Love Stories

Chapter One

The faintest, faintest memories she had were of being placed in front of her father’s saddle. Because of the king’s love for horses it wasn’t surprising that he took his young daughter riding with him. It was well, though, that he didn’t take her riding with him all the time or else he and his horse wouldn’t have been the only ones lost in the fall. Of course, the princess was too young to understand what had happened. She just knew that she no longer rode on the big, dark horse and felt the strong arms of her father steady her when they rode at a faster pace.

                She might as well have lost her mother also. It wasn’t that she was heartbroken; simply the attention the youngest princess received was all due to her father’s persuasion and reminding of her existence. One son and one daughter were enough for the queen, the latest was an accident. As a result she was given entirely to a nurse to care for.

                The entire world seemed to close off and become something distant and dangerous to the girl. All that she had were the pictures painted by her brother which she knew were exaggerations by the grand sweep of his hand when he told the stories.

                “I mean it, this big,” he told her once, motioning well above his head. “Dogs the size of… huge boulders!”

                The stories he told of Runderin were best. It was the far off, fairy tale land of a country northeast of Ellora, their kingdom. Keldan said going there was like instantaneous accumulation of five brothers and two sisters who thought boredom was the name of the kingdom below them.Their mother sent him there first when their father died. Something about the abundance of boys to play with. After that he went almost every summer.

                When she grew old enough to understand the stories Keldan told her, Leah almost grew jealous of him. The truth was that she was actually jealous of the people in Runderin, that there was anyone anywhere that could know him as well as her. It didn’t matter when Keldan came home, though, Leah would completely forget it until he left again. She adored her older brother, especially since her sister was always too busy to do anything with her. Emma was the crown princess.

                Even though Keldan was older, Emma was to inherit the crown. It was the tradition in Ellora. The eldest daughter became queen when her parents passed. That was why she was so busy, the queen wanted to make her into the best future ruler possible. Even at the expense of paying attention to her other children. It meant that Keldan was allowed to roam free most of the time, except for his lectures. Leah was taught by her nurse in the mornings but was left to herself most of the time after that. This made them search each other out.

                “You ready?” Keldan asked as he came into the hallway.

                Leah slipped out of the half-closed door. “Yes,” she answered, eyes shining.

                “You have to be quick about this,” Keldan said, forcing a disagreeable frown. “We can’t get caught.”

                “We won’t,” Leah said positively.

                Keldan crept down the hallway, knowing she would follow. It was just a game but he kept a perfectly straight face. Anyone who saw the young man trailed by the girl would have stopped to look again. They snuck through the halls like thieves, the prince and princess. Their play was simple; be seen by anyone and you lose the game. At the sound of footsteps they would dive for the nearest cover until the coast was clear again. “Cover” was defined simply. Leah was pretty easy to hide at fourteen, but a grown twenty-four year old prince could be a challenge when they walked through narrow and barren hallways frequented by the servants. Stepping behind a tapestry, leaving toes or feet or legs showing sufficed, as well as squeezing under a table anyone could stoop to look under, or hiding behind a slender pole where a lantern hung. When Leah stole the only cover available, a wall hanging, and footsteps were ominously approaching,Keldan pressed against the opposite wall and covered his hands with his face, whispering, “I’m not here. No, no, not here a ‘tall.”