Crowned

Chapter 6 - Katherine

Several weeks passed, during which Katherine stayed up waiting for Derrick each night. He would come back to the dining hall, sometimes later than others. Katherine made sure that the plate of food stayed hot until he arrived.

Usually he was too tired to carry on a full conversation. So they would spend maybe thirty minutes together until he had finished his meal and they would retire to their bedrooms.

If he got his work done early on Saturday, he was let off early and on Sunday he had the entire day off.

The Royal family had taken quite a liking to Derrick and they took him under their royal plumage, caring for him as their own child. Well, adopted child. He wasn't going to be heir to the throne any time soon.

He was like the oldest brother in many regards. Mature, reasonable, smart, patient, kind, and hard working. Katherine almost felt guilty for cross-stitching all day. Though, in her defense, she had a bad leg and could just now barely start to walk on it.

And so she walked down the castle halls towards the library. Had she been able to skip her way to the library, she would have.

She pushed open the library doors. The smell of books, fresh air, and sunshine filled her senses. It had been a very good idea to add windows to the library. What a dreary place it would have been without them.

She grabbed a book that she had read many times before and glided towards her favorite nook. When she was younger, she made her father create a special little space in a window seat with just enough pillows to be comfortable and far enough away from others that she wouldn't be bothered.

Except now it was apparent that she was going to have to fight for her window seat. In her spot sat Derrick, holding a children's book and frowning furiously.

"A children's book?" Katherine spoke the words before she could stop them. Too bad it always occurred to her after the fact that perhaps she was being rude. She cringed and wanted to walk out of there. She wished she could take the words back. Most farmers didn't know how to read. How could she expect a farmer's son to know any better?

Derrick looked mortified to be caught by anyone and much more to be caught by Katherine. "I-"

He looked down at the floor, trying to figure out what to say.

Katherine felt equally embarrassed to have caused him to be ashamed of himself.

"I'm sorry, that was very rude of me." Katherine fought her instinct to flee and sat on the window seat, across from him. "Mother says I need to watch my tongue and I know I do - sometimes the words slip out before I can catch myself and it gets me into much trouble. If only I would think before I opened my mouth!" She slapped her mouth repeatedly.

"I don't really know how to read at all." Derrick confessed. "My mother and father are illiterate. I only learned the alphabet from a bully who would flaunt his knowledge and point out to me what all the letters were."

"Oh." Katherine stopped slapping herself. Then she brightened up. "Let me teach you! I won't tell anyone else, I promise."

Derrick looked torn between letting a sixteen year old girl teach him and being illiterate for the rest of his life.

He chose the former. "All right." He handed her the book.

"Let's review the alphabet," she began.

And so she spent the next several hours of her Saturday reviewing the alphabet and the corresponding sounds, then consonant blends, and finally very simple words.

"The bat ate the g-nat."

"Gnat." Katherine corrected. "But very good! You're very quick to catch on. Not that I've ever taught someone to read, but you seem to have an easier time of it."