Aelin

The Lost Princess (Alfie and Aelin)

"Is it really wrong for a man to look at a woman's ankle?" Caitriona asked curiously, frowning a little. "That's certainly a strange custom..." It did seem rather silly for a man to not look at an ankle. There wasn't anything very attractive about an ankle after all and her skirts weren't so hiked up you could see past the knee. Wincing, she set her foot down on the cool linoleum then bit her bottom lip as she glanced at Gilda.

"I'm honestly sorry for my appearance...I don't know how I came to be where I was...or...how I...ended up in a dress with so many rips and tears. There's quite a lot I don't recall..." she said with remorse, pouting a little as she tried to work past that fog clouding her memories with no avail. That was the most frustrating part about this entire ordeal honestly. She hated not knowing anything about herself, only what she'd been told. She certainly did not feel like a princess or future queen. She just felt like...well felt like a lost girl.

The Lost Princess (Alfie and Aelin)

Cait's brow furrowed in confusion at the way he hesitated when discussing the fate of her parents. Before she could ask what he meant, the door opened and an older woman came in. Caitriona bit her bottom lip, giving her a soft, shy smile before looking down at her foot and then brushed her fingers through her unruly hair, so unkempt from her fall. She must look like a wild thing compared to those around her.

As the woman, Gilda, offered to examine her foot, she drew up the skirts of her ragged clothes, revealing the ankle in question. It was a little swollen and tender, but not as badly as it had been when she'd first fallen. "Thank you," she said, slowly lifting her foot up for the woman to look at. "I...I think it's a sprain at worst. Likely just a little twisted..." she suggested, not wanting to be a bother. She glanced at Aleksander then back at Gilda.

"It's all my fault I ended up hurt. It's lucky that His Highness was there to catch me," she said then felt herself blush as she looked at the woman as she examined her foot.

The Lost Princess (Alfie and Aelin)

She looked at him, biting her bottom lip as he asked her several questions only to look at the maidservant asking about a tailor. As the woman curtsied and made off, Caitriona looked back at him. "A bath sounds nice...and something to wear...and of course the physician will look at my ankle...I don't think anything's broken but I do think I twisted it quite a bit...." she said then flushed, looking around again as a servant came down announcing that a bath was being prepared in a set of chambers, and that a physician was on his way.

As she departed, Cait looked about her, in awe of this place. "My home," she repeated then looked at him with a flush to her cheeks. "It's really lovely here," she admitted warmly and then saw several men and women properly dressed making their way through the entry hall. Courtiers, if she had to guess, though she didn't know where the word came from. Obviously though, they were wealthy lords and ladies by the state of their outfits. They all seemed to be going out to the gardens or something but a few women did pause, turn and glance at her in Aleksander's arms but then hurried off before asking questions.

"Is this place always so busy Aleksander?" she asked, looking at him again. It was a little overwhelming to be surrounded by so many people, but with such a large palace, it was little wonder that there would be so many people living in it.

The Lost Princess (Alfie and Aelin)

As he announced who she was, there was a gasp from several of the servants present, a tittering of whispered voices, some wondering if the King was mad for such a thing, though they surely said nothing to his face. An older woman in servant's garb was the one to set things in motion, ordering servants to quickly air out a fine guest chamber for her, while another went to fetch a physician. The exterior of the grand palace was lovely but inside was truly exquisite and Caitriona looked at the high ceilings and beautiful tapestries with awe, her mouth even parting slightly, gaping at the massive artwork and architecture. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen before.

Her gaze moved back to the stern faced Aleksander. "It's so beautiful," she said then looked back around again, another servant coming up as the entire place seemed to be in uproar over the king's return and the appearance of the girl he held in his arms.

"Your highness...perhaps I should have someone send for a tailor...to get her as quickly as possible into more...proper clothing?" the woman mused while others rushed to the kitchens in order to start heating buckets of water for a fine bath. Caitriona looked down at her appearance. She did look rather out of sorts compared to the rest of the palace. Even the servants were far better dressed than she was. the thought made her blush in embarrassment. What they must think of her, she thought, looking back at Aleksander for his answer.

