Castle Hallowgrove

It was another dreary day within the walls of Hallowgrove, seeming a perpetual mere seconds before the threat of rain would fall. Midgeon, young and lithe, weaved through the press of peasants too busy to give her any mind as she snuck a bit of milled corn here, a crumb of cheese there to keep herself fed and healthy enough to perform in the village square.

She was just passing through, this place reminded her far too much of Specularum, the city she grew up in, too many bad memories from that place haunted her here. One week, if she could gather enough to pay her way onto a ship or into a caravan, she would go, she promised herself as she shared the bit of cheese she stole with Squeaks, her only friend, the little grey mouse that hid in her belt pouch or sometimes perched on her shoulder or even atop her head, though that was very rare.

Entering the market square, Midge took her spot near a trickling water fountain, falling quickly into her opening pose as she began thumping the tiny hand drum strapped to her hip. The first few seconds were always difficult, getting noticed, if at all. She was lucky to capture one or two eyes most days, but really, that's all she needed, setting the hook in at least on, getting them to clap and tap their toes, she often made them part of the show.

However, no one seemed to be biting today... six, twelve, eighteen seconds crept by as Little Midge danced and drummed, doing her best not to let her slowly sinking hopes affect her performance as she shifted from her usual light acrobatic dance routine to a more sensual belly dancing routine, dangerous for a young lady her age, but she was that desperate at the moment.

Imagine something like this http://images-cdn.moviepilot.com/im...ly-be-real-life-disney-princes-png-124884.png


Casimir was dressed in peasant clothes. He had a friend buy them a few months back for the rare occasion when he could convince the castle he was doing something else. He dressed, used the door in the kitchen, and from there it was as simple as finding his horse and taking it to town. He left Galahara behind a tailor with a few apples in her feed bag and immersed himself in the city.

He took it all in with a grin. The sites, the sounds and the smells. Things cooking, people shouting. It was crowded and chaotic and wonderful. "One day." he said to himself. "One day I'll get on one of those ships and see the world."

He started his day tossing his coins to the market place stalls. A scarf he didn't need, but it felt so soft. Seared chicken that tasted nothing like the royal food; greasey and wonderful. His wealth distributed to these hard working people. It was the least he could do. He bought up apples in bulk, handing them out to the kids on the street, along with a coin for each of them. A few coins to the homeless; and then his favorite for last; the street performers. And today he came prepared.

With a grin he headed into the crowd bybthe fountain. Some sang, spme juggled, some did magic. And one...

"My my." Casimir smiled again. There was a girl... Young, a bit younger than him perhaps. Beneath her street grime she glowed, just a girl and her drum but she looked so... Casimir couldnt put his finger on it.

Why was no one watching? She was mesmerizing! Was it only him? Was he the only one who could see this angel? Surely not. He watched in horror as a passing man eyed her chest. This would not do. He pulled his ukulele from his back and parted the crowd to her side, and began to strum, an upbeat happy high pitched tune that matched her beat, however, not her increasingly erotic movements. He offered her a wink. His playing was good. The king insisted he learn the harp, but that was boring. Turns out string instruments were all pretty similar, and it took him no time to learn the uke.

He danced beside her and played, and people started to stop to watch.

The jaunty, quick strums of a ukulele caught Midge's attention, snapping her back into her normal routine. She flashed the player a quick smile and a sigh of relief that she didn't have continue down the dangerous path she had been flirting with out of desperation. He winked at her, that cheeky one, and it made her laugh as she kicked up her heels and dance on, a vision of pure, unabashed joy. This fellow, he even dance along side her, that never happened! It was a pleasure to have the accompaniment, especially when the coins started dropping at their feet.

Whispers of "young love" and "what a fine couple they make" from the growing audience went unheard by little Midgeon, she was so engrossed in matching this mysterious uke player beat for beat and step for step that she was deaf to them all.

