Genesis

Chapter 1: First Impression

*Please read the bottom-note before reading the story…you have been warned*

(This chapter is dedicated to Barbiegirl2435, for making me fall in love again with this beautiful couple that I knew when I was…8-9 years old. Bringing them back to life in my mind and heart has spun my world around. And by reading her amazing stories, my imagination has resurrected.)

Queen Genevieve secretly watched her teenage daughter during her lessons with Professor Dixon. She was hiding in a corner of the giant room and covering herself beneath the curtains of one of the windows. Taking a constant glimpse of her daughter's actions during her class, which were not very positive.

Anneliese wasn't cruel or bad-mannered with him, is just that she didn't pay attention at all. She was failing at almost every test and quiz and didn't seemed eager to listen to he was saying.

The widow remembered the talk she had with the tutor days ago.

Knock-knock…

"Come in" the woman said as she examined some books on her desk. The tall, thin man opened the door and walked closer to the queen. She looked at him and smiled.

"Well, Hello Mr. Dixon." he bowed as a sign of respect towards the queen "Please, take a seat" she offered, but he took it as an order. He sat on the chair and remained quiet for a while. The queen raised her blue eyes, and fixed her spectacles to take a better look at him.

"Can I help you with something?" she sweetly asked the bitter looking old man. He raised his furry eyebrows, revealing small light brown eyes.

"Indeed, you can" his husky deep and British-accented voice replied "I quit"

"What?" she gasped "Why?" it almost sounded like complain coming from her.

The man rolled his eyes, not at her of course but at the situation he was at.

"May I explain myself, then?" the queen nodded

"I can't work with a student that is not willing to learn or to listen to anything I say." she gasped yet again

"Well, I have to object to that statement. My daughter loves to learn" she assured, he nodded

"I have quite noticed that, I have caught her reading science books during my lessons. She just doesn't seems to pay attention to what I have to teach." the wrinkled man explained, the queen didn't had anything in mind to say against that.

"Well…" she started to think for a possible solution, he was one of the most professional tutors on the kingdom. He had given lessons to her late husband, until of course he became king. But the senior she was talking to was no ordinary person, and it wasn't costing her cheap to keep him working under this circumstances.

"With all of my respect, I beg you to stay another week. You and I were teenagers once, so we most know how bad and hard is to deal with life at that age. So please, Mr. Dixon. Accept my offer" he wasn't convinced by her words, and by his look she knew it. So she went to the detail anybody could resist.

"I'll double your pay." his eyes widened, and he scratched his hairless head" But only if you give us a chance to try to make you stay" he stood up from the seat, the queen followed his face as he grew taller, all the 6 foot 9 inches of him. He extended his hand, and she shook it. She grinned with satisfaction.

"Do we have a deal?" she finally asked, he leaned and kiss the top of her hand.

"Indeed we have, your majesty"

And there she was, spying on her daughter to approve the teacher's statements. Anneliese would give him bored stares, she yawned constantly and she repeatedly opened her science book and read quietly as he literary talked alone. He was right on those things.

But the blonde-headed woman also noticed that it wasn't all her daughter's fault.

He would speak very softly and low, he'd even yawn occasionally himself, he'd start talking about his life in some moments -even though nobody was paying attention to him, which it only led the queen to think he liked talking alone or that he had an imaginary friend- the old man also would take various breaks to sit and eat something during the lessons. When he was going to give an example with a plant, both of his arms trembled and so did his finger when he pointed at particular parts of it. He sometimes forgot the explanation of some themes. And the thing he did more constantly was softly and carefully clean his spectacles with a handkerchief, and nervously put them back in his face.

This man was not able anymore to keep up with his profession. 'Maybe he should retire', she thought.

But how was she going to tell him such thing?

The man himself thought he was in great health and shape. She was sure he was going to think that she was only defending her daughter, but in this situation Anneliese had a right to be… right. She was getting bored herself by just listening -or try to listen- to what he was reading. She quietly walked away from the room.

Her decision was made.

Strangely the next day Professor Dixon didn't came, which didn't bother the princess at all.

A fifteen-year old Anneliese was sitting in one of her desks, reading once again that intriguing science book.

What else could she do in this palace?

Bother the guards?…

Nah, they were to serious to have a friendship with. And they would always tell her to get in the castle again.

Bother the maids?…

Nah, they were always to busy to even talk to her, and they would instantly ask her if she needed something.

