• September 18, 1736

    I was planning on writing about my day yesterday last night, but I didn’t turn out that way. You’ll find out why in a minute.
    Yesterday, around nine o’clock I went over to Jacki’s house to see if she would come dress shopping with me.
    “Good morning, Analeece,” Jacki’s mother said when I opened he door. “Shall I get Jacki for you?”
    “Yes please, Mrs. Lutney,” I answered. “Thank you.”
    “Hey, Analeece.” Jacki greeted me a few moments later when she came to the door. “What’s up?”
    “I was wondering if you wanted to go to the market with me? I need to buy a new dress.” When she gave me a questioning look, I quickly added, “I’ll explain on the way.”
    “Can I go mother?” Jacki turned to ask.
    “Of course, just make sure that you are home by five,” Mrs. Lutney said cheerfully as she waved us out the door.
    “So why do you need a new dress?” Jacki asked when we were out of hearing range.
    It took me the whole walk to the market (about ten minutes) to tell her the entire story. At the end she gave me a big hug. I needed it.
    “Thanks.” I don’t know if it is the fact that Randy dumped me or the fact that the prince might not be as horrible as I thought he was, that made my so sad. Maybe I never will.
    “That’s what friends are for,” she explained. Then she stopped dead in her tracks.
    “Jacki?” I said turning around to look at her. “What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing,” she answered, shaking her head and running to catch up.
    I was not completely oblivious and I knew that something was up. It was weird though that Jacki didn’t tell me, because we are usually completely honest with each other. In a moment I knew why.
    She was trying to lead me into the dress shop when I glanced up ahead and spied Randy. My blood ran cold. It was not necessarily about Randy though; it was whom he was with. You probably guessed it. Randy was walking toward us holding hands with Clarice! He was whispering in her ear to make her giggle and when she saw me she kissed him hard. He was grinning when she let him go, but stopped and looked guilty when he saw me. Yes, I had been staring dumbfounded at them this whole time but at that moment I really didn’t care.
    Randy glanced just behind me hand I saw his jaw hit the ground. Puzzled I glanced at Jacki, who had the same expression on her face. As I slowly turned around I noticed the same expression on everyone else at the market. Looking back on this moment I should have seen what was coming next, but (of course) I didn’t.
    Prince Phillip was striding toward me with a huge grin on his face. I should have just rolled my eyes and dragged my star-stricken-best friend into the dress shop with me. But, seeing how triumphant Clarice looked when kissing randy, I wanted to get her back.
    By this time he had come up next to me and took my hand. He held mine gently but I could tell that his hand was strong. He glanced at me questionably, to see if he was stepping over the line. I glanced at Clarice for a moment and turned back to Phillip. I squeezed his hand to tell him it was all right, but also stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. He looked back down at me and was smiling ear to ear. I know that you are probably thinking that I was using Phillip, but I can’t even remember what was going on in my mind at that moment. It was like I had stepped out of my body and was just watching the scene from the outside.
    “Your mother told me I could find you here,” he whispered glancing around, but I didn’t mean to cause such a big commotion.
    “Thanks for coming down to see me,” I said batting my eyelashes at him. “But I don’t know if you will want to stay. Jacki and I are going shopping for a new dress for your party.”
    “No big deal. I’ll just grab a bite to eat at the cute little café I saw down the road so we can walk home together.”
    “Sounds good.” I slowly let go of his hand and turned into the dress shop, but not before waving smugly at Clarice.
    “What was that about?” Jacki asked me when we got into the dress shop. “I thought you didn’t like him.”
    “I know,” I said finally coming back into my body. “I don’t know what came over me!”
    “Maybe you love him,” Jacki suggested. I stared at her for a moment, but then we both burst out laughing. How could I love the Prince?
    I won’t write all of the details of the five hours we spent looking for just the right dress, but I will describe the dress I ended up getting. It was light purple and it came down a little bit past my knees. It had short puffy sleeves and a dark purple ruffle around the bottom. It was the lowest dress I have ever worn and it showed all of my necklace and quite a bit of my breasts. At first I thought it showed too much, but Jacki talked me into buying it.
    We got home around three thirty and Phillip walked me all the way up to my door, saying he can’t wait to see me later. I had plenty of time to get ready. Ma loved the dress, but reminded me it was only to be worn to parties. Of course I already knew this, but it can’t hurt to hear again.