Finally, exhausted, she twirled back and sat on the lip of the fountain, casting her head back in breathless laughter. She kept her knees together but her feet rested awkwardly apart and she caught her breath. "My, sire, you really know how to give a girl a work out." She said sweetly, not realizing how those words could otherwise be construed. "I haven't danced like that in months! Thank you, that was fun."

She patted the spot next to her, offering him a seat. "I'm parched." She sighed, holding onto the lip of the fountain and leaning back a bit, drawing her shoulders forward to keep her balance.

Casimir couldn't help but smile. The time flew as his feet matched hers. This trip to the city was by far his favorite to date. She was beautiful as she danced, and the crowd loved their chemistry. "Young love." they called them. It must have been the way he looked at her as she moved.

She fell back, taking a seat against the fountain. Casimir collected their coins and offered them to her as she remarked about the workout. "You provided the beat." he said with a grin. "I just matched your pace."

She looked tired and meantioned being thirsty. "Come! Let me buy you a drink." He said, offering his hand as he stood.

"Ah, thank you, but half that is yours, I could not have performed half as well without your help, kind sir. Please, hold onto that coin until we can divide it between us?" Midge said with a smile, kicking her feet in a scissor like motion. Her soft shoes were practically worn through and she works knee high knit socks that she kept nice and colorful with her magic. The rest of her cloths were a bit worn and thread bare the her youthful exuberance more than made up for the dingy state of her attire.

"And you kept the pace quite nicely... Sorry, what may I call you, good sir? My name is Midgeon, I come from the city of Specularum, I'm just passing through Hallow grove, on my way to find my fortune. I've never had a dance partner before, it was quite fun." She looked up at his offered hand with bright young eyes and without much hesitation, she took it, standing with a hop, making her pert little breasts bounce. "I would like that, very much!
Perhaps you could tell me a bit about Hallowgrove?"

"It's a grace to make your acquaintance, Midgeon of Specularum. You can call me Cass." he insisted she take the coin. "Please though, I have more than enough money to keep me happy. I do insist you take it." hand in hers he led her to his favorite hole-in-the-wall pub.

"Hallowgrove is a good place to live. Our fishing is the most proficient of any of the neighboring kingdoms. The people are fairly well fed and hard working and the whole kingdom is well run. This isn't due to the king though. The council makes most of the decisions."

As they headed into the bar he found them a seat in the back. "So. Yoi say you're on your way to find your fortune. What do you mean?"

"Cass it is then, handsome Cass." She took the liberty of elaborating on his name, hoping he didn't mind. She was hesitant to take his share of the coin but his insistence that she do lead her to relent. He seemed so earnest, it was charming and refreshing. "Alright, if you insist. Where are we going?" She asked, curious to know.

"Yes, it is a nice place to live, better than specularum, there was this secret cult killing young women like me there. I helped a group of people stop them. Couldn't catch them all though, so I fled, afraid they might try to kill me too." She let our a sigh. "I'm not sure if they are still after me or not, to be honest, which is why I stay on the move."

"Oh, well, since then, I've gone where the winds of fate would take me. I helped a small town get back some stolen property, Welwyn, ever hear of it? Lady Arabella is the mayor. She was quite nice but it was her magestrate who was stealing from them. I didn't stay."

She sat with him in the cozy little tavern and held her hands in her lap. Glancing around, she considered telling him more. "Hey, can you keep a secret?" She was too excited to share that she didn't wait for an answer, instead, pulling out a pin in the shape of a harp.

"I got this when I joined a secret group, they call themselves the Harpers. Ever heard of them?" She put it on, beaming with pride, but then covered it with her leather cloak. "They help people and collect secrets. But I'm not really supposed to talk about that." She blushed a little and nervously kicked her feet. Unsure what to talk about now.

Cass beamed as she told her stories, his eyes locked with hers and full of genuine interest. "You stopped a cult, caught a theif and you're a member of a secret group? Wowza. You're some girl."

