Felix stood next to a wall his hands held together behind his back and watched as people bustled past him. He had a bored expression on his face and yawned a little. Nothing had happened all day and he was wishing there was going to be at least some excitement today. He sighed, who was he kidding?Today was just going to be another boring day of guard duty. Felix shifted a bit trying to stay as still as possible. He was always stuck with guard duty, granted he wasn't a full fledge knight yet, but he was sick and tired of always standing in the same place everyday and watching the same people pass him and go about there day. The young Knight-in-training could feel his legs becoming tired and shifted his position just slightly so he could get comfortable again. He could often hear people talk about rumors and gossip about different villagers, knights, or even the king himself. Felix never believed anything they discussed, but is was fun to imagine as a way to pass the time.

Felix surveyed his surrounding, he was in a large hall a few feet from the main entrance to the palace. There were two guards dressed in the usual knight armor stationed on the direct sides of the large door that served as the main entrance. Quite a few people were moving in and out of the entrance bringing in all sorts of odds and ends ranging from food to supplies, there were even a few couriers bringing in messages from the villagers and neighboring kingdoms. He was stationed next to a door that lead to one of the many corridors of the palace. Across from the Soon-to-be-knight was another guard. On the opposite side of the large door was a massive stair case that lead to a large gold and sliver plated door. That door lead to the throne room where the king sat and on either side of that door were two more guards. It was a nice area to guard, Felix had to admit and being stationed as a guard wasn't all bad, but there was always a small voice in the back of his head that pleaded for some sort of adventure.

After a few moments of quiet thinking,Victoria came up to the steps of the great hall. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and stepped inside. Looking around the hall at all the villagers walking in and out of the room. This was one thing she liked about her job, it was never dull around the palace. At-least not to her, smiling at some of the guards she passed as she made her way to the kitchen, she felt sorry for them. Just having to stand in one place all day, that would have driven the young girl crazy.
Victoria mused over her thoughts as she bustled past people, looking down into the basket of apples and oranges she carried along with her.

"Victoria!" A voice called out, turning around quickly the girl was caught off guard and tripped causing her to spill the contents of her basket. "Crap! No, no I'm already so late." she exclaimed before quickly getting on her hands and knees to pick up the fruit. "Victoria!!" The voice called out again, just as a portly woman came around the corner. "Clumsy girl." She huffed walking up to the fair haired girl. "I've been yelling for you for over an hour." The cook shouted, looking up from her spot on the ground Victoria sighed then hung her head. "I'm sorry Miss. I won't be much longer." She said, the cook simply shook her head and wiped her hands on apron. "See that you aren't. Or you'll be out of a job."

As Felix stood there, a peasant girl had walked by and was smiling at some of the guards. He really didn't think anything of the girl, until she tripped and scattered fruit that was in a basket the girl was carrying. Then not to soon after the fruit was dropped, the cook shot around the corner and berated the girl slightly. Felix felt bad for the port girl and after the cook walk away he approached her, slowly kneeling down to help her with the fruit that had been dropped.

"A-are you alright?" His voice filled with concern, "Here let me help you." He helped pick up the mess and stood up holding out his hand to help pull her to her feet. He smiled slightly as away to try to comfort the poor girl. Felix always had a soft spot for the peasants, he new they were the ones who had it the hardest. Always being pushed around and treated like dirt, but peasant were just as important to this kindom as the king himself and he alway tried his best to look out for them.

Hustling to try and pick up what she could, Victoria fought back a few tears. Already embarrassed her cheeks flushed even darker when one of the guards had knelt down to help her. Looking up at him she smiled a bit and took his hand to pull herself to her feet. "Th-thank you." She said quietly. "I'm alright, just a little clumsy. That tends to happen to me a lot." Taking the basket from the floor she curtsied to the guard with a soft smile. "Thank you again for helping me.." she started but stopped for a moment. Reaching into the basket she pulled out a ripe red apple. "For you." Handing it over she bowed her head again the turned to head toward the kitchen. "See you around!" Victoria called back to the guard.

