My Happily Ever After (Part 1)

         Hi. My name’s Jessica. I’m an orphan, and I live in Dublinshire. It’s a neat little town, one where everyone seems to know everyone else. Well, the orphanage isn’t right in town, it’s on the edge of town, near the forest.
         No one goes into the forest. The forest is… strange. People go in and they never come out. Only one person has come back after going in the forest. He’s considered crazy now. All he talked about after he got back was how he had gone back in time. That isn’t possible of course, so he’s been put in some asylum. I feel sorry for him.
         Anyway, Miss Owen is in charge of the orphanage. She’s a really nice lady who’s in her mid-thirties. Her hair is a beautiful blonde, but she always keeps it up in a bun. Her brown eyes sparkle happily all the time, even when she’s angry. I think that Miss Owen is the nicest lady in the whole world!
         Compared to Miss Owen I’m just plain and non-interesting. I’m seventeen, almost eighteen, and I have lived here at the orphanage for as long as I can remember. My hair is brown and wavy, and my eyes are hazel. I guess one interesting thing about me is that my eyes get little golden specks in them when I’m really happy, but that doesn’t happen often. Like normal teenage girls, I have a big crush on a really cute guy. The problem is that he doesn’t really know that I exist.
         Tyler is the cutest guy I’ve ever met. Well, he’s one of the only teenage guys out here at the orphanage. He’s got bleach-blonde hair and sky blue eyes like all the surfer guys from movies. He loves skateboarding, ever since he got a used skateboard from some donations that were made to the orphanage. His laugh is amazing, and my heart melts every time I hear it. Most of the time he's laughing because I've done something stupid like tripped over my own feet. Though it’s really embarrassing and I blush badly, I still like to hear him laugh. Tyler’s just a month older than me.
         Like I said, Tyler doesn’t know I exist. He doesn’t know that I like him at least. He only has eyes for Sarah. Sarah is the princess of the orphanage. She has beautiful straight blonde hair and blue-green eyes. Every week it seems like someone is donating something especially for Sarah, and the things that are donated for her are always really nice. She has all the latest fashions in clothes and jewelry, and she even has a collection of little glass figurines started. We all think that her parents are the ones sending the things in for her, but we don’t know for sure. Sarah’s at least half a year younger than we are, but she acts like she’s a lot older.
         Wulf is the oldest kid here at the orphanage. Next week he turns eighteen. Wulf is… strange. He wears all black, and his hair is black too. His hair is long; it comes down over his eyes a little bit, but not too much. I haven’t been able to figure out yet if Wulf’s eyes are a deep brown or black, but I’m hoping that they’re brown. Everything about Wulf is dark even his skin. He’s really tanned, though he doesn’t ever go outside. Wulf is really quiet, too. He hardly says more than one full sentence a day.
         Well, as you can see, the four oldest of us are all pretty different. We don’t have any hope of being adopted. Once we’re eighteen we have to leave the orphanage. I don’t want to leave, and I’ve asked if I could stay as a volunteer to help. But Miss Owen said that she’s not sure that I’ll be able to do that. The thought of leaving makes me sad, so I try not to think about it. Instead I’ve been reading a lot of the books that Miss Owen has on the shelves in the main living room of the orphanage house.
         That’s what I’m doing now. It’s a nice day outside, though it was a little cold, so most of the kids have gone out to play, giving me peace and quiet to be able to read. I’m sitting in the window seat between the two bookshelves, by back up against one of the shelves and the book propped on my knees. Up above me, sitting on the top of the bookshelf, was Wulf. He was lying on the top of the bookshelf, a normal thing for him to do, reading the same book that I was.
         “Are you done with this page?” I asked, looking up at Wulf.
         Wulf nodded. He was a faster reader than me, but I liked making sure that he was done before turning the page. As I turned the page, I heard someone bounding down the stairs from the bedrooms. I turned to see Tyler standing in the doorway.
         “Hey, Jessica, is Sarah in here?” Tyler asked.
         I tried to hide my disappointment that he was looking for Sarah and not me. “She’s outside,” I answered.
         “Thanks,” Tyler said, dashing outside.
         “How can he wear shorts outside on a day as cold as this?” I asked myself.
         “He’s full of hot air.”