He sighed. "I haven't been on any interesting adventures like you. My most exotic nights have been spent here-" he spread his hand to gesture around at the shanty bar- "Listening to stories and living vicariously through the explorers and bounty hunters that come through Hallowgrove. My father does not let me leave the kingdom." Actually, the king didn't let him leave the castle at all.

"Would you like to add breaking into a castle onto your list of conquers? The roof has a veiw you wouldn't believe." He grinned wide.

"Well, not the whole cult, which is why I left, didn't want them to come after me. I don't know if I'm all that, wowza, as you say. I've just been lucky and I know when to run. But thank you for the compliment, handsome Cass." She smiled, blushing a little as she looked down, unused to being complimented.

"Really? You should join the Harpers then, they were very nice to me when I was in Melmort, framed for murder by the leader of the Grey Cloaks. They helped me clear my name. Never did figure out who the real killer was though. Just glad I got out of there. Melmort really sucks, did you know that it's a crime to use magic there? Made it very hard to perform..."

"Oh, well, I'm sure he only does it to keep you safe. My father tried to feed me to wolves, or so the guards that kept him in the madhouse in Specularum told me. When he died, they gave me his journal... unfortunately ... i... oh, nevermind." It was too embarrassing to admit that she never learned how to read.

"Oh!" Midge got animated again at the mention of the castle, clapping her hands in delight. "Can we? I've never been in a castle before! So exciting! I'd love to see it!" She was already ready to go even though they hadn't had a drink yet. The thrill of actually seeing the inside of a castle momentarily making her forget how hungry and thirsty she was.

"Come on lets go. I know where we can get some food. A picnic on the roof, does that sound good to you, fair Midgeon of Specularum?" he laughed.

Casimir whistled low as he took her hand and rushed from the pub. "Thats some story you have. All of them. Incredible." he perked as she meantioned magic. "You really know magic? How much?"

He continued to lead her to the back of the pub, to his horse. "We better hurry. We don't want to miss the sunset. This is Galahara by the way. Galahara, Midegeon." he saod, introducing the grey speckled horse.

"I can help you up." he offered.

"Food..." Midge touched her empty belly, her eyes flashing with hunger. "I could defiantly use a good meal..." She rushed out with him, doing her best to keep up. "Yes! Well, not the boring kind that wizards do, but I know some. It's simple really, I just put my heartand soul into a song or a dance and things just sort of... happen."

"A picnic on the roof of a castle at sunset? I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Midge gasped as they ran around back to Cass's horse. "Oh, hello, Galahara! My, what a beautiful horse!" She offered it her hand to sniff, momentarily distracted. "Oh... Oh, yes, please ?" She answered, turning to face Cass, unsure as to how he would help her up. "What do I do?" She had clearly never been on horseback before.

Cass pointed at the stirup. "Put your foot- no your other foot- there. Then- alli-oop." he grabbed her hips and pulled her up."There." he grinned. Easy, right?"

He followed her up, sitting behind her. He grabbed the reins, his strong arms wrapping around her for a moment. He put the reins in her hands. "I'll help you, but you should drive. Shake the reins like this-" he shook and Galahara started moving. "To make her go. And pull-" he pulled "To stop. Then steer by pulling side to side."

He leaned back, leaving her with the ropes and trying not to think of her in his lap. He was a prince and a gentlemen, after all. "We're headed towards the big building up there. Our city is walled and like a donut with a large grove in the middle. And in the middle of the grove is the castle." he pointed at it in the distance. "See?"

"Like... this? Oh! Like that, okay, thank you, Handsome Cass!" She thrilled to be up so high and on top such a mighty beast. "Easy!" She agreed, exuberantly. She couldn't help but let out a little chirp of surprise as he so deftly followed up behind her.

She listened intently to his instructions before giving them a try. "I see.. Um.. Like this?" She asked as she snapped the reins just a bit to hard and sent Galahara into a brisk trot, the sudden jolt pressed her back into Cass's chest and panicked, clenching tight to the reins and digging her bony knees into Galahara's sides, giving the poor horse mixed messages, stop and go.

