The Principles of Andorra

Panic inside the castle.

Women screaming.

A knight talking to her.

Soldiers taking her.

Tons of people fleeing away from them.

More people in the village.

Soldiers fighting.

Black.

Joanna woke up with a jolt, literally. She only regained consciousness enough to see a man's bottom half of his legs. Then, without warning, she fell back into unconsciousness.

* Recuperation *

This time Joanna woke up to the sunlight hitting her eyes and a tight pain in her stomach. She groaned as she pushed herself up from the hard wood she was sleeping on, clutching her stomach with one hand. She hadn't eaten in so long. Suddenly, she became aware of another presence in the space and she looked towards the floor to find a peach in her view. She snatched it immediately and sat up to eat it, facing her companion.

"Good morning." He said to her with a slight smile on his face.

She didn't respond and ate her peach slowly as she watched him. He still kept the same expression on his face, however.

"Are you really a bishop?" She asked suspiciously, noticing his clothes, when she was finished eating.

"Yes, Andorra's." He replied, getting a hunk of bread to hand to her.

She took it more slowly this time, untrustworthy. But tore off a chunk with her teeth to chew on as soon as she did. The bishop handed her wine then.

"You fainted from lack of nutrients, while you were in the castle. Just as Prince Matthew and I were rescuing you." He said, taking back the goblet.

"My name is Galcerand and we're taking you back to our home, The Valleys of Andorra. You're safe now, Joanna. Everything's going to be okay." He added, putting a hand on her knee.

Joanna leaned away from him then and threw the curtains aside that were covering the windows. She was in a carriage. There were soldiers walking next to them and she recognized one in particular.

"Galcerand, who is that man?" She asked defiantly, without looking at him.

"Ah- That is the Prince, my lady." He replied back to her with a knowing tone.

Joanna stared at the man for a while longer and he caught her gaze. She didn't look away, however, and he rode away a little farther in front of the carriage. She leaned back then and watched the scenery go by for the rest of the trip.

* Welcome to Andorra *

Arriving in the kingdom, there were many villagers out and about to do their chores and shopping. Joanna, not wanting to draw attention to herself, tried to stay as far out of the window's view as possible.

"That's the Aragon Princess, she was rescued by Prince Matthew, himself." One of the maidens whispered.

"She must be pretty important for Prince Matthew to go out and do something like that. Poor boy, he's still been grieving over The King's death." She added.

"Hasn't he been dead for over a year though?" A young maiden asked.

"Yes, deary, he still has yet to marry and claim the throne to himself. He's the only one in line for it." The older woman replied back.

"Maybe, she's our only ray of hope for this kingdom. She is a princess, after all." She added then.

Joanna looked towards the prince after hearing all of this, but he looked stoically emotionless. Maybe, he doesn't want to marry yet. I never knew that his father had died. I suppose that's why he rescued me instead though. Uncle Bernard... Suddenly Joanna was hit with a wave of reminiscence and she stared at her folded hands with wide eyes of wonder.

Uncle Bernard, his father, used to visit her castle all the time and her family to theirs. She remembered playing with a little boy around their castles as well. Could it be him? She looked up to Matthew once again and her heart hammered inside her chest with alarm. Was it him? Was he the one she spent so many days with in the outdoors in silence to just enjoy the company of one another?

They arrived at the castle then and Galcerand got out before her to escort her out. It was like from a dream and she couldn't help but smile. I wonder if he remembers too... She thought to herself and she looked over to Matthew again. But he still had that stoic expression on his face. She realized now that he was the only one without armor and was in a burgundy combat outfit.

Time to test his memory, she thought as he came closer to her while taking off his riding gloves.

"So what do you think of the castle?" He asked.

"Hmm..., it's a little small." She said, while looking up with squinted eyes from the sun.

He let out a small laugh of disbelief and said, "That's a joke, right?"

So he doesn't remember then. When they were little they used to joke about each other's castles all the time, it was a kind of game they played with each other.

She looked down at the ground with a snide smile and said, "No, it's colossal in comparison to my own."

"Yeah..., it's pretty ginormous." He said dismissively, noticing her attitude change.

"Marshal!" He exclaimed to a man at the top of the stairs as he climbed up.

"Yes, my lord?" The man replied with a stiff bow of the head.

"Take the princess to her chamber, will you?" He directed.

"Yes, my lord." The marshal answered obligingly.

Matthew left her in the marshal's hands then and went somewhere else inside the castle. Joanna continued up the stairs and the marshal gave her a look that was courteous. He closed the door after her.

"Now if you'll just follow me, my fair princess, and I'll give you a quick tour of the castle before showing you to your chamber." He said.

