Once Upon a Time...

Once Upon a Time...
I was a prince, who became a kitchen maid.

All-Kinds-of-Fur

When Mother breathed her last breath of life, Father changed. The moment she had fallen ill, Father forbade my three older sisters and I from visiting her due to the threat of disease and the thought of seeing our beautiful mother in agony. When a servant delivered the news, my sisters and I embraced each other and wept for many long moments.

After our eyes could give no more tears, we made our way to the Royal Chamber. Guards stood outside our parents’ room, denying us entry.

“Forgive us, your highnesses,” spoke one of the guards. “But his majesty has forbidden anyone to enter his room.”

“For what reason?” asked Victoria, my eldest sister, the forever dutiful daughter. “Our beloved mother is dead, there is now no threat of illness. It is most improper to not allow a woman’s children to pay respects to her.” Tears brimmed in her eyes when the guards still refused.

“She is our mother!” exclaimed my middle eldest sister, Sarah. “She is dead! Why do you not allow us in? For God’s sake, show some heart you brutes!” Sarah, if not being held back by Victoria would have smacked one of the guards soundly across the face. Sarah was outspoken and willful, a trait she had received solely from our father.

“Please let us in,” pleaded my youngest eldest sister, Emily. “We have not seen Mother for many months. What harm could it do to just say our farewells. Please sirs.” Emily’s tears fell freely, even outside of the sanctuary of our rooms. She was so sweet and doleful, almost too angelic to be considered real.

As for me, I remained silent as was part of my nature. I looked at the guards in what I thought was a commanding way, as Father always did. Perhaps they would relent for their Crown Prince, if not for their princesses?

Yet still, the guard blocked our path, and we were forced to retire to our rooms.

Weeks past. Mother had been placed in the burial vault of the Church and a funeral had been given. The only person besides the Holy Man and needed servants who attended the function was Father. My siblings and I were denied permission to attend the funeral or to even visit Mother’s coffin.

Father was so different then he had been before Mother’s illness and death. No longer was he the fair and kind King that his people remembered. He became like a hermit, staying locked up in his rooms, with only a handful or servants allowed in to see to his basic needs. He ignored us and his kingdom, not caring if everything fail to damnation or not.

Father, took to drinking. Spirits and ales were constantly being delivered to his rooms by maids. Father never seem to stop drinking and the maids were kept busy by his demands. Still Father refused to see his children, and we wanted with fear for what was to come.

Then maids started wondering about with large bruises on their faces and legs. Father had taken to beating them in his drinking moods. Their screams could be heard throughout the castle. Half the maids left, only quickly to return as they faced the wrath of their families for abandoning their jobs and positions in the Royal Household.

When half a year had passed, and Father showed no sign of taking up his throne again, my sisters took drastic actions.

Victoria started to run the Kingdom in Father’s place. She held his meetings with ministers and foreign dignitaries. She made a good Queen Regent, though at first was met with much skepticism. The Court began to slowly come back to life.

Sarah managed the finances and the concerns of the common people. She met with farmers and visited the shops of merchants and butchers to make certain everything was prospering. She discussed taxes with Victoria and improvements with the other ministers. Our Kingdom started to return to its old self.

Emily took care of the Royal Household, running its management and seeing that everyone from the scullery maid to us were well taken care of. She talked about menus with the cook and embroidered shirts for Father and me. She was the perfect planner, letting no detail escape her mind.

Again I was left out. “Go worry about your studies, Nathaniel,” they would all say. “One day you must do all of this alone.” I repented to my sisters’ wishes and went about my studies in academics and battle.

For two months, this plan worked. Then Father found out through a maid what my sisters were doing and grew furious. He rushed out of his room, dressed in rancid and ragged clothing that had once been his finery. His beard had grown unruly and he had gained much weight. He looked more like a wild man then a King.

We had been having a very pleasant dinner when Father burst in the dinning room, looking like a demon. We gasped, not recognizing this man as our father. He marched over to where Victoria sat, gave a wicked smile, then slapped her hard across the face. She gasped. He picked her by her bodice, ripping it. She stood, trying to hide chest, when he again slapped her, causing her to collapse on the floor.

“You stupid whore,” he sneered, still with the menacing smile. “Fancy yourself a Queen, you gutter-snipe. I ought to throw you in the river and watch you drown for my pleasure. Or perhaps that is to good for your. Maybe I should strip you of that dress and throw you to the prisoners. It has been so long since they have...”

“Stop,” screamed Sarah, regaining her senses and rushing to aide Victoria. Father grabbed her by the hair.

“Your no better,”Father hissed at her, pulling her hair harder. He threw her to the ground and gave her a kick to the stomach. Emily and I rose to assist our sisters, but Father grabbed Emily by the chin and smashed her into the wall with a dull thud. I finally grabbed his arm, pausing him.

“Father please,” I pleaded, my eyes filled with tears. At first he looked ready to strike me, but upon looking more closely at me, stopped.

“Mary,” he said gently. Mary had been Mother’s name. While my sisters had always had Father’s straight dark hair and brown eyes, I had received Mother’s rich auburn curls and sparkly green eyes. My sisters were tall with an average built, while I was petite with a reed like body, just like Mother had been. He gently stroked my face, leaving a trail of grime. He patted my hair and gave a real smile, that if not for his earlier actions would have made us all cheer. When he grew tired of staring at me, he turned and walked out of the dining room.

“You three will be married without haste,” he said to my sisters, who I was currently trying to comfort. “And Nathaniel, you are forbidden to have any contact with them. Guards, take my son to his room.” Screams followed as I was ripped from my sisters hands by guards who with brute force drug me to my room. Once in it, I spent the next few hours banging on the door and screaming for my sisters. Finally I collapsed by the door and cried myself into a restless sleep.

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My sisters were all married within a month. The bridegrooms, from what I could tell from my window and through servants’ gossip, seemed to be pleasant and good for my sisters. Victoria’s husband had recently became a duke, and Sarah and Emily’s were the first sons of dukes. They were luckily all young and handsome, I feared Father would marry them to the oldest men he could find. The sad thing was that the men where all from great distance. Once married, I may never see my sisters again.

The joint weddings were met with much celebration and people lining up in the streets to view their beautiful princesses and their husbands. Father was there too, cleanly shaven and in a new silk outfit, smiling like a benevolent father onto his daughters, who still bore signs of his insanity. I was not allowed to attend the festivities. Father said I had taken ill. I watched it all from my bedchamber window, crying as my sisters finally departed for their new life and leaving me alone in the cold and foreboding castle.

New rules came from Father daily. His first was that I could only cut my bangs, and I had to grow out the rest of my hair. Next, I had to learn to embroidery, so I could do his shirts as Mother and Emily use to. I was only allowed to wear silk, damask, or velvet, all my cotton or woolen clothing had to be thrown out. My boots and swords were taken away, and I had to wear slippers and jewels. My diet was changed to include only bland vegetables and some boiled meat. Father’s madness led for my rooms to be redone. Soon, my chambers looked almost identical to the ones my sisters use to have.

