Secrets of the Kingdom

Chapter 2

I scanned my surroundings, trying to figure out what I could possibly do. I peeked at the King, watching him. Once he reached my house, he hopped off of his horse and headed toward the front door. "Please be asleep grandma," I mumbled quietly. I hoped that if she didn't answer the door, that he would just leave. I heard a loud knock that echoed throughout the house. I waited silently, for something, ANYTHING. I heard the door being unlocked and my grandma gasped. Great, this is just perfect, now he'll take me away and I'll be forced to stay with him for the rest of my pathetic life. I sunk down to the floor and put my head in my hands.

"Hello your majesty, what can I help you with today?" There was silence and then a cough, "May I come in?" I assumed she let him in, because there was shuffling and the sound of a door closing. A deep voice spoke in a hushed tone, "I need to speak with you, if you have the time." I strained my ears to listen to exactly what it is they were talking about, but there was nothing being said. Suddenly, I heard it. Hushed whispers quietly exchanged back and forth. Nothing they said, was loud enough for me to hear. I sighed in frustration, just wanting to hear what they were saying. A few moments later, there was a loud cough. "Thank you for your time miss. Have a good night." There was the sound of a door opening and shutting, and then there were footsteps to Tabitha's room. I let out a breath I didn't even realize I was holding, and slumped up against the bed.

Wearily, I got up awhile later and crawled into bed, covering myself with a quilt. I sat there for awhile, and closed my eyes. My mind raced with thoughts of what they were talking about, and the relief that he didn't take me away. I told myself that in the morning I would ask Tabitha exactly what it was he came here for. I slowly drifted asleep, with images of the King staring at me in my mind. My sleep was full of dreams, all involved the King doing horrible things to Tabitha, because she wouldn't let him take me.

Chirp chirp chirp. The constant sound of birds chirping filled my ears. Groaning, I turned on my side, and without realizing it, went over the edge of the bed. BOOM! I moaned in pain as I made contact with the hard floor. The door burst open and Tabitha charged into the room, "Eliza, what happened? I hea-" The second her eyes landed on my form on the floor, she bursted out laughing. "Ahahaha! Are you okay?" She tried to ask in between giggles. I glared at her and rose from the floor slowly. "I'm glad you find this funny!"

Tabitha bit her lip with a huge grin on her face, trying to hold in her laughter. I slowly got up and glared at her. "Ha-Ha," I spoke dryly. Nothing was said for awhile, as I sat there glaring at her. and her grinning sheepishly at me. Finally, her grin faded and she laughed, "I have some stuff I want you to do today." I crossed my arms, "Oh? What would that be?" Staring, she spoke. "I want you to just take care of the animals, oh, and Alec came by and asked if you would like to come visit the Garden outside of town."

My face lit up, "Really?" She nodded, "Yep. He told me that he'd be by around Dawn." I found myself smiling, "I still have awhile, I'm gonna go take care of the animals." She nodded and I headed outside toward our stables. We had two goats, one named Billy and the other Kera. I put some hay down for them and scattered it around so they wouldn't have to push each other to eat. Next was the cows, I made sure to milk them and give them plenty of hay. Taking care of the chickens was quite quick, and before I knew it, Dawn was close.

I wiped the sweat off my forehead and let out a deep breathe, exhausted. I was about to head inside, when Alec started coming up the hill. I decided to hide, and slowly stalked towards him. Alec was almost at the door and I charged him and leaped, landing on his back. Alec let out a loud gasp, and fell over. Alec appeared dazed for a few seconds, before his eyes fell on me. I grinned evilly at him, "Hey Alec, didn't see you there." He laughed deeply, "Sure you didn't, you gave me quite the scare, where'd you come from?" I gestured to the house, "I had just gotten done taking care of our livestock when I saw you coming toward our house."