Light-Years Away

Chapter 1

Caitlyn's POV

"We're going to find your friends, Caitlyn," Beckie assures me.

Wow. That takes me back.

500 years ago

"Caitlyn, if you don't come soon, I'm going to leave without you, and then you'll have to find your own way to the castle!" My mum calls up the stairs.

Today's my first day as Princess Tetia's new handmaid. Technically, I don't have to be there for another couple of hours, but I don't know exactly how long the journey will be, and I want to leave some time in case something goes wrong.

"Coming!" I yell back, pulling on a cloak on the way down.

I run out the front door and grab my broom from my mum's hand.

"OK, I'm ready."

"Are you though?" Mum has an amused look on her face.

"Yeah…," I pat myself down.
"Oh shoot."

I run back into the house to get my bag, which is sitting right by the front door. I go back out, and it takes me a second to find Mum.

"Mum?"

"Up here, Cait," she waves down to me from the sky.

I hastily mount my broom and wave goodbye to our little cottage before we fly away.

"Now remember, if there's any chance of ro-"

"Mum, no!"

"You're 22 and have never let romance into your life in the slightest!"

"And it'll stay that way until we have a steady income. For that to happen, I need to work harder because we both know you're not meant to. You know how I feel about you leaving the house."

Ever since I was small, my mum has been extremely sick. Apparently, something went wrong when she gave birth to me. Since then, she's had various close calls with death, which is also the reason why Dad left and we were in this situation in the first place. One day, Mum's illness was extremely bad, so bad the doctors had basically confirmed that she would die. Dad took this chance and left, and most of our money and our old house with him.

"Yes, I do, but someone has to do the shopping when you're gone. Besides, I'm not going to get any better by being cooped up inside all day."

She has a point.

"But what if you faint or collapse?"

"Then it'll actually be better if I'm around people who can contact a doctor, won't it?"

Another good point. We fly in silence for a solid twenty minutes before Mum says her goodbyes and flies down to a nearby marketplace. About thirty minutes later, the palace appears on the horizon. I land on the bridge in front of the drawbridge.

"What business do you have here?" A guard asks me from a watchtower.

"I'm Princess Tetia's new handmaid."

The guard says something to his partner in the tower, who then signals to a guard in a watchtower on the other side of the drawbridge. By the time it had fallen and I'd crossed it, a third guard was waiting for me.

"If you follow me, I'll lead you to the princess."

He sets off at an alarming rate, and I have to jog to keep up, which would have been hard enough, but I also still had all my stuff. Great, I have barely been here ten minutes, and I was already lost. We turn a corner, and I almost run into someone.

"Sorry," I mumble.

"No biggie."

I look the person over. It's a young girl, maybe five years younger than me with chin-length, black hair. Her dress is a pale purple with two thinner, golden stripes surrounding a thicker white stripe at the hem and ends of her sleeves. Her collar carries the same pattern, but in the middle, it goes down to a sort of upside-down i. She does the same to me, her eyes stopping at my fuchsia sandals. She gathers herself and looks at me.

"You must be Tetia's new maid! My name's Secré and I work for the prince, Lumière. What's yours?"

"I am, and my name is Caitlyn."

"We weren't expecting you for a while yet, so Lumière is still out. I'll take it from here, Ronald," she gestures for the guard to return to his post.

Thankfully Secré moves at a much more casual pace. Soon, we reach a door, and Secré gives it a light knock.

"Come in!" A soft voice orders from the inside.

I push down on the door handle, and the door opens smoothly, something I'm not used to. Warily, I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. A friendly-looking woman is perched on an armchair, some of her blonde hair resting on her shoulder. Her dress is so pale blue that it's basically white. It has accents in a similar shade of pink as my sandals.

"Oh, hello. What's your name?"

That's not what I was expecting. I was expecting a snob. I was expecting to be put to work immediately. OK, I was hoping to be put to work immediately. I like knowing where to be when, where everything is, and when things are going to happen.

"I'm Caitlyn, my lady," I curtsey.

"Ok, first off, some ground rules," Tetia laughs.

Rules, good, something I have experience with.

"Number one: No formalities, I'm your friend more than I am your employer. Number two: Please treat the other servants nicely. I know that may seem obvious, but some of my old maids didn't, and that's why they were released."

I nod in understanding.

"Come tell me about yourself, Caitlyn," Tetia gestures to the seat opposite her.

I do as I'm told, but just as I'm about to start talking, the door opens again, and a blonde mop of hair pokes through.

"Tetia?"

"Lumière! You're back! Caitlyn was just about to tell me about herself."

"Caitlyn?" Lumière looks at his sister, confused.

Tetia nods her head towards me, and I raise my hand in greeting. Lumière smiles in return and tells his sister he'll come back later.

"What did you think of his clothes?" Tetia turns on me.

His clothes? I hadn't paid attention to that. All I'd registered was his smile.

His gorgeous smile.