Feeding off of her fear, Galahara went into a gallop, straight toward the gate of a pig pen. "Oh no!" Midgeon squeeked in fear, closing her eyes and ducking her head, not knowing what else to do. She tensed for a crash, pressing herself even closer to Cass for protection.

Midgeon was so close, pressed against his body. She was so small and she fit against him perfectly. He held back a gasp and kept himself from tensing up.

"Whoa Galahara!" Casimir boomed in a deep loud voice. He took the reins, wrapping his arms around hers. He pulled up and to the left. Galahara's head whipped to the side and she slowed as she veered left of the pen.

"Relax my dear." Cas rubbed her thighs and nudged her to let up on the horses ribs.

He kept his arms around hers to help her steer for the rest of the way, and the castle began to grow in the distance.

Cass's booming voice sent a shiver down little Midges back, such a powerful, commanding voice. "Oh, I am so sorry, I've never rode a horse before! Merciful Tymora, I nearly got us killed!" Midgeons eyes were wide, full of shock and frightened tears. She was definatly shaken by the incident but Cass's arms around her made her feel safe and when he rubbed her thighs she felt weak in the knees an a strange little flutter low in her belly,the likes of which she'd never felt before. She did relax, letting out a soft puff of breath, more embarrassed than scared now. He must think her stupid now, a little peasant girl too inept to even control a horse...

If he did, he was too kind to let on though, as he let her continue holding the reins, helping her guide Galahara only when he needed to. His quiet guidance gave her heart and eventually she felt more confident in her control over the horse. "Thank you, handsome..." She whispered sweetly over her shoulder to him with a shy smile just as the high spires of the castle came fully into view. "It's beautiful!"she sighed in awe. "Can we go to one of the towers, do you think?" She asked, eagerly. "Or do you think we would get caught? That's where the guards mostly walk, isn't it?"

"It's no problem. Riding a horse is hard, especially a fickle one like Galahara. You're doing great." He enjoyed riding with her, even having to restrain his racing thoughts.

Soon they were almost there, and Midgeon asked about the castle. "The towers? Of course, Princess. I could get you into anywhere in that castle." He grinned as he steered his horse towards the back stables. He climbed off first and helped Midgeon down. Then he removed the dressings from his steed. Once he was done, Galahara shook her head, enjoying the freedom.

Crouching, Casimir took Midge's hand. "The cooks enter over here." He led her to a segmented door. "The kitchen." He said, showing her in. There was people bustling about outside in th dining hall, but in here they were alone. He ducked around tables, grabbing bread, cheese, a bottle of wine. He threw his findings in a basket, adding some cookies for desert. He returned to Midge and grabbed her hand right as someone appeared at the door.

"This way!" He whispered, pulling her in the opposite direction.

They took a back hall that went towards a laundry room, and from there found another flight of spiral stairs. "This is the left tower." He told her as they began to climb it. "It's not quite as tall, but it's normally empty."

"You're being kind, I know it was my fault, Galahara just did what she was guided to do... I am learning though. Thank you for letting me, handsome." Midgeon was no fool, she knew when she made mistakes and could freely admit them. She patted Galahara on the neck, appreciatively.

"Oh? I thought we had to sneak in... You're not from the castle yourself then, are you?" His grin made her smile, there was something he wasn't telling her, but that was okay, she still trusted him. As he helped Midgeon down from Galahara, her foot caught in the stirrup and she fumbled against his chest with a soft, breathy umph sound.

She looked up into his eyes, her bosom pressed against his chest, her hands clutching his shoulders for support. "Sorry, sorry, my fault... My foot got stuck." Her cheeks were flame red for a moment as she steadied herself and drew away, embarrassed once more. She usually wasn't so clutsy as this...

She followed close behind him, observing the skill with which he avoided the castle servants. It reaffirmed her suspicions that he lived here. She stifled a giggle as she watched him swipe a complete meal for them right under the servants noses. Taking a cue from him, Midge pocketed a hand full of ripe strawberries she came across. They were like little speckled rubies, they were so red.

