Playing Music

[Snack Addict]

Stephanie's Story ~ Playing Music:

Alio sighed in her throne, leaning down farther, bored by the minstrel.

"Dad, please go to the next one. Minstrels give me a headache." Alio begged her father, the king, who sat beside her.

The king thought a moment, and announced, "Bring in the next group."

The Kingdom of Nostrem was holding tryouts, where anyone could go to the castle on this day and preform anything they want. If they please the King and his daughter, they get the job. If anyone else is good, too, but someone else is better, they get the job of entertaining neighboring kingdoms.

A girl, about 15, with long blonde hair with natural brown highlights in a ponytail walked in, with a brown dress on. It had white stripes on dark brown on it's skirt, and the top was light brown. The sleeves were the same light brown color, and were ruffled. Her eyes were amber, and looked a little nervous. She carried a tamborine. Another girl followed her, and behind this girl was two guards who were carrying a harp for the second girl.

The second girl had curly red hair and blue eyes, and also looked nervous. She was wearing a normal purple gown, with the skirt purple and the top lavender. It didn't have any sleeves.

The two guards put the harp down, and one of the guards put a stool besdie the harp. The girls curtsied to Alio and the King, and the first girl said, "I am Deria and a dancer." Then the second girl said, "And I am Inna and a harp player." The girls bowed their heads, and stood up. The first girl turned her back to Alio and the king, and put her tamborine in the air, and her leg out beside her, in a ready stance. The second girl went over to her harp and sat beside it and put her hands on it.

Then Inna started playing the harp, in soothing notes. Then Deria started dancing, and every fourth count she would hit her tamborine. Her dancing was smooth and sweet, and her hair, which went down to her waist, flowed along with her in the ponytail. Then a third girl came onto the floor in the middle of the dancing and curtsied, and started singing. She stood to the side of Deria, and was singing beautifully.

Then the music slowed, and Deria's dancing was slower as well. Then the new thrid girl stopped singing, and Deria hit her tamborine one last time, and stopped. The music played a while longer, and then stopped as well. the whole court, who was watching as well, started clapping.

Alio looked to her dad, smiling brightly. "I like them dad, they're good."

The king looked at her, and asked loudly, "You are very good indeed, but who is this girl?" The third girl had a pink dress on, with a dark pink ruffled skirt and a light pink top. Her sleeves were also light pink and ruffled. Her hair was in a ponytail as well, and her hair was brown. She was the same age as the other girls, about 15, and had green eyes.

She curtied and answered, "Lily, sire. I am the singer, as you can tell. I got here late because the guards at the gate refused to let me in. I believe they were drunk, sire. I came a little after my sisters because I had to pick up this new dress."

The king fingered with his beard, with wasn't very long at all, and whispered something to the guard at his right. The guard nodded, and motioned to three other guards to follow him, and they left.

"I sent them to find out if you're story is true." The king explained, though he didn't have to explain if he didn't want to.

Deria, Lily, and Inna all came together and all three smiled. Inna was blushing from the King's praise, and Deria was smiling form her dancing, which she obviously loved. Lily was smiling because they would most likely get the job, once the guards told the king her story was true.

The guard came back and said to the king, "The guards at the gate were indeed drunk, sire. I've replaced them with the three guards I took with me. I dismissed them." And the king nodded, then the guard stood beside the throne again.

The king smiled, and announced, "My guard says your story is true. Welcome to the castle!" And Alio smiled brighter.

"Thank you, sire!" Inna said, and all three curtsied.

"Kerion, please escort these ladies to their new chambers in the west wing." The king said loudly, and the guard beside him motioned to three more guards again, and they went down to the girls. Two of the guards picked up the harp, another took the stool, and they walked off the floor.

"Next," The king said, and before hte next group came on Alio asked, "Can I go meet the new girls, dad?" And the king nodded, giving her leave to go.

[Snack Addict]

Alio nodded and got up. She left the court and walked down a long hallway. She knew where their rooms were, she chose them out herself. She finally came to the main room, all three bedrooms connected to one main room which also had a fourth door to the bathroom, and knocked on the door. She heard happy laughter inside.

"Come in!" Sang Inna. Alio opened the door and smiled. All three girls were there and smiled at Alio.

"Want to join us?" Deria asked. She was holding a bottle of wine and Inna was holding Deria's tamborine. Inna shook the tamborine a few times and Lily danced a few steps.

