ery little I'm afraid. The Elders have been kept in the dark and knew less than what I did. They are however going to make sure everyone plays by the rules. They have sent overseers out."
"That serious?" Erick asked
Daru nods his head gravely.
"But how is that going to stop the wizard?"
"There are consequences when the laws are broken" Daru said
"Like what?" Elainer asks
"Little Fae, there are rules for everything in the world and including magick. You would have been taught some of them. However there are also laws which some of us have to abide by like myself, Daru and Erick. We can not tamper with the laws and if you try the Elders will punish you however they see fit"
They talked into the night and the moon shone bright. The oddly assembled group started disapating as everyone started heading home. Erick pulled the Sorceress aside.
"Kat saw the ball of blue energy you created earlier" Erick informed her
"Hmm, that isn't to good, how did you explain that?"
"I told her you were helping me with my magick show. She believed me and wants me to have you teach me the trick"
They laughed together.
"I can show you how to reproduce a ball that in all it's appearances looks the same. It won't have the power behind it but that should satisfy Kat"
She smiled and procedeed to teach Erick how to create the illusion. After a few minutes Erick pulled the hood of his cloak up and slunk into the night.
Daru walked up to the Soceress and held her in his arms.
"Time to go, the sun will be dawning in a few hours and we have much to do"
he nods and kisses him gently. A bunny pops out from a hole and looks at the Sorceress and Daru.
"Be well dust, you to know your task" Daru says to the bunny
The bunny wriggles his nose and then hops off. They both put their hoods up and like Erick disapear into the night.
The sun rose, as it was accustomed to doing, and the dim light of pre-dawn brightened to early morning as the royal household stirred to life. In the kitchen the cooks and kitchen hands had been up for an hour, baking bread, and in the rest of the house, maids and servants awoke and began their daily work. In one room, the sun fell on the princess Kat's face, awakening her. She stretched lazily, and rolled over to look at the kitten, who was still sleeping. Then Kat remembered what she was doing that day, and slipped out of bed. She washed her face quickly, gathered her clothes, and slipped down the stairs to the baths, which were deserted this early in the morning. After a quick bathe, she dressed in a long, full, dark blue skirt, and the "peasant blouse" Erick had given her, with the lacing at the front and ruffled sleeves and the ribboned neckline, which left most of her shoulders bare. It was her favourite outfit, probably because she only ever got to wear it when she was sneaking out of the house. Returning to her room, Kat quickly braided her long brown hair and tied the end with a piece of leather she'd dampened. She had just finished checking herself out, when Erick tapped on the door. Kat opened it, and he stepped in.
"Not bad," he complimented her, tugging at one sleeve so the top slipped down one shoulder. "Hmm.... Nice collar bone."
Kat looked at him, puzzled. What on earth was a collar bone? Something to do with her neck? Erick laughed, and touched the delicate bone that seemed to run from her shoulder towards her throat.
"That's your collar bone."
Kat tugged the top back up over her shoulder.
"Come on, let's go."
"Your wish is my command."
Erick picked up his staff & bag, and they ran down the kitchens together. Sarah was waiting with 2 loafs of bread, some freshly churned butter and cheese, and some fruit. Erick and Kat ate quickly and went out the kitchen door to the courtyard. Kat reached behind the kitchen door and selected her staff from the ones stored there, and together they walked out of the courtyard towards the main road. When they reached the gate, Erick jumped over it with ease. Kat lifted her skirts, and stood on the first rung. Laughing, Erick picked her up around the waist and lifted her over the fence, then swung her around in a circle. Kat laughed, and wound her arms around his neck.
"I *do* adore you, Erick."
"I know," he replied with a grin, and put her back on the ground.
He handed Kat her staff, and she smiled at him, then said, "Race you!" and took off down the dirt road towards the fair. Laughing, Erick ran after her, catching up easily and lifting her off the ground again.
"Fair go," he said with a laugh. "It's a long walk to the fair, you don't want to be tired when you get there.
From a window high up in the palace, the queen watched with a smile as her daughter and Erick walked arm in arm down the road to the fair.