    I spent a total of two hours getting ready for the prince’s party. I don’t know why I was so happy, but I was very excited for tonight. I kept pushing the thought of me actually liking (and possibly loving) the prince, into the back of my mind; he was, after all, the whole reason Randy and me broke up.
    I whipped my head around as the clock in the kitchen stuck five. I was late! I kissed Tickles good-bye and rushed up all the stairs to the prince’s room. I was very out of breath by the time I got there, so I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself before I knocked twice.
    “Come in.” The prince’s voice was so sweet. I could hear something in it. I didn’t know what it was then, but I do now; love. He loved me! I pushed the door open and slowly walked into the room. “I’m sorry I’m not ready yet,” the prince laughed. “To tell the truth, most girls like to be ‘fashionably late,’ and I thought you would be the same.” He pulled on his coat while saying, “I should have known that you were above that.”
    I giggle in spite of myself. Then I stopped, remembering what Jacki had said earlier that day.
    I walked over had placed my hand on his arm to get his attention. “Can I talk to you about something?” I asked him meekly. He turned to look at me and, seeing the serious look on my face, nodded and led me over to one of the couches.
    After we had sat down, he took my hand in his. “What is it?” I could read the genuine concern on his face.
    I took a deep breath and began. “I was just wondering,” I began, “why your father taxes everyone in the kingdom so badly, and doesn’t make any improvements on things like schools and roads. Then he forces people out of their homes because they can’t pay their taxes and they are forced to steal. And if he catches them stealing he has them locked up and sold into slavery!”
    The prince stared at me with his mouth open.
    “I know all this is true because shortly after my best friend’s big sister moved out to live with her new husband they were all sold into slavery and sent to some far away kingdom!” I told him defensively. There were small tears trickling down my face from the memory of Jacki telling me this.
    He let go of my hand and pulled out his handkerchief and handed it to me. I took it, not looking him in the eyes, and carefully wiped away my tears. I sniffed and tried to hand I back to him, but he held up his hand, saying I could keep it. I thanked him, folded his handkerchief, and placed it in my lap.
    He reached out and took both of my hands. I chanced a glance up into his eyes. They were fixed on mine, and I couldn’t bring my self to pull away.
    “Analeece,” he started, “I promise you that I had no idea that my father was doing such things. I had been wondering where he was getting all this money all of a sudden, but I didn’t really care enough to investigate. Thank you so much for telling me and I am so sorry about your friend’s sister. I will talk to my father about it tonight.”
    “Thank you so much,” I whispered breathlessly as I wrapped my arms around him in a warm hug. He embraced me tightly and I felt a huge wave of relief pass over me. Prince Phillip really was perfect.
    “Now,” he said cheerfully, breaking the embrace. “How about that party?” He extended his elbow out to me and I liked my arm through his as we stood up.
    “That sounds absolutely wonderful.”

    When we got to the big double doors into the ballroom I became confused. “Where is everyone else, Your Majesty?”
    He chuckled and said, “Please, call me Phillip. The other guests are already inside. We have our own personal entrance since we start the first dance.”
    “What?!” I asked, suddenly very nervous. “I thought we just went to the party like everyone else?”
    “It’s my birthday party, we have to make a grand entrance. It’s tradition. It will be alright,” he whispered as he sensed my nervousness and we neared the servants who were supposed to open the doors for us. “Just look straight ahead (defiantly not out at the guests) and it you get really nervous; squeeze my arm. It will make you feel better.” I took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.
    Phillip nodded to the two servants, and they pulled open the doors. The crowd quieted as we started down the tall staircase. When we were about halfway, the music began. We reached the bottom and walked towards the middle of the ballroom. Phillip swung me around and I let my hands fall to his shoulders as I felt his hands on my waist. We slowly rotated in a circle to the beat of the music. Slowly more people started dancing and I began to relax. After a little while I began to notice that we were slowly moving closer to each other. After each revolution we were a tiny bit closer than before. It felt wonderful to be out there dancing. It was like my brain shut off so my heart could take over. Before long I had had my arms wrapped around his neck with my head nestled between his shoulder and neck. I could feel his arms gently wrapped around my waist, as if I might break if he squeezed me too hard. We had danced like that for a little bit when I pulled my head up so I could look into his eyes. They were a deep sea blue, and sparkled with such a happiness I had never seen before. Suddenly he began to pull me closer, very slowly. He was going to try and kiss me! What was I going to do?! Then my brain shut off again and my heart took me into him. Our lips got closer and closer, until the were but centimeters apart. Then the music stopped. Phillip sighed and looked at the floor for a moment when we pulled apart. I looked around. Many people had come on to the dance floor since we had but I had hardly even noticed. Everyone was clapping for the musicians so I joined in half-heartedly. I had come so close to kissing the prince and I wasn’t even sure that I had wanted to.