The Lost Princess (Alfie and Aelin)

She looked ahead, seeing the palace, biting her bottom lip as they moved into the village, people coming to the side of the road to wave and bow. She took a deep breath and then glanced back at him. "I think the people that I'm recalling are my parents," she said gently then bit her bottom lip. "Perhaps we could contact them to find out if I remember them or not," she suggested, unaware of her parent's death in the past few years, or that the kingdom she was to inherit had fallen into disrepair and broken factions. Her childhood home was no longer a whole kingdom. "And no...I don't remember what they looked like...I think...the woman had the same hair color as me, which is why I think they were my parents, but I don't know anything else," she said miserably then sighed as they rode further into the village surrounding the palace, the cottages turning into two story shops and finer homes for the town's more affluent members. Guards stood at a gate that they passed under and soon they were in the inner courtyard of his palace.

She glanced up at the towering structure then took a deep breath, not even trying to hop down off the horse, thanks to her injured ankle. Servants were stopping in their tracks, looking wide eyed at their newfound King as he entered with a strange girl, and nobles were looking on crossly, as if he were being inappropriate but no one said anything to him. He was a King after all, and such men were not to be questioned. At least not so openly.

"Your palace is very beautiful," she remarked, eyes wide as she drank it all in.

The Lost Princess (Alfie and Aelin)

She grimaced at his tone, as he told her that he was not mistaken, and further explained how he knew the truth of her origins, even if she did not. She flushed as he held her against him, gasping at how fast they were riding through the forest, down a well beaten path back toward civilization. His name sounded familiar, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly why it did. Then he started asking questions, and they were questions she had no answer for.

"I don't know why I don't recall anything, only that I don't. It's like some cloud is hanging over that part of my memory, and I can't see through it..and I...I vaguely recall two people dressed in fine robes...I was a small child, and I recall a woman calling for me as I ventered into the wood, but that's it...I remember nothing else...not until an hour or two ago...I was just laying in the middle of the forest...I don't know how I got there, what happened between those memories...it's all darkness..." she answered, shaking her head, trying to remember, only for her head to ache, the harder she pressed through that fog. She sighed. "I'm sorry..."

The Lost Princess (Alfie and Aelin)

Catriona gasped as he swept her up into his arms then looked wide eyed at the man holding her and then at the trio of men observing her skeptically. None of this seemed real...and yet, this stranger holding her was adamant that she was a princess. Saying nothing, she just tucked her head down into the shoulder of the prince carrying her and let him take her wherever he could. After all, he seemed to know more about her than she knew of herself.

As they situated on his horse and took off, she glanced at him then the passing landscape, the thick forest giving way to fields and pastures. It was beautiful. She glanced at the stranger who said he knew her and flushed. "Forgive me....but I don't know your name...." she said softly, flushing with embarrassment. She should know his name. Her gut told her that she should, and yet, her mind could only draw blanks as to what it was.

Was she truly a princess? His betrothed? It seemed right but the more she tried to recall, the more her head ached as if there was some invisible force stopping her from remembering. "I know I should know it, but I dont...and your men seemed rather...angry...perhaps you are mistaken about me," she whispered.

The Lost Princess (Alfie and Aelin)

She watched him come closer, the look on his face, being one of confusion and shock. She didn't understand why he was looking at her like that, and watched as he finally moved so close there seemed to be only a hair's breath between them. Others came riding up, dogs barking but everything seemed to melt away as her gaze met his intense one, so focused on her. Princess Caitriona. Was she a princess? His eyes went to the mark on her shoulder and her necklace and then her eyes widened as he said that he thought she was his betrothed. It seemed...right.

"Betrothed?" she asked, hardly believing it. "Princess?" If she was a princess, why on earth was she dressed like this? She glanced down at her attire and then ran her hand over her birthmark before looking back at him, eyes wide at this strange revelation. She was so lost, and here he was telling her that she was some princess.

