• I hear voices and laughter but they sound so distant. I can almost reach them, understand them, but they are just out of reach. The pain in my head is was so deep and solid, seeming to seep from the one spot on the back of my head where I was hit to the rest of my being, causing even the slightest movement to hurt. Even my eyelids seemed to ache as I opened them, my gaze level with the hard stone floor. I notice three pairs of armored feet plus the leather peasant shoes of the old, fat, chef. I'm outnumbered. There's no chance for me to escape. The only way I'll live to see the sun rise is if the queen is in a merciful mood, which is doubtful, considering the number of beheadings and hangings in the past week. More than ten. I'm going to die...

    A slight whimper escapes my lips at the thought, I couldn't help it, I was horrified, and one guard finally notices I'm awake and looks over at me.

    "Well, well. Look who's finally awake." He says, his deep, gravely voice echoing around the room and over the laughs of the others. The other guards and the chef turned to look at me while the one that had spoken walked toward me, "What did you think stealing would get for you, boy?" He kicks my stomach unexpectedly and the pain that comes after is tremendous. I cry out in pain and the other guards start laughing. The chef stays silent but I could see the satisfaction in his eyes. In his mind, I was getting what I deserved. "Were you expecting riches?" He continues, "Or happiness? Or do you simply have a death wish?" At this, they all roar with laughter, even the chef joins in this time, and I just lay there, cursing my stupidity. How could I have ever thought that I could escape? Stupid, stupid, stupid.

    The guard that had done the talking turned away from me, facing the other two guards and the chef. "Oi! You two!" He yells, pointing a big, thick finger at the two guards. "Grab him." He says lightly then walks out into the corridor, waiting.

    The other guards, although smaller than their leader, were huge and had no trouble lifting me to my feet, each one hooking an arm under one of mine. They half dragged, half carried me out into the corridor, then turned left, continuing toward the throne room. For a few minutes, they dragged me along, their footsteps echoing through the stone hallways and all the while, I didn't so much as try to make the ride more comfortable. If I moved, they might think I was trying to escape and kill me on the spot. What would be the point in that?

    Finally, we stop, Or rather they stopped, sense I'm not doing any of the work, and the guards pull me to my feet and turn me, not bothering to be gentle, to face the big, wooden, double doors that lead into the throne room. The biggest of the three knocks on the door and the sound echos through the corridor. A second later, he pulls them open, walks in a few feet, then falls to his knees in a bow. All the while, we stand in the corridor and wait for him or the queen to tell us to enter.Suddenly, a females voice fills the air, bouncing off the walls and hitting my ears a thousand times before I finally realize that it's time to face the queen.

    The guards push me forward and I stumble over the stone but manage to regain my balance. I hesitate before walking forward, the guards entering after me and each setting one hand on my shoulder. We reach the middle of the room and they push down, forcing me to my knees but I get down on my hands as well, refusing to look up at the queen or the guards. I know I look pitiful and weak but I just can't bring myself to look at them.

    Silence. That's all there is. No one is talking, in fact, most of us are barely breathing. The tension is so thick I think we could swim through it if we wanted to. The seconds seemed like hours but soon the silence was broken by the gentle swishing of a gown and high heels clicking lightly against the stone of the floors. Then, before I knew what was happening, a hand grabbed my hair and yanked my head back, forcing me to look up at them. I cry out more from fear than pain but it does hurt. I finally look at the face of the person holding my hair and it's the queen. My breath catches in my throat and my hands start shaking as she glares down at me, the anger in her eyes obvious.

    "Tell me, boy. Why did you steal from me?" Her words are so sweet but they are coated with a layer grim pleasure which caused my hands to shake worse and my eyes to widen with fear. The satisfaction shows on her face and her eyes show that she's having fun. A smile creeps along her bright red lips and her eyes narrow slightly. "I'm sorry, did I scare you?" She says with false sweetness then her smile fades and is replaced by a frown and she yanks my head back again, harder this time. I scream and feel the tears fill my eyes. "Tell me! Right now! Why did you steal from your queen?"

    All of a sudden a voice rips through the air, quivering with fear, before she can say or do anything else and it took me a second to realize that it was my own. "P-Please! I'm sorry! I was hungry and it just smelled so good. I couldn't help myself! Please spare me!" She smiles, her eyes showing a sinister look, and the feeling of cold dread seeps through me freezing me to the core and I was sure that my face was completely pale.

    Her smile grows and as does my fear. "I order him beheaded before sun dow-" Her words are cut off by the sudden bang of a door hitting the wall and we all look back to the entrance to the throne room. Standing in the doorway, is a tall, thin girl with long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and wearing a small crown upon her head. It's the princess.

    "Do not do that, mother. Leave the poor boy alone." She puts her hands on her hips, staring at her mother with an icy glare that caused me to shudder. The princess had just saved my life.