Chapter Five: Saved by Calvin Klein Model

A shout came from behind the mass of men and women who were watching my interrogation. I look at the scary lady. My queen? She's a queen? Well, someone before said "her majesty." Maybe yelling at her probably wasn't a good idea.

Then, once again today, I was hit by another thought. I remember now! I felt like an idiot. The woman, who was now standing to her feet and searching the crowd, was Queen Elizabeth the First of England. How could I forget?

My history class went to a museum two years ago and I saw her portrait. I felt the same way about her as I feel now. She freaks the crap out of me! But why here? Out of all the places I can be, why here, in England and in the queen's castle; hundreds of miles away from the United States?

"Who said that?" the queen said, still scanning the crowd. "Come forward!"

A man stepped out from the mass. He was wearing similar medieval clothing as the other men. He had black tights with matching a cream coat. Two rows of light green stripes ran down each side. A loose white shirt could be seen underneath the buttoned down coat.

The newcomer could have came out of a Calvin Klein magazine, that was how good looking he was. I didn't have to see him to know that he was well like because all ladies were gasping, whispering, and blushing as he cut through the parting crowd. This guy was most likely on the Top Ten Hunk List for these ladies. His shoulder- length, soft, brown hair bounced up and down as he walking towards the throne. It was if different from the other hairstyles of the room which were higher cut. Every aspect of this man was godlike, his face, his charming smile, his buff, physical form, and even the way he walked was perfect! He walked was like he was walking on air; so gracefully and confidently. Everyone seemed to be fond of this man. Even the Queen had calmed down when he finally reached her throne.

"Sir Robert." Queen Elizabeth nodded to him. She acknowledged with complete respect and honor. This Robert guy must have an important title or job. Why would such an important and revered man as Robert risk himself to save me? Can this day get any more confusing?

"My queen." was all he said as knelt down to one knee and kissed her hand.

"Do you know this young lady?" the queen asked him.

"Yes, I do your majesty." Sir Robert stood to his feet and walked towards me. "Play along." he whispered to me.

"Well, no crap, Sherlock!" I whispered back. I received a look that was a mix of "What the heck?" and "Shut up."

Robert took and deep breath, and then began his explanation. He shouted like he just found the greatest discovery ever in the history of mankind. "She's from the humble island of Majorca, my queen."

The name Majorca sounded familiar. I knew that Majorca was a real place, thanks to history class. The location of the country didn't come to me.

I glanced around the room. It seemed that the crowd appeared to buy the excuse! I realized Sir Robert's strategy. If you pick a place that is real but no one knows where it is and won't even go to, and then they can't send you back or do anything! I sighed in relief. Maybe I was going to make it out of here alive.

"That might be true, but how do we know that she is not a spy?"

The person who spoke out had a voice that was soft but commanded attention. There was another session of whispering and gasping. I rolled my eyes. These people were ridiculous!

"Sir Nicholi." Sir Robert acknowledged someone behind me. He sounded tense at the name. What happened to the Mr. Confident that stood next to me just a minute ago? Puzzled, I turned to see who Sir Robert was talking to. I didn't turn far because a tall man was standing not even a foot behind me.

His thin arms were crossed over his chest as he loomed over me. His two pure crystal blue eyes were watching me intently. Short locks of blonde hair were only inches from my face. Shocked at this guy's abrupt appearance, I instantly cringed backwards. Where did he come from? I didn't even hear him! I immediately guessed that this he was the "Sir Nicholi" that Robert was speaking to. Nicholi continued staring at me. Was he trying to scare me? If he was, it was defiantly working!

"How do you know that she is a spy?" Sir Robert asked Nicholi.

"Well, because Majorca, which is where this lady is claimed to be from, is actually an island beside Spain." he said in a matter-of- fact way. The word Spain brought another gasp from the audience. I winced, realizing that Sir Nicholi was correct. Majorca was not far from Spain. The main problem is that Spain and England were huge enemies during this time period. Why did Sir Idiot say that I was from an island by Spain? And of all places, Spain! I looked at my "savior". Was he trying to get me killed?