***
Upon arriving at the fair, Erick let Kat lead him around wherever she wanted to go. He knew how much she enjoyed being out "alone" and always let her dictate what they looked at. Luckily for Erick, their interests were pretty similar, so it wasn't a chore at all. After a couple of hours of general wandering, Kat turned to Erick and gave him a brilliant smile.
"Uh oh," he teased.
"What?"
"I know what *that* smile means!" he declared with a laugh.
"What smile?"
"You know," he replied, still grinning. "What do you want?"
Kat looked briefly put out. Then she laughed, and linked her arm through his.
"You're my best friend, you know that?"
"Yes," Erick replied. "What do you want?"
Kat laughed, and pointed towards a stall that sold beaded jewelry.
"Ok, let's go look."
Together they leaned over the jewelry on the table. Erick kept one hand firmly on his money pouch, which carried a good deal more money than most people at the fair. Kat fingered a couple of bracelets, and Erick asked the prices of a couple of items. When she'd decided which ones she wanted, Erick bartered with the shopkeeper for them, and ended up paying 3 coppers for the bracelets. The shop keeper wrapped them for him, and Erick & Kat moved further along the stalls. They continued to shop for another couple of hours, with Kat selecting what she wanted, and Erick bargaining for and buying it. When Erick saw something he wanted, the same thing happened. Occasionally, Kat would wander off for a few minutes. Erick would pretend not to notice, but secretly he kept a sharp eye on her at all times. He was careful not to look at what she was buying though, because he realised if she caught him watching, she'd skin him alive.
After they'd been at the fair for about 5 hours, Erick turned Kat towards the food stalls. He bought them both a fruit loaf and some cheese, and they moved towards the grassy area for lunch. Erick and Kat sat cross-legged on the ground and ate their lunch, talking all the while. When they'd almost finished, the acrobats and other performers came out and started their routines on the lawn.
The various performances went for 4 hours, and when they were over, Erick squinted up the the position of the sun in the sky.
"We still have time to visit the sorceress, if you want," he offered.
Kat jumped up instantly, then almost fell down again as her leg cramped. Laughing, she rubbed it and stretched it out.
"Of course I want. Let's go."
Erick stood and gathered their things. When Kat's leg was working again, they moved down the stalls to the tent the sorceress was using during the fair. Erick and Kat walked to the front of the line, and Erick murmured to the man standing out the front, collecting money.
"Daru, I brought Kat."
"One second, Erick."
The man stuck his head inside the tent, and a couple of minutes later, Kat and Erick stepped into the dimly lit tent. The sorceress was sitting behind a table, a deck of cards in front of her.
"Tarot reading, Lady Kat?"
"Why not?"
Kat sat at the table, and began shuffling the cards.
"And what is your question for this reading, my Lady?"
"I think just a general future reading, today."
The sorceress nodded, and exchanged a glance with Erick. Once Kat had shuffled the cards sufficiently, the sorceress dealt them and looked at them.
"Hmm... Interesting."
Kat remained silent, knowing the sorceress was in her "publicity" mode, and would get around to the fortune telling soon.
"Soon in your life will come a great upheaval. Something very unexpected will arrive, which will change your life dramatically. There will be much hardship, but the darkness will be overcome. During your ordeal, you will find love, although you may not recognise it at first. There will be difficult times, but in the end you shall be truly happy."
Erick smiled, and touched Kat's shoulder.
"We should get going, little princess. We want to be home before dark. You have to watch the tournament tomorrow, so you'll want to get some sleep tonight."
Reluctantly, Kat stood, thanked the sorceress, and allowed Erick to guide her out of the tent.
"That isn't fair, Erick. I'll be asleep all through the tournament anyway."
Erick laughed.
"I don't want to be accused of kidnapping the princess," he said with a smile.
"I'll set them straight," Kat tried to persuade him.
"C'mon Kat. It's 5 and a half hours since midday. It'll be 6 and a half by the time we get home, and you have to bathe and change before dinner, or I'll get in trouble."
Kat pouted, but allowed Erick to lead her from the fair.
It was dark by the time Erick and Kat arrived home. They re-entered through the kitchen, and Kat sat on a chair, while Erick quickly washed her feet. Walking barefoot through dusty streets all day served to make them pretty dirty, and the foot-prints would definitely show up on the clean floors. Erick finished and dried them off.