Father still had not turned himself back to running his kingdom, instead he preferred to spend his days lazing about the castle, still drinking too much and abusing our servants. The kingdom was quickly turning to ruin, as Father increased taxes and demanded a larger share of the farmers’ crops. Unrest swelled in the cities and country side.

The worse was yet to come. I was finally given leave from my prison to celebrate my sixteenth birthday. Though I loathed that it was only to spend the night with Father and his Councilmen, who where the only guest at my ‘party’. I was hoping that Father had grown tired of me, like he had with my sisters, and had decided to marry me off. Or had decided to marry again, taking away all his attention on me.

The dinning room had been hung with black drapery, like most of the castle, the last time I had seen it. Now, it was bright again, hung with sky blue and lavender silk. A huge cake with mounds of frosting stood at one end of the table, next to a large pile or brightly wrapped gifts. Father was looking better then the last time I have viewed him, and was smiling and gesturing for me to sit down.

Dinner was my favorite treats, that I had not tasted for so long. I relished in fresh berries in cream and even jam on bread. The cake was magnificent and I almost ate myself sick on it on the chocolate and cream. Besides the basic blessings, no words were spoken as we ate. The Councilmen seemed to be nervously looking at us, while Father was in rapture watching me.

Gifts came next. The Councilmen gave me books, chains, or other such droll and normal things. I thanked each and everyone one of them. Next, I was surprise to receive gifts from all my sisters.

Emily sent me a woolen sack, that was enchanted to hold an infinite amount of items, but never feel heavier then a bag of feathers. Or so her note said, besides wishing me a joyous birthday. Sarah gave me sturdy boots, meant to help me walk for a very long time without feeling tired. Finally, I opened Victoria’s gift to find the strangest gift of all. It was a mantle made of pieces of about fifty different types of animals. It was a curious hodgepodge of pelts and skins. The note read

‘To keep you warm when you are cold, to keep you cool when you are hot and too keep you hidden from prying eyes.’

Father scoffed at my sisters’ gifts. “What where they thinking sending such things to a crown prince. Surly they realize they are useless to you, just like they are to anyone. I am surprise their husbands have not sent them back to me.” I kept my tongue, though I very much would have liked to say some unprincely things to Father.

Finally, Father with a huge grin placed his gift upon my lap. It was large and a bit heavy. I unwrapped it with grace. I removed the lid from the box to have my eyes stunned by silver cloth in a dazzling brilliance. I lifted up the cloth to reveal a dress made of silver.

The underskirt was vast and was all in a light silver with a deeper silver colored thread decorating it with curlicues. The overdress and bodice where a deep silver, and the bodice had the matching design as the underskirt, but in light silver. The sleeves were long and trailing, with a few gaps made to show off the wearers arms. Included with the dress was a pair of silver slippers, a silver necklace, ring, and bracelet, along with a silver tiara and mask. Underneath all the silver, I saw shimmering gold that took my breath.

I pulled out a gold dress with bell sleeves and a bodice made of solid gold. The skirt part was seven layers of longer and longer frilled gold cloth, edged with golden bells that twinkled whenever the wearer walked. It too included golden jewelry and a golden mask. I placed all these items down next to the silver, to finally pick up the glowing white silk.

The dress was not just white silk. It too had bell sleeves, that were split and trimmed with gold and silver. The bodice was gold with a large diamond star in the center. The overskirt fell to the middle of the wearers thigh, pleated, and lined with gold and silver. The underskirt was amazing. It was white silk, but had about a hundred smaller diamond stars twinkling in it. It came with white silk slippers with a diamond star on the front of each, a white silk collar with a diamond star, and a gold and diamond bracelet, ring and tiara. The mask was of white silk trimmed in gold and silver, with diamonds around the eye holes.

The dresses were works of art and a fortune. My sisters would have loved to be blessed with such treasures as these gowns. I was afraid to even touch their beauty, and curious as to why I was given them. Perhaps Father had betrothed and I was to give these gifts to my bride as her bride price.

“Nathaniel,” spoke Father. “It is high time you thought of marriage. I have decided to marry you to the best and most worthy candidate, myself.” Everyone but Father gasped. A maid bringing in hot chocolate dropped her platter and spilled the liquid all over the floor. Father yelled at her until she left.

“Father, but...” I stuttered.

“Do not defy me Nathaniel!” He screamed, banging the table. “I swore to your mother I would only wed someone as equally beautiful as she, and you are the only one. Your sisters are married and will bear me heirs soon enough. I need companionship. All the townspeople believe you have fallen ill with your mother’s sickness. Soon I will claim you are dead, and marrying who I shall introduce as a princess of a faraway kingdom,” he said, stroking my cheeks, ignoring how I flinched at his contact. “I will be a gentle lover to you my dear. We will be wed soon. And then I can see you in these glorious gowns and in your even more beautiful skin.” I was too shocked to do much but cry. Father and his Councilmen went about celebrating our engagement and making the normal lewd comments about myself as the bride and our wedding night. I was finally able to retire, carrying my sisters gifts and the cursed gowns with me to my chamber. I threw myself upon my bed and wept for many hours, wishing myself away from this wretched place, wishing Mother alive, and wishing myself dead.

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If things haven’t come to be as they had, I would not have survived. I was fully ready to kill myself if forced into a marriage with Father. Everyone outside a few servants and the Councilmen thought me almost dead, what difference would it make if I was truly. But luck was with me. Father’s people had grew tired of the treatment he had given them. Our Kingdom’s defenses was weak. A revolt took place that evening.

Peasants over ran the castles, bringing torches and axes along with angry screams and drunken boast. Our guards number had diminished, and soon the people had made their way into the courtyard. For several long moments I heard screams and shots, then a roar of victory from the crowd. I was afraid. I knew I had to leave if I wanted at all to live. I ran over to my gifts and put on the boots and mantle my sisters had given me, over my bed clothes. I filled the bag with all the valuables within reach, which sadly was Father’s gifts to me. I didn’t care, I could sell them in the next town I came to for money. I ran into the hallways, to be joined in the masses of servants that where also fleeing. I followed them to the pantry where they rapidly try to get food and water for the trip they too were making. I grabbed a flask of water, bread, and cheese and put them in the sack with my gowns.

“The King is dead,” moaned a voice, met with gasp of shock. “And so is the Prince. We have to leave now!” I was pushed out with the servants, only shedding a few tears for Father. After many months of being held in my rooms, I was out of the castle and mulling around with the servants as they fled under the glaring eye of the revolters.