Robert too could also feel the tension build up in the room. He had to make up something good and fast; before things became much worse than it already was. A second later light bulb apparently went off in his head, because the sure smile and attitude was back on his face. Sir Nicholi too saw the change in Robert. He stiffened his posture as if ready to block his opponent's next attack. The total black outfit that he was wearing looked loose for him. He looked like a strong tree branch. Well, he did look slender and stiff like a branch…

"She isn't. I should know." Robert said simply.

"Why should you know?" said Nicholi.

"Because she is my cousin." Another gasp from the crowd. I even heard "Lucky!" from one of the girls.

Nicholi shook his head and smiled. "You're just saying that to protect her."

"I have proof!" Robert reached into his shirt and pulled out an old piece of paper. He gave it to an officer who then handed it to the queen.

"What Sir Robert says is true." she said a few moments later. "Her home was burned with her parents inside during a Spanish raid." She folded the paper and gave it back to Robert. She looked at me with sympathy.. "She has come here to stay live with Sir Robert because the rest of her relatives were also killed in the raid." I took that as a cue to look as innocent as innocent as I could.

"But my queen!" Nicholi butted in. I felt my face grow hot. Come on! What more did this guy have to say? "How do we know what they say is true? You cannot possibly be considering what that letter says is true!"

"Your majesty," Robert went forward and bowed at the Queen's feet. "I have been your humble advisor for years now. Would I do anything that might bring you any harm? I swear on my life, my sweet cousin Catharine is as harmless as a butterfly."

Sir Nicholi didn't say anything more. He just stood there, silent as the night. I almost forgot he was there. The newcomer seemed to be calm despite the clear defeat which did scared me a bit. I began to study him. Was he planning something?

"Catherine Pellegrino?"

I returned my attention to Queen Elizabeth. "Yes – um- your highness?"

"You can stay in the palace for now." She kept her sad look for a moment before turning to Robert. "And Sir Robert."

"Your majesty?"

"Come to my study where we can discuss this matter in private." Her eyes scanned the court. "Lady Cavendish? Grace!"

A girl appeared from the crowd of people. She looked about my age or at least a year younger than me. She had long dirty blond hair that was tied in a high bun. The nice long dress she was wearing was yellow and white, better than most of the other ladies of the court. She approached the throne. "Yes, my queen?"

"Take Lady Catharine to one of the guest rooms then show her around the palace."

Lady Grace curtsied and said, "Yes, your majesty."

"Very well then. Court dismissed!" The Queen and her court walked out of the room. I turned around to look for Sir Nicholi but he disappeared like a ghost. A few minutes later, Robert and I were the only ones left standing in the throne room other than the guards.

"Wow. That was something wasn't it?" he said to me, rubbing the back of his head and walking towards me.

"Yeah, and you almost got me killed!" I retorted. "Majorca? Really?

Robert had a hurt look. "Hey! It was all I could think of. You came out of nowhere and I just arrived. I only had seconds to come up with something! Besides," He leaned to me and grinned. "it worked out in the end, didn't it?"

That was true. "Yeah, whatever. Anyways, why did you even help me out in the first place?"

"Let's just say that I was ordered to. Plus, I saw that mark on your hand."

"What mark?" I looked blankly on my hand and I suddenly remembered what. "Right! The animal. The…" What's it called? I knew I saw it before in the movie, Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. "The gippen? Greffan?"

Robert chuckled. "Close enough. It's called a griffin."

"What is it for?"

"It's a mark that indicates a spell and who put it." He took my hand. They were warm. I squirmed. "Well, you got a Language Spell put on you." he said after studying it.

"How can you tell?" I peeked at where the spell mark once was. There was nothing there. Was he pulling my leg? He could see it? How?

"There are little words that say so in Celtic."

"And?"

"It immediately translates any foreign language into something you can understand. For example, it translates Old English into what you call modern English."

I blinked. "It can do that?"

"Yes. So, no matter where you go, you can understand the people around you. Not only that, they can understand anything you say."

"Nice!" I sized him up. His big grin told me that he knew something I didn't. I decided to push my luck. There were so many questions to ask. He seemed to have all the answers. My head was spinning in wonder and curiosity. Still, finding out what I'm doing here and why appeared most important and urgent.

