In Which Janna Shares her Plan

 Last Time:

“I must tell Porsha about Miss Barley’s suspicions,” I thought to myself, “We must be more careful or else the king will know of Porsha’s lies, and that would not be good for the peace treaty…”

   ~ 

The king began again, “In order to sustain the aforesaid treaty the King has offered his sister to be the wife of my son.” 

This was preposterous, what was my brother thinking!!!

Janna
By: Brittney

I looked up in shock and I almost dropped the platter of pork in my hands. My mouth hung open.
I looked at Princess Porsha and she looked like she was about to drop out of her seat in a faint.
I lifted my eyes to the young man who had just walked through the door. He was tall, muscular, and handsome. But his good looks stopped at his deep scowl and crossed arms. I rolled my eyes, yep he was one of those guys who thought he owned the world and that he was the best man on earth. I looked at Porsha with sympathy. I knew that she wouldn't want to marry this idiot.
I sighed; there was really nothing I could do.
I snapped out of my thoughts as soon as I heard the king announce the weddings date. I figured it would be a few years but I was wrong.

" The princess Porsha will be married to my son on the twentieth day of the fourth month..."

I gasped in shock; that was only one month away!
Porsha looked like she was a ghost because she had gone so pale, and the kings son!?! Well... He was still wearing his ridiculous scowl.

I couldn't believe this, right when I though I was going to have a friend, her brother has to sign her off to a dreadful prince.

There must be something we can do to stop this wedding...

Porsha

 By: Me

I retired from the table as soon as I could and told his “highness” the king goodnight he returned it with a wave of his pudgy hand and his son smirked echoing his odious father’s wave and waltzing out of the room with a promise to speak to me tomorrow…I’d have to make sure to be away from the castle tomorrow…if that were even possible.

The prince was more than I could take I gripped Janna’s hand and pulled her out of the room after me…I could hear the kings laughter behind I frowned and hurried away faster.

When I reached my room I asked Janna if there was anything we could do about it, she smiled. “I was hoping you’d ask….I’ve just had a magnificent idea, it won’t exactly help you current situation but it will give us some time to think properly about an answer and get you out of this.”

“Well what is it?” I asked impatiently. “Will I still have to talk to that “prince” tomorrow?”

“Regrettably yes…that is if you don’t want to offend him and his father which would undoubtedly make them trust your brother even less but… I can almost guarantee you won’t have to look at his proud face for about a week.”

“I’ll take it, now what’s you plan?”

“Okay so you know how the king has a week set for you to journey south to his estate so that you may see a little more of his kingdom…he was going to have me and a woman named Lady Francis escort you to there but…I can make it so it’s tomorrow, I have here an urgent notice of hers that she would like you to come much sooner as she is going to be redecorating the estate at the originally planned time…she will be sending a carriage directly.” She paused while I took this in. “Unfortunately she canceled that plan and she doesn’t see how she can have you over at any time, but fortunately for you I apprehended that letter and I can burn it before any see it. I have a friend in one of the carriage drivers after I present this letter to the king he will pick us up in one of the carriages and take us outside the city, stop double around through an alley and take us to my home where I’ll disguise you so well that not even snooty Miss Barely could recognize you. The king never leaves the castle…and as for the prince the only way he’d recognize anyone is if they’re either dripping in jewels or begging for his attention. After that we’ll have  a week to go around the city spreading the word that you my cousin Scarlet…who knows maybe I can somehow forge Lady Francis’s handwriting (goodness knows it’s terrible) and send word to the king that she likes you so much she’d like to have you stay another week!”

My face was beaming by now and I clasped Janna’s hands excitedly. “Please put your plan into action as soon as possible. Oh, I cannot wait. I must pack immediately!”

I fell asleep instantly that night with an anxious excited heart…

Maybe I wouldn’t have found it so easy to fall asleep that night if I’d have known the dangers that lay ahead.

