Princess Arletta lives in the early Medieval kingdom of Klavon and believes she has two problems, one insolvable, the other she hopes to solve for herself. The first problem is that she lives in a world dominated by men; namely her father, the King...
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The chamber billowed smoke while the flames, fed by air drawn through the glassless window, flared fiercer.
Somewhere in the back of Arletta's mind, she remembered being told it was better to get as low as possible when there was a fire out of control. She crouched by the door and felt a draft being sucked in by the approaching flames. Lying down with her face to the narrow gap, she closed her eyes. Her heart pounded in her head. All hope was gone. She would die here, she believed.
A clicking noise, sounding above the roar of the flames gave her a surge of hope. Someone rotated something back and forth, back and forth. Perhaps the key didn't fit, or more than one key was being tried, she wondered. Pushing herself backwards into the chamber, she rose to a crawl, intending to stand. The door swung at her with force, striking her forehead, stunning her momentarily. Bursts of flames flew over her. A person entering stumbled on her, half falling, half diving over her to the floor with a thud, groaning in agony.
Dread of dying flew from her mind as her renewed hope created thoughts of escape and survival. Slithering around the open door, she rose back to crawl and found herself in the corridor. Barefoot, with her gown singed, she stood and broke into a run. With one hand on her throbbing forehead, she arrived at a central stairway. The floor below blazed flames and all she could do was to stare at it while hope drained from her.
An explosion rocked the palace! Shouts and screams joined the roar and crackle of the flames.
Another explosion!
Glancing back the way she had run, Arletta saw the form of a man staggering her way and realised it was the person who opened the door to the East solar chamber. Turning to view the passage in the other direction, she saw only darkness, no sign of fire or life. With her hand on the top rail, she ran out of the fire-light into the unknown hallway. Closed doors, spaced along the outer wall did not tempt her. She hoped her instincts were right, that there would be a lesser stairway to the lower parts of this massive palace.
Out of breath, Arletta arrived a dead-end. Although her eyes had adjusted to the dimness, everything seemed a hazy grey. Smoke in the air caused her to cough and her nose to run. Dropping to sit on the cool floor, she wondered at the lack of people, guards, servants; there was no one... just her pursuer...
Still staggering, the man, holding his shoulder, lurched towards her until flopping to the floor on his knees in front of her. Turning sideways, she pushed with her feet to slide herself along the wall, away from him. Still holding his shoulder, he 'walked' on his knees, closer and closer...
Arletta's hands felt an indent behind her. A door! She wondered if it would open. Standing and grabbing the handle, she turned it and pushed. It did not budge. The man joined her, surrounding her with one arm, drawing her into an embrace, saying, softly, "Arletta... Annie... my love..."
Feeling faint with disbelief and wonder, she managed to ask, "Steele? No. It can't be! Is it really you?" She felt herself sinking but he supported her, whispering in her ear...
