Rags and Riches

Ch. 1: Dreams and Presents - Courtney

I shuffled out of the hall where I was with my Dad. With a sigh, I moped my way over to my brother's bedroom.

Dad broke his promise. You can't just promise something to someone for years and then just break it like that!

Why couldn't he understand that I just wanted to go out and talk to people again! Not just our servants or our family, but new, exciting, and different people! And of all the things I could have asked, it was just to go the marketplace every week. Hell, I might even be satisfied with just one visit.

But... I know why he said what he said. I know what he's afraid of. To be completely honest, I'm a little afraid of it too. But, I just want to go outside and see the world again. I want it so badly, so desperately, that I'm willing to take the risk.

The stories Olivia tell me about her ventures to the market has always been so fascinating, especially when you stay cooped up in heavily guarded castle walls for seven years.

"There's always something new at the marketplace." She would say.

Olivia is one of my many servants, but she and I were friends ever since the beginning. Being just two years apart, she and I are practically joined at the hip. When we were younger, we used to run around in the garden, and go to the market with her mother. We would tell each other jokes and laugh until our sides hurt, and share secrets until we knew absolutely everything about each other. She knows that I like to pick my nose sometimes, and I know that she would vomit whenever she got overly excited. We became like sisters.

Now that her mother has grown older, Olivia took over her job of going to the marketplace every week. I just wish that I could go out and do the same with her now.

Her stories of the marketplace would always be something amazing, something hilarious, but never once scary. Just like this one story she told me about a little boy at the market...

She had just come back home to the castle and, by the way her footsteps pounded on the floor and the sound of her ragged breaths, she truly must have seen something amazing. Sitting in my room doing my homework, I could hear her bounding up the steps. When Olivia burst in through my door, I looked up and her usually tied up hair (as per servant protocol) had partially unraveled and she was red in the face.

Catching her breath, she trudged across my room before plopping down onto my bed.

"So," She started suddenly. "I saw James today, and guess what!" Before I could guess, she started talking again. "He brought his little brother along! He was so CUTE!" She said the word "cute" in her signature squeal, which came out whenever she was excited or just overwhelmed with emotion.

James is a guy that Olivia likes to gush about a lot. He's the son of one of the farmers there at the market and, according to Olivia, would always be there to help his father out on weekends; the exact same time when she would visit. The minute she laid eyes on him, she was smitten. And no matter how many times she denies it, I could tell from her stories that he feels the same way too.

She frantically waved her hands in front of her chest as her face pinched up into an overjoyed smile. "He would just walk around like this..." She said, suddenly popping up from her seat. She then began waddling around the room like a penguin. I laughed out loud. "...and he would always talk really quickly and bump into things and ah, he's so CUTE!"

"I want to see this cute little man!" I jumped up along with her. Hearing that, she stopped in her steps. She turned towards me, a sad smile on her face. "...I know, but you know how things are. One day, Courtney, one day."