The Royal Servant

Chapter 2

 Still test running so every vote and comment counts in letting me know if you want me to write more. The more feedback I get, I guess the more I will write :)

Again there will be some mistakes but I will try and correct them

I attached a picture of what Richard would look like (James McAvoy)

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 The last of my home had faded into the distance long ago, and the sun was beginning to set behind the mountains, leaving pink swirls in the sky, its appearance like a painter’s pallet, all the colours swirled into one. The moon popped in and out of the clouds gradually illuminating brighter and brighter as the sun lost its grip on the horizon. Night was fast approaching. Jack Frost would be out in storm tonight.

 Melancholy had soon overtaken me on the journey as I reminisced over what I had lost. Images of my childhood flashed in front of my eyes making me gag with grief. I honestly could not believe that I was to be married, to a stranger no less.

I saw my six year old self trip over our dog, Marlowe, weeping as I clutched my bleeding knee. Marlowe then went ahead and licked my face until I was giggling, my little chocolate ringlets bobbing around my head, all thoughts of my knee now gone.

Another scene of my mother cradling me in her arms as she read me my favourite tale Cinderella. Her black dress was bunched up against my face as I listened intently to the words that came from my mother's lips, soon soothing me into a peaceful slumber. This was before my father was King, and he too stood leaning over me stroking my forehead as I went to sleep.

 A particular memory stood out from all the rest. My brother and I were playing down by the lake on a hot summer's afternoon. The grass was yellow from the lack of rain and the flowers were beginning to wither, the ground arid – like dust. Heat was eradiating off the stone pavement causing waves in light that looked like pools off clear water, hiding the pavement at a distance.

Richard and I had been complaining of the scorching heat all morning before we thought of the pond. We knew we were not supposed to go there, because Old lady Morris lived in the wooden hut opposite. Rumour had it that she skinned anyone alive if they dare touch a single drop of her pond. At the age of six and eight we believed this rumour like we believed in Father Christmas or the Easter Bunny.

Yet, on this hot day we were beyond caring and ready to throw caution to the wind, only wanting the immediate relief of cool water soothing our burnt bodies. Once Richard had made the daring decision I was quick to follow, as I always did. Richard was my idol and my protector; he always looked after me making sure I was safe. Richard and I were two peas in a pod with the same mischievous grin, and love of sword fights. We both had the same chocolate coloured eyes and lithe, athletic bodies. I was never a girly girl, and Richard never tired of teasing me for being a girl, which often lead to numerous fights.

We ran to pond with bare feet, wincing as the heat of the stones burned through our tender skin. Without even taking our clothes off, we dive bombed into the icy coolness, and for a few seconds succumbed to the immediate relief the water gave my pink skin. However, it was only a few seconds before Old Lady Morris re-entered my thoughts and panic soon gripped me.

"Richard," I whispered, "What have we done, we will be skinned alive for sure." Richard looked into my large innocent eyes, and with a gentle pat on my shoulder he took on an adult like approach "Nothing will hurt you dear sister," he looked adamantly at the hut a look of slight panic crossed his youthful features.

His brown eyes screwed up in the corners as he thought what to do next. "No one has emerged from the wooden hut so I say that it is safe"

I could feel a plan forming in my head as Richard continued to stare at Old Lady Morris's window. With a splash I dived below the surface and grabbed hold of Richard's skinny ankle. With a yelp, he plunged beneath the surface flapping his arms around like a wild goose, remerging a few seconds later he came up covered in algae and mud smeared across his face.