Princess

A summary of Princess Avaline's lifestyle, and the traumatic letter that changes her life.

It all started when I was four years old.

I was going out to the royal gardens to play with my older brothers like I always do, but as soon as I reached them, they stopped playing and looked down at their feet.

"C'mon, wrestle me!" I shouted happily to Dantaus, my oldest brother at age ten. He looked away, refusing to meet my eyes. I'm confused, looking towards my three other brothers, Peliam, age eight, and the six year old twins, Joloque and Kentario. They all look away.

"Daughter, come here." my father appears out of seemingly nowhere, beckoning towards me, and I trotted over, still uneasy. He gets down on one knee and looks me in the eye, taking a hold of my hands and holding them on his knee. His velvet red cloak drops on the ground, and his golden crown glitters in the sunlight. I meet his brown eyes, similar to my own, and my young brain suddenly registers how tired he looks.

"Darling, your mother and I were thinking, that maybe you should spend less time with the boys and more time with her." he brushes a lock of my dark brown hair away from my chubby face.

"But, Father, I don't want-" my childish voice tries to protest.

"No, no arguing. Now, run along to your mother. It's time you became a proper lady." he tells me, standing and walking away, towards my brothers.

"But Father!" I run a little ways behind him, and watch, devastated, as he leads my brothers away from me. "Father!

"Avaline!" my mother's voice, harsh, shrill, and sharp, cuts into my ears. I turn to see her standing there, looking as haughty as ever.

"Mother, I want to play with them." I tell her pleadingly, but it falls on deaf ears.

"Stand up straighter, and less talking." she orders me. "A princess never speaks unless spoken to."

"But-"

"No buts!" she shrieks, and raps me on my lower back with a rod, forcing me to moving into a perfectly postured position. "Follow me."

I lost everything.

Goodbye comfortable tunics and leggings; hello rib-cracking bodices and ankle length dresses. My hair no longer ran free, as it used to, and I had to sit still and endure the pain as the morning chambermaids yanked it into unbelievably tight braids, as it was the style.

Dantaus was my only salvation. He snuck into my room at night, bringing me wonderful books full of fairy tales and magic, illustrated with gorgeous pictures. I would hide them under my covers, and read them whenever I had a spare moment, which wasn't very often.

He was so kind to me, always, while my other brothers turned into what my mother had always wanted them to be; snobby little princes. Peliam was married off as soon as he reached age sixteen, being Mother's pet, to an empty-headed blonde princess in the Naunoon region. Joloque and Kentario were both wedded at age seventeen, one to a spineless redhead in the Pantuine region, the other to a beautiful and cold black-haired beauty in the Hanashi region; I can never remember which twin married which princess.

I'm not sure that Mother remembers, either. Or cares.

Dantaus has managed to fend off every single attempt Mother has made to marry him to some rich princess, which is an impressive feat. Somehow, he's figured out a way to mess up every single arrangements, by either stopping the letters Mother sends to the kingdoms, acting awful to the princess's father, or hiding somewhere so they couldn't take him to the palace. Dantaus is the heir to the throne, so to marry, he must visit their palace, pass their king's inspection, get back to our palace with the princess, and hold the wedding.

The closest call ever was to an extremely vain brunette in Gregario, when Mother got Dantaus all the way to their palace, back to our palace, and even kept him from running off until the wedding day. Just before the priest was about to say the vows, Dantaus, in an act of desperation, started kissing the closest lady-in-waiting to him.

The wedding was called off.

Because of that, Dantaus just hangs around the palace, sneaking out to the village whenever he can, and helping the poor. He was even able to take me two or three times, and I sold almost all my jewelry to a foreign trader, then gave the money to the villagers.

Mother discovered the ploy, of course, and punished me severely, but because the trader had left, and because she had no real evidence that Dantaus had taken me, she wasn't able to take it out on the villagers or my brother. As my punishment, Mother posted four guards outside my door for a month, for 'safety reasons', but it was worth it to see the overjoyed expressions on the dirty faces of the small village children. Ever since then, I slip a few valuables to Dantaus to sell every once and while.

I'd go myself, but as much as I hate to admit, I'm scared of my Mother. She's a pretty woman, despite her age, with glossy auburn hair and a beautiful face, but when she's angry, her blue eyes turn stormy gray, and her perfectly shaped nails dig into her palms as she forms fists. The expression she gets is downright terrifying.

For the past twelve years, ever since that day in the gardens, I've tried to be a quiet and submissive daughter, in hopes that she'll grow to be nicer, and not as strict.

