Chapter 1

"My lady," someone greeted as I glided through the palace hall. The people walking through it stopped in their tracks and bowed their heads down to me. Each one said, "My lady," as I passed by. I ignored them all while I forced my face to try look happy. I could tell it wasn't working, so I stopped trying.  How could someone look happy when they weren't feeling any emotion? I just felt...empty, as always. I could hear the scurrying of footsteps as I made a turn in the hall.

"My lady!" somebody called. Just another person saying the same thing over and over again.

"Yes?" I asked politely as I tuned around to face him.

"My lady...how do you do?" he asked breathlessly.

"I am fine," I replied with a blank face. I didn't like these kind of men. They always tried too hard to be kind and get others attention.

"You look beautiful," he complimented. I really didn't need compliments right now, but I accepted it gracefully.

"Thank you," I answered with a bow of my head.

"I don't seem to recognize you? Who are you, exactly?" I asked, out of curiosity. I've actually never seen him around the palace before. I moved my eyes up and down his body quickly, trying to act interested.

"Me? Oh, I apologize. I haven't introduced myself properly yet. I am Sir Tristan."

"Sir Tristan, is it? And what does a nobleman such as you have to do with me?" I asked.

"I only wished to greet you," he replied. It was such an innocent reply. Maybe I had been too rude.

"Well, it was a pleasure," I said. I bowed my head once, but the white flower in my hair would not stay in it's proper place. It fell to the ground. I knelt down to pick it up, as did he. My hand met his soft, warm hand for two seconds. I stared at it, then looked up at his eyes. They looked caring, a nice shade of brown too. We knelt there, for who knows how long, just staring.

"Here's your flower my lady," he said, pulling me out of my hypnotized state.

"Oh...thank...thank you,"I murmured, still in a daze.

As he got up, I just noticed his blond hair ever so slightly touch his eyelid. He brushed that hair back, and held out a hand towards me. I took it, and stood up, letting my blue silk dress unravel itself. He still held my flower in his hand. He moved his hand until it was up to my hair, and gently push it into the knot in my hair in the back of my head. I looked away and realized that everyone had been watching. When they saw that I was staring at them , they immediately moved their eyes to the ground and continued whatever they had been doing.

"Pleasure to meet you too," Sir Tristan said, and, with a bow of his head, he turned his back to leave.

"By the way...I'm Lady Keira," I called, as I had a sudden urge to do so. He spun around to face me again, and I saw the slightest smile on his face as he bowed, making his hair shake a little bit. then, I turned away to walk to my bed chambers.

        

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"By the way...I'm lady Keira," she said in her wonderfully attractive voice. Her name was just as beautiful as the rest of her. But her face, although gorgeous, did not show any emotion, no feeling at all. She just looked, disinterested. But that wasn't what drew her to me. Something, I don't know exactly what, but something about her intrigued me.  I wanted to know what she was really feeling, the person behind the mask. I had to know.

The way her wavy blond hair bounced up was adorable, but they way her piercing blue eyes could seduce him like that was just amazing. Her dark blue dress with the transparent light blue sleeves and light blue lace almost matched her beauty. Almost.  She was so attractive on the outside, everyone could see that, whoever didn't must be a blind idiot, but it was what was on the inside. Nobody has attracted me like that since forever.

So, when she turned away, I stood there staring at her like an fool, watching her float like an angel from heaven in her palace until she turned into another hall.

"Stunning," I sighed. And turned around to walk back to my quarters. 

 

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He touched my hair, and moved his hand slowly down to my lips, so gentle, so warm. He slowly leaned closer, and moved one hand to my cheek to keep me still. I wasn't about to move anyway. His hand on my lips slithered to the small of my back, and gently stroked it. He leaned closer, and closer, and then-

 

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"My lady," my assistant called, "what's happened? Are you alright?"

"Yes, of course," I said, still panting. I could feel the beads of cold sweat on my forehead. What in the world had I been dreaming?

