You are a boy. You are a boy. You are blonde. And you are a boy, Dawn kept telling herself. It was true. Her sister had found a blonde wig in the parlour and she was now wearing it. But she still felt comfortable in her helmet. As long as she didn't need to take that off, she would be fine. 

Unfortunately, her long, waist length hair wouldn't fit the wig. So, she ended up having to cut it to a bit lower than her shoulders. It looked nice though. Not that it mattered at the moment. A trumpet sounded, snatching Dawn away from her thoughts and into the present. She was outside the royal hall and was about to meet the royal family. 

Freya had told her parents that she was feeling sick as an excuse. But now, she thought it might actually be true. Suddenly, a second trumpet sounded and the enormous doors screeched open.

She walked inside and bowed.

"Good Morning, Your Majesty. You requested for an audience?" she greeted the King in her manliest voice. Which wasn't that bad at all... because she had practiced last night. She bit a smile down and looked up at all of their faces. Her eyes filled with awe. She had heard rumors of the Prince and Princess of Cilane, but hadn't paid much attention. Princess Evelyne was stunningly gorgeous with her long straight black hair and striking green eyes and Prince Christopher... God, his hair really was tipped in red! And he had golden, amber eyes to go with it. 

"Woah..." she muttered to herself, her jaw hanging open.

"Good Morning, noble knight. I'm sure you know we're here to talk about the kingdom's safety." the King said, and Dawn pinched her arm to stop herself from staring. She nodded. 

"Father this is a bit uncomfortable for all of us. Why don't we all sit down?" said the Prince. The King agreed and a servant guided them to a seating area. There goes my lucky charm... she thought, taking off her helmet and sitting down awkwardly. Everyone sat down in front of her.

"Why don't we start," the King asked, "What's your name?" 

"Daw-" Dawn stopped herself. She was a boy. She needed a boy name! "D... Day. My name is Day." she said. It was the first thing that came to her mind. From Dawn to Day. 

"Day... as in the morning... Day?" asked the King confused. She nodded, confused herself. What is wrong with me!?! she yelled at herself inside her head.

"Okay. Well, nice to meet you Day. For how long have you been learning to fight?" King Edward asked. 

"Since I was 7." Dawn - no, Day replied. 

"That's a very long time. Impressive." the King said. 

"Thank you." replied Day. The King smiled. 

"We were actually wondering if you and Christopher could work together. Both of you are the two best knights in the kingdom and both of our skills would improve is you helped each other. Also, it would be best if you were his and our personal bodyguards. We know how well you can deal with thugs and soldiers from the neighbouring kingdom, Lidan. They are unfortunately facing a civil war and we have promised to help by not letting criminals enter out kingdom." Day nodded. She new about the ongoing war in Lidan. 

"I know we're asking a lot. But consider how much it would help the kingdom and you will be able to improve your skills too." said King Edward. Again, Day only nodded, thinking about it. It would be her dream come true to fight everyday and practice! But there would always be the threat of them finding out she was a girl.

"Well? What do you think?" asked the King. Day looked up at them. 

"Okay. Why not. But what else will I get? I mean training with the Prince himself is great, but..." she said. 

"I know what you mean," the King smiled, "You will get a bedroom here and a monthly pay the same as a general would get. And the title of Lord." Day nodded, impressed. But the title of lord wouldn't be that helpful - she was a lady, a part of nobility already. But a monthly pay! She could buy all the equipment she needed without having to secretly sell her clothes or jewelry! And a room in the palace wouldn't be bad - she could already imagine it. Her mother would never even know!

She grinned at the royal family, "Done. Count me in, Your Royal Highness." 

The King smiled, "You can start now if you wish. Prince Christopher will lead you to your room."

"Okay. But I'll need to get a few of my things so I'll only be able to train in the evening today. Is that fine?" she asked. The King nodded. The Prince got up and led Day down the corridor and up the stairs.

Her room was as big as her's at home, but had a section just for weapons. Day's mouth hung open as looked around. The room was painted blue, not pink! Her bed didn't have frills on it! She had a huge window overlooking the lawn! It was perfect! She turned around to look at the prince. 

"Thank you... Not to be rude, but what do I call you? Your highness or Prince Christopher?" she asked him. 

"Just Christopher is fine." he said, slightly smiling. 

"Not just Chris?" she asked. 

He tilted his head, "No one's ever called me that." 

