chapter 04

What kind of bet could I make with a brat like this?
“If you lose you have to give me a kiss!” the brat said with premature triumph in his voice. I jerked back a step from his chair.
Not even going to try to hide your intentions, eh?
“But I’ll be fair,” Prince continued. “If you win, I’ll let you be king for an hour!”
“Oh, lordy. Don’t.” Maraulen exclaimed in a suffering tone as she cupped her hands over her eyes and shook her head from side to side disapprovingly.
“You mean, queen.” I corrected Prince’s offer.
“Queen is second rate,” Prince scoffed. “Why would anybody want to be that?”
No respect for the feelings of women, I see.
“You can take my place, is what I mean!” Prince wiggled in his chair, getting excited.
“Oh no you don’t!” Maraulen intervened. “You’ve got a full schedule of kingly duties and I won’t have you dumping them on some peasant!” Maraulen paused her flailing to look at me, “no offense dear.” I was a little offended.
“On the contrary,” Dragged interrupted, raising his voice but not looking away from his book. “Accepting a gamble is a fine trait for a leader and king. I for one approve. With no risk there is no gain.”
“Maybe rising to a challenge is a good trait,” Maraulen said. “But certainly not creating unnecessary risks!”

As the two argued on, I pondered the benefits of being royalty. It was exactly what I was hoping for right? And I didn’t even have to do any manipulating! What’s the worse that could have happened? I’d have had to give that brat a peck on the cheek? If I won, it would only be for an hour, but who wouldn’t accept this kind of oppertunity?
“You’re on!” I raised a competitive fist to the king and we both exchanged evil grins. Maraulen just turned her back to us and sighed, defeated.
“Right!” Prince stated enthusiastically. “To prove that I know my people better than anyone, I bet the next person seeking an audience with me is a baker. A baker wondering what to do with the gross overabundance of sugar he has. He’ll make the suggestion of trading it for gold.” I blinked, surprised.

His bet was horribly detailed compared to what I was expecting! I couldn’t help but feel set up, that kind of person must come in here a lot! Still, I needed to give my answer! Who did I think was going to walk through those doors next?
“Answer before the door opens, or you forfeit.” Prince grinned slyly, with his eyes on the tall doors on the other end of the room. A pain of impatience shot behind my eyes and I winced in thought.
Who could it be? Another farmer? That’s very likely. Maybe it’ll be someone more exotic and rare, like a traveling magician or something? Arh! I should bet on something with higher odds! Could I also bet on a baker if I picked different details? What about a jeweler?
The hollow sound of a latch echoed across the room from the big doors. One of the soldiers from along the wall walked over to it and helped pull the doors open. Prince’s smile grew even fiercer across his wide head.
“A lumberjack.” I stated solemnly, unable to distract attention from the slowly opening doors. The doors were wide open and bright outside light streamed into the room, spilling long sharp shadows along the floor. I leaned far over Prince’s shoulder, straining to see the figure which stood dead center in the white light. The doors were closed and as the flowing light was cut off, the figure emerged as a short, hairy, old man.
“Tremarch!” I squealed, clasping my hands next to my cheek. I had won! I won the bet! I could be queen for an hour!
“Oh, Sally, dear!” Tremarch blinked then stated with a tone of suppressed surprise.
“Yee-ESS!!” A shout burst from the small king loud enough to suffocate the surprise from the rest of us. “It is the lumberjack!” He cheered as he pulled his crown off his head, stood up on his chair and plopped it onto mine. My victorious joy from a second ago was fast seeping away.
“This is what you wanted? You were never after a kiss?” I threw my fists down to my sides and exclaimed.
“Of course not. Kissing is icky!” the boy stated, climbing down from his throne. “I just wanted to get out of listening to the whiny peasants. Now I have a whole hour to play!”

Goodness. I should have known not to trust a child who used big words like ” abundance” and “forfeit”. It’s not natural. This meant that that kid had been planing this trick since he first laid eyes on me! He wasn’t interested in me, he was just looking for an excuse to use on one of his caretakers to allow him to abandon the throne!
I’ll have to remember that a child this conniving is not to be taken lightly!

“Oh no you don’t!” Maraulen clasped her heavy hands onto the boy’s shoulders before he had a chance to escape the room. “Maybe it is not within the concerns of this fellow here who runs this kingdom. Especially since he can’t even take his nose out of a book long enough to see who is wearing the crown, but as your personal caretaker I think it builds excellent character for you to at least witness the addressing of the people! And now that you’ve thrown away your authority to execute and threaten people, I’m sure the Royal Guards wouldn’t mind back up my decision!” The boy gulped.
I see Maraulen is also not to be taken lightly.