"So, since you seem to know everything." I took my hand back. "Can you tell me what I'm doing here?"

Robert's grin grew bigger. "Don't worry. You'll find out things soon enough. For now, stay low , " He paused and sighed. "and don't do anything stupid. Please I'm-"

He took a glimpse over my shoulder. Someone was coming towards us. Robert's voice dropped into a whisper. "I have to go out of town for a while but I promise I'll be back to answer your questions." He glanced back again. "Be careful."

The light footsteps stopped behind me. Robert lifted his head. "Good day, Lady Grace." Robert bowed to her. Grace curtsied in returned.

I turned around. "Oh hi, Grace!" Robert elbowed me. "I mean, Lady Grace."

"It's alright. You can call me Grace." she said with a bright smile. "We should be heading off now." She also added.

"Okay." I said nodding.

Robert placed a hand on my shoulder. I squirmed again. "And I should too. Her majesty is probably wondering where I am. " He then said in a soft voice, "Lady Grace, please take care of my cousin. She is all that I have left."

"It would be an honor, Sir Robert." she said with a straight face but there was a hint of sympathy on it. I could tell that this girl was much different to the other girls I have met so far.

Sir Robert sucked in a breath and turned me around. "Goodbye, Catherine." He said to me and gently kissed my forehead. The name Catherine and the kiss made me want to scream because we weren't really related at all. I slightly shifted away from him. "I will be back soon okay?" He added to the acting by putting his hand on my cheek. "Those raiders will pay with their lives." Grace and I watched Robert angrily "stormed" out of the room.

"Convincing." I whispered to myself as he left.

"I beg your pardon?" Grace had a questioning look on her face.

I laughed nervously. "Oh, nothing."

She turned back to the doors that Robert went through. "You are lucky to have Sir Robert as your cousin."

"I am? Why?"

"You don't know?" Grace asked me in surprise.

"Honestly, this is the second time I am seeing Sir Robert in my life." I lied. "My parents never really talked about outside family that much. They were too busy with business." I thought back to the last moment with Robert kissing my head. "But, he used to visit when I was little. I was his favorite and he would send me great presents all the time…" I stopped there, out dry with ideas.

"That makes sense. I'm sorry about what happened to your home. I can't imagine how you feel right now." Grace had a similar depressed expression on her face like the queen. I immediately felt bad about lying.

"Don't worry about it. They are in a better place now." I smiles at her for an addition. Her bright smile also returned and she took my hand.

"Let's go! I'll show you to your room!"

"Okay?" I said. This girl was as hyper as the cheerleaders at my school. How is that even possible? Grace made sure that no one was looking and she ran out the doors, with me holding on to her hand for dear life.

As we ran off, I wondered what I was doing here and if will I ever get back. My stomach felt weird and knew it wasn't because of Grace's mad run. Fear was beginning to take its grip on me as I realized that there was nothing I could do about the situation. All I could do though is to wait for a solution and for Sir Robert to explain everything. Till then, I had to play my cards properly in order to survive. I have entered a whole new world with whole new rules. A little voice in my head told me that my purpose was even bigger than me. Chills ran up my skin. Could it be true? Well, I had to wait and see.

"There is something suspicious about that girl, Nicholi."

"What do you want me to do about it sir?" Sir Nicholi asked the shadow standing beside him on a balcony overlooking the palace gardens. The men watched as Grace and Callie ran below them, across the snow. Grace's excited yells could be heard loud and clear from where they were standing. The freezing temperatures of February didn't seem to affect them.

The shadow didn't answer for a few moments. Nicholi didn't need to see it to know that it was thinking hard about it's decision. His master usually would have a plan ready to go before he would finish his debriefing. What happened to him? Nicholi continued to wait patiently for a reply. His words still hung in the air.

"I want you to watch her. Inform me if anything happens. Then, I'll give you the final orders."

Nicholi nodded. "Yes, my liege."

The dark figure vanished, leaving Nicholi alone in the sunshine and the breeze. He quietly premeditated his moves and walked off with a smirk slowly playing across his face. He had a feeling that this was going to be interesting.