The path outside the Great Hall was generally used by servants but I had used it for years to get to my room quickly. Sometimes on nights like tonight when the ball was in full swing I would see young men and women snuggling together in the bushes. I couldn’t help thinking about Kale as I walked. He had striking green eyes and a beautiful smile. He was nothing like any of the men I knew, including my own father.

I pulled the door to the kitchen open and slid between the servants rushing around refilling trays. The head cook, Abigail, a stout little woman with a crop of fuzzy, gray hair, smiled at me. It had taken me some time to get Abigail to like me.

The first time I had entered the kitchen I was shooed away with a wooden spoon. After several attempts to cross the kitchen unseen I brought her a gift from Alanonya of rare herbs I had picked in the forest around Castle Wynon. Abigail have been more than excited and often requested that I collect her certain herbs while traveling with my father. I gave her a little wave as I walked through and made my way down the stairs just outside the kitchen.

I entered the lower corridor that was lit only by a few torches on the wall. The dungeon, which held dangerous men, was ahead quite a ways and I would turn onto the stairs right before the entrance to the dungeon. There had been times when I could hear some poor soul wailing in the dungeons, or angry yelling, even laughing. There was a long sweeping curve halfway down the hall, as I rounded it I found myself walking toward a tall figure. He had a menacing look that should have warned me the first moment I saw him, but like a stupid child I continued walking toward him.

The closer I got to the man the more I wanted to turn and run. The walls were so damp that when I brushed up against it, trying to stay as close to one side of the narrow hall as I could, water ran down my arm. The man was getting closer. I wondered where he had come from. He was not a servant or a guard, of that I was sure. I had taken this corridor enough to know everyone who dared pass thorough it. Most people in the castle were afraid not only to enter it but to even pass it. I was not afraid, not until now.

Almost upon me, the mans eyes gleamed in the torchlight. I wrinkled my nose at the smell he gave off, a smell I recognized as the smell of the dungeons and the prisoners kept there. Smoke from the torches filled this high point in the hall and it took all I had to keep from coughing. My eyes fixed on the floor as a realization hit me. He has escaped. The thought drifted through my head like wild fire on dried pine needles. I kept my eyes to the floor and walked as if he were not there. The closer he came though the more frightened I became.

Silly girl, is it so exciting to walk in the dungeon now, now that you face a real prisoner on the loose? Now look at you scared to death that he is going to murder you on the spot. It’s only exciting when they are behind bars. I rolled my eyes at myself and felt my feet moving a little quicker. I wanted to be past him so that I could run the rest of the way to my room.

Finally, I was upon him. I held my breath tightly and turned my head toward the wall as we passed, but before I could force my legs to move any faster I screamed at the pain of my hair, all bundled up in an already tight knot, being snatched almost out of my head.

He shifted me around in the hall so that he could put a dull knife, but a knife nonetheless to my throat. His voice was like gravel in my ear, as if he had not had a drink in several weeks. “Here I am trying to find a way out of this disgusting excuse for a castle and what do I find in my path but the Heir to the Throne of Rouk herself walking through the dungeons as if she belongs.” He coughed sickly in my ear. “Where were you off to Lady? Do you have a secret lover in the dungeons? A little late night sex with the guards? How many at once?”

I shook my head as much as I dared. “My room,” I whispered. “I was taking a short cut to my room.”

The man grunted loudly as if disappointed. “A short cut through the dungeon?” He was silent for a moment before he went on. “Listen here, Princess,” he whispered. His voice was horse but very deep. “I want out of here, now, and your going to take me if I have to slit your pretty little throat.”

I whimpered as he jerked my hair again. “Now, where are the guards? Why are none here? If you scream I will put an end to you!”

He pushed the blade harder against my throat. It took me several moments to collect myself before I could manage to speak and my first attempt was not only inaudible but incoherent. “Ball,” I finally managed and the man loosened the blade a little.

“All of them?” the man asked. I simply nodded. “Alright, get me out of here without being seen, Little Miss Short Cut.”

