Allisyn

Prince Harry stormed down the stairs. His mother's handmaid had just told him there was someone waiting for him, and he knew it was his father. He reached the bottom of the steps and stopped in the foyer. His father was dressed in his full military attire, having just returned from overseas.

"father," Harry said, bowing deeply.

"hello," his father replied dejectedly. That's how he always was nowadays; detached and orderly, kingly and demanding. "I brought you something," he added in a softer tone. A girl stepped from behind him. She had snow-white hair and blue eyes; a German.

Harry took a short step back. "who is she?" he asked.

"just a girl," his father replied. "however, she will soon become our secret weapon." seeing the look on his son's face, he elaborated. "I plan on training her to become a spy for the royal army. She already knows martial arts; I want you to teach her how to aim a rifle, fight in hand-to-hand combat, and be able to kill a man with a hairpin. Also," he added, "she's American, not German, in case you were wondering."

The girl's facial expression had not changed once since the king had started talking. Instead, she stared straight ahead with a closed face. The prince put his hand out to shake; she simply looked at it. After an awkward moment, he pulled it back and said, "I'm prince Harry. It's a pleasure to meet you, ah..." he trailed off, not knowing what to call her.

"her name is Allisyn,"his father broke in. "she's a mute, so you shouldn't bother trying too hard." the room became silent for a few moments. "well," the king continued, "on that note, I bid you farewell."

"you're leaving?!" Harry asked incredulously. "but you only just arrived!"

"the war is not on leave while I am," the kind shot back in frustration. "and neither is this country."

He left the house without another word.

Prince Harry stared at the closed door in shock and disappointment, then turned back to the girl named Allisyn. "so, uh, Allisyn," he began, "would you like a cup of tea?" she stared at him. "all right, how about coffee?"

Her facade cracked slightly, as her eyes widened in either happiness or disbelief. The prince laughed and led her to the kitchen. He ordered the cooks and servants out as he pulled up a seat for the girl. "so," he asked, once she had a cup of the hot liquid in her hands, "my father wants me to teach you. Are you all right with that?" she nodded slightly, giving her assent. "he says you know martial arts?" she nodded again. "what belt are you?" he asked, hoping to get some words out of her. She only stared at him.

Sighing, Harry began to walk to the cabinets behind him, then pivoted and grabbed Allisyn by the wrist. He twisted her around and held her to his chest, so they were both facing the table. "let's see how well you handle the situation," he breathed in her ear. A small smile twisted her lips, before she flipped him over herself, disconnecting her own shoulder in the process. As though she were used to it, she popped it back into place without even grimacing. Harry landed hard on the kitchen table with a thud. He looked at the girl in surprise as she smirked. "impressive," he said, letting himself smile slightly, before jumping to his feet.

He quickly faked for her right wrist again, only dodged low as she shot her left hand for his neck. He grabbed her ankle and tugged. She fell to the floor, landing herd on her back. He launched himself toward her, only to be caught in the gut by her feet as she flipped herself up.

They circled each other silently, assessing weaknesses and searching for openings. There were footsteps in the hallway, and Harry quickly straightened as his older brother William entered. Allisyn remained in a defensive crouch.

William took in the scene quickly, then looked accusingly at his brother. "who is this and what do we owe her?" he asked menacingly.

"nothing!" he shot back in embarrassment. "it's not like that. She's nobody. Just, I don't know, a secret weapon or something. Dad dropped her off not too long ago, said to train her. I was simply testing her skills."

"wait, dad was here?!" William asked in surprise. "why didn't anyone come to get me?!"

"well, you were planning your wedding. Nobody wanted to disturb you. Besides, he only stayed for a few minutes. Didn't even break character."

William sighed deeply, then looked toward Allisyn, who had shifted from her fighting stance. She was now standing by the table, sipping her coffee silently. "hello," he said kindly. "sorry for being rude, it was very impolite of me. May I ask your name?" she didn't reply. Confused, he looked toward his brother, who only shrugged and tried to hold back a smirk. The elder prince, assuming she was German, asked the question again in that language. When she still didn't respond, he asked Harry, "what country is she from?"

Harry burst into laughter and said, "she's a mute, man. Though if you must know, she isn't a German. Maybe partially, but she was born American."

William rolled his eyes at his brother, then looked sheepishly at Allisyn. "sorry about that. My knuckle-head of a brother seemed to have forgotten to mention that."

Allisyn offered a ghost of a smile to the man and her whole face seemed to soften. Her blue eyes lost their steel edge for a moment, and her cheeks gained a faint blush of rose-pink. Harry couldn't take his eyes off her; he seemed hypnotized by her beauty.

Suddenly, her face hardened again, and she turned her back abruptly. She sat down hard in a chair, then gazed out a window stonily.

William and Harry looked at each other for a moment, confused, before brushing the odd display aside. "ah, would you like us to show you to your room?" Harry asked. There was no reply.

William leaned over to his bother, a frantic look in his eyes. "we don't have a room prepared for her!" he whispered, low enough that the mysterious girl didn't hear.

"there are plenty of rooms in the house, I'm sure the servants can pull something together." harry replied, just as quietly.

An exasperated sigh escaped William's lips as he loped off to find a maid or butler.

"um, if you will just follow me..." Harry started awkwardly, motioning to the door, even though the girl didn't see it. She stood swiftly and followed him into one of the halls. "the maids don't have a room ready for you yet so I figured I'd give you a quick tour," he explained. She made no gestures of objection, so he began to lead her down a side hallway.

He showed her the servant quarters, the wine cellar, and the different pantries. Then he led her to the garden in the center of the manor. It was filled with flowerbeds of bright colors and many species. There were four sidewalks crisscrossing through the square space, meeting in the center, where there was a small tangerine grove. Apples were growing on the trees surrounding the grove.

For the first time since her arrival, Harry heard Allisyn's voice. She had gasped softly, and it was just barely audible, but he heard it. And it was the smoothest, most majestic sound he'd heard. He looked at the girl in wonder, who was gazing around the garden in awe.

"beautiful, isn't it?" he said to her.

She whirled to face him, almost as though she'd forgotten he was there. Then her shoulders slowly relaxed as she nodded. The prince smiled sadly. "it was the last thing my mum did before she died. She made this as a sort of sanctuary, an escape from the pressures of government. The maids and groundskeepers still tend to it, even though father ordered it to be destroyed."

Allisyn cocked her head to the side questioningly. Harry continued, "he didn't want to be reminded of her death. However, my brother and I refused to let him tear it down. We managed to get the whole staff to side with us on the matter. It's for that reason that our father never visits. He wants little to do with this place, thanks to my brother and me," he added bitterly.

Allisyn stared at him. He looked at the ground, and when he looked up, her expression had changed. She looked softer, like she had when she smiled, only her whole being seemed to radiate sadness and regret.

"let's....keep walking," Harry said awkwardly. He led her away from the garden, and showed her to the ballroom. The ceiling was high, and the walls were painted light blue and gold. There was a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, its lights reflecting the colors of the rainbow. There were floor-to-ceiling windows along one wall, and an elegant, grand piano in one of the corners. However, even though the room was beautiful, Harry did not hear Allisyn's sweet voice again.