edited by abashed-dreamer
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The four handmaidens laid out the beautiful gown. It had just this morning arrived from Italy. Six seamstresses had worked four weeks to prepare the velvet gown to the Princess's specifications. The details in gold and pearls alone were worth a King's ransom. The handmaidens oooh'd and ahh'd over the lovely dress. One of the maids said, "The Prince will think you an angel for sure, your highness."
Being the spoiled naughty girl that she was, the Princess said, "I don't like the color. And what is that lace at the collar? I didn't ask for that. Those Italian peasants know nothing of fine work. And what do I care what the Prince thinks!?" Princess Maura picked at the priceless gown like it was a piece of dirty laundry.
"Maura," said the Princess's Nanny. "You will behave and not talk about the Prince that way. Prince Ennis is to be your husband and you will treat him with the utmost respect. You will wear the dress and be happy with it. We've no time to have another made. Now put it on for the fitting."
"Oh, Nanny Gail! But…"
"Shush girl! Put on the dress."
"Humph!" is all the Princess had to say as her handmaidens dressed her. The dress was nearly perfect. It did need to be taken out in the bust. The Princess had blossomed into quite a woman in the last twelve months. She would be eighteen on the morrow and she was going to see her husband to be, Prince Ennis for only the second time in her life. They would be married in four days. Her father, the King, had finally tired of her stalling and insisted she marry the Prince or take herself off to a nunnery.
"Are we done?" Maura asked impatiently.
"Yes, you are excused for your morning ride." Nanny directed the maids to dress her in her riding habit. As the Princess was dressed, Nanny tried to appeal to her good judgement. "Stay with your guards this time, Princess. Your marriage to the Prince of our rival kingdom to the North is not looked on favorably by many of your subjects. You could be a target for foul play."
"I just want to go for a nice quiet ride." With that, the nasty Princess picked up her gloves and riding crop and started for the door. "And I don't care about politics or that stuffy old Prince Ennis!" She got out the door before her nanny could lecture her again.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Gawain McConnell, also known as Our Hero, liked to think of himself as a jack-of-all-trades. The fact that the "trades" he knew ran to the illegal did not in anyway dim his high opinion of himself. Wanted in several principalities, including the current one, he still felt he did a service to the community by teaching travelers to be more careful on the road. He was a thief, but never used deadly force. Travelers could certainly run into worse than he. And if they ran into him first, they might well consider their purse to be small payment for the important lesson they learned in travel safety.
He was patting himself on his back for the fat purses he had taken that day and the fine horse and saddle he had "acquired" to carry him to the next town. Suddenly he heard a storm of hoof beats. He pulled his horse into a thicket and waited for the riders to pass. He had no wish to run into the Prince's guard.
A horse and rider were soon in view, hellbent for leather, coming towards him on the road. The rider was a woman! And a fine horsemen for one of such diminutive size. Just behind her he could see three other riders, almost at her heels. Gawain thought he might have to be noble and save the damsel. But she was increasing her lead and by no means looked in distress. By the time she made the bend in the road, she was a good 15 lengths ahead of them.
As soon as she rounded the corner, she steered her horse into the brush and dismounted. She hid as the other riders sped past. When they were out of sight around the next turn, she walked her horse out of the brush and back onto the road. "Stay with the guard, Maura. You're too young to be on your own, Maura. Marry old Ennis, Maura," she said mockingly. "That'll teach them. They can't tell me what to do!" With that she pulled herself back onto her mount and was off, laughing.
"What a spoiled little bitch," Our Hero mumbled to himself. "But she did fill out that dress nicely!" With that he was on his way again; in the opposite direction from the "little bitch".
That evening, just at dusk, it started to rain. Gawain sought the shelter of an abandoned barn, as it was still an hour or so before the next town. It was a large building with a stone foundation and loft. It looked recently used. The roof was still intact, and most the boards, in place. He started to open the door, when he heard angry voices from within.
Gawain took just a minute to find a way to get into the loft without being seen. He cautiously crept across the loft in the direction of the voices. When he neared an opening in the floor of the loft, he got down on his stomach and inched toward it to get a view of the scene below.
It was the petite horsewoman from earlier in the day! She no longer had the upper hand, however. Two rather rough looking characters had her tied to the front of one of the stalls. The "voices" he had heard were mostly her. She was yelling and cursing non-stop. The two men were settled around a small fire on the floor of the barn trying to finish their dinner.
"My father, the King, will have you both flogged, drawn and quartered. And then he'll kill you!!" She went on and on like that, not making much sense. The men paid little attention to her. During one of her breathers, they started to talk.
"Bobby, can't we gag the bitch? She gittin' a might tiresome."
"Nah. Let her yell. Ya see, the Lord said I was not to 'urt her. Not even to have any fun wit' her. But in my way a' thinkin' all bets are off if I'm provoked. And she's getting' mighty close ta pervokin' me."
"You asses!! You have no idea who you're dealing with. When my father has you on the rack I will come and spit on you! You are nothing to me!"
Gawain thought he had not seen a dumber woman, Princess or not. The bully in charge, Bobby, had just said if she shut up she'd be safe, a little while longer at least. But no, she had to keep on. He moved around the opening in the loft, hoping he could catch her eye.
Sure enough, as she took a deep breath, presumably to start yelling again, she looked up and saw Gawain. He motioned for her to be quiet. He should have known it was useless. Some people are just beyond help.
"Pigs! You're both pigs!!" She screamed with such force it caused the chief bully to spill from the flask he was just lifting.
