The sun was setting.  Natalya hadn't realized it was so late.  She could hear the dull clashing of what had to be wooden, practice swords.  She heard a familiar voice over the clatter.  "Alenard..."  she whispered into the breeze that sent a shiver up her spine.  Her childhood friend, one of the few.  A smile played upon her lips as she remembered the fun they used to have, the games they would play.  She remembered how nice King Ancel had been, when his wife was alive; the treats and presents he would give her.  She knew then it was simply because he was friends with her father, and she was friends with his son.  She never once thought, and still didn't think, that he fancied her as a child, or through her teenage years, and yet she wondered why she now belonged to him.  It had been rumored that His Majesty had taken a liking to her mother, though he never perused her, and Natalya looked almost exactly like the late Duchess.  Perhaps, that had something to do with it, but what did it matter now?  She was his, to do with as he pleased, and she knew exactly what pleased him.<br/><br/>By the time she heard the door open, close and then lock, the young queen was shivering.  The cold and the realization of her situation had finally gotten to her.  He was going to hurt her.  She had folded her arms over her chest, a feeble attempt to comfort and warm herself.  Her heart skipped a beat at the sound of the door, but either possibility of who it could be was terrifying.  When she heard his voice, the strength drained from her legs, and her hands flew to the thick, cold stone railing of the balcony to keep her balance.  After a few moments, she regained her bearings and turned from the banister, and came to stand in the open doorway.  Though shivering, she stood straight and her eyes locked on his, unafraid, refusing to back down.  "I gave myself to my king, a man whom I assumed I could trust to treat me well.  You....are not that man.  You never would have treated Queen Elenore this way.  Why do you insist upon being so harsh with me?"  she challenged, her eyes narrowing a bit.  Her voice was shaking due to her shivering, but her words were clear.<br/>