Setting
Once upon a time there was a Kingdom called
Altair. To most, Altair was a land of beauty, though it was known to some as a
land of vanity. For some aristocratic inhabitants Altair was a land of magic,
passed from generation to generation in the noble families as routinely as
property and prestige.
Betrothal
Sasha would scarcely remember the day that
sealed his destiny. Though he was a remarkably observant six year old, being
forced to entertain a stubborn toddler while his mother gossiped in the palace
rose garden was unlikely to register as important.
“Such lovely red hair...” He overheard his
mother saying.
“Oh yes, she must have inherited that from
her great grandmother” the queen replied over her tea.
Sasha rather thought the princess Tavia
looked like most babies as she tottered back from the white rose bush, a white
rose clutched in her chubby fist.
“For you” she said, dropping it carelessly
at his feet, smiling up at him with satisfaction.
“Just like your hair! White!” She nodded
almost sagely.
Before he could reply that he was a boy and
nothing about him could possibly look like a rose, the Queen clapped her hands,
laughing.
“Oh,
what a lovely thought!” She turned to Sasha’s mother.
“I
think it must be a sign, Lavinia-they look just like our palace roses, one Snow
White and the other Rose Red…”
And just like that, it was decided. One day
Sasha would marry the youngest princess of Altair.
The Bear
It was an unusually hot day in Altair, too hot Knox thought. He paused to wipe
the sweat from his brow before he brought the hammer down again. The molten
metal was slowly starting to look more like a sword and each neon spark was
like a small cry of relief to his soul.
Sadly,
his inner peace began to recede as he became aware of someone watching him.
CLANG!
Its probably that barmaid again…
CLANG!
His
cheeks started to burn. He knew he shouldn’t have left the window open.
CLANG!
But
it was summer and he was standing in a hot forge! Didn’t she have things to do?
CLANG!
He
was uncomfortably aware of his light linen shirt, open at the collar and
exposing quite a bit of his chest.
CLANG!
He
was not going to look up.
CLANG!
Didn’t
she have work to do?
CLANG!
Did
she want to sleep with him?
CLANG!
Did
he want to sleep with her?
CLANG!
Tits aren’t bad I guess…
CLANG!
Annoying voice though…
CLANG!
He
didn’t have time for these games. If she had something to say she could say it.
CLANG!
“Excuse
me?”
CLANG!
Not
the voice he was expecting. Slowly, he raised his eyes.
She must have been lost, because she
clearly didn’t belong in the working class part of town. Slowly he laid down
his hammer.
“Can
I help you, my lady?”
“I
hope so” she answered briskly. “You see I was simply hoping you could recommend
a good spot to refresh myself-“ Somewhere beneath layers of ribbon, white lace,
and tight corset, her stomach loudly corroborated this statement and her fair
cheeks flamed with rosiness.
“-You
see I am famished and I don’t know this part of town very well” she finished
haughtily.
Knox
couldn’t help but raise both eyebrows. She was very young-not yet out of the
white customary for wealthy young girls still in the schoolroom. What business
could she possibly have walking around here, let alone in a pub? Yet it was
clear as she attempted to look down her nose at him-despite being at least a
head shorter than he was-that she wanted no help of his. Fine.
“Try
Dunlaggin’s” he nodded in the direction of the pub with the annoying but busty
barmaid.
“Thank
you” and she turned on her heel in that direction.
CLANG!
So
the rich girl wanted to eat the pub, so what?
CLANG!
She
was going to attract a lot of attention.
CLANG!
Not
his problem.
CLANG!
Just
a beautiful young girl, encrusted in finery, walking into a bar filled with
drunk men, with that superior expression on her face…
CLANG!
Damnit…
Rolling
his eyes, he laid down his hammer once more and made his way to Dunlaggin’s.
