded the view of anything on the other side, but when I was five, seven years ago, I'd discovered a hole in the wall when I'd been playing hide-and-seek with Christopher.

The hole was impossible to see if you didn't know it was there, and the vegetation that covered it, had only grown thicker over the years. I took the rim of my long dress and tied it around my waist for freer movements, another reason I liked this dress, it had a fairly bendy cage crinoline, which though against its nature was able to bend upwards for me to tie around her waist, it allowed any stains or rips to be on the inside of the dress where nobody would see. All the same I was careful to not stain, rip or dirty my dress, and crawled to the other side of what would have seemed like an impenetrable wall.