Young Writers Society

It all started when I first saw the traveling merchants. I was 5 years old, and Sabrina's mother had agreed to let me come with them. I skipped from booth to booth, touching practically everything that was soft, shiny, or sparkly.

"Ooh Sabrina, look at all the pretty things!" I exclaimed, dragging her by the arm.

"Siesi, I don't have time or money for this. I have to stay with mama and help pick out the food." Already on to the next booth, I hardly noticed her departure. As I was wrapping myself in silks, I noticed him.

He looked down, kicking the dirt around him and coughing. His rags weren't even fit for a beggar. His hair was so caked in mud and dust I couldn't even begin to discern it's true color. His ice-blue eyes seemed so pitiful, it was all I could do not to cry at the sight of them.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"My life's all stinky and boring and I don't got nobody to play with." This literally brought tears to my eyes. Even the poorest in my kingdom had friends. Mother once said part of being a princess is to connect with the commoners. What better way to do that than let him play with us?

"Do you want to come play with me and my sister. I'm Sally Callaway, by the way."

"Really?" He asked incredulously. You'd think I was giving him a palace with all the servants he could want. "Oh, wait. I have to ask my dad first. Dad, can I go? Please?"

"Oh, alright, long as you're back 'fore sundown." he answered.

"Yes! By the way, my name's Cafaro."

[color:darkblue] ~~~~~~ [/color]

"Siesi, are you nuts? We can't take him to the palace. It would set yer mama off in one of them moods." Sabrina whispered.

"That's okay. We'll just take him to the spot." I whispered back.

"Are you sure he can be trusted?"

"Come on, Sabrina. Look at him!" She pitied him just as much as I did. We ran to the spot, dragging him with us.

The spot is a big old boulder by the Everclear River, so named because you can always see the bottom, even when the ice is so thick you can walk on it. We sat there awhile and listened to Cafaro's tales. He'd been to so many exotic lands.

"And the forest by the Mazure River? It's enchanted. There's huge unicorns, dainty little fairies 'mongst the butterflies, these weird people with pointy ears called Elves, cannibals, leprechauns that give you tons of money, and all sorts of ghosties. But you know what the neatest thing in the river is?"

"What?" We asked at the same time.

"Piranhas. They've got these long fangs, and they jump out and swallow people whole. They lunge out at you like {i}this.{/i}" He threw himself at us, making us fall into the river.

For revenge, Sabrina pulled him in, then smothered him in mud. He started throwing mud at us. We retaliated, and pretty soon it was an all-out mud fight.

The next thing we knew, the sun was kissing the horizon. we rinsed off a bit, then ran back to Cafaro's stall. We waved farewell as he rode off with his father into the sunset.

[color:darkblue]~~~~~[/color]

Every year, Cafaro came back. We went to the spot and caught up on the past year. I never told him I was a princess; I didn't want to make him afraid to talk to me.

When we were nine, Cafaro brought me a gorgeous turquoise necklace with a silver chain. He called it an engagement gift. I asked him what an engagement was, and he said it was a promise that we'd be friends forever. He gave a tiger eye to Sabrina as an engagement gift, but it wasn't nearly as pretty as mine.

Two years later, Cafaro said it would be his last time coming. His father was retiring, he explained.

"Don't worry. As soon as I gots enough to start my own stall, I'll be back this way. Don't forget me." he reassured us. We promised we wouldn't until the sun set in the north.

[color:darkblue]~~~~~[/color]

"My dear subjects, I am pleased to announce that this coming full moon, my daughter, Princess Siesi of Haleria, shall be wed to Prince Armando of Mazuria!" Everyone clapped. Everyone except me.

I had just turned 15, and was thus now suitable for marriage. Prince Armando was 17 and incredibly handsome. Unfortunately, he was an incredible jerk as well. He burped without excusing himself, spilled food and wine all over the place, and he ogled me (and even some of the younger maids like Sabrina) in quite a rude way. He needed a demure, tea-sipping, embroidering wife. I was not what he needed. Not that mattered to anyone. My mother and his father were interested in three things, their personal reputation, money, and the appearance of their kingdom. The didn't care a whit about the commoners, so long as they appeared happy.

"Now we absolutely must go into town to buy things for the wedding. The traveling merchants are in and they have some lovely fabric for the dress and some exquisite jewelry. Now you're going to see some absolute horrors in the market..." She went on to describe beggars, dirty peasants, conmen, thiefs, and vicious animals. Of course, having already seen these things (and deciding they weren't that bad,)I tuned her out.

[color:darkblue]~~~~~[/color]

I was veiled and helped into the carraige by Stan, a soldier who would now serve as my bodyguard. We rode into town in silence.

"Ooh, just look at those silks. Won't they be perfect for your dress? And that jewelry...so lovely! Let's stop here." she ordered.

We were only out of the carraige a few minutes before erupting into an argument. She wanted pink silk, while I wanted turquoise. The shopowner tried to settle the argument.

"Your Royal Highnesses." He bowed and kissed our hands, as is protocol. Mom looked like she'd just been kissed by a swamp monster. "What seems to be the problem?"

"My impudent daughter here refuses to accept that she must wear pink."

"But I think the turquoise matches my eyes. What do you think?"

He thought for a moment, then announced his conclusion. "Milady, the turquoise does indeed match your eyes. Just like that necklace you are wearing. How did you come about that?"

"An old friend gave it to me." I replied. That's when I looked up. I'd recnognize those icy blue eyes anywhere. Cafaro.

"Your Highness, may I ask of you a favor?"

"As long as it's not too outrageous."

"Send a message to Sally Callaway. Tell her to come to the spot at midnight. She'll understand."

"I'll make sure she gets that."

"Thank you, good Princess." He bowed his head before cutting out the fabric for our purchase.

[color:darkblue]~~~~~[/color]

I ran off to meet Cafaro just before midnight. I didn't tell Sabrina because I didn't want her to feel bad that he only wanted to see me.

"Hey Siesi." He was already sitting on the boulder when I arrived. I sat down next to him and he began to talk.

"I've really missed you. I'm so glad I've finally got my own business so I could come back and see you. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. Your sea-green eyes have clouded my sight. Your smile has melted my heart. You were the first person who was actually nice to me. I could never forget that. I don't think I could've ever had that much fun with someone else." He paused. "I don't know how to say this, so I better just say it. I love you, Siesi."

At first I wasn't sure how to respond to this. Then I thought about how he had spent what little was his to spend just to get me a lovely necklace. How he had been onw of the few people in this world who would accept me for who I am, and who would expect nothing more or less of me. I thought about how he had just poured his heart out to me. I still wasn't sure what to say, so I simply kissed him. It was only a few seconds, but it stated more than words ever could.

"Let's run away and get married." I whispered, for I realized I would much rather spend the rest of my life with Cafaro than Prince Armando any day. It was obvious Mother would scoff at the very idea, but I didn't care.

"You do realize that even though business is doing quite well, I won't be able to keep up the same standard of living that you're used to."

"As long as you are there, I don't care."

"Well if you're sure...I've already packed up the raft. We can simply continue on to Laron." Laron was a small beach kingdom.

We walked down a ways to where the raft was tethered. After he'd set the raft on it's course, we kissed some more. I fell asleep on his shoulder as we drifted off into the night.