         I jumped and looked up at Wulf, surprised that he had answered my question. He just stared down at me with his dark eyes, not seeming to actually see me. I sighed and went back to reading. Little did I know that Wulf talking wouldn’t be the last surprise of the day.

         We were at lunch when Miss Owen came in and told us to get lined up. Whenever we were told to line up it meant that someone was here to adopt a kid. I shuffled over to stand between Wulf and Sarah. Tyler was always the last in line. He was tallest, though Wulf wasn’t much shorter than him. There wasn’t much hope for those of us who were older. I did brush sandwich crumbs from my worn sweatshirt tried not to think about the holes in my jeans and the way you could see my sock through a hole in my right shoe.
         “Children, this is Mr. Lancaster,” Miss Owen said when she re-entered the room.
         I tried hard not to gape at the man that stood beside Miss Owen. He was wearing a long dark red tunic and a black cloak like men in medieval stories wore. At his side hung a sword and he wore a funny little hat on his head that was a brighter red than his tunic. His pants looked almost like black jeans, but somehow I knew that they weren’t jeans.
         What bothered me about the man were his eyes. They were grey and piercing. When he looked at me I couldn’t repress a shiver. I felt like he was looking at me longer than he had looked at any of the others, and it scared me somehow. I found that I couldn’t look away from those eyes. Finally he turned to Miss Owen.
         “Creepy old man,” Sarah muttered.
         I glanced at Sarah and frowned. She wasn’t the nicest person in the world.
         “I want the four oldest,” Mr. Lancaster said.
         I felt like my heart would leap out of my chest. I looked at the others, and only Wulf didn’t look surprised. I knew that my eyes must look like they were popping out of my head right now.
         “The… You want the four oldest?” Miss Owen asked, clearly surprised.
         “Yes,” Mr. Lancaster nodded. He was all business.
         “Well, why don’t you kids go get your things while I talk to Mr. Lancaster,” Miss Owen said. “The rest of you, go outside.”
         I felt stunned as I walked up the stairs and into the room that served as the girls’ dorm. Wulf and Tyler went to the room across the hall and Sarah followed slowly after me. I was able to pack my things quickly. All that I had were another pair of jeans with holes, two t-shirts, some underclothes, and pajamas. The bracelet that the other kids had gotten for me for my birthday had disappeared over a month ago.
         Sarah took a lot longer to pack. Where I only had one backpack, she had two suitcases and a large duffle bag. I finally gave up waiting for her and went out to the hall to join Tyler and Wulf. They only had one backpack each too. Tyler had his skateboard under his arm. It was his most precious item; of course he wouldn’t leave it.
         “This is a surprise,” Tyler said. “Where’s Sarah?”
         “She’s coming,” I answered. I wondered why he was always asking about Sarah. It bothered me to no end. “What do you think of that guy?”
         “He’s strange,” Tyler wrinkled his nose.
         “I, for one, don’t want to go with him,” Sarah said as she lugged her bags out of the room.
         Tyler was more than happy to help Sarah carry her bags outside. He ended up carrying all of them while Sarah stepped daintily down the stairs, examining her finger nails as she did so.
         “When will he learn that he’s not a packhorse?” I muttered.
         “When cats bark,” Wulf said softly.
         I grinned at Wulf and began walking down the stairs. It was my luck to trip on the last step, and Wulf grabbing my sweatshirt from behind was all that kept me from sprawling out on the floor in front of Mr. Lancaster.
         “Are you all right?” Mr. Lancaster asked.
         I could feel my face burning as I answered, “I’m fine.”
         Mr. Lancaster nodded, though he didn’t look convinced. Miss Owen gave me an extra hug before we walked out the door and I was sure that she was feeling sorry for me. Maybe Mr. Lancaster would change his mind about taking me. I hoped not.
         “What is that thing?” I heard Sarah yell from outside.
         I walked out the door and stood on the front step, my mouth hanging open. There was a carriage with two horses parked in front of the orphanage!
         “This is how I travel,” Mr. Lancaster said, seemingly unperturbed by Sarah’s obvious disgust.
         I stared at the horses, awed by their beauty. I’d never seen a horse up close before. They both had shining white fur that seemed to shine in the sun, and their strong muscles showed beneath the cloths that were draped over their backs.