“Let them leave unscathed,” said who appeared to be the leader, holding the head of Father high to show the people. “They are victims too.” We rushed quickly away, before they had time to change their minds.
The servants had other places to go to. Families they had left to find jobs that would accept them back. I had noone. My sisters where too far away to do much good, and soon would be told that I, along with Father, was dead. I traveled the road that led out of the Kingdom and into our neighboring land that I had not seen in many years. I could care less about where I was going. After walking several miles, my body finally gave way near the edge of a forest. The boots had help me walk for longer then I normally could and the cloak did stop me from feeling cold or hot. I held my light sack near my chest and fell into a deep sleep.

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Dawn came, but did not wake me. I remained asleep until I heard the neighing of horses from a distance. I watched as a carriage came up the road I had traveled last night. The carriage paused in front of me, and I gripped my sack closer to me as the coachman, footmen, and occupant of the carriage looked at me.

“Who are you lass?” asked the coachman. I quietly fumed at being thought a girl, but knew it was a better disguise. I looked more female then male, and I was less likely to be recognized.

“I am a maid of King James’s household,” I lied, still curling myself up in a ball.

“Oh, you must have fled when they burned it to the ground,” said a footman, walking over to me. I nodded, tears beginning to fill my eyes. “Poor dear, you must be frighten. Lord Drake,” he addressed the passenger. “May we please bring her with us to the castle. We can get her a job in King Aaron’s household.” The man just nodded and I was helped up into the coachman’s seat and we set off.

We rode in silence, which was fine with me, for it gave me time to think about my story. I would become an orphan girl that had been serving in King James’s kitchen as a scullery maid. I was sixteen and my name was Natalie. I memorized my story before drifting off into an uneasy sleep, holding my bag close to my body with one hand and the mantle tightly over my body with the other.

I awoke from fitful dreams a few hours later when the carriage stopped for the night at a inn. I had forgotten that the palace was a two days journey from the kingdom’s border. The footmen helped Lord Drake out of the carriage. The inn keeper rushed out to greet his guest.

“Lord Drake,” the man said, wiping his hands on the apron over his pants. “A pleasure to see you again.” Lord Drake nodded.

“I will be needing three rooms for the evening,” Lord Drake replied to the man.

“Three my lord?” asked the inn keeper. “Normally you only need two. One for you and one for your serving men.”

“We have a late addition to our party,” the Lord replied, gesturing to me. “She is a refugee from the household of King James that we found along the way. As of man of honor, it is my duty to make sure she arrives at a new place of work unharmed and with her virtue intake.” I was startled that this lord cared a wit about me. It was nice enough to allow me to come along, let alone offer me keep for the night. Yet I could not accept such charity when I truly did not warrant it.

“My lord,” I said, speaking higher then normal. “You have shown me too much kindness as it is. I will be fine sleeping amongst the trees.”

“Where some scoundrels can easily kill or rape you?” said Lord Drake. “Young lady, not all men will show you kindness or common courtesy. Accept it whilst you can.”

“Might I make a suggestion?” asked the inn keeper and Lord Drake gave consent. “There is a sewing room connected with my daughters’ room that can only be reached through a single door in their room. I can lay a cot down there for the lass. No charge for you Lord Drake, consider it a little more charity for a poor girl that has just lost everything.” Lord Drake smiled and any protest I had was silenced.

One of the footmen helped me down and into the inn with my sack.

“It is quite warm miss,” he said. “You should remove your mantle or you shall over heat.”

“Do not worry about me,” I replied. “I am perfectly comfortable.” The footman shrugged and lead me to the inn keeper’s daughter’s room. His wife and four daughters were standing outside to assist me.

“Thank you so much for your kindness madame,” I said, bowing.

“Ain’t a hardship at all, lassie,” the woman laughed. She was pleasantly plump with frizzy brown hair held under a cap. Her daughters all were slender and of varying ages from twelve to almost twenty. “That sewing room doesn’t get any use. I am all thumbs with needle work and me girls never took an interest or talent in it. Might as well put it to use.”

I again thanked them and walked through the bedroom into the little chamber. It was only a little larger then a closet, so I could understand why four girls would not want to work in here. There was no window and besides a spinning wheel, a small table and chair, and the newly placed cot, there was nothing else. The youngest daughter placed a candle on the floor and gave a small smile.

“I will bring you some dinner in a bit,” she whispered. “And my sisters have a few spare dresses they can give you.”

“Thank you,” I replied, sitting down on the cot. She studied me for a moment.

“It must have been horrible,” she said. I looked at her puzzled. “The castle being seized and all. Papa said you worked there. A man told us about it this morning. You must have been scared to death. Haven’t you any family you can turn to?”

“My parents are both dead and my sisters work for households too far away to reach.” I said truthfully.

“I am sorry to bother you,” the girl said blushing red, thinking she must have offended me. “My name is Carol, what is yours?”

“Natalie,” I said. She smiled and left.

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True to her word, Carol brought me cheese and sausage for dinner, three peasant dresses in varying shades of gray and blue, and one white apron. I thanked her and her family for everything.

“Why do you wear that mantle?” she asked. “It isn’t that well made and must be scorching you.”

“It is the only thing besides this bag that I have left,” I said, patting my enchanted sack. She nodded and left the small pile near the door. I ate a few bites, finding no appetite for anything. I removed my mantle and boots and tore off my night clothes that were nearly ruined. I dressed in one of the dresses. I looked very drab in the cotton garment, and was not use to female clothing, though I suppose I had to get use to it, as I was posing as a woman. I pulled my boots and mantle back on, knowing they looked even worse then the gown. I didn’t care, as the mantle protected me from prying or question eyes. Who would dwell any thoughts on a girl who wore a mantle of all kinds of fur?

I balled up on the cot in the corner and fell asleep.

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Carol awoke me in the morning to tell me breakfast was ready. I followed, holding my bag to my chest. I sat down on a bench near the coachman and footmen. Carol served me a bowl of porridge which I ate a little of.

“Are you well?” asked the inn keeper. “You barely ate last night and now you eat even less.”

“I do not mean to worry you sir,” I said. “I have never been much for eating.” The inn keeper sighed and took my unfinished bowl away. The carriage was loaded up with Lord Drake’s belongings and we again boarded it and set off toward King Aaron’s castle.

The journey was again in silence, as everyone had too little to say or too much to ask. I felt the curious eyes of the footmen, the coachman, and even Lord Drake on me. I acted like an insignificant wench that did wish to trouble men with her babble. Truthfully I didn’t wish to talk, as I feared I may give something of my true identity away.

Our arrival at the palace was meet with much fanfare, as Lord Drake was one of King Aaron’s oldest and dearest friends. The King himself came out to greet his friend.

I had been many years since I had seen King Aaron. The last time, I had been a boy of six, and he a man of eighteen. The occasion had been his coronation and had been the grandest celebration I had ever been a witness too. The man had given me a smile and wink, and that was all the attention he had paid to me.

