Living In Distress - Days 1 thru 3

Living In Distress

Chapter 1

Day 1

         I am starting a diary today to give myself something to do. Being 19 years old and the princess here in Distress can be somewhat mundane. I woke up this morning and went to my balcony to watch the sunrise crest the horizon. Gee my day starts early! It was beautiful and I love to watch the colors change in the sky. I also get to glimpse the city that lies below, so peaceful and quiet. It won't be that way in a couple of hours, however. The noise that emanates from the street below my room is enough to drive anyone mad! I could smell my breakfast coming from the dining hall, so I dressed and headed off to eat.

      Breakfast was great as usual. Cook is so wonderful and I can't get enough of her bread pudding. It's like eating french toast flavored goodness smothered in sweet cream. After breakfast is when my day gets really dull and boring. I had a couple of Royal meetings to attend. *Yawn* Nothing ever happens here.

      Today I worked on my swordsmanship skills. My dad really hates that I want to wield a sword and learn to defend myself. He always says, "That is what your personal guards are for!" He is such a traditionalist, but I love him for it :). My teacher, Tren, is a great warrior and is one of dad's top soldiers. He has taught me so much. I really love the freedom it gives me to be swinging that sword around with control and graceful movements. I don't care what my dad says I am not giving this up!

      Nothing of any interest, whatsoever, happened the rest of the day. I ate dinner and crawled into bed. Typical...so typical.

Day 2

      I woke up early this morning struggling to remember the strange dream I had. I could see myself surrounded by darkness. I felt cold and damp and the silence was deafening. That is all I could remember...it was weird. I dragged myself out of bed and went to my balcony. The clouds were thick and settled on the surface of the lake blocking my view of the sunrise. I threw some clothes on and went to breakfast.
Cook had prepared ham and potato hash...so good! Fresh biscuits with fresh butter, I ate til I was sick! I love Selene, she is an awesome cook! No meetings after breakfast today so I ran down to the gate to see if I had any letters from far off places. One came from my friend Antonia of Lakeside Village. Here is what she had to say (it was a little odd)...

Hey Damzee,

I am so excited that I get to come for your birthday. It has been so long since I've seen you. What like, three years or so? My dad and I are going to make the trip on his boat, should be fun. We will probably be on our way by the time you get this. You know it takes like three and a half days to get there by boat, but my dad is going to stock up on supplies while we're there, too. I can't wait! It is going to be such a great time. You know how much I like to dance and drink a little wine. Not a word about the wine to my father though; he'd kill me.

On another note, I am not sure if you have heard the rumors on your side of the lake about the strange disappearances. We have heard of a number of cattle and sheep missing or vanishing. I have heard about a couple of horses and even a dog that were missing. My dad thinks it is just a band of thieves, but I am not so convinced. There are no reported signs of tracks or clues found by anyone. Thieves aren't that clever, are they? It is definitely a strange mystery.

Well, that is all for now. I will see you in a few days.

Love Antonia

      After I read Antonia's letter, I took it to my father to see if he knew anything about these disappearance rumors from the lake provinces. He looked the last half of the letter over (I couldn't show him the first half, he might say something about the wine Antonia likes to drink to her father) and just grumbled something and headed toward his study. I don't know?
The rest of the day the rainy weather settled in over Distress, so I held up in my room and tried to recall more of my dream and thought about the things that Antonia wrote about in her letter. I am excited to see her on Freidai.
Going to bed early because tomorrow morning I am going to the seamstress with my mother to get fitted for my birthday dress. A touch of excitement tomorrow. *Smile*

Day 3

         I woke up in a cold sweat from the dream I was having. It was like the one from the night before but I remember seeing a light flicker in the darkness. The light briefly showed a shadowed figure and then it was gone...so strange. I wonder what could be bringing on these dreams they are like nothing I have ever experienced before, so real. I crawled back in bed and got some more sleep...sort of. What seemed like only minutes after getting back in bed my mom was knocking at my door to get me up for our trip to the seamstress. I quickly got out of bed and the two of us headed to the south end of Distress to the merchant quarter.

      The seamstress is a lovely, joyful (if not a little over the top) lady whose name is Cassandra. She was so full of energy even though it was still just after sunrise. She must have something good cooked up for herself by the local herbalist. Perhaps a little tweakweed? She retook my measurements (she took them a few weeks ago), disappeared behind a curtain and returned with the three choices she had to offer. I was absolutely floored, all three were amazingly beautiful. One was a light blue that shimmered brilliantly in the sunlight coming in through the window. Another was a rich burgundy red with lace and sequin touches throughout. The last was an emerald green gown with beautifully embroidered sleeves. It was a tough choice but in the end I chose the red one. I thought it was just right for me, I truly love it.

      After the morning's excitement I had a couple of what usually are very dull meetings to attend. Well, the first one was boring, but during the second meeting we had a mysterious visitor from the farthest-reaching province of my father's kingdom. He brought word of more livestock gone missing. My father adjourned the meeting early and disappeared into his study accompanied by the visitor. I wish I knew what was going on...it is not fair. I hate feeling out of the loop.

      The rest of the day I spent pondering yet another mystery and my strange dream. It is beginning to consume my free time. Oh well, at least it gives me something productive to do.

      Wonder what tomorrow might bring?