         “Will they… bite?” I asked, taking a step closer to them.
         “No,” Mr. Lancaster answered.
         I took another step closer and held out a hand to pet one of the horse’s sides. Its eyes rolled towards me and I jumped back. Sarah laughed behind me, and I felt my face heating again as I handed my bag to Mr. Lancaster to put on the back of the carriage. When we got in the carriage I found myself sitting between Wulf and Sarah while Mr. Lancaster and Tyler sat on the seat facing us. Another man who had apparently been waiting on the other side of the carriage closed the carriage door and climbed up onto the high seat in front to hold the horses’ reigns.
         “Goodbye!” Miss Owen called to us, waving.
         I waved back, my throat too clogged with tears to say anything. The carriage started with a lurch and I almost found myself sprawled on the floor. I was happy to see that the others, except Mr. Lancaster of course, were as surprised as I was.
         “Are you going to tell us where we’re going?” Sarah asked rudely.
         I poked Sarah in the side and she glared at me. Tyler frowned at me and I sighed. Of course he thought that anything she did or said was fine.
         “I will tell you,” Mr. Lancaster said, a frown creasing his forehead. “We are going to the forest.”
         “We're going to the forest?” Sarah yelled.
         “Yes,” Mr. Lancaster nodded. “My kingdom is within the forest.”
         “Your kingdom?” Tyler frowned.
         “Well, it’s not mine, it’s my king’s,” Mr. Lancaster corrected himself.
         “No one who goes in the forest ever comes out again,” Sarah said.
         “They like it in Lyn,” Mr. Lancaster said with a small shrug. ‘Most of the men who have come to explore have been fascinated with our way of life. They decide to stay, saying that they’ll leave someday. None ever have, though.”
         “Why did you come out here to get us?” I asked, wondering if there was no orphanage in Lyn.
         “The king sent me to get you,” Mr. Lancaster answered. “One of you two young ladies is the king’s daughter. The other three of you are the children of the dukes.”
         “A princess? I’m a princess!” Sarah squealed in delight.
         I sighed. Of course Sarah was going to be the princess. It was only right, after all. She was pretty like a princess was supposed to be. Maybe her attitude could be better, but there would be someone to tell her how to behave like a princess should I figured. She was going to be the perfect princess.
         I felt a soft touch on my hand and glanced over at Wulf. He was looking out the window though, his hand resting on his leg. I turned back to Mr. Lancaster, supposing that it had just been an accident that he had touched my hand.
         “We’ll see when we get to the castle,” Mr. Lancaster said in answer to Sarah’s comment.
         Sarah began asking questions about the kingdom, her kingdom as she put it, as we continued on our way. It was dark outside by the time we reached the edge of the forest. Mr. Lancaster said that the king wanted us to be at the castle by morning, so we ate sandwiches for supper in the carriage.
         “When exactly are we going to get there?” Sarah asked.
         “Morning,” Mr. Lancaster answered wryly, clearly not happy with the progress that was being made. I heard him mutter something about how we would have been there already if the driver hadn’t stopped so many times before they reached the orphanage.
         I couldn’t help yawning. It had been a long day, and I was tired of the bumpy ride in the carriage. Carriages apparently didn’t have shocks. My eyelids drooped and I yawned again. I lay my head back against the back of the seat and closed my eyes, thinking about what the castle would be like when we got there.

         I woke with my head on Wulf’s shoulder. He had put his black jacket over me and lay with his head against the side of the carriage. I sighed softly, touched by Wulf’s care for me.
The others were all asleep as well, so I tried not to make any noise as I sat up and looked out the window. Though the breaks in the branches and leaves that were overhead I saw that the sky was beginning to get lighter. I thought about what Mr. Lancaster had said last night and knew that the brightening sky meant that we were close to the castle.
         “Hi.”
         I jumped and looked at Wulf. “Good morning,” I whispered, handing his jacket back to him. “Thanks.”
         Wulf nodded, but pushed the jacket back at me. “You’re shivering.”
         I was cold, but Wulf was wearing only a t-shirt now. I tried to give him the jacket again, but he just took it and wrapped it around my shoulders. I sighed and wrapped the jacket tightly around myself. It was cold, I had to admit, and I felt happy that Wulf cared enough about me to look out for me.
