The next time I opened my eyes, the train had long since left the station, and there was a male dressed in a black suit and black pants sitting across from me. He had light skin, and brown hair that was cut somewhat short. He looked to be in his late teens, or early twenties. His eyes were a dark blue, almost black in color. I jumped, and sighed, my hand flying up to my chest.
     “Sorry. Gave me a fright, you did,” I said in apology.
     “Oh, no, it’s alright,” He said, smiling. His voice was in a tenor range, and had a slight English accent.
     “Do you mind me asking your name?” I questioned, my head tilting slightly to the left.
     “Oh, right, I am Jacob Russell the third. May I ask your name, miss?” He responded, his hand fluttering to his head as he shook his head slightly.
     “I am Lucy,” I answered bluntly, my soprano voice ringing in the nearly-empty boxcar.
     “Lucy… Lucy… Lucy? Lucy…” He muttered to himself, seeming like he was trying to remember something. “OH!” He cried out, startling the other passengers. “I was supposed to meet you today. Your mother arranged for it, if I remember correctly?”
     “You’re the man I am supposed to meet?” I asked, unconvinced.
     “Yes, yes. I forgot all about it because I was hurrying home, I hope you do not take offense,” He explained in apology.
     “I do not, I would rather people forget about me. Then I do not have to hide in public, I will not have to be a princess, and I will not have to meet with future suitors when I am only thirteen years old. I do not mean to cause you offense or anything, but I think that I am much too young to have to start thinking about these things,” I said, my voice getting louder with each sentence and my accent becoming heavier as well.
     “Oh, my, your mother does not give you a say, hmm? Well, I do not see how that’s fair, considering it is your life, not hers,” He said, apparently understanding how I feel. I sighed, leaning back against the seat.
     “To make matters worse, all of the men my mother has sent as a suitor for me are complete and total imbeciles, and stuck up pricks,” I simply stated.
     “It can not be all that bad,” He replied, loosening his tie as he spoke.
     “I would rather swallow pins and needles,” I shot back, my accent still heavy. It always did when I was angry, or ranting about something or another.
     “Oh my,” He muttered, glancing around at the other people in the car. They were all staring at us, the suitor and princess, arguing over some trifle matter, or so they seemed to think. I surveyed the others, and looked to Jacob.
     “Jacob-” I started, using only a slight accent now.
     “Please, call me Jake,” He interrupted.
     “Fine, Jake, why are there so few passengers in the car at the moment?” I asked, eying the remaining passengers suspiciously.
     “Ah, well, you see… it’s around twelve o’clock, and they’ve all gone to get lunch. Would you like anything?” He asked, folding his hands into his lap and looking at me.
     “Yes, have you had lunch already?” I asked, gesturing to him and tilting my head to the left.
     “No, I’ve been waiting for you to wake,”
     “Oh, my apologies then. Shall we?” I asked, moving my hand in a sweeping motion to suggest that we should leave.
     “We shall,” He said, smiling wide and closing his eyes. He stuck out his arm, and I laced mine into it, and we headed off to the dining car.
     We entered the dining car, the sky blue cushioned chairs bouncing ever so slightly as the train rattled on the tracks. The tables had white tablecloths, with lace on the edges, and flowers on every table. We got a table with two chairs, and we sat down. I shrugged off my coat, revealing the black satin dress I was wearing, with a velvet torso. I placed my leather coat on the back of my chair, and he pulled my chair out for me.
     “I would like you to know,” I started, seating myself properly, “That I do not allow anyone to treat me like a princess. There are only two existing people that are allowed to treat me like a princess. One is my mum, and the other is Jeffery, my chauffeur. Neither will give up the habit, so I’ve given up trying to break their habit,” I explained, relaxing against the chair. Jake chuckled.
     "Reeeally?” He asked, folding his arms across his chest and relaxing.
     “Yes, really,” I muttered. The waiter walked up to us, raising his eyebrows, as if to ask us what we wanted without having to speak.
     “I will have some oxtail soup with potatoes on the side,” Jake ordered.
     “And you miss?” The waiter droned, his voice dull.
     “I will have a mixture of vegetables, no meat,” I responding, smiling. The waiter nodded and walked off to the kitchen to recite our orders to the chef.
     “No meat?” Jake asked confused.
     “I do not like meat, and I do not think that it’s fair that other creatures should die just so that humans can eat,” I responded sympathetically.
     “Hmm…” He mumbled. It almost seemed like he was trying to keep note of these things… but why?
    The waiter arrived soon after with our food. I placed my napkin on my lap, thanked the waiter, and ate slowly and with good manners. Jake, on the other hand, ate sloppily, and spilled his soup on his lap once or twice. He also had his elbows on the table continually.
     “Were you nevah taught manners?” I asked, fighting a smile from my lips and dabbed my mouth with my napkin so I could smile behind it. I placed my napkin down, looking at him with a serious expression. He swallowed the food he had in his mouth before responding.
     “Huh?” He asked, confusion distorting his voice slightly. I started laughing, both at his voice and my inability to keep a straight face any longer. This only confused him more, and he gave me a blank stare until I could calm down enough to explain.
     “I-I am… j-joking…” I managed to say through my laughter. He joined in, probably laughing at my inability to stop laughing, and we had trouble stopping.
     I wiped the tears that had formed in my eyes, and stood up, full and ready to leave. Jake quickly finished off his soup and hopped off his chair, leaving the money for the meal and escorting me back to our seats. I sighed, a happy I-can not-believe-that-just-happened-sigh, and looked out the window. I kept dozing off, but caught myself, my head jerking upward each time. Eventually, though, I fell asleep.