It's not that I'm a bad person, it's just that everything I do manages to mess something up. I get comments on how impossible my hair is, how she wishes I had porcelain skin like hers, I'm too short, my eyes are too big, or how I'm too 'friendly'. Princesses should be refined ladies, with class and posture, both of which I have none, and who only live to serve men, no matter how pigheaded they are. Whenever she complains about that, or my 'anger issues', it always gets around to how Dantaus and I have the same problems, but because I'm a princess, I should have better control.

"Avaline!" Finneaus shouts, and I snap to attention. "I called your name four times!"

"Sorry." I replied automatically. He groans.

"Avaline, I'm trying to help you. Could you at least try to listen? Pretend that I'm interesting." he begs, and I feel guilty. It wasn't his fault that he had to teach such boring subjects.

"I really am sorry." I repeated.

"I know." he sighs, and stands. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off?" I smile happily.

"Thanks, Finneaus!" I quickly sprang to my feet and hurried out the door. As soon as I was out of sight, I broke into a wild sprint, tearing down the mostly empty hallways, enjoying the brief moment of freedom.

When I reached my room, Dantaus was sitting on my window seat.

"Dante!" I exclaimed, and rushed to give him a hug. His long-ish brown curls fell into his face as he smiled down at me.

"Hey, Ava." he grinned, and pulled a large, wrapped package from behind his back. "You didn't think I forgot your birthday, did you?"

"Aw, you didn't have to." I protested, but he pushed me onto the bed and set the present on my lap.

"Open it!" he literally claps his hands, and I laugh at his childish excitement. Tearing open the paper, I gasped at the contents; a book. Not just any book. My favorite picture book, out of all the ones I had read, the one I had requested so many times. The pictures were the best part, showing detail that no other books could match, looking as if the illustrations would walk right off the page at any time. The book was huge, too. Roughly eighteen by twelve inches, I wondered how Dantaus had managed to hide it behind his back.

"Gods....." I breathed, and simply stared up at him with shining eyes, unable to find the right words.

"Ha! I knew you'd like it! And don't try to give it back, either. I've never liked reading, anyway, and this doubles as a goodbye present." he crows.

"Goodbye present? Where are you going?"

"Another princess. I'll try to get rid of her as fast as I can, okay?" he smiles. "I should probably go now, and get ready for a long carriage ride, filled with Mother's lectures." I made a face.

"You have no right trying to pretend that your Mother problems are bigger than mine." I chided him, half joking.

"Right." he chuckled, and opened the door. "Goodnight, Your Majesty." he bowed with exaggerated flourish, the top of his head nearly hitting the floor.

"Get out of here, Prince Strange." I giggled, shutting the door behind him, then slipping the book under the mattress in my secret hiding place. Moments later, the servants came bustling in.

"Teresa! Thank the gods you're back." I embraced the head lady-in-waiting who had taken over my care when I turned two. Teresa was a kind woman, who was, in essence, my mother. She held me when I cried, and sympathized with me about my problems.

But she did have her own family, and when she took days off to spend time with them, other nurses replaced her. Awful nurses, who wouldn't even let me bathe myself. Teresa gave me freedom, and only did small things for me, like fetching water, because, as she put it, she had to 'look like she was doing her job'.

Unfortunately, another woman, Simone, shown up three days ago to take over while Teresa went to her family, and my life had been living hell. She wouldn't let me do ANYTHING by myself.

And whatever thing you can think of; yes, she forced help upon me, no matter how much I threatened to fire, behead, choke, smother, or beat her. She always ignored me.

I hate it when people ignore me.

"Hurry up and get in the tub, slowpoke." Teresa ordered me, after her helping maids dumped hot water in the washtub. I closed the bathroom door and quickly washed, dried off with a towel, and slipped on a nightdress. Opening the bathroom door, I crawled into my bed and pulled up the covers.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Teresa assured me, standing up from her armchair and closing her book. "Goodnight." she blew out the candle and left the room, closing the door behind her, and I let out a soft sigh as she left. Within moments, sleep overcame me.

When I woke up, I got ready and trudged to the classroom. Finneaus was waiting.

"You're late." he commented.

"Good morning to you, too." I replied sarcastically, and he rolled his eyes.

"This week, we are focusing on closing up our lessons so far with final testing." he informed me, and I groaned, but he ignored it. "First up, posture." he climbs on a chair next to me, and balances three books on my head.

Concentrating, I walk all the way around the chair, and back to the spot. He puts on another book, I walk, another book, more walking, and so on, until I have a total of eight books on my head. To stack on the ninth, Finneaus drags a table over, then adds the ninth book. I walk around carefully, and smile to myself. One more book to go, and I pass.