"Oh, thank you." He took the apple from the girl and bowed to her as she walked away, "Yeah, see you around." He said softly knowing she was already too far away to be able to hear him. He walked back to his post staring at the apple and smiling slightly. Felix was about to take a bit out of it when a large, monsterous fellow walked up to him. It was one of the knights he met when he first became a knight-in-training. "Well look who it is," The man stopped for a second seeing the apple, "I'll take that," The knight paused for a second as he snatched the apple from Felix's hand, "A peace offering." The man laughed and pushed Felix to the ground as he started walking to the kitchen.

Felix slowly got back up and dusted himself of, "Yeah, nice to see you too." he sighed as he stood at his post and ran a hand across his face. The knight that stole the apple from Felix trudged into the kitchen. He took a bit of the apple and started yelling at the cook and the poor peasant girl about random and pointless things. Almost everyone could hear the man yelling. Felix's heart sunk, he wanted to go and help, maybe apologies or something, but unfortunately if he was found away from where he was stationed, he would be in big trouble. So Felix begrudgingly stood, unmoved, forced to listen to the tragic event.

Victoria stood in the center of the kitchen biting on her lip as she was berated by the elder knight and the cook at once. "You worthless vile little girl. Giving fruit that is to be served to the King to some knight? And not even Royal one, but a knight in training!" The cook shouted. The girls red eyes darted up from the floor and looked at the cook. "I'm sorry, he had helped me and I was just being nice. Besides, the apples come from my garden, and there are plent-" Victoria was quickly silenced by a strike across the cheek. "You insolent little girl. Get out of my kitchen! There is no place for you here." The cook shouted. Victoria attempted to curtsy before leaving but was stopped by the knight.
"Well since you are no longer needed here. You shall come with me." He said grabbing her by the arm and pulling her out of the kitchen.

There was nothing she could really say or do at this point. They both held a higher position then she did, even if cook was only one step higher, it was still up there. As the elder knight pulled her down the hall she passed by the boy who had helped her earlier. A pleading look flashed in her eyes as she was lead from the hall and down another hallway to where the knights stored all of their weapons and armor. "Get cleaning." He snapped pushing her inside.

Felix closed his eyes trying not to think of what could be happing in the kitchen when suddenly the yelling stopped. He looked over to see what was going on when he noticed the knight from earlier dragging the peasant girl over to the armory. Felix caught her eye and his heart suck, he couldn't take it anymore, he had to do something. He followed the two to the armory making sure the knight didn't see him when he left. Slowly he went up to the door and, looking to either side of the hallway, entered. Felix walked up to her and spoke softly trying to comfort her, "Sorry about him," He tried smiling, but failed, "He doesn't know what the term 'kindness means'." He looked at the girl and saw the red mark where she was struck. "Oh no," He walked closer to try to inspect it, "Are you okay? What happened?" That's when he heard a few guards run by the door yelling something about a guard missing. Felix realized they were talking about him and his eyes widened, "Damn, this isn't good." He looked back at the girl, "Come on, follow me. I know a place that we can get away from this palace for a little while." He reached out his hand to her, "Trust me."

Sniffing slightly the girl looked around the armory and shook her head. Her day was going so well up until this, "Great...just great.." She muttered wiping at a few tears. That's when she heard a voice. Turning around to see the knight from before, "I uhh..I guess I just got clumsy again." Victoria uttered before she heard the yelling of the guards behind him. When he offered her his hand Victoria was hesitant. Yes, he had helped her earlier, and seemed genuine. But, he was still a guard and he already seemed like he was in trouble.
"Think Victoria. Polishing armor and swords, or leaving the palace with a knight. She thought before swallowing the lump in her throat. "Alright." She said taking his hand, pulling herself up off the ground. Holding onto his hand tight she followed where ever he was going to lead her. "M-my name is Victoria by the way."