         “Is it morning already?” Sarah murmured as she sat up and kicked me in the shin to get my attention.
         “Yes,” I muttered, more than a little annoyed.
         “Good. I’m almost home,” Sarah said.
         I noticed that Sarah stared at Wulf’s jacket around my shoulders for a while, but I ignored her. It’s not like it mattered. I guess Wulf had always looked out for me. Why Sarah was just noticing it, I wasn’t sure. Or maybe it was just that I was just noticing it.
         Tyler and Mr. Lancaster woke up not too much later. Soon when I looked out the window I could see the castle’s tall towers rising up above the treetops. The gleaming white walls were breathtaking, and the blue shingled roofs sparkled in the sun. I heard Sarah gasp when she saw it, and I tried not to think about the fact that Sarah would be the one living there and not me. I would have to go to my parents, probably. I hoped so. I wanted to see my parents and hear why they had sent me away. Even if I did belong here in this strange place, they were my family. It didn’t even matter where they lived, just so long as I got to be with them.
         “Welcome home, all of you,” Mr. Lancaster said, smiling.
         I smiled back. When the carriage pulled through the castle gates and up to the doors I took a deep breath. Mr. Lancaster helped me from the carriage and I stood looking up at the tall towers and walls of the castle, amazed by the beauty of it. I had never seen anywhere that was so lovely. There were trees and flowers that surrounded the white walls of the castle, and green vines trailed up the walls, morning glories just tucking away their purple and blue petals.
         “Do you like it?” Mr. Lancaster asked.
         “It’s… beautiful,” I murmured.
         “Each of your rooms will have its own private courtyard,” Mr. Lancaster said.
         “We each have our own garden?” Sarah asked. “I don’t see the point in that. I mean, so much space could be used to make a bigger closet for more clothes and shoes.”
         I rolled my eyes. That was Sarah all right. She was never content with what she had. Nothing would ever be good enough for her, even being a princess and living in the most amazing house ever wasn’t good enough.
         We followed Mr. Lancaster into the castle. I felt very uneasy, especially when I saw the servants. They were dressed even better than I was. They all smiled welcomingly at us and curtsied or bowed. I felt as though I was in a dream, only it was better than a dream. It was real.
         “Jasmine is in charge of all of the servants in the castle. She will take you two young ladies to get washed up and changed, and you two young men will go with Harold,” Mr. Lancaster told us.
         I found myself following a plump little woman with brown hair and green eyes. She smiled and chattered the whole way to the room where she left us to wash and change. The bathtub was behind a silky blue curtain, so Sarah and I took turns taking our baths. She took hers first, of course, and she chose the blue dress that we both thought was beautiful. I guess it did match her eyes, but I preferred the blue dress to the red one that was lying on the chair beside the blue one.
         “Don’t I look lovely?” Sarah asked as she looked at herself in a large mirror, twirling around and laughing.
         “Prefect,” I muttered as I pulled on my dress.
         I had never worn a dress before, and I found it a little bit awkward. The soft slippers that matched the color of the dress were nice, though. I had been afraid that they would make me wear high heals. A maid came to put up our hair before we went down for a late breakfast. She braided mine with two red ribbons and tucked a yellow flower behind my ear.
         “You look lovely,” the maid said.
         “Thank you,” I murmured, blushing. It wasn’t very often that people complimented me and not Sarah. Sarah seemed to notice this too from the glare that she shot my way.
         “Jasmine is waiting for you outside,” the maid told us, hinting that it was time for us to go.
         I followed Sarah out into the hall. Sarah seemed perfectly content wearing her beautiful blue dress with her hair curled and a net of white pearls in her hair. I didn’t understand how the pearls were staying in her hair, or why anyone would want to wear them in the first place, but I didn’t say anything. It wasn’t worth it, I thought. All Sarah would do is get angry. Now more of the servants were complimenting her and ignoring me. Maybe they just didn’t see me walking behind her. Though I didn’t mind her getting attention, I wished that someone else would tell me that I looked pretty, or at least a little bit above average.
         “Don’t you love my castle?” Sarah asked, smiling. We had just walked by a tapestry of a vase full of roses and she had stopped to gaze at it for a full minute before getting bored with it and moving on.
