The sun shone brightly onto the busy town of Rileston. Foreign merchants advertised their outlandish goods in the small town, while the common-folk bargained for the cheapest buy. Beside them, horses trotted down the gravel roads, dragging trolleys with hay towered on it and a man perched on the very top guiding the animal. Little children ran around the bakery, begging the cook for a pastries while stout ladies gossiped nearby.

"Did you hear? The Duke is planning on fathering a son with his soon to be wife!" one of them whispered to the other.

"Oh my, it's about time we got ourselves a heir to the throne," the other replied.

"Well at least the country will be well off, I'm not sure how our Lord is faring."

"He refuses to bed any woman after what happened to his wife. All we have for a heir is little brat who refuses to marry!"

One of the three ladies snickered, "I doubt it, maybe he just naught the ability to get a woman in his bed."

"If he need's a woman, I'll be first to jump into it," a tall, lanky woman piped up.

"That is if he doesn't run away before you do so, Agatha!" the three began howling with laughter.

Inside a tall tower of a castle, lay a young woman, nestled in an endless sea of cushions. She fought her eyes to stay open as her mind became hazy with promises of dreams. Playing with the golden strands of her hair, a large structure appeared before her closed eyelids. Adorned with golden columns, the rooftops glistened in colorful hues that were illuminated from the sun. A man sitting on a white horse with a snowy mane nodded in her direction. His face was covered with a helmet that was his armor and in his hand he held a large war-pike. She felt his smile burn towards her through the metal barrier covering his mouth and she stepped towards her vision. "Katherine! Katherine!" a voice called out and she was suddenly forced back into reality.

She purred, lifting herself from the masses of pillows only to see her father's stern face, emotionless. "I have made arrangements for your delivery to the Royal Court this coming week."

"You speak of me as a shopkeeper would of his cargo."

"A shopkeeper wouldn't dress his cargo in gold jewelery. Make sure to have the chambermaid assist you in gathering your belongings."

Katherine sighed and glanced around her room.

Duke John Pendleton sat in the sitting room--with large windows which let in the sunlight and illuminated the entire room--merely thinking, taking a respite from his usual business. He was to marry in just days; the girl, Carissa, was kind, but he did not love her. That was all very well, though, as he knew that marrying--a girl from a respectable family, at that--and having an heir to his position was much more important. As it was, he was rather old to not be married already, and he knew it was important for him to be due to his position.

When he was younger, amidst practicing archery, riding horses, and other such endeavors, John had often hoped he'd find a woman who would excite him, but he knew, now, not to waste time dreaming. It was not prudent in his position. As a high-ranking member of the Royal Court, Pendleton had many responsibilities, ensuring the country's business ran smoothly.

He remembered, once, long ago when he was young and his mother was still living, he had asked the woman about love.

"Love," she had answered, "is inconsequential for some." He figured, then, that he was not to bother, and it was not as if he cared terribly, so then it did not matter.

As it were, he had to take things as they came and do what was best for his country. It was his job, after all.

((Ah, I'm not quite sure where we're going with this, because I still do not completely understand the hierarchy. >.< Hopefully that was okay...))