"Sometimes we like to switch roles and see just how horrible we are!" Lily laughed as Inna, not in a very good rythem, played the tamorine against her leg as she took a drink ofher own wine. Deria laughed and grabbed Alio's hand.

"Come on!" She laughed, and danced around Alio and danced over to a table. There were a few more drinks on it and she took one and handed it to Alio.

"Celebrate with us!" Inna laughed as Lily was dancing horribly. Lily fell on the ground, and sat there, laughing too hard to stand up.

Alio smiled and laughed and said, "I can't drink yet, but I'll party like I am drunk!" Lily nodded, as if the response made her happy.

"Now play her harp!" Deria laughed. Deria took Inna's tamborine and started playing it. Inna and her danced together while Lily and Alio stood on the sidelines, clapping to the beat.

***

"I've never had so much fun!" Alio exclaimed after a long time of dancing and playing music. They were all sitting on the two couches, talking about what they were going to do now.

Alio's comment was ignored for a while, until Deria burst out, "You still haven't told us who you are! Are you a Lady or someone?"

Alio's smile was wiped off her face. 'They don't know! Oh, no! Now they'll be all fancy around me and not have fun. But I can't lie.'

She sighed, "My name is Alio. I'm the princess."

Lily smiled bigger and put out her hand, "Welcome, sister Alio! Welcome to our party whcih is pretty much over!"Alio shook her hand and Lily laughed, throwing her head back. She relaxed against the armrest of the couch, putting her feet up on Deria's lap.

"So, sister Alio, what are your plans for the furture? Marry some handsome guy? Or rule this kingdom all by yourself?" Lily asked, leaning her head back on the armrest. Deria shoved Lily's feet off her lap, and Lily laughed.

Alio smiled, happy they still accepted her, "I don't know. I haven't really thought about it."

[Snack Addict]

Deria answered, still logical after her drinking, "Well, you shoudl think about it. This whole kingdom rests on your decision. You might accedentily choose a guy who will control you and rule this country alone, without your say in anything. Or, do you think you're a good enough judge to determine if someone truely loves you for you and won't take advantage of you? Or, do you think you can rule this country alone? Think about that. But I think you should leave now, so we can get some sleep. Look," She pointed to Inna, who was fast asleep on Deria's lap.

Alio nodded, and stood up. "I'll think about it. Hey, does this party mean we're friends?" She asked.

Deria and Lily nodded, and Lily layed down on the whole couch, and, refusing to go to her bed, fell asleep right then and there. Deria motioned with her hands for Alio to leave. When Alio opened the door, she took one last look at the sisters. Deria had already fallen asleep on Inna's back, and Lily was snoring. Alio chuckled to herself, and stepped out of the room.

[Snack Addict]

Alio walked down the hallway, singing a tune to herself that her mother had taught her. She stopped by her father's private chamber.

"Dad?" She asked, knocking. She knocked loud enough so he'd wake up if he were asleep.

After a moment of silence she repeated louder, and with a harder knock, "Dad!" Still silence. Alio opened the door, and gasped in horror. She screamed, long and loud.

"DAD!" She yelled, rushing to the corpse of her father. Blood was all over the carpet, and the blood was originating from various wounds all over him. It looked as if he had suffered greatly before his death. He had gotten stabbed on each arm and leg, and then one to the stomach and a lethal one to the heart. Just for measure, the murderer slashed his neck as well.

"DADDY!" Alio screamed, and guards poured in. Seeing the dead king, they all knelt, and prayed shortly to God to forgive his soul. Then they stood and a few picked up the dead body, to carry it away to clean the scene before the servants arrived to spread the word.

[Snack Addict]

But the guards were too late. A maid had passed by, and saw the dead body. It was all over the castle in minutes.

Alio was finally coaxed back to her bed to sleep, though her dreams were filled with zombies and crowns attacking her.

She woke up sweating just as the sun rising, in her nightmare she was being pushed off a cliff. She wiped her forehead and got out of bed. She got dressed and brushed her hair, and went down to the mess hall. Today she would eat alone. Her mother had died giving birth to her, and her father loved her mother too much to marry someone else.

Everyone bowed to her on her way down, and it was then she relaized why crowns were attacking her in her dream. She was going to be queen, and that meant she had to marry. 'But I'm not ready to marry anyone yet!'

"Princess Alio, the royal council would like to talk to you after your breakfast." A guard told her as she walked into the mess hall. Alio looked at the food, and realized she wasn't hungry.

"I'll see them now." She said, and the guard led her to the other end of the palace, to the royal council room.

