"Finish it, Calliope, accept my oath or drive your sword through my throat. Either way, my life is yours, as it always was."
For the first time in her life Queen Calliope's hands trembled around the pommel of her sword...
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Staring up at the wall before her, Calliope laced her fingers together, pushing out her hands and stretching her fingers.
"Prinnnncessss!"
She could hear Mistress Hill getting closer with each shrill call so she wasted no time in shimmying into the gap between the chimney breast and the edge of the wall that ran perpendicular to it.
She'd found this spot almost as soon as she was big enough to run away from her tutors and had realised that if she pressed her back against the chimney and her knees against the wall she could crawl her way up to the roof and escape.
"You are almost fifteen and that is too old to be hiding from your studies. Come here immediately!"
She stretched out her neck, rolled her shoulders, and settled into position between the two walls. It didn't take her long to scoot up the gap, years of practice guided her climb, and the thick wool of her leggings protected her knees from the sharp stonework. She crawled along the edge of the roof, looking less like a Princess and more like a common thief, until she reached her favourite place to hide. The roof narrowed there as it covered just a walkway connecting two areas of the castle and Calliope could lie and watch the people pass by down on the ground, completely unaware of their royal observer.
Lamenting the absence of her partners in crime, Calliope slid as close to the edge of the roof as she dared, the tiles warm against her skin as they released the heat of the afternoon sun. Her attention was grabbed by a movement in the corner of the courtyard below. Peering into the shadows she spied one of the kitchen girls acting strangely.
Curiosity piqued, the Princess watched intently as the girl leaned out in to the courtyard and looked all around, as if checking to see if there were anyone around, never considering that she may be under scrutiny from above. The girl beckoned towards someone and Calliope sucked in a breath as one of the young serving staff moved into view. Even from her lofty perch Calliope could see the smiles on their faces as the boy's hands moved to rest on the waist of the kitchen girl, who wrapped her arms around his neck in return.
Their lips met and they pressed themselves closer together, obviously enjoying themselves immensely. Calliope knew she should look away, give them privacy but she couldn't, transfixed as she was on the couple. Of course she had seen people kissing before but this was different in a way that she couldn't explain. A twisting feeling began to grow in her chest, almost the same as the nerves she got before a practice bout in the training square when she knew she was out-matched. Her breaths were shallow and she could sense a flush of redness creeping up her neck and across her cheeks.
Hours could have passed by and Calliope would not have noticed, she was far too entranced by scene below, but it was only mere minutes before harsh footsteps sounded on the paving and the ardent young couple jumped away from each other. Calliope felt a rush akin to anger for the pair at having been interrupted, even more so when she saw the owner of the offending footsteps. Mistress Hill stalked into the courtyard, still on her mission to locate her errant Princess.
