The Surprise Mate

Chapter 1: Unexpected news.

Sunshine's POV:

I woke to a knock on my bedchamber’s door, "Who is it?” I call out hoping the caller would just go away so I could go back to sleep. "It is I your family’s loyal servant Adonis please forgive me my lady for waking you, but your mother and father have asked me to come wake you and bring you to the great hall. They said it was especially important that you come right away". I get up and slip on my robe once tied in place I go over to the door and open it, "Can I at least get dressed first or is my parents expecting me to go to that drafty hall in my under clothes"? I ask, "Of course not my lady I shall call for your handmaiden to assists you at once" and he turns to walk down the hall.

"That won’t be necessary I can get dressed on my own. She deserves to be able to get some sleep before the sun rises at least for it is still in the early hours of morning," I close the door and turn around and walk over to the wash basin to wash away the last bits of sleep that remains from my face, then I get changed out of my night clothes as I walk toward my closet and pick out a simple dress, shawl, and some under clothes then I get dressed, once I am I slip on my slippers and head back to the door and open it, "Ok let's go see what my Parents need to talk to me about that's so important that they couldn't wait until it was actually morning". I close the bedroom door behind me and start walking down the hall with Adonis. ("I really hope it's not more of that damn you need to find a suitable husband and settle down, nonsense that they keep trying to force on me.

I mean it's not like I'm next in line for the throne that's my brother Willie's duty not mine, so I wish they'd just leave me alone to marry someone I love. Not that I'm even thinking about that yet. I'm wanting to travel around and see as much of the world as I can before I settle down.") I think to myself as we walk down the hall.

Once we arrive in the great hall Adonis turns and leaves down another hallway ("Probably to go back to bed and back to sleep lucky") I grumble to myself under my breath as I wait for my parents to start talking. "Sunshine we just got word that Willie has been taken severally ill, the healers that are with him do not think he will recover and even if he does he will never be 100% back to his normal self-due to this he will no longer be able to succeed the throne when it becomes my time to make the long journey to the beyond, since he has no heirs of his own normally the duty would then be passed to your sister as next in line after him, but since she is now Queen of her own kingdom until her son becomes of age she cannot take over for me either. Your brother Williamson would then become the next in line, but he is still morning the passing of his beloved wife, and him and his son are still on their holy journey to recover, we do not know when or even if he will ever return to the kingdom so there for I am sorry to say this to you, because I know you don't like it just from the look on your face. You are the last chance this kingdom has, we need you to be the next heir to the throne, which means you have no choice but to find a husband, to help you do this we're throwing a ball in honor of your 21st birthday tomorrow night where u will choose a suiter, and then you will be married in 1 month", said King Willie I.

"You can't do this to me it’s not fair I'm the youngest I'm supposed to not have to worry about running the kingdom, it's not supposed to be my duty. Why now. why can't we wait a few months or years before I have to face this, you’re not on your death bed yet and Williamson may still yet return so why now?" she begs her father. "The reason my sweet daughter that it can't wait is because we've gotten word that our enemies to the south are planning on attacking us in 2 months’ time and we need to be certain that we have an heir to the throne ready so that if heaven forbid I should not make it back from this war they'll have a harder time taking over the kingdom." He says to me, I start crying and without responding I turn and run back towards my room, once inside I shut the door and throw myself on the bed to have a good long cry.

I eventually fall back to sleep, but my sleep is haunted by shadowy figures that look like wolves and yet also like men which is impossible of course isn't it? In the morning Dorothyanna my best friend and handmaiden comes in to help me get ready for the day and while she works on my hair and make-up I tell her about everything that my father said last night. " O MY GOD! I can't believe it that's so terrible I'm so sorry about your brother, but why aren't you happy to be next in line for the throne I mean so what if you have to choose a future husband at least you’re choosing him it could be worse your parents could decide for you and choose some guy in his 80's ewwww. " she says with a slight squeak, "Dorothyanna I'm sorry but I just can't at least not yet I have this feeling that I need to go somewhere like something or someone is calling out to me, and I'm sorry but I must ask that you help me to pack for a long journey, and no you can't go with me I promise I will wright to you every chance I get to, but I need you here to keep an eye on things while I am gone can you please do this for me please?" I beg her. "Fine ok I'll help but it’s under protest she says to me.

I go through the rest of the day in a haze hardly talking at all, then when it was just an hour until the time for the ball with the help of Dorothyanna and a stable boy I got my horse Sadie Bell and a mule named Old Jenny ready and loaded, then I got dressed in my most comfortable riding clothes and then I went back outside and got on my horse and nudge Sadie Bell with Old Jenny tied to a rope attached to the horn of the saddle in the direction of the weird pulling sensation coming from deep inside me, that was leading me to heaven only knows where. After being in the saddle for what felt like forever but I knew it had only been about 5 hours or so I found the secret clearing in the middle of the dense thick woods that I had been looking for. Next to the clearing was the clearest cleanest stream you could only imagine; it was being fed by a beautiful waterfall. I decided this would be a good place to stop for the night, so I dismounted off of Sadie and tied her and Old Jenny to a tree that allowed them to graze on the grass around them as well as drink from the stream, then I took the saddle off of Sadie and started cooling her down, then I went and unloaded Old Jenny, and started getting out my bedding stuff.

Then I cleared an area in the clearing close enough to where Sadie was that if need be I could just jump on and ride her bareback to get away, but not so close that I risked caching the forest on fire. I then started gathering twigs, branches and leaves for the campfire from the nearby treeline, then I started making a fire. Once I had the fire burning good I grabbed one of the 3 descent enough branches I had found that wouldn't break very easily and made a type of fishing rod with a line made from some twine I had packed away and I tied it to the end of the pole, then I took out my hunting knife that was given to me by my grandfather (on one of their old fishing and camping trips he used to take me and my siblings on when I was younger, before he passed away 3yrs ago from old age, while he was asleep. I always loved to go fishing, hunting, and camping with my grandfather.

He taught me everything I needed to know about how to survive out in the woods and forests on my own since as far as he knew it would be the most important thing that I needed to know since I wanted to travel, of course my older siblings didn't care about learning it and didn't really like going. They eventually stop going all together and it ended up being just me and grandpa until even he eventually got too old and wasn't able to do it anymore, he was the one that actually showed me this secret clearing. He told me that it was in this very clearing he had met his true love, his soul mate, his other half, my grandma. After he couldn't take me to what had quickly became my favorite place in the whole world I tried many times both alone and with Dorothyanna to find it again but for some reason I never could find it again.

I asked him the night he passed away why I couldn't find it and he said that it was a magical place and that I would only be able to find it when I was truly ready to learn about its hidden secret. I then asked what he meant by that but all that I could understand him saying after that is that I’d have my answer when it was time, then he closed his eyes and with a smile on his face he left this world.) Using the hunting knife, I then made a type of spear with three spikes made from some pieces of wood attached with some twine on the end for spearing fish, then with the last branch I made a regular type of spear that would be used for either hunting game or protecting myself with. Then I went and made some snare traps and other types of traps for hunting and for protecting the campsite or least they'd give me a heads up notice of someone or something approaching the campsite. Once those were done I went back to the campfire and fed the fire a little more than I laid out my bedding near the fire and sat down to eat some of the food I brought with me mostly it consisted of fruits, berries, and nuts but I also had some meet wrapped in a type of skin to help keep it from spoiling to fast, when I finished my meager meal I put everything away in my saddle bags and laid down to get some sleep.