Lord Drake shook his hand. Lord Drake was a handsome man of good built and a head taller then me. He had bright blue eyes and a honey colored hair that covered his head in messy curls. He was dressed in an elegant suit of blue damask, but he was nothing compared to King Aaron.

The King was half a head taller then Lord Drake. He had deep sapphire blue eyes, and long black locks held back with a red silk ribbon. He wore a crimson cape and a red and gold suit in velvet and damask. He was clean shaven and handsome with a large smile on his face. I gasped at seeing the man and wish to have spent more time studying him, but the coachman flicked his whip and drove the carriage around to the servants entrance. I sighed lightly. Never again would a king or lord pay any heed to me.

“The cook here is demanding and tough,” said the coachman as he stopped the carriage and climbed down. He helped me and my sack down also. “But she rarely turns down someone seeking a job and has never been known for cruelty or wickedness. Just listen to what you are told and don’t speak back to her and you will do fine.” I nodded as he lead me to the kitchen door.

A young maid answered and the coachman asked for the cook. The girl nodded and beckoned us into the large kitchen that was bustling with life.

“The King’s birthday balls are in two days time,” the coachman said. “Guest have been arriving to attend it. The rumor is that King Aaron is searching for a bride.” It wasn’t surprising. He was almost twenty-eight and unwed. His kingdom needed an heir or two before he died or it would fall to ruin like mine had.

A plump and stout woman with a scrunched up face came over. Her dress was a deep blue and a stained apron was over it. Her graying hair was held back by a cap and she had a demeanor of impatience and truthfulness that I had never witnessed.

“What do you want,” she said, getting straight to the point.

“This girl needs some form of employment,” the coachman said for me. “She was a maid in King James’s household.”

“And her former home is now a pile of smoldering rubble,” the woman said, eyeing me. “She doesn’t look like much, but a scullery maid is a job that any idiot can do.” She dismissed the coachman who left me to face the woman.

“I am Mrs. Nell,” she said. “You will address me as such or as madame. You will work from five in the morning to eleven at night for thirteen days for two week. For the other day, you will have free to do as you wish as long as it doesn’t bother me or anyone else. I do not like wenches or girls who think above their lots in life, so if you imagine yourself a princess, don’t act like such. Understand.”

“Yes madame,” I replied.

“We haven’t any space left in the servants’s quarters, so you will have to due with the trundle bed near the door for the moment,” she pointed where I had just came from and a little cranny that held a small bed and shelf. I nodded.

“Now what shall I call you?” she questioned herself.

“My name is...” I began.

“I never learn anyone’s name until they have been here a year or so,” she said, cutting me off. “Shall you wear that wretched mantle every day?” she asked.

“Aye madame, if it won’t be...” I said, but again she cut me off.

“Then I shall call you All-Kinds-of-Fur, and I expect you to answer to it,” she said. I nodded my consent. “Fine. But the minute I hear a complaint about you, you will be gone. And I don’t want to see any fur on the dishes or food, or I shall send you out myself!” She went away before I could reply. I sat my sack down on the bed and then went to work.

Though I had never done such a thing in my life, I cleaned the dishes. The work was hard, but not complex. I muttered no sound and scrubbed every pot, pan, or dish I was handed. A few people glanced my way, but most ignored me. A new maid must be common, and few people cared what I looked like. The uglier I was the less competition I was for the favors of the gentlemen in the household. And coming from a household where all the lusty eyes were on me was a blessing. I could deal with being ignored.

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The kitchen schedule was easy to remember and follow. Mrs. Nell awoke us by yelling at five in the morning. We quickly broke our fast with some bread and cheese and set to work. At one in the afternoon, we had a smiler meal. Dinner wasn’t until after eleven at night, and was the best meal of all as it could last a hour or more and was made up of all the royal left overs. I ate each meal as quick as possible.

My main duty was cleaning the dishes, though a few times Mrs. Nell or another person yelled my new name to do some other task, such as taking bread out of the oven or feeding the chickens. After a few burns and pecks, I learned how to do those task properly also.

At the end of the second day, a surprise came.

“You will all have the night off,” she said, shocking us all, even those that had worked here for years. “It is the King’s birthday and a masked ball shall occur tonight and the next two nights. You have permission to view them if you like, or you can do what you wish.”

Several headed off to change into their best clothes, a few more decided to go into town, and the rest headed off to sleep or celebrate in their rooms. I headed to my bed for rest.

For the first time since I had been here, the kitchen was quiet and it was still light out. After a hour or so, I couldn’t fall asleep and the music from the ball was wafting into the kitchen. It had been ages since I had been to a ball and I ached to go. If I went though, I could only stand in a crowd around the kitchen and view the ball like the other servants. I wanted to dance and act like a prince for one more night. I sighed and wept a silent tear.

I held my sack closer to me when a thought came. I couldn’t be a prince, but maybe a princess? I tore open the bag and pulled the first gown out that I could find. The silver gown glimmered in my hand. I searched until I found all the accessories and laid them gently on my bed. I did not fear discovery, though I should have. If anyone saw me with such treasures, an explanation would have to follow, probably one that accused me of thief or of being a witch, both endings would not be good for me. I took off my mantle, peasant dress, and boots, and hid them in my sack.

I gave myself a quick cleaning with cool water before dressing. I with great care put on the gown, feeling the softness and smoothness of the silver cloth. The gown was made to fit me perfectly, and I didn’t need a mirror to know that I looked like a princess in it. I smoothed out the wrinkles. In a reflection from the mirror, I combed my hair with my fingers until it was smooth and gleamed. I placed the slippers and jewelry on. The last item was the mask, which I tightly fastened around my face. I picked up my skirt and made my way to the kitchen door and out.

I walked quickly along the cobble stone path, wishing for my boots or a carriage. As luck would have it, a coachman appeared bearing a noble.

“Miss,” the passenger called out, a man who appeared to be a baron, dressed as to look like an eagle. “If you are heading to the ball, I shall give you a lift. A fine lady as yourself should not be walking to such an occasion.” He was looking at me with stunned eyes due to my appearance in my silver gown. I nodded my consent and a footman opened the door and helped me in.

The ride was only a few minutes long before we came to the main entrance of the castle that Lord Drake had entered through two days prior.

The footman helped me out, and the older man took my arm and escorted me in. Stunned heads turned toward me as I entered the entry hall that had been decorated with reds, golds, and silvers for the occasion. Women and men alike gasped at my beauty and my gown as I made my way toward the ballroom.

The entire room paused as I came down the stairs, and my escort beamed with pride at having the prettiest girl at his side. The music began, and we danced.

I whirled in bliss, happy at the freedom of not being a servant or my father’s son. Tonight, I was merely a lady at a ball and I sought enjoyment in that.

After my first dance with the unnamed baron, Lord Drake requested the next one. I turned to the baron to ask.

