Maiden of the Forest

Chapter 2 - Preparations for the Ball

Original Author's Note:
This story is going to be a multichapter one and it is taking place in Kit's POV with minor Ella POV to help the plot along. I hope you like what is to come.

o0o0o

The next morning, Kit woke to the sun filtering through his windows from the balcony. Letting out a sigh, he leisurely stretched before climbing out of bed. Walking over to the windows, he pushed them open and stepped out onto the balcony. His loose white shirt was open, allowing the slight morning breeze to flow freely across his chest. Kit leaned against the balcony and stared out over the magnificent grounds, the garden so tenderly cared for open to his view. It used to be his mother's most prized possession and he and his father had done all they could to make sure the garden received the same loving care it had when she was alive. Kit still remembered all the times he and Captain Alistair would get lost in a game of hide and seek. There was a particular section of the garden he'd discovered when he was having a rather rough day that had become his favorite place to be alone. Kit became lost in memory as he thought of it.

He had been sixteen at the time and had miserably failed in an examination concerning judgment. His instructors had placed a difficult scenario at his feet where a servant had seduced their master and stolen their welfare. Kit had decided to let the servant go after returning what was stolen without further punishment but the instructors said what he should have done was have the servant be dismissed and restricted from ever serving higher nobility again. He had felt like a complete failure because his parents just happened to be sitting in on the lesson that day. Mortified over his error, Kit had run out of the palace to seek refuge in the gardens.

As several guards and servants chased after him, Kit ran into an open hallway, the walls on either side made of tall hedges. Looking back and forth, he discovered a door covered mostly in vines. Hearing the heavy footfalls of the guards, Kit rushed forward and hastily searched for a handle. Finding one, he shoved his shoulder into the wood and stumbled a little as it gave way with a loud creak. Kit immediately closed the door behind him, praying the noise hadn't alerted his pursuers as he leaned against it.

He then looked around and sucked in a surprised breath. He was in an enclosed space, the floor blanketed with a warm batch of evergreen grass. The walls were made of stone but over the years nature had caused vines to climb over the rocky surface. Large overgrown bushes of wild pink roses lined the walls. A broken wooden swing, one of the ropes snapped on the right side, hung from a huge tree whose branches and leaves gave the enclosed space a natural ceiling. The forgotten garden was broken down, untended, but completely enchanting.

Over the years, Kit had made it his secret project to not only restore the garden but tend it regularly. It was his favorite secret hobby and no one, not even Captain Alistair, knew of it. The latter knew that Kit had a place he retreated to somewhere in the gardens but he recognized the need not to pry. Every man needed his privacy, even a prince.

Kit retracted from his memories as the noises of Lance and Henry entering his private chambers reached his ears.

"Your Highness?" Lance called.

"I'm out here," Kit called over his shoulder.

Lance and Henry appeared. "Are you well, Sire?" Henry asked, concerned.

Kit smiled kindly. "I'm fine, thank you. How are both of you?"

"Well, Highness," Lance replied. "Would you like us to draw your bath?"

"Please."

"What would you like to wear today, Sire?" Henry asked while Lance went to give the order for other servants to bring up hot water for the prince.