A Peasant and A Princess

Chapter Five: Walk

The day had seemed lovely, and I had gone out for a walk. That was all there was too it. I hadn't intended to go anywhere. I hadn't thought I intended to go anywhere. I had thought that I was just wandering around the poorer area of Cloraton. That I just happened to be walking down 56th street. I told myself that so much, that I almost surprised myself when I ended up at Mallory's house.

I glanced at my feet to see that the little blue flower growing in the crack in the pavement was now accompanied by two little buds, and another flower. They looked like they had been watered recently. I wondered if it was Mallory who had watered them, or someone else.

I stood in front of the door for a couple moments, wondering if I should continue my walk, or knock on the door. I glanced at the small window. There was a small tear on the paper that acted as the window pane. I wondered what had happened to cause that.

While I was still debating whether or not to knock on the door, I saw a blur of colour through the thin paper in the window. Before I could figure out whether or not to run, or even realize that my fight or flight response was making my heart pound, echoing through my brain.

The creak of the door opening seamlessly sang with the beat of my heart.

"Your Highness?" The orchestra of my panic was interrupted by the slow, confused voice that belonged to Mallory.

"Mallory?" I felt almost as she looked, although I didn't know why. I was pondering this, when I made the mistake of looking at her eyes.

I saw the strips of fields of wild grass, and palace lawns, and emeralds. The dream of her green eyes. Those beautiful, curious, intelligent, green eyes were staring back at my in further confusion.

"Are you okay?" She asked. I broke my gaze from her eyes. A piece of hair was in between her fingers, and she was twisting it around her pointer finger.

She hadn't called me "Your Highness". If anyone forgot an honorific for says, my sister, she would have been livid. Even for myself, if anyone else hadn't used an honorific for me, I would've been angry, but somehow I wasn't. It felt right. It felt natural. Unfortunately, Mallory noticed her mistake, and ruined the moment.

"Your Highness. Sorry, Your Highness," She fell to her knees, dirt painting itself over the bottom of her white apron.

"No, No, It's fine," I said. She looked up at me, and shook her apron out cautiously, worried she would make another mistake.

"I'd actually rather you don't use honorifics." I said. Mallory smiled a little, and then began to laugh. She laughed and laughed, and although I had no idea why she was laughing, it was one of the most beautiful things I had ever heard. Until she started coughing.

She stopped coughing after a moment, and apologized.

"I was just going for a walk. Would you like to come with me?" I asked.

She looked a little surprised at that.

"Where are the guards?" She inquired. It was my turn to laugh.

"At the palace," I giggled. She frowned at me. She shook her head a little, in mock disapproval.

**********

"You've never been here before?" After walking for about half an hour, we had ended up on a larger street. There were a couple houses here, but it was mainly shops. I recognized one shop as a fabric store. I saw a couple people walk out of it in their itchy looking coats, carrying rolls of cheap cotton. Two little kids chased each other down the street. The little girl tripped over her shirt a little, before hiking it up to the point where Miss Edith would have hit her wrists with a ruler, and yelled at the boy to give something back. I smelled fresh bread, and turned my head to see a bakery next to me.

I probably could have bought everything on this little shop with only my room decor, but the place had more life than any of the palace.

"Never. It's beautiful," I breathed. Mallory laughed at that.

"Come on," She said, laughing and grabbing my hand. I flinched a little. No one had ever grabbed my hand before. I wasn't very close to my family, and it seemed everybody else in the world was to respectful to do that. On a couple occasions, my younger brother, Peter, had held, my hand. Mallory pulled me into the bakery, and I nearly tripped over my skirt.

Inside the bakery, I sort of hid behind Mallory, like a child hides behind his mother. I wanted to see the bakery, but if someone recognized me, I felt all the energy of the street would be ruined with formality.

"Anythin' you'd like ma'am?" Asked the baker in a heavy lower class accent.

"No, we're just looking," She replied.

"Mallory,"I whispered from behind her. She turned her head towards me.

"Why are we here if we're not getting anything?" I asked.

"Because it smells good in here, and the pastries look beautiful," She smiled.

"So you came to a store, but you're not going to buy anything?" I asked. What was the point in that? the point of stores is to buy things. The idea of not buying something at a store was completely foreign to me.

"I have money. I could buy something if you would like," I whispered, still hiding behind her.

"No, no. It's fine." She replied.

Why would anyone refuse money? This contributed further to the mystery that was Mallory Anne Huntson.