Chapter 1: Rose Garden

There are fairy tales often told in times of princesses and knights. This is one of those tales, but there are no real princesses nor knights. But there is a noble lady, Aristelle of Philia, a woman who loves nothing more than to dance and love with all her being. There is her childhood friend, Cassian of Palmon, a noble of similar status, a protector, and a foolish man. There is a prince, Prince Aurelius, a curious young royal who is nothing but honest, perhaps even to a fault. Finally, there is an orphan, Reeves Erland, a servant who rose the ranks of class through his master.

This story begins in a garden, lined with roses of all kinds, a place warm and bright with barely a breeze to sway the leaves. Mother Nature had blessed the place as it was greatly loved by its caretakers and their owner, the Duke of Philia. The soldiers had finished their morning routine of the day and were now resting amongst the rose garden.

There was talk amongst them about the daughter of the Philia house. An oddball princess, some would say, she preferred betting a game of chess with soldiers over afternoon tea with fellow nobles. A barefooted princess, they would continue, as if she were a rare creature newly discovered–unpredictable and free-willed. Although the soldiers would complain of the strange princess, they never seemed to speak ill of her.

It was Reeves Erland’s first week transferring to this particular section of soldiers. He was young compared to his peers, but he was able to make his own place amongst them. He was yet to meet the rumored princess.

But Reeves was also a bit of a strange person as well. He would read romance novels, often suggested to him by his sisters. He was not interested in the reality of that sort of story, but he read them anyway. Others would feel embarrassed by its contents, but he cared little for the opinions of strangers.

He sat upon stone steps leading to the training field reading a book while the others spoke of their usual conversations.

Suddenly a hedge nearby rustled. Reeves closed the book quickly before reaching for the hilt of his sword.

Then a girl fell through, with her silky dark hair tangled with branches and leaves. She wore a dark velvet red dress adorned with gold lace which shone slightly under the sunlight.

Reeves’ eyes met hers. As if time had slowed its course, he could see his own reflection in the pure chocolate pools of her eyes reflecting back at him like a mirror.

Unable to find his voice, he did nothing but stare. Was this the rumored barefooted princess?

The silence was broken when another voice called out. “Lady Aristelle!”

“Pleasant day hm?” The girl said unprompted, properly curtsying.

Reeves bowed, hesitantly so. “Yes, quite”

“Lady Aristelle, slow down please!” A young maid walked behind her before freezing upon the gaze of Reeves and the other soldiers. She then positioned herself beside the girl she had called Lady Aristelle, greeting the others with a curtsy.

“Milady,” said another soldier nearby. “Lost, perhaps?”

“I’m embarrassed,” replied Lady Aristelle in a monotone. “I have been searching for Princess Vanilla Bean.”

“Pardon?” The soldier furrowed his brows with confusion.

“Naughty cat, that one,” mumbled Lady Aristelle. “Has anyone here seen that devilish white furball?”

“The bench near the kitchen,” said Reeves. “I passed by the kitchen earlier and saw her underneath the benches.”

“Ah, thank you.” The oddball princess prepared to take her leave before stopping in her tracks. She turned back to him. “My name is Aristelle. May I ask for your name?”

In surprise, the others turned to stare at Reeves. Why him?

“Reeves Erland,” replied Reeves.

“Reeves Erland,” echoed the lady. She then opened a hand towards him. “Will you be my guide, Mister Reeves?”

“Milady!” The maid looked scandalized at the offer.

Unsure how to deny her, Reeves stands to take her hand. “Very well, milady.”

X

Princess Vanilla Bean was right where Reeves had said, perched just under a stone bench that overlooked the garden. It thrilled in delight as Aristelle and Reeves were within it’s sight.

“Quite plump this creature hm?” Aristelle said as she bent down with an outstretched arm towards the cat.

“Quite,” agreed Reeves. But the white creature slipped right by Aristelle towards Reeves. Its round blue orbs seemed to sparkle; her loud meows seemed to grow upon the sight of Reeves.

Aristelle pouted. “How silly of me to assume she’d love me any differently.”

“She’s yours?”

She sighed. “She was a gift from my aunt. I’ve done nothing but love this little princess, yet she chooses another over me.”

“I’m um…sorry?”

Aristelle raised a brow. “Over a cat having a preference?” She stops to think for a moment. “Hm…apology declined.”

Reeves’ eye twitched slightly. He didn’t ask for this, yet he was there anyway. She seemed to act very familiar to a stranger like him. Was he supposed to return that treatment? He sighs, there was no use in overthinking that now. He remained unable to escape the flow of this oddball princess. “How can I possibly make this up to you?”

“A dance,” said Aristelle, not wasting a moment.

“A dance?” Reeves echoed. He thought he could not be surprised anymore yet she had proved him wrong.

Her eyes glimmered as she continued. “I enjoy dancing, you see? But I can never find the right partner nor the shoes for it.”

“How curious,” said Reeves. He entertained the conversation seeing how happy it seemed to make her.

“It’s much easier to dance barefoot, but the ballrooms always make it so hard,” continued Aristelle. “It’s also much easier to walk about the garden without those bothersome shoes.”

Reeves had not realized this before, but the rumors had been true, she was not wearing anything on her feet. It had all been masked by the hem of her dress. “I suppose dancing would be quite a challenge without them.”

“Exactly!” Aristelle spoke with child-like giddiness. “So, will you dance with me? Or do you not know how to?”

“My master–erm father taught me,” said Reeves. He then steals a glance at his pocket watch. “Speaking of my father, I must decline milady. He is expecting me.”

She is unable to hide her disappointment but turns away before Reeves could notice it. Her lips scrunched into a pout, “I understand.”

As Reeves stood up, the white cat followed, meowing all of its complaints at once. “What did you call her again?”

“Princess Vanilla Bean,” replied Aristelle, still with her gaze elsewhere.

“It suits her,” said Reeves, cracking a smile.

Aristelle's turned to catch his expression. She no longer pouted but starred with a vague expression.

“Yes?” Reeves returned the eye contact with a raised brow.

“Quite a charmer, aren’t you?” She mumbled, seemingly to herself. She then stood up to give him a curtsy. “Good day to you Mister Reeves.”

X

Later that week, the other soldiers pegged Reeves for the story.

“The oddball princess wanted a dance and you declined?” The soldier looked at Reeves in shock. He asked him with a raised brow. “But why you?”

Reeves shrugged. “Who knows, is that really so strange?”

“I suppose…” The soldier seemed to daydream. “She’s quite the lady by everyone’s accounts. She wanted to train alongside us, but her father often scolded her for it. She joined us during lunchtime to bet on games when she could. A money mongrel that one.” He then added. “Ah, I suppose you’re still new to Philia, this is all common knowledge amongst the soldiers.”

“She’s less of a lady and more of a bandit,” said another. “She robbed me the last game we played.”

“But she’s quite pretty, isn’t she?” A younger soldier pointed out. “The townspeople love to gossip about the men she involves herself with. They will likely miss making speculations about her future husband once she gets married.”

“Do you think she would kill her husband in his sleep to become a Duke herself?” Another sprouted out.

“That would be quite a story,” added another. “But does she really need to kill a man for it?”

“Sounds like some kind of fairytale,” commented Reeves.

“With a name like Barefoot Princess, how could she not have a fairytale story?”

Reeves chuckled at his companion’s conversations. After all, the barefoot princess was a curious case of a strange and mysterious character. But who knows? Perhaps he could share that dance with her one day to find out the true face of Lady Aristelle.