Hey, Princess.

The smell was wicked. It reeked of death. There were doctors and nurses running. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. A woman down the hall was screaming and crying.

"Collins, Autumn?" A doctor called.

I was startled at first, but then made eye contact with the doctor as he made his way over, "Follow me, please."

"What? Why? Where's my dad?" I asked.

He didn't answer. I followed him into a room filled with flowers, huge open windows, an array of magazines and tissues, and really huge windows. Something was wrong and I was terrified.

There was a woman that looked vaguely familiar to me in one of the chairs. She was dressed in a pin-striped suit and black sun glasses, her crimson red hair was pulled back into a tight bun.

"What's going on." I asked.

"It may be best for you to sit." The woman said.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"That's not important, right now."

"Autumn," The doctor began, the my stomach was in knots and room was pinning, "You're father had, a very major heart attack." He paused.

"We did what he could but, unfortunately, by the time you reached him and called us...it was too late."

"What? He's not--" I paused.

I was practically gasping for air now. I was sobbing uncontrollably and failing to stand on my own.

"What am I going to do? Where am I going to go?" I almost screeched.

"That is were I come in." The woman said, "I was called in to take you to the rest of you're immediate family."

"What immediate..Family?" I said between sobs, "My mom and dad were adopted."

She started talking again but I couldn't focus. Just saying the word 'dad' was ruined for me now. I remembered when I was little, and my mom passed away. I didn't understand then, I was only 8, but he stood on his knees and looked me directly in the eyes.

"Nothings ever going to hurt you. I'll be here for you. Forever." He said.

And he was, my father loved me more than anyone else in the world. We were always happy. Yeah, he'd go on long business trip for weeks at a time but when he came back it was all about bonding and doing things together as a family.

I thought about all the times we wouldn't be able to share and my heart broke a little more.

The woman interrupted my thoughts, "...But we have to go, now ."

"No, I'm not going anywhere! I haven't even gotten to see him...Or tell him I love him." I said, still sobbing.

"Oh, they'll be plenty of time for that." She said, "Now we have to go."

"Where are you taking me?" I said. The doctor had escaped some time ago.

"To you're immediate family." She said.

"I have none." I snapped, "My parents were adopted."

"Look, kid. I don't know anything but where I need to take you. These were the directions on you're parents will. Because you have no 'immediate family' in this country," She said with air quotes and all, pulling a piece of paper out of her suit, "This is to be effective immediately, this is to be effective immediately after my death."

"What is?" I asked.

"I was told that, if necessary, to only read you that line." She said.

"I don't even know you. You could be some mass murderer." I said.

"I got past the hospital, didn't I? I'm pretty sure that under these circumstances they wouldn't just had a kid over to me. Now let's go." She said.

"How to I know that's his real will?" I asked.

She took the will and folded it so that I could only see his signature.

It was definitely his will. I could argue with her logic either. I sighed and stood up.

"Alright." I said.

The woman looked relived, "Follow me."

She walked us out to her car. It was smooth and all black, somehow I expected this. She drove me to my house, the whole time never saying a word.

I got out of the car and looked up at my soon-to-be empty house. I walked up to my room and started packing my things I packed more memorable things than I did clothes. I looked across the hall to my dads room. The bed was messy, like always, but everything else was spotless.

"Why make your bed, if you're just gonna get back in it." He always said...Or used to say.

I'll probably will never get used to talking about him in past tense. I walked over to his closet and opened the door. His favorite flannel was hanging up. I took it down and packed it in my bag.

After I was done packing everything I closed my suitcases putting them on the floor. One bag slid off of my bed and landed with a big thud. I picked it up and put it with the rest until I heard another huge thud coming from my dads room.

I walked back in there and looked into the closet when I noticed the whole rack had fallen. I sighed and picked it up and sat it on the bed. I turned back to the closet and noticed a square tile in the middle of the hard wood floor. I walked over and sat on my knees, I tapped on the tile and heard a hollow sound.

I dug my nails onto the side of the tile and pulled it up. There was nothing but...paper.

I pulled it out and looked through it, and found my fathers original will.

"In the event of my death. Autumn, if age 16 or older, shall rule my kingdom in place of my wife and I. She will be escorted by Ms. Jane Ruiz to the island of Cotahlu, where she will begin the crowning process. This is effective immediately after my death."

I was speechless, "Hey! What's taking so long?" Jane asked coming upstairs.

I tried to put the will away but she was already in the room.

She looked down at the paper, "No. Oh, no, no, no. This was not supposed to happen." She said.

"What?" I asked.

"The kingdom." She said, "You weren't supposed to find that."

"Why not? It's my fathers kingdom."

She was silent for a while, "I suppose you do not want to rule it."

"What? It's my dads kingdom-his legacy. I can't let it die with him." I said. I looked down at the paper on my lap, trying to figure out why he didn't want me to know about this.

"That is very honorable, but, this isn't something to joke over. Ruling a kingdom is is very difficult, it is not an easy task." She said.

"But I'm going to do it." I said, "For my dad."