I was worried, "But Mother isn't it at least a little bit unsettling that he has so many kingdoms of so many different races?" I asked the Queen.

"Now Crystal," She said soothingly as she brushed my hair. "Prince Reckorn is a very good and suitable husband. He is rich and could provide you with everything you could ever need or want even. It would be a perfect and very easy life for you my daughter. I want no more then your happiness and your father and I found him to be very kind and quite flattering."

"But Mother I don't love him." I said. "I've never even met him. I don't want to marry someone I don't know or even love. I want to find true love."

Her mother moved in front of me and looked at me, the sixteen year old elf but still she treated me like a child, "Honey, have all those old tales of true love sent you into a set of mind that true love is real? It's not my Daughter, true love, love and first sight is almost impossible you must learn to love someone and I know you will learn to love the Prince. Look at what he's all ready given you."

There was a knock on the door. "Enter," My mother called.

A servant entered with two gifts. "These arrived from Prince Reckorn, my lady, with another gift for the king."

"Oh how wonderful. Thank you." The servant bowed as she left. "Now lets see what you future husband has given us this time."

My mother's words sent a wave of nausea over me. "Mother I don't feel well. I think I'll go lie down for a while."

"Oh yes, Crystal don't be too worried about your engagement. The prince will be arriving tomorrow and look at this lovely gown he got for you to wear to the engagement ball."

My mother pulled out a beautiful silk dress from the gifts now on the table. It was navy blue with silver pearls sowed around it to like falling stars, "It has a matching tiara and necklace that would stand out in her shiny black hair, and oh you'll look stunning at the ball tomorrow night."

"It is wonderful mother but I really must go lie down. I don't feel well at all." I swept quickly out of the room and went to my own.

I sat on the bed and wept, my violet eyes swimming with tears. My mother wouldn't listen, neither would my father. I wept bitterly for I was marrying a man I didn't know or trust. I had had him followed by some informants in his city and found some startling things. He had assassins in his employ and paid off many people to keep them quiet or had them and their entire family killed in the dead of night before anyone could know what was happening.

I did sleep but wished for someone to take my place. I slept the rest of the day and into the night as a plan formed.

"Hey Katie," Katherine cringed as the others said her nickname. She hoped no one else had found out her true identity.

"I asked you a million times boys, call me Luther." She scowled as the boys started teasing her again.

"Oh come on Katie…" One of them said.

"Lay off her guys it's not like she's not one of us. Even if she is a girl she can beat any of us in a duel in we set her off." James was right. She was the best even if she was a girl.

Katherine had been orphaned when she was little girl and had become a beggar like so many others. Finally one day a knight came to her, took her in, dressed her as a boy, and had her train among the sons of many noblemen. No one knew she was a girl until a few of her closest friends had found out as she grew up. Now living among the men she had to tell the men she had to share a room with. James had been her best friend since their first day training together they were closer then brother and sister. He had discovered she was a girl first but never told a soul. When others found out her help her keep them quiet. Now she was a knight and none of the knights that had taught her knew who she really was, if they had she would have been executed.

"Are you going to the ball Luther?" One of the others laughed, "As a boy or girl?"

"Shut up." She spat "I'll be guarding the gates tomorrow night and you know I can't dance. I never learned and no one needs to teach me either."

She left the room hating the boys teasing her about being a girl though they agreed never to tell anyone for fear they'd be the one to kill her.

She had cut her hair short and many said it looked like fire, several shades of red, orange, and yellow. Her dark gray eyes like the stones of the castle looked like a man's enough to pass. Trouble started when she started living with them. The boys noticed she never had to shave and that was when they realized she wasn't who they thought. They used to not care if they had no clothes on with her around but she always turned away and never undressed in front of them. That when they found out. They respected her enough to stop undressing in front of her but they still teased her relentlessly.

She went to the stables. The stable hands had left for the night. Her quarter horse stuck his head out of his stall to her. She stroked his neck. He was brown with a black mane and tail. He also was so intelligent he could communicate with elves which Katherine was one. All the knights and most of the people were elves but there were those few humans and other races scattered through out the city and surrounding villages even more so now that tomorrow was to be the princess's engagement ball.

She went to him when she wanted to talk because he'd listen. She talked about everything and anything to her horse. Today though she noticed a new horse in the stables a beautiful white one no doubt a gift for the princess from the prince. It would take more for her to fall in love with a man then gifts but that would never happen.

She heard someone and turned. James had entered behind her. "I knew I'd find you in here. You come here when you do it this."

"Do what?" She asked her friend. He knew her better then anyone else. He was like her big brother though she and he had never been more the dear friends because she was still pretending to be a boy.

"Hide you from yourself, I can tell when you do that. You come to talk to your horse." He stocked her horse as well. "Katherine can I be honest with you?"

"You know you can," She said sitting on the stall door.

"I think you should dress as a lady and go to the ball with me." James blushed.

"No way," Katherine said applaud he was asking her to do the one thing she had avoided since she was a child.

"Just hear me out." James held up his hands. "Just for a few minutes I've been meaning to ask you to go for weeks but I didn't want the other guys to know. No one will recognize you Katie, I promise."

"No James, I can't dance." She jumped down. "I volunteered for guarding the gates tomorrow to avoid going to the ball."

"Katie can't you be a girl for once." He asked her gently.

"No, James I won't be girl. I'm not going to ever be one again. I'll always be Sir Luther. No one can ever discover I'm a girl. For someone to do that the sentence is death. I can't risk someone I can't trust discovering I'm a girl."

They stood for a while in the stables then walked back to the knight's quarters.