“Samantha my darling, I have found a Prince for you to marry” the King informed his eldest daughter.

“Ooh” Samantha responded not sounding to thrilled about it. She knew she was 23, ready for marriage but mentally she wasn’t ready for it at all.

“What’s the matter sweetheart?” the King asked a little concerned by her reaction.

“Nothing father, who is he?” she asked giving him a fake smile trying to convince her dad.

“His name is Prince William. Prince of our neighbour Kingdom” he said proudly this man wanted to marry his daughter.

“When will I meet him?” she asked sadly but with a smile.

“He will be here in about a week. I’ve organized a ball on the evening of his arrival day so you two can get to know each other”

“Thank you” she said before hugging him, he never saw the sad look in her eyes when she buried her face in his chest.

“Let’s get ready for dinner” the King stated and Princess Samantha left the room heading for her private wing.

JC lay in bed that night still fidgeting with the shackles around his wrists. They weren’t tight but irritating nevertheless. They were about 5 cm long and made of iron; it had a number on it and a hook. He wasn’t quite sure where that was good for but he guessed it had something to do with chains, which could easily be put in between the two shackles, bounding his wrists together. Then the number, 803885, was that all he was now? Nothing more than a number? A slave? Just yesterday he was lying in the grass, as free as the birds that flew above him, calm and peaceful. Now he was someone’s property, someone owned him. He wasn’t free anymore and he was sure he would never be free again. He would spend the rest of his life being someone’s slave.

He sighed heavily as he thought about the events of the day. After he’d gotten the shackles he was guided outside by Darren. He’d gotten a ‘tour’ of the place well he saw where he was supposed to sleep, eat and he was told what his job would be. They’d seen that he was strong and they could certainly use a man like him. The King had instructed Mr. Norton to let the slaves build a home for the future Queen and her future husband. The King trusted Mr. Norton and had told him about the upcoming wedding. The future King and Queen needed somewhere to live together and like her bedroom wasn’t big enough, it was actually a wing, he wanted to give his daughter a couple of new rooms in extension.

JC was instructed to report to the carpenter early in the morning, the carpenter who was in charge of making the new rooms the King wanted to give his daughter once she got married. He had no idea what he was supposed to do, he had no experience in carpentry what so ever but he guessed he would be used for the hard work, like hauling with wood, hold things and maybe paint a few things but he guessed that was about as far as it would go. He sighed once more, rubbing his hands over his tired face as the harsh words of Darren invaded his mind once again,

“You’re new at this whole slave thing aren’t you?” Darren asked after the tour, smiling slightly. JC nodded in response. He’d been free all his life and this was definitely something different, he had no clue how this worked.

“Alright well, it isn’t really that hard. We command and the slaves obey. No questions asked” JC jerked his head up looking at Darren incredulously.

“Ooh yeah and no eye contact, slaves are not allowed to look someone in the eye. They should always bow there head, especially when it’s someone important. Never. Never look the King in the eye” JC took in the information and slowly lowered his head again, looking at the floor in front of him.

“You’re not allowed to go around the palace unless for your work. If we do see you there without a reason you get punished. You do something wrong, you get punished. You disobey someone you get punished. It’s as simple as that. Do as you’re told and you’ll be fine” he shrugged, ending his explanation while JC thought about how ridiculous that sounded. I’ll be fine! Huh sure! JC wanted to ask a few questions but wasn’t sure if he was allowed. Darren hadn’t mentioned anything about asking questions although he kind of knew it wasn’t allowed, he tried anyway.

“Can I ask a few questions?” JC asked quietly not looking up from the floor.

“Just a couple please” he pleaded. Darren agreed till JC’s surprise and quickly thought of his first question.

“What are these things for?” JC asked tugging at his shackle.

“We can identify the slaves easier that way” was the simple reply from Darren.

“Why did you and your friends take me with you?” JC asked sadly, regretting the decision of ever trying to rob them from their food.

“Because you attacked us” Darren replied with a hint of anger in voice.

“I didn’t mean to, I was just hungry” JC said apologetically.

“Maybe you didn’t mean to, but you did it anyway”

“That’s not a reason to make me a slave is it?” JC asked getting a little angry himself.

“We decide who we make slaves not you alright?” Darren said aggravated.

“Now shut up before you say something I’m going to have to punish you for” JC nodded in response allowing Darren to guide him to the sleeping area. He had trouble falling asleep that night but finally managed to push the events of the day aside and he fell asleep just a few hours before it was time to get up again.

“Daddy?” Katherine, Samantha’s 4 years younger sister, approached her father.

“Yes sweetie?” the King answered his youngest daughter; he always had a weak spot for her. She looked the most like her mother and when she died; he wanted Katherine to be happy at all time.

“Is it true that Sam is marrying Prince William?” she asked curiously.

“Yes, that’s true”

“Is he cute?” she asked.

“Katie!” her father warned.

“Prince William is here to marry your sister” he stated. Katherine always had the habit of wanting everything Samantha had. It didn’t matter what. Katherine wanted to have it all, not because it was worth having but just because she was jealous of her older sister and thought she dissevered it more than her.

She didn’t have that problem with her middle sister, Elizabeth, Katie wasn’t as jealous of Elizabeth as she was of Samantha. Samantha had always been the future queen, she was the eldest and that meant she inherited everything, which made Katherine extremely jealous and made her want to have everything Sam had.

It had always been that way, when they were little Katherine always wanted to have Samantha’s dolls. The King remembered the time when he came into Samantha’s bedroom finding her sitting in the middle of the room surrounded by all of her broken dolls. It turned out that Katherine wanted to have the dolls but Samantha refused and Katherine thought if I can’t have them, neither can she so she broke all of them. Samantha, although the eldest, never fought back she just wasn’t the type. Katherine pouted at the information and the strict look on her father’s face softened quickly.

“You’re time will come sweetheart. I’ll find you a Prince when the time is right ok?” her father reasoned and she agreed. She happily hopped out of the room leaving her father with a smile on his face.