“Go on, my lady,” he smiled. “One dance with a girl such as yourself is enough to make a man die happy. Go and be with men your own age. I am past my prime, you deserve a man in his.” Much to my surprise I gave him a kiss as thanks, and smiled, before heading off with Lord Drake.

We danced for two songs, before another man grew impatient and requested I dance with him. He was a duke and smiled at me the entire time, stumbling over his own feet. A waltz with a count followed, and a few more lords, until a felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to come face to chest with King Aaron.

“My lady,” he said. “It would be the greatest gift of all if you would dedicate the rest of the night to dancing with me.”

“Your highness,” I curtsied. “The honor would be all mine.” He took my hand and rested his other one on my hips, before we began again. I was in complete bliss with the King dancing with me. His costume was that of dragon, in deep reds, greens, and gold. Though his charm and good looks could not make him fearsome in my eyes. Too soon, we parted, though nearly an hour had passed.

He escorted me over to the treat table and gave me a glass of champagne to drink.

“To your health,” I said, clinking the glass.

“And to yours,” he replied, smiling. He took me off to the outside, the garden, and we sat on a stone bench.

“I do not believe I have be given the pleasure of your name?” he asked.

“I am called Natalie,” I replied.

“And where are you from?” he asked.

“Woodberry,” I said, naming the town that my sister Victoria was a duchess of. “I am a distant relative of the duke.”

“No longer a duke,” he said. “He is now the king, since James’s and the prince’s deaths. I did not think he would send a relative after such a tragedy here.” Aaron looked at me puzzled, and I cursed myself for giving unneeded information.

“I was already here when the news came,” I lied. “Though I am related to nobles, I myself am not one. My parents decided it was best that I still come, unless your majesty is not pleased by me being here.”

“Nonsense,” he smiled. “The only thing that would make me happier would be to see your face.”

I giggled. “Your majesty knows that it is custom to not show ones face until midnight of the last ball.” He sighed at my reply.

“Then I must wither in agony waiting to view you,” He said. “I have your word you shall be here the last night.” I nodded, and we went back to dancing.

Too soon it was one in the morning and the ball ended. King Aaron with great sorrow watched me leave with the first part of the crowd.

“I have stayed too long,” I said. “I must go or my guardian shall wonder where I am and not allow me back tomorrow or the next night.” He sighed and gave me a kiss, and I left.

On weary feet, I ran back to the kitchen before the others came back to talk of the ball. I was quicker then I felt and rushed into my cranny before anyone had entered the kitchen. I threw off my good dress and jewels, before donning my peasant dress, boots, and mantle. Instantly my feet felt better, and I curled on the bed.

Moments later others entered the room, talking about the ball, especially the lady in silver that danced with the King all night. I smiled and fell asleep.

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Like everybody else, I was dead on my feet in the morning. Everyone was either tired or hung over from their own celebration. Mrs. Nell yelled at us all for our slowness in work, though none paid her much attention. I was still focused on the kiss that King Aaron had given me last night.

I ached for the start of the next ball. Finally at five, Mrs. Nell announced to us to get to our own devices. I faked tiredness and went to my bed. When everyone was gone, I again stripped and tore off my clothing. I pulled out the gold dress, even more beautiful then the silver one, and donned it. I dressed the rest of my body, and left the kitchen.

I was earlier tonight, so the baron was not there to give me a ride, but my spirits were so bright that I did not mind the walk.

Again everyone gasped as the saw me, some women muttering it was unfair that I had two gowns so lovely, yet I paid noone any heed, my focus and mind only on King Aaron. And he was waiting for me, dressed tonight as the legendary Pegasus.

Without even asking he took my hand and led me into the ballroom. No other men approached me, for they saw the King had claimed me as his own. We danced, and I was lost in the wonder and the pleasure of it all. When the hour struck ten, he stopped to my surprise.

“Let us go elsewhere for some privacy.” He said. I nodded and followed him.

The place happened to be his bed chamber. It too was red, gold, and silver. The main attraction was a large canopy bed in the middle, ready for use of sleep or other nightly activity. He led me to it, and we sat down. I blushed red with nervousness. I knew what he wanted, and feared giving it. What would he do when he found out that I was male?

“Natalie,” he said. “I have falling in love with you. I know it is soon, but I felt it the first moment I saw you.”

“Your highness,” I said, startled at his proclamation of love. “I am not the girl you think I am, sire, I am...”

“Not a girl at all,” he said, smiling and raising an eyebrow. I blushed and was about to plead my case. “I have known from the moment I first danced with you that you were not a woman. Your hips are to narrow and your chest to flat. I don’t care who or what you are Natalie.” He kissed me again, and I returned it, not caring of what was to happen. “As long as you stay with me.”

His hands came to my mask, and before I could protest, removed it. For the first time since my arrival, someone was looking at me, not the furs or the dresses and jewels, but myself. Aaron’s hands stroked my cheeks as if they were the finest silks in the land and he looked upon my face as a man that had nothing to eat for days and I was feast in a clearing. I could not tell if the words of love he spoke where true, but I could see the lust that he felt.

“Your even more beautiful behind the gilt and glamor,” he whispered, awed. My tiara followed, and then my jewels, my slippers. Finally only the dress and undergarments remained for him to remove. I was never one to deny a request, and I too desired some form of love or acknowledgment for who I was, not for what I was believed to be. And I removed them myself to give my consent for what was to follow.

He undress more rapidly then I could ever have, and he stumbled several times doing so, bringing a laugh from me. He gave no care to his clothing, and it decorated the floor, while mine was neatly folded nearby. We stood examining each other nude. His body was powerful and muscled. And his member much larger then mine with a crop of black curls at the top. I blushed looking at it. How was this going to happen? I knew little of sex between man and woman, and nothing of sex between two men.

He licked his lips as his eyes traveled over my dusty pink nipples, my flat stomach, the pale skin, and landed on my member and its auburn curls that almost looked pink.

“Your so beautiful,” he gasped, gently touching me as if I would break. “So perfect.” He studied me longer. Finally he grew tired of looking at his prize and moved on to claiming it. He began kissing my lips and holding my head. Soon his tongue was begging entry into my mouth, and I gave it, feeling the muscle study every inch, savoring it as if it were a good wine. One of his hands moved from my head to my ribs, massaging them gently as they made their path to my hip, where they caressed the bone and skin.

Yet he had more to do then just kissing tonight. With a swift move, he lifted me and placed me gently on the bed. I whimpered at the lose of his mouth and hands, noticing how my member had grown harder and noticing his hardness as well, looking larger then the impressive size of before.

I was no stranger to self pleasure, and gave a coy smile as my hand reached for his member, he stopped me and I protested.

