Stately and royal, King Leopold, Monarch of the Kingdom of Frencolia, sat upon his majestic white horse. Trailing over the back of the horse was his elaborate ermine-edged cloak. Riding with a large number of his knights and soldiers, he headed his horse towards the village of Chanoine.

The king's royal cousin, Sir Louis Chatelain, a man of similar appearance, though garbed not as a king but as a knight, accompanied King Leopold; and they moved at a leisurely pace to enable uninhibited conversation to flow.

Less than a mile from the village, the royal company beheld the figure of a small, doll-like girl, running along the dusty road. In the same instant, she saw them, and ran off the path into the concealment of the dense woods. However, the glimpse was enough for Sir Louis to recognize the small creature with the single long coppery-brown braid as his younger daughter, Jobyna.

Sir Louis urged his horse ahead of the company. As he gained the proximity where Jobyna had disappeared, a rowdy company of children on horse-back surged over the rise, yelling and hollering. This bunch, the baron recognized as being the rest of his children, plus some he could not identify. He imagined they were village children. The baron's mouth dropped open at the coarse curses and bad language flying from the lips of this junior rabble.

Louis Junior, Marcus, Miss Elissa and Luke rode horses at the front; all garbed in home-made knights' costumes, armed with hand-made bows, arrows, spears, swords and shields. The children's hullabaloo died as they beheld the large company of adults, real knights and soldiers, stretched out along the road before them.

The eldest son's voice sounded loudly in the death-like silence. With his arm held high in the air, Louis Junior yelled, "Company retreat! Enemy in sight! Return to the fortress!" The leading children pulled their horses around, and, followed by their 'foot-soldiers', they disappeared, scurrying back towards the village.

A wide smile spread over Baron Chatelain's face as he turned to his cousin, King Leopold. He knew the king's children would never be allowed to behave in such an unruly, childish manner. The king's deep-set frown confirmed this as truth. However, all comments were abandoned as the servant, Sabin, rode over the rise on an old mare. Within a few yards of his master the baron, Sabin dismounted and bowed low.

"What are the children playing at, Sabin? Why are they chasing Jobyna?" Louis asked, having difficulty to maintain a serious tone. He dismounted and drew Sabin off the road.

"Sir, I have been sworn not to tell anyone--at the threat of losing my tongue." Sabin could see the twinkles in his master's warm brown eyes, and he smiled broadly. "It was Miss Jobyna's idea to be the felon. But it was Luke's idea that she plays the part of the criminal, Dagan. And it was the baroness's idea, after the children had departed, that I follow to make sure that nothing too serious happened to the criminal."

"How did the children hear about Dagan? That was years ago, before they were born." Louis' eyes scanned the woods for signs of his youngest child.

Sabin shrugged his shoulders, and answered, "You know how the villagers talk, Sir. The story has become quite the drama to act. The other day, Master Louis played the part of Dagan, and Miss Elissa and he went up on the wall walk; they ignored the stern words the baroness called to warn them not to jump into the moat."

"Louis and Ellie jumped into the moat? From the battlements?" The father gasped at Sabin's nod.

King Leopold had joined his cousin and listened to the dialogue with great interest. He slapped his thigh and laughed loudly, doubling up at the thought of his cousin's children behaving in such a way. The king relayed the story to the closest knight who chortled loudly. Unable to help himself, Sir Louis joined the laughter, and soon the whole company was in disarray with shared mirth.

Sabin waited for their hilarity to subside before saying, "I must tell you, Master; today, the idea is to capture Miss Jobyna and hang her for her crimes!" Sabin had to wait whilst the king roared with amusement, his face red with uncontrolled spasms. Tears ran down the royal face. The servant was encouraged to elaborate on the children's latest escapade.

"Baroness Chatelain didn't learn of the supposed 'hanging' until a child returned for rope. Madam is upset because the children get so carried away. The baroness commanded that I ensure Miss Jobyna's safe return. The child has led the others on an amazing chase, keeping just enough ahead all the way. First she went south, then she somehow managed to double back before showing herself on this road, taunting her elders, daring them to capture her. The children have been chasing her for well over two hours."

