Banished

Chapter 5

"You're really not as bad in person. I mean, you don't seem anything like the rumors about you."

Peter maneuvered his horse through the trees and branches that lay on the wet ground.

"Flattering."

"I'm serious. Haven't you heard of the things people say about you?"

I sighed. "I've never really thought about that. I guess I don't care about what people think of me, the weight has always been on my parents."

"Impressions are everything in a kingdom."

"You're one to talk," I remarked, sliding a clump of dirt off of the edge of my dress.

He looked behind towards me, his dark eyes surveying my expression.

"What do you mean?"

I explained to him
how his choice of outfits weren't exactly royalty-worthy, and how
his entrances were never
as extravagant as they
should be, but I caught myself,
remembering the
unique lifestyle of the 4th nation.

The nobles of their territory,
I remember, would wear regular
dyed fabric,
and the royalty would only
wear plain patterns on their uniforms.
They never wasted their riches,
and that was why their nation
was so efficient.
My father learned much
from allying with them.

Peter repeated my
thoughts into words,
but did not lecture me
or correct me.
He only explained.

I began to realize
how much of an annoyingly
good person he was
and I was too afraid to compare
myself to him
so I changed the subject.

"Peter," I started. "Why did you go forward with the marriage request even with the knowledge of my rumors? Surely you had some say in the wishes of your father."

"I believe that anyone can change when they wish to. Also, rumors are just rumors."

I fell silent
once again, because
these words started to
echo in my brain
and repeat in my ears.

How would one person
believe so deeply
in one small thought
to be able to share their
lives with someone
and base their future on it?

And then,
that was when I saw
that with my father now gone,
I still had somebody who
had trust in me.

And someone that I trusted as well.

Me, Cassandra Grace.
Barely a woman yet,
with my ruined chestnut-brown
hair. And my
soiled white dress.
A spoiled, hated, jealous girl
now had another person
in her life.
Royal or not,
we would be together.

But I still had many mistakes to
repay. The universe
was not through with me just yet.

It was just a shame that I had to
drag Peter into it all.

Finally I could see
the beautiful outline of my castle.
When Peter pulled up the reins,
and we stopped at the
castle walls, we found
what we had expected to.

The soldiers, all lined up
with their bay brown horses,
nodding their heads
with their beady eyes
as the soldiers backed up to the wall.
They were blocking us from entering.
But instead of moving out
of our way,
the only movement they made
was following us with their eyes.

Moments later, after I gave Peter
a concerned look,
one of the men, no,
a woman emerged from
the castle gates.

She was not an old woman,
probably in around her 35th year,
and she had a sword at her belt.
Her face was pinched
despite her age,
and her thick red hair
was tied high above her neck.

She rode up to us on her
small, skinny
thoroughbred, black as
midnight, and looked up at us.

Not bothering to regard us
with any titles,
she said, with absolutely
no emotion,

"We have orders to keep a Cassandra Grace out of the royal territory."

That that was when I knew,
for the first time,

that I was banished.