Chapter Two

It was nearing midday and City Nebula was basking in gentle warmth. The sunshine wrapped itself around the many stone turrets of Castle Nebula, making it stand out like a glorious monument. The many shops and houses in the city were bathed in a gentle summer glow, giving the impression of a golden wonderland.

 

The various markets were alive with vibrant chatter and the carefree movement of bodies as people went about their daily business with a spring in their step. Shoppers did not elbow each other in frustration or curse vehemently at the lack of personal space available. Instead the mood of the crowd reflected the day’s weather and people were happier than they had ever been. But no one was happier than the one girl who had been denied such pleasures from an early age; no one was more jubilant than Daniella Springbourne. As Daniella wondered through the city streets she explored the world that had been kept from her for so long, she marvelled at the simple pleasures and pursuits, which she had been denied experiencing.

 

As she wondered the vibrant streets of City Nebula, Daniella saw many interesting things. She was treated to a performance by a group of young athletic street performers juggling fire and exhibiting an impressive acrobatics routine. As she ventured out of the large market place and into a less crowded district Daniella’s thoughts were not on the uproar that her absence from the castle would cause, but on the delights of the market place and the natural beauty that surrounded her. She marvelled at large willow trees lining the side of the road, with roots so large that groups of children were playing in them. Wild flowers grew in small patches of long grass in between shops, their vibrant colours adding to the general atmosphere of City Nebula.

 

As the day progressed Daniella explored the various parts of the City. Wearing the body length robe she had taken from the classroom, she was not noticed by any of the royal guards who might have been looking for the missing princess. Daniella was able to move through the vast crowd with ease, she appeared nothing more than a peasant girl to all the eyes that absentmindedly swept over her. Daniella liked this newfound anonymity; she hated being judged by nobles and officials who hardly knew her. It was not that Daniella didn’t want to be a princess, because she did. But Daniella wanted to explore her country and make a real difference in people’s lives. She knew that Mr. Burgundy’s spiteful actions towards her were fuelled by a hatred for the monarchy as a result of the low quality classroom in which he had been forced to teach, Daniella was determined to improve those conditions, but she did not regret her actions in the classroom.

 

Daniella saw many interesting shops and people as she ventured into the various districts of City Nebula. She saw a very large man with a long beard selling rare jewellery at a small colourful stall in a wealthy district. She witnessed a dispute over a lovely white horse, between two elegant looking women in pretty dresses; both the snobbish looking women (who were apparently sisters) claimed the horse was bequeathed to them from their late father.

 

Daniella used some of her spare gold coins in her hidden dress pocket  (Daniella left gold coins in all her dresses just in case she needed money) to pay for some delicious ginger bread from a young woman running a small bakery near the harbour. Thanking the young woman, Daniella went down to the beach, adjacent to the shipping docks and sat down to eat.

 

The beautiful beaches of Farachia were one of the main reasons for Daniella’s yearning to explore the country. Farachia had some of the best beaches in the entire world and the beach of City Nebula was one of the most popular. As Daniella ate her gingerbread she took in the beautiful sparkling ocean and the cloudless blue sky. She watched as the waves gently lapped onto the shore. The ocean looked as if it was filled with hundreds of diamonds, each making it sparkle under the shining Farachian sun.

 

After a few hours, Daniella went for a walk along the beach, heading towards the docks. As she progressed she watched as the various boats drew in and out of the harbour, their sails being pushed by the gentle breeze that now blew in the late afternoon. She saw may large boats leaving the harbour for distant lands, their sails embroided with the noble Farachian crest, showing four swords interlocking behind a single rose atop large diamond.

 

Daniella reached the docks just as the weather became more windy. She found shelter underneath a large pier and sat on a small, but comfortable rock to rest for a minute. The wind was now blowing large amounts of water against the side of ships trying to leave the harbour. The pier she was using for shelter was enormous and stretched out at least one hundred metres off the shore. Adjacent to her pier was about four more piers, spaced out leaving fifty metre intervals between them. Each pier looked very old with the planks rotting at various points.

