Cassandra

Chapter Four

Cassandra POV 

I pick up my diary and a quill and start writing what all I have learned today. I begin with how to hold a sword and follow it with the techniques that Daddy showed my brothers today. I write in detail so I don’t miss anything. After I am done writing and put the dairy and quill beneath my bed and sit beside it. 

I jump up on hearing a sound coming from the windows. I don’t know if I am in some dream or something was there. I sit back again on the same spot when I hear the sound again. This time I notice a stone striking the window and I make my way towards it. 

To my surprise, I notice my three i***t brothers almost hanging by the window and quickly put the wood to open the window. 

As soon as the window is opened, all three of them jump in landing on their knees. They dust off their clothes and stand in front of me. All three faces are sad for a second before I find Henry approaching me. He is youngest of all and so has still not gotten any masculine features. 

“Cass, why are you crying?” He asks me with innocence in his eyes and I brush his hair smiling. 

I bow down a little to face him and put my hand on his cheek. 

“I am not crying Henry, I think I got a little cold”, I lie obviously not wanting to trouble my brother. 

George comes from behind and puts his hand around Henry’s arm and gives him a grin. 

“Yes Henry, Cass is not crying she just ate a lot of frozen desserts and that’s why she is sniffing,” George says with a wink and I almost gasp seeing him being this mature. 

What did my stupid brother grow up?

“Yes Henry, but you shouldn’t eat it or else you will sniff like me and will get dirty”, I try to hide my smile and say with mock seriousness. 

“Cass, your chamber doesn’t look like it belongs to girl”, I see William comes from behind and starts to touch and move my things. 

“Oh Will…Please don’t touch anything or move anything…It’s my chamber...I like how it is”, I say in frustration before sitting back on my bed.

“Ahaa…so there is a little part inside you which is still a girl.,” George says from beside me and I punch him hard.

“I spoke too soon…” he is still laughing and I start to laugh with him. 

“Why don’t you learn how to dance…maybe that will make Mother happy” Will suggests still going through my things. 

“The last time I danced with the devil, I stepped on his toe”, I stick my tongue out. 

There is a knock on the door and all of us freeze on our spots. I get up quickly from the bed and close the window while hiding the wooden stick under my bed. 

I start to push all three of them from the bed. 

“Get up…get up..if it is Mom, she will kill me this time”, I am whispering to them but they are taking a lot of time to move, maybe they are not so scared of Mom like I am. They don’t get beat up as I do. 

They drag their feet while complaining. 

“My shirt is going to get dirty, I am not going under it”, Will is moaning while Henry and George are already under the bed.

“I will get you a new one…now shhh”, I put a finger over my lips and as soon as they all are hidden I say,” Come in”

Thankfully it is Maria and not mother. I smile but seeing her sad face it disappears. 

“I am sorry Ms. Cassandra, I wasn’t able to…” she is finding it difficult to speak and I hold her hands. 

“It’s okay Maria, I understand..you don’t have to be sorry”, I bring her back to the bed and make her sit down. Her eyes immediately fell on my wrist and she gets up. 

“It’s okay, it doesn’t hurt now”, I speak with great difficulty as it is a lie, I don’t like lying to Maria.

She has gotten a cloth and warm water with her and makes me sit on the bed. 

“Ouch”, I burst out feeling the warm water on my hand. 

“Is Cassy Okay”, Henry whispers but it is too loud to be missed and Maria raises her eyebrows. 

I signal her down and she just nods and smiles. 

“Here it’s done..now I will come again and apply it in the evening, while you finish this food”, my face brightens up seeing the delicious food she has brought. 

My tummy groans on its own confirming that I am starving. 

“Cass…my bravest knight…hurry up with the food before the Queen comes.” Maria’s voice is serious now and I nod jumping on the plate to finish the food. 

She gets up and kisses my forehead. I smile back at her and bow down. 

“I am hungry too…”, Henry rushes from under the bed towards the plate which is kept on the bed. I laugh at his innocence and brush his hair again. 

“I will talk to brother”, George says coming out from under the bed along with the will and settling down again on the bed. 

“Don’t say his name in front of me…he is an A-R-S-E-H-O-L-E”, I spell the word looking sideways at Henry who is busy in devouring the food now. 

“Ah..that he is”, George gives me a big smile that would surely make any woman on the kingdom swoon and he knows it. 

We all laugh again and I begin to tickle Henry to get him away from the food. I am starving too.I do most of the time. 

I eat twice than any girl my age should eat and maybe that’s why I have this big belly. I can’t control myself when it comes to food. My Mom always keeps watching on how much I am eating when we are at the dining table and I have to put a hand on my tummy so she doesn’t hear that it is still not full. I didn’t want to be like this,I didn’t dream about being fat..but I am now and I can’t help it. 

Maria brings me food since she knows that about me. She knows how much food I need and that it pains me every time I have slept without eating that much food. 

There are another knock and this time I am sure it’s my Mother. My face leaves its color and I turn to George. 

He presses a finger over his lips and signals the guy’s something that I don’t understand. I am confused as this is taken pretty seriously and all of them are under the bed in a second. 

I am brought back from my thoughts when I hear another knock. 

“Come In”, I say and sit straight on my bed, waiting to hear another lecture. 

I look at the plate kept on the table and suppress the urge to scream as the door opens before I could hide it. 

“Cassandra”, Daddy is standing near the door and I couldn’t be happier. 

“Daddy”, I rush towards him and give him a big hug. I hear him chuckle and put his arms around me. 

“Oh..so my little princess missed her Daddy this much”, his voice is calm and jovial and I love to hear it all my day. 

He is one of the kindest men in our kingdom. Subject from another kingdom to respects him. He has never been unfair to anyone. He has never been cruel and everyone knows it. Even the people who are guilty have never gone against him. He is authoritative in the court and brave in the battleground. He knows a lot of tactics and has a very sharp brain. He is my ideal. 

One day I want to be like him. 

“Yes Daddy, I missed you a lot”, I say almost teary but I control them from coming out. I am my Daddy’s brave girl. 

“I see that Maria has already been here”, he gestures to the cloth covering my wrist and I nod. 

“I also see some trouble makers under the bed”, okay so it’s official that nothing can be hidden from him. 

“Cassandra…I have talked to your Mother”, I am more concentrated on his words now than ever,” And I have told her that you would be going away to the neighboring kingdom to learn about etiquette on how to be a princess”, my face fell listening to his words. I didn’t expect him to take her side. 

Before I could whine, he signals me to hear him. 

“But I am sending you there for the training on being a knight.” “ There is a Hekademia in the neighboring kingdom which teaches skills for being a knight. You have to train and prove yourself, and only then you become a true knight” I am getting more curious listening about such a place. I have heard that there are places where the people go to train how to be a knight but I never knew I would be going there. I am happy beyond anything when my Daddy says the next word, “But..you can’t reveal that you are my daughter. I don’t want anyone to know that and provide you with an advantage or disadvantage” I am not able to understand what he means by that but I nod. 

“You should rest now...Tomorrow is going to be a big day”, he says this and leaves my chambers, while I sit on my bed with a big smile on my face. 

“You all heard Daddy. Now go. I have to sleep”, I say to the idiots hiding under the bed as I put up my blanket and pat on my excited heart which I beating really fast.