His Girl

Chapter 1

Water surged through my clothes as the rain poured from the sky. I ran towards the castle, my shoes squelching with every step. I heard the voices of the men pursuing me getting nearer and nearer. I sped through the half open gate of the castle. As I got closer to the great door I realised the door was bolted shut. Sprinting towards it I flung my body against it in attempt to open it. It was no use. They would reach me eventually and then... I don't even want to think about it. I felt the tears coming out my eyes as my fists bashed uselessly against the huge oak door. "Please," I cried sobbing "if you can hear me please let me in." The thunder crackled over my head and I began to shiver as my icy clothes stuck to my body. Suddenly I heard the bolts of the door slide open. The door opened just a crack. I saw an old withered yet gentle eye peering out through the gap. I looked at the person with pleading eyes. I turned sharply as I heard the men come through the gate shouting. I looked at them in horror, then with out permission I pushed the door open. Once I was inside I immediately bolted the door shut. I fell to the ground in exasperation. I felt the person who opened the door place a blanket over me and then walked away. The sound of their footprints were the last thing I heard before I fell into a deep sleep.

The sounds of people shouting woke me. I was still lying in what must be the entrance hall. My clothes had dried but that had left them feeling crusty and itchy. My hair was and absolute mess and stuck out dramatically. I sat up in the middle of the hall. It didn't seem to faze any of the people around me that I was randomly lying on the floor of the castle.

"There you are!" An old man said running towards me. "I thought you had wondered off." He looked at me curiously before saying "Come with me let's get you cleaned up and I will see what I can do for you." I got up and draped the blanket around my shoulders before following the man. The old man led me through a maze of corridors and past hundreds of rooms before we reached a small stair case that lead below the castle.

As reached the bottom I saw thousands apon thousands of books either on shelves or stacked on one and other so high you would have to get a ladder to reach them. Among these were small books in which the writing was so small you would have to use a magnifying glass, on the other hand however there were massive books that if they were to fall on you, you would most certainly be crushed.

"Welcome miss...?" The man looked at me expectantly.

"Tania." I replied. The man smiled and nodded. He was wearing a long navy cloak with a grey tunic and black trousers. His hair was white and he had a short grey beard. His eyes were the ones I had seen last night but they seemed to twinkle and had an air of mystery behind them. His skin was wrinkled with age but also wrinkled from smiling too often as his face looked as if he was permanently happy.

"Welcome to Lothelar miss Tania. I suppose you haven't been here before?" He asked

"No." I replied bluntly.

"Well you are a chatterbox." He replied before walking over to the fireplace. I followed and sat down on a moth eaten chair.

"I'm Eldred, the librarian you may have guessed. I am very happy to welcome you to Lothelar as it is a very prosperous place at the moment as we have recently won a war against Naporia, our enemy for centuries and because of that the kingdom has recieved thousands of pounds, lots of resources and power." Eldred began proudly as he threw some logs into the flaming fire. I could tell Eldred was a proud man who took pride in his work and content with his position in the castle
"Who is the heir?" I asked.

"By gods she speaks!" He cried dramatically, I smiled. "The king is King Audric and he is the best king we have had in years. His son, prince Jackson, is probably the bravest, most valiant, courageous and intelligent man you will ever have the good fortune to meet."