"Alice, would you hand me a glass of cold water?" I requested.

"Of course, my lady," she replied, and left the room with a bow.

I collapsed on to my bed and covered my head with a pillow as soon as she left. 

"Oh..."I groaned. I continued groaning s I tried to keep him out of my head. But that dream brought me a horrid memory that I tried not to envision.

But then, I remembered. I remembered watching my brother, the dead prince, being killed by his own uncle. I remember watching him murder my little sister. I watched helplessly. All I could do while they were being assassinated was watch in despair, and cry out in vain. But just as his knife was about to hit my throat, the guards found us. 

Since that day, I have never let anyone become too close to me, I have never let anyone have a permanent place in my heart, not even the mother and father that gave me life. I have never let anyone in since that day believing that everybody would leave me, betray me, or hurt me someday.

 He took away my beloved brother and sister with him when he died. I was only twelve when it happened. I believed that the world was a wonderful place, that the uncle that I had loved would never do anything bad. Now I'm afraid that if I ever loved anyone again, even family, they would just betray me, or leave me in this wretched world all alone. Even if my uncle has been executed and is now gone, the pain and suffering, the fear and terror has never been removed from my heart, not even in eight long years.

My tears came pouring out, they came fast, along with little moans. I didn't want to scared to trust people. I cried and I cried, I cried my heart out, and even when I thought I had no more tears to cry, they never failed to show up.  Sometimes, even after I could cry no more, after hours in bed sobbing, even while I felt numb, my heart still hurt. But I didn't have the time to cry for hours right now. I didn't have time to cry until I could cry no more. But  I could not stop my tears either, because the pain of that memory that has been burned into my mind was too strong.

How could I let him in so easily? What if I couldn't get him out? He would probably leave me too. I wouldn't have cared if I didn't know him.It's been days since I'd seen him. How did he just appear i y dreams like that?

I felt something touch my back. I lifted my head from the pillow, and saw that Sir Tristan was in my room. Wonderful. Just wonderful.

"I-I heard noises, and I came in to check.  What happened to you? Are you okay?" he asked sincerely.

"Leave me alone,"I begged, "Please, please, leave me alone." He held up the cup filled with water.

"Do you want some?" he asked.

"Leave me alone, leave me," I pleaded, fresh tears falling from my face. I didn't want him to see me like this.

"Leave me!" I yelled as the tears kept coming.

"You look beautiful, do you know that?" he asked staring at me with a dreamy expression. Now that surprised me. "What?'" I asked him again, just to see if I heard correctly.

"You look beautiful," he repeated. He said I looked beautiful. It was like he didn't see any of the tears, or the unstable part of me. It was like I didn't even yell at him.

"My eyes are probably red and my face white as a ghost, how is that possibly beautiful?"

"Well, in my eyes, it is," he replied.

He averted his eyes from my face and asked again, "Water, Princess Keira?"

He held the cup to my lips and tilted it slowly, forcing me to either drink or choke. I chose to drink. Actually, I felt a lot better after drinking the cold, refreshing water. After I drank some more, he took the towel from my small wood table and wet it. Then he gently wiped my face with it, wiping away my tears.

"How did you find my room?" I asked,

"Well, it wasn't very hard to follow the sounds of those cries," Tristan laughed. I blushed furiously.

He walked over to my closet and asked, "May I?"

I nodded my head and replied, "Go ahead." I wasn't in any mood or place to disagree.

He picked out a gorgeous bright red dress and a pink rose to go with it. I haven't worn that dress in a long time. My mother gave me it when I was officially named a princess. I supposed that he knew that too. Noblemen knew everything.

Sir Tristan walked back to me and softly said, " Here you go,"

I took it and walked over to my folding screen. I pulled it closed and began to change into my dress. But I couldn't lace up my corset. For some strange reason, I never learned how to do that.

