Her own way

Chapter 28

Cold. Endless cold. Kate was shivering badly from the lack of warmth in the dungeons. Of all the things that had happened to her in thenpast few months, her time spent in Rynemona was quickly heading to the top of the list of worst situations to be in! Looking around there was very little to see. The small space that made up the cell was walled on all sides, with a small barred window high up on the outer wall that let in very little light and a large wooden door which prevented any chance of escape. From what she could tell the floor was solid stone, freezing to to the touch. The only comfort available was the small pile of straw that she had been unceremoniously dumped on when brought down to the cell. It was puzzling her as to why she had been dragged down to the dungeons in the first place. As far as Kate knew, she had done nothing to warrent such treatment! She had been working had in the kitchens, spent very little time with the Prince and had nothing to do with anyone else, so why had she been targeted? She just couldn't understand it at all, and trying to was only making her head hurt. Kate didn't know how long she had been down in the dungeons, time just seemed to blur. She was sure that it couldn't have been more than a day, but with no light breaking into the cell it was difficult to tell. Curling up into a ball, Kate closed her eyes wishing this whole day had been some awful nightmare but as sleep took over, her dreams took the pain of reality to a whole new level.

:DREAM:

"Daddy!!" a small Kate shreiked as a tall man with brown hair and matching eyes gently grabbed her under her arms and swung her in circles.

"How fares my little Princess today?" The man, her father pulled Kate close to his chest and nuzzled her cheek. "Were you good for your mamma and for Uncle Thomas?"

"I'm not little! I'm four daddy. Uncle Tommy says I'm a big girl now," Kate nodded her head as if to say 'I'm right and you know it'. Her father chuckled gently and smiled at Kate as she grinned and leaned in close to his ear, as if to tell him a secret. "Unka Tommy gave me sweeties. Mamma doesn't know." Letting out a mischevious giggle, she wriggled around in her fathers arms and as soon as he let her down she took off in the direction of the drawing room, leaving her father far behind.

Hearing voices in one of the rooms ahead of her, Kate decided to stop Coming to a halt at the door, she peered inside just watching as a man and woman spoke about things that held no concern for a child of four.

"Brother, please. We've been over this so many times." A woman's laugh filtered through the air catching Kate's attention. "You know that Katrina is too young to go travelling."

"But Sarah," a man whined, "I wanted to show my little Kitty-Kat the sights of our birthplace. The wonders of the gardens, that apple tree I pulled you out of when you were a little bit older than her." The pair chuckled at that, getting lost in the past. Kate quickly peeked around the door and watched as the two people smiled at each other. The woman looked so beautiful to Kate, her hair was long and dark, swirling in soft spirals around her shoulders. The dress she wore was a shade of blue that made Kate think of the sky on a clear summers day, it was simple with no embellishments to speak of and it seemed to fit perfectly although it was hard to tell with her sitting in a large wingback chair. The man, on the other hand was elegantly dressed wearing a fine white shirt, dark riding pants and a long cloak in the colours of the kingdom bearing the mark of the royal family. Thinking she hadn't been spotted, Kate decided to stay behind the door and listen some more, not that she knew what they were talking about.

"I said no Tommy. You know I don't want her to travel until she is at least seven summers old. That gives me plenty of time to treat my daughter to the childhood she deserves before you take her of on an adventure to Lord only knows where and I rarely get to see her!" The smile on the woman's face lessoned the seriousness of what she was saying.

"Seven summer old!" Tommy gasped in disbelief. "By the time you were seven mother was already planning your wedding. Don't you remember that dear sister? You loved the attention and dressing up, don't deny it." He broke off laughing at the look of disgust on Sarah's face.

"Well take it from me, Katrina won't be getting married until she is at least eighteen. I can't stand the thought of losing her before then. Oh and you better not try to arrange her marriage yourself. King or not, I will hurt you if you do that to my daughter."

"Don't worry dear heart. We have many years to think on that. Besides, it is you and Samuel who would approve of the young man who would wish to tame the heart of your little one. There is still a chance that she may even be Queen of Eardheorte one day so you need to choose wisely."

Listening to the conversation taking place between the two in the room, Kate was not prepared to feel two arms wrap around her and throw her over a shoulder. Giving a high pitched sqeal, Kate begann giggling and started to kick her legs at the person holding her.

"Daddy!" She giggled, just like she had earlier on. "Put me down daddy!"

"Look mamma, I found a little set of ears hiding behind the door." All of a sudden Kate was flipped over and passed to the woman. Kate looked up at her and gave her an innocent smile.

"Hello mamma, hello Unka Tommy."

"Hello there baby, what were you doing behind that door? Not listening I hope."

"No mamma, I'm a good girl!" Kate squirmed where she sat, it was easy for the adults to see she was lying.

"I should hope not, because you know what happens to naughty little girls... Tickle torture!" Before Kate knew what was happening both her mother and uncle had started to tickle her mercilessly, laughing as they did so. On the far side of the room her father joined in the laughter, staying far enough away that he was safe from being put under the same measures.

"D-d-d-daddy, helppp me-e-e-e-e!!" Kate wheezed, finding it difficult to breathe through the giggles that kept overtaking her.

Jolting awake, Kate began to pant finding it difficult to breathe. The cold seemed to have worked its way inside her body taking away any sembelance of warmth and making it difficult for Kate to draw air into her lungs. Closing her eyes she recalled her dream. It had felt so real, but how could that be? She had a mother and a father in Hannah and James, didn't she? Little things stood out to her as very familliar, the nickname the man she called 'Unka Tommy' had called her when speaking to the woman depicted as her mother. The man she had called daddy looked so like her reflection in a mirror, she was definately related to him if the dream was anything to go by.

Everything was confusing to Kate, disorientationg. Tears began to fall from her eyes as she closed them and leaned back against the wall.

"I just want to go home." She mumbled brokenly. Giving in to her emotions, she began to cry and didn't stop until she fell back asleep, unknowing what could happen next.

** A/N: different to what I had first thought to do in this chapter, but I thought it was time to give Kate some memories back... Comment, message - let me know what you think!