The Lost Twin Princess

Chapter Two: The Journey

The king of Lingerfelt got all his soldiers together and told them of their mission to go get the long-lost princess and all the men yelled with pride of what they are fixing to do for not just their king but for their kingdom. With that the king waves at the queen and princess Jazmica and sets off on the hard ride ahead of the soldiers. The queen grabs Jazmica’s hands as they both watch with hope in their hearts of the king riding off in the distance. And for one last time the king looks back and his horse gets up on his hind legs and he waves back at the castle.

Casandra was feeling as she has been riding for days now but still wasn’t anywhere near the castle. She sees a little hut ap ahead of her so she rides in there to see if she can stop and rest. When she pulls up on her horse a small petite old woman comes out to greet her newfound friend. Casandra gets off her horse to greet the little old woman with a handshake and a curtsy. The little old lady begins to laugh at her. With amusement in her voice, she says “child there is no need to be doing all that I can well see you need rest and some food and shelter. Anyone with even bad eyes can see when a woman is on a mission and has been riding nonstop for days.” Cassandra smiles and says to her newfound friend “thank you I will gladly pay you for your kindness name your price.” The little old laughs a full belly laugh and tells her “There is no need for money my little hut may not be a big castle darling, but I am in no need for your money I have what I need, and I need no more then to help those who need me at the time.”

Cassandra was led into the hut by the old woman arms linked together. The stable boy took Chance to the nearby stables to tend to him. As they enter the hut Cassandra can see they weren’t the only ones there. There were two men sitting in a corner table drinking their hardy drinks of ale laughing at their stories of travels and compared their fights out on the open roads. There was also another man sitting all by himself in the darkest part of the room staring straight at her. He was a tall built man. She wasn’t afraid of him, but he had a mysterious vibe about him that she didn’t want nothing to do with. The old woman tugged at Casandra’s arm and told her where she could sit, and she would have her daughter come and keep her company while she ate her dinner. Cassandra gave the old woman a big hug and thanked her for her hospitality. She sat down but made sure she was able to watch the men in the room while doing so. The men in the corner didn’t even pay attention to her being there but the stranger in the corner wouldn’t stop watching her. She could see now that he had a smile on his face and was giving her a weird stare that didn’t settle right.

The old lady’s daughter came out with Cassandra’s food and sat in the line of view of the man and started talking to her about how she was so glad another girl her age had come to the hut. Cassandra tried to listen to the girl while she ate her plate full of meats and vegetables that were steamed to the very softest, she has ever tasted. But her attention kept going to the man in the dark. She wanted to know who he was and so she asked the girl, “who is that gentleman in the dark corner over there?” The young girl turned, and a huge smile came across her face, “that would be Sir Joseph Roberts, madame. He stays to himself while he is here because he travels alone while he goes on trips all over the country.”

With amazement Cassandra thought of how her life could be instead of her going into the kingdom like she had planned instead she would travel the world and all the wonderful things she would see in her lifetime and when she has seen it all then she would come back. But that’s when she thought of the Alistan’s. What would the king do if he were to show up to their farm and she wasn’t there? Would he kill them thinking they had done so to her? Or would he through them in the jail cells for the rest of their lives just to show he wasn’t going to stop until she was found. What if the king came here and did the same to the old lady and her daughter and all they did was being nice to her while she traveled? She didn’t want anyone to get in trouble or hurt because she wanted to see the world, so she stuck to her plain to leave here in the morning and go to the castle.

That night Cassandra thought about how she didn’t know anything about the king nor the queen of Lingerfelt. So, she would ask the old woman in the morning of him and his household. The next morning Cassandra woke up and packed her things got a warm bath and set to the kitchen to find the old woman, to her amazement the kitchen was full of workers going here and there making all kinds of smelling foods from meats to desserts. For the night before there was only the old lady and daughter that she knew worked here. Finally, she spots the old woman tasting some soup stuff in a big pot telling the cook what else it needed. She made her way to her trying not to get in anyone’s way of their work. When she finally makes it to her the old woman gives a huge smile and asks how her sleep was. Cassandra says with a smile back “I slept well but I have to ask, do you know anything about the king or queen of Lingerfelt?” The old woman smiled and took her by the hand and led her to the dining hall where she could hear her better. She sits her down and tells her all kinds of wonderful things about the king and queen and how everyone loved their daughter Jazmica and how sad the whole kingdom missed the other daughter, but everyone thought she was to be dead and never found.

Cassandra then made up her mind of going to the castle to ask them for forgiveness for the Alistan family. Hopefully they would agree if they had her back. Before she leaves the hut, the old woman gives her some food to take with her along with a tent and sleeping stuff in case her journey was still a long one. Cassandra gives her a big hug and gives her daughter one too tells them she will come back to see them as soon as she could. They all smiled and waved at each other as she sets off on her horse Chance.