Come one, come all, everyone is welcome to hear my story. Of course, that includes you, good Reader, and I hope you're ready to meet a brand new character in our story. This one will have an important role to play, maybe not at this moment, or the next, but at some point in our tale. It will be up to you to guess who that is, but until then, I hope you enjoy the next part.

Leaving the slums of the city, we move to the most extraordinary area of any capital, and that would be the noble's district. Compare to where our protagonist lives, this would be considered paradise on Earth, with their streets, not only clean, but filled with greenery. Beautiful houses kept clean and well maintained for any kind of weather. The plaza is barely crowded, and decorated with a wonderful fountain with a pool, filled with crystal clear water. The people in the district were dressed to impress, amaze, and to show their standing in society. Their clothes are of the finest fabric, and the jewelry is of the shiniest gold they could pay. Even the guards protecting the nobility have better equipment than the ones in the commoners section. Moving to the masterpiece of the entire city, is the majestic castle of the ruling family. A magnificent work of architecture, providing both comfort and protection fit for a king. The castle stands tall, proud, dwarfing all others, and watching everything in front of it. Its surrounded by a thick curtain wall made of white stone, with a tower in each corner of its perimeter, and battlements on top of it. The front iron gate of the wall was open, but it was protected by a gatehouse filled with heavily armed royal guards. Passing the entrance is the courtyard, with a paved road leading to the main keep, which was also fortified with defensive towers of its own. To the left of the inner ward was the granary, and the stables for their horses. To the right was a chapel from the Order of Light, the main religion of the kingdom, and the bake house. Inside the keep they have the main hall, a study filled to the brim with books, a well-stocked kitchen, and an armory. Like all other castles, they have long corridors decorated with beautiful carpets, brights frescos, and furniture of the best quality. It also had secret passages and exits hidden around, like behind a wardrobe, or where the toilet was.

At the moment, the most important part of the castle was an office, and its importance was given by its occupant. Footsteps can be heard from the other side of the door, and they were getting closer. It swings open, revealing a tall twenty nine year old man, with a light complexion, blue eyes, short brown hair, and with a full goatee. He's wearing leather boots, blue trousers, a tunic under a coat, a flowing red cape on his shoulders, and the most vital piece is the golden crown adorned with different jewels. It is correct to think that this man is none other than King Frederick, ruler of Stormbridge and all of the human continent. Under his arm, he's carrying a large number of scrolls and other documents that he was to deal with.

“I hate paperwork,” says Frederick as he starts walking down the corridor with a frown on his face. He walks down the corridor, but doesn't get far because of a voice coming from behind him.

“Where are you going?” says the mysterious person. Frederick knows the voice, he has known it all his life, so he turns around and sees a twenty six year old man. He has the same fair skin tone, and brown hair as Frederick, but with longer hair and no beard. He also has the same blue eyes as the king, and his clothes are as lavish as Frederick's attire. He's wearing leather boots, blue pants, and a tunic under a coat. He doesn't have as many jewels as the king, but he does have a medallion with the royal emblem inscribed on it, and made of pure gold. This mysterious man is the king's younger brother, Prince Edmond Stormbridge.

“Hello, brother, just taking these to my chambers,” says Frederick with a smile.

“I'll help you with that. We both know how much you hate doing the paperwork,” says Edmond, grabs some of the scrolls that his big brother is carrying, and they start walking together.

“Come on, you make it sound like I'm lazy.”

“Don't worry, I remember the times when you stayed up all night working on these.” Edmond shows a scroll to emphasize his point.

“Don't remind me, those were some hard times for me.”

“Well, it's a good thing that tomorrow you'll have plenty of time to rest and have some fun.”

“I know, I can't wait for tomorrow.”

“Yeah, but you know what would make it better?” Silence falls between them, for a moment.

“I know what you're doing.” Frederick gives his brother an annoyed look, knowing well where the conversation is going.

“Whatever do you mean?” Edmond looks away from his older brother, with a smile on his face.

“We've already talked about this.”