Tremarch fumbled with his hands while standing in the middle of the room, confused. I don’t think he could tell what was going on, since both Maraulen and Prince were wrestling behind the two large thrones. Though he probably had an idea since he saw me standing there with the crown on my head and the young king occasionally attempt to make a break for it.
“Umm. Your Majesty?” Tremarch called when he saw Prince’s head pop out from behind the main throne.
“Yes?” Prince called back, slightly muffled as Maraulen was attempting to restrain him so he wouldn’t try and run away.
“I brought the order of double the Royal Oak. Per yer request, M’majesty.” Tremarch tilted his head slightly to try and get a better view of his king.
“Ah! That’s good!” Prince called between snapping sounds. Apparently Maraulen was holding him too tight and he was trying to let her know by biting her arms. “Just store them as usual and you can be on your way!” Tremarch paused for a second then looked towards me and gave a nod.
“Wait!” I called out, extending a hand towards Tremarch before he turned to go. Tremarch stopped and looked at me. “Err,” I hesitated, trying to think of why I had actually stopped him. “Would you like to hang out here for a bit?” The rustling behind the thrones suddenly died down. That was a stupid thing to ask. Tremarch and I had already gave our good byes, there was no need to go through this again!
Tremarch smiled at me for a moment. “That’s a’right, dear. You just remember my offer and I’m sure we’ll see each other again, some day.” The door was heaved open and Tremarch disappeared back into the outside light.
That’s right. I reflected. Tremarch offered for me to live with him, since I didn’t know where I was ultimately going in this world. He’ll be leaving at noon tomorrow, if I decide to go down that route.
But I had already gotten myself to the castle! I doubt I would have needed to go back to Tremarch’s house!

“Send in the next in line!” Maraulen called out from behind the chairs. She stood behind prince and firmly gripped his arms in place. I jumped and quickly sat down on velvety cushion of the large throne. Apparently I really had to continue the king’s work!
“Is this really okay?” I hissed over my shoulder, quickly growing aware of my newly acquired position.
“Don’t turn yellow now, dear. You’ve earned the crown, like you obviously wanted, now accept the responsibility!” I inhaled quickly and gripped the arms of the chair with my finger nails. “Don’t you worry, dear,” Maraulen continued. “Just use common sense! If you need help, Dragged and I are still here.”

The tall wooden doors once again were dragged closed and there stood the next person, seeking the king’s attention.

chapter 03

I was beginning to feel bubbles rise in my chest and a smile was spreading across my face. It was as if I had won some kind of lottery! I hadn’t been in the city for much more than an hour or two and I had already found my way into the castle and was on my way to meet the king! When I first left home, I didn’t know what to expect, but I certainly didn’t think things would have turned out so well! Well, at least not so quickly! I must have had some kind of good luck sprite with me! Or maybe one of my parents had a dark secret and I was actually the illegitimate child of one of them and some god or goddess of fortune. Unlikely. Impossible. But either way, I couldn’t help but feel an air of invincibility around me!

I wonder what kind of person this kid-king is. He’s probably some spoiled brat. Then again, he is the king. He can’t be so bad, right? Kings are supposed to be handsome! So, he’s probably pretty cute! If he likes me, maybe I can get some gold, or a place to stay in the castle. Kids are easy to manipulate after all, hee hee!

Maraulen and I continued to jog down the hallway then back down the staircase. Laying atop my extended forearms was a neatly folded bundle of black clothes. Maraulen and her unfaltering energy had took the lead again, which was a good thing since I didn’t know where we were going.

We went down the stairs until we hit the ground floor, then we turned and ran in the opposite direction of the courtyard door, which we originally entered the castle by. We made a turn deeper into the castle then another right turn down a half flight of stairs. A little while later, after the gap between Maraulen and I had tripled, we entered through a door which brought us onto somewhat of a narrow stage.

A highly decorated curtain separated us from the whole room but through the gap in the curtains I could see a long row of royal guards at attention along the far wall. Directly in the middle of the curtain gap was two exquisite golden chairs. Each chair was cushioned with velvet and embroidered in silver. The one closest to us had a higher back which made it difficult to see the other. Behind the chairs stood one elegant figure of a man in black and sitting in the chair nearest too us was the smaller, hunched figure of a boy.

