CHAPTER TWO

Ace heard his footsteps crunch on the perfectly trimmed grass. He was in a playful mood and looked around if anyone was nearby. He took his spear and swirled it around in the air in an imaginary battle. As he reached the wall, he lost his footing and hit his head against it. Hoping no one heard on the other side of the wall, he listened for anyone coming near. But instead he heard a soothing voice. He had never heard a girl sing before and at that moment he never wanted to hear anything else again. He wondered if it could be a servant, perhaps one of the queen’s guests. The voice, the melody, overpowered him so that he found himself looking for a way to climb over the high red wall. He knew he could be beheaded for this. But he didn’t care. He needed to know who that beautiful voice belonged to.
He managed to softly fall into the bushes when he fell over the wall. He hosted himself up, looking around for the voice.
He saw the back of a beautiful, lean, young girl with long red hair. It could see how her hair melted into different shades of red. She wasn’t a servant but she could be a friend of the queen. He could never speak to her, she would probably yell if he came near.
He tried to get closer, still listening intently to the song she was singing. He found a place situated behind a bush that was cut into the exact image of the red queen. He could stay there all night. He wished he could see the face of the beautiful girl. Her voice sounded sad but that brought a magical feel over the whole image of her singing. He wanted to take her into his arms and tell her she had no reason to be sad anymore. He was just about to shed a quick, manly, tear when a sudden jolt brought him back to his reality.
He recognized the scoundrel who pulled at his leg. It was the red queen’s nasty dog. He growled at the little monster, but it didn’t seem to mind. It was still trying to pull him out from behind his cover.
He looked at the girl anxiously. She hadn’t seemed to hear the commotion and was still hugging herself. She sighed. He smiled sadly and sighed too.
He kicked his leg furiously, trying to loosen the grip of the dog. But it didn’t go quite as plan when the clumsy card soldier lost his balance and fell head first into the dam.
The girl gasped in shock and looked at the stranger in her dam.
Only when he had removed all the grass off of his face does he realize who the girl is. It’s the queen herself! With that realization he loses his footing again and falls back into the water with his legs in the air. Spartling for air, a frog decides to jump onto his head.
He heard a sound growing louder and louder. It was only when he got the frog off of his head that he realized it was the laughter of the queen. He had never heard her laugh before. He gave a crooked smile. And she stiffeled her laugh with her soft, small hands and smiled back at him.