A Peasant and A Princess

Chapter Nineteen: The Plan

Hi! I recently logged into this account and saw that this story had some interaction, so I decided to write a short conclusion - they'll be one more chapter and an epilogue. Enjoy!

"Good evening," I said, trying to pronounce each syllable in the way I had been taught.

"Good evening," Mallory said back, rushing the words again.

"No, it's Good Evening." I said again.

"Isla, I really don't know how else I can say it." She sighed, laying down into the grass.

We had been sitting in the orchard in the castle gardens for several hours now. It would be dawn soon, and Mallory's accent hadn't improved much. I sighed.

"I'm worried we're running out of time. The masquerade is only a week from now and I love you Mallory but-"

"I still sound like a peasant." She laughed. "It's okay, you can say it."

"That's not what I was going to say."

"What were you going to say then?"

I froze for a moment. That had been what I was going to say, but I hadn't quite thought of a nicer way to say it. Mallory laughed again, picked an apple from a tree, and took a bite.

"Let's face it. I'll never pass as a lady of the court. A princess such as yourself should be caught dead with me." She took another bite of the apple. "Why are you so fixated on introducing me at this masquerade?"

"Because it's a masquerade! It's the perfect chance to arrive at court, act a bit strange without damaging your reputation, and get a sense of how you're supposed to behave. And now there's a rumor that Louisa will be proposed to. She's been courting this Prince for some time now and it's nearly a done deal, but he does have a flair for the dramatic and will want to propose publically and now he's offered to plan this masquerade," My breathing grew heavier. "And once Louisa is married and settled I'll be married to a man and trapped and separated you forever-"

Mallory hugged me.

"Breath. I love you and you love me and that matters more than anything." She whispered.

I nodded. A tear slid down my cheek. She wiped it away and kissed me on the cheek. I giggled.

"How are you real?"

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. Just that I love you." I pressed my lips to hers for a moment, before breaking the kiss and looking into her emerald eyes. "I wish I could marry you."

"I wish I could marry you too, my love." She replied, smiling a bit. "That would be heaven."

"Why not?" I asked, gears suddenly turning in my head. "Why don't we get married?"

"Are you feeling alright?" Mallory asked, putting her hand on my forehead. "I don;t know if you've noticed, but I'm not a man nor am I a noble."

"What is marriage, Mallory?" I asked. "What makes someone married? There's so many ways of doing it; every country has different rules. A man and woman can move in together in a new town, call themselves married, and it's as good as true. There's no real reason we can't be married if we want to be."

Mallory paused for a moment, thinking over what I had just said.

"Let's do it. I want to be your wife. And I want you to be mine."

I kissed her, feeling as if the world was at our fingertips. She reached up her hand to stroke my hair.

The woman I was going to marry, stroking my hair as if it was the most natural thing in the world. I was over the moon.

After what seemed like an eternity, I broke the kiss.

"I have a plan. You must find a way to come to the forest the morning of the masquerade and leave any clothes or possessions you want to bring with you here. Keep practicing your accent and your posture and your dancing-"

"Isla-"

"Listen to me Mallory; if you look like you're trying to draw attention to yourself in some way other than your - forgive me - lack of poise, that's what people will notice. Don't worry about your clothes, I'll deal with that, just know that if you're a middle class girl trying to act like a noble, it will be less suspicious. We'll leave that night."

I kissed her quickly again, full of the energy that comes with a plan being set in motion.

"Meet me here again tomorrow night?" I asked.

"Of course."