He had to have been the boy-king. He had a rather small frame but his cheeks were surprisingly full with baby fat which made his head seem quite large, even for a child. Atop his messy black hair rested an elegant crown. Golden crosses jutted up from the base of the grown, studded in jewels, and a few silver hoops strung over the velvet inlay which covered the boy’s hair. Judging by the boy’s posture, it was giving him quite a cramp in the neck. Maraulen beckoned with her hand impatiently and I cautiously stepped forward. Peering between the curtains I noticed that the boy had an audience.

Isolated in the middle of the room was a grubby old man with a thick beard and string glasses wrapped around his head.
“…and that’s why we can’t grow only sugar cane. Even if you want more sweets in the markets, the chefs need more ingredients than just sugar! You understand, right? My Majesty?” With a nervous chuckle the man bowed graciously. The king seemed to ponder his words for a minute.

“Execute him.” The young boy’s girly voice rang out across the room. A shiver jumped up my back. Maraulen quickly approached and with a softly closed fist, whopped the boy in the back of the head while the guards along the walls seemed to look back and forth nervously.
“Is this how you run a kingdom when I’m not looking?,” the boy obviously hadn’t notice us come in and gave a surprised, horrified look. As if he had gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar right before dinner. “It’s bad enough you’ve got the merchants trading with gum drops and marzipan! Don’t curse the rest of the townspeople with rotten teeth by making strange demands of the farmers.” She took a step out in front of the throne and addressed the farmer, “the crops will remain unchanged. There is no need for extra sugar. Thank you.” The farmer sighed a breath of relief, placed a straw hat lightly on the top of his head and exited the room through a set of tall wooden doors which structured the far wall. The boy with the crown let out an annoyed click of his tongue. Maraulen turned and shot him a dirty look. “And the rest of you,” she waved her finger at the wall of soldiers. “The livelihood of the kingdom is at stake if you let him pull this kind of stunt again!” There was a clapping of metal slaps as the guards dropped their attentive stands, rubbed the backs of their helmets and chuckled nervously.
They’re just brimming with competence, aren’t they?
“You!” Maraulen continued as she stomped toward the man who was standing behind the two thrones. “You have a head to know what kind of disaster this could have spelled! Yet you didn’t raise a lip against the boy’s madness!”

The man who was dressed in a sophisticated black suit with a long black cape lifted his eyes from the small book he held in his left hand and looked towards Maraulen. I hadn’t noticed, but once I looked at him, I could see that this man wasn’t quite human. His ears were long and thin, reaching high above his shoulder length grayish white hair. His eyes were large and glowed slightly with a green-tainted yellow. His nose was also thin and was pinched ever so slightly at the end. With his cape he definitely resembled a bat more than a man.
“It is not in my work order to judge the decisions of the young master. As far as I can see, he is doing a fine job at being a leader.”
“Leader of a community of humming birds, most certainly, but not the leader of a kingdom of people!” Maraulen retorted.

Maraulen exhaled loudly then gave herself some breathing room from the man.
“This way, please dear,” she waved at me. I stepped out from behind the king and walked over to her side. The young king seemed to become attentive once he noticed me emerge. I suddenly felt nervous.
Don’t get shy just because you’ve got the attention of royalty! He’s still just some dumb brat!
“This young maiden helped me adjust the suit for your upcoming birthday party. Well, go on! Introduce yourself, dear.” The boy seemed to get excited as he fidgeted in his chair. The man behind him simply returned his gaze to his book.
“My name is Emily Farrel!” I suddenly exclaimed and shot the folded fabric out in front of me.
Oh, lordy, this is a bad habbit!
“T-these are for you.” I handed him the suite and lowered my head, blushing.

The brat grinned widely, thinking I was blushing at him, but I was just embarrassed by how terribly stupid I had been to suddenly change my name in front of Maraulen! Obviously she was surprised and looked confused but she didn’t say anything about it. Maybe she just thought that she had misheard me the first time.
“Err, yes,” Maraulen said. “E-Emily… This is our king, Prince and his mentor, Dragged.” I nodded to each of them. Prince continued to grin while Dragged ignored me.
His name is Prince? Were the king and queen that unoriginal? Or maybe ‘King’ and ‘Queen’ were their names as well?
Maraulen turned to Prince, “now I expect you to wear the suit without any complaints and behave yourself! Otherwise we won’t be having a birthday party!”
“Yes ma’am!” Came a coy reply. Judging by Maraulen’s tone, such obedience was probably uncharacteristic of this child. Then again, maybe Maraulen is just harsh. No birthday party? That’s a pretty big threat to a child! Prince looked me in the eye and grinned greedily.
Ugh. I haven’t even done any thing and I’m already getting too much attention from him.
“We’ll talk more on this later! Right now, you need to continue addressing the concerns of the people! Send in the next in line!” Maraulen called to anybody who might be listening as she took me by the wrist and pulled me back behind the two thrones.