On tiptoe, Finneaus slides the last book on my head stack, then stands back and watches with folded arms as I slowly and cautiously begin to circumnavigate the small table. Halfway around it, the tower wobbles slightly, and I stop immediately, and break out in a cold sweat as they continue to quiver unsteadily. Finally, they seem stable enough, so I continue, only to watch with dismay as they all came tumbling to the ground.

"My books!" Finneaus yelps, and jumps off the table to gather them. Once he had saved his precious books, scolding me all the while, he then put an 'X' through the box on his grading paper for my posture test.

For reading, I read him a poem from the Latin book of poetry, and wrote my name with my best handwriting for my writing skills, acing those two with ease. Finneaus proposed three problems that I solved quickly for government science, passing that subject, but failing for beauty, because I hadn't spent that much time on my image that morning.

I played the same song over and over again on my psaltery, making more mistakes than I thought possible, and flunking the test. Lastly, for dancing, I had to dance the waltz with the straw dummy Finneaus had brought in to practice dancing with me, managing to step on the mannequin's toes every two seconds.

In the end, I got three out of seven.

Not bad.

For me, anyway.

Finneaus made disapproving sounds as he reviewed the sheet.

"This will never do." he groaned. "You're nowhere near ready."

"Ready for what?" I asked curiously. He blinked, then changed the subject.

"For the rest of today, we shall review all of the concepts and improve your despicably low skill set." he informed me, and I rolled my eyes. "First up; dancing." he smirked, holding up the dummy. I grudgingly took the straw mannequin, and he began to rattle off the counting pattern for the waltz. Groaning inwardly, I began to dance.

Seven hours later, Finneaus finally released me from his lessons.

"Return to your room and study the concepts. We will try again tomorrow." he ordered me, and I left, with no intention of studying or practicing. I did make a note to dress up the next day, but after that, I just lazed about. I reread my new picture book, then got ready for bed when Teresa came in. Blowing out the lamp, I laid down and fell asleep.

The next three days passed in a blur, filled with grueling lessons and anxious waiting for Dantaus. Finally, on the fifth day after his departure, the royal carriage rolled in through the gates. Watching through my window, I shrieked with delight, but stopped when I saw a second carraige, foreign to the kingdom, following the first. Mother must've gotten the princess all the way here....maybe Dantaus will let me help when he gets rid of her! I thought excitedly, then dashed down to the palace doors. After a while, the trumpeters announced the arrival of Mother and Dantaus, and I waved at my brother as he strode through the doors. Dantaus rushed to me, and gathered me up in a hug.

"Ava, something wonderful had happened." he whispered in my ear, a smile stretched across his face. "I never even thought it possible, but it's happened!"

"Wait, what?" I asked, puzzled. "What's happened?" But my inquieries fell on deaf ears, for his attention focused on the door as the trumpets began blaring.

"Princess Pasquel!" the royal announcer shouted, and then a princess walked through the door.

She was....

Different.

Her gown was simple, but it looked perfect on her. Her golden hair cascaded down her shoulders, free and unkempt, and her blue eyes sparkled with a sort of wild and untamed beauty. She carried her own bags, and refused to let the servants take them, insisting that she could do it herself. Then she spotted Dantaus.

"Dante!" she squealed, and raced across the floors, gathering him up in a hug, bags and all, and kissing him full on the mouth. Dantaus laughed out loud, and when they separated, he gazed at her with a funny look on his face, one that I'd never seen before, but knew exactly what it was.

Love.

Dantaus was in love.

"I have a letter for you to read." Mother snarled at me, handing me an already-opened envelope. I smiled to myself when I realized her anger was directed at the new princess, who was walking up the palace steps towards her room, her arm around Dantaus's waist and his arm around hers.

It appears that Mother doesn't approve of Dantaus's bride-to-be.

Not surprising, really. Mother would definitely prefer one of those weak, spineless princesses that Mother could control after Dantaus took the throne. Ever since Father had become sick, she basically began ruling the kingdom from behind his back. Now she was unwilling to relinquish her place of power, but knew that Dantaus would have none of her deceit.

Oh, well. Sticking the letter in my pocket, I hurried back to my room to wait for Dantaus. He usually visited me anyways, but he always visited on the days he returned from trips. Sitting on the bed, I remembered the paper, and quickly took it out. The ripped envelope meant that Mother had already read it, as she always did to my mail, so I wasn't concerned with that. Assuming it was another letter from one of my brothers, I unfolded the paper and began to read.