[Snack Addict]

Alio walked in, before they could announce her. She abruptly took a seat before they could invite her to sit.

"Hello, council members. Are you having a good day?" She asked politely, different from the rudeness she just did. They all grudgingly nodded. She frowned. "I didn't. My father just died, making me queen. How can I do this?" She asked herself, and then answered, "Because it's what he would have wanted. He always talked about it to me, you know. So, what am I here for?"

One of the council members stood up, and said, "We are here to discuss your rights, princess."

Alio raised one of her eyebrows, "Rights? Which rights?"

"Your right to rule, princess." The council member said slowly, "We have always had male rulers. We are thinking to let the Duke Edward rule instead."

Alio stood up, her hands on the table, her eyes blazing with fury. "So, because I am a girl you think I am inferior to you males? Is that it? Or, is it because you're afraid of me. Everyone knows my father was doing things the council dis-agreed with. And of course you're thinking I'll do the same things. Which I will, because I will rule my kingdom. And if any of you wish to challenge that, so be it!"

The council member had already sat down, and all of them were uneasy. None of them expected the princess to be this way. They thought she was still the little girl she had always acted like around her father. Now they knew it was just an act. She had wanted to savor being a child, so in public she acted like one. But alone they must have conversed together, women and father, not child and father.

No one objected her.

She looked at each of them in turn, and each shook their head. "Good. Now, all of you can talk together about this for weeks on end, but it doesn't matter. I give you till dinner to decide whether you're going to support me or not. But I tell you this now: I will fight with everything I have to honor my father's last wishes. He and I talked the night before his death. That was his last wish, and I shall honor it. What the rest of you do is completely up to you." She ended her speech, and walked out of the room, leaving behind a bunch of baffled men, including the guards.

[Snack Addict]

Alio left, and returned to the mess hall. When she entered, all the people in it stood and bowed, and then returned to their meals. Alio could see at the servants table Deria, Lily, and Inna, having fun even at breakfast. How she envied them. 'All you have to do is play music. While I have to convince the block-headed council to let me obey my father, and then rule a kingdom alone.'

Alio sat down in her father's throne, her normal chair empty. She took some scrambled eggs and toast and ate them slowly, thinking. She was thinking about many things, mostly about her father.

Just then Inna noticed her, and stood up. The sisters were done eating, and they walked over to Alio. But two guards stopped them, saying they could see her on market-day, when all peasants could speak with her. Deria insisted, saying Alio was their friend. The guard laughed and told them to go away.

"Wait. Let them through," Alio ordered, and the guard looked at her, astonished.

"But, your majesty..." He stuttered, "These are peasants."

"I can see that, thank you. Let them through," She ordered again. The guards grumbled and let the sisters through.

"Sorry about that," Alio told them, and said, "I think it would be best if we went to my room now."

"So that everyone doens't see you talking to peasants. Okay, we understand." Lily said.

"No, no! It's just that I'm being spied on by the council, and they could use you as a reason to not let me rule."

Deria stared at her, and looked around the room, and saw several guards looking at Alio as if memorzing the moment. Deria nodded, and the four hurried to Alio's room.

[Friday]

((pretty good, see I read it. lol.))

[Snack Addict]

((Finally! Thank you. I'm pretty sure if I didn't pm anyone about it no one woudl have read it at all.))

[Friday]

((I would've eventually but I've been trying to ctach up to two message boards and it gets really hard...))

[Snack Addict]

They got to her room, and they all sat down on Alio's bed.

"You've got some explaining to do," Lily told Alio, and she nodded.

"As you probably know, my dad was murdered last night, though by who we don't know yet. But I'm going to find out. Anyway, the night before he died me and him talked together, as we did often. He told me he wanted me to rule in his steed, and when I turned 16 I would get the crown from him, but if I married before then I would rule with my husband. He also said he would never choose a husband for me without my permission, he never liked how some men treated their wives and knew that the worst men would be nice to him so he'd never know. So he'd let me choose.
Anyway, this morning I woke up and was summoned to the council chamber. I went and they told me that they thought a man should rule, either I marry or some duke rules instead. Of course, I told them all about my father's last wishes and explained to them the unfairness of it, and I think I rather surprised them, my being only 14. And then I left for them to discuss it, and I'm pretty sure this is going to be a long political war between me and the council."