    The dance had left me in a daze; so I almost jumped when Phillip grabbed my hand and whispered, “Follow me.” He led me over toward his family.
    His father scowled when he saw me. “Mother, Father, Eddy, I want you to meet Analeece,” Phillip said as he introduced me, and glared at his father.
    “Your Majesties.” I curtsied, not wanting to meet their eyes. Prince Edward was on year younger that Phillip and had the same eyes, but with dark brown hair.
    “Phillip-“ his father began, but a middle-aged man that I had not even noticed before, interrupted him.
    “Excuse me Your Grace,” he began, and nodded to the king who looked very putout. The stranger then turned to look at me. “That is a very pretty necklace, miss.”
    “Thank you, sir,” I said, a bit creeped out. “I got it when I was born.”
    “Yes, I know.” He stared down at my necklace like a crazy person. I squeezed Phillip’s hand in fear.
    “I think we better be going.” He said quickly. My savior!
    He led me off and I only once glanced back to see the creep whispering to the king intently. When I turned back around I noticed we were headed toward a balcony.
    It was very chilly outside. “Analeece.” I turned to look into Phillip’s deep eyes. I was still holding his hand, and it felt so great to hear him say my name. In one swift motion he pulled me toward him. Our lips met as I felt him drop my hand to slide his up my back. He brought the other one up behind my head, but he held me there gently so I could pull away if I wished. My brain told me to pull away, that I didn’t belong there. I promised myself I would listen to my brain tomorrow. Phillip kissed me so passionately. He kissed me with his entire heart and soul. I kissed him back, just as strongly. I felt my arms wrap around his neck. This one kiss with Phillip was so different than anytime I had ever kissed Randy. His kisses seemed so childish now. It was like Randy thought that a kiss was a one-way road. But Phillip realized that when two people kissed, it was not just one person kissed the other, but them both kissing each other.
    I wanted to stay there forever. But, of course, we couldn’t. After a little while, we pulled apart gently and Phillip held both of my hands in his.
    “I knew it,” he whispered, almost to himself. I glanced up at him. He was gazing down at me and grinning ear to ear. His eyes shone.
    “Knew what?” I asked as I gently brushed a stray hair from his eyes.
    He pulled my fingers to his lips and kissed them. “I knew that you were the one that I had been waiting for.”
    I could feel my heart glow with happiness. “Really?” I asked, but I already knew the answer He nodded and led me over to a bench on the other side of the balcony. He sat down and I sat next to him, letting my head rest on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around mine. It felt so right, sitting here next to Phillip. I closed my eyes to drink it all in.

    ~


    I awoke this morning in the most comfortable bed I had ever been in. I stretched and sat up to look out the window. From the sun position, it looked to be about nine o’clock. I looked around the room. I had glimpsed this room before, but where? Then the answer came to me. This was Phillip’s bedroom! I jumped out of bed. I still had my purple dress on, but it was all wrinkly. That would not make Ma very happy. I walked into the large sitting room that I was in two days ago and looked around, trying to find Phillip. I saw him looking very uncomfortable on one of the couches. His jacket and shirt lay across the other couch and his blanket lay on the floor. He lay on his back with his knees pointing up into the air because he couldn’t fit on the couch. I giggled; he looked so silly lying there.
    I walked over and knelt on the floor next to the couch. I brought my hand up and placed it in the middle of his bare chest, feeling his rhythmic breathing. Then suddenly, his breathing changed. I glanced over toward his eyes. They were half open and watching me. A soft, tiered smile played his lips, as he reached up and put his hand over mine. I let my head rest on his hand.
    “Morning, love,” he whispered sleepily, propping himself up a bit. I took my head off his hand and leaned over to kiss him deeply. I sank back on my heels, looking into his loving face, and a new question popped into my head.
    “What happened . . . um . . . at the party after I fell asleep?”