I squeezed my eyes shut as tears began to fall. “I can’t,” I whispered. “It’s almost over.”

The man let out a sigh. “Are there people who will be leaving the castle grounds at this ball?” I nodded. “Then take me to get some fancy clothes and we can blend in.”

I sort of like this idea. I would get him clothes and anyone who saw me trying to leave the gates without a guard would know that something was wrong. Still, my stomach was in knots and I could not think of a place to get this man clothes. “NOW!” he growled in my ear. I whimpered and told myself to walk. Just walk and figure it out on the way. So, I walked down the hall, up the stairs, and into the hall where my room was. As we walked past my door I turned away from it. The Duke of Bellmont was a very tall man and he had several fancy outfits in the room he kept in the castle, right across from my own.

I stood in the corner of the Duke of Bellmonts quarters watching as the man with the knife rifled through the clothes. He washed his face with a damn rag, smoothed his hair and combed it, then dressed in a frilly blue suit that made him look almost silly but no less frightening. He turned toward me and he looked like someone I knew. My thoughts were so scattered that I couldn’t figure out who. Our eyes met and I held my breath and tried to take a few steps back but the wall stopped me, so I slid down it. He tossed me a black hooded cloak and told me to keep my face covered.

We wandered down the corridor, his arm around my shoulder and the knife against my side. To anyone else it would look as though his date had drank a little too much. He walked slowly until we joined a crowd leaving the castle. The people in the crowd talked and laughed as the walked and the man with the knife joined in. “Great show at the end,” he said. The man next to him smiled and said something about snow. They laughed together as we walked out the castle gates.

I hoped he would let me go now that he was free but he pulled me along with the knife in my side. We walked quietly letting the crowd around us go their own ways. When the crowd was gone he stole a horse from a pub and shoved me into the saddle. He climbed up behind me as I considered the easiest way to jump from the horse. When he was settled in the saddle he tied my hands to the pommel with the reins.

We rode through town with little incident. Several guards passed but even as I gave them a pleading look they smiled to the man holding me hostage. I struggled with the reins trying to loosen them but it only made them tighter.

As soon as we passed the last street lamp the horse jumped into a run down the north road. For several hours we followed the bending, turning path along the river. If he ever let me go, I could follow the river home.

At a prominent fork in the river he stopped the horse and led it off the path into a clearing. He untied my hands and pulled me off the horse only to shove me at a tree and hiss at me to sit down. I did as I was told but I was not happy about it. He threw several sticks into a pile and waved his hand over them. The ignited instantly and I pushed myself back against the tree. A mage. Now I knew how he escaped. I stared into the flames while he paced back and forth.

He jerked me up off the ground. I had an odd feeling like I didn’t know where I was but then I realized and I knew I had fallen asleep. How could I have fallen asleep? I didn’t understand.

I rubbed at my eyes and stumbled away from him. I could hear the soft beat of a horse coming toward us. I watched down the trail waiting for it to come into view. The man who had captured me watched as well. Why wasn’t he trying to hide? It was possible that the horse coming down the path belonged to one of the guards from the castle.

I sat in a fluffy red arm chair looking out the window at the bright summer light, wishing I could go out and get lost in the forest. Instead, a hand maiden stood behind me squawking for me to hold still while she twisted my hair into and intricate knot that stung the back of my neck and made my eyes slant slightly. I wanted so badly to leave but I knew my mother would be angry enough to spit nails.

My only job for the day was to let the castle staff make me as beautiful as they possibly could and act like a lady at the ball. My parents were looking to marry me off to one of the many annoying princes or dukes who would be attending the ball. I, however, had no plans of marrying anyone I met at one of my uncles gaudy balls. The only luck I have is that my parents have been sent to Galinsha to work out a trade agreement which meant they would not be attending the ball, nor would I have to listen to my mother yell about my not finding a suitable husband. I smiled evilly as I looked out the window.

“Lady Tayla, I have to get a few more Ladies ready for the ball. You have several hours before it begins and I will be very upset if I have to redo your hair before the ball. Please do not pick at it or wander into the woods,” the hand maiden said with one eyebrow raised.

