Tales of a Neverland Lost Girl

A Royal Battle

Princess Viviana of Belloria, the only daughter of the great King Prycl, sat in the princess's chair in the throne room of the King. Her six older brothers and she were seated around their father in silence. The eldest brother, Arnold, sat higher than his siblings as he is next in line to the throne. Bartram, Calsilies, Ergis, Fanerys and Zeldor took on their father's face of concentration and concern as the royal family waited for the jury to enter.

Viviana, although last in line for the kingdom, dreamed of sitting in the king's chair and ruling over Belloria with grace and justice as the first queen in a long line of kings. She wanted to be recognized as a strong queen and not as the helpless, little princess. But, perhaps the greatest and most unlikely of all her dreams was to become a Knight of the Flag and fly her father's banner into battle with courage and honor. But with age and experience in the world, her wishes soon became memories of sleep and nothing more than dreams.

Viviana was fourteen and of marrying age. Her father would marry her off to some old and fat governor in their neighboring kingdom of Summertin.  This marriage would keep the peace and avoid the possibility of another war. Viviana sighed at the thought and went back to focusing on the trial.

                After what seemed like eternity, the jury finally took their places along the right side of the throne room and the trials could begin. For the first two hours of court there was no excitement. All that happened was divorce agreements, trespassing on private property and someone not following a written agreement. Viviana was getting bored and barely paid any attention to the proceedings.

When she was younger she would sneak into the throne room and watch exciting trials like murder, kidnapping and rape. But that was during a time of war. The war has been over since she was eight and things got less and less lively. She even closed her eyes for a time and started to dose off.

                "The prosecuted may bring a witness forward!" King Prycl called over the court room. His shouting made Viviana jump and she sat up as if she had been paying attention. She blinked away her slumber and noticed a young man, about seventeen years of age, sitting next to his lawyer. His black hair hung over his pale blue eyes and his face was dirty. His grey, or once white, shirt was covered in blood and there were rips across the chest and he didn't have any shoes on. Though the boy was dirty and poor, Viviana thought him attractive. Suddenly, another boy came to the stand and started speaking.

                "I'm Sam's best friend, Palward. I was at Sam's house the morning of the murder."

Viviana's heart skipped at the word murder. She gave her full attention to Palward, the witness, and silently thanked the gods for this case.

                "I was helping Sam clean out the barn when he went inside to wash his hands. I was moving hay when, in the kitchen window, I saw Sam's father take hold of him."

                "And how did Lord Howlwind grab his son?" King Prycl asked Palward.

                "He...well he, um...he didn't so much as grab him the way a father should to his son. I fear this talk is not suitable for the princess's ears." Palward looked at Viviana but she just rolled her eyes.

Then Palward went back to his story.

"When Howlwind grabbed his son the way he did, Sam pushed him back.  Sam's father fell back and hit his head on the dining table. I wanted to help Sam so I ran round to the front of the house.  When I opened the door, Sam was lying on the floor with a kitchen knife in his throat. I swear to the gods it was self-defense! He was trying to touch his son in an unmannerly way. I swear it was-"

                "Thank you, son," King Prycl cut off the young lad and motioned him back to his seat. "The court calls Samuel Howlwind to the stand!"