“A certain someone won't stop talking about it, and you know it.”

“I do, but I stand by my decision.”

“It's going to break her heart, I swear I can see it right now.” The knowledge takes his smile away. Frederick puts a hand on his brother's shoulder.

“Trust me, its going to break my heart too,” after saying that, the king becomes more resolute. “However, this is for her own good. She will remain within the walls of the castle, where she will be safe.”

“Trying to keep her safe by making her a prisoner in her own home? She might resent you for it.” Something, or someone, grabs Edmond's attention away from the king, and Frederick notices that. Coming from a side corridor, is a nine-year old girl with long flowing brown hair, fair complexion, blue eyes, and a smile on her face. She's wearing a beautiful blue dress with sleeves, well-made shoes, a gold circlet adorned with different jewels, and a gold necklace with a blue sapphire. This young lady is Dorothy Stormbridge, princess of Stormbridge, future heir to the throne, and only child of the king. Following her is a maid in her mid-forties with black hair, light brown eyes, and olive skin tone. She was wearing a mahogany dress with sleeves under a white apron, and a white bonnet.

“Dad!” yells Dorothy and runs towards her father, while her maid follows closely.

“Oh, looks like someone missed her old man,” says Frederick with an arm wide open.

“It's been a few hours, dad.” The king puts a sad face.

“You're gonna leave your poor dad hanging like that?” After a few moments, Dorothy walks up to her father, and gives him a hug.

“You're so silly, dad.” The smile on her face shows that her words meant no harm.

“As a parent, I would be the silliest person in the world, if it meant seeing a smile on your face.” They separate from each other.

“Stop, you're embarrassing me.”

“Second job of being a father, but enough about that. I assume that you had something to tell me.”

“I do, actually.”

“Well, I'm all ears.”

“It's about tomorrow.” There are very few things that can make the king of Stormbridge flinch, and this was one of them. However, he has learned how to hide it, and he does so without wiping his smile off his face.

“Go on.”

“Well, tomorrow is–”

“Going to be a wonderful day.”

“Uh, yes, I'm sure it will be, and I was wondering if we–”

“Can spend the whole day together? Yes, we can.”

“Dad?” The moment Frederick could see the confusion on Dorothy's face, he knows that he must think of something, and fast.

“We'll have so much fun tomorrow, but it will have to wait until then. Right now, I'm very busy, as you can see.” The king points to the scrolls to emphasize his point.

“I know, but–”

“You're also very busy with your studies, so I won't keep you any longer. You know how your teachers get when you're late.”

“Wait a minute.” Frederick gives his daughter a kiss on her head and walks past her.

“No time, very busy, love you, bye.” Frederick doesn't even look back and continues to walk away. Everyone look at the king, then at each other, and Edmond can't say anything. The only thing he does is shrug his shoulders, and follow his brother behind him.

Once they were far away, the king relaxes and enjoys a moment of peace.

“Smooth, very smooth,” says Edmond, barely holding a laugh.

“Why, thank you, I have a way with words,” responds Frederick, trying his best not to give his brother the satisfaction.

“Look, you and I both know that she won't let it end like this.”

“Of course I know, she's my daughter, but she'll get so distracted that she won't remember anything about it and we're going to spend tomorrow together in the castle. Just like all the other times.”

“She's not five anymore.”

“Trust me, I'm her father, I know her.”

“If you say so.” After that, they continue on their way to finish their duties.

In another area of the castle, Dorothy is in one of her many classes, taking notes, and completing assignments. Nevertheless, somewhere in her mind, there's that one thing that she won't let go and won't forget, no matter how many lessons, questions, or papers are thrown at her. She might be a little girl, but everyone knows that she becomes resolute when she has a goal in sight. Tomorrow is going to be the day that everything changes forever.

We'll stop here for today, and it will be for a selfish reason of mine. I've grown a bit tired, this one was a bit longer than usual, and I would like a bit of rest. Don't worry, there's nothing like a nap to restore one's strength. Until next time, good Reader.