A Faithful Choice

Chapter One

Abigail looked out of her window to see four boys playing a game involving sticks and a rubber ball. She noticed that all of them were around her own age. The four of them were laughing and shoving each other as they played.

    The boys were all peasants, meaning that she couldn't talk to or encounter them. Abigail hated it. The only downfall of her being too powerful was that she had to put up with a smitten earl. Lord Nolan was a very ugly man who was in his early fifties. Abigail's mother, Rose, had died eight years back and made Abigail promise not to marry unless she truly loved the man. Abi's papa had left her in the hands of her King Charlie after her mother's death. King Charlie was nice enough, but he was the ruler of her town, making Abigail the "lady".

    Everyone knew who Abigail was, and when she was honest, she hated it. Abigail wanted to be a peasant, since her mother was one, but when she told one of her two maids, Annabell, she scolded her and locked her in her bedroom for three hours. Abi was eleven at the time and had cried herself to sleep. Abi wanted to truly enjoy life, like the boys below her. She continued to watch them, and to her horror, the only blond one fell. He would've been fine if he weren't running with a terrible limp. A sharp cry pierced the air, and without thinking, Abi ran down from her room and out of the castle to the boy's aid.

    "Are you all right? What on earth happened, young man?"
    Too firm. Abi bit her lip. She started to sound like Annabell. She managed to get over her embarrassment, and she looked at each of the boys in question. The youngest, by the looks of him, spoke up.

    "Well, ma'am, we were playing hockey, and Matt ran at the ball. Ben tripped him."
    "Thank you. What is your name?"
    "Billy. I'm seventeen. Who are you?"
    "Abigail. Who are the other boys?"
    "Well, Matthew's the blond one, Ben's the one with the really long hair, and Nathan is the shorter one."
    Abi nodded at each of the four boys and did a double take when she saw Nathan kick Matthew.

    "Sir! What are you doing?"
    Nathan looked uncomfortable for a minute then shrugged. "Well if you must know ma'am, I was checking to see if he was unconscious."
    "But sir, he will surely be sore for quite a few days! That was quite rude of you."
    Matthew groaned, and Abi called her guards over.

    "William! Robert! I need you to take this boy to the infirmary so Sara can fix him up!"
    William nodded and opened the door for Robert. Robert came running out, picked up Matthew, and carried him off. Before he could leave, Abi caught sight of blood dribbling down the side of his leg and noticed his leg was bent at an odd angle.

    William held the door open for Abigail, and she gestured for the other three boys to follow her.

    "William, call Annabell and tell her to set up four bedrooms. Make sure that they are the ones that connect. I'm sure these boys will want to stick together."
    William nodded and after making sure that Abi and the boys were secure, he ran off to find Annabell.

    "Lady Everett! What are you doing with these gentlemen?"

    Abi winced. She should have known. Her second maid, Clara, was always in her business. Clara took one look at some of the dust on her dress and dirt on her hands and shook her head. Clara never allowed one speck of dirt remain on one of Abigail's dresses. Clara grabbed Abi's arm and hauled her upstairs.

    "I can't believe you! Running off to help some peasant boy who probably just has some minor scrapes! Where did your sense go?"
    Abi's face hardened. Yes, Clara was only a year older. Yes, Clara had been through many tough times, but she'd never acted like this.

    "Clara. Remember who is superior. Remember what happened to your sister. It could have happened to the young man."
    Clara's face contorted with rage. Clara's had a twin sister, Alissa. They looked nothing alike; Alissa had more beauty than her twin, but their feelings on some matters are the exact same. The only reason Clara probably felt rage was because Alissa had gotten a nasty cut that had drained a lot of her blood, and she would have died if not for a peasant farmer who had found her.