Chapter 1: The First Encounter

It was a cool fall day and the wind was cold and nipping. The breeze caused the old wooden windows of the Grimhilde cottage to to make an irritating noise, almost resembling a constant opening and closing of a creaking door. The inside of the small house was divided into six  areas. A kitchen, a work room, a common area, a young woman's bedroom, an old gentlemen's bedroom, and a room that still had the cold feeling of death whenever you walked past it. In the common area, there was a portrait of a family. The portrait contained the faces of a smiling young girl in a modest, beige frock and a young man beside her with a cold expression plastered on his sharp featured face. Moving to the work room, there held hammers and nails of a sorts. There was wood and hay scattered across the room, you could tell it was frequently in use.

The sound of the morning crows cawing at the break of daylight is what awoke Herz that day. She sat up in her bed and gently rubbed her eyes. She gave a big yawn stretch , which worked every muscle in her upper body sending a jolt of energy down her spine, running through her blood. She slowly began to move out of bed placing her on the cold, damp, concrete floor. She used her hands to push the rest of her body up and maid her way to her dresser. She opened up the black and gold engraved drawer which contained her favourites of her cloths. She pulled out a pair of black leather pants, a red, flowing, long sleeve silk shirt, and a black corset.

She closed the antique drawer with care. And placed the cloths she selected on her unmade bed. She slowly began to take off her white nightgown which allowed the cold wind to cause a shiver when it interacted with her naked body. The freeze in the air caused goosebumps to rise on her skin which motivated her to get dressed quickly. She put on her pants and than her red blouse which she proceeded to tick into the waistband of her pants. She than put on a black sort of vest/corset on top of her blouse, giving her her signature look. She took the hairbrush that was on the top of her desk and began to brush through her long black hair. Once all the tangles have disappeared, she took the red ribbon, that was also located on her desk, to tie her hair up into a clean, slick ponytail. She manoeuvred to the front of her bedroom near her door to put on her long, black, knee high, lace up boots which had a bit of a heel giving her a little more height. She than opened her door and made her way to the work room.

Once she where're the dusty workspace she was greeted by a pleasant surprise. "Father! What are you doing up at this early of hour?" Herz said with a smile on her face making her towards her father.

Herr Grimhilde was a shorter and older gentleman with a plump physic. He wore circular bifocals which were placed on the top of his nose. He had a short white beard that still had traces of his old and forgotten blond hair. The same occurrence happened with his short hair that was much overdue for a haircut.
"Oh my girl. I may be old but I still have plenty of work to have done in time for tonight's ball!" He said with a happy expression as he worked on a little box.

"Father. If you are going to work maybe you should start being a Miller and stop the inventing for the moment." Herz said as She placed a hand on her fathers shoulder, looking deeply into his blue eyes which matched hers.

"This is more important at the moment my love." He said calmly with a pleased expression on his face. He continued to work on the little box which Herz was anticipating to find out what it was for and why so important.

"Well then, if your mind and heart is at work here, I might as well get started on your actual work." She said with a laugh, patting her father on the back. Her father turned to her before she left out the front door to go out into the morning light.

"Herz. You have the heart, beauty and brain of a woman. But the brut strength, persistence and stubbornness of man." Her father said to her with a chuckle.

Herz couldn't help but smile at this a simply reply. "Yes. I do." Before making her way out into the field.

::::

Herz was at the milling machine for about three hours now grinding the wheat to make flour. Beads of sweat dropped down her face, some landing in her eyes which would create a discomfort. She was getting tired and really hot since the temperature has raised since the beginning of the day. As she began to fill the grinder with more stares of wheat, she heard the sounds of hooves behind her. She turned to look out into the distance where she saw a heard of people riding horses. 'Oh goodness.' She thought to herself at the sight of unwanted crossers. When the heard of people became more clear she immediately regretted her thought.

She began to walk away from the mill and approach the dirt road where the people were approaching. She got down on one knee and lowered her head.

"You there! Are you the miller who owns this land." A man with a strong, hefty voice said. Herz raised her head to look at the nights in silver armour that had a shine when reflected off of the light of the suns beams. "A girl!" A little girl exclaimed in a high registered voice. "What is a girl doing running a mill?!" Herz looked towards the person with the shrill and annoying voice to find a young girl. She was wearing a blue dress that was made of silks she could have never imagined existing. The girls hair was in a black short bob and deep brown eyes. Like Herz, her skin was Priceline white. She was destined to be an beauty in her adolescence.

"Yes I am a girl. I am the daughter of the Miller Grimhilde." Herz stated with honour of her family name. Some of the guards and soldiers began to laugh. "Grimhilde! That crazy old man ?" They continued there jollies which enraged Herz.

"My father is not crazy! He is inventive and hard working!" Herz exclaimed in a protective manner. She realized whom she was talking to and slowly lowered her head and apologized. "I am sorry. Forgive me for my outburst."

"No need." Said a baritone voice. Herz once again looked up to find the King himself looking down at her with a sort of gentility. "I appreciate your courage and honour of your family name. It shows strength that not a lot of woman have in this kingdom." The king says kindly. He is a handsome man. He has longer brown hair with a bit of brown stubble. He is not old at all. Not like she expected. He looks around 10 years older than she is.

"Thank you your heighness." She said graciously.

"Will you be attending the ball tonight Fräulein Grimhilde?" The king asks her. She looks up at the king with big eyes. "Ah yes my father and I were thinking of attending for a while." She replies to him. "Well I do hope to see you there...?" He pauses waiting for her name. "Herz. Herz Grimhilde."

"Well I will hopefully see you tonight Fräulein Herz." The king says with a smile. The girl I assume to be princess Snow gives me a wicked glare before her, her father and their soldiers ride away towards the kingdom.

For some reason, Herz's heart began to flutter at the thought of the ball tonight. She smiled and laughed at herself and began to make her way towards her cottage. She had to begin getting ready for the ball.

And she had to inform her father that they maybe staying at the ball longer than originally planned.

_______________________________

Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top