Lorand's POV

“Who is he?”

“Why is he here?”

I woke up and saw six small old women standing over me.  I thought that perhaps I was dreaming, so I curled up tight and closed my eyes again.  Someone poked me, and I realized that this wasn't a dream.  I slowly opened my eyes and looked at them.

“Hello,” one of them said, smiling at me.

“Hello.”  I was terribly confused.

“Are you the one who cleaned the cottage?” another asked.

“Yes, I…”

“Who cares about that?” one of the women snapped.  “Look where he's been sleeping!  Last time I checked, that was my bed!”

The rest of the women ignored her.

“Who are you?” someone asked.

“I'm Lorand.  I'm sixteen.”

Five out of the six smiled.

“This is Nellie, Charlotte, Millie, Lilac, and Gladys.  I'm Ruth.”  Ruth had long white curls and patient brown eyes.  Millie was the shortest, with blue eyes, thin gray hair, and lots of wrinkles, probably from smiling.  Charlotte and Lilac were twins.  They had the same dark gray hair and round green eyes, and the only way I could tell them apart was by the freckle on Charlotte's cheek.  Gladys had blue eyes, a tight gray bun, and a frown that seemed permanent.  I couldn't believe her name had the word 'glad’ in it.  Nellie had wavy gray hair, and her hazel eyes were just like…

“Dear child, are you all right?” Millie asked worriedly.

“Yes, I'm fine.”

“Poor thing’s probably hungry,” Ruth said.  “I'll go downstairs and ask Nellie when dinner will be ready.”  I watched as she went down the rickety stairs.

“So, what brings you to our cottage?” Lilac asked.

“It's a long story.”

Charlotte was overflowing with curiosity.  “Do tell.”

Gladys groaned.

“Dinner’s ready!” Ruth called out.

I got up and followed the women to a washbasin that I hadn't noticed before, probably because I was so tired.  We took turns washing up, then went downstairs.

“You must be Lorand,” a white-haired woman with green eyes said, taking my hand and shaking it.  “I'm Martha.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Take a seat.  We pulled up an extra chair.”

I sat down between Nellie and Millie and began to eat my soup.  It was delicious, probably the best I'd had in years.

Ruth turned to me.  “I don't think any of us have thanked you for cleaning this place up yet.  Thank you!”

Five other thank yous and a grunt followed.

“You’re welcome.  It was actually pretty easy compared to what I'm used to.”

“What you're used to?” Martha repeated.

I sigh.  “You see, I used to be the prince.”

“And what happened?” Charlotte asked.

“My mother, the queen, married a man named…”

“Morden,” Gladys finished, scowling.  “I hate him.”

“Yes.  And when my mother died, Morden forced me to be a servant.”

“His own stepson,” Lilac grumbled.  “How cruel!”

I swallowed.  “Just today, one of my best friends brought me into the forest and nearly killed me under orders from the king.”

Everyone gasped.

“You poor boy!” Millie cried.

“She couldn't bring herself to hurt me, so she told me to run, and I did, so I ended up here.”  I look back up at them and attempt to smile.

“Well, Lorand,” Ruth said, “I can get you the quilt and you can sleep on the floor until we can make a bed for you…”

“You mean you'll let me stay?”  I was so excited that I stood up and knocked my chair over.

“Of course.  But you will have to earn your keep by helping clean the cottage.”

“I will.”

“Then welcome home, Lorand.”

Everyone cheered and hugged me, except for Gladys.  However, I think I saw her frown a little less.

Martha took a cake out of the oven and set it on the table.  “I didn't think we'd have much of a reason to have this, but it turns out we do.”  She smiled.

Although I politely declined, the biggest slice still ended up on my plate.  It looked really good, so I ate it without objecting any more.

Soon the sun set over the cottage.  I was getting tired again.  The women went upstairs to get ready for bed as Nellie and I gathered the dishes.  As we worked, I was starting to feel sad about something.  Nellie looked at me.

“Is everything all right?” she asked.

I shook my head.  “Something's just been bothering me.”

She nodded.

“I can tell you, right?”

“If you want to.”

I sighed.  “There's a girl who was my best friend growing up, but I lost her when my mother died.  A few days ago, I met her again, and something terrible had happened.”

“And what would that be?”

“My-my stepfather chose her to be his new wife.”

Nellie’s eyes widened.  “That's horrible.”

“I know.  But I…”  I swallowed.  I had to say it.  “I think I love her.”  It was true.

“What's her name?”

“Aveline.”  Yes.  I had loved her when we were children and I love her now.  I can't stand the thought of her marrying Morden.  She deserves so much better.

Nellie hugged me.  “Come on, we should get some rest.  I’ll always be here for you if you need to talk.”

“Thank you.”

As I lay snuggled up in my quilt, I couldn't help but think about Aveline.  She was so smart, so beautiful.  All my feelings for her had reappeared when I'd seen her in the garden that night.  It would kill me when she married my stepfather.  I couldn't stand it.  If only there was some way I could save her...

Charlotte got up and went to me.  “Lorand, are you okay?  You keep squirming.”

“I can't sleep,” I told her.

“Here.”  She pulled something out from under her bed and gave it to me.  It was a book.

“Thank you.”

“You're welcome.”  She crawled back into her bed and fell asleep.

I read the weathered pages until I was too exhausted to continue, so I set the book aside and fell asleep.  I'm still dreaming of friendly forests and cute creatures.