He called out to her in a whisper, showing her the way to go and she glanced that way, nodding, making herself small and as unnoticed as she could. "How do you know so much about the castle anyway, Handsome Cass?" She asked as they made their way up the spiral stairs.

Casimir felt a tad nervous at her question but shoke it off. He thought of answering truthfully, but he was afraid of how Midgeon would act of she knew the truth. "My parents work here. It's not the first time I've snuck around." he explained. It wasn't a lie, none if it. And even though it wasn't clear, he felt a bit better.

When they reach the top of the tower Cas pushed open a trap door above them. Inside there was a stone floor. The platform was bare, basically just a lookout. The wind whipped up and hit them, but the fence like edges kept it from hitting them too bad.

"Nice right?" he asked, helping her up. "Cozy?"

Midge knew better to take people on their word alone and for a moment Cass seemed tense about her questions, he was hiding something, she was sure of it, but she let it go, for now. He was being so nice to her after all, a perfect gentleman really.

She looked around the empty room, it was barren and cold. She held her tongue, not wanting to hurt his feelings. Cozy wasn't the first word she would have used, but she knew how to fix it. First, after he had helped her up into the room, she searched through her backpack for her bed roll and put it down for them to sit on so they wouldn't have to sit on the cold, stone floor.

Then she stood in the center of the chamber and invoked one of her favorite spells, lighting the room up in a soft violet glow that seemed to cling to both her and Handsome Cass, making them glow in the darkness of the room. "Faire fire, it clings to the living and glows softly, I thought it might brighten the mood... I hope you don't mind?" She stood there, looking shy and sweet, basked in that soft violet hue.

"Yes, it is very cozy." She agreed, squiggling one foot on the floor, wondering where this night might lead with him.

Cas's eyes went wide. "Wow, Midge. Thats beautiful. Of course I don't mind." he grinned. "You made this a lot more cozy." He sat on her bed roll, leaning against the wall, and patted for her to join him.

He pulled over the basket and dug through, pffering her a peice of bread and cheese. He began to snack himself.

"Where are you staying in town?" he asked her, wondering if he was gonna have to get her home at a certain time. He looked in her eyes, his expression softening. She was so beautiful and funny and joyous. He really like her and felt at ease around her. It was all so new

Midgeon beamed with joy that he liked her spell, happy to get to use it for something nice for once. Usually it made bad people easy targets in the dark. Now it made the two of them and the room glow.

She gave Cass a cute little curtsy before joining him on her bed roll with a soft little giggle, politely nodding to him as she took food he offered her. "Why thank you, kind sir."she said with a happy smile. She did her best to nibble at the food like a proper lady would and not gobble if down the way she normally would.

"Emph ah phecret... ulph!"she started to say with her mouth full, cover in her mouth, suddenly embarassed, her cheeks turning red. She took a moment to chew and swallow before speaking again. "Sorry... um... it's a secret... but if you promise not to tell amyone, I'll tell you." Once her cheeks stopped burning, she fixed him with a serious look and stuck her pinky out for him to swear by. Just then, squeaks poked his head out and sniffed the air, smelling the cheese. She absent mindedly broke off a small bit from what Cass had given her and offered it to the tiny grey field mouse in her pocket.

He wasn't bother by Midge talking with her mouth fullm he simply smiled. In fact, he found it rather charming. He liked that she could bebherself around him, something that would surely change when she found out the truth about him.

Cas wound his finger with hers. "Of course I promise." he agreed. He took another bite of his cheese sandwich.

"Oh hey!" he said seeing the mouse. "Who's this?" he offered the little grey thing a cookie crumb.

Cass's smile alleviated some of Midgeons embarassment over being caught talking with her mouth full and she scooted a little closer to him.

