The Inkeeper's Daughter

[Betty Bogey]

Isobel Miller woke up early in the morning, as she usually did. She had to help father run his inn and do most of the housekeeping and the cooking for the guests. She had no problems doing so and she never complained about doing so. She knew that it took a lot to run the inn, and she was glad to help her father in any way that she could. She knew that he had a lot to take care of, not only running his inn, but also being part of a revolution to try and overthrow the government. She did not protest to him being a part of the revolution, though she often feared for his safety, as he was all she had.


Isobel quickly dressed for the day. She did not have many fancy clothes, and that was fine with her. Fancy clothes would make her stand out, and she did not like standing out. She picked out a simple dark blue dress and changed into it, before putting her hair up into a bun. After she finished getting ready, she went downstairs to start preparing for the day. She was preparing breakfast, and scrubbing down the counters and tables, to make sure that the inn looked nice for when the guests began to wake up and come downstairs. She had no doubt in her mind that today would be any different than any other day.


The inn was never really crowded. It was quaint and quiet, the way Isobel liked it. She was not very fond of a lot of commotion or anything wild. She had always preferred to read about them. As she began setting up, she hummed to herself. She did not like singing around people, as it made her self conscious. However, it would be a while before anyone came down, so she thought it would be all right to do so.

 

[Taran]

Darius never wanted to be king, and in his youth he thought he'd never have the opportunity as he was the second son. Even when his parents were killed during a revolt at the age of nine it was his twelve year old brother who was crowned king. Everything started to calm down for a while too thanks to the help of the council of the generals and heads of the royal court. Things however started to take a turn when his brother turned sixteen and caught some sort of illness, doctors were consulted but none could find a cure. To make matters worse his brother's wife died giving birth and the baby was lost as well. That was when things took a drastic change and Darius was forced into training to be the new king.


He hated it every waking moment he hated having to deal with people who didn't care about him, he hated seeing what the power of the crown did to people, it cost his parents their lives and he as rather confident it was slowly killing his brother now as he was getting worse, after five year the illness was winning and his brother couldn't even make it out of his bed. Anyway now he would die and then Darius would be crowned king as no one listened to him protest that he didn't want the job, he as only reminded he had to do what as best for the kingdom. No one seemed to grasp that he was not that. Today however was the straw that broke the camel's back, one of the royal advisors told him he'd be married at the end of the week to Lady Bethany.


Darius despised that woman, and he knew that her family had money, power and influence, thus making her a perfect queen. But he couldn't stand her even her voice drove him to the brink of insanity, so when the news that he'd be marrying her he excusedidn't himself and made his way to his room. Once the door was closed he slid down the door till he as seated upon the floor, then he pulled his legs to his chest and started to rock back and forth telling himself that it would all be okay. But he knew that was lie, nothing would be fine if he had to marry her and rule the kingdom. That was when it hit him he could just run, and go far away. Surely someone else would be a better king, and it would solve all his problems.


It was still early and not many servants were awake, so Darius took the opportunity to gather his more muted and plain clothing, then he went and gathered a small bag of gold as well. He put on a cloak and grabbed his two bags, and left the castle, without a word to any human. He wasn't close to them, the only one he said goodbye too was his horse Pine. As much as he would have liked to have taken the wonderful beast with him he knew the horse would be recognized and he'd be dragged back to the castle. Pine would be well taken care of even if he wasn't there, having said his farewell to his only friend he left the castle and didn't look back.


After traveling miles and miles, most of the early morning he stumbled upon an inn seemingly in the middle of nowhere. It didn't look that busy either it was now around noon and he was rather hungry, tired, and he was certain he as covered in dirt and sweat. No one out here should recognize him in this state, and he'd say that people said he looked like the prince but he didn't see it. Darius took a breath breath as he slowly opened the inn door, he was relieved to find that it wasn't crowded. He made his way inside and closed the door behind him. "Hello?" He called out in a raspy voice, "Is anyone here?"

 

[Betty Bogey]

Isobel continued about her work. Her father had come down and told her of some urgent business. She knew that meant he had a meeting with some of his fellow revolutionaries. Isobel simply nodded and told him to be careful. She couldn't lose her father, he was all she had, and she knew how risky it was to be part of a revolution. She did not want her father to be caught by the government. She knew that if he was, things would not end well for him, and she would be left alone. She continued singing quietly to herself, still unaware that there was anyone there.


Isobel's mother had died giving birth to her, so it had always just been her and her father. She loved him dearly and he loved her dearly. They had always been very close, and she had always been the most darling thing in his life, something she had always been grateful for. He had always said that he reminded her of her mother. It had always brought a smiled to Isobel's face to hear her father say such a thing. She always wished to know her mother and she loved to hear of her and she actually felt rather proud to be like her and remind her father of her.


Her singing suddenly stopped when she heard someone call out, asking if anyone was there, and a faint blush painted her cheeks. She stopped from her work to look, and she saw there was a man was there. Though she was terribly shy, and she had been since she was a little girl, she knew that she would have to check him in. She always disliked helping guests check in. She considered it the worst part of her job. She had done so with many other guests, though she was still embarrassed when she did so. She really only helped check people in if her father wasn't there or was unavailable. If he was, she would go find him and have him do it. She knew it was silly and she was often embarrassed by that fact. She took a deep breath. hurried to go to the front desk to tend to him.


"Hello, sir," said Isobel. Her voice was kind, but it was also rather timid and nervous. She always had a habit of sounding like that when talking to people she didn't know, and she always hated that about her. It was hard, as the only person she knew well was her father and some of the other employees at the inn. Her father liked the inn to feel approachable, and she knew that she did not seem very approachable when she said that. Even though she had tended to many guests before, she still became rather nervous at how easy it was to become nervous. "How can I help you?"