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Lace Princess

A Silly Rumor

At that moment, my world paused for a moment. Estelle disappeared, my house had disappeared, everything had disappeared and I was the only thing left standing in an empty abyss. I knew that I was to be married to a prince, but I did not think that it would be to Prince Henry or that it would be this soon. I haven’t even finished my royal studies yet; how do they expect me to be married if I have not learned all that I need to know?

“How did you find out and why wasn’t I informed about it?”

Estelle bit her lip and twirled a strand of hair around her fingers. “Well, I overheard Mama and Papa talking about it last night after supper. I believe that you were to find out about it the day of the ball, when he shows up.”

“He is going to attend the ball? That is impossible!” I cried out in horror. “He is a monster and all of the guests will be frightened of him.”

Prince Henry and his father, King Philip, lived on an island only miles off of the shore of her kingdom. The island, while extensive, was dark. There was a legend that surrounded the island and the family itself. It is said that King Philip, throughout his life, has tried to hide a dark secret. But the moment the Queen died, his secret was not a secret anymore. They were a family who had the power of magic; a power that had once been only a fairy tale story.

Magic coursed through both the King and the Prince’s veins and over time, the magic had turned them evil. The magic constantly kept the island dark and cold, and the oceans that surrounded it were strong. There wasn’t a single boat that they had made that could withstand the enormous waves that crashed against the island. No one had seen either King Philip or Prince Henry since the Queen had died four years ago and no one wanted to. The people, including me, were afraid of what the two men could do to those who wronged them. They did not want to be cursed, or worse, killed.

“Both King Philip and Prince Henry will be attending the ball,” Estelle solemnly replied. We sat down on my bed and sighed. Neither of us knew what we were going to do. If I was to marry him, there was no way that I could stop the arrangement.

I heard heavy footsteps down the hallway and quickly rushed to my bedroom door. I poked my head out of the door and saw my father walking toward his study. "Father?" I said as I stepped out into the hallway, trying my hardest not to catch his eye.

“Yes, my dear?”

“I have heard rumors… rumors that I am to marry Prince Henry of Clarkson Kingdom.” I paused. “Is that true?”

He laughed. “What have I told you about rumors, Aurelia? Don’t be silly, my child.” After patting my head once, he continued down the hallway and into his study. When he went to his study, he did not want to be disturbed. It was a place of business that no one but himself were allowed in. I had once attempted to explore it as a child, but was quickly pushed away from the closed doors by my mother. I had not tried since then.

I sighed and went back into my room, closing the door behind me. “He thinks the very idea is silly. But if your mother and father were discussing it in secret, then how can it be false? He must be lying to me,” I thought out loud as I sat down on the bed once more. Estelle was now lying on the bed with a sad look on her face.

“You know he would never lie to you, Aurelia,” she replied. “Maybe he did not want you to know quite yet.”

“But why didn’t he just tell me? You and I both know that they’re planning to tell me at the ball, so why didn’t he just tell me now when I asked him about it?”

She fell silent. “What are we going to do? I can’t stand by and let you marry that evil prince! We have to do something!”

I sighed. “There is nothing we can do, Estelle. We can’t talk to my mother and father about it; they have their reasons why I have to marry him. To unite our kingdoms, they will say.” I fell backwards, landing on my bed and looked up at the ceiling above me. Me, marry Prince Henry, it was such a silly idea and I wish there was some way to stop it.
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Written by aubs.