Writers block

Chapter Three: A Daring Move

Charlie woke to an excited-looking girl standing over her. She had big blue eyes, and long blonde hair.

"Hiya! I'm Waverley, but that's kinda long, so must people just call me Wave." She rambled. "I work as a maid in the palace. Thade told me that he found you in the field by the border? He's my brother by the way."

I know.

"You should get up, I need to bring you to the greenhouses." She paused, taking a much needed breath.

Groaning, Charlie hoisted herself off of the cot, and followed Waverley out if the palace, with only a few dirty looks from the guards. Along the way she chatted about a variety of things, the palace gossip (which Charlie already knew about), and which palace guard she thought was the cutest (she already knew about that, too). As they walked down the winding path, they finally reached the gleaming glass greenhouse.

Waverley pushed the gold-plated door open, to reveal an amazing array of plants. There were cactus-like flowers that gave off an oddly sour scent, strange mint green shrubs with leaves shaped like stars, and a fluorescent vine that covered the majority of the inside of the greenhouse.

The most intriguing thing about the greenhouse, though, was the girl tending to the flowers. She seemed so... out of place. Her hair was intricately done up, and her dress seemed to shift colours in the morning light. She was humming a quiet lullaby. She seemed impervious to the fact that she was being watched, and showed no sign of knowing that they were even there until she turned around.

Standing in front of them, with an incredible haughty look on her face, was Mae Cunningham.

Waverley instantly dropped into an impossibly deep curtesy while Charlie tried (and failed) to do the same.

"Charlie of Diorra, huh?" Mae snorted, arching an eyebrow.

"Yes, your highness." She stuttered.

"Well, I don't think there's a kingdom in Nitra I haven't visited at least twice, and I'm sure as the stars that the citizens of Diorra don't wear clothes like that" she gestured haughtily to Charlie's plain blue shirt and grey cardigan.

"I-uh ," She began, "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Please, Diorra is the second richest kingdom in Nitra. They wear beautiful gowns of silk and gold. If you were really from Diorra, you would know that."

"If you were really the daughter of Dynasty and Brutus, you would have brown eyes." She retorted under her breath.

Mae paled. "I'm sorry?"

Charlie silently cursed herself, and went on to explain. "W-Well, if both parents have brown eyes, it's slightly impossible for their child to have blue eyes unless..."

"Are you trying to imply that I'm not the true heir of Eadlynne?" She regained herself, voice getting cold.

She nodded quietly.

The two girls stared at each other for quiet some time, as if they were both trying to decide who was lying.

Mae turned sharply on her heel and yelled at the top of her lungs "Guards!"

Within a few seconds, Charlie felt herself being grabbed by two muscular men, both wearing uniforms of silver and gold. They carried her up the hill, into the palace, and down a blasphemous amount of stairs. She decided it would be useless to struggle, and let them throw her into a cold, stone cell.

"Hey!" She yelled. "You guys never even gave me breakfast!"

She sat, slumped against the wall of the cell for what seemed like hours, bouncing a small stone off the wall until it split in two. She soon heard footsteps, but ignored them, thinking that it was yet again another guard, coming down to make sure she hadn't escaped.

"Hey, Missy. How did you get thrown down here?" It was Thade. He leaned against the bars of her cell, munching on a carrot.

"I may have let on that that the princess isn't exactly... the princess." She mumbled.

"You what?" He smacked his forehead. "Stars, Charlie, why would you even imply that? You could be executed."

"It's true, though." She found herself mumbling. "Mae was adopted."

"How can you be sure?" He narrowed his eyes.

"I-I just know."  She muttered. She couldn't tell him how. That would ruin everything.

He shook his head. "Look, Charlie, I don't know where you're from, or why you're here, but if you ant to leave this castle, you keep your mouth shut."

She sighed. If only he understood. She had to finish the story. That was how to get out of Nitra. Or, that was her theory. And the only way to move the plot along was to reveal to Mae that she was a commoner by blood.