All three sisters pondered this for a moment, and Inna was the first to speak. "I think you need to give a speech to the city before the council does, and explain to the kingdom about everything. Don't lie, tell the whole truth and every bit of the truth. The more they know the more likely they will support you and not the council. I would also suggest trying to find a husband. But that's just because I think that at a point like this in your life you need romance and something to take your mind off this political 'war', and a man isexactly what you need. But what you have to do is let us investigate and psy on your boyfriend, to make sure he just isn't a seducing man who just wants your crown. You'll have to pay attention to us, though. Agreed?"

All three nodded, and Inna smiled. Alio replied, "Alright, I'll schedule the speech for tommorrow, and the day after tommorrow I'll search for a boyfriend." Deria stood up, and said her goodbye's, and Lily and Inna followed her out the door.

[Friday]

((I like Inna, she reminds me of me.0

[Snack Addict]

((Yeah))

[Snack Addict]

Alio sighed, and went over to her desk and sat down. She opened a drawer and took out a quill and ink. Then she opened another drawer, and put her ahdn in the back of it. She felt around until she found a string. She pulled the string, and under the desk a compartment opened. Alio moved her legs out of the way, and got the diary inside the secret compartment. She opened the diary. It was already a little over half full of writing.

Alio dipped her quill in the ink, and started writing.

Father and I were seeing which peasants would make the best entertainers when I met Deria, Inna, and Lily. The sisters are great music players and dancers! Deria is a beautiful dancer, and Inna is great at the harp. I haven't ever heard such beautiful music before! And after the beautiful music stops Lily plays her tamborine. She's great at making a beat! And then Deria danced wildly, yet still beautiful, in a way. Anyway, after their performance father and I agreed they would get the job. I left to welcome them to the castle. That night we had a grand time playing! When they have fun, they try to play each other's parts! Deria is horrible at the tamborine, and Lily couldn't dance to save her life. Inna has probably never taken one harp lesson ever! But when I left to say goodnight to Father, a horrible thing happened. I saw my father dead on the floor of his chambers.
A few tears fell into the diary, and Alio quickly wiped them away and continued.
If there is a heaven, my father certainly went to it. I've never known a man, father or brother or any other type of man, to be so nice and understanding and smart. The council refuses to let me rule, but as that was my father's last wish, I gave them a verbal beating about it. They wanted some spoiled Duke to rule. I bet he can't even get dressed in the morning's without help. It's morning now, the night after Father died and just before breakfast was when I gave them my speech. I suppose I should go; I'm probably expected to do something, like prepare my coronation. Tommorrow I'm making a speech (Deria's idea) and the day after that I'm going to try to find a husband (Inna's idea). I'm going to listen to what the sisters tell me about my boyfriend, as they're going to spy on him so that I will know if he just wants me for my crown. Goodbye for today.

And with that, Alio signed her signature just below it. She kept the diary open to let it dry, and put up the quill and ink.

[Snack Addict]

After the ink dried, Alio returned her diary to the compartment. Then she stood up, and went to her door. Just as she was about to leave, someone knocked on her door. She opened it to see a man there, a very tall and handsome man there.

"Hello," Alio said, and the man smiled a bright smile.

"Hey," His voice was deep, and he was the most perfect-looking man Alio had ever seen before.
"I'm Duke Edward. I'm the man to rule in your place. I just thought I'd like to see who I booted off the crown." He looked her up and down, making Alio feel like all he saw of her was competition and her body. "Man, you sure are hot. Maybe you could be my queen." He said, lifting up her chin. Alio tried to slap his hand away, but he grabbed her hand. With the hand that held the chin he moved it down to touch her breast.

Alio ripped her hand out of his grasp and slapped his hand that was on her breast, and stepped back.

"Hey! Watch it! You just hit your king! And not to mention you're a girl hitting me, a man! You're a Lady hitting a King! I should have you thrown in the dungeon!" He yelled, grabbing her arm.

Alio replied, "Maybe you should get a reality check, King." She mockingly bowed, "That I am the Queen here and that do I look like I care that you're a man?" She punched him in the stomach, and then in the face. "And you never think again about touching me." Edward's face turned red, and then he walked into her room and shut the door. He locked the door, and turned to face her.

"Look here, Lady Alio," He said, "You know how many women I have raped? A lot. And you're going to be the next one. After that, you'll have to dissapear. Just like I killed your father, you'll be killed too." He said, then quickly grabbed her hand and pulled out some rope hidden in his pocket. He quickly bound her hands and stuffed his handkercheif in her mouth.

Alio looked at him with fearful eyes, knowing she wouldn't like what was coming. He pushed her into the bed.