My Princess

Chapter 1

I couldn't help the happy little tune that softly passed my lips as I plucked the blueberries from the large berry bush just outside the window of our small cottage. I had a perfectly simple life and I couldn't imagine it any other way.

The chickens clucked softly as they pecked at the ground beneath my feet, digging up bugs and weeds out of the small garden on the side. Our draft horse, Brego, nuzzled me as I stepped closer to the fence separating him from the vegetables, the animal hoping I had something for him in my pockets.

I chuckled as I offered the beast what he was after, a small carrot from the patch that he could see but never quite reach himself. Brego nickered happily as he crunched the treat down, finally returning to nibbling at his hay underneath the shade of the old pine tree. Later I was to take a basket of strawberries down to the neighbors farm and exchange them for a jug of milk as I did every Saturday but for now, I bid the animals a good day and turned to go back inside our home.

I grabbed my full basket of blueberries and skipped merrily back into the cottage, rolling up my sleeves and returning to the blueberry pie I had been working on earlier that morning. I dropped the fruit in the pan with the crust, smushing some of them to make the consistency more jam like, and popped it in the oven to bake.

I could hear my father tinkering away on some of his tools in the background, just fixing a few loose screws and handles and such. He was quite the handyman and could fix anything in our small home that may malfunction and often offered his expertise to the people of the village as well.

After my mother had passed the two of us had grown closer, dividing up the household work as I got older and more capable. I knew it was easier on him to have someone else around to help with chores as he aged and had failed to realize how much I neglected my own personal life the past several years.

There were a few men in the village interested in me but I had never so much as given them the time of day. They had always chased me for a few weeks before growing bored of the challenge and giving up, leaving me still unmarried at the ripe old age of 19, not that I particularly minded.

Only one had stuck around, determined that I was to be his and often pestering me for hours on end to try and get me to take real notice of him. Jeremiah was attractive, I certainly could not deny that. However, I just simply could not see myself settling down with the man somewhere out in the country, farming a small chunk of land, and becoming his little house wife like he dreamed of.

Father had tried in vain to get me to give Jeremiah a chance, wanting me to find love and start my life already. Nevertheless I continued to play by my own rules, refusing to marry simply because I was expected to and leaving my elderly father all alone.

A 'ding' pulled me from my thoughts and I grabbed a towel to protect my skin from the heat as I pulled the pie from the oven, resting it on the windowsill to cool while I made the trip down the road to fetch our milk for the week. I bid goodbye to father and grabbed my basket of strawberries, setting out on the short journey to the dairy farm at the end of the road.

The townsfolk often worked together to exchange goods and services rather than relying on money which we did not have much of. My family had always been known for how juicy our fresh fruit and vegetables were alongside my father's handyman skills and we used both as our own form of currency.

I smiled at a few children running through the cobblestone streets playing, chuckling as they accidentally turned a lady's bucket of wet laundry over and causing her to shake her fist angrily. The local butcher was putting out the meats of the day and I couldn't help my eyes roaming over the delectable selection as I walked past.

It was a warm, sunny day with a slight breeze in the air making it a pleasant walk, the scent of fresh bread and approaching Fall in the air. A wonderful day to be outside in the fresh air.