"Thank you." She said politely with a smile.

He smiled back before walking on with her and said, "So have you heard any news of our kingdom recently?"

Joanna replied, "I heard that the king had fallen and that the prince still hasn't found a suitor in order to become the new king. Is this correct?"

"Well, that is half of it, my lady. Actually, many baroness' have already come to the castle as suitors. There are ten, as a matter of fact, that are living in it as of right now. I think there has been at least thirty, but they were all driven away. The Prince is having a hard time choosing one to settle with at the moment...

So as you can guess the environment in the castle is very tense right now. I'd advise you, princess, to stay as far away from the suitors and Prince Matthew as much as possible. The suitors will not take kindly to new company, not kindly indeed. They will scotch your life right before your eyes, my dear. So be warned and stay aware. Shhh, I think I hear something!" He explained, suddenly crouching down next to a door.

Joanna crouched down slightly as well and he was right. You could hear a bunch of clanging of some kind and women yelling as well.

"Get out of this kitchen, you crazy witch!" A female servant yelled.

"I was adding sugar!" Another yelled, more refined.

"Sugar! Then how did that young one die a week ago?!" The female servant yelled again.

It sounded like she was chasing the baroness.

"Probably from bad cooking! If I was in charge, everything would be much more edible and without fault!" The baroness yelled.

"And all the suitors and servants dead, you harpy! Get out of my kitchen!" The servant almost screamed and a clang of a pot followed.

"Crazy witch, going to kill us all..." The servant said at a normal volume with gasps for air.

The marshal took this as a time to go in and Joanna hesitantly followed him inside, not wanting to be left alone.

"My madame, are you okay?" He asked, coming to the servant's side.

She was leaning over the table and holding her side. Her face was red and she was still having a hard time catching her breath.

"Those women, they're going to kill us all, marshal." She managed to voice.

"Prince Matthew will choose one soon, don't you worry. You just keep your head up, madame." He replied in a reassuring tone.

"Besides we have a princess here to stay with us now as well and we've got to look after her, don't we?" He added.

"I suppose we do. We must keep the poor dear safe from the harpies." She said after finally catching her breath and lifting her head.

"Oh, dear, she's right here. Well, did you hear everything? I hope not, but it's always better to be prepared than unprepared I guess. You have it in for ya deary, stay aware." She added with a warning.

"Yes, madame. I'll try my best." Joanna replied.

"Oh, she's beautiful and sweet, marshal. What an angel. We'll need to keep double care of her. Tell the men to watch out for her as well. The witches will want to take care of her quickly." She said to the marshal, who nodded in response.

"Well, this is the kitchen, Joanna. We'll need to keep moving though. We do not want to run into another." He said, standing up straight.

"Yes, and I've got to make another side dish for that poor girl. That Jeanne has been trying to get rid of her for weeks just like the other one. Don't you know, marshal?" The kitchen maid said, while starting to prep a new dish.

"Poor girl, there's nothing we can do about it though. It's out of our hands, since she made the move." The marshal said with a shake of his head.

"I suppose so... Well, I'll be seeing you both around." She said in dismissal.

"Yes, let's go, Joanna." He said and they moved into another room.

"This is the dining room, but only the prince and his comrades eat here. A suitor is requested each night, however. He'll probably ask you to join him tonight, but be aware. The baroness' will have a vengeance for you, if you attend. It is best to just make calls of your own through the servants. They trust no baroness and tell them nothing. But they will let you talk to them, as long as you are nice when you do it." The marshal explained, while moving on.

They went back into the foyer again and walked up the staircase on the left.

"This is where the royals reside. The servants reside on the right wing of the castle." The marshal explained as they continued walking down the hall.

"Not to worry though, the suitors are on the third level." The marshal added as he came to a stop at a door not too far down the hall.

"You'll be by yourself on this level, I'm afraid. The prince resides in the highest level, the fourth. But you should be safe away from all of them. I'm sure. This is your room, my lady. Now, if there is anything else you need from me, I'll be happy to oblige. But if not, then I'll be on my way." The marshal said with a smile.

Joanna shook her head no and he moved on. She opened the door then and walked in to find a luxurious room. She closed the door behind her and went on into the bathroom. She wanted to clean herself up. When she was done with her bath, she wrapped herself up in a towel and went back into her room. There was a sealed note in front of her door and she went to pick it up.

Going over to her vanity, she found a letter opener and slid it open. She went to sit at her bed and read the message.

It would please the recipient of this letter to know that Prince Matthew has requested their presence at tonight's dinner at exactly six o' clock P.M.