I promised I would not ruin the woman’s masterpiece just so that she would leave. I stared at the floor as I considered how my mother would have chewed the woman’s ear had she spoken to me like that in her presence. The staff knew I was too meek to complain when they treated me like a child.

I left my chair but only to lean out the window and watch the guests who were beginning to arrive in polished white carriages. It looked like it was the same crowd that usually showed up for the royal balls, but I did see a few new faces.

One young man caught my eye as he arrived on horse back. Very unusual indeed. He was tall with long, wavy, brown hair and a half grown beard that gave him a slightly dangerous look. He was dressed in tight black pants, a shining, deep red shirt, and a black cloak that hung loosely around his shoulders. I almost fell out the window when his eyes met mine. I was three stories up but he had found my eyes watching him. My breath caught in my chest like a bird in a cage and I almost bit my lip in two. He gave me a crooked smile and walked into the castle leaving me hanging out the window trying to follow his progress.

I sat down in the chair and closed my eyes trying to recreate his smile. It took me several minutes to calm myself down. A real man. Most of the men who frequented the castle could have pasted for girls they were so slim and bony, but not him, not the man in the red shirt. He had been tall, strong, and handsome. After several deep breaths I managed to collect myself enough to find the seamstress.

The seamstress, Malinya, had come up from the city to fit all of the high ladies into her beautiful gowns. As usual she had already chosen a gown for me and had made the alterations before I arrived. Malinya found it ‘fun’ to dress me as though I were a doll and never let me choose my own dresses. Normally, I hated her choices, but she seemed to have listened the last time I had complained. Instead of the frilly, ribbons, and bows dresses she usually dressed me in she had chosen a sleek, deep red gown that swooped down dangerously low in the front as well as the back. I stared at it for several seconds before she spoke.

“Your mother is not here tonight,” she said with a knowing wink. But news of this dress will travel to her fast enough, I thought. “She never allows me to dress you like the beauty you are. No more child’s dresses for you. Now go put it on.”

I took the gown and rushed off behind the curtains Malinya had hung and slipped off my clothes. I took my time pulling the gown on, being very careful not to rip any part of it. There were no buttons up the back. It was completely open all the way down until it met in a V shape just above my rear. The front dove almost as low in the same shape, exposing my naval. A square of see through material held the gown tight across my chest assuring me that my breasts would not fall out at any given moment. Just as I was getting ready to walk out of the curtains, Malinya stuck her head in. She peeked at me and then the rest of her body followed. She handed me a pair of flat slippers that matched my gown. I smiled delightedly. I was usually forced to wear the high heeled slippers that my mother wore to give her height. I however, was very uncomfortable in them and preferred flats. Malinya smiled and shook her head as she watched me slip them on.

“One more thing,” she said and motioned for me to follow her out of the curtains. She rushed across the room and grabbed a shawl off a pile of gowns. It was a perfect match to my dress. “Put this on until you arrive at the ball. It will cover most of your gown and you can step into the ball and turn everyone’s heads. The young me will stand in line to dance with you tonight.”

I began to think that maybe my mother had conspired with Malinya. I hated to dance at the balls because of the high heeled slippers, and the lack of any worth while men. My feet would not hurt tonight and I had seen the most handsome man arrive. I tried to hide myself behind the huge marble columns in the ball room so that no one would see the frilly gowns I was forced to wear, but there were no frills tonight. I was rather self conscious of the depth that the neck and backline dove to but after some consideration I found that it was not that bad. There was nothing to see but skin.

I sat in my room for the next hour munching on a tray of vegetables a hand maiden had brought. When the sun finally began to sink below the trees I made my way down to the ball room.

I stopped in the middle of the hall staring at the doors to the ball room forcing myself to breathe deeply. I was afraid people would talk about how daring it was of me to wear such a gown. I forced the thoughts out of my head and pushed myself down the hall. A page waited at the doors. “May I take your shawl, Lady Tayla?” he asked as I entered the huge oak doors into the sparkling white ballroom.