Dear Queen Victoria,

I have accepted your offer. Ever since Beatrice's death, I have felt most wanting for another wife, and Avaline will do just fine. I am also in need of an heir, and hope that the Princess may provide me with that. You and yor daughter must come for the wedding celebration in three days, and then I shall schedule the wedding for the following day. Rest assured, this union shall make the kingdom of Zancastle your friend and ally.

Cordially yours,

King Leopold Hundari III of Zancastle

I sat, staring at the paper, refusing to comprehend the words. My hands clenched the sides of the paper, wrinkling it, while I just stared at the letter, so out of it, that I didn't even hear Dantaus climb in through the window, followed by his laughing fiancé.

"Hey, Ava, I'd like you to meet-" Dantaus began with a grin, but his smile dropped and he paused mid sentence as he realized my frozen state. "Ava? What's wrong?" I couldn't answer. My brain was on standby, my mouth non functioning. Spotting the paper, he continued talking in a low, soothing voice, as if talking to a small child.

"Ava, what's on the paper? Is it bad?" Silence. "Ava, I'm going to take the paper, okay?" he slowly peels my fingers off the parchment, and slides the paper towards him. As he reads it, his brow furrows, and a funny look comes over his face. Pasquel is reading over his shoulder, and she makes an odd sound.

"King Leopold?" she whispers, and glances at me, then Dantaus, who now looks furious as he crumples the paper and throws it on the table.

"How dare she." he snarls, looking angry, then sitting down next to me. Pasquel sits on the other side. "I'm going to give Mother a piece of my mind, I can tell you that. There is no way I'm going to let this happen, Ava." I still have not moved. "Ava?" he puts his arm around my stiff body, and a single tear slides down my cheek and drips into the ground.

Dantaus puts him arm around me, and I lose it. Burying my face in his shoulder, I cry onto his leather tunic, soaking it with my shaking sobs. Teresa comes in, and examines the scene, confused, until Pasquel picks up the crumpled letter and hands it to her. After a moment, Teresa starts up some foul swears that I'd rather not repeat, mostly directed at Mother, some at King Leopold.

King Leopold is the fat, nasty, and ill-tempered king of Zancastle, and is famous for his atrocious manners, obesity, and wives. Yes, wives. He's gone through thirteen wives in the fourteen years he's been the king of Zancastle, which started when he was twenty. He executes his wives when they fail to satisfy him, or, it is rumored, when they become too old. No wife of his has reached the age of eighteen. It's also rumored that he fed his last wife, Beatrice, to his beloved pet snake, a twenty foot long python called Morgana.

"Avaline, I'm sure Dantaus can help." Pasquel offered, her pretty smile lighting up. "He told me all about his daring wedding escapes."

"There's no way Mother will let him come to the ceremony." I sniffed, sitting up and trying to compose myself. "And no amount of disobedience will cause King Leopold to change his mind. There's no way I can get out of this."

"Don't say that!" Dantaus protested, but he knew I was right. Mother was all too aware of Dantaus's trickery, and wouldn't even let him within five hundred meters of the carraige. The carraige that would rumble out of the courtyard, holding me and Mother.

Then roll back into the courtyard, holding Mother.

If this had been anyone else but Mother, I would've resisted, but it was Mother. Maybe this marriage would finally make her happy, or proud of me, and if I just went through with it, she'd brag about me to her guests, like how she boasted about Peliam and the twins.

I refused to let Dantaus see any more of my tears, not wanting to spoil his happy marriage plans.

"Go." I told Dantaus, and continued, cutting off his protests. "Look, I don't want to keep you late, and you've got to help Pasquel climb up to the fourth floor." Guests of great importance stayed on the fourth floor, and while Dantaus was an experienced wall climber after years of crawling down the wall from his room on the third floor to mine on the second, having to guide a second and inexperienced climber must be extremely tricky, even for Dantaus.

"But-" Dantaus tried.

"Go."

Hesitating, Dantaus looked from me to Pasquel, and finally relented. Silently opening the windows leading to the balcony, he helped Pasquel find a foothold, then hoisted her out of sight. Giving me one last look, he finally followed after the future queen.

Teresa ranted and raved about the unfairness of it all as I prepared for bed, but I mostly tuned her out. Lost in a haze of conflicting thoughts, I was unable to find any possible way out of my fate, and most of me simply accepted the inevitable. The small part that kept searching for an alternative route worked all during my preparations, and was still going after I had climbed into bed and Teresa had left.

I lay there for almost an hour, that tiny part searching everywhere.

Then a small part of me died inside.

And a single tear slid down my cheek.

Author's Note

If you really think about it, being a princess sucks.