1 A beautiful day in the middle of March

Once upon a time there was a sixteen year old girl. She was called Lilliana, after the flower that was on her family's emblem.

But since I don't want to tell the usual kind of fairy tale she's no princess and not a maid to her evil stepmother either. I will tell you a fairy tale, I'm sure you've never heard of before! Maybe we should let her tell her story herself? Ah, enough chit chat, let's just begin:

At least alone!

It was the first time I was somewhere all alone. My parents had looked after me all the time and now they were gone. No - they weren't dead but on a trip that'll last longer than a month! And I really was exited! A whole month alone, no parents! This day is worth to be remembered, the 14. March 1809 - the day I was without an adult for the first time of my life!

I went to the garden and really looked foreward to dusk. Dusk is the beauty of the day. At least it is to me. Like the flowers are the beauty of the field. Every flower here in the garden was planted by me and my mom. She really loved flowers with all her heart. Well I like them too, but not that much.

My family had a small ranch on top of a hill. Compered to the other people living in town we had a good life up here. We lived in a small town in the duchy of Prussia.

I often stood on a bridge which I built together with my father. There I was watching people on the market, this was my favourite activity, if there was nothing other to do for me, wich doesn't happen very often. Even now I did that, so you see, it was one of my favorite places.

But if you had looked a little closer you could be a witness of the work of slave trader. Once in a while they kidnapp a commoner like us and sell them to another country. I am no commoner, but not of such a high nobility. Our family is of low importance to the duchy, so we're just of low nobility.

I think my parents wanted to protect me for those slave traders. I was easy to get, because I was a weak girl, not capable of defending herself.

The people in our village said, that nobody ever was seen again after being kidnapped by this organization.

But somebody broke my thoughts up: "And what are you going to do now, all alone?"

"I don't know." I said.

It was Erika, my best and only friend. She surprised me, because since I was lost in thought, I didn't hear her coming.

"Me nether.", she replied in the typical voice she uses if something doesn't go the way she wants it to go.

"I know that expression, what's wrong Erika?", I glance over to her.

"My brother is coming home tomorrow.", she told me. Then she straightened her orange dress and leaned beside me against the railing.

"And you're not happy? I mean, you haven't seen him for quite a while now..."

"Oh, yeah, but you know that story, don't you? This, this, ah you know which one I mean."

Sure I knew. How could I forget? They said that he was injured in a civil war, witch his lord started and such. His lord was actually his grandfather, the father of his father. But they had a bad relationship. To solve this, Erika's brother Con was sent to their grandfather as some kind of knight.

She went on with her complaining: "And everything we'll talk about will be that topic, don't you think?"

"I don't know", I answered and sighed after that.

"Oh, look at the time! Excuse me, Lilliana, I have to go!", she suddenly said, "My parents are awaiting me!"

Well the church clock showed eight o'clock in the evening. The time no noble girl should be out alone anymore.

I still waved as she was already gone, because I was lost in thought - thought about my future. She was right, I should know what to do, but I don't! How should I protect myself? Until now my parents had taken care of that. But what now that they were gone? What if the slave trader would see me as a victim and try to get me now?

As I turned around it was dusk already. The sun was melting into the earth as if there was no border to cross at all. It looked so beautiful! The last sunlight of the day. And now was the time, where the shadows begun. Those shadows which I had never thought that I would count to them as well some day.

It really was a beautiful day in the middle of March.