"Can I? It's easier than Christopher." she said, and then added, "Not to be rude..." He laughed. 

"Okay. Chris is fine then." he said. She smiled. 

"Nice to meet you Chris." she said shaking his hand with her armour and metal gloves still on.

She grabbed her helmet and the keys to her room and locked the door. The Prince - no, Chris then showed Day the way out. They bid each other farewell and Day walked out of the palace and towards the forest, to her cabin. Inside, she changed out of her armour and into a set of plain clothes - a casual white shirt, grey shorts and a black jacket. She looked into the mirror. She really did look like a boy with the blonde wig. She would just have to stuff cloth inside her shirt to flatten her chest, but after that, she would no doubt look like a boy. Especially with her defined arms and legs. Even her high cheekbones matched a boy's face. She was worried for nothing! It would be fine. She removed the wig and changed into a casual dress.

She walked home and immediately went to find Freya. Freya squealed when she saw Dawn. 

"How did it go!?!" she demanded. 

"Good," Dawn said, smiling, "Great, actually!" 

"I knew it! Tell me what happened!" Freya whined. 

"They asked me to live in the castle and train with them! It's a dream come true, Freya!" she said. Dawn told Freya about the entire conversation she had with the King - including the part where she came up with the name, Day. Freya laughed at Dawn's choice, but still liked it.

"Oh, I'm so happy for you, Dan. I mean your dream is weird, but you're so lucky to get out of this place!" she said, then asking, "Wait, what about Mother and Father? What will you tell them?" Dawn's face dropped. She hadn't thought about that...

Suddenly a knock came from the door and their mother entered. 

"Darling's!" she started... "Dawn, what have you done to your hair!" she screeched, her jaw dropping. 

"I cut it mother. It was growing rather long... and doesn't it look pretty?" she said smiling. 

"It's up to your shoulders! It's so short!" her mother said. 

"Not really. It's long enough to tie and braid and it's so much easier to take care of." she pointed out. 

"Well, I guess it does look nice... It brings out the fact that your hair is wavy like your father. Well, won't everyone by surprised at the New Year's Festival..." replied her mother, observing it more closely. 

She waved her hand, "Anyways, there's a programme at the castle for young men and women of court. The men train and the women are given lessons in elegance and poise. I was thinking both of you could attend."

Freya and Dawn looked at each other. This was perfect! 

"Sounds great, mother. Why don't you sign us up." said Freya. 

"Wonderful! It starts tomorrow! And they also have an important guest. I'm not sure who, but I'm sure you will love it. Princess Evelyne will be part of it as well and Prince Christopher. Be sure to befriend them!" the Duchess exclaimed, leaving the room happy.

"Freya, I forgot to tell you. But the rumors are true. Princess Evelyne is really pretty and Prince Christopher's hair actually does have red tips!" Dawn said, turning to Freya after their mother left. 

"I can't wait to see them!" Freya said. "Mmhmm. It's so cool. And guess what, I'm allowed to call the prince just Christopher." Dawn replied, grinning. 

"I doubt the ladies of court will be able to. And I'm guessing the important guest is you?" Freya asked. 

"I'm actually not very sure..." replied Dawn. Freya gave her sister a knowing look and they erupted in laughter.

A while later, Dawn left for the castle, dressed as Day and wearing a hood to conceal her face as she walked out of the house. Every time she looked at the castle, she could help feeling amazed by it. But it also made her feel small. After all, she was just one person in a kingdom filled with thousands. It made her feel powerless, but at the same time, she was grateful for what she had. She had a family to feed her and protect her. She promised herself to do all she could to help helpless people like the little girl, Isabella from the other night. It was the least she could do. Walking in with a new feeling of determination, Day entered the castle and headed to her room to change into a sparring outfit.

--+--

WHOOOHOOOO!!! I did it at last! But, it's kind of long... like really really really long. Sorry about that again! Anyways, I hope you liked it! 

Just press that tiny little star at the bottom and you'll make my day! Don't forget to comment on the parts you liked, and give me feedback on improvements I could make! Like I said, it would be really great!

Thanks so much for reading! I'll try to update soon!

PS. If you feel that the Dawn-Day thing is confusing, just remember that when Dawn/Day is wearing a wig (dressed up as Day) she will be called Day. And every time she's dressed up up as a girl (Dawn) she'll be called Dawn. And I'll always refer to Dawn/Day as a she just so you don't forget she's a girl :D