Raught arose from his bed early, just like he did every morning. Taking a look in the mirror, he examined a small scratch he had received during training a couple days before. It seemed to be healing just fine, so he let it be. He pulled on his shirt, and wrapped his belt firmly around his waste, the weight of his blade felt familiar and in place on his hip. Buckling on his chest plate, and gauntlets, he took one last look in his mirror. His hair was a silvery grey, and his skin very pale and light. A condition he was born with.

Stepping out of his chamber, Raught moved to a court yard, where his unit met every morning. Taking his position in the ranks, he stood at attention, and awaited the commanders orders.

"Morning boys. Today will be business as usual. Unless someone has something to report you are dismissed to your duties." The commander, an older knight, with a gruff grey beard, and a scar running the length of his right cheek, paused a moment before yelling, "Dissmissed!"

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Raught made his runs, around the castle. He was a young, and accomplished knight. Having only been knighted a year ago on his eighteenth birthday, he had already proven to possess incredible skill with a blade, and was up for appointment as an officer come his twenty first birthday. Of course it was to be expected of the son, of the kingdoms greatest general, Orsius Thacher.

Raught made his way through the Royal Dining Chamber, hoping to see her, the princess. He knew it wasn't his place, which is why he never acted upon it, but he had watched Princess Alana for years now. They had been close as children, seeing as their fathers were both good friends, but now he was a knight in service to the king, and had to remember his place. Raught paused for a moment, and looked out of a large window that over looked the kingdom. It was a beautiful sight, especially when the sun was still so low in the sky, giving the sparse clouds an angelic glow about them.

Alana was currently seated in the royal kitchen, on a stool. "Princess, you really should get out of here before your father comes in." One of the chefs commented. Alana's dress was lavender colored (and probably a little shorter then her father would of liked), and matching ballet flats were on her feet. Alana sighed. She had been sampling a pasta, that one of the new chefs had made. "It is simply gorgeous, Monsieur Delacour." Alana told the French Chef, before leaving the room. She ended up in the fancy hallway, in front of the dining room door. She stepped inside, and quickly shut the door behind her. Not realizing that someone else was in the room, Alana took a seat, near the end of a table, which was near the kitchen and she could smell the delicious meals cooking. Half her hair was pinned up, and the bottom layer was resting on her shoulders, a few strands dangling near her face. She politely sat there, waiting..hoping her father was doing something. So he couldn't yell at her and send her back up to her room for a few minutes..or an hour. Yes, that is what he used to punish her. Or she had to help clean or cook. The latter of the two, was fun. Cleaning, was not.

Raught found himself lost in the scene outside. Occasionally he would follow a cart with his eyes, thinking about where it could be going, or what business it had. He saw a kid steal a couple apples from a fruit stand, and was actually relieved when he got away. The whole kingdom sat before him, and it was so full of life. Raught did not notice the princess enter the room, but after a few minutes, he felt another presence near by, and spun around, prepared for anything.

"Aww, Princess Alana! I beg your pardon, I didn't realize you had come in." Raught bowed his head, and saluted with his arm across his chest. "If you will excuse me, I will see myself out." Raught began to make his way towards the door, but not without stealing a glance at the princess. She was beautiful to say the least, but his thoughts were foolish, and he quickly brushed them aside. He had a job to perform and that was to serve the royal family, he couldn't let himself get in the way of his mission.

Alana was startled at the sound of someone's voice and she glanced up. "No." She said softly. "You did not have to leave, just because I am in here. You deserve to be in here too." She said this, still sitting in her chair. Alana stood up, and headed for the small window that let her view the kitchen. "Monsieur Delacour?? Food would be greatly appreciated at this time of day." She opened the window, talking to him in a soft but appreciate voice. Her eyes flickered over to the knight. "What do you want, to eat?"

Raught paused immediately at the Princess's command of no. It was second nature to him to respond to royalty. Raught was taken off edge by the Princess offer of food. "Much appreciated your highness, but I've already eaten, and it wouldn't be proper for me to dine in here."

Raught stood tall, his arms to his side, and watched the Princess carefully. He had know her for a long time now, and knew she wasn't the type to bother with rules, and what was proper or in proper. He could already imagine what kind of mischief she was gonna get him into this morning.

It wouldn't be the first time she had done something to get in trouble. and it probably wouldn't be the last. As children, and even now that she was a proper princess, and he a knight, she still manage to find an occasion to cause trouble. Of course it would probably help if he was better at telling her no, but he wasn't so...

"Nevermind, Monsuier. It seems that food is no longer required. Dine on it yourself, I don't want it to go to waste." Alana told the chef, before shutting the window and turning to Raught. "You really, expect me, to care if it's proper or not? If it wasn't proper, you wouldn't of been in here, in the first place." Her eyes twinkled cheekly, before she headed for the door, stepped into the corridor, and shut the door. Before hurrying to find a door, that wouldn't be guarded. She wanted to go the pond and feed the fish. And the birds.

She reached the pond, and reached into her dress, pulling out some crumbs. She started to feed the animals, humming to herself.

