To Save a Kingdom

Chapter 7

Joseph was confused about what he had just seen as he retraced his route back to his room. By the time he made it back the sun was just beginning to climb up over the horizon. He wondered what the girl was doing there and why she was chained to the wall. He wondered what could have gotten her into that position. But mostly Joseph wondered who the pair of broad shoulders and dark hair belonged to.

Joseph was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't hear the servant knocking at the door. The servant walked in the room and tapped on Joseph's shoulder before he noticed him.

"Are you alright?" The servant asked as he came around to stand in front of Joseph trying to get his attention.

"Y-yes." Joseph stuttered. "Why wouldn't I be?" He asked with more confidence.

"You seem distracted." The servant replied.

" I was just thinking about my family." Joseph lied.

The servant nodded then moved to open the curtains and straighten the bed. When he was left to his thoughts Joseph decided to return to that room to find out what was going on.

§

Joseph sat in his room and waited until it was dark enough to make it through the castle undetected. When he finally decided it was time he crept through the darkness. He remembered the path to the mysterious room and walked quickly there. Once he was there Joseph waited a few minutes before sliding back the bolt. He swung the door open and slipped inside.
When the door closed behind him the girl shot upright on her bed then jumped to her feet.

Her eyes widened when she saw Joseph and her eyebrows knit together showing her surprise.

"Who are you?" She asked with a heavy accent.

"My name is Joseph." He replied. "What's your name?"

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I saw you here last night."

"Why did you come back here?" She asked.

"I wanted to see you."

She looked truly confused at his answer then her confused look turned into a glare. "You wanted to see me here chained to the wall like an animal!" She practically growled. Joseph took a step back and held up his hands.

"No." He tried to convince her. "I wanted to help you."

"Why would you help me?" She spat. "The last man who said that to me is the reason I am here."

Joseph could hear footsteps approaching outside and he raced to the door and slipped out making sure to bolt it behind him.

He hid in the shadows and watched the door. From his position he could clearly see the tall man walk through the door.

Joseph decided he would return to the room again later. As he walked back down the stairs towards his room he thought of more and more questions. Who was she? Who was the man that was going to help her then ended up chaining her there? But mostly he wondered why? Joseph ended up waking for the rest of the night trying to answer the questions that were running through his mind.

Joseph was so deep in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice Saphrine when he walked right by her. She was coming out of her room still dressed in her night gown. She had on a long robe to cover up her thin night gown. Her hair was down falling past her waist. When Joseph continued walking she was surprised that he hadn't seen her.

"Joseph?" She said when he was a few paces past her.

"Yes?" He asked turning around to face Saphrine. "Oh, good morning princess." He said offering a slight bow.

"Good morning Joseph." She said with a curtsy. For some reason she had a small smile on her face. "How are you doing today?" She asked lifting her chin to him looking him in the eye.

"I am well." Joseph said.

"You look tired." She said examining the dark circles under his eyes. "Are you not sleeping well?" She asked.

"I am alright." He insisted. It was obvious that she didn't believe him. But she offered another small curtsy then walked away. As she walked she turned to look over her shoulder at him before she rounded the corner out of sight.

When she was gone Joseph returned to his thoughts. Another question was added to the already long list. "Why was Saphrine suddenly being so nice to him?"

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Joseph sat down at breakfast King Theo was there munching on scrambled eggs. He was talking about Saphrine when she was younger.

"And then she fell in the puddle of mud. Her mother was appalled but Saphrine stuck her tongue out and made a mud pie and threw it at her mother." He chuckled at the memory. Joseph could easily picture the angry child version of Saphrine. But it was difficult to imagine her sitting in a puddle of mud. "I sent her older brother Caleb to go get her. You should have seen the fight she put up." The King said in between bites. "She fought like a bear. Even gave her older brother a black eye. I've never seen anything like it."

Hearing the story about Saphrine made Joseph think of his own little sister Eve. He wondered how she was doing back at home. He hoped that she would forgive him for taking her place.

Saphrine sighed as her father chuckled over his breakfast. "Really father must you tell that story to everyone?" She asked.

"It is a wonderful story." He said.

"No it isn't." She said. "What would you think if I told the story of how you set mothers skirts on fire?"

The king paled and Saphrine smiled knowing she had struck a nerve.

"Listen Joseph. When my father was courting my mother he wanted to impress her. He decided to take her on a picnic out in the woods." She said with a growing smile on her face. "They were sitting down to eat when the dark clouds overhead started pouring down rain. My father took her to a cave to wait out the storm. She was cold so he decided to start a fire. Even though he had never started a fire in his life. By the time he actually figured it out they were practically dry. When he finally got it going he caught a branch of wood on his foot and kicked it into my mother. Her skirt caught on fire and burned at least a foot up before they managed to get it out." Saphrine said with a smirk looking at her embarrassed father.

"Then when they returned they were forced to marry because of that skirt so it worked out for father's benefit." said a deep voice from behind Joseph.

"Caleb you're finally home!" Saphrine said jumping to her feet and racing around the table. She flung herself into the man's arms.

"Hello little sister."The man laughed.

Joseph turned around to see a tall man with dark hair and broad shoulders spinning Saphrine around in a circle.