Woodchoppers Secret

Chapter Four | Sunder

He had a bit of a muddy face, showing that he was probably working before he got to his use to see a half-naked stranger spying on him, now that I think of it. That was rather stupid of me. He climbs up the stairs towards his open front door, the moment he enters he slams it closed behind him.

He rests me onto one of his sofas, and leaves me be to get something maybe. "I do apologise for creating such hassle, that was none of my intentions to do so." He returns with some sort of aid kit; he drops it onto the table and stares at me. I got a good look of what he was wearing. A red, checker unbuttoned shirt, with a tight black vest underneath. A pair of jeans along with a belt, looking handmade.

"Well, you did create a hassle, all I asked for you to do was get out." He mumbles as he settles onto the coffee table, he brings my foot onto his thigh and raises an eyebrow as he darts them onto me. "My sister is a maid; her feet are never this clean..." He asked in a whisper, oh dear! Out of all the lies I could have ever told.

"I work for the upcoming Queen, she does not let me do much, I am her best friend." He scoffs when I finish, why did he hate the royals so bad?

"You can tell your best friend that she is a rubbish upcoming Queen, so are her parents." He grabs a cloth and some alcohol, what he said about me hurt me. I have done nothing to hurt anyone, nothing at all. I stayed in my lane and followed the rules but clearly the only rule that needed to be followed was unknown.

"Why do you hate them so much? What have they done to you?" I ask in suspicion.

"A lot of bad things, I don't like talking about it. This might hurt." He pours the alcohol onto my feet; I gasp as it begins stinging all over the hurt area. He grabs the wooden slab and slowly pulls it out of my feet, it was only small not as big as I thought it would be. He gently rests it onto the table and begins wiping the blood of my feet.

"You did not need to help me, but thank you, I really do appreciate it." I whisper, he nods his head as he bandages up my foot. The moment he ties it together he releases my foot gently back onto the floor. Standing he picks the slab along with the aid kit and stumbles away.

"What is your name? If you do not mind me asking,"

"I do mind. We are not friends, and when you leave you will not remember me, so it does not matter." I sigh, why he was he holding such a grudge? I look down at the coffee table to see a pile of books. I smile as I lean towards them and pick one of them up.

"You read?"

"I do."

"I love reading, I have an entire book collection-the future Queens collection. I read every single one of her books, Romeo and Juliet is my favourite." He rose an eyebrow as he brings his Axe and the sharpener sitting down on the sofa opposite me.

"The Queen reads, that's a surprise."

"Why would it be a surprise? She is an amazing woman, caring, kind but she gets degraded a little too much. Especially by her own parents, she does not think they like her, and they do not. They call her such horrid things and compare her to Princess Malissa all the bloody time. She was told, the only thing good about her was her virginity and is being forced to marry a fifty-year-old man on Monday."

I suddenly felt better, I suddenly feel a weight being lifted of my shoulder the moment I let that out. It was better out than in, that is true. My eyes were slightly closed in sadness before opening them back up again. "Are you in love with her or something?"

"Pardon me." I repeated surprised.

"You talk about her too much, and how do you know these things? You are a maid,"

"As I have said before, I am also her best friend." I whisper, he scoffs and continues sharpening his axe in front of me, clanking the rock against the metal. "What do you work as?"

"Woodchopper."

"You have to have a lot of strength for that, I tried chopping wood but it never cut through. I was freezing the entire night." I chuckle at the memory of me and my sister, we were afraid of waking up the maid to bring us some so we decided upon ourself to do so. But it didn't go as planned. The man whom I have yet to know his name stood up at a shouting noise.

"Anastasia! Princess Anastasia, where are you?" A bundle of voices shout, my eyes widen as I shoot up from the sofa and onto my hurting foot. I cry in pain as the woodchopper grasps onto my forearms asking if I was alright.

"I need to go; do you have a shirt or something to cover me up with?" I said in a hurry, he removes the checker shirt sliding it down his arms revealing the drawing that continued prancing down. I drop the covers and immediately slide on the shirt as I button it up.

"Thank you."

"You're the Princess?" He said in a confused voice, I shake my head knowing I have to leave.

"No, no the Princess is probably looking for me. I have to leave. Thank you Axe man." I see a small smile creep onto his lips, I fling open the door and rush into the woods, far away from the man who helped me. I push my self and look at the ground, I could not help the smile the arrived onto my face after a few more minutes of walking. Only to notice the maiden's entrance.

"Your highness." The maids whisper, I bite onto my smiling lips. The moment I entered the kitchen I feel my heart resting against my chest. Suddenly, I feel it tinge with a slight bit of happiness. My first ever encounter with a man who does not know me, does not know my wealth, does not know anything about me. He did not talk about wealth, nor did he talk about business. He is a simple man, which intrigued me the most.

"Where on earth were you?!" I hear my sister, Clara shout as she tumbles into the kitchen. I grab onto her and pull her out, down the halls into my bedroom. I slam the door closed, and settle down onto the bed. "Answer me Ana?"

"I was with a woodchopper; I woke up half-naked and only in my brassiere and undergarments. Though, I did not know how I got there in the first place and as did he. Though he was slightly aggressive with his words, he helped me after. And when he touched me, I felt a connection I have not felt with any suitor in my life. It felt like an electric shock buzzing through me and I-he did not know who I am, he did not know I was the future Queen of England, I was just a maid to him and it was so easy...I need to see him again." Clara stood there; her mouth dropped open. Her eyebrows shot up and her eyes widened.

"Is that his shirt?" She whispers, pointing to the red checker shirt.

"Yes, yes it is. Even more reason to go see him."

"Where were you?" There it was. My mother.