Cadha (#wattys2016)

The Lost Princess

While I was lying on the cold stone floor of the kitchen my mind suddenly cleared and an idea came to me.  I didn't have to stay here and do all the work; I could just go and watch the announcement with the rest of the people.  When all was done I would just go find another job, like had done before.  It shouldn't be too hard.

            With my mind made up I snuck out the back door of the kitchen.  My only obstacle was that I had to stay out of sight of anyone from Master Dunbar's household.  If any of them saw me on the way to the town square I would be dead meat.  The Master's house was in the woods off a ways from the town, but I knew a quick way to get there.  I had already learned how to navigate most of the city pretty easily from running errands on a daily basis, so I knew most of the back roads quite well. I made my way to the edge of the village and hurried through the back roads of until I ended up in a small alleyway right outside of the town square.  I peeked around the corner of the alleyway and was surprised to see so many people packed into the little area.  I would have an easy time blending in with the big crowd.

            I causally came out of my hiding place and melted in with a large group of people walking by then worked my way into the middle of the crowd.  I stopped next to a couple with a young boy.  The father had the young boy up on his shoulders and was pointing towards the small stage that had been built in the center of the square.  A man walked up the short set of stairs onto the wooden stage and looked down at us and the whole crowd went quiet.  He was probably the ambassador from the Airdiere. He snapped his fingers and a young page walked over to him with a scroll held out on his arms.  He kneeled down at the ambassador's feet and the ambassador took it from the his arms.  He unrolled the first section of the small scroll and began to read.

            "Dear subjects of the present King, His majesty, Eoin Hans Sutherland of Strathclyde.  I am here to announce that a royal search for the long lost daughter of His majesty Eoin has begun." The man paused for a moment and I could hear a quiet murmur of surprise rush through the crowd.  "She has been lost to the king for 12 years this November and we have finally amassed enough resources to find her. The princess would now be around the age of 16 and would supposedly have black or dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and be slightly built.  We will be posting a possible portrait of the lost princess in all town halls and bulletins around each town in the kingdom.  We ask that all girls of ages 15-17 with black or brown hair that have no known parents prepare to travel to the city of Airdiere within the next week.  We hope to find her within our own borders, but we are also sending the same proclamation to the kingdoms surrounding ourselves.  We hope that everyone will comply with the wishes of the king."  Then he was done. 

I was surprised that the lost princess he had described sounded quite a lot like me.  Maybe I had a chance at being the lost princess.  Could the King of Strathclyde really be my father? I had to find out.  

Then the ambassador looked up and said, "Now if you will all kindly join us at the house of Lord Carrin Dunbar for a short luncheon."

            I had a small heart attack as I realized that I had to reach the house before everyone else did.  I looked around and saw the empty alleyway I had come from.  That would be the quickest way out of here.  I bolted through the dissipating crowd and into the alleyway.  I darted through the back streets and while I was running I suddenly remembered there was a path through the woods behind the village that led to the back of the Master's house.  I maneuvered through the last of the streets and ran the short distance between the edge of the village to the beginning of the trees.

I stopped for a short moment at the edge of the trees to catch my breath and saw the first few people coming out of the village and onto the path leading to the Master's house.  I couldn't stop anymore; I got up and started running again.

I felt like it took longer than normal to reach the house through the secret path, but I when I finally reached the house I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized there was no one there yet.  I ran into the house through the back kitchen door and cringed as I saw all the unfinished food sitting on the tables around the room, but ignored it and kept going.  I made my way through the maze of tables and out of the main entrance to the kitchen.  The halls were eerily quiet and I tiptoed around corner and up the stairs to the Master's bedroom.  His door was the only one in the hallway once you came up the stairs, so I knew exactly where it was.

I crept over to the lone door and tried the handle.  I breathed a sigh of relief when the door knob turned freely and the door swung open.  I stepped into the room a looked around. I knew what I was looking for and hoped I could find it before anyone arrived at the house.  I found a cloth satchel under the Master's desk in the corner of his room and decided to use it to store anything I found in.  I looked around the room again, searching for anywhere he could be hiding what I needed.

There was a giant four-poster bed with curtains around it, a wardrobe on the wall opposite the door, and a large chest under a picture window.  I checked the chest first and found a small bag of gold and copper coins.  I smiled and put them inside the satchel I was now carrying.  There was just one last thing I needed.  It had to be hidden in here somewhere.  I searched farther into the chest and finally found what I was looking for in a small sheepskin bag.  I stuffed it into the satchel and closed the lid of the chest.  Then I heard voices and the sound of doors opening and closing.  My heart jumped in my chest and I could feel it beating faster and faster.

They were here.  I had to get out of the house fast, or else the master or one of the other servants would discover me and I would never be able to leave.  I crept back down the stairs and across a hall into a servant's passageway.  I quickly walked through the maze of secret hallways and finally reached the door that led outside. As my hand closed around the knob and began to turn it a hand roughly grabbed my shoulder.

A familiar voice whispered quietly in my ear, "Now where do you think you're going?" and I stiffened in surprise.  
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AN:

So, who do you guys think it is? Margaret, Master Dunbar, or some new character?

I hope you're liking the story so far!

If you do like it PLEASE vote for it. I would appreciate that so much 😄

And if you have any suggestions or comments on the story please make sure to comment.

I will be updating the next chapter next week on Tuesday, so Have fun waiting. 😋