I heard a sharp knock at the door.

"Come in, I said loudly." I was lying leisurely on my bed, which was resplendent in dark blue and gold. I felt like a queen whenever I touched it. The door slowly opened, and Will came in.

"Dinner, my lady". He looked at the floor when he said this.

"My lady? What are you talking about?" I asked, wondering if he was playing a joke on me. I sat up on the bed, with my feet hanging over the edge. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"Joke? No, of course not, my lady." I looked at him, bewildered as why he was acting like this. He didnt seem to be lying, I could tell from his eyes.

"Well, if youre not playing a joke, then why all the formality? Youre acting different from before."

"I simply forgot my place before, my lady. I have found it again." His eyes still gazed downward.

"What place? What are you talking about? And please, dont call my my lady, call me Meryll, because thats my name."

"You are the queen." It was a start.

"So what? Im still a person. I liked you when you acted normal, not like some idiot from the middle ages," I told him.

"Really? You dont care?" He seemed amazed at the fact that I wanted to be treated normally.

"Yes, I mean it, and no, I dont care! I really dont want to be queen at all, but it doesnt look like I have a choice, with no one else to take the throne." Will finally looked at me, and I held his gaze with mine.

"Well, anyway, dinner will be served in a few moments, so you might want to change into something else-not that it matters, because youre the queen and can do whatever you want-"

"Okay, okay. Ill change. But can you not mention my being queen, because Id rather not think about it."

"Sure, whatever you want, Meryll." He grinned, and then backed out of my room. I walked over to the armoire in the corner. I hadnt really given it a thought until now. I pulled on a gold handle, and saw that there were at least a dozen gowns hanging in there. Magic, I thought. They must have spelled it to make the inside larger than it appears. I knew I had to hurry, but couldnt help but look at the gowns in awe, they were so beautiful. I finally pulled out a pale green one, with a gathered skirt and a wide neck. It was the plainest one I could find; all the others had jewels or golden thread on them. I put on the dress, and was amazed to find that it fit me perfectly. The waist tapered down perfectly at my waist, the sleeves were the exact length. After I was finished marveling at the dress, I realized that I couldnt wear my sneakers with this dress, although it would be a miracle if anyone noticed through the inches of fabric. I scanned the room, wondering where they might keep some shoes. I didnt expect to find them there, but in the drawer beneath the gowns in the armoire, was a pair of shoes. Heels, exactly the color of my dress, and exactly my size. I put them on, to find that they were extremely comfortable, pulled my hair up into a bun on the back of my head, and rushed out of my room wondering where the dining hall would be.

It was not hard to find. The double doors were wide open, and every seat, save for the one at the head of the table, was filled. I entered the room, and everyone was silent and standing up. My cheeks were on fire as I took my seat, which was pulled out and pushed in by a butler. Immediately, everyone sat down, but they were still silent. I figured now was the best chance Id have to tell them to treat me normally.

"Um, good evening. I have something that I would like you all to know," I began horribly. They were bound to think I was the worst queen ever. "I, um, would like you all to, um, just treat me normal, please. No my lady, or your highness, or whatever. Er, thats all." I resumed my seat. I looked down at the napkin in my lap, hoping no one had seen or noticed that my cheeks were flaming.

"Meryll, could you please pass me those mashed potatoes?" Will asked, from the other end of the long table. Every dish was now filled with food of all sorts. I quickly closed my mouth; it was hanging open in awe of all the food. Will started to laugh at the look on my face, so I passed him the potatoes, hoping that they would glue his mouth shut. Just then, someone else spoke to me.

"You wouldnt mind passing me the rolls, would you, Meryll?" I smiled and handed them the rolls. I guess Will had broken the ice. Everyone was talking and laughing now, I just wish that I was included. My thought must have shown on my face, because Will started up a conversation with me right across the room.

"So, Meryll, why dont you tell me something about yourself. Whats your favorite food? Favorite sport? Favorite thing to do when youre bored?" I laughed. I could tell he was joking, but I decided to play along anyway.

"Well, my favorite food is pasta, my favorite sport is hockey, and my favorite thing to do when I'm bored is listen to the radio or read," I said with a smile. After that, dinner was quite enjoyable. I started up conversations with people around me, and made some new friends within the palace.

When dinner was over, Will came over and said that he wanted to show me something, and to close my eyes. He put his hand over them, just to make sure I didnt peek. He put his hand on my arm, and we walked for a while. I was beginning to wonder where the heck he was taking me, when I felt the chill of the cool night air on my skin. We walked a little bit more, and he removed his hand from my eyes.