“Not yet,” he said, returning to ravishing my mouth. I sighed, but gave into kissing him, his hands worked my ribs and hips, petting them and caressing them. His mouth left mine, and began a wet trail down my jaw. He paused for a few moments at my neck, lavishing it with kisses, careful not to suck and leave a mark as if to mar its perfection. Next where my nipples, which he suckled at like a newborn until they were both little peaks that he lapped at.

He moved on, kissing his path down my chest to my stomach, licking my belly button till the saliva and air made it shiver. I thought his path completed, but he moved lower, to my hard organ, that quivered with his hot breath. Then, without pause, he enclosed his mouth over it.

I mewed and arched my body at the warm wetness around the most sensitive part of my body. He suckled at it, sending me to pleasure beyond any imagination I possessed. He engulfed more and more of it, until he was at the base and sack. He removed my organ from his mouth to my regret, but soon his tongue found my base sack and started playing with it.

The pleasure was so great, I was in agony. My pleas came out in mews and whimpers. He gave a deep chuckle and went back to the torture. Finally, he took pity and again engulfed my member and suckled it. He focuses on the end, giving it a few soft nips and lapping at and in the silt until some moisture spilt onto his tongue. Then, he went back to focusing on the entire organ, sending me higher then the turrets in the castle. A few moments passed until I gave my realize with a cry of happiness and he lapped it up like a kitten would creme.

“Sweeter then summer strawberries,” he said, again moving up and stroking my hair that had a sheen of sweat to it now. He chuckled and kissed me again. “Then next part will hurt,” he said after several minutes of making love to my mouth. “If you don’t want to..”

“No,” I said, touching his lips gently. “I want you to have all of me. Teach me what to do.” He smiled and nodded. He left the bed for several moments, and came back with a bottle of scented lotion that was normally used after baths to return moisture to the skin.

Liberally, he coated the three middle fingers of his right hand with the lotion. Next, I felt the pointer finger nudging the hole in my bottom, gently. Soon, it made a steady journey inward, and I groaned.

“Shh,” Aaron said. “Relax and it shall feel much better.” I tired to, though it was hard. The pointer finger entered and existed several times, and then Aaron added his middle finger, moving them both in and out of me. Before I could groan again, they went deeper and hit something in me that caused me to feel a great bliss and start the hardening of my flaccid member. He touched me many more times in that area, before he began moving his two fingers like scissors inside of me.

Finally, the third finger came, spreading me even more and touching that spot I yearned for him to hit. He removed his fingers, and my member was fully hard again. He covered his own member even more liberally with the lotion. He spread my legs as far as they would go, and positioned his member outside of my hole.

“Are you ready?” he asked. I nodded, and he with great care entered me. At first, all I felt was a burning deep in me. He moved as slow as snail, inching his way deeper and deeper inside of me. Finally, he brushed the spot of pleasure inside of me, and I bucked my hips for more coverage. Slowly he left me, and then a little quicker entered. He did that several times, before staying in me completely and moving more rapidly and hitting my spot every time. Soon I forgot all about the pain, and gave into pure pleasure.

His hand wrapped around my member and started pumping it as I had originally wanted to do with him. Minutes later, his essence spilled into me, and mine soon came and left a splatter across both of our stomachs.

He left me as the last of his seed spilled out. I was content with just laying there in the afterglow of our love making, but Aaron had not plans to lay in the sticky mess we had just made. He pulled me to his bathing chamber and then called for a household maid to come and change his sheets and draw a bath.

He covered me in a robe of his while the woman drew the bath, hiding my manliness from her, yet my hair and empty dress told her who I was. She gave me a wink, after she had added the oil to the water and left.

I let the robe fall to the ground and Aaron helped me into the bath. I never lifted a finger, as Aaron washed both him and I. He strokes were so gentle and sweet, that I lost myself in the sensation of my first bath in many days. Finally, he lifted me from the tub and dried me off. Then, he carried me to the newly made bed and laid me down.

“Sleep,” he whispered with a kiss. And before I could protest, I fell into a deep and peaceful rest.

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When I first awoke, I could not tell where I was. The bed beneath me was soft and silky, like the bed I used to sleep in at home and very different then the buckwheat mattress of the kitchen bed. A warm body held me close with strong arms in a tight embrace and a sweet breath ghosted across my neck alerted me to the presence of another in the good bed.

With the stealth of a cat, I worked my way out of my companion’s grasp and turned to see him in the candle light. It then dawned on me that I had slept with King Aaron and he knew at least one of my secrets, I was male.

I felt the panic rising in me. I had slept with another male, the King no less. Less then a week ago, the thoughts of laying with another male disgusted me, yet just a few hours before I was thrashing in ecstacy, begging for more like a bitch in heat. Bile rose with the panic, and I spilt the contents of my worry and stomach on the carpet, glad that King Aaron was still deep in sleep.

I did not know what to do, I was naked in the room of the King in the late night or early morning, I could not tell. The first thing to do was dress. With haste, I dressed rather messily in the glorious gown, taking no time to adjust it. I stuff all the jewelry into the bodice of my dress, along with the mask, knowing that I looked like a wretch even in the fine gown. The slippers would only slow me down, so with a heavy heart I left them.

I could not leave through the door like a normal visitor. Any guard would stop and question me about why I was in the King’s room, even though they had probably heard that the King was not alone. Or, the King had asked them to keep any person in this room until morning. The only way out was through the balcony. With quiet haste, I ran toward it, but noticed a slight gleam from a table nearby. For some odd reason, I paused and went to examine it and saw it was a gold ring made for a woman’s hand. I desired to study it more, but the king turned and groaned, frightening me. Without thinking, I put the ring on and went onto the balcony.

My mind whirled, thinking of a plan. A jump from this height would kill me and I had no rope for climbing. My only hope was to climb down the vine covered walls nearby. Never in my life had I been so scared, not even when Father had gone crazy or when I was escaping. Several times I nearly fell, and an hour had passed before I was firmly on the ground. While my worried left, my tiredness and soreness I had originally not noticed returned. I limped back to the kitchen, and entered to hear several of the servants still talking. They didn’t notice someone entering the kitchen or ambling to my bed. I quickly undressed and threw every thing back in the sack and put back on my cotton dress and mantle. My back was sore, I was tired all over, and still I didn’t feel like sleeping. I studied the ring I stolen, hoping my slippers might be a fair trade. They couldn’t be for this ring. It was a work of art. Minute detail of a princess and a prince in a garden was displayed on it, set with colored diamonds. The ring was a work of art, greater then that of my gowns. I felt guilty for stealing it and held it to my lips as I finally fell asleep.

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Mrs. Nell was furious with our laxness of the last day and forced a new work ethic into us. We ended up working until after eight, and the ball had already started. Finally, we were dismissed and more people tonight took to their beds then to viewing. Against my better judgement, I dressed in my white silk gown and prepared myself for the ball. At least, I could give my ring back. Although he already knew my face, I still wore my mask. I didn’t plan on staying long. Just enough to bid the King a farewell and return his property before I faded into the background for all eternity.

