From Tower to Throne

Chapter 1

     "Asteryn, it's time to get up." A voice called.

    Her eyes sprang open and she quickly raised up. "Oh, bother! It's just you Egrid. I thought it might have been someone coming to tell me that I was going to be freed from these wretched walls." Asteryn quickly buried her face into her blankets. "Can't I sleep just a little longer Egrid?"

"Now what kind of princess would you be if you slept all day?" Egrid rhetorically asked her.

   "A well rested one." Asteryn said this with a smile as she raised up and stretched.
  
    "Maybe. But I guess we will never know." Egrid said as she brought the princess her gown for the day.

   "While you get dressed I'll go fetch your breakfast. I'll be right back." Egrid said as she walked out of the room, making sure to lock the door behind her.

   "She never forgets to lock that door." Asteryn stated as she put on her gown.

   Asteryn, like always, read books and glanced out of her tower window for she could do nothing else. She ate, bathed, and did all things in the tower. Her father's orders were very simple and were the only things keeping her from leaving. If it was up to her, she would be out frollocking in a nearby field or out talking to people of the kingdom, but little did she know that almost everyone, including her own father, had practically forgotten her existence.

   As nightfall came, she ate her supper and was waiting on the maid to bring her a night gown when she heard loud whispers coming from outside her tower. Right as she was about to look out of her window, Egrid unlocked her door and came into the room.

   "Here is your night gown, Milady." Egrid said as she closed the door behind her,

   "Do you hear that Egrid?" Asteryn asked as she walked toward the window very slowly. but as soon as Asteryn turned around, a small clunking noise began to come from outside the tower window.

   "Do I hear what, Milady?" Egrid said as she, as well, walked toward the window.

    As soon as they were upon the window, a large three pronged hook grasped the edge of the windowsill on the inside of the tower. It had a rope attached to the top of it and it was relieved of all relaxation.

    She turned toward Egrid. "What is happening?" She asked as she took a step back.

    "Get away from the windo-" Egrid began to say as she reached for Asteryn, but stopped as soon as she saw a hand appear on the windowsill.

   The hand became two hands and slowly a head began to appear. As the person finally climbed into the window, he looked at Asteryn. "Hello Love. Lovely weather up here?"

    He was a big burly man and had a barbaric aura about him.

   "Who are you and what do you want!?" Egrid said as she stepped in front of Asteryn.

   "Move wench! I'm not here for you." He said as he backhanded Egrid across the face and knocked her to the ground.
  
    "Who are you and what do you want with me?" Asteryn guardingly asked as she looked the man dead in the eyes.

   "Sorry love. It's nothing personal, but it's personal." The man said as he walked closer to the princess.

   "Get away from me!" Asteryn yelled as she backed away from the stranger enclosing on her.

    The man grabbed her quickly and she tried to struggle free but to her dismay, she was too weak. The man then hit her over the head with a club and knocked her unconscious. He then bound her hands and feet and gagged her mouth, making sure he did all this swiftly, for he was unsure if anyone had overheard the scuffle. Normally he would kill the maid but he needed her alive so as to make sure that someone could tell the king what had happened. So he quickly threw the princess on his shoulder and climbed out the window and to the bottom of the tower where three more men were waiting for him.

   "Is that her?" Said one of the men as he walked over and grabbed her by the hair and pulled it up making her face visible in the moonlight. "She's a beauty...for her age." He said with a smirk.

    "Killian! You know the orders. We don't lay a hand on her until we get back." The first man said.

   "Yes, yes. I know, Nero." Killian said stubbornly as he let go of Asteryn's hair letting her head lifelessly fall back down.

   "We need to leave quickly. The maid will wake soon." Nero spoke in a low stern voice. Both men nodded as Nero said this. They grabbed their pronged hook from the tower and quickly vanished into the night.
   
   Back at the castle, Egrid still laid upon the floor. She awoke when the first light of day crept its way over her face through the window. She then got up and, after recalling what had happened, quickly raced out of the door, down the many steps of the ever so tall tower, and out into the corridor and hastily ran to the throne room.

   "Sire! Sire! She's gone! Someone has taken the princess! I tried to stop them but I was too weak! Forgive me Sire! They came through the tower window and took her away." Egrid busted through the doors of the throne room and knelt to the floor crying as she spoke these choking words. She had failed to protect the princess, and, knowing the king, he would surely be furious.

   "Did they say if they wanted anything for the little wench? Or maybe who they were?" The king spoke in an aggravated tone as he pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.

    "I don't recall any information your highness, but the man looked very barbaric kind of like the Deserters." Egrid said with a tremble as she recalled the man in her mind.

     The Deserters were people who had left the kingdom in flee from the King's rule, punishment for crimes, or trivial matters such as the overly priced taxes, that most in the kingdom could not afford.

    "If she wasn't my daughter by blood I wouldn't even put any thought to this matter. I'd hate to lose face over that wretched girl." The king thought for a moment, an annoyed grimace appeared on his face. "Did anyone see her get taken?"

   "No sire." Egrid continued to stay kneeled on the ground. She was afraid to look at him in fear of punishment.

    "Well if you are sure that no one saw her get taken away,then....let us forget she even disappeared..." The king's face contorted from a grimace to a pleased smirk. "Rise maid! Look at me!"

    Quickly rising from the floor, Egrid looked him dead in the eye, a strong pain hidden deep into her heart. She had raised the princess as her own even though she was just a maid.

    "We are going to pretend that she died of sickness. We will never tell anyone that she was kidnapped because I refuse to lose face over her again! Now go do work around the castle and don't let me catch you telling a soul about our discussion!"

    "Yes Sire." She quickly bowed and ran out of the room and down the hall and back up to the tower where she silently wept for hours before returning to her duties.