    “Well.” He began sleepily. “About five minutes after we had been sitting there one of my good friends, who had seen us leave, came out to tell me that they were just about to start the last song and he wanted to know if we would be dancing. Of course, I didn’t really want to move, but I knew my duty. It was, after all, my birthday party. I looked over to see what you wanted to do. In the new light that came from the ballroom I could see that you were sleeping peacefully. I looked back at my friend and shook my head, nodding toward you. He, being a good friend, immediately understood and went back inside. I waited till the song stopped and I began to hear people leaving. Then I picked you up and went inside. I was going to take you back to your room, but I didn’t know where it was. I told the first servant I saw to tell your mother that I will bring you back as soon as you woke up. Then I brought you up to my room, laid you on my bed, found a warm blanket to cover you with, and fell asleep on the couch.”
    “So nothing happened . . . like . . . you know?” I asked, wanting to make sure.
    “No, nothing.” He pulled my hand up to his mouth and kissed it tenderly.
    I smiled.
    “Analeece?” I looked up and into his eyes. They were very serious, but also quite calm. “Will you marry me?”
    I thought my heart would explode! “Yes!” I whispered breathlessly.
    “Really!” he asked standing and pulling my up to my feet.
    I answered him by wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him hard. At first he was surprised but the he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in. He slowly broke off the kiss and brought his head down to kiss me on the neck. I had a sudden flashback of Randy kissing me like that right after we had both just met the prince. But this time I didn’t laugh and think about how much Clarice would hate this (even though she would) I was too busy thinking about how much I love Phillip. I couldn’t think about that for very long though because Phillip had moved back to my mouth and every time he kisses me I can’t think of anything else.
    The clock struck ten and I remembered how worried Ma would be.
    “I’m so sorry Phillip, but I really have to leave.”
    “Why, love?”
    “My mother must be so worried about me, because I haven’t been back yet.”
    “Oh ya!” he said as if he had just come out of a daze. He gently took my hand and led me over to the door. “Do you want me to walk you home?”
    “I’ll be alright,” I whispered putting my finger on his lips. “But promise me one thing; tomorrow we will spend the entire day together.’
    “I would love to.” Phillip took my finger off his lips and leaned forward to kiss mine. We slowly backed out into the hallway with him still holding me and me not wanting him to stop.
    “Ah-hem!”
    We pulled apart and turned to where the new voice was coming from. A short (and very annoyed) messenger stood a few feet away from us.
    “Can’t you tell that we are a bit busy here?” Phillip said angrily. Note to self: Phillip doesn’t like to be interrupted.
    “I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” said the messenger, who was not in the least bit sorry. “But the King requested to see you immediately in the palace library.”
    “I’m sorry, love.” Phillip kissed my hand and turned to follow the messenger. I waved, sad to see him go, but excited to tell Ma that I was getting married! To the Prince!
    I turned and headed down the hallways, away from the direction Phillip was going.
    Suddenly, a hand shot out of a door I was passing by and pulled me into darkness. A small light flickered on and I looked about to see that I was in a medium sized room (only a bit bigger than my room) and there were two chairs against the far wall. The King occupied one of them and motioned for me to sit in the other, his eyes stern.
    “Your Majesty,” I said, curtsying. I was shaking with fear. Everyone in the entire kingdom knew that the King was mad (mad as in crazy, not angry).
    I took my seat next to him and stared at the floor.
    “Did Phillip ask you to marry him?” The first question came fast. I stared at the King in shock. How did he know?
    “Answer me, maid!”
    “Y-y-yes, Your Majesty,” I whispered, trembling.
    “And what did you say?”
    “I don’t really see how that is-“
    “WHAT DID YOU SAY TO HIM?!”
    “Yes.” I answered him quickly, but with surprising calmness.
    “WHAT?!” he screamed and rose to his feet.
    “I love him.” I had also risen to my feet and was shocked by my confidence. I screamed as I saw his hand coming toward me. I felt a sharp pain in my cheek, then on my head and hip, just before blackness enclosed around me.

    Ouch! I awoke to an extreme headache in a very bright room. As my eyes adjusted to the light I began to see that it was the same room that I had woken up in. Why was I here? Then I suddenly remembered everything. The King had somehow found out that Phillip and I are engaged and he had struck me in his anger. Phillip must have heard my scream and come to find me. Then he probably carried me back to his room.
    I tried to shift in position, but I let out a tiny shriek when my head screamed in pain.
    “Analeece?!” I heard Phillip say from the sitting room. He pushed open the door and, seeing me awake, rushed to my side.
    “Gary!” he yelled at the figure that had appeared at the door behind him. “Go fetch Ms. Rontifer!” Then he turned to me, his face serious, “Analeece, this is very important; I need you to tell me exactly what happened.” His voice was smooth and calm, but I could sense a small amount of nervousness in it.