'Hmm…well I really do need something…maybe a friend to talk and share with would be nice!' That sarcastic thought was always playing itself in her mind. And she just kept thinking of what else could she do in this place instead of reading her science books.

Talk to her mother?…

Nah, she would always talk to her about the responsibilities she was going to have when she became queen or maybe telling her to eat more vegetables. But Anneliese knew the thing she would say right away when her mother talked to her: 'Darling, I want you to be happy. I know someday you'll find a handsome, nice and rich gentleman that will protect you and your kingdom.'

Talk to Preminger?…

Never! She felt like if he had really bad intentions when he eyed her. She usually felt raped by his eyes, and Goosebumps would run down her spine when he smiled, or grinned. And he never really paid attention to anything she said.

Not even when she was a little girl. Before her father passed away he told her that if he wanted to feel really close to him, she had to sit at his throne. But she was so little and short she wasn't even able to climb up to her father's chair. She remembered as she went towards him, pulling on his purple jacket to get attention. 6She saw him as the only masculine figure after her dad, but he had more important things to do. Like carry that growling hideous puppy around.

He then would look at her with a superior look on his face. And before she could request anything, he patted her head and said with his weird voice:

"Would you look at that? The little primogenitary girl of the late king, how pretty, how cute. Move along, sweetheart" he would pinch her tiny freckled-nose between his knuckles, making it hurt and turn red.

So she decided to ignore him as well.

Talk to Professor Dixon?…

Zzzzzz…ups sorry! She went bored and sleepy by just thinking of it.

Not even a pet was allowed!

'They are too furry and you can catch some skin-rashes' her mother repeated the same reply to the same question.

Who else could she talk to in this place? With no siblings, no persons available, no people of her age, her restrain to meet new persons, and her 'captivity' in that boring castle… she flew far away from there with her books.

Anneliese didn't liked to think of herself as a selfish, narcissist, spoiled, antisocial princess. But with the attitudes of everyone around her, she felt like that.

Her mother walked closer to her, and poked her shoulder.

"Dear, can I speak with you for a minute?" Anneliese closed the book and stood up from the chair to follow her mother. Who started talking to her while they walked through the dark halls.

"Anneliese, darling. Why have you taken that attitude with your tutor?" the concerned queen asked the princess. She just wondered how did she knew.

"Mother, I have to say that I am very ashamed of myself for these actions." the younger blonde looked at the older one "But they are unfaltering and explainable"

"Then tell my dear, I should understand then" Anneliese bit her lip. How was she going to tell her mother that the man that was her dad's professor and now hers, was flat, bored and old?

"Tell me" the queen insisted, placing a hand in her daughter's shoulder.

"Then promise me you aren't going to feel… offended for what I have to say" her mother nodded, Anneliese put her hand on top of her mothers.

"I promise"

Anneliese took a deep breath.

"It's just that I feel so alone surrounded by older people. Especially my tutor, who I spend most of the day with. It's… suffocating, it's unbearable, it's like being a porcelain doll that anybody wants to break, wanting to keep her locked in a crystal box!" she said a little louder than usual, and she knew she wasn't supposed to behave that way. He mother giggled

"My sweetie, because they know you are a precious being. They maybe don't talk to you because of the respect they have to reflect towards us" her mother didn't understand her.

So she cleared her throat and continued "I just want to have somebody to talk, that actually understands me… and having a sociable tutor is something vital for me, mother. I spent almost all my day studying and taking lessons, and with that drowsy man standing in front of me all day, it's impossible to learn anything"

Her mother didn't say anything, just fixed a strand of hairs that was out of place.

As they closer to the end of the last hall, which was more of a tunnel, the light grew more intense.

"I have already thought of that…" her mother assured, making Anneliese to turn her head towards her. And by looking confusedly at her mother for her last comment, she didn't watched her steps. She stopped her mother by standing in front of her. The soft and shinny marble floor that connected the hall to the garden finished with a cracked marble slab, and unfortunately Anneliese's heel met with it.

"What do you mean?" she asked, Genevieve smiled

"Your tutor quit, so I decided to hire a new one" a smile tugged at the corner's of the young princess' mouth. The queen was so pleased to see her daughter happy. Anneliese attempted to move her feet but her heel was stuck in the crack, she could feel her balance betray her but she was agile enough to regain her posture.

