I was woken a few hours later by a soft cooing from my balcony. I climbed out of bed and opened the balcony door.

"Hello you!" I greeted the pure white dove who sat waiting for me on the ledge. He'd been coming to me regularly for a few months now, only when Sasha was out of the room, and I always kept a few breadcrumbs in my pocket, gathered from the dinner table, to feed him with.

I put the crumbs in the flat of my hand and he cooed appreciatively as he pecked at them. The sun was getting lower in the sky. Soon it would be time to dress for dinner. At least at dinner I'd see Kriston and we could talk properly.

I heard footsteps hurrying up the stairs and smiled. The door flew open, Poppy was panting from running up the stairs, talking ten to the dozen, her brown eyes stretched open, her arms reaching out towards me.

"Will you take us with you Annie . . . when you go to Crosstain? Will you take me . . . and Mum and Daisy? And if you take us . . . you'll have to take Petros too, so Daisy has someone to play with . . . and Davin and Kriston too . . . You won't leave them alone, will you Annie?"

"Poppy!" I laughed, grabbing her arms and trying to stop the tide of questions flooding out of this thirteen year old girl. "I can't take Kriston with me. He'll be king here in a few years. But don't you worry; I've no intention of marrying Larnick and going to live in Crosstain. Now stop panicking and brush my hair."

Poppy took a few deep breaths, calmed down a little and picked up the bone-handled brush.

"Oh Annie, you'll never guess what! Mabel who works in the kitchens with Daisy just got back from visiting her mother who works in the Palace in Jamain. Ooh, you wouldn't believe it! She says Queen Griselda has a whole room, just for shoes!"

It never ceased to amaze me how Poppy could swing from hopeless despair one minute to excited chatter the next. I listened quietly while she arranged my hair into a long plait and tied it with silver ribbons, ". . . and the biggest, most sparklingest jewels, they say her tiaras are so heavy, when she first became queen, she had to practise wearing them for a few minutes everyday day to build up her neck muscles . . . " She helped me into a purple velvet and silver brocade gown with an unnecessarily wide skirt. ". . . rings and bracelets and necklaces, she even wears jewels in her nose . . . "

At this she raised the lid of my jewellery box and squinted inside with a pondering expression. Next thing I knew, she'd grabbed a drop-shaped amethyst which I normally wore as a pendant, pulled it off its chain and was trying to stuff it up my left nostril.

"Poppy! Stop!" I shouted, pulling her off. "That's not how you do it! You have to pierce the skin and wear it on the outside like an earring. Honestly!" I said rubbing my poor nose.

"Oh yes, that makes sense." She rummaged in my jewellery box and extracted a necklace of deep blue stones. "Sapphires today," she held it high so the light glistened off the gems' many facets. "to match your eyes, Princess."

Wednesday was High Feast Day so everyone had to dress up. When I was adorned to her satisfaction, I kissed her on the forehead and sent her away. I squeezed my feet into my purple satin high heels and started awkwardly down the stairs, holding the skirt in both hands so I wouldn't trip. These clothes are designed for sitting and looking pretty in, not for actually moving anywhere, I thought with a sigh.

Kriston and I always sat at the Royal Table at the head of the Banqueting Hall, under the west window, facing the rest of the room. There was a long table down the right-hand side of the room where the ladies of the court sat according to rank, Lady Beatrix at the end closest to the Royal Table. Down the left-hand side was the men's table at the head of which sat Uncle Ivan.

My shoes cutting into my feet, I rounded the corner into the Banqueting Hall. I saw immediately that something was wrong. At the Royal Table, usually reserved for my brother and me, sat Lord Ivan, Lady Beatrix, Lord Skarp (Kriston's new tutor) and on the end, looking small and bewildered, sat Kriston. His blue eyes were wild and staring and his dark hair an untidy mop on his head.

As I stood there open-mouthed, Lady Bellina took me by the arm and started walking me up the right-hand side of the room.

"As a betrothed lady and future queen of Crosstain, henceforward you will sit with the ladies of the court, at the head of the ladies' table." She marched me to the seat which normally belonged to Aunt Beatrix and pulled out the chair. As I lowered myself into it, I caught Kriston's eye. He waved and stretched his mouth into a smile but the smile didn't extend to his eyes and his forehead was creased with worry. His throat worked as he gulped down his fear. I knew him so well — he was putting on a brave face because he didn't want to worry me but inside he was terrified.

The servants entered and served the first course - carrot soup. I sipped it unenthusiastically keeping a close eye on the Royal Table all the time. Lady Beatrix was jubilant at having her brother with her, talking loudly and laughing her high-pitched laugh.

