I Am Not Cinderella

Chapter 2

 Arthur had the fire going by the time Ballard brought him breakfast.  Arthur's stomach rumbled at the smell of fresh bread, cheese, and porridge.  He took the plate and went outside to eat.

 As he settled on a barrel outside he could hear Ballard start working inside the ford.  He drummed his heels against the barrel and dipped his bread in his porridge as he listened to the early morning sounds of the village.  The miller was already at work and so was the tanner. 

 Arthur thought about his mother.  She would already be up getting prepared for the day.  It had been several days since he had last talked to her.  He should probably go and see her he mused.  His mother had never liked him because she believed he had ruined her chances of getting a good husband.  It wasn't his fault that she had dallied with a married man and gotten pregnant.

Arthur gave a sigh as he realized that it was time to get to work.  He set his plate and bowl aside and hopped off the barrel.  As he turned to grab his plate and bowl something collided with him, hard.  He hit the ground and the air was knocked out of him as something landed on him.

Arthur looked up and saw that the something that had collided with him was actually a someone.  Lying sprawled across his chest was a young girl of about 10 seasons old. 

"Are you alright?" Arthur asked as he sat up and helped the girl sit up.

Arthur watched as the girl brushed long curly black hair out of her face.  He noticed that she was dressed in boys' clothes and had a rumpled look about her.

"Did I hurt you?" Arthur asked again.

The girl shook her head and looked at him with eyes that were a vibrant blue.  "No, you didn't hurt me.  You broke my fall.  Thank you for that."

Arthur helped the girl to her feet.  She looked alright and she wasn't crying.  Usually girls cried when they collided that hard with someone.  She looked like a street urchin, but he had never seen her down in the village before.

"Are you new around here?"

The girl shook her head causing her curly hair to bounce.  "I've been here a few times, but never in this part of the village.  I've escaped from my handlers.  I wanted to see the blacksmiths shop, but they wouldn't let me.  They said it wasn't appropriate for someone of my station to be poking around in the blacksmiths shop like some peasant."

"What's your name?"

The girl gave him a bemused look.  "Do you not recognize me?  I thought everyone knew who I was."

Arthur looked hard at the girl.  She looked familiar.  It could be that she was someone from the castle like the daughter of a duke or duchess.  They were always down in the village look at the jewelers table.

 Arthur shook his head.  "You look familiar, but I can not place you.  Are you by chance the daughter of a duke or duchess?"

The girl gave a trill of laughter.  It wasn't the quiet and proper laughter of a noblewoman.  It was like the loud laughter that a peasant woman would have.

          "I'll give you a hint.  I live in the palace and know the King and Queen."

          "Are you a maid?"

          The girl said no and shook her head.

          "Are you a kitchen helper or Lady in Waiting to the Queen?"

          The girl shook her head.  There was laughter in her eyes and she seemed to enjoy this guessing game.  "Do you give up?"

          "Yes I give up.  I don't know anyone who lives in the castle so I could guess for days and never get it right."

          "I'm the Princess Barrie."

          Arthur gaped at her.  "You're jesting."

          The girl shook her head and stared at him with a solemn look.  "I'm telling you the truth.  I'm the Princess Barrie.  I escaped from my handlers because I wanted to see the village without people tiptoeing around me."

          Arthur paled as he realized the complications that could come about if it was found out that he was rude to the Princess.  "Your majesty, please forgive me.  I did not recognize you."  Arthur bowed low and dropped his gaze to the ground.

          Arthur waited for the Princess to pronounce judgment on him.  He was surprised when he heard laughter.  Looking up, he saw that the Princess was holding her sides and laughing.  It wasn't the small and dainty giggles that most girls have.  This was a full blown laugh.

          Offended, Arthur forgot about her being royalty.  "What are you laughing at?"

          "Oh, I'm laughing at you.  You must be silly to think I'd call the guards on something that was my fault."

          Arthur gave her an odd look.  "You're not like other royals are you?"

          The Princess smiled a mischievous smile.  "Of course not!  They are so stuffy and formal.  All I want to be is free.  I want to be myself and that is hard to do in the palace.  That's why I ran away."  Here the Princess paused briefly and gave a resigned sigh.  "At least for today.  My personal guards will find me eventually then I'll be restricted to the ground for a few days.  I'll pretend to act contrite for a fortnight or so and then I'll escape again.  I just hate being confided to the palace.  It's so boring there."

 The Princess paused as shouting was heard close by.  Without warning, she darted behind the barrel that Arthur had been sitting on.  "Don't tell anyone where I am," hissed the Princess as she ducked out of sight.

Arthur moved back as a bunch of royal guards came marching down the street.  Two guards saw Arthur where he stood in the alley beside the blacksmiths shop and came towards him.

"Boy!  Did you see anyone run through here?" barked the younger guard. 

 He had a pockmarked face, lank brown hair and a sour expression on his face.  Arthur couldn't help but be flippant with him.  "Yeah I saw someone run through here.  It was old toothless Tom.  He was running down the street cackling like a chicken."

 The guard back handed Arthur hard across the face, knocking him off his feet.  "Don't you be flippant with me you filthy peasant boy.  I can have you beaten for taking such a tone with me."

 The older guard stopped the pockmarked one from kicking Arthur.  "Ruben, stop!  He's just a boy and he answered your question."

Ruben pulled away from the other guard.  He turned a disgusted eye on Arthur and spat at him before he stomped away. 

 The remaining guard gave Arthur a hard look before he turned and looked at the place where the Princess was hiding.  He winked at Arthur before he followed Ruben out of the alley.

 As soon as the guard was gone the Princess came out of hiding.   "Oh Arthur, I'm so sorry.  Are you okay?"  The Princess dropped to her knees beside Arthur.  Her face was close to his as the peered at his reddened cheek.

 Arthur, embarrassed, pushed her away and clambered to his feet.  "That's the second time I've been hit today."

 The princess raised an eyebrow.  "It's early in the morning to have been hit twice."

 "I have rotten luck like that," Arthur said as he brushed his pants off.

 "Is it rotten luck that you met me today?"

 Arthur looked up at the princess to find her staring at him intently.  "I haven't decided yet."

 The princess threw him a smile before she leaned forward and kissed his cheek.  "You deserve something for not telling on me."  The princess looked down the alleyway before she flashed Arthur a mischievous grin.  "I better bet going before I get caught.  See you later."

 Arthur watched as the princess dashed down the alleyway and disappeared out of sight.  He raised a hand to his throbbing cheek and thought about the kiss.  Arthur shook his head and pushed the princess out of his mind as he headed inside to start the day.