    I attempted to sit up and winced at the pain. Phillip smiled gently and slipped his hand onto my back to help me sit up. He really is quite strong.
    “Thanks,” I whispered. He urged me to begin the story. “Well, I was walking down the hall and this hand came out of nowhere and pulled me into the room you found me in. Your father was in there and he asked me if you had asked me to marry you. I said yes and he asked what I said in return. At first I didn’t tell him but then he yelled at me and I told him that I said yes. Then he was really mad and I told him that I love you and he hit me and now I’m here.”
    “Analeece?!” I looked up to see Ma walk in the doorway and hurry over. Phillip very politely (and rather reluctantly) rose from his kneeling position and stepped aside to avoid being trampled by Ma.
    “Analeece, I’m so happy you are alright. You have been out for three hours and I was afraid that you were gone.” She clasped both my hands in hers and kissed my forehead. I glanced over at Phillip, a question in my eyes. He read my thoughts and shook his head.
    “Ma,” I began, urging Phillip to come and stand next to me. “I have to tell you something very important, but I don’t know how you will take it.” She raised one eyebrow when I slipped one of my hands out from in-between hers and reached up to grab Phillip’s, but otherwise said nothing. “Phillip and I are getting married.”
    I could have sworn that her mouth hit the floor. She stared at us for what felt like ten minutes, but was probably more like one. Then she reached up to brush a hair out of my eyes. “I couldn’t be happier for you both.”
    My face broke into a grin and I looked up to see that Phillip’s had done the same. “Thank you, Ma,” I whispered and wrapped let go of Phillip’s hand to embrace her.
    “You’re welcome,” she breathed into my ear so that only I could hear it. I let her go and reached up to kiss Phillip.
    “So what happened? All Phillip said was that he found you unconscious in an empty room.” Apparently Ma was anxious to hear the rest of the story and didn’t feel like waiting till we were finished.
    I smiled as Phillip began to retell the story, with me adding in bits of information that he forgot.
    By the end of the story, Ma’s mouth was hanging open. Again. Of course Phillip had to start with the dance and finish with my meeting with the king. Hearing it all just then, I couldn’t believe that it all happened in one day.
    “I will leave you two alone then,” Ma said smiling. “Come along Gary. I will see you back home in a half hour, Analeece?” It was more instruction than question, but I was glad for the time alone with Phillip anyway.
    Phillip made me recount the entire story exactly so that he could figure out exactly what his father wanted form me, why he ran, and what in the world he was going to do next. He came up with a couple of good ideas (enough to scare me out of me wrinkled purple dress; or maybe that was the point), but not any ways to stop him. After all, he was the King.
    After what we assumed was twenty minutes, I began to get up to leave. I screamed in pain as my head protested and Phillip came hurtling through the doorway. I tried to tell him that I was fine and I just needed a little help getting up. But, Phillip insisted upon carrying my back to my room.
    We strolled right past his Father on the second floor (I was still in my wrinkly purple dress and Phillip still hadn’t bothered to put a shirt on; not that I minded). I had my hands wrapped around Phillip’s neck and my head rested on his bare chest. Phillip whispered something in my ear as we passed and I giggled. I thought the King would explode. His cheeks were bright red and he clenched his fists tightly.
    Phillip laid me on my bed a few minutes later. Ma was in the kitchen trying to calm a bunch of shocked servants, who just saw the Prince carrying in the daughter of a maid. Phillip knelt down next to my head and kissed me softly.
    “I will be back later, I promise,” he said getting up. “Is there anything that you need, love?”
    “Not right now, thanks, but I will be counting the seconds until you return.” I could hear one of the kitchen boys “gagging” in the other room. Apparently Phillip heard it to because he turned red and quickly made his leave, bowing to Ma as he left. I sighed, rolling over, ready to get some sleep, but Ma brought in Jacki (this was probably the only time I was not thrilled to see her) and I was forced to tell her the wonderful news about me and Phillip (she had the same expression Ma did) and the story about my massive headache.
    Finally I was able to sleep, but sleep didn’t come. I decided to write this in my journal to help clear my mind . . .



    September 19, 1736

    Ma awoke me this morning to tell me that someone named Lord Montello wished to speak with us.
    “I’m so sorry,” she apologized. “I tried to tell his messenger that you were sleeping, but he just wouldn’t listen.”