"So wonderful you're here, Brother, to bring some elegance and sophistication to this dreary court." Lord Ivan looked relieved that she was happy. She was rarely happy and spent most of her time berating her husband. All their married life, Beatrix had made Ivan feel second best, always reminding him that my father was so much more handsome than he was, so much stronger, so much cleverer, feeding his resentment. I knew that he would do anything to prove to Beatrix that he was as great as my father. I knew he would stop at nothing.

Lord Skarp sat there haughtily looking like he owned the whole kingdom. He basked in his sister's adulation, his cold eyes searing under their jet black eyebrows. When he noticed me watching, his left nostril lifted in a sneer like I was something nasty he'd scraped off his shoe. It made me shudder. Occasionally he would glance over at Kriston and remind him which fork he should be using. Kriston's a royal prince! I thought indignantly. He's known which cutlery to use since he was old enough to pick up a spoon! But Kris just nodded and continued pushing his food around his plate. He kept looking up at me as if to reassure himself I was still there.

Around me, the ladies of the court chattered excitedly about my engagement. How handsome and strong Larnick was, how many horses he had, how vast the kingdom of Crosstain was, and beautiful . . . if you liked snow. They giggled and nudged each other as they pointed at Lord Skarp. He'd obviously made quite an impression.

"Where's Milo?" I asked. Milo always accompanied Kriston to dinner and would sit patiently at his feet, waiting to be fed scraps.

"That dog kept barking at Lord Skarp," answered Bellina "He's been banished to the basement." Poor Kris! He didn't even have Milo to comfort him.

"Goddess protect him," I muttered involuntarily. Shocked, I caught myself. I'd never said that before in my life but instantly a memory flashed into my head — my mother, her face pale and drawn, dark shadows under her blue eyes, the baby Kriston crooked in her arm.

"Goddess protect him," she whispered stroking his dark hair. On the bed, nestled into her side was six-year-old me. She draped a cool, bony arm around my shoulder and kissed the top of my head, "Goddess protect you both." She would be dead before the day was done.

Lady Bellina interrupted my daydream. "We have plenty of work to do to make you ready for your royal marriage, Princess," she announced in clipped tones. "You'll have to learn all the Crosstain formal dances, starting with the one you'll dance with your husband on your wedding day." My stomach sank at the thought. "We'll start early tomorrow. Please come to the Dance Hall at first light."

First light? Oh no! I thought.

The meal was over now and we stood while the members of the Royal Table exited down the middle of the room, Lady Beatrix beaming triumphantly, showing off her adored brother to everyone around, Kris glancing over at me, an unconvincing smile on his face: a hopeless attempt to reassure me. I waved and smiled back as best I could, sending him strength and courage with my thoughts. The rest of the diners left the table and made their way back to their quarters.

When I reached my staircase I wrenched off my torturing shoes and climbed up barefoot. At the top I saw my bedroom door was already open. Abigail was sitting on my bed, her dear face wrinkled into a worried frown. Seeing her, the tears I'd been suppressing all through dinner came to my eyes.

"Sit down Annie," she extended her hand towards me. "I have something for you."I flopped on the bed next to her."Your mother left this in my keeping when she died. I think the time has come to give it to you. Hold out your hands."

She dropped a round locket on a golden chain onto my palms. The chain was warm from her hands but milky white stone of the locket was cold and smooth and looked like the full moon. It opened with a clasp on the side. I turned it over in my hands, intrigued.

"It's a Moon Locket. The full moon is the symbol of the Goddess. In the olden days wives would give these to their husbands before they went into battle to keep them safe. You write the name of the person who needs protection on a piece of paper, seal it inside the locket and put it around his neck. As long as he wears the locket he'll be under the Goddess' protection."

It sounded crazy but if my mother had believed in it I was prepared to too. I was discovering so many new things about her today.

"Kriston!" I ran to my desk, snatched up a quill and dipped it in the ink pot. Selecting the smallest piece of paper from the pile, I wrote his name in clear letters, blew on it till the ink was dry and folded it over and over. I prised open the locket and inserted the folded paper. "Thank you, Abigail. I'll go to Kriston's rooms early tomorrow morning before Skarp gets to him and put it round his neck." Abigail hugged me and stroked my hair.

"Now go to sleep, my dear and don't worry. He'll be just fine." She left, closing the door noiselessly behind her. I slipped the locket under my pillow, ripped off the heavy dress and jewellery and pulled my nightdress over my head. As I curled up under the sheets, my mind raced through all the events of the day. Sasha hopped onto the bed and curled up purring next to me, her soft furry head under my chin. The gentle vibration relaxed me and very soon I was fast asleep.

Thank you for reading this chapter 😊

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