Maraulen dropped my hand and I found a comfortable stance behind the king where I could still see the floor but my presence wouldn’t have been a bother to anyone.
“Hey,” Prince’s high pitched sneer came from over his shoulder. “You wanna make a bet?”

chapter 02

I followed closely behind the little old lady, my arm still tight in her clutches. We walked briskly along the pale, broad sidewalks of the castle courtyard. It was a stark comparison to the rich greens which spread from the ground to the castle walls and the brightly colored murals hanging from the high windows of the towers. The courtyard was fairly busy but no one paid real attention to us. An old lady mutilating a young girls posture whilst trekking through a castle courtyard.

A couple people tipped their hats or said “Good afternoon Ms. Maraulen” as we passed. The lady tow truck gave a hefty nod to each of them as she hauled me to the castle door step.

We burst through the castle doors and a throng of maids and butlers greeted us with bows and smiles. I caught a glimpse of various nobles browsing the shelves behind the greeting party, thinking they were in some kind of library, as we quickly sped by them and the lady dragged me up several flights of stairs. I was astounded this old bag could move as swiftly as she did. Especially up the stairs. Especially with her short legs. I was in a huff by the time we reached the desired floor and suddenly thrust to the left, trotting down a corridor to a far off room which she threw me into and closed the door behind us.

“Umm…” I quietly pleaded for an explanation.
“I’m sorry for the rush,” the lady said as she shook off her brown jacket and peeled off a pink transparent scarf. Underneath, she wore an exquisitely elegant pale red dress, with frills and everything, strangely covered by a rather dirty off-white apron. “but I like to work as fast as I can once I find my inspiration!”
“Okay?” I mustered, confused. The old lady walked over to a sewing machine in the middle of the room and from a drawer in the table which it sat she materialized a roll of measuring tape. She immediately buzzed back over to me with the tape unraveled and proceeded to wrap me up in it. She wrapped it around my chest, waist, hips, and I tried to ignore the strangling sensation by looking around the room.

The room was plain with stone walls and wood floors but it was filled with rolls of fabric and balls of thread. A closet along the wall was bursting with felts and other materials and the large window across from the door had at least a half a dozen curtains laced around it.

“Just as I thought,” the lady finally spoke, “you’re about the same size as him!”
“Him?” I exclaimed. What was she trying to say about my figure?
“Yes,” she said, “the young prince. You have about the same build as him. Quite a bit taller I’d say, but I can make up for that. It’s the width I was having trouble with.”
“Prince?! How old is he?”
“Going on 10 years I do believe, if I’m right about anything. Well, technically he’s king, but he’s still Prince to me. He can’t sit still long enough for me to do a decent tailoring! And the guards are too scared to hold him down, honestly. I have authority in matters of his care, but they won’t dare raise a finger against him for fear of a decapitation order.”
Something’s frighteningly wrong with this kingdom.

The old lady quickly whisked the measuring tape from my body and hurried over to the cabinet. She pulled out some shiny black articles and gave them to me.
“Put these on,” she ordered.
“But-” I hesitated, seeing how there wasn’t even a curtain for changing behind.
“Stop being a little sissy and put them on!” Under the intimidation, I quickly turned around and replaced my clothes with the ones she had given me. “That’s better! Now hold still!” She pulled a needle, thread, and a set of scissors from the pockets in her apron and began to outline the edges of my body with her fingers.

