Saving Her Kingdom

♡ Chapter 1

Anna's outfit ^^

*Edited*

Chapter 1: 6 years later

"Anna! Go get some water at the well!", Lisbeth, the head of the kitchen, ordered me.

"Yes, ma'am! I'm going! May I go for a walk in the forest afterwards?"

"Yes, you may! Now hurry! The Lady will wake up soon."

I quickly grabbed two buckets and made my way out of the house.

I was working for Lady Caroline, who lived in a big house near the forest. It was the nearest village from the royal palace of the Tannerson, and they used to go hunting in the nearby forest regularly.

I liked to go for a walk there, because I loved to be surrounded by trees, with the sounds of birds chirping, and the wind rustling through the leaves. I tried to go every day when I was allowed to.

I walked down the streets, filled with busy people, who all greeted me 'Good morning'. Yes, everyone in the village knew me. I was the only 20 years old maiden in the entire village. Every girl would get married at the age of 17 or 18. There were only a few maidens of the age of 19, but they would get married soon.

I reached the water well and filled my buckets. When I returned to the house, I gave the buckets to Lisbeth. "Can I go now?", I asked her very excited.

"Yes, you can go. But return before lunch," she replied.

I nodded. "Thank you, ma'am!"

Going into the forest was the only distraction I was allowed and I liked to do. The forest was huge, and when I wasn't too tired, I liked to explore. Exactly what I was going to do now.

I had already explored a great part of the forest, but I never went near the gates of the royal palace. That's where I wanted to go today. I took a map that I stole from the village's library, and looked down at it. I studied the best way to go there, and looked at the surroundings. When I found the right path, I started walking.

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I was humming to myself as I walked down the path, and the forest was getting less thick every mile. The sun was already a quarter up, which meant I had to hurry if I wanted to get back at the house in time.

Suddenly I heard a faint high pitch giggle, followed by another high pitch voice. "Where are you Lily? I'm going to find you!"

I looked at my map and saw that I was still in the middle of the forest, which meant that no one should be here, especially not children.

I stepped into the bushes and between the trees, trying to follow the voices. Very soon, I saw a little girl with blonde locks falling down her shoulders, crouched behind a tree. She had a very delicate pink dress, which meant she surely should not be playing in the middle of the forest. "What are you doing here, little girl?", I asked.

She shrieked and turned around to face me. I heard the other voice. "Lily, Lily?! What's going on?" A little boy burst out of nowhere, looking panicked. He had blond locks too, and I could tell they were siblings. He opened his blue eyes wide when he saw me. "Oh..."

I smiled at them. "Don't worry, you don't have to be afraid of me. I can help you. Now tell me, what are your names?"

They beamed at me. "Oh, my name is Lillianne, but you can call me Lily!", the little girl said.

"And my name is Christophe, but you can call me Chris!", the little boy said.

"So why are you two alone in the middle of the forest?"

They looked at each other. "Uh... we were playing hide and seek, but I guess we got a little carried away...", Chris explained, looking ashamed.

"Don't you have someone to watch you? You would have been lost if I didn't find you."

"Our sister Elisa was watching us, but we found a way to escape," Lily explained, looking at Chris with a mischievous grin.

"Yes, it is much more fun to play in the forest," he added grinning at his sister.

I frowned worriedly, taking in their naive expressions. "That's a very bad idea. There are wild animals in here, and sometimes very bad people. And you can get lost and not find your way back. The forest is very dangerous when you don't pay attention to where you are going. Promise me to never do that again," I scolded them gently.

"We promise!", they swore ashamed.

"Tell me now, where do you live?"

"The royal palace!", they answered in unison.

"Oh, well, I'm going to help you get back there," I said thoughtfully.

"Thank you!", they exclaimed.

"No problem," I smiled at them.

They held my hands on each of my sides and after I looked at my map, we began walking.

"What's your name?", Lily asked.

"I'm Anna," I replied, and then asked, "How old are you two?"

"We're seven and we're twins!", Chris answered.

"And from which family are you?" Looking at their clothes, I could tell they were coming from a rich family.

"We are the prince and the princess of Tannerson," Chris replied.

I stopped walking. "You are?!", I exclaimed.

"Uh... yes."

I began walking again. "Then it's even more important that I bring you back safe!"

"Oh, yes... That's why we're not allowed to go into the forest."

How crazy can this get? I asked myself. We talked all the way back, and I told them a lot of stories about the different places I worked at.

When we reached the gates, I said, "We're here. Now go find your sister before she worries too much."

"But Anna, I want to see you again!", Chris protested.

"And then you can tell us more stories!", Lily added.

"I don't know if I can... But I will try to come here at the gates in two days a bit before midday."

"Oh yes! And we will bring Elisa with us, so you can meet her too!", Lily exclaimed.

"Yes. Now you two go to her, and don't get lost again! I'll see you in two days!", I waved at them.

"See you, Anna!", they yelled, running through the gates.

It's just then, that it began sinking in. I had just met a prince and a princess of the Tannerson. And I'd see them again...

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Hi friends,

So that was the first chapter! Tell me what you think!!

Don't hesitate to vote comment and share!! ♡

Love,

Floriane