 

Daniella continued to look at the features of each pier as she rested, until something caught her eye. Underneath the pier next to hers, a group of men had just come out of the shadows. Two of the men looked rather large and menacing, they were dragging a boy with them, who looked about Daniella’s age. The boy was awake and struggling violently against his attackers. The two older men began beating the younger man up, one pounded his body without mercy, while the other held the boy’s arms behind his back.

 

Immediately without thinking, Daniella ran over to the group determined to help the boy. As she got closer she saw that the victim was definitely no older than seventeen, he was wearing a filthy sailors uniform, covered in dirt and ripped in heaps of places. The boy had tendrils of curly dark brown hair, which stopped just above his shoulders. He looked as though he had not been fed in a while. The two men were beating him up unrelentingly with their large fists as he screamed for help. As the young man fell from the grasp of the two larger men and hit the wet sand, one of his attackers grabbed a sword out of his long back coat, advancing on the boy as the other robust man held him down. Neither of the large and intimidating saw Daniella breathlessly running towards the group.  

 

As she reached the group, Daniella jumped on the back of the man with the sword and made a lunge for his weapon. Alarmed by this attack from behind the man desperately tried to shake Daniella off him. She could smell the man’s sweat as she frantically tried to reach around his large body towards hid sword.

 

Meanwhile, the boy on the ground used Daniella’s distraction to his advantage and bite the hand of the man holding him down. The man let out a loud curse and fell back, on the sand, clutching his hand in pain.

 

Daniella managed the sword off the man she was holding onto and in one swift movement she jumped off his back. Very ruffled, but still determined, Daniella held the sword towards the two men, one of which was still on the ground. They both looked back at her with enormous animosity in their eyes.

 

Trying to keep her sword steady, Daniella bent down and helped the boy off the ground. He looked badly beaten with bruises all over him, but he was able to get up. As she helped the boy up onto his feet, the man she had stolen the sword off made a heated exclamation and lunged at her. Daniella swung the sword at him with all her might, creating a large gash on his face, which made him howl with pain. The boy she had saved jumped forward and kicked the man backwards, with a suprising amount of strength, considering his frail appearance. The large man fell ontop of his accomplice, both of them yelled furiously as they struggled to get up. Quickly the boy grabbed Daniella’s hand and pulled her away from the two men. Dropping the sword, Daniella ran hurriedly with the boy towards the nearest market place, hoping that they weren’t being followed.

 

Daniella and the boy raced through the large bustling market place. Side by side they sprinted through the city streets, Daniella’s expensive shoes clicking frantically as she ran like she had never run before in her life. Although, she did not know if they were being pursued, Daniella was compelled to continue as the exhilaration of the fight drove her forward.

 

Together they found themselves in the silk district, with a mass of large shops towering above them. Long sheets of colourful silk hung from shop windows, the wind turning and twisting the material in a barrage of swirling colour as the teenagers frantically ran past. They continued to run through the city streets until they reached the fruit district. As Daniella and the boy sprinted through a street of small fruit venders she was forced to stop when he pulled her into a small alleyway, where they rested for a minute.

 

The hard stonewall of the small alley way was cool, so Daniella sat down on the ground and leant her head back against it, closing her eyes and resting. When she opened them she saw the boy sitting opposite her, he appeared to be catching his breath against the wall, his dark brown curls sticking to his pale and sweaty face. They rested there for a moment before the boy spoke.

“I’m Micah Baxter,” he said breathlessly. “I was a junior sailor on a navy ship bound for Sapphire Island, but I objected to a smuggling operation my captain was bringing aboard our ship, so they kicked me off.” Micah said this all very fast and Daniella had trouble understanding him.