    “It’s alright, Ma. Did Phillip come by yesterday?” I asked as I sat up. I was feeling so much better, and very well rested, but I really wanted to see Phillip again.
    “Yes, dear, he did, but he did not want to wake you so he left shortly after he came. He did say, though, that he would come see you in the morning. I left a message with one of the younger servants in case he comes while we are gone.”
    I nodded and stepped onto the cold floor. I walked, shivering, over to the closet and hug up my very sad-looking purple dress. I pulled out my yellow dress and slipped it over my head. I slipped on my shoes, picked up Tickles from his very comfortable position on my bed and grabbed a hair ribbon on my way out the door. I met Ma in the kitchen and we walked together to Lord Montello’s room, discussing my dress for the wedding.
    The messenger led us up to the third floor, where all of the guests sleep, and held open the door for us to enter, before he left for other errands.
    We were led into a room that looked just like Prince Phillip’s sitting room, except it was a bit bigger and had a bed. The bed sat under the window where the prince’s door was, that led into his bedroom. Lord Montello stood in the mini kitchen making three cups of tea.
    “Oh good, you’re here.” I stared in shock at Lord Montello. It was the creep from the ball! “Yes, I know you must think that I am crazy, staring at you like that at the ball. But, I assure you, everything will fall into place when I explain everything.” He nodded toward the two chairs and a couch that sat in the other side of the room. Ma and I sat on the couch, and I placed Tickles next to me, gladly accepted the cup of tea, although I was still wary of the lord.
    Lord Montello strode over and took a book from the shelf that stood on the wall by his bed. He absentmindedly thumbed through it while he walked toward one of the chairs. He smiled when he found the page he was looking for and sat down, careful to keep his finger on the page as he closed the book.
    “Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Laurence Montello. I am the lord and temporary king of a small kingdom called Somonteria.”
    “What do you mean by ‘temporary king?’” I asked, curious.
    “Well, we are a warrior kingdom,” he began. “In a war sixteen years ago, with a fearsome tribe of orgals, we lost our king and queen. When the orgals first invaded our kingdom, they headed right for the palace, and we knew we were in trouble. The king and queen had daughter about a month old. They sent their daughter’s maid and their daughter out of the kingdom. The king gave instructions to the maid to take their daughter as far away as possible and then come back to fight. Before they left the queen gave her baby girl the necklace that she had gotten from the king’s mother (Queen Lancy) when she had become queen. That necklace looked like this.” He then held up the book to show a picture of my necklace. The necklace that I always wore. The necklace I got from my mother.
    I looked a Ma, “But you said I got that necklace as a gift.” She looked down at her hands.
    “Ms. Rontifer, would you like to tell you daughter something?” Lord Montello asked and he looked at my mother.
    Ma took my hands in hers and looked me in the eye. “I’m just going to come right out and tell you,” she began, her voice quivering. “I’m not your mother. I found you on the doorstep sixteen years ago and I couldn’t find your real mother. I then decided to raise you as my own.” I stared at her blankly.
    “So, you lied to me for sixteen years!” I said angrily as I pulled my hands out of hers, picked up Tickles and walked toward the door, not wanting to hear anymore. If this “Lord” was just going to flip my life upside down I was not going to stick around for it.
    “Analeece, wait!” Ma called but I ran out of the door before anyone could stop me. I did not stop running until I reached a beautiful garden on the ground floor, just below the balcony where Phillip and I first kissed.
    The garden was shaped like a maze and had many beautiful spring plants in it. I slowly walked through the garden, replaying the entire scene over again in my head. I can’t believe that I don’t even know who my mother is! I had now reached the center of the maze and I plopped down on the stone bench that sat in the very center. I sat there weeping for God knows how long until I heard a voice coming towards me in the midday heat. At first I couldn’t tell who it was but then I began to realize that it was Phillip. I jumped up and ran towards the voice, almost running into him when I rounded a corner.
    “Oh there you are! I have been looking for you for an hour!” I could not believe that it had been an entire hour since my life was ruined. “I ran into your mother and she told me that you had run off. I asked her what had happened, but she refused to tell me. What happened?” At that last question I burst into tears and embraced Phillip tightly. “Shhhhh, it’s ok, you don’t have to tell me yet, just hold on to me and let it all out.”