Felix smiled at Victoria with a smile and a nod, "Good to met you Ms. Victoria, my name is Felix." Holding her hand tightly, he slowly guided Victoria to the door and listened waiting for the guards to seem far away. After a couple minutes he opened the door and gently lead the young peasant girl down the hallway. Felix's eyes darted around making sure no one saw them. They walked through corridor after corridor until they appeared in front of a small door. They entered it and Felix looked through a small window, "Good, they are all occupied at the moment, we should be safe here for a while." They were in an old abandoned room, it seemed to be stripped of all furniture and was only decorated with one or two cobwebs. "This use to be the old kitchen until they moved it to where it is today." He looked over at Victoria with a smile, "Sorry about earlier, I just couldn't handle watching you get pushed around like that. You deserve to be treated like everyone else in this palace, with respect." He shot a look out of the window again. "We will wait here for a while until it's safe to leave. You'll love the place I'm take you to though, it's the most beautiful place in this kingdom."

"The most beautiful place in the kingdom?" She mused wrapping her arms around her shoulders. Walking around the room she couldn't help but chuckle, the size of the old kitchen paled in comparison to the one that she worked in now. Or at-least had worked in at one point. Moving toward the window she watched as the guards below buzzed back an forth, like the bees do in the spring, or like a chicken with its head cut off.
Biting on her lip she turned to look at Felix. "Thank you again Felix, for helping me. But, I fear that I'm just going to get you in more trouble." Victoria stated before wincing at a loud yelling and screaming from the courtyard. She felt like all of this was getting a bit out of hand, yes, she was happy that someone like him who would help her. But, again part of her felt just like a burden to the poor boy. "You shouldn't have to do this for me, I'm just a peasant. You're a knight, you must have more to do then help me."

Felix smiled at Victora, "It's not a big deal," He patted her on the head, "Besides, I don't mind risking the consequences if it means you get to have a bit of time away from the palace." He flinched at a scream that came from outside. He quickly looked out the window to see knights throwing the cook around, trying to get information on where the two might have gone. He turned and looked into Victoria's eyes, "Look, I wouldn't be helping you if I didn't want to. And it doesn't matter that you're a peasant, you are as important as anyone else in this kingdom and you deserve to be treated like so." Felix placed a hand on her cheek, "And I'm not a knight just yet." He smiled a bit. Felix removed his hand from her cheek and he looked out the window again, most of the knights had left, but there were still a few he had to wait for.

Victoria couldn't help the light red color that flushed her cheeks. He may be the one person in the kingdom, possibly besides the princess, who believed everyone should be treated fairly. Biting on her lip gently she joined Felix at the window and watched as the last of the knights dispersed from the courtyard. Turning to face him her brow furrowed, "Wait a second, you're not a knight just yet? Then why have I seen you marching around with them before?" Victoria wasn't entirely sure why she cared if he was a knight or not, although part of her wondered who had just saved her, and who she would be running off with to a secret location.

Felix turned to her, "I'm a knight-in-training, really I should be a knight already, but the king refuses to grant me a quest to go on to prove I'm worthy of knightly hood." He frowned slightly, "If I was stronger, I would be a knight." He shook his head, "Right now is not the time, I'll tell you more when we reach the place." He paused for a second and smiled at Victoria with a soft, comforting smile, "Trust me, you'll love it where I'm taking you." He grabbed her hand and lead her out the window and down onto the ground. They stealthily slipped past a group of guards that were at a near by fountain. When they got far enough away he walked at a normal pace.

After a few minutes of walking, the two found themselves in a small clearing of trees. In the middle of the clearing was a large lake with clear blue water and flowing into the water was a tall waterfall that poured down from a small cliff. Felix sat down on a log that was near the lake and looked at Victoria smiling, "What do you think? I come here when life gets overwhelming and I need a break." He patted the log as an invitation for Victoria to sit down next to him.