Entering, I got the same looks as the following nights, though there are fewer people in the entry hall at this late hour. I smile graciously at them all before I enter the ballroom and am stunned at the sight.

King Aaron is as handsome as ever in his Phoenix Costume of red, gold, and silver, but he is not waiting for me tonight. A lovely woman dressed as faery is in his arms is dancing as I had the last two nights. He bends over and whispers in her ear. She laughs like a tinkling bell and he kisses her. I gasp. The music stop and all focus is on me. Aaron looks stunned and bewildered and the girl gives me a smirk, showing she has taken my place in Aaron’s arms and heart.

I run out of anger and shame, with tears blinding me for an unknown reason, not toward the entry hall but to the kitchen on instinct.

“Natalie wait!” shouts Aaron as I barrel through the servants who want to stop me, but refuse to touch such a lady. The stay in their doorway as I run to the kitchen, hearing the pounding of Aaron’s boots behind me. I know I have not enough time to change as I throw open the kitchen door and don my mantel over my finery, and curl up on the trundle bed, crying my silent tears as Aaron enters.


Lord Drake and Mrs. Nell are not that far behind him.
“Natalie!” he screams, standing in the doorway. Lord Drake being of a clearer head turns to Mrs. Nell.

“Is there anyone who might have seen her leave?” Lord Drake questions.

“All-Kinds-of-Fur is sleeping right there,” I know she is pointing at my cranny. “I can see she is awake and balling about something. Oy, girl, tell us, has anyone passed by here tonight?” I feel the eyes of the room on me. More servants have come back to see what he commotion is about.

Through my tear strained voice I answered. “A pretty girl with tears came running through here but a few moments ago. Her cries awoke me and she ran out the door into a waiting carriage.”

“We have to go after her!” yelled Aaron at Lord Drake.

“In the morning,” replied Lord Drake. “She will probably be at one of the nearby inns. We will send out a search party to each of the neighboring inns to see where she is.” The Lord forcibly pulled the King back to the ball and I curled up again and cried, bringing the stolen ring to my lips and kissed it, tasting the cool roughness of the metal and jewels.

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The King, Lord Drake, and many guards leave at dawn. I help pack there food with the other maids, as gossip about the mystery girl abounds. I keep my head down and go about my work, eating little and caring about the world outside the dirty dishes even less. Without the King around, even Mrs. Nell is lax about work, leaving me with unwanted periods of idleness. I volunteer to do extra chores, which I am gladly given. Some of the maids try to make a friend of me, but I turn down every change of friendship they offer. I want only to be alone with my work, and soon they give up.

Two months after he left, the King has yet to return. From what I hear, he is searching every inch of the Kingdom for the missing lady, trying to find out where she is and what has become of her. Only I know, and I care not to tell. I escape the gossip by going to the vegetable garden to fetch one of the cooks some onions and carrots. To my surprise, Mrs. Nell follows.

I gather in silence, believing she is only checking my progress and to make certain I am not taken anything more then I need.

“You’re an odd one,” she says to me. I nod in agreement. “I have never had a servant to take on so much work and not ask for anything in return. You haven’t even taken a day off! Goodness girl, what did your old household do to you.”

“They taught me to never think above my station ma’am,” I replied. “For it only brings hard break. You yourself advise this too.” I rise with my bounty.

“Aye,” she replies. “But I never said stop dreaming about them. Even I, of old and ugly body still think of a life of beauty.” She reenters the palace.

I am left alone with my thoughts, something I had been avoiding for the last few weeks. Why do I want only ugliness in my life now? Is it because...

I gasp. For the first time it occurs to me I am in love with King Aaron, and that is why I have been so hurt and sadden by his actions. I had loved him long before we had sex or even had kissed. Maybe I had loved him from my first moment of seeing him when Lord Drake brought me, or maybe even before. I know not. All I knw is that I love him, and can never be with him. With that notion, I followed Mrs. Nell back inside.

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Finally, King Aaron returns. He is taken to his chambers and put to bed immediately. Lord Drake comes to the kitchen to talk to Mrs. Nell about what has occurred in the King’s absence and tell her of the news. I am the only one nearby, so I overhear everything.

“Noone has seen or even heard of her,” he said to the worried woman. “We rode to Woodberry and the capital of the neighboring kingdom, for she claimed to be a relation to King John. He has never heard of her. Baron Douglas said he found her running along the palace when he gave her a ride, he didn’t even know her name. The only place that has heard the name Natalie in the past three months is the Inn I stay at on my journeys, and they can’t even remember where they heard it from. It is like she just disappeared.”

“Perhaps she was a faery or a witch,” supplied Mrs. Nell. “She had something magical about her from what I saw.”

Lord Drake just shook his head. “Send a bowl of gruel up to his majesty, he needs his strength.” With that, the Lord leaves the kitchen.

“All-Kinds-of-Fur,” yells Mrs. Nell unnecessarily, as I am standing but two feet away. “Make a pot of gruel for his majesty, and mind you GET NO FUR IN IT!” I nod and go about my business of making the simple food that even I with no talent can make. When my task is finished, a higher up maid spoons a bowl out and takes it to King Aaron. As I move to a new task I notice the ring I stole from Aaron is gone from my finger and nowhere nearby. I cry a few silent tears as the last reminder of what might have been is gone. I dedicate my life to service.

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Not a hour passes before a commotion has broken out in the kitchen. Lord Drake is back, looking furious and confused.

“Mrs. Nell,” he calls. “King Aaron wishes to see who ever has made that gruel for him.”

“I did, sir,” she lies, knowing it was her duty and that she shrank from it. He shakes his head.

“Madame...” he warns. Mrs. Nell sighs.

“All-Kinds-of-Fur!” she bellows. I obediently come. “What ever have you done! Did you get your nasty fur in his majesty’s food?”
“No ma’am,” I plead. Lord Drake roughly grabs my arm and drags me out of the kitchen into the main palace and up the several flights of stairs and down the many halls.

“Child,” he mumbles, ignoring my yelps and cries. “I did not ask for you to be given work for you to cause such a problem in this household that the King himself thinks he must see to it after his ordeal and in his state. If you have done anything...” I ignore him.

Finally we arrive at the familiar door with many guards around it, and I am thrown inside to the floor. I am nothing but a quivering mass of tears at this time. The door slams, leaving only King Aaron, Lord Drake, and I in the room. I manage a look up through moist eyes. Aaron is propped up in his bed, looking meek and ill, and his eyes are on me.

“This is the wench that cooked your meal, sire,” said Lord Drake. King Aaron beckons for me to come closer, and Lord Drake drags me.

“Did you cook for me?” Aaron ask. I nod. He reaches to his bedside and holds a small something in his hand, the ring that I had stolen from him.

