Ambitiously Wanted

The Thrashwoods

The carriage rolled over the cobblestone road toward the castle. Obviously royalty would ride in such a beauty as that. And if not a king or queen, then definitely the second richest man in all of Tredour. Duke Thrashwood.

How could anyone not know who he was. He became rich from a great legacy of knights to the king, also making a fortune by owning every tavern in the land. His father passed his fortune and business down to the present Duke Thrashwood. Though the Thrashwood blood consists of elves, they made great spies and knights.

People quickly moved out of the street as the carriage continued. There was a guard on the back, along with one up by the driver. Within, were four figures. One was definitely the Duke and the other three had a female shape.

The Duke was an older man, more gray hairs than his natural brown. He had blues eyes, and a goatee grew thick and wiry.

One of the female figures was the Dutchess. She usually never left her home, unless her husband requested her to accompany him to the palace. She otherwise never left. She had only a few gray hairs coming in, but still quite beautiful. It was an odd thing, but she had turquoise blue hair along with green eyes. The natural color for her hair wasn't so odd to elves, but others saw it eye catching. She was a very thin woman, even though she always had plenty to eat. She sat up straight without a flaw in sight.

The other two were, of course, their daughters. Their youngest was Penelope. She was growing into quite a beauty. She had curly brown hair that faded into that turquoise color. Her eyes were forest green that always had a bright light to them. Although she just turned fifteen years of age, she already had suitors lining up. Her father told them that in her sixteenth year, he will allow one to marry his daughter.

Now there was his eldest daughter. She was one of the main attractions of the Thrashwoods. She was very gorgeous. Long turquoise hair, with layers, and blue eyes. Her pointed ears have two small piercings. She was beautiful, and suitors lined up all around the land to win her hand.

One thing that the Duke didn't want the people to know is that his eldest was the rebellious one. She hated being stuck at the house and learning to become a proper lady. She would sneak out, and she was good at it, and be gone till the guards came knocking on the mansion door. They would have her in their hands and say,"Better stop loosing this one. She causes trouble, but more harm will come to her if she isn't careful." The Duke knew what they ment. Since she was so beautiful, almost any man was strong enough to take her and shame her. Then maybe after that, they would use her for ransom to get gold pieces from the Duke.

The white carriage came to a halt. "We're here." The Dutchess said, though it was quite obvious.

One daughter sat up straighter while the other gave out a quiet sigh. Penelope gave her sister a sharp look.

"What?" She muttered to her little sister.

"You know what. We're at the palace and you give out a loud sigh!" Penelope sassed.

"It wasn't loud," she just said in defense.

Penelope voice dropped as their mother and father started to leave the carriage. "I think I know why we're here. Father and the King are discussing-"

The Duke's booming voice called for his daughters which caused Penelopeto stop what she was saying. He wasn't yelling, but people often mistook him for it. "I just have a loud voice," he would tell them. And most were convinced by it, but the Duke did have a slack for patience.

The girls straightened again, and stepped out of the carriage.

What was Penelope going to say? She thought. But her mind had a few ideas. She was now seventeen years old and her old man wanted her married within the next six months at most. He gave her the option to choose her husband when she turned sixteen. She decided to not pick anyone, and wait and wait and wait. She just hated all the suitors that stood before her. Every single one had a lust for her, her gold, her legacy. No one truly cared about her and her soul, just her body. She just couldn't marry a man like that. Maybe her father was offering her hand to the King's son. No please no, anyone but him, she thought to herself.

They followed the priests and the king's steward up the steps, and guards stayed close behind.

Penelope inched closer to her sister. "I can feel the guards' stares up and down me, E."

"Just focus on something else," she whispered back, though she could feel it too. How awful to feel a lusting stare behind you.

"I can't. You need to help me, talk about something."

"Pen..." she looked at her sister, who was looking at the ground scared. She sighed. "Did you see that baker with a beautiful cake pass by on the journey here?" She smiled a bit at her story.

Penelope glanced at their parents, who were unaware of their chatter, due to their own with the steward. "No, what did you see?" Asking in a low whisper.

"He carried the cake to his neighbors home, and surprised them with it. He did it out of love for his friends. And as we were passing, I heard a baby crying," She looked around. "I believe that that Baker made it for his friends who would celebrate a new member to their family. Isn't that sweet?"

A grin grew on her sister's face. "How are you so perspective? Almost everytime you see something like that, and you usually end up getting it right!"

"Shhh," but then she smiled again. "I better be good if I'm going to get away from here someday."

"E-" she started but they finally made it to the throne room.

It wasn't her first time in there. A long red carpet lead all the way up to the throne. Great white pillars on the sides, with fine stone flooring below. The room was lit by many torches. There was two thrones. The king's and the queen's. A king is nothing without his queen and she's nothing without him. They must rule together to bring the people to righteousness. Usually the throne gets corrupted as generations go on.

"YOUR HIGHNESS!" the steward began, making it clear and important. "PRESENTING THE DUKE OF THE HOUSE THRASHWOOD!"

Penelope had to put her hands on her ears so she didn't have a ringing sound from his voice.

The King stood from his throne, showing that it was appropriate to approach him. Everyone moved forward.

"Your Majesty, I would like to present to you my daughters. My eldest, Elwin and-" the Duke got a hard nug in the side from his wife. He still didn't correct what he said. "And my youngest Penelope."

The steward and the Duke then moved forward to be closer to the king.

The girls noticed that the prince stood to the side and watched, but his gaze would return to them. And more specifically, the Duke's eldest daughter.

Chills ran up her back. I hope there's a different reason why we're here father, she thought to herself.

The King spoke to the Duke a moment more, then told the guards to escort the ladies to the Queen's chamber. The Dutchess and the Queen were very good friends now, so it was a normal thing for this to happen. For the three of them to go and greet the Queen.

"Elwin, father!? Really!?" ran through her head. But an idea came to her mind. She's never really been shown the castle. And she's gotten so good at sneaking away, they wouldn't even notice that she was gone...

As they left though, one thing caught her attention to her father's words. "So about our deal? My daughter..." Why does everything keep cutting out! She thought. Maybe he was taking about Pen... no that wouldn't make sense. He is constantly saying she it too young to get involved with any of his business. Slightly annoyed, she tried not to show it as they left the room. I just hope something good comes out of this day...