I stared out of the window, a sour expression plastered onto my face. My eldest brother, Westby, was outside walking with his fiancée. They were strolling through the palace grounds hand-in-hand; in a very lovingly fashion.198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNvMrscySyB
I could see the elation on the young consort’s face from this far of a distance, the unfathomable happiness of any soon-to-be princess, engaged to a soon-to-be king.
He was clearly fitter to be a king then I was. He was the one people adored; the one that news articles swooned over. I was aware from a very young age that I was just a second option, incase he died young.
Or perhaps a third option. There was another baby before me, my older sister Maybn, but my parents were desperate to not have a girl on the throne. She was tossed away from birth, almost a victim of infanticide. Thankfully, she survived, and lives happily with the palace walls, unaware that her parents didn’t want her for years.
I stayed beside the window, patiently waiting for the sickening couple to leave. They finally walked away from the East Gardens, making their way towards the lake on the other side of the grounds.
As soon as I saw them go, I sprinted out of my room, almost crashing into one of the maids that lurked the halls. ‘Watch out’ she said quietly, knowing that any form of discipline towards me could get her fired.
I stumbled down all three flights of stairs that took me to the ground floor, and almost leapt through the back exit, ecstatic.
The front door would be too guarded, by both staff and the press. If I wanted to leave, I would have to be smart about it. But how?
My attention immediately drew to the large dwindling oak tree that lay untouched in the far corner of the gardens. I remember climbing up the trees as a young child; far enough to where no one could see me.
Perfect. I hadn’t climbed for years, and my legs and body had grown much more spindlier and clumsier since then, but I believed that I could still climb high enough to jump over the fence.
My legs jumped up onto the etched bark and slipped momentarily, before I hoisted myself up again onto the lowest branch. It was always easy from here.
Climbing the tree brung nostalgia and I recalled all the good memories that came with it. A certain one immediately came to mind.
Wooosh.
Squeak.
I glanced up, hm? Who was there? A red bouncy ball leaped up into the tree branch above me, and I almost jumped away in terror.
”Hey!” It was a girl’s voice, loud and boisterous. I hadn’t ever been talked to like that before; most people just called me ‘Sir’ or ‘Prince’. I smiled; I liked being talked to like I was a person.
I looked to my left, over the fence and saw a small girl, an irked expression plastered on her face. “Can you pass me my ball?” She yelled.
I looked at her, nervously. I really wasn’t supposed to talk with ‘commoners’ and especially wasn’t allowed to touch their belongings. But she looked so disappointed, her eyes raised in clear annoyance. “So?”
”Alright.” I picked up the red toy above my head and tossed it down. She caught it with one hand and smiled. “Thanks! What’s your name?”
”I’m Prince Clarence. What’s your name?”
”Clarence is a girl’s name. But I’m Cecilia. Cecilia Wang. It’s nice to meet you, Princess Clarence!” She giggled and scurried off, surprisingly unfathomed that she had just insulted the Prince of England.
“Nice to meet you too!” I liked her, she was funny. A lot funnier than all the other girls I knew. They all bowed when they saw me. It was weird, made me feel like I wasn’t a human like them.
I smiled quietly to myself, snapping out of my beloved trance. I was almost at the top of the twisting tree, and the branches were becoming less and less stable with each step. The top of the fence was coming into view. I took a deep breath in and jumped, my ankle scraping over the pointed spikes at the top.
I hit the floor with a shudder, pain surging through my body. Ouch. Well, love is pain, I supposed. I looked around and a familiar figure coming into view, holding two cardboard containers.
“Cecilia! There you are!” I took a deep breath in.
”Hey, princess.” She grinned. “Here you go, enjoy.” She passed me a container and I opened it, the beautiful scent of culinary talent wafting through my nostrils.
“Thank you!” I immediately took a bite, and was greeted with the familiar taste of home. Not really home. Cecilia’s home. But it felt like home to me.
I had been there hundreds of times, but it somehow felt better each day. Being with my one true love and her wonderful family, eating the most wonderful food and being able to enjoy a life of freedom.
The hours flew by, and soon sunset dawned upon us. I knew that I would have to leave, but my heart yearned for me to stay, if only for a few minutes. Cecilia kissed me on the forehead as we lay under the stars, just like every night.
”Bye princess,” she whispered softly. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Climbing back into the palace was surprisingly a lot easier than climbing out. Cecilia’s dad had a tall ladder that i climbed up to reach the fence. Once I got up, I waved to Cecilia (always) and jumped down. Grass is a lot easier on the ankles than concrete.
I strolled back to the palace, thinking nothing would happen. I would eat a boringly fancy dinner and go back to my bedroom quarters as usual. How wrong I was.
“Where have you been?” My dad yelled as I walked through the back doors.
I looked surprised. He wasn’t usually one to talk to me. Actually, I couldn’t remember the last time he had. He was usually doing the regular ’kingly’ duties that you had to do as king. I wouldn’t know, I was abdicating the second I turned 18.
”I was walking around the grounds, admiring the petunias, sir.”
”That’s not a man’s job. Leave that to Francesca, or your mother, or…the other one. Maybelline.” Francesca was Westby’s fiancée.
“Maybn, sir.”
”Yes, of course. Why, anyways, I have some excellent news for you,” he triumphed.
“Oh, what is it, sir?”
He smiled, baring his teeth at me like a shark. “You are now engaged, my good boy, to a beautiful girl, the daughter of one of our biggest allies. Together you will make the bond between our nations stronger.”
My heart dropped in my chest. “WHAT?!” I screeched, my eyes wide in shock. No. No. No. This couldn’t be happening! I didn’t want this random girl! I wanted Cecilia!
“You better believe it, boy. You will be leaving on a private plane tomorrow evening to meet the pretty woman.”
“But, sir, I-“
”Hush! You are marrying this woman and that is final! The same process happened to Westby, and he’s fine with it! Just look at him!”
I turned around and saw Westby and Francesca in the piano room, laughing and smiling.
“I’m not Westby! Please don’t make me marry this girl! I can’t!”
Smack.
”Final. Get someone to pack your bags. Bring clothes for warm weather.”
I stormed away into my room and collapsed on my bed, tears cascading down my cheek. I couldn’t possibly marry anyone. Anyone but Cecilia. I was 17. 17! So close to being able to leave! I couldn’t. But I had to. My head hit the pillow and I slowly drifted off to sleep, the cascades continuing.
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