Okay, so, this is the first fanfic that I've written in a while. I hope you guys like it. I got the idea while i was watching Aladdin the other day. Which is while it'll be similar to Aladdin a bit.
Summary: Carter felt like she was wasting her time Costa Luna. She hated it and missed her home. That was, until she met a girl that changed her perspective. She wasn't any ordinary girl though, she was far from it...she was the Princess of Costa Luna, and she introduced Carter to A Whole New World.
Chapter 1- Meeting Princess Rosie
Carter shuffled into their small kitchen. It was already well past noon and she had just emerged from bed. Her hair was ruffled and she was still dressed in boy shorts with a baggy t-shirt.
Major Mason heard his daughter plop down at the rickety round table. It creaked under the weight of her arms as she rested her forehead on them. "Sleep well Pal?"
Carter slowly lifted her head to glare at her dad. She had bags under her eyes. "Guess not," Major Mason answered his own question. Her head met her forehead again with a thump. She tried to speak, but her words came out muffled.
"What? I didn't catch that."
"I said I hate it here dad." She heaved a sigh. It had been almost an entire month since Carter and her father had come to Costa Luna. She truly was trying to adjust to everything, just for her dad. It was hard for her to admit that she was missing home; though, there wasn't much for her back home. She didn't have too many friends to spend time with. There was Ed, but his companionship could only satisfy her to an extent. They were just friends and no matter how much Ed wished for it, they would only have a platonic relationship.
"C'mon Pal," He tried to reason with her. "You've just gotta give it more time. This will work. Its gonna work." He kissed her on the forehead then headed out the door.
Despite being dead tired, Carter managed to pull herself up from the table. She made her way back to her bedroom. She glanced around it. Still plain like the way it was before she arrived. It was just like their kitchen: small. She couldn't figure it out. Her father was here on official Princess Protection Program business. He was here to protect the Princess of Costa Luna. Yet, they weren't even allowed to stay in the palace. Major Mason was protecting their future queen. And somehow, the only place they got to stay was a small shack for two, down the way from the palace.
Most everything Carter had brought was still packed in her suitcases. Her clothes were the exception. They were strewn all over the floor and furniture in the room. She rummaged through the avalanche of clothes trying to find something clean. I really should have packed more. She thought after finding that nothing in the piles and piles of clothes was clean. A pair of cargo shorts and a tee that actual fit her small frame would have to do it for today. Carter put her hair up under a baseball cap, pulled her bag over her shoulder, and left the shack as well.
She made her way in the opposite direction of the palace towards the market. The streets were buzzing with activity, even in the intense heat. There were so many vendors; merchants selling fruit, fisherman hawking their daily catch, and even a nut salesman trying to barter with every passerby.
Carter didn't actual need anything from the market. All of their necessities were provided, once a week, by the same royal services the temporary queen and princess used. They give us everything else we need, why can't they give us a decent place to stay. Yeah, she was in a bitter mood. But the one thing, well three things, in the entire country that could change that ran up to her at that moment.
"Carter!" Tulio squealed as he jumped into her arms. He was the youngest of the three siblings. Only four years old and he was a little street urchin. No home, no family other than his brother and sister, and no where to actually belong.
"Carter, where have you been?" Atalaya, Tulio's sister questioned her. Truthfully, her and her dad had been on a stake out at the palace. There had been a few quirky things going on lately. Her dad insisted that they stake out the palace at least 20 hours a day. It was tiring. Today was her day off though.
"I was uhm… just hanging out with my dad." The little girl searched her eyes for the truth, but it seemed that answer was good enough for now. She too was young, barely eight years old. But she was very intelligent for her age.
Jerico just stood back a bit, a sullen look on his face. Tulio, who was still in her arms, started filling her in on everything they had been up to. "You should have seen us Carter! We ran from these three huge market guards! They almost caught us but Laya knocked over a huge stack of melons and buried them under it!"
Carter just smiled at the little boy. "That's great Tulio." She sat him down, "Why don't you and Laya go look for something good to eat. I'll pay." Tulio grabbed his sister's hand, "C'mon Laya!" He dragged her off to a nearby stand.
The eldest of the three siblings was still standing in front of her. He was twelve, soon to be thirteen. But his face was aged far beyond that from stress. Not only did he look mature, be he acted it. There was no other choice. Both of their parents had been killed shortly after Tulio was born. He was only seven at the time.
"Alright Jer. What's going on with you?" Carter led him of into the shade a few trees. They took a seat on the ground. He rested his head in her lap. She stroked her hand through his curly brown locks. They had only met three weeks ago, but Carter felt like she had known him for as long as she had Ed. She remembered the day she met Jerico.