I let him pull it from my shoulders and heard him take a deep breath. As I walked further into the ball room a few couples stopped dancing to stare at me or my gown, I am not sure, but I think it was the combination of the two. I walked slowly around the dance floor ignoring the eyes following me and sat down at an empty table.

A woman I knew only as a priestess of Noya joined me. She glanced at me and raised an eyebrow, which made me profoundly happy. It was difficult to notice any emotion in a Child of Noya. We sat in silence for several songs before a young Duke asked me to dance. No, I thought but I held my hand out to him just to get away from the priestess.

The young duke danced me all around the hall without speaking. His face was bright red by the end of the tune and I thought he was about to say something before Prince Derrick of Amanrah asked if he could cut in. The Duke passed me to the Prince and we made our way around the hall only to be interrupted by the end of the song by a young gentleman who left another woman standing alone on the dance floor to catch up with us.

Four partners later I ended up in the arms of the man in the red shirt that I had watched enter the castle that afternoon. “You look absolutely stunning,” he said as his green eyes met mine. I felt a rush of emotion. I gasped for breath that I had a hard time releasing. It came out as a series of whimpers.

“Thank you,” I said after I managed to continue breathing. His hand brushed across the bare skin of my back causing me to shiver. When a man tried to interrupt I discreetly told him no, and the man in the red shirt smiled. “What is your name?” I asked.

“Kale, and you M’ Lady would you be Lisha or Tayla. I can never tell the two of you apart,” he said.

I felt my cheeks flush. My cousin, Lisha, was thought to be the most beautiful woman in the city if not the world. No one had ever confused us. “Tayla,” I answered.

“Ah, I rather thought so. Lisha is…”

“A spoiled brat,” I said when he did not finish.

He flashed me that handsome crooked smile. “I was going to say… Rude, but that will work too,” he laughed before shooing away another interruption. “I don’t think I have ever had the pleasure of dancing with you.”

“No,” and I have never had the pleasure of laying eyes on you. The music slowed to a lovers dance and he acted as though he was going to let me go but I pulled him closer. He smiled and wrapped his arms around my waist. “If you let me leave you I will no doubt have to dance with one of those creatures,” I nodded to the young men waiting around us.

“Then we shall get lost on the floor.” He spun me toward the center of the dance floor. “But I won’t be able to keep you company all evening. I will be putting on a show shortly.”

He had an intoxicating scent. I found my self closer and closer to him until finally I laid my head against his chest and let him lead me where he would. The show he spoke of would end the ball. My uncle always like to have someone perform for the crowd. I wondered what type of show Kale would put on. The last ball had played host to a band of acrobats. I’d been so enticed that I stayed for most of the show before sneaking off to my room. We danced for several more songs before the orchestra stopped playing and Kale led me to a table right in front of the dais.

He stood on the dais spinning his hands in gentle circles and the orchestra started playing again. The smell of spring flowers drifted over me as I watched them spring from the marble floor. Butterflies appeared and soared here and there on an imaginary breeze. A rainbow lit the ceiling and cast it’s multicolored glow onto the dancers and the floor. Birds began to chirp from the rafters and baby rabbits bounced along the aisle next to the dance floor. The dancers looped along to a high joyful song. A few of them tried to catch the butterflies but they always slipped right through their hands. Raindrops fell from the ceiling, giving the illusion of rain even though nothing was wet.

When the song changed to a sad love song, everything changed. The room took on a deep red glow that seemed to emanate form the marble walls. Roses wrapped their war around the columns and purple iris’ bloomed around my feet. I reached down and plucked one from the bunch and smiled sweetly to Kale, who I now knew was a Mage, conducting the scenery. He smiled and winked at me before returning to his attention to the crowded dance floor where acrobats began to tumble among the dancers.

I watched awhile longer before making my way to the door that would lead me outside into the gardens. I would not have another chance to dance with Kale so there was no point staying. I smiled at him and waved as I walked out the door. He bowed to me.