Fatebound Fairytale ___________________________ I ran through the palace halls quickly, sneaking around the guards and being as quiet as possible. I wasn’t sure where I was going, but all that mattered right now was getting away from that room. I couldn’t talk about it, no, not again. My parents now had me dreading the future, and my head was already aching from thinking about it. Stopping to catch my breath, I lifted the skirt of my gown and continued to run as far as I could. I soon came to a corridor I didn’t recognize, and hurriedly climbed up the spiral staircase, coming to the top of a tower, overlooking the battlements and lake. I collapsed on the ground, locking the door behind me and staring at the floor. A small random shard of glass was wedged between one of the bricks. I picked it up and stared at myself in the reflection. My long wavy purple-black hair tumbled messily around my face, my silver eyes had a faraway look in them, and my lips were the color of scarlet. My skin was unnaturally silverish, making me look similar to a vampire. Yeah, sure, me, vampire queen Charlotte. Because everyone would totally love that. It had only been ten minutes ago that my parents had called me and my other four quintuplets to the throne room and announced who they had decided would rule the kingdom someday. I had always figured that they would choose Rayna, or Lucy, but nope. These are my four siblings, Rayna was born thirty minutes before all of us. She has long, straight black hair, bright blue eyes, and is the most proper and queenly out of all of us. Then, there’s Nestelle, who has shoulder length curly very dark brown hair, gray eyes, and she’s the musical sister. She’s known around the kingdom for ‘singing as beautifully as a nightingale’. After that, there’s Lucy, the most popular. She has brown straight hair, blue eyes, and is always pretending to be super sweet-when really, she’s the meanest. And after her, there’s Trinity. She’s my personal favorite sister, she’s sweet, and spends most of her time painting. She has short wavy black hair that she usually wears in a bun, and green eyes. Me? I’m Charlotte. Charlotte Earlbrook. And in my opinion, I would say I’m probably the most intelligent of my sisters, but definitely not someone you would want for a queen. I mean…I don’t think so. But why, oh why, had my parents decided that I should rule the kingdom someday? It honestly made no sense. I stood up shakily, brushing the dirt off my indigo gown, and quietly walked to my bedroom, avoiding eye contact with any maids or guards. Me and my sister’s all shared a room, but I had the most private area. My soft bed was much smaller than the rest of my sisters, and it was in the corner of the room next to the window. I had made sure that it was near the circular tower part of the room, where our huge bookshelves and wall partitions hid it from the rest of the room. I had turned it into a kind of little room or fort, with a violet curtain covering the entrance, and a light blue canopy instead of a ceiling. Inside the little room was a desk, my bed, a bookshelf, a walk-in closet, and a balcony. I was a little obsessed with roses, so I kept vases and hanging baskets of them all over. A cozy soft purple rug covered the white tile floor, and my little vanity was inside my closet. Tired of always tripping on my long fancy gown covered in ruffles and diamonds, I took off my tiara and threw it on my nightstand, and changed into a white blouse and purple skirt, swapping my high heels for black flats. Then I put my hair in a high ponytail with a white ribbon and washed off the fancy princess makeup. There, that was better. Just regular Charlotte. I did think I looked a lot more beautiful that way too, although in my opinion, it's what counts on the inside that matters. After I was ready, I quietly walked out of the room, startled to see all four of my sisters glaring at me-well, except for Trinity. Lucy has her arms folded and her legs crossed. She’s wearing a ridiculous giant poofy pink dress, and her hair is too straight to be real, her makeup making her even more scary. “What did you do?! WHAT DID YOU DO!?” She pretty much screamed. I look at her confused. “ Um, sorry?” I speak. She is now flushed with anger, and tosses her perfect hair. “ What did you do to make mom and dad choose you as queen? WHAT!?” She shouts again. I shake my head and back up slowly towards the door. “ Lucy, I promise. I didn’t do anything! I was expecting one of you guys to be the queen! Trust me, please!” Lucy is angry, Rayna looks betrayed, Nestelle looks sad but alright I guess, and sweet little Trinity is smiling as she paints a portrait in the corner. Wanting nothing more than to avoid further conversations about this, I slip out the door when no one’s looking, race down the steps, jump out an open window and climb down the bricks and run away from the castle.