Once he pinky swore not to tell, Midge gave his pinky a little tug with hers, sealing the promise. Her stern face relaxed as she took another bite of food, making him wait for the secret until she swallowed. "Okay, remember how I told you about the Harpers? You see, a while ago, they took me personally in and made me a member, gave me it's pin and everything! Well, they're this secret society, mostly bards, like me, and wizards. They're sort of like.... Secret hunters, they like to find out about hidden lore and stuff, right? But they also help people, people in need. That's what I like about them.... anyway, they have secret hide outs all over the place, and if you show them your pin, you get to stay for as long as you want! That's where I've been. Neat, huh?"

Squeeked had just finished his morsel of cheese when Cass offered him a bit of cookie. Midge beamed, thrilled to find he didn't mind her little friend. "This..." She put her hand up to give Squeeks a boost and her crawled up into her palm, sniffing at the cookie Cass offered before taking it in its tiny paws to eat. "Is Squeeks, he's been with me since I left Specularum. He doesn't do much other than eat and sleep, but he's so cute, isn't he?"

"Oh, he can do this, though!" She lifted Squeeks up as he finished the cookie crumb and placed him on top of her head. He instantly curled up and fell asleep. "I practice my dancing like this, if I don't wake him up, I know I'm doing good!" She didn't let him stay, rubbing his head until he woke back up with an anoyed squeek. "She put her hand palm up to bring him back down to his pocket, to which he returned and bedded down. "I'm trying to teach him to hold a pebble for me now, if I can do that, I can use my magic to make the pebble light up and have a head lamp!"

"Oh! I just remembered!" She exclaimed, bouncing up to her knees and reaching into another pocket to pull out the strawberries she'd stolen. First, she pulled out a crust of stale bread, then a tiny bit of dried beef, a little pearl and finally, a hand full of ripe strawberries, only slightly bruised from theu r brief time in her pocket. "I found these in the kitchen below! Thought we might share them?" She offered half of them to Handsome Cass and smiled, going back to sitting Indian style.

"He is cute." Cass smiled. "Like a little souvenir from home." he grinned at the little rodent as she put him on her head. "That's adorable!" he laughed.

As she sat back down beside him she reached in her pockey and pulled put a few ruby red strawberries. "How'd you know these are my favorite?" he asked with a wide grin as he popped one in his mouth.

The sun was setting and it was lovely, casting the tower in a relaxing pink color that mixed with Midge's spell. Cas pulled his uke to his lap and strummed a simple melody as they sat and talked.

Suddenly though, Cas froze. Footsteps came from down below them, heading up the tower. "Awe, damnit." he sighed. They were trapped up there with no way out. He turned to Midge and put his hand on her shoulder. "There's something I need to tell you- I-"

The door swung open and an armored guard stuck his head into their room. "Halt in the- Prince Casimir? The court has been looking all over for you."

"Why thank you! I'm glad you think so! I like you, you have a nice sense of humor, Cass, and you're very handsome too." She snuck closer to him as he smiled at her, shyly lowering her eyes and wetting her lips in the innocent hope that he might... Kiss her.

"Oh?" She lifted her eyes, regarding him sweetly as he said strawberries were his favorite, trying to look fetching for him, although she was young and very inexperienced in the art of seduction. "Lucky guess, I guess, I like them to... I..." She looked into his darkly handsome fave and felt herself suddenly lose all words. She only stared as he casually went on to play his uke. Her heart sunk a little but then she started to hum along with his playing and felt a pleasant calm come over her as she closed her eyes and just shared the moment with him.

She was so lost in the moment that she hadn't heard the foot steps coming up the stairs, only coming out of her sweet r every when Cass touched her and said he had to tell her something. Her eyes opened wide and sparkled with dazzling wonder as she thought he was finally going to kiss her! "Yes?" She whispered sweetly, breathlessly.

The bang of the door swinging open made her jump and yelp with fright as she threw herself against Cass for comfort and protection. Her next instinct was to burn the intruder with her magic but what the guard said next slowly sunk in "prince?" She whispered, lifting her face from his chest, where she had hid it in hef panic. Her large eyes shining up at him with curiosity.