Chapter Four.....

Stella woke the next morning with a slight pain in her bandaged arm. Getting out of bed she remembered all of the happenings of yesterday. She turned to make her bed still thinking and as she did this her foot stepped on something. It was the basket of flowers and love note. The flowers were scattered all over her wooded floor. Stella bent and selected the note out form the flowers. Again she examined it.

The duke’s son, William, looked out his tall bedroom window reflecting on how ridicules he had acted yesterday with Stella. He had wanted to make a good impression on her then ask her to marry him, but everything seemed to go backwards. He remembered fondly of how Stella and he had played together as children, but as they got older they both had schooling to finish so saw less and less of each other. He doubted she even remembered him from all those years back. Since a boy of seven he had always loved her. The door handle rattled and a servant came in bearing William’s freshly starched clothes. No more reflecting, it was time to get on with the day.

Stella shoved the love note in her pocket and decided to clear her head with a brisk morning walk. She stepped out the oval shaped door into the fresh morning breeze. Set in a valley, between rolling green hills, her stone cottage was snuggly located beside a bubbling stream and scattered trees. Though it was only three miles from the village, there were only four other farms nearby. Taking a deep breath she choked on a small bug. Sputtering and gagging, Stella made her way down the little dirt path, smelling the pretty wild flowers and enjoying the sparkling dew that clung to the countryside.

She was about to pass by her neighbor’s farm, when she saw her good friend, Adam weeding his prize cabbage garden. “Good Morning!” Adam said, waving a dirt covered hand. Letting herself through the garden fence Stella walked over to where Adam crouched in the dirt. Perching herself on the fence, she tried to decide if she should relate to him all of her woes. “A penny for your thoughts, please,” Adam asked, looking up from his gardening. “Oh, I seem to get myself in the worst of trouble,” Stella said with a sigh. “What you do this time, wrestle the duke’s son, battle the grocery man for your dinner or argue with the king?” Adam said this in a teasing sort of way. “How did you guess? Would you really believe me if I told you I wrestled the duke’s son?” Adam threw back his head and laughed. Stella looked at him miserably and said “okay it wasn’t exactly wrestling but I did slap him…. And kicked him….and told him to go away in the rudest manner.” Adam stopped laughing and looked at her with his eyebrows raised in a questioning way. “Tell me all about it and maybe there is a way to fix this dilemma.” So Stella related the whole story to him. She was quite used to relating her problems to him, he always seemed to cheer her up and help her find a solution. “I am thinking that the duke’s son left the love note in the woods, but then again I really don’t know. I am so confused!” Stella finished with a miserable sigh. Looking up, Adam grinned at her with a twinkle in his eyes. “May I see the note?” Adam wiped his hands then carefully took the note. “Why don’t you just answer the note?” And going down on one knee, in the dirty cabbage patch, he said: “Stella, from the moment we first met I have always loved you. Will you marry me?” On any other occasion, Stella would have thought he was joking, but she could tell from his serious tone of voice and the earnest expression on his face that it was no joke. She slipped her small hand into his large dirty one. The love note fluttered to the ground. And looking into his deep blue eyes she said: “Yes, of course I will!” Deep in her heart she had always wanted him to ask.
The End!

Thank YOU J.S! She has been so helpful with this story!
~Lady Florimel~

Chapter Three...

From where Stella was sitting she could see that the young man was smiling as he made his way up to the tree. “Oh bother!” Stella thought as she tried to climb out of sight. Suddenly in her scrambles she lost her grip on the branch she had been holding and screamed as she went crashing through the branches. She hit the ground with a thud. Stella groaned as she picked herself up but almost fainted from the pain in her left arm. She tried to stop her fall by stretching out her arm but the result was a broken wrist. She slowly sat up and pushed her thick, dark brown hair out of her face. Her best dress was now torn at the hem and stained from blood and dirt.

The young man came rushing to her side and began to help her up while asking if she was hurt badly. But being a little hasty he grabbed her broken wrist and gave a hard pull to hoist her up. “Ouch! Oh, do stop! Let go of me!” Stella screeched as she wacked at the man with her free hand. She stood up and glared at up the stranger in front of her, he was very tall, with black hair and dark blue eyes. “I am so sorry, did I hurt you?” He asked as he rubbed his beaten arm. “You only wrenched my aching wrist, I wouldn’t be surprised if it is now broken.” Stella sniffed as she turned to go to the house. “No, wait, I would like to speak with you.” He said as he grabbed her hand to prevent her from going. “STOP! Let GO!” She yelled as she furiously kicked his leg. “My apologies” He said as he suddenly realized what he had done for the second time. “Um… I had better go… I am very… sorry for my clumsiness …I do hope it heals quickly.” But Stella was too annoyed to forgive and stomped up to the house. She looked out the window to see him mount his black steed and gallop down the dirt road.

Stella made her way to her father’s office in tears from the pain in her wrist. She found her father there mixing some sort of medication for a patient he would be going to visit (he was one of the best doctors in the area). At the sight of his pale daughter he dropped what he was doing and had her sit in a chair. As he made preparations to set her sprained wrist she explained to him how it had happened, and how that “wretched fellow” had been the cause of all her troubles. Her father looked very grave as she told him all of this. Then he said “My dear, I am sorry you had to meet him in such a terrible way, for he is none other than the grand duke’s son. And he came this afternoon to ask your hand in marriage.”

Stella gasped with horror beyond belief. “You mean to say I kicked a man of royalty! I wonder what the penalty is for that! Do you think he left to get police, so they will now come and hang me?” Looking at her father with wide eyes, Stella thought of all the terrible punishments he could bestow upon her.

Her father smiled. “I don’t think he is interested in killing you…

I love people's comments! Tell me what you think should happen next. Thanks again to J.S. for her wonderful help! ~Lady Florimel~