Victoria smiled softly as they broke through the trees into the clearing. It really was a pretty peaceful spot, The water was so clear that you could almost see all the way down to the bottom. Looking up and around her she did a quick spin around taking in the sights, the sounds, and the scent. It smelled like the fresh wild flowers her mother would often put inside their home. Looking back over at Felix she smiled before moving to sit next to him.
"This place is beautiful Felix," She said blushing a bit. "You don't think I could possibly come here. You know when I need a break." She suggested shrugging her shoulders. The whole area seemed like something out of a fairy-tale. The girl wondered what it would look like at night, with the moon reflecting off the water and the stars dotting the sky.

Felix looked at Victoria and smiled, "You can come here as often as you like." He leaned back slightly, supporting himself with his hands and closed his eyes. Felix hummed slightly as a peace washed over him. For that moment all his problems disappeared. He didn't think about his duties in the palace, the knights that constantly mocked and abused him, or the fact that the king refused to allow himself to prove he was worthy of being a knight. Felix turned his head and looked over at Victoria, the way the light through the trees hit her made it difficult for him to pull away his gaze. As he absentmindedly stared at Victoria, Felix began to feel happier, light there was a missing piece of a puzzle that was finally put in it's rightful place. When he noticed he was staring he blushed and turned his eyes away quickly. The young Knight-in-training was hoping she didn't catch him staring and could play it off like nothing happened.

Victoria smiled as she looked around the space, her grin spreading even wider when he said she could come back when she liked. Biting on her lip she let her eyes slip shut and took in a deep breath. This was what she needed, a chance to escape her family, the palace and just everything that lay just on the other side of the trees. Opening her eyes again she looked over at Felix just as his head had turned. A confused look on her face she leaned forward a bit and saw that he was blushing. "Felix...are you okay?" She asked giggling a bit.

Victoria smiled as she looked around the space, her grin spreading even wider when he said she could come back when she liked. Biting on her lip she let her eyes slip shut and took in a deep breath. This was what she needed, a chance to escape her family, the palace and just everything that lay just on the other side of the trees. Opening her eyes again she looked over at Felix just as his head had turned. A confused look on her face she leaned forward a bit and saw that he was blushing. "Felix...are you okay?" She asked giggling a bit.

Felix scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously, "Yeah, I'm fine." He sat staring into the waters of the lake for a while. "You know, it's funny. When I woke up and was stationed to guard duty, I never thought that today was going to be so," He paused for a second trying to think of a word that fit the description of the days events so far, "Interesting." He finally said with a nod. Felix looked at Victoria and smiled, "Thank you," He placed his hand on the top of her hand, "For making my day more interesting."

Victoria's cheeks flushed red, when he thanked her. They turned an even darker red when he touched her hand, looking down at their hands she started to giggle nervously. "No...no...I mean you're welcome Felix." She said biting on her lip. "This was nice, this was perfect." Victoria thought to herself. After a few moments she pulled her hand back and stood up. "You know, we should probably get going. I mean we're in enough trouble right now as it is." She said looking down at the ground and picking at her dress a bit.

Felix stood up and nodded, "Yeah, I guess you're right." He paused for a second and looked at Victoria, "I just wish this moment would never end." He blushed a bit and laughed nervously. This moment was the happiest he has ever been, since being put into knight training. Felix slowly grabbed her hand and guided her back to the palace, he was silent, but did not seem angry nor sad. He seemed at peace as they arrived at the main entrance. A few guards rushed up to the two, before they could say anything, Felix spoke up, "Yeah we know, we are in deep trouble. Just hurry up and get to it." Felix jumped a little in shock when the guard spoke with an unexpected response, "You are not getting punished," The guard paused a minute, "Fortunately for you, the king would like to see the both of you, immediately." Felix looked at the guard in disbelief, "What does the king want with us?" The guard shook his head, "Don't know, don't care. That's between you and the king." The young Future-Knight nodded submissively and looked over to Victoria, "Well, let's go see what the king wants."