Hello again! I’ll keep writing hows about that? Good...

Chapter Two

The next morning, Ciel and Joli woke Catherine forcefully.

“What is it?” Catherine yelled as she rolled onto her right side facing the stone wall.

“You’re late for breakfast!” Ciel yelled. Her auburn hair bushing out from the humidity.

Catherine rushed out of bed and a half hour later, she was rushing into the room she had breakfast with her father in. The ceiling to floor windows looked out onto the grassy, small rolling knoll. Off in the distance the giant forest could be shown just beyond the giant stone wall. But the wall was obscured by the knoll.

“Catherine! Where have you been?” he thundered.

“I’m so sorry, daddy. I overslept. I apologies.” she said, taking her seat at the end of the table. It was wood, unlike the one last night where that one was stone, and it only sat six people. In the center of the table was a bushel of wild flowers that grew all over the south field of the castle. Catherine, herself, had picked them.

“You are forgiven. I would like to oversleep some time but everybody would think that I died during the night!” he said, eyeing Catherine. She tittered into her apple cider in her gold goblet.

“Are you excited for the Ball tonight?” he asked after a silence.

“You could say that.” Catherine said a few moments later. She then took a bite of her sausage.

“Well, I have a few good suitors that you might like.

“Who are they?” Catherine asked, a note of urgency in her voice.

“Ah ah ah!” he said joyfully, wagging a finger with a dab of marmalade on it at her. “I said I won’t tell you till tonight!” he said and licked the marmalade off with a lot of spit.

Catherine said nothing, but drank the rest of her cyder and moved to her tea.

..

Later that day, Catherine was out in the meadow, looking at the pretty flowers when she heard a noise off beyond the tall wall.

Looking around to see if anybody was there (there was nobody), she ran towards the wall and climbed up to the small watch tower sitting at the top of the wall. Used to see if there was anybody trying to sneak in.

Once she got to the top, she saw nothing for a few minutes. Getting discouraged, she was about to climb back down the ladder when a striking young man burst out of the trees on a beautiful white horse. He had bushy brown hair that fell just below his chin and fell in his face which was handsome. He was wearing a plain white peasant shirt and black pants. In his hands were two big bags that looked very heavy and bulky. He was smirking handsomely as he streaked past the castle wall like a spirit. He looked back to see another two horses, brown, with the officials on them, chasing him. They, too, sprinted past on their horses.

Trying to get a better look at the mysterious man on the white horse, Catherine leaned out the small, circular box and leaned out far.

“Catherine!” someone yelled and pulled her back, her head hitting the small roof over the box.

She turned around to see Ciel pulling her back and down the ladder.

“I’m fine, Ciel!” Catherine said, laughing slightly.

“You nearly made my heart stop!” she said, shaking a bit.

Catherine laughed. “I’m fine. Just gazeing at the- er- just trying to see if there were any flowers on the other side of the wall!” she covered up quickly. Not wanting Ciel to know that she had been gazing at a Forest Thief. The lowest of low.

“Alright. You must come inside now. You have to get ready for the Ball tonight, Miss Catherine.” Ciel said.

Catherine followed her back to the castle but looked back, longingly, in hopes of seeing him again.

..

Catherine came down the grand staircase into the foyer. She was wearing her grand dress in the tudor style. It was white with black trim and embroidery with red lace and embroidery. Her gloves were pitch black and the trim around the low neckline was a deep red. The neckline went off her shoulders and around her upper arms just below the shoulders. Her deep red hair was down except for a small bun on the top of the back of her head. Her tiara was of all diamonds and stood very erectly on her head.

“Oh, Catherine, you look beautiful!” King William said warmly as she came down the stiars on the deep red plush carpet.

“Thank you, father!” she said in a dignified way, there were people there. She usually didn’t call him ‘father’ when it was just them and their servants.

“Ah, Catherine, this is Sir Anthony, the Duke of Retch,” he said as Catherine nodded her head slightly and curtsied for Sir Anthony. “This is Lord Jonah,” she did the same to him. “Duke Campbell of Rookcastle,” she also curtsied. “And Lord Ignatius.” he said as Catherine curtsied. She had met so many Lords and Dukes and Sirs that it was tiering.

When the men had moved into the Ball room, Catherine asked her father, “Are these my suitors?”

“Yes!” he said, a little taken aback.

“Oh.” Catherine said and moved into the Ball room also. A crestfallen look on her face.

..

An hour or two later and Catherine was walking swiftly across the dance floor, hoping to get away from it all when she crashed into a young man about two inches taller than herself; and she was pretty tall.

“I beg your pardon!” she cried as he picked himself up.

“It’s no troubles, really!” he said, smiling. She nearly went weak at the knees. His smile was so adorable.

Completely forgetting where she was for a moment, he said, “I’m Edward, miss. What might your name be?” he said, kindly and a little like he really needed to know what her name was.

“Pr- Catherine.” she said, deliberately leaving out the ‘Princess’ part.

“Catherine! What a lovely name!” he said, kissing her hand. “You are lovely tonight, Miss!” he added.

Catherine couldn’t help but smile. A smile she hadn’t smiled since her mother was alive. When they would be in the meadow together.

“Would you care to dance?” Edward asked.

“I would love to!” she said as he took her hand and her waist and they started to dance.

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I promise that this will get better! The beginning’s always usually are boring and bad. But it will get better! Sorry for the half cliff hanger... I want to end this chapter... 6-25-07