The Princess And The Stones

“You do plan to behave yourself, yes Maria?” Simon asked. Maria took note that he was using his 'overly concerned brother' voice, and would likely give him another bruise for it later on.

“Yes sir.” She said sarcastically.

“Sir,” Simon mumbled proudly, “I like the sound of that. A shame you can't be a lady more often.

Under her breathe, Maria hissed several inaudible words, which Simon only assumed were curse words she'd picked up over the years.

Maria and Simon both stopped at the closed doors. Taking a deep breathe, Maria whispered, “Am I ready?”

Simon nodded with approval. “More than ready.”

The doors opened, and just like when she were a princess, the crowd gasped as she made her way down the stairs towards the dance floor. Most girls would blush and hide behind their fans, but not Maria. She had been broken of the habit of hiding almost a decade ago and couldn't force herself to portray such modesty on such a day.

At the bottom of the stairs stood Petah and Maribeth Narc in along with the less than pleasant Victoria Rosimay. Peter instantly offered his hand hoping for a dance, while his stared bitterly. Victoria, who had been clinging onto Petah's arm before Maria arrived, stopped her high heeled shoes against the tile floor with frustration and stormed off to another near by man.

Rather than taking his hand, Maria made her way across the floor and took the hand of another foreign boy, who lead her to the center of the room and began to gracefully make her way around the dance floor.

The second the dance ended, and the attention shifted away from the birthday girl to the actual party itself, Maria ran off and caught the hands of Illiana. A fast song used mostly for group dances came on, and the two began to quickly swing around the ballroom.

"They're so immature, the both of them." Simon said as he shook his head. Though he found the girls highly amusing to watch, he could not bring himself to join them. At the age of 17, Simon was a grown man, and a mature presence was demanded of him from society.

Moraca smiled, as she kept a close eye on her young daughter and niece. The two carelessly twirled around the dance floor as many children did, bumping into several other people in the process. "Let them be," she said, "neither really had a childhood, they both deserve this. They have earned the right to immaturity and innocence."

Simon stared at his mother in confusion. "What do you mean? How could someone earn that right? It's not even a right."

She shrugged and turned away from the girls. "Iliana spent the first 13 years of her life working her rear end off to help her parents make ends meet. It wasn't until this last year that she's been able to make up for years lost." Moraca sighed and turned her attention away. "And then there's Maria... She's a special case, that girl."

"What do you mean?"

"Did you ever notice how Maria acted very prim and proper when she arrived here? Like she'd never gone out and played with her friends, or done anything foolish just for the sake of enjoyment?" Her words may have been directed at Simon, but her gaze was locked on Maria. "And have you ever noticed she speaks in a thick Karelenian accent?"

Simon shrugged. "Maybe she had very strict parents. She probably crossed the border after losing her memory. Mother, what relevance does this have?"

"Let me finish," Moraca scolded. She took a deep breath before speaking again. "Simon, she's a Halin. That's why the guards have taken such an interest in Asiati so suddenly."

"A Halin? What do you mean?" Simon wrinkled his nose in confusion. He'd heard about the Halin family and their missing daughter, but never once had Maria ever been connected to the family. If there was anything Maria was, it was far from a princess.

"Simon, she's not just a normal Karelenian. She's a Halin. That means she's their High Princess."

Simon quickly turned back to his mother, but before he could even question what she'd just said, she had vanished, almost as if she were a ghost.

Rather than hunting down his mother once again in search of more answers, Simon decided to go right to the source, to the supposed Karelenian Princess herself. Somehow, in the time it took for Moraca to vanish into the crowd, it seemed Maria and Illiana had also slipped away.

He found both girls resting at a table, along with Terrance, the charming farm boy Illiana had been courting for the longest time, and Illiana's two elder sister, Ella Jolie and Luna, who must have snuck in, avoiding questioning from their favourite aunt.

“Maria?” He asked as he drew near.

Ella Jolie scoffed. “Hello Simon.”

Simon rolled his eyes. “Hello Ella, hello Luna. Now, Maria, may I have this dance?”

“Of course, but first,” Maria reached down and slid off her delicate little heels. “I can't take these for another moment.” She fixed the gown as she stood up. “Shall we go?”

“Alright, come on.” Simon said with a smile, and held out his arm for her. As they walked away , Simon could see Illiana in the corner of his eye smiling and winking.

Maria stood on the balls of her feet trying to look eye to eye with Simon, but even with her best attempts, her eyes only reached his mouth. She sighed before finally speaking. “I take it Mum told you.”

Simon nodded. “She did, but I wish it had been you who'd told me.”

“I was scared.” Maria mumbled weakly. She dropped down and stood flat footed on the floor.

“You shouldn't have been. It's me Maria, if there was anyone you shouldn't have been scared with, it was me.” Simon explained.

Maria let her head fall against his chest. “I know, there's more to it then that.”

“Like what?” Simon asked.

“I'll tell you later.” Maria said, her voice dropping to a whisper.

Before Simon could ask anymore questions, he noticed that someone was calling his name. “Simon, Simon, Maria, come here!”

“It's mum. They must be here.” Maria whispered. Her eyes grew wide and she seemed to be shaking with fear. “We've got to get out. They will find me for sure.”

Not wanting to draw any unwanted attention, the two waited for the song to come to a stop before slipping through the crowd and out the back door, where Moraca was waiting. Next to her stood a beautiful, palomino mare. “Are you ready?”

“Does it matter?” Maria asked. For the first time in a long time, tears where starting to roll down her cheeks. “I can't just leave you all here.”

“You don't have a choice Maria.” Moraca said. Her voice was harsh yet still loving. She pulled both her children into her arms and let a few tears escape. “Now here, I made this dress special.” With great care, Moraca unhooked the of the gown and slipped both it and the hoop skirt off her daughters hips. A much shorter skirt that only reached midway to her knees was made underneath the big skirt. “There, it'll be much easier to get away with this. Now, get on that horse and go! Quickly.”

With Simon's help, Maria jumped on to the horse and clung to the reins. “I can't believe it. We're leaving...”

“Not for long my dear. I'll send word when it's safe, okay my darlings?”

Both nodded, and not wanting to drag out the painful goodbyes out any longer, the two road off, fading into the darkness of the Asiatian woods.