"Sir Tristan," I called quietly.

"Call me Tristan," he requested.

"Alright. Tristan?"

"Yes my lady?"

"Is Alice there?" I asked.

"No, my lady.  I heard your sister, Lady Sara needed her," he replied.

"Oh," I answered. I supposed that since she was only seven she would need the help. And she didn't have her own maid yet, so Sara always borrowed Alice.

"Tristan? Would you help me with this?"I asked shyly. It was the only choice I had, unless I wanted to go out there with my dress falling to the floor. I thought about all the gossip that would be spreading throughout the palace if anyone found out, or the punishments that my father would've Tristan. Beheading him would be the best of it.

"Hmm?" he asked. Maybe he was hesitant too, but most men would leap at the chance. I guess he wasn't most men.

"Please? I usually have Alice help me, but..." I begged. Otherwise, I was never going to get dressed.

"Umm...okay, I'm coming in,"he said. And I heard the folding screen move a bit as he came in. This was so embarrassing. None of my corset was laced up yet.

"Do you know how to lace it?" I whispered. It seemed only natural to do so, because the room was dead silent.

"I can try," he murmured, concentrating on fitting the string through the loop. I could feel his warm fingers touch the skin of my back.

"Wow, this is hard," he complained. I actually laughed. A small laugh, but still, a laugh.

"Your laugh is so musical, like bells," he commented.

"Is it?" I asked.

"Yes, I like it," Tristan replied.

"Thank you," I said.

"Hold on a bit, I'm almost finished. Do you want it tight?"

"Do any females want to die from not being able to breathe properly? But yes, it must be tight. It is required."

"Yes my lady," and I could feel my corset tightening.

"I finished. I actually did it!" he laughed, forgetting the 'talk formally to a princess' lesson engraved in everybody's mind. It made me smile.

He bent down and picked up my dress from the ground and slipped it over my head.

"You look stunning," he said.

"But you need to lace up this too."

"Do I have to? What is it with laces and women?" he complained. I laughed again. The laugh that he said he liked. I actually enjoyed knowing that he liked my laugh. It felt good.

"There, all laced up!" Tristan announced happily.

We stepped out of the changing room, and I realized something.

"My hair!"

"Now your hair? May I do it?" he asked.

"May you do what?" I questioned. Alright, that was a stupid question.

"Do your hair."

"Do you know how?" I wondered curiously.

"I'll try," he promised.

We walked over to the mirror on the table and i sat on my chair.

"You can't look though," he said.

"Why?"I asked. I didn't mean to be offensive, but I wasn't entirely confident of his hairstyling skills.

"I want it to be a surprise!"

"As you wish," I answered. But I peeked a little, or I attempted to.

"I said not to look!" Tristan scolded.

"Alright. Alright." I sighed. Just to make sure, he put his hand over my eyes.

"Have you ever done this before?" I asked.

"No, I've never done any of this. Its my first time," he replied, focused on my hair. One strand fell into my face and he brushed it back with his fingers. I could feel his fingers working his way into my hair.

When he was finished, he removed his hand and said, "You can look now."

Tristan had tied up a few strands of hair from each side, and braided them and tied them into one so it looked like what we would call 'princess hair', but a bit different, because you could only see it from the back, the front looked like my hair was down. I couldn't believe that he did that.

"Wow..." I breathed.

"Hold on, I forgot something." Then, he picked up the pink rose and stuck it in the place where the two braids met and became one.

"It's beautiful," I said.

He smiled his little smile at me and asked, "Breakfast?"

I smiled but didn't reply.

"Don't tell me you have makeup too."

I shook my head.

"Then let's go," he said. By then, I had forgotten all of my troubles.

 

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So much for not letting him into my heart.

Reviews

[Mickey]

awesome, can't wait to read more :)

[Rae]

I love it!

AWESOME! I love it :)

[aaaa]

I liked it, you have a talent for dialogue