         “Sure,” I murmured. I did love the castle, but I still had some hope that maybe I was the princess. “What is the king like?” I asked Jasmine.
         “He’s a very kind man,” Jasmine said. “He loves all of you, even though he hasn’t seen any of you since you were babies. He’ll explain all of that to you, though.”
         “All right,” I nodded.
         Wulf and Tyler were waiting for us in the dining room. Jasmine led us to our seats, then left to inform the servants that we were ready for breakfast. I was disappointed to see that the king hadn’t arrived yet. I wanted to meet him and thank him for brining us home.
         I sighed and turned my attention back to the others. Sarah was ogling over the way that Wulf and Tyler were dressed. They were wearing clothes similar to Mr. Lancaster’s, only Wulf’s were all black and Tyler’s were a dark blue and silver. I wondered why Sarah was so amazed, but found that I could hardly look away from Tyler myself, though I supposed that it was for different reasons than Sarah had.
         We were sitting in silence when the king came in. Wulf noticed him first and rose to bow. I quickly hopped up to curtsy and accidently tipped my chair over. Blushing furiously, I bent over to pick it up and almost tripped on the hem of my dress. I was relieved when someone reached out to help me with the chair, but when I noticed who it was, my eyes widened until I thought they would come out of my head.
         “Are you all right?” the king asked me, his brown eyes glittering happily.
         “Y-Yes,” I stammered, curtsying clumsily. That didn’t help my nerves at all.
         I stared down at my feat as the king looked around at all of us. Tears stung my eyes. This was my first meeting with the king, and I had blown it. He must think that I’m a total klutz.
         “Daddy! I’m home!” Sarah said, holding out her arms as if she was expecting a hug.
         “Daddy?” the king frowned slightly. “I’m afraid that you’ve got it wrong.”
         “What?” Sarah’s face blanched.
         “You are not my daughter,” the king said. I looked up slowly as he said, “Jessica is.”
         My heart thudded in my chest. This had to be a dream. I couldn’t believe that it was reality anymore. It was too good to be true. Every little girl dreams of being a princess at one time or other. I couldn’t believe that the dream might actually be true for me. I wasn’t anything like a princess should be. Princesses didn’t knock over chairs or trip on their dresses when they tried to curtsy.
         “Are you all right, Jessica?” the king asked worriedly.
         “I… I’m fine,” I said.
         “Are you sure?” the king asked.
         I nodded, still too embarrassed to say much more.
         “All right,” he didn’t sound convinced. “Why don’t we sit down to eat? I’ll explain things to you all.”
         I didn’t eat much. I wasn’t hungry. Henry, the king, wanted me to eat though, so I managed to eat some toast.
         “You were going to explain things to us,” Tyler reminded Henry once everyone had finished eating.
         “Right,” Henry nodded, smiling. “Where should I start? Well, when you were two, Jessica, an evil man began making threats to your life if I refused to give him what he wanted. What he wanted, I could not give to him. So, I decided that the only thing I could do was send you away. I knew that I couldn’t send you anywhere here in the kingdom; you would be much too close to the man. That is why I chose to send you to the orphanage on the other side of the forest. I asked my closest friends to send their children along as well so that you would have friends as you grew up.
         “I went myself to take you to the orphanage. I talked to the woman there and asked her to keep you safe until I sent someone to get you. I didn’t want any of you getting adopted by mistake. She agreed to look after you, but I think that she forgot about what I had told her, according to what Lancaster told me.
         “Anyway, a year ago something terrible happened. The queen, your mother, Jessica, was murdered. You cannot imagine how that made me feel. After some investigating we realized that the man who had killed your mother was the same man who had threatened to kill you. This time we were able to track him down, but it took a long time. As soon as I knew that he and his followers were in prison or executed, I sent Lancaster to get you.”
         I stared at Henry. I had longed to see my mom, but apparently that wasn’t a choice now. I felt tears stinging my eyes as I thought of the woman that I had never known. Quickly I turned my attention to a painting on the wall of a flowering tree. It calmed me some, and the tears stopped threatening to come.
         “What about our families?” Sarah asked. She sounded depressed, and I felt sorry for her.