"That seems...impossible..." she said, stepping back only to cry out and nearly fall before catching herself, grabbing onto his arms to steady herself and hissing in pain. "I'm sorry..." she said and then winced again but she was far too unbalanced to let go of him.

"What's going on?" Another man spoke, having ridden up, glancing at the two, Peter and Sander before nodding his head toward the Prince and the girl dressed in rags.

"Come on now Your Highness...I'm sure the lass is fine...we've a boar to catch...I want to impress my Moira," he chuckled, adjusting himself in the saddle before moving closer to the pair on his horse. "Your Highness..." he called again, meaning to snap the man out of his revelry.

The Lost Princess (Alfie and Aelin)

She watched the stranger come off his horse and the dogs abated eventually, though they still eyed her with suspicion. She was grateful when they finally moved back, sitting and watching her. She slowly looked up at the man. He was tall, much taller than she was and as she stood, she realized the top of her head barely reached under his nose. His hair was the most wonderful color too and she found herself blushing when she realized she was perhaps staring too long at him. "Forgive me...I...the dogs, they startled me...the injury it's all my fault...being foolish..." she stammered out the words. They felt foreign on her tongue, as though the words hadn't ever been uttered before. She sighed and lowered her gaze, arms wrapping around her middle as she kept her head down. "As to the being lost...yes...I..." she trailed off, looking around then back at him. "I don't know what's happened. I don't know where I am...what I'm doing here...if I'm being quite honest with you...aside from my name and age, I haven't the slightest idea of anything else about me...It's like...it's like I woke up and everything before now was some dream I can't remember...every time I try to remember, my head aches...I feel as though I've gone mad..." she admitted then bit her bottom lip, bringing her hand up to her head as if trying to force herself to remember.

"I...I suppose that you can do very little to help me remember..." she sighed, looking at him, trying to keep herself upright on the uninjured foot. "I'm sorry...I'm not meaning to be a bother. Truly I'm not..." she swore then looked around again. "It's just frustrating..." She ran her hands along the chain of her necklace, unaware of where she'd gotten it, of it's origins. Aside from the necklace was a very distinct birthmark on her shoulder, the shape of wings much like the necklace, dark brown in color, a contrast to her pale skin and visible thanks to the tears in the sleeves of her dress. There was only one person known to have possessed such a birthmark, and such a necklace, but she was unaware of that. "I know my name is Caitriona, I know I'm eighteen but everything else...it's all one big giant blur..."

The Lost Princess (Alfie and Aelin)

Everything was a blur. She remembered snatches of color and beauty, she knew her name, how old she was, but everything else seemed to be lost in a fog that she could not seem to clear. Her dress was brown, ripped and torn and several places, dirty from her many falls, her blonde hair braided neatly and there was no adornment on her person except for a very beautiful silver necklace, who's pendant was a diamond studded set of wings, like that of a butterfly. Where was she? What was this place? Caitriona didn't have an answer for either.

Some memories came to the surface, of a man and woman, handsomely dressed, wearing beautiful colors and jewels, fawning over her, and then darkness until a few moments ago. No matter how hard she thought, how hard she tried to recall anything, nothing occurred to her. She was disoriented, lost in a strange place, with no memory of how she had gotten to where she was.

As she walked, a sound broke through the silence of the forest. Horses, their hooves slamming into the earth, causing it to vibrate beneath her feet, the sounds of men shouting and dogs baying. She froze, glancing around the forest, trying to discern where the sounds were erupting but she didn't know. All she knew was that it was getting closer and closer.

She took off at a run, rushing through the trees, and yet the sounds only grew closer. They were frightening sounds and it only made her run faster, bare feet hitting the ground, her run almost unearthly and then that run ended suddenly as she found herself falling down a hill bank, and landing with a harsh thud in the middle of a dirt road just as horses and dogs charged toward her. The horses stopped and the dogs seemed to corner her, growling and barking. She gasped, scrambling up and away from them but they only followed and growled. Her green eyes were wide with fear at their aggressiveness toward her only to fall again as her ankle gave out, full of searing pain. She must have twisted it in her fall.