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Aliyah sat at the desk in her bedroom, immersed in her planning. She had already drawn up the rough idea for Amir’s funeral. Aliyah had written letters to florists, tombstone carvers, carpenters, and the royal officiant.
There were ink splatters on her fingers and her hair was a mess. It stresses her out, trying to coordinate a funeral in a short amount of time. She has less than a week to plan Amir’s funeral. There would be a closed casket, a disrespect to her older brother.
Aliyah stared at her checklist, feeling helpless. A knock startled her from her thoughts, and she quickly wiped her hands and smoothed her hair.
“Come in!” Aliyah called, placing her tiara on her head.
Her younger sister, Amelia, entered and Aliyah let out a breath of relief. Amelia was a mere year younger than Aliyah, and the two were somewhat close. She took the tiara off of her head, setting it on the desk as she stood to greet her sister.
Her sister’s brown hair was pulled into a braid, flowers weaving through her hair. Aliyah eyed the vines moving up her sister’s arms, wondering what had Amelia anxious.
“Is something wrong, sister?” She asked, walking up to Amelia.
“I know you’re busy… but father asked me to inform you of something. There’s a ball scheduled for tomorrow night,” Amelia answered as Aliyah pushed away a vine that was growing around her sister’s throat.
“A ball! For what? So close to Amir’s assassination! What is wrong with him?!” Aliyah yelled, a small fire flickering on her palm.
She quickly leveled her breathing, trying to keep herself calm. Aliyah was determined not to have another breakdown. Amelia glanced worriedly where the flame was on Aliyah’s palm, but didn’t say anything about it.
“To announce… a few things and show we are not scared of some lowly assassins. At least, that’s what father told me,” She answered, smiling sympathetically at Aliyah.
“Not scared? Is he an idiot? Of course, we’re scared! One of the most protected people in our kingdom was assassinated!” Aliyah exclaimed, throwing her hands up.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Amelia flinch, and Aliyah quickly glued her arms to her side. She hated the way her little sister looked at her like she was a bomb about to explode. Which… isn’t completely wrong.
“Sorry, I’ll write a letter for the Palace Seamstress to make sure to get me a dress by tomorrow night,” Aliyah mumbled, rubbing her temple to try and alleviate her growing headache.
“Mother has already ordered all of our dresses, the seamstress is just doing last-minute additions,” Amelia replied, hovering by the door.
Aliyah opened her mouth to say something but decided against it. She nodded to her sister, waving her hand in dismissal. Amelia promptly left the room, leaving Aliyah to her frustration.
She glanced at her tiara, wanting to destroy the piece of jewelry that ruled her life. The ruby gems embedded into the silver frame were as red as blood. It mocked her, all of her responsibilities flashing through her mind.
Aliyah tore her eyes away from the tiara and walked up to her wardrobe. She changed, deciding to just have a servant send up her dinner. Aliyah walked to the door, poking her head out and looking over at Milo.
“When a servant passes, tell them I want my dinner sent to my room,” She told him, smiling dimly as she saw him nod.
—
It was the morning of the ball or, what Aliyah liked to call it, a party for people pretending to be depressed. The royal family was running around the palace, making sure everything was perfect. Aliyah was in the Palace Seamstress’s office, wearing a beautiful black and gold gown.
It wasn’t a traditional gown, and Aliyah was thankful for that. The top half looked more like a jacket than a dress, it had sleeves that reached her wrists and it was collared like a shirt. Its border was gold and there were gold feathers stitched into the fabric.
The skirt half of the dress was pure black, without any design. Its fabric was light and breathable but concealing. The dress allowed for easy movement, which Aliyah liked in her outfits.
“Thank you,” Aliyah said, spinning around once more.
She liked that her mother allowed her to still be in mourning, despite knowing that she would be the only one in the family wearing black. Aliyah was the only one out of her siblings to truly be close to Amir, so his death didn’t affect them as much. She left the office and began making her way to her room, making sure not to dirty her dress.
Aliyah heard Milo fall into step behind her, and she smiled to herself. While they weren’t supposed to talk to each other, Aliyah took comfort in knowing her friend was there. She entered her room, nodding her head to Milo before she slipped inside.