The clothes the lady had given me were pieces of an all black suit. It was much too big for me. I didn’t understand how it was supposed to be tailored for a young boy.
“Now then,” the lady said as she fingered some folds in my pant leg, “where in the world did you get a capsule of Royal Honey?”
“It was a gift. From a friend I met in the forest.”
“Oh?” the lady pulled a couple of pins from her cloud of hair. “The forest outside of town? How’d you meet him?”
Does everybody around here think a place with a castle is merely a town?
“I was lost and he invited me into his home. Ow!” a pin pricked my leg.
“Sorry. How long did you stay with him?”
“A little over a month. OW!”
“My bad. Why did you leave? Did he get bored with you?” She was getting awfully nosy.
“It was nothing like that. I never intended to stay that long. Besides, it was pretty inconvenient for him. He didn’t want to sleep inside the same house as me. By his choice only! There’s nothing wrong with my sleeping habits!” I quickly defended myself, though it was probably unnecessary.
“Oh.” The atmosphere around her seemed to soften suddenly. “Well, that’s alright, I guess.” The lady quickly put the rest of the pins into the excess material of the pants without anymore casual stabbings. This conversation hadn’t made me the least bit more comfortable with her. I was very wary of her working with so many sharp objects so close to my skin. She took her scissors and began to slide them along the outsides of the pins.

“My name is Maraulen,” she finally said. I could have sworn she even started smiling at this point. “What’s yours, dear?”
“Rachel,” came from my mouth.
Oh boy, here we go again.
“Rachel Endrum.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Rachel.” Maraulen smiled neatly. I was quite suspicious of her sudden shift to pleasantness, then to my surprise, she suddenly tore a large strip of fabric right off my legs. Keeping her smile, she proceeded to fling the pins out. Then like a hairdresser giving a trim, she held the flaps of fabric between her fingers and with needle and thread, swiftly sewed them from bottom to top. “I’m the royal seamstress, designer, and nanny in this castle. Everything I design has my emblem on it,” she pointed towards the brooch of her dress which had a design engraved in its middle. “If you need any of my services don’t hesitate to ask!”
“…Right,” I said dumbly.
What a strange place!

Maraulen continued to rip and sew with great speed. She was wonderful to watch. Her hands flowed in and out of the fabric like some kind of magician, however, I didn’t quite understand what kind of suit it was supposed to be. From jacket to pants, the seams were all on the outside, it looked like a horrible mess. Luckily she covered the jacket with a bulgy sheet of dark fabric which made it look more like a half inflated saggy balloon, but it was still frightfully uncomfortable since she kept turning the collar in towards my neck and insisted on placing buttons on the inside of the outfit.

“There!” she declared satisfied. Maraulen walked over to the cabinet and opened it to reveal a mirror hanging of one of its long doors. I looked at the product.
“Umm. It looks kinda funny.” I stared at the suit and said softly, as if I was ashamed of the fact.
“Don’t be silly! Take it off and turn it inside out!” Maraulen encouraged me with a hand motion. I did as she directed and looked again.

The suit was stunning. Sure the sleeves and legs were terribly short on me, the chest was too tight and the belly was too loose, but the presentation was beautiful. The suit was dark black as if it were cut out of the night sky and the hemming and embroidery had a sheen like stars. Or the glitter of a snow covered field in the night. The collar came long down the front of the jacket and featured an artistic cut around its edges which I didn’t notice her put in when she was sewing.

“Thank you for all your help, dear. How ’bout you help me deliver it to the prince.”
“A-alright.” I answered nervously after I had changed back into my own clothes and we took off down the hall back to the staircase.

chapter 01

The start of the second book now. Things should get a lot more interesting! Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy it!

Crowds clamored incomprehensibly. Our feet stomped hard against the rough and dusty road. People packed together as if we were products being shipped from an assembly line, cushioned in our own clothes. Tall, shiny soldiers peered down as I passed through the gates of the great outer wall of the city. On the other side, the market place dazzled.

What a great place! Everything’s so big and busy! Clothes, food, toys, books, machines! Wow! This place has it all!
Unfortunately, I did not. My pockets were as empty as-
Wait a minute…
I felt my palms around the outside of my pockets. At least one of them had something in it! Excitedly, I pressed my fingers into the lip on my blouse’s side. False alarm. I still had that branch tiara I made a couple days ago at Tremarch’s place. It had lost most of its green leaves though. I exhaled my breath of anticipation and placed the tangle of twigs back into my pocket.
At least it feels like something’s there. I wonder if the Royal Honey Tremarch gave me is worth anything. It shouldn’t be called ‘Royal’ if it can’t at least get me a night in a decent hotel.

I continued to weave through the crowd down the main street of the city. The crowd began to disperse as I moved away from the entrance gate but the stores were still bustling and money or not, I didn’t have any interest of being anywhere else at the moment. As I walked down the street, I passed a pet store, a bakery, and what seemed to be a consulting service of some kind. This was definitely the capital city. The rest of the land seems so solitary and spacious compared to this place.