    Phillip’s voice was so soothing that I could not bring myself to let go. All I wanted to do was hold on to him and cry for hours. But eventually my tears dried and I let him go. He slowly led me over to the bench that I was sitting on earlier, sat facing me, and took my hands in his. He sat just the way Ma had done just before she told me that I wasn’t her kid. Once I had worked up enough strength I began to tell the story.
    I started with me finding out that Lord Montello was the creepy guy from the party and finished with the part where my life was flipped upside-down. At the end Phillip wrapped me I a bid bear hug and I felt like crying all over again, but no tears would come.

    It took us about five minutes to walk to Jacki’s. I carried Tickles in one hand, and held Phillip’s with the other. I knew that my eyes were still puffy and red, but it felt nice to be next to Phillip. I couldn’t wait to tell Jacki we are getting married!
    “Analeece! What a surprise!” That voice sounded all stuck-up and had a sense of false kindness to it that I know belongs to only one person in the kingdom.
    I turned around to see Clarice and Randy coming down the street behind us.
    “I just thought that I would inform you that Randy and I are getting married!”
    Randy slid his arm around her waist and said,” Ya, I’m just so glad that I finally found someone who is loyal to me.”
    I glared at him knowing exactly what he was referring to. Then I plastered a smile on my face and turned to Clarice.
    “I’m so happy for you both! When is the wedding?”
    “Three weeks,” Clarice answered, suspicious of my being so happy for them.
    “That sounds wonderful! Ours is in two; Phillip and I couldn’t wait that long. Don’t worry you’ll be invited!” I added quickly to make it seem that I had no idea why she looked like she wanted to kill me.

    We walked up to Jacki’s door and I knocked twice. I was glad to see that it was Jacki who opened the door and not her nosey mother. The encounter with Clarice had made me feel better, but apparently my eyes were still red because Jacki gave me a questioning look, but when I motioned for Phillip to come out from the bush he was hiding behind, I thought she would faint. She motioned us inside and collapsed on the couch. I sat in the one chair that was left and Phillip stood behind me with his hand on my shoulder.
    “Are you trying to kill me?!” Jacki gasped when she had finally regained consciousness. “Are you guys – like – official now?”
    “Oh Jacki, it is just wonderful! We are more than official, we’re getting married!”
    This time she actually did faint. It took Phillip and me five minutes to wake her up and about thirty seconds for her to remember why she fainted. When she did she squealed with glee and wrapped me in a huge hug.
    “This is so spectacular! I am thrilled for the both of you! Please let me help your Ma plan the wedding!”
    At this last comment I felt a tear escape my eyes and I sank back into my chair with my head in my hands, shaking. Seeing my reaction Phillip promptly took a handkerchief out of his pocket and told Jacki the story. At the end she must have apologized to me a hundred times.
    “It’s alright,” I managed to squeak out, “And I’m sure you can help with the wedding, no matter who does it.”
    “Thank you,” she whispered and came over to give me a big hug. “I still can’t believe you’re going to be a princess! Oh, and my Ma is out so if you want to stay over at my house until you can forgive your Ma I’m sure it would be alright.”
    “Thanks Jacki, I’ll ask her.”
    “Come on, love,” Phillip said gently, putting out his hand to help me up. “We should be getting back, especially with you running of from your Ma like that.”
    “I don’t care about her, but you’re right; we should be getting back soon. Thanks again, Jacki. Maybe I’ll see you later.”
    Phillip and I walked slowly back to the castle in silence. Me thinking about how mad Ma will be and how I will tell her that I wish to stay at Jacki’s tonight, him being kind and letting me sort out my thoughts.
    We walked into the castle through the front door and almost ran into the King.
    “Pardon us, Father,” Phillip said coldly as we passed him. Phillip whispered something in my ear just as we were passing his father and I giggled, glancing backwards. The King looked like he would explode with anger.
    We met Ma in the servant kitchen and she looked like she had been crying for hours. Ma embraced us both, apologizing to me and thanking Phillip for bringing me home. I casually told her that we had been over to Jacki’s and she had invited me over. I specifically left out the part where we told her about my real mother and the real reason she invited me.



    September 20, 1736

    The next morning on my way back to the castle, I was almost trampled by castle servant. It was a woman in her late forties tat I knew fairly well, but after she ran into me she was huffing and puffing so much she couldn’t even explain why she had been running. Finally she regained her breath.
    “Oh, Analeece! Huff, huff, I am so glad that I ran into you, huff! Your mother sent me, huff, huff, with a message that Lord Montello would like to speak, huff, with you.” By the end of her message she was completely out of breath again and I had to wait for another length of time to give her my reply.