Aliyah changed out of her dress, leaving it out for tonight. She went to her desk, taking her tiara off. It would be the only red thing, aside from her lipstick, she would wear. Aliyah slipped on a loose-fitting shirt, and pants. She looked somewhat like a pirate as she tucked in her shirt and wrapped a belt around her waist.
Aliyah opened her window, looking down at the ground below her. She bit her lip, contemplating if she should go down or not. Shrugging her shoulders, Aliyah began to climb down the walls of the palace.
At the last few feet, Aliyah let go and fell into a roll to break her fall. She dusted herself off, wiping the sweat from her brow. Then, she set off towards the wall surrounding the palace.
Aliyah entered the servant's area, grabbing a biscuit from a basket on the table. She ate half, having not eaten breakfast, and saved the rest for later. Aliyah left out the other side of the room, beginning to make her way to the village.
Aliyah walked down the windy cobblestone road, keeping her head down when carriages passed her. She entered the village, looking wide-eyed at the bustling streets. Aliyah immediately regretted her decision, knowing she would get lost through the crowds of people.
Before she was able to turn around, Aliyah was swept into the crowded street. She stumbled but did her best to try and get through the crowd. It was loud, people were yelling and children were either laughing or crying. Aliyah cursed her stupidity as she looked around, trying to find a way out of this mess.
Her eyes landed on a child in rags, sitting at the corner of a seemingly abandoned street. Without realizing it, her legs took her towards the child. Aliyah pulled out her half-eaten biscuit, her stomach grumbling as she held it out to the child.
“Hi, you look a little hungry. Would you like my biscuit?” She asked, kneeling towards the young boy.
His eyes lit up as he looked between Aliyah and the biscuit. She gently took his hand and placed the biscuit in it. Aliyah knew he needed it more than she did, plus she would be eating a lot this evening anyway.
The princess turned away from the boy and began making her way back to the palace. She was already gone too long, even if it was only an hour. Aliyah shouldn’t have left in the first place, but at least she did some good on her excursion.
After a few hours, it was time to get ready for the ball. A group of maids entered Aliyah’s room and began helping her get ready. They brushed her hair, rubbed scented moisturizer along her arms, and did her makeup.
Aliyah put on her dress and then the maids descended on her once again. She didn’t say anything, she just sat still and let them work. Normally, her hair would be styled straight, but the maids curled it.
After the maids were done, they scurried out of the room. With her tiara. Aliyah’s mother walked into the room, holding a crown in her hands. It was golden, unlike the silver of her tiara, with blood-red ruby gems.
“Why are you holding that? That crown hasn’t been used in over a century,” Aliyah asked, slowly walking towards her mother.
“I wanted you to know what was happening before it was announced. Your father… will be abdicating the throne next month, and you will become queen,” The Queen answered, solemnly, as she placed the crown on Aliyah’s head.
Aliyah blinked, shocked, before she took in a breath. She digested what her mother said, trying not to explode. Aliyah breathed out, calming herself.
“Alright, this is a good thing for the kingdom. Father should’ve never been allowed to be the head of a country,” Aliyah finally replied, fixing the way the crown sat on her head.
It was the crown of the future monarch. All soon-to-be monarchs wore the crown until their coronation, aside from her father. Her father was said to never wear the crown, he instead wore the crown of the monarch even when he wasn’t king. He was always a narcissist, it wasn’t something he tried to hide.
Aliyah offered her mother her arm, and the queen hesitantly took it. The pair walked out of the room, Aliyah nodded to Milo and began walking towards the ballroom. She gave her mother over to her father, doing her best not to glare at the man.
“Your Royal Highness, you will be announced last so the king can explain his abdication,” The Royal Announcer explained, gesturing for the Princess to go towards the back of the royal family’s line.
Aliyah passed her younger brother, Alexander, and squeezed his shoulder. Her brother looked anxious but smiled at Aliyah.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡshWS7cCTM7
“I will be right behind you, don’t worry,” She whispered into his ear as she took her place behind him.
Now to wait for the most fake depressed party of her life. Well, at least that’s how it’ll start.
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