         “They will be here by the end of the week,” Henry answered. “They’re all very excited to meet you, but because of their duties they cannot come right now.”
         “I can’t wait to meet my parents,” Tyler said. “Just think about it. Jessica’s a princess, and we’re all related to dukes, whatever they are.”
         Henry laughed. “They help me take care of the kingdom,” he said.
         “Are the rich?” Sarah asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.
         “Yes,” Henry sighed.
         “Good,” Sarah nodded.
         I saw Henry shake his head slightly before turning to Wulf. “Do you like it here?”
         Wulf nodded. I thought I saw his eyes flicker to me, but then he was looking at Henry. I blinked, wondering if I was just imagining things.
         “Well, I’m sure you all would like to see your rooms,” Henry said. “Sarah, Jasmine will show you to your rooms. Wulf and Tyler, Lancaster will take care of you two. Jessica, if you’ll come with me, please.”
         I gladly followed Henry out to the hall. We walked silently beside each other, each lost in our own thoughts. I was thinking of how my life had changed so dramatically. I would have been happy just to have a normal middle-class family, but I was actually a princess! I knew that there would be a lot that I had to learn. Princesses had responsibilities too, after all. I wondered if it would be a problem that I seemed to trip over my own feet so often.
         “Are you angry with me, Jessica?” Henry asked.
         “No… er…”
         “Please, call me father,” Henry said.
         “Father,” I said, the word sounding strange to me. “I think I understand.”
         “Do you? Do you really understand why it is that I sent you away?” Henry asked, his eyes seeming to plead with me to understand.
         “Yeah,” I nodded. “You were just trying to protect me.”
         “Do you think that you can live here and be my daughter?” Henry asked, his voice softer this time.
         I smiled. “Yeah. I’ve been waiting to meet you my whole life, and now that I have, I’m not leaving.”
         Henry smiled. We walked on in silence, but it was a comfortable silence. When we reached my room, Henry stopped and opened the door. He stood by the door and waited for me to go in.
         “Look around then come back and tell me what you think,” Henry said.
         I nodded and walked slowly into my room. I realized that the room I had walked into was a small sitting room. There was a desk against the wall, two chairs, and a fireplace. There was even a bookshelf filled with books. As I walked towards a door on the right I ran my hand over the bindings of the books, smiling. I hadn’t read any of them before.
         The room that I entered next was the bedroom. The bed was covered in a blue quilt. Pillows in every shade of purple and blue covered the bed. Sheer blue and purple curtains hung over the windows. There was a window seat, too, covered in purple and blue pillows as well. Then I saw another door and remembered what Mr. Lancaster had said about the gardens.
         Slowly I opened the door and peeked out. I smiled when I saw the walkway made of small blue pebbles. The walkway led to a fountain in the shape of a fairy, and flowers in every shape, size, and color surrounded the walkway and fountain. I breathed in the aroma of the flowers and sighed contentedly. Slowly I walked to sit on the edge of the fountain and dipped my hand into the cool water. I looked around, wondering what was on the other side of the wall that surrounded the small garden. Another garden, I guessed.
         “Do you like it?” Henry asked when I walked out into the hall again.
         “I love it,” I answered, smiling.
         Henry smiled back. “Good,” he said.
         “Can I see the others?” I asked, wanting to check on my friends.
         “Of course,” Henry nodded.
         Henry led me down the hall. We stopped by Sarah’s room first, but she was too upset to come out. I wondered if she would ever get over not being the princess. I doubted it. Next we went to Tyler’s room. He was preoccupied with trying to ride his skateboard in his private garden. I wondered where he was able to ride his skateboard out there, but then decided that maybe it was best that I didn’t know. Finally we stopped at Wulf’s room. He was standing at his door as though he was waiting for us.
         “Do you like your room?” I asked.
         Wulf nodded. He grinned lopsidedly. “It’s bigger than the whole orphanage.”
         “Yeah,” I laughed. “Do you want to explore the rest of the castle?”
         “That seems like a good idea for the two of you. I think that I should get to my work,” Henry said, sighing. “I’ll see you at lunch time, and hopefully we’ll be able to talk more then.”
         “All right,” I nodded.
         I watched Henry walk away. When I turned back to Wulf, he was looking at me strangely.