"Mmm," Kat murmured. "This is nice."
"I agree. You have lovely ankles."
Kat laughed, and snatched her foot back from Erick's hands. He grinned at her, and stood up.
"Go get changed, Sarah's going to hold dinner a bit in case you don't make it. I'll put your things in your room."
Kat smiled at him, reached for him, and kissed him thoroughly on the mouth.
"Thanks for taking me out, Erick."
"If you kiss me like that every time, I'll take you out every day," he teased. "Go!"
Laughing, Kat ran out of the kitchen and to the baths. Still smiling, Erick gathered their things and emptied the water out onto the vegetable patch.
"You be careful with that girl, Erick," said Sarah when he came back in. "You break her heart, I'll break your bottom with my spoon."
Erick laughed openly.
"I think, Sarah, you'll find the heart that's in most danger of being broken from our relationship is my own. I have to go put these things away and bathe before dinner. See you in a bit."
Sarah laughed as Erick left the kitchen, and went back to stirring her soup.
***
Bathed, with clean hair, and a fresh dress, Kat moved into the dining hall with 2 minutes to spare. Her parents were both standing by the fireplace, with five other people. Without allowing her surprise to show, Kat moved to them and stood by her father.
"Kat, I'd like to introduce you to our guests. You know, of course, your Aunt Francesca and Uncle Chris."
"Of course," Kat replied with an impish grin, kissing her Uncle's cheek, then moving to her Aunt and kissing both cheeks warmly.
"I would like to introduce you some new citizens of our country, and friends of your Aunt and Uncle. The Lady Adrienne," her father paused, as Kat and Adrienne took hands and kissed cheeks.
"Delighted to meet you, Princess."
"Charmed, I'm sure," Kat replied with a warm smile that took the possible sting out of her words.
"Her brother, the Lord Marc," continued the King, and Kat found her hand taken and kissed by a tall good-looking man whom looked only slightly older than herself.
"Delighted and enchanted to meet you, Princess. I have heard great tales of thy beauty, but, until this moment, believed them to be exaggerated."
Kat blushed, and murmured a reply demurely. Queen Courtney smiled approvingly.
"And finally, the Lady Adrienne and Lord Marc's cousin, the Lord Daru."
Kat greeted Lord Daru in a polite manner but her gaze went back to Lord Marc. They all sat down and Kat was pleased that Marc had taken the seat beside her. Across from her and Marc were Daru and Adrienne. She looked at Daru trying to work out why he looked so familar but gave up. She instead turned her attention to Marc putting on as much charm as she could. She wanted to know if he was avaible. From the look on her mothers face she took a guess that he was single. Kat grinned looking forward to flirting with Marc. She liked making her father uneasy and well it wasn't like Marc wasn't attractive. They talked for awhile and one time noticed his nose wriggle. It kind of reminded her of a rabbit and made him look cute. Entrees were served and after that Erick came out for a performance at the Queens request.
Erick smiled at Kat then nodded to both Marc and Daru. Kat thought this was odd but didn't dwell on it.
"Erick, are you going to show me the blue ball?" Kat asked
"Blue ball?" The Queen asked inquisitivly.
"I do believe my Queen that Princess Kat is refering to a trick I recently learnt from the Sorceress. A blue ball that appears out of nowhere"
"Do show" The King encoured
Kat had to smile to herself. Her father hated her intrest in magick but never minded magick by Erick or the soceress. She watched Erick closely as she liked trying to work out the trick. As she stared she saw a blue spark starting to glow no higher than a couple of centermeters from Ericks open palms. She watched it grow larger and more brillant. Daru noticed the differences in the ball that his love made and the one Erick was making but said nothing. By the looks on the other peoples faces nobody especially Kat knew and that was all that mattered. Marc caught Daru's eyes and grinned mischievely.
The blue ball floated away from Ericks hands by Ericks silent will and drifted around the table. As it reached Kat it stopped mid air. Marc did a quick gesture with his fingers and the ball changed into a red rose and landed softly infront of Kat. Everyone ahh except Erick amazed at the sudden change of form. He quickly regained compusure as everyone clapped and cheered at what had appeared Ericks trick.