In Which I Find Out Something Shocking

Janna
By: Brittney

I walked down the palace’s corridor away from Princess Porsha’s room when Miss Barley stopped me.
“What do you think you are doing young lady!?!’ She asked her plump hands on her wide waist, “today is your day off.’
Miss Barley was the head maid of the castle and was in charge of all the other maids; she was often a great nuisance…. Make that all the time.
I rolled my eyes. “I was just checking in on the princess,’ was my blunt reply.
Miss Barley’s eyes scanned me critically as if I was a common criminal, ‘The Princess has been missing for a few hours, and the whole castle was in an uproar! I heard she had been in the Library the whole time, yet I had already checked that room.”
I gave Miss Barley a sly smile, “She probably was just taking a break to use the privy.” I said in a smart tone.
Miss Barley snorted, “and where were you then?’ She asked.
I cringed at all her questions; she was making me feel guilty for lying, ‘I just arrived a few moments prior to her recovery.” I said calmly.
Miss Barley looked over me again and then turned on her heels, “I don’t believe you Miss Janna! And believe me I’ll find out what you two girls have been up too and I’ll report it to the king! You can’t hide anything from me!”
I shivered and then ran down the stairs and out the palaces gate; I needed to get home before Hosea wondered where I was.
“I must tell Porsha about Miss Barley’s suspicions,” I thought to myself, “We must be more careful or else the king will know of Porsha’s lies, and that would not be good for the peace treaty…”

Porsha

By: Me

As soon as we were safely in my chambers I told Janna what had taken place in the throne room and then she told me of her own time to which I wasn’t sure what to make of.

“I feel like a prisoner…even more than at home” I groaned.

“Well we’re going to have to get creative then.” Janna said decisively nodding her head. “I’ll do all I can so that you can escape this dingy old castle without those tyrants noticing.”

“But not today,’ I said thinking. ‘I have to attend a feast in less than an hour.”

“Alright then tomorrow, unless something prevents us.”

I nodded in compliance than frowned, “You’ll have to be at the feast to attend me…sorry.”

