You, Me, And A Boy Named Steve

Chapter 1

"Aashirya-Nicola!" Queen Azalia called from behind her daughter's room. The short Istanian Queen had already sent guards to fetch her child, all returned without Nicola. Queen Azalia pounded on the wooden door blocking her from entering the room. "Open the door right now!" She called. Her accent echoing the halls, growing as she became angry with rage.

"Yes?" Nicola opened the door to see her steaming mother standing before her. Nicola bit her tongue. She knew she had done it this time if her mother - the Queen - had to drag her out of her room. The young princess did not like to leave her room, especially if they were expecting guests. But despite her rebellion, her parents were eager to look for a suitable man for her.

"Prince Ahilo is coming to visit us in an hour, and you are not ready yet!" Azalia grabbed the brown haired girl by the arm and marched her down to the dressing room.

The dressing room was filled top to bottom with different kinds of gowns and formal wear. From floor to ceiling, it reached about 20 feet high. The layout was of a pentagon, with two large mirrors in the centre wall. The gowns were arranged by colour and style, creating a rainbow effect along the walls.

Azalia handed her daughter to one of the servants and then left the room so that they could do their jobs. The servants went to work getting Nicola ready. Nicola disliked wearing formal gowns, it wasn't her style. She'd rather wear a more casual outfit than what she had to wear. Despite her feelings for the gowns, she put up with the fitting.

The servants finished with her just in time. Prince Ahilo was just arriving when a servant girl put the finishing touches on Nicola's outfit. The servants then ushered the princess out and Nicola met with her parents as Ahilo's limo pulled up into the driveway.

Amar opened the door for Ahilo as he called out the formal introduction. Ahilo bowed and greeted the King and Queen with a handshake. Ahilo then turned to Nicola and bowed.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Princess." Ahilo bowed towards Nicola.

"The pleasure is all mine." Nicola curtsied attempting to act like she wanted to meet him.

Ahilo smiled at Nicola, and Nicola faked a smile at Ahilo. Nicola could already tell that Ahilo would try way too hard to get on her father's good side. Ahilo was a tall and skinny man. He seemed to be physically weak which made Nicola wonder how Ahilo would do in a battle against a stronger opponent. Would he prove her wrong and win, or would he cower away and break like a twig. The idea of the skinny man breaking like a twig swirled through Nicola's mind as she began to lose focus of what Ahilo was saying to her.

"Would you like to show me around, Princess?" Ahilo snapped his fingers to get the brown haired girl's attention.

"Sure." She faked another smile. "Follow me." Nicola then proceeded to lead Ahilo through the castle. While on their walk, Ahilo attempted to small talk with her. Nicola, however, was not wanting to talk with him, but she did respond a bit to seem friendly to him. She would hate to send him a bad feeling as it could ruin Istania's good reputation.

***

The two had reached the flower garden that was located on the east side of the castle, Nicola would have considered this to be the last stop on the tour if she had her way. Ahilo reached out and gently grasped her right hand. He looked into her eyes as he sat them both down onto a bench that was behind them.

"You are very beautiful Aashirya." Ahilo smiled. Nicola sent him a fake smile back, she could care less about what he thought about her.

"Thank you, Ahilo." She responded trying to be polite.

"I think we could have a great future together." Nicola just looked at him as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver box. Her heart began to run. She knew that if he proposed to her, she would have to say yes. Ahilo opened the box; inside was a silver chain with a silver locket charm. He pulled out the necklace and - with her help - put it on her. "I would like to see you again." He smiled and kissed her forehead.

Maybe he wasn't so bad, she thought to herself. "As would I." Nicola replied, though it wasn't entirely a lie.

Ahilo smiled and then stood up. "Goodbye Princess." He bowed and left her to return to his own kingdom.

Nicola just sat in silence for a moment to think about the experience. She glanced down at her necklace that Ahilo had given her before getting up and heading to her room.

***

Once changed into a more casual attire, Nicola put on her brown hooded robe and headed into town. The town around the castle was the princess' favourite place to be aside from her room in the castle. She loved to see how commoners lived. She loved seeing their happy faces even though they had less than what she had.

Nicola wandered around the town, making sure her hood was covering her face so that no one would recognize her. It was a normal day in the town. A few dark clouds began to form in the sky, but aside from that, everything was normal.

"Let me go!" A boy's scream echoed through the town; catching the princess' attention. Nicola turned to see a group of people forming around a man holding a small boy by the collar of his shirt. The small boy had orange-brown hair and his face was freckled, he wore rags as clothes, he looked frail and malnourished. Nicola could see his rib cage piercing out of his body as he flailed about. The boy wore no shoes. Nicola joined the crowed that had formed around the two.

"I'll let you go after you return what you stole!" The man holding him growled and whipped the poor boy. The boy did not cry out when the man whipped him. His eyes seemed to focus on the hooded woman in the crowd. The man seemed to be angered by the quietness of the boy and lifted his arm to whip him once again.

"Let the boy go!" Another man in the crowd called as the man was about to whip the boy. The crowd turned to this brave man who spoke up. The man stepped forward towards the man holding the boy.

"Who are you?" The first man asked the second.

"The name is Jack Taylor." The man narrowed his eyes as he looked down Jack. Jack was a white man with dirty blonde hair. He wore strange clothes to that that were from Istania, it was evident that he was not from here. Nicola was intrigued by Jack, she wanted to know more about him.

"Well Jack Taylor, what is your business with this boy?" The man asked.

"I simply want you to release him." He replied. "I shall pay you the amount of what the boy stole from you."

The man glared at Jack, "fine." He grumbled as he released the boy. Jack gave the man his money as the crowd dispersed. "Thank you for doing business with me." The man smiled, his mood seemed to change drastically towards this Jack Taylor.

Nicola tried to not stare at the three as the crowd thinned around her. The boy's gaze was still fixated on her though. Jack smiled at the man and walked away, the man walked back into his shop and continued with his day. Nicola was left standing with the boy staring at her. She glanced at the boy and noticed his gaze. The two stared at each other for awhile before something caught Nicola's eye. She turned to look at it; but when she looked back to where the boy was, he was not there.