Gothelia

Chapter 2: A Blessing To Us All

Twenty-Two Years Later

The castle was quiet, apart from the occasional footmen wondering around the castle, doing their rounds, protecting the royal family from any harm. Footsteps could be heard very easily in the long, stone corridors, so when a guard heard a pair of feet scurry down a corridor, he hurried to investigate. This guard was a young boy who was lucky enough to be the son of the kings protector, so he was well trusted, and given well paying jobs. Of course, tonight was his first night, and, unsurprisingly to him, he heard something which could mean the royal family were in danger. Of course he was used to this; unfortunate things always happened to him.

He ran down the corridor, his armour clanking away, immediately giving the person he was pursuing knowledge that he was following them. He caught the shadow, cloak bearing figure running around a corner, and quickly followed. Procedure was to shout, ring an alarm, let someone know what was going on. But, in the spot of moonlight that flashed through one of the windows he ran past, he saw the trimming of the clock and immediately stopped running. When he stopped, he heard a noise his clanking armour had covered up. A girls laugh.

"Go back to bed!" He shouted, face reddening from the stupidity of what he had been doing. He'd fell for her trick, and left his post. Did she really want to get him fired? "What the hell do you think you're playing at!" The girl doubled over laughing.

"It was a game! It was some fun! We used to play and have fun all the time Jo." The girl pulled down her black hood, which was covered with the tell tale family crest and the moonlight illuminated her face. She was very pale, almost as white at the snow, yet her thin, soft lips seemed to be almost red. She had her fathers bright green eyes, which seemed to pierce the night, and, one of Joseph's favorite things about her, the mass of black, thick, curly uncontrollable hair, which gave her a slightly crazy look. He found himself hesitating to look at her, before remembering he was supposed to be angry at her.

"Just because you're part of the royal family does not mean I won't be allowed to lock you in the cells! You're putting your life, and ours, at risk by running around late at night, being.... Irresponsible!" He finished shouting at her, and, not to his suprise, she was still grinning from ear to ear. " Wh... What were you doing anyway?" The princess leaned forwards and tapped her nose, still grinning, almost manically.

"I would show you, but you'd probably end up locking me in the cells." Joseph rolled his eyes at her.

"Gothelia... It better not be anything illegal." He looked sternly into the princesses eyes, even though he knew she was responsible enough not to do anything wrong. She suddenly wrapped her hands around Joseph, pulling him into a hug, and then, when he was against her, whispered into his ear.

"Is music illegal?"

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When the queen was in her younger years, she always played the piano. That was up until she had her first daughter, Gothelia, and, for the fourteen years she had been alive for, she never played once. But, when Gothlia was ten and Joseph was eleven, they found a room where old things were stored and that's where Gothelia snuck off to every night, to play piano in the deserted part of the castle, where no one could hear.

Joseph was in trouble for leaving his spot no matter what, so he followed Gothelia to the piano room for the first time in what felt like a lifetime but was only a couple of months. Joseph had been told he had to grow up by his father; so no more playing games, and more work and chores, and helping out the royal family. So really, he was just aiding the princess.

Gothelia led Joseph by the hand through the corridors, avoiding the guards, and eventually through a huge wooden door at the end of the corridor. She turned to him excitedly.

"I've got to show you this."