He performed a little longer before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Kat grinned. His disapearing trick was one that she liked a lot and no matter how much she asked Erick he wouldn't tell her how he did it. She stopped asking a long time ago and just enjoyed it.
The rest of the night went well and soon it was time for Kat to retire for the night. She settled on her bed after getting changed and stroked her little Kitten. A soft knock made the kitten jump and the Queen walked in.
"Can't sleep dear?" She asked gently
"No mother, I am still hyped by the day I had"
Courtney smiled. Kat told her about her day and showed her mother the stuff she had gotten at the fair. They laughed together and Kat realised just how lucky she was. Her father never knew about her outings but it always felt nice to share it with her mother. Courtney stroked the kitten.
"Given her a name yet?" She asked
"I called her Jade because of her eyes" Kat replied smiling and then looked lovingly at the kitten missing the Queens suprised look. Kat settled into bed and was starting to drift of to sleep. She remembered where she had seen Daru - at the fair infront of the Sorceress' tent. It was no wonder Erick had recognised him, she found that odd but drifted of to sleep.
Courtney kissed her daughter on the forhead and then headed out the room. The Queen headed for bed but changed her mind and went to seek out the Sorceress.
***
In the hall Adrienne stood talking to the Wizard in whispers hoping not be overheard.
"I managed to get close to the Princess master but Marc and Daru was there, I would not have been able to do anything."
"Do they suspect you?"
"No, Marc would never suspect me of being a trator" She grinned evilly.
"I did try to set it up that Erick looked like the killer with that blue ball trick of his however as I cast the spell Marc was already turning it into a rose so my spell failed"
"Insolence" The wizard slapped her across the face "You will have to study more if his power is greater then yours"
"Yes" She says bowing her head
The Wizard grabs her by the chin and pulls into a kiss.
"Now go my love"
Adrienne quickly leaves. A raven flies in landing on the Wizards shoulder.
"Did you really have to kiss her?" The raven said
"If she truely believes I love her and will grant her every desire she will do my bidding."
"If it is necisary than fine but remember me, I am your wife after all"
The wizard laughs and stokes the Ravens feathers before they both disapear into the night.
***
"Sorceress"
"Lady Courtney"
The two ladies embrace warmly.
"Come inside out of the dark and wet"
They move inside and sit by the fire. Daru walks in with hot drinks for the both of them. They take the drinks and he sits down and sips at his own drink. They all sit watching the fire for a little while before the silence is broken.
"This is the year of discovery isn't it?" Courtney asks
Daru and the Soceress nod
"Seemed only yesterday I held her in my arms. I see the signs but don't want to accept it"
"You knew that she was going to have to leave sometime"
Courtney nodded.
"I know but sometimes I had hoped this time would not come. She wont forget me will she?"
Daru laughs
"My dear Courtney she could never forget you."
Courtney smiles reassured
A bunny hopes from behind the cushions and moves towards the fire. It changes form and extends it's hands towards the fire.
"I really wish you wouldn't do that Marc" Courtney says
"Sorry" He says "It's freezing cold outside"
They laugh
"What are your intentions toward my daughter" Courtney teases knowing they were chosen for each other by the Elders
"Totally dishonest" He teased back
Everyone laughed unaware of Adrienne watching.
"So the Queen mother knows" She whispers to herself "This will make things interesting" She drifts on into the night.
***
Kat was awoken by one of the maids.
"Princess Kat your going to be late for the tournament, you must get up, hurry please"
"uhhh?" Kat replies grogily then sits bolt upright in bed
"Oh god father is going to kill me"
Kat rushes around the room trying to get dress, do her hair and put her shoes on all at once. Another maid had entered the room and then laughed. Kat stopped what she was doing and looked up seeing her reflection in the mirror.
"I guess that wasn't working" Kat said laughing
They helped her get ready and she rushed out the room bowling Erick over.
He picked her up and then brushed himself off.
"The Queen was starting to wonder if you were still alive" He teased her
"But I can see you are definatly alive"
Kat playfully thumped him.
"Nice costume" She admired.
They linked arms and headed outside to the courtyards to meet up with the King and Queen.