It’s winter, so it was probably a bad idea to jump into the snow without a coat, but I’ll manage. It’s nearly spring, so the ice is gone and the snow’s melting, but it is definitely still there. I stare at the pure white snow and catch sight of a deep red rose laying in a pile of it. The red looks beautiful against the snow, and I pick up the rose, tucking it in my hair. Desperate to get away from the castle for a bit, I ran through the freezing cold along the cobblestone road into the village. Our kingdom, the kingdom of Swanlaea, is known for its majestic variety of trumpeter swans, its vast forests, and its beautiful wildlife. The village Crescenteen that I am in now is the main village of the kingdom, and all around me are bustling market stalls, laughing peasant children and villagers hard at work. I seem so out of place with my fancy clothes and flats compared to the peasants. Shivering from the frigid air, I quickly walk inside of a nicer looking clothing store, which I’m relieved to find a roaring fire inside it. I walk around searching for some simpler clothes along with a winter coat and boots. I quickly selected a pair of nice-looking boots with soft fuzzy fabric inside, and a long thick gray coat. I walk to the counter to pay and the girl there, who can’t be much older than I am, frowns. “You look familiar…” She says. Staring at the floor I quickly hand her the money, three shiny gold coins, and she looks down in surprise. “But that's-this is too much! You can’t be serio-” I just give her a smile, put on my new outfit along with a scarf I found on the way out and hurriedly run back outside. Of course I’m not planning to stay out here forever, I know I’ll have to accept what decision has been made this morning and return to the castle. But just for a short time, even just a couple hours, I need to get away from there and pretend I’m just a regular teenage village girl. Looking much more different in my winter gear, I take my hair out of the ponytail and let it flow in waves around me. Now much warmer, I walk around the square, when I suddenly smell the delicious heavenly scent of fresh bread. Mouthwatering hungrily, I walk into the shop, which is filled with peasants wrapped in raggedy scarfs and rough cloaks, standing next to shivering children. I walk up to counter as a boy walks out. Oh, but not just any boy. The most handsome boy I had ever seen. He has light brown hair, hazel eyes, freckles, and a light tan. He is wearing a green jacket, brown pants, and an apron. The left side of his cheek has a speck of flour on it, and he grins as he walks over to me, pretending not to know me. “ Hi there, welcome to Crescent Kitchen! Can I get you something today?” He says mischievously. I smirk. “ Oh come on, you know it's me Ben Smith!” I exclaim, pretending to be annoyed. He looks at me in dramatic surprise. “ I do? But then you must be…Charlotte! Just kidding, how are you today?” He says with a cute smile. I can feel my heart flutter as I glumly tell him in whispered conversation about my situation. I can almost see his heart sink as he looks down, avoiding eye contact. “ Oh. Ok. Guess you’ll have to be queen then. And I’m just absolutely not someone you should be hanging out with.” He said flatly. I shake my head wildly. “ Um, no way! Nothing’s ever going to stop me from hanging out with you.” I say lovingly. Me and Ben had known each other since I was fourteen, the first time I had snuck out of the castle to visit the village. And now, well yeah, we were kind of more than just friends. He smiled but still looked uncomfortable. I laughed to brighten the mood. “Well, anyways, do you think you could give me some of that delicious baguette I smell, with some of your famous soup?” I asked. He nodded. “ Of course! I always have some to share with my favorite girl.” He said, before disappearing into the kitchen. I sighed and sat down at a table in the corner. The Smith’s had opened the restaurant before even Ben was born, and they proudly worked hard to feed the hungry and more poor citizens without having to pay. I watched as Ben’s older sister, Kiana, carried a tray full of bowls of soup, warm bread, a pitcher of milk, and a jar of fresh cookies over to an exhausted mother who was holding a crying baby and sat next to two young children. The mother shakily tried to hand Kiana a coin, but Kiana refused, and instead, gave the woman two silver coins. She looked at it in surprise, and Kiana smiled as she walked away happily. Kiana was only a year older than me, she had long dirty blonde hair in braids, the same hazel eyes as Ben, and was wearing a long maroon dress with a white apron. I think of the future someday, like in twenty years or so. But it's hard to imagine what will happen. I could end up as the most beloved queen in the history of the kingdom. Or the most hated, most evil queen. But of course, that would never happen. I almost laughed thinking about it; I was being so ridiculous.