“That’s okay I can sneak notes to you that way.” I smiled.

~~~~>P<~~~~

The feast began promptly at 8 o'clock and it was at 8:30 that something truly terrible happened.

I looked down at my plate smiling as I read the slip of paper Janna had just laid on my plate, but just as I was about to write a reply on the other side the king thumped a huge hand on the hard wooden table.

“Friends and honored guests tonight I wish to tell you of the peace treaty I have signed with the Terabithian King.” I looked up confused, who didn’t know about that yet? Surely it had been told to all present before my arrival? The king began again, “In order to sustain the aforesaid treaty the King has offered his sister to be the wife of my son.”

He turned his red head over to the handsome youth who had just entered, and I could tell just by looking at his cocky face that he knew it.”

I gaped at the boy then his father and then whirled around to look at Janna who looked equally amazed. I was not going to marry that…that boy I had heard tales of Prince Charles and how he thought the world revolved around him.

This was preposterous, what was my brother thinking!!!

In Which I Find Sewers a Useful Way of Breaking into Castles

Janna
By: Brittney

Me and Porsha peeked out from behind a pile of flour bags outside of the palace’s gates. Guards surrounded the whole palace.
"How can we get in unseen?' Porsha whispered to me, ‘and then when we do what shall I say? If my brother finds out that I was in the market alone, he’ll be so angry!”
“I don’t know about what you’re going to say, but I have an idea about how we can get in.” I said, “But I don’t think you’ll like it.”
“What is it?” she asked, ‘we must hurry!’
“the only possible way in without being seen would be through… the…uh…’
“The…?” Porsha said prodding me on.
“The sewer” I said wrinkling my nose.
Porsha made a discussed face and then sighed, “I guess we 'have' to do 'have' we got to do. But we must hurry, if I don’t show up soon my brother might blame your king for kidnapping me, you know how our countries don't trust each other!”
“You're right,” I said, “Come on I’ll show you the way to the opening.”

We turned a few corners until we came upon a smelly opening near the palace’s walls.
I plugged my nose, and pulled my wild red hair back over my shoulders so it wouldn’t get filth in it.
I looked over at Porsha who was looking at the sewage in disgust.
“Come on,” I said, “This tunnel leads up to the privy which is right across the hall from your room.”
“ All right, I hope this works.”

Porsha

By: Me

I hoped it worked too my eyes and ears were already full of enough stink to kill an army and I didn't want to find out how long it took to kill a princess...uh stinks.

Finally we were able to get out of the sewage system and climb in through a sewage window not far from my room and you can be sure that I immediately took a bath and scrubbed so hard that when I came out Janna insisted I was redder than the color itself I merely shook my head and urged her to take a bath as well and as she did so I made my way to the throne room where I could see a very fat and very pompous looking man fuming atop a way overdecorated throne.

"I WANT HER FOUND, I WANT HER BROUGHT HERE IN CHAINS THE NERVE, THE NERVE!!"

He turned his beet red face over to me and instantly it took on the expression of a calm and collected individual with all the grace and splendor or a skunk. "Why princess." He said folding his hands into each other with a smile so fake it could kill a puppy. "We have been looking all over for you, where have you been." 

"Oh, not far I was in the library." I lied, looking behind me where a guard was clearly wondering whether to arrest me or leave the room.

"Oh, go Jarvis can't  you see she's found, your false assumptions have caused much trouble amongst us."

The guard fled the room and I rolled my eyes. "Next time you leave your highness you might tell somewhere you are going so as to prevent so much worry." 

"Of course your highness." I said with my own fake smile. The king nodded with satisfaction in his eyes. "I'll have my ladies maid tell you." His smile dropped. 

"Well...yes, yes *ahem* that's fine." 

 I'd have to be more careful in future attempts I told myself  as I walked out to meet with Janna...

In which Akira meets Layla and Lai

Layla of Aaaaaaaa! will be featured in today's exciting chapter.

Everything was colder today and I kept wondering who would come to the forest now that it was open again. Would anyone come at all? Or would nobody come and I'd have to come to them, but this was silly because I'd never left the forest and never would because I was somehow attached to it my wanderings were centered around it, but wasn't I the reason that the forest was locked in the first place, so it being opened again did that mean I was supposed to leave? Many questions stirred in my head and I decided to see Aggy she might know about this she'd been here when the forest was first closed so maybe she'd know why it was open now.

End of Chapter 1...

I turned to leave for Aggy's tree when suddenly I saw a pair of dark silhouettes ahead of me I slowly made my way up a nearby tree and perching on it I looked down to see what had caught my attention.

 Chapter 2
The Villagers

I suppose you could say that until this point I'd never seen another human being besides myself and Aggy and be absolutely correct though it seems silly to say it, so when I saw this girl and boy down below I was pretty shaken in fact I nearly lost my grip on the branch I was on which caused the people to look up and then they saw me. 

"You there in the trees, who are you?"  The girl called.

I opened my mouth to say something but closed it again deciding if I was going to speak to these people it would be best to do it in person so I jumped from my perch landing squarely in front of them and touched my finger to my forehead as is the traditional forest greeting. "I am called Akira...." I paused seeking the right words to follow it up. "The Wandering Forester."  it was rather a rough description but a plausible one. 

"I am Layla, and this is my brother Lai...The Villagers...do you live here?"
  
I nodded slowly. " I have never been able to leave." 

"Really." The boy cut in suspiciously.

"Yes." I replied curtly. "I wouldn't lie." 

"Hmmph." 

"Quit it!" Layla nudged her brother aside. "Sorry my brother...reads to much." 

"That is not a bad thing." I looked behind me. "I...should probably ask why you are here." 

"Here? Why we're here to explore of course this place has been closed up for years!" Layla cried waving her arms in the air excitedly. "And now we have you to show us around, oh isn't this exciting!"

I held up my hand my hand for her to stop. "Sorry." The boy said now nudging the sister aside. "My sister...gets to excited." he emphasized the last part and she glared at him again but it wasn't long before she was smiling again. 

"Soooo...are you going to show us around." 

Suddenly I felt a wave pass over me. "You two." I gestured for them to get behind me. "Somethings coming, we should go we can talk at when we get to my tree." 


They followed anxiously behind both terribly unaware of the new danger that had just entered the forest.





Hey Layla I was thinking wouldn't it be cool if we wrote this one together how about you write the next part from Layla's point of view okay and then I'll follow it up with another chapter from Akira's sound good? Let me know in comments and I'll get a system set up :D  

Sorry, but more artwork

My new favorite of Marin I call it, Night at the Ball *obvious* 

If you guys were wondering what my drawing drifter days (That's a good name for them Storyteller)

look like here's one of my Doodle Pages.

and yeah that's all for today sorry.

If you have any posts you really want to see such as, more of Cathrine Weatherbane, My Life, or Poems write a request in comments and I'll try to meet those as best I can.

Thanks for reading :)