The baron spoke to his servant, "Return to the manor house, Sabin, and inform the baroness that King Leopold will be in residence for one night. Tomorrow, we are going to Grior to welcome the Evangelist to Frencolia."

Sir Louis drew his horse off the side of the road. "We could divide the men -- and you ride on ahead, Leopold, Sire, if you wish. I'll find my daughter and bring her home."

"Ha! Let's see who can capture 'Dagan'. The game shall be ours for a few minutes." The king mounted his horse and called the men closer, announcing in a loud voice, "Our cousin's daughter is hiding in the woods. We'll grant a gold piece to the one who finds her and brings her back safely to her father."

Jobyna heard the king's words and her eyes lit up at the promise of a gold piece. How could she gain such a valuable prize, for herself? Why should some soldier-man be allowed to earn a gold piece for finding her? She decided there and then, if anyone obtained the prized coin, it would be her. She would return herself safely to her father!

The small girl peeped cautiously down through thick green foliage as men scattered beneath the tall tree she had climbed. Most moved on foot, but some kept on their horses. Her father talked to the man who looked more like a brother than a cousin. They both dismounted, led their horses along the edge of the woods, through the trees, and out of view. To Jobyna's amazement, and glee, after a few minutes, there was no one in sight, not a soul!

Swiftly descending the tree, Jobyna untied the nearest horse and led him across the road and down into the woods. Still leading him, she drew him around the base of the hill, out of sight from the higher woods. Climbing on a tree stump, she mounted. Cautiously, in case the children were in sight; and slowly, due to the unfamiliarity of the large horse; she retraced her steps towards Chanoine.

Jobyna set the horse loose, in a place she knew her father would pass. Behaving like a hunted animal, Jobyna crept her way to the back gate of the manor house walls.

The difficulty was to get inside without being sighted and captured, by anyone.

The child's short amount of patience was running thin, and she almost gave up the quest and allowed herself to be discovered; but then she saw the milk cart coming along the road. Milk was transported to the manor house where it was made into cheese. Other barrels, containing grain, rode on the vehicle, together with a number of baskets filled with fresh vegetables.

Sabin's father, David, led the donkey at the front of the cart. The width of the cart would not fit through the narrow back gate, and David would enter from the front.

Abandoning previous caution, Jobyna ran to the back of the cart, and leapt deftly up on the slow-moving rig. Crawling in behind the barrels, she pulled a sack to lean sideways, on top of her. The dust almost made her sneeze, but she held her nose and breath, and the sensation was stifled without as much as a squeak.

Children's merry voices and playful cries came to the fugitive's ears as the cart was drawn around the courtyard to the back of the manor house. A bright, shining image, of a large, eight-sided, Frencolian gold piece, danced before Jobyna's tightly closed eyes, preventing her from triumphantly showing her siblings that she had made it back to the 'fortress' undetected. Now, she would have to take extreme care, or she would be discovered before she was able to hide. Her greatest wish was that her father found her 'safely' and she acquired the gold piece from Cousin Leopold.

To remain unobserved was not as difficult as Jobyna had imagined. The manor house staff had been summoned to prepare the guest room, the great hall, and a sumptuous meal for the unexpected royal company. Protocol demanded the king be greeted with traditional Frencolian ceremony at the front entrance of the manor house.

Baroness Elissa could not believe Sabin's message that her husband was to arrive within a short space of time, accompanied by King Leopold, and for the night! Why had her husband not sent word ahead? He usually warned her of such events by sending a pigeon. Sabin reminded Elissa that all four pigeons were here, at the manor house; she had forgotten to send the Chatelain birds back to Kings Castle. Louis Junior or Marcus usually took care of this, but lately the children's attention had been taken, playing the 'Dagan game', after lessons in the morning. Jobyna had generally been the one left out of their 'games', but today they had included her, to the mother's horror, as the criminal to be hunted.