“Those two men you saw beating me up, they were smugglers and they were going to kill me.” Micah stole a subtle glance at Daniella, taking in her features, his gaze lingering on her vibrant blue eyes and flowing black hair. “If it weren’t for you I’d probably be dead,” Micah said quietly, his eyes widening as the realisation, his face growing paler in the dim light of the covered alley way.

 

Daniella blushed at this comment. She had saved Micah’s life, she was a hero. Daniella felt an odd sense of self-satisfaction at Micah’s comment; it gave her a positive feeling of accomplishment and meaning that she had never felt before.

“It was nothing, you saved me just as much as I saved you.” Daniella replied, smiling. They both held each other’s gaze for a moment, Micah’s eyes were dark green, with small flecks of grey, and he seemed troubled. Eventually Micah broke the connection and stared at the dirty ground as he spoke.

“Since I have been expelled from my ship I have no where to live and I don’t have any money.” Micah said quietly. At this comment, Micah looked down at the ground embarrassed. Daniella pretended to become intensely interested in her fingernails, wanting to spare him further embarrassment. It was evident by Micah’s tone of voice that his pride was suffering greatly at his admissions. He recoiled his legs and sat hunched against the stonewall. After a tense moment he spoke again.

“Look, I don’t want anything from you, but if you could just tell me of any businesses you know are hiring.” Micah seemed very uncomfortable as he spoke, like his words were causing him great pain.

 

Daniella felt as if she should introduce herself first. “My name is Daniella Springbourne.” She said, watching his eyes for sighs of recognition. Micah turned his head toward her slowly, his eyes widening as he registered her name.

“Princess Daniella Springbourne?” He asked incredulously. When she nodded solemnly, Micah looked completely shocked, his pale face becoming even paler. Mixed in with his shock was another emotion, quite evidently etched onto his face, like it had been engraved with a chisel. It was jealousy, mixed with hatred. Daniella had gotten used to it, over the years. It was the look that she received whenever her presence was announced; it was a look she dreaded from all who met her. Daniella had received the look from Cassandra, her maid many times and she had seen it in Mr Burgundy’s eyes just before he took he tiara in the classroom. Deciding to confront whatever problems Micah might have with her head on, Daniella continued to speak.

“Yes, I am Princess Daniella Springbourne.” She said confidently, with more than a hint of frustration. “I was out exploring City Nebula when I saw you being attacked and I had to help. I know you might not like who I am, but I hope you don’t judge me on typical monarchy stereotypes.” Daniella said a little to quickly. Realising she sounded a bit anxious, Daniella quickly made her face appear non-chalant. Why did she care what this boy thought anyway?

 

To Daniella’s astonishment, Micah smiled, reached out and shoke her hand. Maybe she had imagined his dislike? She tended to worry a little too much about other people stereotyping her. Encouraged by Micah’s warm sign of greeting, Daniella continued talking.

“If you want, you can come and work at my castle, we are in need of a new bell ringer.” Daniella said warmly. Micah looked positively delighted at this offer and nodded his head enthusiastically.

 

Together they both stood up and peeked out of the alleyway entrance, the fruit market was business as usual. As Daniella and Micah scanned the vast crowd for their attackers, they saw a group of old women hobbling along towards a tomato vendor and a young boy leading a grey donkey packed with goods. But no sign of the thugs that had tried to kill Micah at the docks.

 

When they were completely convinced that the thugs had not followed them, the pair etched their way out of the small alley way. As Daniella and Micah walked along the cobbled street they constantly checked their surroundings for Micah’s attackers. People bustled in and out of shopping centres, going about their business, completely oblivious to the anxieties of two pale and sweaty teenagers.

 

When the pair was one district away from the castle, Micah remarked. “You must be so lucky to live in Castle Nebula, though the security must be pretty tight.”

 It was at that moment that Daniella came to a dreadful realisation that hit her like a run away carriage. She was going to be in a world of trouble when they got back to Castle Nebula.