The air was rushing through the castle window, Kayla pushed her
long auburn hair out of her eyes. Below she saw the knights
practicing for the battle they hopped would come. Most people didn't
look forward to battle, but in The kingdom of Forhaven, everyone
wanted a chance to get away. The sickness had come, and if you
weren't already dead from it you would be soon, unless you left. But
no one could leave, unless they were going out to fight for the lord
of the kingdom. The only way to get away was to fight, and die.
Then, Kayla supposed, you would go to heaven. But if you had the
sickness there was no chance of you going to heaven. For the
sickness, was a very painful way to die. It often caused many
decent people to do things that are unheard of.

So Kayla sat on the window seat, Her brows were furrowed, and
her mind was pondering on what to make in her next embroidery. She
was a maid, in the princess's chamber. She and the princess got along
sometimes, but other times, the princess was in such a foul mood, she
would scream and yell and throw things at her servants. People said
it was her way of dealing with pain, her mother, the queen, had died
many years ago. She and her mother had been so close, but then after
she died, the king got remarried. The new queen was nice enough, but
still, it was the fact that she was replacing her mother that drove
her wild. So, at least once a day each week the princess's mood would
take a drastic plummet, then the next day she would be back to being
her cheerful self.

In such gay times, the princess would let her servants try on
her jewel-covered dresses. Kayla looked spectacular in them. She
was quite pretty, for a peasant, her hair shone like moonlight and
her eyes sparkled like stars, and her lips were as soft and red as
rose petals. But there was one more thing that made Kayla desirable
to many men, her virginity. These men were like any other, the
wanted their blood line to carry on, and if they had to screw many
women just to have babies that probably wouldn't die of the sickness,
so be it. The fact that Kayla was a virgin meant that she would
probably want to marry the first man she laid. And so there for the
men would not have to try to hard to get her to marry and have babies.

Kayla knew that she was the goal of many men. She also knew
that any man could marry her because she was only a peasant. Kayla
was the bearer of many secrets, if one of the servant girls knew
something so did Kayla, and the princess told Kayla EVERYTHING.

"you know what Kayla?" Princess Latisha asked boredly one
drowsy day of November. "being a princess isn't all it's made out to
be?"

Kayla who had her back turned rolled her eyes, she knew it was.
It wasn't lke you had to do anything. You would grow up not having to
do anything, then you would marry a prince and become queen. But even
then you wouldn't have to do much. She wished SHE could be queen.

She often wrote her dreams of being princess, or queen in her
diary. Kayla was one of the few servants who could write and read.
And she only knew how because she assisted the princess during her
lessons, and was often around when she did her homework

But Kayla pretended to be surprised, and asked the princess why
not. She didn't want to be the cause of one of the princess's
tantrums.

"The lessons are horrendous, we don't need to know any of it,
plus, all the parties, there are so many of them!!!" Latisha
whined.

"Oh, I imagine so!!!" Kayla acted pitting "your poor feet, and
all the stress from your studies is enough to give one gray hairs!!!"

"Oh I know!! Sometimes I wish that I were unimportant like
you!!!" She confessed.

Kayla snorted.

Excuse me? Who does half of your work, who makes your bed and
cleans your room? Kayla thought. You couldn't last one day in my
life!!!

"Excuse, me?" Latisha, gasped. He voice turning as cold as
ice, and as heartless as stone."I hope you're not mocking me! That
would be a fatal mistake!"

" Oh, no m' lady, I have a cold. Never would you hear me
disrespect you." Kayla gushed.

"good. You are dismissed." She waved her hand impatiently.

Relieved Kayla hurried out of the room. She ran through the
halls, heading for the out side, she had been trapped inside all
day, waiting impatiently to be dismissed, but had she known what was
about to happen she would much rather have been listen to some more
tales of how hard it was to do nothing all day.

As she ran down the hall, out stepped a handsome figure from a
shadowed doorway.