"You can open your eyes now," Will said softly. I looked around and gasped. We were standing in a beautiful garden. There were roses of all colors and many fountains, that were lit by an invisible source. The ground beneath my feet was cobblestone, and I walked along it a few feet to smell a rose. My nose was filled with the sweet fragrance of the rose. I closed my eyes, and imagined myself in a fairy tale where nothing was wrong, and I was in love with a handsome prince. I turned and looked at Will. He was staring at me. I looked away, and walked further into the garden. I saw more and more flowers, many of which I had never seen before. I took a deep breath through my nose to smell the lightly perfumed air. I looked up into the sky, and saw millions of tiny stars winking at me, as if they were saying hello to the new night. The moon was full and white. It cast a glow over everything, empowering the feeble light that the stars were giving off. I finally forced my mind to return to Earth. I looked at Will again. This time, instead of looking at me, he was looking at the sky. I realized that he looked like a prince, standing there with the moonlight touching his face. He must have felt me looking at him, because he tore his gaze away from the night and looked at me with a smile on his lips. I smiled back, and moved toward him.

"Thank-you," I said softly. I felt that if I had spoken any louder, I would has disrupted something. We walked back to the palace together, out pinky fingers just barely touching.

* * *

"Good morning!" A loud voice said. It was a woman. I groaned and rolled over with my pillow over my head.. It couldnt be any later than seven oclock!

"Get up, get up, get uuuuup!!!" The woman said again in a singsong voice. I peeked out from under my pillow refuge. It was a plump, motherly-looking woman. She was bustling around, laying out clothes and shoes for me.

"Now, lets not be a grump! Its time to get up!" She yanked the blankets off of me, and then pulled off my pillow, with a bit of work. I had nothing to hide under now, so I put my arms over the back of my head.

"Well!" She said happily, but indignantly. The woman yanked the sheets out from under me, so that I rolled off the bed and onto the floor.

"Ow! Okay, I'm up!" I grumbled, rubbing my backside.

I" have laid out your clothes for the day over there on the back of the chair. Today, you will be riding with mister Will. If you cannot ride a horse, he will teach you." Will? I get to spend the riding horses with Will! What could be more fun?

"Oh, and by the way, my name is Martha, dear. Here, let me help you up." She offered a hand, and I took it.
It's nice to meet you, Martha, I said. She looked astonished. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Oh no, dear, its nothing." Ohh, I thought. Its because shes a maid and Im the queen. Yes, that must be it. Martha left the room, so I could get dressed. I pulled on some riding trousers and shirt, put on some boots she had left out for me, and brushed my hair. Martha hadnt said where or when I would meet Will, so I wandered out of my room into the entrance hall.

"Meryll!" Will called. Come on, I have some food that we can eat later. Are you ready to go?

"Yeah, I think so. I, uh, havent ever ridden a horse before," I said, a little embarrassed.

"Thats okay. I can teach you- its not hard."

"Okay." I followed him out to the stables, where he handed me a helmet.

"This is Oelwein," He said, gesturing to a light-colored horse behind him. You can ride her. Shes very tame, and I'm sure shell like you. As for himself, he took out a deep brown horse, whom he called Berwyn. Will saddled up Oelwein for me, and helped me up. Next to me, he climbed up onto Berwyn, and started out of the stable at a leisurely gait. I followed.

"Now, riding these horses is much simpler that riding a horse you may have seen at home. These have magic in their blood, and will go wherever you want them to with barely even a tug of the reins. Oelwein is our mellowest horse, and a big suck-up. Just watch. When we start eating, shell act as sweet as ever, because she wants some of your food." I laughed. Who ever heard of a suck-up horse? Will started to go a little faster, and a little faster again, until Oelwein and Berwyn were galloping at full speed. I loved the feeling of the wind in my hair and on my face. I felt so free. Will and I rode for a distance, until he slowed Berwyn down and stopped on a lush, green hill.

"Lets have lunch. I brought sandwiches," He said, climbing down from his horses back. I did the same. We sat down in the grass and enjoyed the fragrant breeze on our faces. I couldnt think of a happier moment than that one.

"You know, I think I could just lie here forever, in the grass with the flowers and the clouds. Its so peaceful." I said.

"It is. I think I could stay here forever too."

"Sometimes I just want to get away from everything and everyone, and just go somewhere. When I was at home, I'd dream of places like this, where I could be by myself, or perhaps with a close friend." I closed my eyes.

"I wouldnt blame you if you wanted to come here now, all alone."

"I think I'd bring someone with me; it might get lonely without any company except for the birds."

"Who?"

"You." I said carelessly. Will was silent, and so was I. The sun had reached its peak, and was now descending slowly.

"We had better start heading back now. Dinner will be served soon." Will said. We packed up the remains of our lunch, and rode back toward the castle.

When we arrived back, everyone was already in the dining hall. Will and I rushed to our rooms to change. I opened the armoire, and found that all the gowns were different! I quickly chose a dark purple one, with a gold plait at the square neck, and one at the waist. It wasnt very fancy, which was good. It was curve-hugging, and had no frills or lace on it, and it wasnt poofy. I slipped on some purple heels, which were in the same place as last night, and hurried off to dinner.