"I don't know why dad sent me here," Carter thought. She was headed toward the market. The palace was providing them with everything they needed. But he suggested that she get out of the house. More like shack. She didn't want to leave. It'd been a little over a week and she could see no reason to leave the house. There was nothing for her out there in Costa Luna.
She entered the market and glanced at some of the good the vendors were selling. Carter tried to move through the large crowd that was in the market today. "Sorry! Excuse me! Please get out of the way!" A boy was running through the market with a sack of food in his hands. He was being chased by a group of market guards. "Get back here you filthy street rat!"
The boy pushed past Carter, "Sorry!" Before she could say anything he sprinted off down the crowded path. The guards followed right behind him. Carter didn't think. She just ran after the group.
She finally caught up with them, but it seemed too late to do anything. The pursuers had the boy trapped. His only way out was the cliff behind him. The guards advanced on him with their swords drawn. He frantically looked around for some escape. His eyes locked with Carter's. He didn't break eye contact as he slowly walked backwards off the edge.
"No!" Carter screamed as she ran forward but was stopped by the group of guards. The leader of them glanced over the cliff. "No sight of him." He just laughed and walked back to the rest of them. "Looks like your little boyfriend is gone," said the guard holding her in place. Carter raised her leg and kicked the guard in his 'family jewels'. He let her go as he fell to the ground. He was gasping for air and mumbling incoherently. "Get up you fool!" The head guard pulled him to his feet and pushed him along as the rest left.
Carter rushed over to the edge. "Hello?" She yelled out hoping for a reply, but no such luck. All she could see was water for miles and nothing else. She didn't even know the boy, but she felt guilt wash through her. She sat down with her back to the sea.
She felt a tap on her shoulder. Carter whipped around and there was the boy standing over her. They boy held out his hand and she took it. "How'd you do that?" He just shrugged, "Plenty of practice." The boy smiled at her. "I'm Jerico. And you?" She looked at the boy, trying to figure him out. "Carter…Carter Mason."
"It's nothing. Things are just getting harder. We're out of cash and the guards are keeping a closer watch nowadays." She could feel the leg of her pants becoming damp.
"Jer, c'mon, you're a smart kid. You'll pull through. Tulio and Laya and depending on you. You have to." He sat up and began wiping at his eyes. "I'll even help you." Carter pulled a large pouch of gold out of her bag. "There." She handed the entire thing to him. "That should be enough to at least feed you three for the entire year."
Jerico stared at her. "Carter," he paused, "where did you get all of this from?"
"It was a uh… a gift, from my dad," she lied. The people in the palace provided her with a weekly allowance of gold to spend however she pleased.
He looked in the pouch at all of the gold. "This is more than I've ever seen in my life Carter. But I can't take this from you…"
"Look, you need this more than I do. And I want you guys to have it. No buts." Jerico smiled at her and nodded. "Now go. You look tired. You need to rest." He stashed the pouch in his clothes then went off to tell his siblings. Carter smiled. Those three children were the only thing in the entire country that could make her do it.
She began to leave, when someone lightly grabbed her wrist. "What the-" She was stopped mid sentence when she turned around and was met by a beautiful face. "Hello, uhm… I just saw what you did for those three children and I just thought it was very lovely."
Carter couldn't get over the fact how stunning the girl's face was. Even if everything else about her looked the complete opposite. She was covered in tattered brown robes. The color had long since faded.
The girl continued on to introduce herself, "I am Princ- I mean…Rosie. My name is Rosie. What is your name?"
Carter at this point realized she had been staring with her mouth open. She couldn't help herself; this girl was just that beautiful. No one before her had ever left Carter Mason speechless. But somehow she managed to do it. "Uh...I'm…I'm…" Before Carter could form a complete sentence some one else was interrupting again. "Princess Rosalinda! What are you doing outside of the palace?" A man standing with a group of guards called to her. These men were dressed in more formal uniforms; definitely more impressive than those of the thugs that "guarded" the market.
"Princess?" Carter whispered to herself. So this is who they were protecting. Suddenly she didn't feel her time in Costa Luna was a such a waste.
"I am truly sorry. I must go now." The girl leaned in and hugged Carter. "I hope to see you again very soon." With that she ran off in the opposite direction.
Carter's head was still swimming with what had just happened. But she had decided one thing: She had to get into the palace to see the princess.
"Hey! You there! What were you doing with the Princessa?" The guards from the palace were making their way towards Carter. "Crap!" She sprinted away from the guards, back towards her pseudo home.
So, there ya go. I'm not sure how long I'm going to make this story. But it will definitely be a chapter fic. I'm going to try and update again by Saturday or Sunday.
I haven't written anything in forever, like i said. I actually took my other stories down because I didn't like the way they were written. But yea, let me know what you guys think. Reviews are greatly appreciated (constructive criticism too). I live on reviews. So please, please, please, review as well as favorite. But no spam please. Spam is my kryptonite