         “What’s wrong?” I asked.
         “Nothing,” Wulf shook his head.
         Wulf began walking and I hurried to follow him. We walked up stairs and through doors. We walked down halls that seemed to stretch on forever. Wherever we went, there always seemed to be somewhere new to go. I was surprised at how Wulf seemed to know where he was going. There was a lot I didn’t know about Wulf, I thought.
         “This is amazing,” I murmured as we stopped to rest. We were at the top of one of the towers, looking out a window onto the courtyard below.
         “Yeah,” Wulf said.
         I sighed contentedly and leaned on the window sill. There was no glass in the windows here, and that surprised me.
         “Be careful,” Wulf cautioned.
         “I am,” I said.
         “You tend to get into trouble,” Wulf said. “I don’t want you falling out a window.”
         “This is the most I’ve ever heard you say,” I said, trying to change the subject.
         Wulf didn’t answer. I turned to find him staring at me again.
         “What?” I asked.
         “Why do you like Tyler?” Wulf asked.
         I blushed, once again. “I… I just do.”
         “He’s not worth your attention,” Wulf said.
         “Why isn't he?” I frowned.
         “He doesn’t really like you,” Wulf said.
         “Why does it matter to you?” I asked, angry at Wulf for trying to come between me and Tyler. It wasn’t his business if Tyler decided that he liked me.
         Wulf didn’t answer. He turned away from me and headed towards the stairs.
         “I’m beginning to think that I like it better when you’re quiet,” I muttered as I followed Wulf down the stairs.
         Wulf moved so quickly that I wasn’t sure what had happened until I was standing with my back against the wall, and Wulf was standing in front of me with his arms on either side of me, trapping me. The fierce look in Wulf’s eyes scared me, and I began to panic.
         “What-“
         “You want to know why I care what Tyler thinks and does concerning you?” Wulf asked, his voice soft even though his eyes were hard. “Because I want to take care of you- I need to take care of you. I could not live with myself if I let something happen to you that I could have stopped.”
         “I don’t understand,” I said.
         “Don’t you? Jess, I care about you,” Wulf said softly, pain showing in his eyes now.
         All I could do was stare at Wulf. He cared… about me? It didn’t make sense. Then, suddenly, I understood. All the times he had helped me, rescued me from falling, listened to me ramble on about my feelings or what I thought, it was because he cared. Now, standing here with him, I wasn’t sure what to think. I stared into his eyes, and realized that they were a dark brown. A beautiful dark brown.
         “Wulf I…”
         “Forget it,” Wulf said gruffly. “Forget I said anything.”
         I watched Wulf as he began walking down the stairs again. I slowly began following him, but I tripped on the hem of my dress and, with a mall squeal, I fell. Wulf had heard me squeal and was braced to catch me, though. He caught me up in his arms and stood holding me, looking down into my face. For a moment he lowered his face closer to mine. I felt myself stiffen, and I knew that my eyes were wide. Wulf grimaced and set me on my feet.
         “Let’s get back downstairs,” he said.
         I nodded. My mind was reeling and I knew that I had to get somewhere to think soon. I had no idea what I was feeling, what was going on in my mind. All I knew was that I was in love with Tyler, and Wulf was in love with me.
         When we reached my room, Wulf left without saying anything else to me. I went to my bedroom and lay on the bed, trying to sort through the many emotions that were trying to overload my mind. My mind continued to race until I fell into an uneasy sleep.

         When I woke I was covered with my quilt. Someone had come in to start a fire and put the quilt over me. Slowly I sat up and stretched my arms. Then I remembered how I was supposed to talk to Henry during lunch.
         I jumped up out of the bed and ran to look out the window. The sun was just coming up over the horizon. It was morning again. I’d slept through half of the day yesterday and the whole night.
         “Oh no,” I groaned, rubbing my eyes.
         It took me a little while to find the closet, and I was amazed by all of the clothes that were in it. I picked out a simple blue dress to wear and washed my face with a cloth beside a basin of water on the little table beside the bedroom door. I let my hair hang loose over my shoulders, happy with the way the braid had dried my hair into soft ringlets.
         “You’re awake,” Jasmine said as soon as I walked out of the sitting room into the hall.
         “Good morning,” I said, somewhat surprised.