So many different places and people were around. Above the store tops I could see the white castle looming with many multi-colored flags rolling and whipping about in the wind. On the ground, people of many different cultures and professions intermingled. Warriors in arms, exotic foreigners in bright clothes, magicians with tall staffs, walking in and out of stores, entertaining local children, and trying to meet their daily needs. I couldn’t help but stare at a dog faced fellow as he exited a music shop carrying a lyre.

Alright! Items of importance: Money. Following that I can get a bite to eat and a hotel to stay at.
Getting money can take time, so I was prepared to sleep outside for a night or two, but hopefully I could find some loose change before I started picking garbages for food.
I guess I’d better see how much this Royal Honey is worth. If that doesn’t work, I guess I could find a cafe or something to work at. People are always willing to give big tips to cute girls such as myself!
I strode along optimistically into a nearby trinket and antique store.

“May I help youuu?” a lingering, condescending tone came from across a trinket covered counter. A scrawny man with long eyelashes and slicked back hair peered down the sides of his large nostrils at me.
“Ummm, yes! Do you do trades?” I appealed.
“Dreadfully difficult to do business here if I didn’t. No one seems to carry the king’s currency around here,” he stated flatly.
“What’s the currency?”
“Gumdrops.”
“Wha?”
“Yes, gumdrops.”
“Oh.”
That sounds amusing. I wonder if this guy is alright in the head?
“Personally, I work with gold, but that’s the beauty of bartering, it doesn’t really matter what the official currency is. So, what do you offer? What do you want?”
“Oh!” I recollected myself, “this-” I raised the leather strap with the little capsule from around my neck, the man let out a wild high pitched gasp with his fingers braced at the sides of his mouth and startled me.
“Theif!” he said.
“What?”
“You stole that capsule! Right from under my nose!” the man pointed at a turn table style rack covered in miniature capsules identical to the one I was holding. Awkwardly, the rack was behind him and out of my reach.
Well, it’s a big nose to do it under.
“I did not, I just came in here! You were watching me the whole time!”
“I don’t know how you did it! I just know that you have one of my capsules and I’ve never seen you before! I never forget the face of a paying customer!”
“Well, how much is it?” I asked.
“Two piece.” I made a face. I suspected Tremarch would have been so cheap. This man, apparently, was even cheaper! Unfortunately that was two pieces more than I had on me.
“Look, I didn’t steal it. It was a gift! Besides, it’s already full with Royal Honey!” I raised the necklace and waved it in front of the man’s disturbed face. “I couldn’t steal it then fill it right in front of you, now could -” A hand from behind me grasped the shoulder of my waving arm firmly. I jumped a little.
“With what?” The man asked disbelievingly.

I slowly turned my head to see who had grabbed me. I reared my head over my shoulder, but there was no one there. I followed the hand on my shoulder down a chubby arm. Lower. Lower. There! Beneath a large puff of fluffy red hair was a stout old woman who’s height immediately reminded me of Tremarch. She frowned and plucked the dangling capsule from my grasp then gave it a couple of sniffs.

“She did not steal it, Jeregald. I gave it to her and I would appreciate it if you didn’t accuse my niece of such things!” the peculiar woman stated boldly. The man, “Jeregald”, seemed to have fallen back on one of his feet. He blinked a couple of times before blurting out:
“Forgive me, madam! I had no idea she was a relation to one as esteemed as yourself!” I stood there blankly. If I could have gotten my capsule back I probably would have backed right out of the store and ran away, but the old lady clasped it firmly between her claw like fingernails.
“And you, young girl,” she threw the necklace back at me, “have a lot to learn about the elegance involved in being a lady!” I was shocked, but quickly changed this to an annoyed expression. Then the woman grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me from the store. The man behind the counter just looked distressed as he attempted to recompose himself by retucking his hair behind his ears.

Once we were out of view from the store owner I tried to pull away from the hags grip. She just tugged me closer.
“Where are you taking me lady?”
“You can’t just go flashing Royal Honey around like that!” she hissed. “I’m taking you to the castle!”
“Are you gonna turn me in?” I hissed back, trying to hide my concern under my breathe.
“Of course not! You owe me!” The lady sneered as she led me through a set of gates leading into the large green and white courtyard of the castle, bowing my back with every step she got ahead of me. “You’re going to model for me!”