Raught bit the inside of his cheek, desperately trying to keep his sharp comeback to himself. He knew she probably wouldn't of cared, but his father had taught him a lot about duty, honor, and being a true knight of the kingdom, so he kept it to himself and watched as the princess exited the room.

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Raught continued to patrol the kingdom, still annoyed by his earlier confrontation, but even more annoyed with the fact that he as annoyed at all. It bothered him that he let the princess get under his skin like that. AS he made his way around the West Wing of the castle, he ran into his good friend James., and the two exchanged greetings.

James and Raught had been friend for a long time. Their friendship had start in the town. James was being hassled by a couple older boys, and Raught had stepped in. Side by side, they had managed to whip the other boys, and a camaraderie was born that day that had never died. JAmes was a year younger than Raught and had just been granted his knighthood.

The two exchanged a little small talk, but duties had to resume, so the two parted ways, but not after deciding to have a sparring match in the near future.

Raught made his way around, and soon came across the Royal Gardens. He took a moment to appreciate the flowers, and shrubbery, before he noticed the Princess near the pond. He quickly dodged behind a pillar, and cursed himself for not being more careful. He knew this was one of the Alana's favorite spots. Raught stayed hidden for a few minutes, watching the princess, questioning why he felt the necessity to avoid her all the time. They had once been such good friends, but now and days, it seemed he was always trying his best to not find himself around her.

After a few minutes had passed, and he quarreled within his mind, Raught turned, making an attempt to leave.

Alana was stilll feeding the ducks, untill she acidentally stumbled, and she fell in the pond,going completly under and getting drenched.

(Sorry I haven't replied. I had a party at my apartment friday, and a freaking cocktail got dumped on my comp so I had to wait and buy a new one. And your unedited post was fine, but If you want to keep it edited thats fine too.)

(Uh, I want to keep it edited. And that's fine.)

Raught had turned to leave, when he heard a splash behind him. He quickly turned, worried for the princess's safety, but calmed when he had seen she had merely slipped into the pond. Quite humorous was the reactions of the ducks, who did not seem overjoyed by the intrusion to their space, or, more than likely, the abruptness with which it happened.

Raught couldn't help but chuckle as he made his way to the waters edge. "Your highness, I'm pretty sure going swimming in a dress is highly discouraged, especially when your choice of water holes is a duck pond." He reached out a hand, attempting to assist her, but at the same time, not unprepared for some attempted at payback for his remarks.

Although from this angle, even though her hair was now a mess, Raught couldn't help but notice how beautiful the princess was. 'Why must I always find myself in this situation?'

Alana reemerged, gasping for air. "Highy discouraged? Not for me." Alana giggled a little, as she slipped back under the water. Put she remmeged rather quickly again, her teeth chattering. The pond was freezing. Her dress kept on dragging her down and she kept on going under and up again. "I can't swim" Alana blurted out. Her father that it was unladylike to swim, so she never learnt. Alana's hair, was soaked and her cheeks had gone pink, because of the cold water. Goose bumps appeared on her face and her crazy hair was sticking to her pink cold cheeks. Alana started panicking as she slipped under the surface of the water once more, and she started taking short sharp breaths under the water, and she stupidly gulped at the water, before she appeared at the top of water, choking out the revolting water. "I CAN'T SWIM." Alana repeated as her cheeks became more pink and her teeth started chattering. She was about to become extremely sick, her father would be concerned and annoyed, and she'd be confined to her bed for a while, and she'd have to take horrible medicine. Her eyes glanced to Raught and her face show that she scared. She couldn't swim to the edge, she couldn't get out, she'd be in trouble and she'd be sick.

As soon as Raught saw the distress in the princess's eyes, he went into action.Saving a life was important, but wet armor would be useless. The knight's of the kingdom were all trained on the quickest way to remove their armor, and Raught put that into practice now. Reaching his arms across his chest, he quickly unbuckled his armor and pulled it over his head, and then with two quick shakes of his arms, his gauntlets slid off.

Diving into the water, he wrapped his arms around the princess, and lifted her to the surface. "You know, you may want to start small you know, like a puddle." Pulling Alana to the edge, Raught lifted her out of the water, and climbed out himself. The Princess wasc obviously freezing, and there was no immediate assistance so, Raught picked Alana up, craddling her, and began to find a room, that would have some blankets, and maybe even a bed.

Alana's teeth were still chattering. "I wasn't trying to fall in." She clung to Raught, as he walked her over to the castle, just as her father appeared. "What happened??" He demanded. " I f-f-f-f-f-f-fell in!" Alana chattered. "You silly girl!" Her father sighed and rolled his eyes at the sight of his shivering daughter.

Raught was glad to see the king, it would make this situation much easier. "Your majesty, what would you have me to do with her highness?"Raught felt rather awkward holding the princess's wet frame against his body, but the feeling of holding her was nice.

"Take her to her room. She needs to get out of the cold and those wet clothes. Summon a maid on your way up." The king said, before leaving.

When he left, Alana started shivering harder, and even started to cough, sniffling miserably. "I'll be bed ridden for days." She told him, scowling.

I know it's holidays and everything. But post..soon?