“I left this ring out for my love, the night he gave me his greatest gift,” said the King. I noticed that Lord Drake did not look startled at the word he. “It was my mother’s wedding ring. I wanted him to have it as a token of my affection, yet he left before I could properly give it to him. Yet he must have the ring. Remove your mantle, please.” Before I could, Lord Drake tears off the furs and leaves me in my dirty serving clothes on the floor. He and the king both gasp. Even without my finery, they know who I am.

“Natalie,” the King calls, and Lord Drake tries to lead me toward the King, but I fling myself down.

“No!” I scream. “No, no!” I do not care what I am doing and I scream and cry for a good long time, until I start beating myself. Lord Drake tries to stop me, but the King has attempted to rise and has fallen. When Lord Drake abandons me to assist the King, I hit myself so hard, I fall into the blackness.

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I awake in a fine guest room, alone. I am in a sleeping gown that must have been borrowed from one of the visiting noble females. I care not. I am sore and tired and care nothing for life outside the fine bed I am laying in.

Over the next two weeks, many servants and nobles come and try to talk to me. I ignore them and just look at the ceiling. I do not eat more then a bite or two at any given meal and I don’t think I ever sleep. I just study the universe that only I can see.

Someone over the last few days has gone over my things and my gowns have been put on dress mannequins in this room. They have been cleaned, the jewels and metal polished, and the missing slippers returned. Someone also has slipped the King’s ring back on my finger, and I couldn’t even remove it. I have been wanting to burn those gowns to do something, but I couldn’t be bothered to move.

Lord Drake has come on several occasions, to try and talk to me into seeing the King again, but I do not reply. He sighs and comes less. When he now comes he reads to me books that I have no interest in. He, the King, and nearly everyone think I have fallen into some sort of madness. The King is still to ill to come and visit, and I pray I die before he is better. I want to die before I am disappointed.

Finally Mrs. Nell comes to see me, bearing a bowl of gruel very much like the one I made for King Aaron. She cared little for the fact that I was now in a guest room and not the kitchen trundle bed. She puts the food on the night stand near me. When I make no movement, she gives a frustrated huff. With little grace and gentleness, she props me up in my bed and forces a few spoonfuls down my throat. I mutter no protest or thanks, and she expects none. Before long, the entire bowl is gone.

“Now you’re moping in a palace the same way you where moping in my kitchen,” she states. “Does nothing please you brat. At least in my kitchen you were a tad useful, now your just a great lump.” I had no reply for her.

“King Aaron is still ill,” she continued. “And he has worsen since his return. If he dies, nothing will stop me and many others from killing you!” She is angry at me. Everyone is.

“I wish I never went to those stupid balls,” I speak for the first time in many days.

“No self pity!” she scolds. “What’s done is down. You went, you broke a heart, and now our Kingdom is in chaos. Go talk to him if you want to help yourself.” I again elapse into silence. She huffs.

“Fine, don’t speak to him, but you are leaving this room,” she said, dragging me to the bathing chamber.

Her anger shows as she rubs me raw, not caring of my gender. It is my first bath since that night I gave myself to Aaron. When the water is too filthy to use, she fills the tub again, until my skin glows in the sunlight.

She dresses me in a new sleeping gown of ivory and brushes my hair til it shines like spun copper. Finally, when I am decent enough, she sits me in a chair and leaves.

Moments later, Lord Drake enters, pushing a large pram made for an adult who can’t or is too weak to walk.

“A nice ride around the garden might raise your spirits,” he said. I have no reply. He lifts me up and puts me in the pram and rolls me out a door connecting my new room to the garden.

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I ride in silence as he rolls me along the paths of shrubs and flowers, until we come to a fountain where King Aaron is sitting on a bench nearby. I am stunned by his weak and gaunt appearance and nearly rise from my chair to go to him, but am stopped by my own will and physical weakness.

He gives me a slight smile. “Tis good to see you again, Natalie,” he said. “Will you join me on this bright morning?”Before I can respond, Lord Drake lifts me and puts me next to King Aaron on the bench. Then, the Lord turns and leaves. For several minutes we are in silence. I am about to leave, when he finally speaks.

“Natalie,” he sighs. “I was so sad the morning I awoke and found you were gone. If it wasn’t for the missing ring,” he nods to the stolen ring I had forgotten I was still wearing. “And the slippers and mess you left, I would have thought you were a dream. When you were in my arms, I felt completely happy and whole. But you left. Why Natalie, why?” Tears had been brimming in my eyes, and now fell in buckets.

“Because...because,” I cried. I fully break down and cry into his chest, telling him everything that had conspired in my life. Muffled in his chest, my entire life story from my true name and position to why and how I came to be in his service came out. The entire time he just patted my back and listened patiently to my tale.

“After my father’s advances,” I finished. “I didn’t know if I could love someone, especially a man, in a sexual way. Then you, wonderful glorious you, had to come along and I had to fall in love...” Before I could finish, he gave me a deep and soul sheering kiss.

“I love you Nathaniel,” he spoke, breaking our kiss. “I went to the ends of the Earth to try and find you knowing you were not a female or who you claimed to be. I care not that you are a male, a prince, or a servant.”

“Then why did you dance and kiss another right after...” I cried, and could not complete my sentence. He sighs.

“I waited hours for you and I wanted to keep doing so,” he said. “But Countess Whitney is an old and dear friend of mine, that had come from faraway only for that night. I had to dance with her, but she is like a sister to me. I was telling her that I had found another and she was congratulating me. I gave her a kiss goodbye, and that was all you saw. I love you, Nathaniel, not her.”

“I love you too,” I said. We again embrace.

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Our wedding is small. Only Lord Drake and the Holy Man attend, though many know of it. Our wedding chambers have been prepared and await our arrival. In the weeks to come, I will be reunited with my sisters and they will learn of all that truly occurred in their absence. But for now, I am Aaron’s and Aaron is mine. We say our vows and take our first kiss as partners for life.

And they lived happily ever after. The end.

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Author's Note: Finally the first story is up. Obviously it is All-Kinds-of-Fur, a favorite fairy tale of mine, that is often neglecated. My version is a hodgepodge of different versions. The original is called All-Kinds-of-Fur and it has the father and daughter thing going on. The Second one I forget the proper title (It was part of Grimm Fairytale Theater), and had the lover scorned and kingdom burned theme. Another version of this is Cap of Rushes, which has a nicer ending and a nicer beginning (Animated Tales from Around the World do a good version of Cap of Rushes). And of course, certain aspects are all me. Hope you enjoyed.

Also, I added two more lines to the beginning poem (two more stories) since I forget two all time favorites, so the stories are as follows: All-Kinds-of-Fur, Little Red Riding Hood, Donkey Lettice, Beauty and the Beast, The Princess and the Pea, Six Swans, Snow White, King Thrushbeard, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Thumbelina, Sleeping Beauty, and The Twelve Dancing Princesses.