During the past few months, Elissa's younger daughter had become a tomboy, and the mother knew this was because the child wanted to be like Luke, the brother who was so near her own age. To see Luke accepted by the older siblings had been disconcerting to the little girl. She had been ignored and commanded to 'keep away'. Luke's dominating, teasing treatment of his little sister reminded Elissa of the way her own brother used to torment her: Dorai, the brother who had disowned her because she married Louis Chatelain.

Baroness Elissa Chatelain sighed deeply as she waited in the courtyard for the appearance of her husband and the king. Life had been filled with the unexpected. Married life had not been as she once imagined: the 'princess' living happily ever after with her 'prince' in their cozy nest, safe from outside intrusions and trials. Each child had been a trial; and each day as the children grew, the problems and pains grew with them. The young mother realized that a husband and father who was seldom at home compounded her trials. The baron was rarely a husband, and less still, a father to his five children.

Elissa sighed again. What was keeping the company? She turned as the children arrived, dressed appropriately in their best clothes. Licking her forefinger generously, she rubbed a streak of dirt off Luke's angelic face.

"Where's Jobyna?" Elissa looked at the daughter of her namesake, 'Ellie,'-- her pet name. "Well, where is she?"

"We couldn't catch her, Mother," Luke answered for his sister, "she was too cunning. Just like Dagan!" He giggled, and the other children laughed loudly.

Luke's hands enclosed a frog, behind his back!

"Fetch Sabin, L.J." Elissa commanded the oldest, then paced back and forth on the paving stones, wringing her hands, staring and frowning at Luke each time the frog croaked. The boy, trying to keep rhythm with the frog, raised his shoulders as though he had the hiccoughs.

The mother's emotions were further shattered when Sabin explained that knights and soldiers of the royal company were searching for Jobyna in the woods, almost a mile north of Chanoine.

Sabin moved behind Luke to rescue the frog from the boy's clutches. The lively green amphibian leaped out of Sabin's gentle grasp, and Elissa screamed as it jumped on the ground and disappeared under her ample skirt. Luke dived down to rescue his energetic pet, and Elissa strove, in great fury, to prevent her son from lifting her underskirts above her knees. In the mother's aggravation, she stepped on the small creature, squashing it irretrievably.

"Oh, no!" Luke cried, stepping backwards, away from the writhing 'thing' stuck on the pavement. "I hate you!" he yelled angrily at his mother.

"Luke! You don't mean that!" Elissa said, aghast, "I did not mean to harm...it..."

Luke could not stop tears running down his cheeks. He looked away as Sabin pulled the remains from the stone, encompassing the oozing pieces in his large hand.

Unbridled laughter pealed from the older children.

"This is ridiculous!" Elissa addressed the line-up, including the snickering higher-ranking servants. "We're here to greet the king of Frencolia, and you all think a poor little frog is such a huge joke. Just as well we discovered the animal before the king arrived! He'll think we have no manners."

The mother stood in front of the offending son, saying, "Luke, you will not go outside the manor house for a week! That will teach you not to play practical jokes. No! Don't protest! The punishment is not for the frog alone; I won't mention the other atrocities committed by you over the past few days!" The mother turned to include all her children. "The first time your little sister goes to play with you, and you chase her outside the village limits. It's unthinkable! Why you have to participate in such risky recreations, I've no idea. We must all be thankful that it was your father who came along."

Jobyna was pleased that no one thought to turn and look up at the manor house windows, for she was looking out, and the shutters were wide open. She could hear every word. All the staff were out the front, and she crept downstairs, helping herself to chunks of bread and cheese, taking a goblet of milk upstairs with her. A warm feeling of drowsiness caused her to yawn uncontrollably. Giggling at the thought of the frog jumping under her mother's dress, she drank the milk and climbed under the covers on her father's great four-poster bed. Her tiny form became part of the feather mattress.

"Such a risky 'creation', she quoted her mother to herself as she fell asleep. "I liked it, anyways."