In that same moment, a black ball of frizzled hair passed besides Queen Genevieve, and started to loudly bark while he was running. Midas, hit Anneliese making her loose balance again. Only that this time she couldn't stop her falling, she could already feel the punch in her head when of when she was going to hit the ground, so she closed her eyes. But instead, she felt her body suddenly being embraced by two strong arms, breaking her fall.

She slowly opened her eyes, she saw nothing but whiteness. As her pupils adjusted to the increase of brightness in the ambience, the dark shape of who was holding her was starting to clear up.

"Midas! Come here to daddy" Preminger called his poodle monster-I mean dog.

The first thing she saw of him were his icy-pale-blue eyes, so their eyes connected instantly. She could feel butterflies playing in her stomach, then his face wasn't blurry anymore. He gracefully helped her stand completely in the ground, their eyes never detached from the other.

She couldn't help but smile, and neither could he. She just kept staring at his features, his long honey-colored hair, his dreamy yet sweet and sensitive smile… Without noticing he was admiring her too.

Her golden lengths of wavy hair, her deep blue eyes, her perfect creamy porcelain skin and the beautiful delicate thin hands he was holdi- Wait! She was the princess and before anyone noticed, he slowly released them trying not to blush.

"Anneliese, are you alright?" the queen called.

"Thank you" she said, he was about to respond when the queen got closer. He stepped back from the princess and bowed in front of the queen, took her hand and kissed it. And again trying to hide the burning sensation on his cheeks he bowed in front of the young princess, took again one of her hands and kissed it too.

As he regained his posture while picking up a book he had dropped during his 'rescue mission' for the princess. She instantly recognized the subject of the book.

"So, you like science books?" she was trying to start a conversation with the stranger, who chuckled at her comment.

"Indeed, I do. Actually, I'll be yo-" Queen Genevieve cut him off, unintentionally of course.

"Anneliese, I want to introduce you to your new tutor" her mother's eyes moved towards him, Anneliese didn't know if to get angry for liking him… in another way, or to jump of happiness. He bowed one again

"It's an honor to meet you, your highness" she blushed this time.

"Well, well…" Preminger came in "I see the two…youngsters have already established a bond."

The queen smiled "Indeed, Preminger, Indeed." she started walking towards the castle, she has decided to leave them alone so they could know each other better. Preminger pursued her, managing to whisper in her ear:

"We must be careful, your majesty. Maybe if that bond gets stronger, they'll end up marrying each other one day…" he laughed at his joke and so did she.

(*Oh, the irony*)

"So, you are going to be my tutor" she repeated with a shaky voice, he nodded.

"Oh, and thanks for catching me. It would had been very embarrassing if you weren't there." they started to walk around the garden.

"It was nothing, but I guess I made a very wrong first impression, didn't I?" he asked her, a worried look in his face.

"No, no, no… actually I think my mother liked you even more." he chuckled

"And so did I" she assured "You didn't told me your name" he stopped walking

"I am Julian, Julian Mills." and holding his science book with one hand and taking her hand again to kiss it.

"At your service"

She smiled and they resumed their walk.

The garden was filled with different kinds of flowers, Julian wanted to show his wide knowledge on the thing he'd notice she was interested in, science. So he wondered through the thousands of flowers and found a particular one, standing with a gaudy pink alone in the crowded garden. He gently pulled the flower out, smelled it and turned towards her.

He offered her the flower, at first she seemed kind of shy to take it, but his eyes lured her.

"A perfect example of Rosa-" he started

"Centafolia" they finished in unison.

"My favorite" she finished as she smelled the flower.

They just knew this was going to be a very pretty friendship.

Author's note:

Hi! I'm kind of new here in the Barbie fanfiction world. So for those who are looking at the grammatical horrors, I don't live in a country where the English language is commonly used. I really do my best writing in this language so please don't be so harsh on me :D.

Why I write in English instead of Spanish?

For those who asked this question in their minds -or out loud- In Puerto Rico is not common to find a fanfiction writer, or at least I've never met one. Even harder to find people who write in English, and I think almost impossible to find people that write Barbie fanfiction.

So yeah, I feel pretty alone :(. Also since my mother and my sister are so…curious, and they look through my stuff, my documents etc… I prefer to write them in a language they don't understand. For example if you ask one of them what the word 'going' is, they won't respond ;D.

This is my first Barbie as The Princess And The Pauper fic EVER! So please, I would love to see your comments and thoughts. Review, please!

And if somebody who is willing to help me with my grammar, please let me know. I will appreciate.

Thanks for reading!

shadowgirl416