Cock-a-doodle-doo! The crow of the morning let out its wake-up call. It was a sunny day over at Savage Garden, and the royal family woke up after a long night's rest. There were only two people in Savage Garden's royal family - His Majesties King Darren and Prince Daniel. The Queen passed away due to ill health not too long ago, and Prince Daniel was their only son. Daniel heard from his father that today was to be a big day, but he won't know why until later, when he and his father gathered around the dining room table.
"Daniel, my son, I want you to be in your best behaviour. We will have someone paying us a royal visit today." said Darren to his son. Both of them were wearing suits of gold and white, matching the colours of the room.
"Who, father?" asked Daniel, politely. The reminder about his behaviour wasn't very necessary, for Daniel was always a good boy.
"The king of QuoiJinn is coming along to discuss business matters with me, and he's bringing his daughter along," informed Darren. "Your job is to keep the princess occupied while I have talks with the king."
"A princess, father?" asked Daniel, interested. He loved having guests around, and Savage Garden didn't have any for a long time. "What's her name?"
"I'm not too sure," replied Darren. "Maybe you could ask her yourself!" Just then they heard some horses passing by their castle.
"Ah, that must be them already!" said the king. He went to the castle doors and let the drawbridge down. Emerging from the carriage in front of the castle was a person dressed in velvet blue, and a companion dressed head-to-toe in black. The prince decided that the one in blue was QuoiJinn's king, and the one in black was the princess. The royal guards let the QuoiJinn visitors in towards the hall, where they paid their respects to King Darren. The kings of Savage Garden and QuoiJinn promptly went off to the meeting room to have their talks, while the prince and princess hung around the hall. The room was quiet for a long moment until Daniel decided to break the silence.
"Good afternoon, princess," greeted the prince. "My name's Daniel - oh, welcome to Savage Garden!"
"Good afternoon to you too, Daniel," replied the princess. "My name's Emmerdalina, but please call me Emma. Emmerdalina sounds too boyish!" Daniel couldn't see why, but he decided not to ask.
"So, Emma...how do you, erm, like Savage Garden so far?" asked Daniel, at a loss of what to say.
"When me and my father left QuoiJinn, your castle was the first stop in Savage Garden," informed Emma. "So there wasn't much of a chance to do some sight-seeing, although I wish I could..."
"You really should!" said Daniel excitedly. He was proud of his country, and of all the sights it had to offer. "There's the Botanical Gardens, and the Bird Park...there's even a Music Museum - the only one in the world! - and the Zoo and Butterfly Farm and this and that..."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Daniel...slow down!" said Emma to the prince, who was trying to catch his breath. "I'll go to those places soon...just because your castle was the first stop doesn't mean it's the last!"
"How long are you going to be here?" asked Daniel, slightly flushed but still okay.
"After our fathers finish that meeting, we're going back," said Emma. "But we'll be coming back everyday for this week - I'm not sure why..."
"Everyday? Of this week?" asked Daniel, surprised. "How do you manage the long journey?"
"Oh, it's not very far - only half-an-hour," answered Emma. "I can manage!" Just then, Daniel noticed that there was something covering Emma's face - a black opaque veil. Before he could ask Emma why she was wearing the veil, though, they heard Emma's father calling.
"Goodbye, Daniel," said Emma as she walked away. "See you tomorrow!"
"Bye!" answered Daniel, just in time to see the drawbridge go up and the large castle doors close. He wasn't sad to see Emma go though, for tomorrow was to be another day...
