Prologue

If you were an outsider looking in on the rambuncious trio, you would see three little boys. The oldest one with dark brown hair, playful cobalt blue eyes, and a commanding air that he was born with. The middle child, with sandy hair, brown eyes, and an attitude only a rich son can pull off. The third and youngest of the trio, slender, smaller, the runt of the pack. His blond hair escaping from under his old battered hat, gray eyes full of mischief, dirty, and homely. But the thing that set the third boy apart most of all, was money. The poor child was the poorest of the poor in their town.

But in truth, that poor homely boy wasn't even a boy. Instead a girl, Rennie St. Claire was her name. The girl was an outcast in the village. No one had any use or time for the child the millner left behind. In their minds she was just a useless blemish on the face of the community. Nothing but a pebble in their shoes.

While the people of the village were so worried about status and money, the two boys, who were of high birth didn't care in the least. Charles, the oldest son of a noble high in the King's court didn't care. Not even the crown prince, Tristan, the heir to the throne cared. This is something we see in children. A trait most of us tend to lose as we grow older. Children don't care how much money you have, or what social status is. They only want companionship.

Tristan and Charles found that companionship in Rennie. Being of high birth they were expected to behave well, even as children. But as little boys are, every chance they got they would hie over the wall that surrounded the castle and play with Rennie. Their meeting is legendary still to this day, when you travel there you hear the tale of the Prince, the Noble, and the Misfit.

Tristan and Charles had discovered a low spot in the wall the day before and decided they wanted to try it out. The moment their mothers left them alone they sneaked out of the castle and found that spot on the wall. They laughed and ran with all their might once they escaped into the forest. Freedom, at last!

Both boys soon came along a runt playing in the mud by a little stream that they would later call Misfit Creek. They startled the boy and soon found themselves with facefulls of mud. Laughter echoed from the boy they had approched and once their faces were clear they realized it wasn't a boy. But a girl, a scrawny, snaggle-toothed girl with freckles.

"You're a girl!" Charles exclaimed, pointing at her dirt encrusted face.

"'Course I am." She said sticking her dirty nose in the air.

"But you're wearing breeches!" Charles once again cried a little loudly. "Girls wear skirts!" He had never seen such a phenomenon before in his entire life. All the women at court and his sisters all had gowns that reached the floor and covered their ankles. Here this girl had on breeches rolled up to her knees wading in the creek.

"Ladies were skirts, I ain't no lady." The girl said haughtily. Both boys just looked at her. The only person they'd ever heard speak in such a way as she did was Sam, one of the stable hands. "What you standin' there for? Your tongues are hangin' out yer mouths!" The girl said. The boys wouldn't find out until later that she was educated and could speak properly. She just enjoyed shocking people with her atrocious language.

"What's you're name?" Tristan asked.

"I don't have a name." The girl lied.

"Then how will we know what to call you?" He asked scratching his chin like he'd seen his father do when he was trying to figure something out.

"Don know." She said picking a stick up out of the mud and twirling it between her fingers. Bits of mud that had stuck to the stick were flung all over the three children. Only the girl didn't seem to mind. The other two flinched whenever a speck hit them. The girl would shake her head sadly when she saw them.

"I've got it!" Tristan said, his hand coming out in front of him. It always looked regal when his father did it and he wanted to be just like him. He also wanted to make an impression on the girl. "Misfit! We'll call you misfit." He'd heard the word spoken by one of the housemaids earlier that week. For some reason the name just seemed to fit her.

"What does misfit mean?" The girl asked her brow furrowing.

"I don't know." He said honestly.

"Okay." Misfit said, shrugging her shoulders. She was just elated that she'd managed to fool the two boys into believing she didn't have a name. For the next two hours she showed them the proper way to get dirty. It took the King's guard that long to find the two boys after they'd started their initial search.

"Who's your friend?" Mathias Lonton, one of the guards, asked the two boys.

"This is Misfit." Tristan said proud that he'd come up with the name by himself. It took all of Mathias' will power not to laugh at the name. "She doesn't have a real name so we gave her one."

"That's very kind of you." Mathias said, he was fond of the boy, he'd been there when his father had first taught him how to ride a pony, seen the joy on his face when he managed to learn the alphabet and recite it by himself. "I'm sure your father will be very proud." Little Tristan's face lit up at the thought of that. He lived to make his father proud, it wasn't hard, but he still lived for it.

As I said this story is legendary. If you visit the little town of Grenlin you will hear the villagers tell this story. But our story doesn't end here.

After King Richard heard the tale of Misfit he laughed and told his son he was very proud that he gave the poor girl a name. He then asked Mathias to enquire about the girl that had enchanted his son. The results were painful.

Rennie St. Claire had been orphaned at the tender age of three. She then lived with her grandmother, where she was taught to be a lady, or at least, her grandmother attempted to teach her to become a lady. They were poor, they barely had enough money to get by. The grandmother was a hardened woman, sour to the core. Because of this, she was not welcomed in any social circles and avoided by all. Rennie was homely and a rebel. The people didn't like her mostly because they didn't like her grandmother. During their inquiries a secret was uncovered, one that could not be told until the time was right. It was a secret that could be deadly or it could be good. Possibly even both.

For several reasons the King allowed Tristan and Charles to venture beyond the wall as long as they were watched. Discreetly. Almost every day they would visit Rennie for hours getting dirty, climbing trees, and causing trouble. The trio stayed close for five years, sticking up for each other and sympathizing with Rennie. They were the only ones in her life that made her feel like she was worth something, they listened when she ranted about her grandmother, made faces whent they heard the old woman say the phrase, "We may be poor, but you can still act and dress like a lady." They were the only friends she ever had.

Then the fateful day came when Tristand and Charles were to leave to further their training and education. They would stay together while Rennie would be left behind, alone. During this time they would come closer together, become more like brothers, and learn a little more about life.

In their absence Renni would stay in the little town of Grenlin, just outside the palace walls and wonder what they were doing and if they remembered her. Soon she became convinced that they would never remember her and gave up her rebelious state of mind. She returned back to her grandmother one day and told her she was ready to become a lady. The lessons and the facade of being a lady lasted only until the day her grandmother died. Then life became even harder and being a lady was not in the requirements for staying alive.

Tristan and Charles grew up wondering what their childhood friend was doing, wondering if she grew up and got married, wondered every day if she'd changed at all. At the same time Rennie grew up wishing for a different life. Wishing that her friends were there with her, making her laugh and smile. She hadn't laughed or smiled really since the day they left. All the while she kept waiting for the day when they would come home.

Author's Note

Please ignore the spelling, it has never been my strong point. Enjoy! :)

Reviews

[Lyndie Bolt aka JustRac..]

It looks to be a very interesting tale- told in a fairy tale-ish manner. My suggestions are: needs work on the transitions from narrative of the history to the dialogue and back. It would also be easier to read on this site if it was left margin formatted.