    But, as I was about to open my mouth, the lady said in haste, “Thank you so much for coming, your mother will be very pleased.” What am I supposed to say to that?

    As I entered Lord Montello’s room for the second time, he looked just as happy and excited as he did the first time. Not the expression I was expecting for a man who completely turned my life upside-down in one short conversation.
    “Now, I know you probably are thinking about how I completely turned your life upside-down yesterday,” he began. What, does this guy read minds?! “But, you might want to be prepared because I’m going to flip it again.’
    “Joy,” I muttered under my breath. Lord Montello reached for a box that had been set on the table next to him.
    “I’m not sure if you put two and two together, but since your real mother was the queen, and since we don’t have a real ruler at the moment . . .” Here he opened the box and to out a beautiful, sparkling tiara. “ . . . that would make you the official Queen of Somonteria.”
    I must have sat there with my mouth hanging open for at least five minutes because when I finally regained awareness both Lord Montello and my mother were looking at me like I was crazy. Lord Montello silently handed me my tiara and (thankfully) both him and my mother didn’t say a word for a few minutes so I could let this news sink in. Finally, I spoke.
    “So, what does this mean? What do I do now?” What does this mean for Phillip and me?
    “Well, it means that you and your mother will accompany me to Somonteria the morning after next and rule our wonderful people,’ he said as if it were the most obvious thing on the entire planet.
    “The morning after next?! Isn’t that a little too soon?” my mother asked with a worried look on her face.
    “Most certainly not!” Lord Montello practically shouted. “We should be leaving tomorrow at sun up, but I decided to let you two have one extra day here since you will probably never come back.’
    At that last sentence, I could no longer help myself; I burst into tears. It seems like I have been doing more crying that usually these last few days, then I have in a long time, but I didn’t care. Once I left, I would never be able to see Phillip again.
    Now you might be wondering why Phillip could not simply come with me to Somonteria, but Phillip has his own kingdom to rule. Sure, he would gladly give up his rightful place as king, but his father would rather cut himself into a million pieces, than let his son leave the country to marry a former serving girl.
    “No!” I shouted and lept up, running for the door. Granted, this may have been a bit overdramatic, but I was about to lose the one man that I love, and I was miserable. I slammed open the door and gasped with fright, whipping my head around when I heard the thump of a door colliding with a person. As I turned around I saw Phillip standing there, kneeling by his father’s unconscious body and grinning up at me.
    “Nice shot,” he said. Just hearing his voice made my burst into tears again wrapping his stunned body in a tight hug.
    “Shhh,” he said and led me down the hall and around the corner. “What is this about, love? I thought you had cried all of your tears yesterday.” I tried to speak, but couldn’t and instead simply squeezed him even harder. I felt him stiffen and realized with a start, that my tiara was digging into his back. I gasped and immediately let him go.
    “Is there somewhere private we can go,” I finally managed to squeak out.
    “Yes, of course,” he said slipping his hand around my waist and leading me off in the direction of his room.

    When he had seated me on one of his couches and sat next to me, wrapping one arm around m shoulders in comfort, he asked again why I had been crying. I took out my tiara and slowly began telling him the story of how I became a Queen.
    “Why this is wonderful!” he said when I had finished. “Now my father can have no objection to us getting married!”
    “No, Phillip. You don’t understand. I leave the morning after next to rule my people and your father will make sure that you do not leave this castle.” As I waited to let my words sink in, yet another tear escaped my eye. I lifted a hand to brush it off my cheek. Phillip gently took my rising hand and clasped it between his. I looked up into his eyes and I could tell that he now understood. Normally, the sorrow in his eyes would have made me cry some more, but I don’t think that I had any tears left to cry.
    “Promise me this,” he said in a voice dripping with misery. “Whatever time we have left together, we spend together. I want to remember you forever.” And with that he took my hand, kissed my fingers and led me to the door. “Now, you go pack and say good-bye to Jackie, and I will meet you in the garden after supper.” I smiled a sad smile and turned to leave, but before I could go he swept me up into his arms and kissed me deeply. I could taste the salt from our tears mingling with the kiss and I could feel his soft lips moving against mine. I pulled apart, saying that I had to get started on my packing and he whispered in my ear, three beautiful words:
    “I love you.”
    I smiled up at him, kissed his cheek and walked slowly down the hallway, only turning around once to see him still watching me just before I turned to corner.