Random Freestyle Writing

I stand in the doorway to my father"s study, wearing a long gown of royal blue. My golden curls hang loosely to the middle of my back, and my ivory skin is turned darker"almost orange"by the light of the lantern in the room. Atop my head sits a pulchritudinous tiara made purely of silver. Around my neck is an intricate necklace woven from silver strands and embedded with diamonds. "Is that another list of casualties, father?" I ask my father, Alby. The kingdom ruled by my family"the O"Shea family"and the one ruled by the McNeil family have been at war for nearly two years. Alby looks up at my, electric-blue eyes filled with consternation, and shakes his head. "No, my dear, it is not a list of casualties. I fear it is a threat on our kingdom." He hands the page to me. Reading the nearly-illegible scrawl on the page, my china-blue eyes widen in shock. It reads: King Alby O"Shea, It has come to my attention that your army is dwindling. Your defenses are weakening; I guess you have no more than a fortnight before they crumble, but they"ll probably fall much, much sooner than that. When they do fall, I will march my army into the heart of your precious little kingdom and kill every precious little villager. Yes, I will do all this unless you surrender immediately. I will be over to your castle, unarmed"of course"and alone, by the setting of the sun tonight. If you wish to surrender, do so then, and my kingdom will leave yours well alone. --King Scotty McNeil "Father, whatever shall we do?" I ask, handing the page back to him. "Don"t you worry your pretty little head about it; I shouldn"t have even let you read that! A war is not the subject for a lady"s mind to be on. Now, go; I believe Prince Ian is waiting for you in the stables." I nod once and walk out of Father"s study. Heading to the stables, I try to think of a war I can help. Here I am; Nessa O"Shea, Princess of Parsonstown, and I can"t even do anything to protect my kingdom from that brute of a man, Scotty McNeil. Ian Coleman is waiting next to a snow-white mare with a grey mane named Annabel when I come in. Ian is my beloved. He has light brown hair which is in need of a trimming and always falls in front of his hazel-green eyes, and tanned skin dotted with dark freckles. He looks up when I come in, smiling broadly. "Good evening, Nessa," he says amiably. "Are you all ready to go?" "Yes, sir, I am ready," I say quietly; half my mind is still on the letter from Scotty McNeil. "Then, get on up there," Ian says as he lifts me up onto the mare. He tugs gently on the reins and leads the horse outside into the pasture. He leads the horse in silence for a while, glancing up at me every few seconds. "So, what"s on that ever-changing mind of yours today?" Ian asks after a while. "Huh?" I say, shaking my head. I had been so concentrated on trying to come up with a plan that I hadn"t even realized he was talking to me. "Oh, it"s nothing, sir, really." I put on a fake smile, hoping to reassure him, but as soon as he looks away, the smile slips away. By this time, we were back at the stables, and Ian lifts me up off the horse to put Annabel back inside the stable. Closing the door after he put the mare in the stable, he turns back to me. I was staring at the horizon; the sun had already started to go down, and in the dim light, my ivory skin looks darker, and my golden curls take on an almost-orange shade. "Ian, look, I"d love to stay for our walk, I really would, but I really have to get back to the castle; now!" I say insistently, refusing the hand Ian offers me. "I fear many people"s lives may be in danger, and I may be able to help!" Ian hesitates for a moment, and I, remembering to be polite, stay still and watch as he thinks. Finally, after what seems an eternity, he nods slowly. "Alright, you can go," he says and then kisses me gently on the lips. "So, King O"Shea, do you wish to surrender, or will my army have to force you to abdicate?" Scotty McNeil is saying when I walk in. Scotty is a muscular man of about sixteen years old. His black curly hair hangs in front of his chestnut-brown eyes and curls down his neck. His skin is tanned, the color of light oak wood, and a jagged scar lines his upper lip. He is nearly four inches taller than Alby, and is much taller than I am. He would be an attractive man if not for the look of pure hatred and animus that overtakes his face. "Excuse us, your majesty, but I need to have a quick word with my father," I say; I drop into low curtsy, my curls falling in front of my face. Scotty eyes me for a moment before nodding. "Nessa Talulla O"Shea, what are you doing here? I told you that this was not something you needed to be involved in!" Alby says; his voice is hushed as I pull him aside gently. "Father, I will not let you surrender our kingdom to the likes of this man. Please, let me attempt to make a bargain with him." "No, Nessa, this does not concern you." Something inside me snaps. For so long, I have tried to be calm and lady-like: listening to my father, doing exactly as I was told to do, but now, in a time of greatest need, I am being forced to sit back and do nothing while my kingdom is put in danger? No, I won"t do it! "Actually, it does concern me, father; it concerns everyone in this blasted kingdom! If you surrender, then everyone dies! We already know that McNeil can"t be trusted; how do we know that as soon as you surrender he won"t have his entire army kill everyone anyways? We don"t, do we?" I say this heatedly, leaning towards my father so Scotty won"t hear. "No, Nessa," Alby repeats, "this does not concern you." "Mother would have let me do it," I mumble. "Your mother isn"t here right now, is she? True, she would have let you do this, but what exactly got her killed? Talking to this man"s father; trying to reason with him"that"s what got her killed! Do you think I"ll just let you talk to him, or even get close to him at all?" "Excuse me," Scotty says suddenly, "I understand that your daughter wishes to try and reason with me. I also understand that you don"t want her to because of what happened to poor Alannah, so I have a proposition for you. I"ll make a proposal, and she can deny or accept my terms. Does that work for both of you?" Scotty looks from my father to me and back to my father. We both nod slowly, but Alby pulls me back away from him by my arm. "How about this; I take the beautiful Princess O"Shea with me as prisoner, and the rest of your precious kingdom goes on as normal. I"ll call off my armies, you call off yours, and I take the princess." "No," Alby says firmly, pulling me even farther away. "Your father took my wife, and my son; I will not allow you to take my daughter, too." "As I remember, you agreed that your daughter could make the decision. So, Princess," Scotty turns to me, "it"s your kingdom"s safety, or your freedom; make your choice." "I"ll do it" but only to save my kingdom. If you show any signs of wishing to go back on the bargain, I will escape and my father will kill you." "We have a deal, then?" Scotty holds out a hand and I take it, despite my father"s protests. As Scotty begins to pull me out of the room, Alby grabs my other hand and tries to keep me back. Scotty pulls harder and the force of it coerces Alby to let go. Pain flares in my shoulder and I cry out in pain. Scotty looks at me for a moment before pulling me out of the room. I can"t help but notice that he is being gentler than before. When we get to Scotty"s castle, he hurls me into the dark, damp, musty-smelling dungeon. He shows no sympathy when I cry out in pain as I hit the stone wall. "I shall come to bring you food at dawn," he says with a calmness that chills my very bones. He turns to leave, but calls over his shoulder at the last moment, "If I remember."