The Hidden Princess and the Sword

Chapter 1

Annika ran up the wooden stairs. Although much of the castle's floors were carpeted, this hidden staircase was not.

She reached the window. Or, more precisely, the peephole. There were a thousand such passages and tunnels running through the walls, originally built for servants but having fallen into disuse over the years. Now, Annika was the only one who used them.

Her sister was just entering the room below.

"Lady Trinity, Monsieur Ezekiel." Anabel gave a small curtsy towards her tutors as her voice echoed its way through the walls and to Annika.

"Princess Anabel."

With the formalities taken care of, the wide Lady Trinity led Anabel towards the middle of the room. Today Lady Trinity was wearing an over-embellished sea-foam-green gown covered in lace and bows and ribbon. Perched upon her head was her usual tall white wig, looking like a wasps' nest. Anabel moved gracefully after Lady Trinity in her own spun-gold gown decorated with sugar-like lace.

"Guess what?" chirped Lady Trinity. She continued without waiting for an answer. "We are learning to waltz today!"

She spun off towards the piano in the corner. Monsieur Ezekiel took her delicate white hand in his large and rather clammy-looking one and showed her the steps.

"And step, two, three, step two three..."

In the dusty little room behind the peephole, Annika spun around, dancing with an invisible partner.

"Yes," she said with a giggle. "Of course I'll dance with you."

She stopped as Lady Trinity's voice made its way into her ears again. "What's even more exciting is, the summer gala is two weeks from now!"

Already? Annika'd thought it was still a ways away, but...

She abandoned her spying and raced away. Her boot-clad feet fell upon the stairs. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk.

Annika skidded into a only slightly roomier passage. One entire side of this one was stained glass - the stained glass looking over the Great Hall.

In just a few weeks, the cavernous space would be full of people from all over the kingdom. It was even rumored that the crown prince of Berania might attend!

Annika sighed, banishing the image of her in his arms, dancing away the night. Nice as it would be, that was the one thing that was almost certain to never come true. She looked down through a clear panel at the polished wood.

The great double doors directly beneath the window swung open without warning and Annika shrank back. The King's booming voice filled the hall as he strode in with the prime minister.

"Friedrich, I can't see why we have to provide quarters for all of the prince's men! Our castle simply cannot house an entourage of three hundred armed men."

The King was massive, built like a warhorse, with a square graying haircut. He was wearing a royal blue tunic with white trousers, and seemed to have not trimmed his mustache for several days.

The Prime Minister spoke. "Your Majesty, it would be a show of good faith. We are a small country and if Berania were to declare war on us, it would be devastating. Surely there is some way to satisfy the prince."

Unlike the King, the Prime Minister was wearing long, cream-colored robes. He had long white hair, was clean-shaven, and more than a foot shorter than the King.

"I suppose so, Friedrich. Send orders at once for one hundred room to be made ready for the prince's army."

"Yes, Your Majesty."