Princesses are supposed to be beautiful. They are supposed to have long golden hair that glints like captured sunlight. They should have bright blue eyes the color of the ocean after a storm. They should be petite with tiny waists and hips. Princesses, especially those born of beautiful parents, like me, should be all of these things. I am, quite simply, not. Never have been. Instead of the required golden locks, I got plain brown hair. There's nothing particularly wrong with it, it just hangs there, a bit limply, but perfectly ordinary. I have grey eyes, not blue, and while grey eyes can be very pretty if in the right face, mine is not the right face. My eyelashes are too short, my skin is too pale, none of that peaches and cream for me, and my features are not pronounced enough. I also fail in the area of figure. I am not petite, do not have small hips, and my waist isn't exactly tiny. I'm not fat, not by any measure, but I'm not exactly thin either. All in all, I'm not hideous, not a monster, but perfectly ordinary. And when you're a princess, especially a Sarcocian princess, being a monster would almost be preferable.
Sarcocia, which is the kingdom I was born to, is known for two things: our beautiful cloth, and our beautiful women. The most beautiful of our women are, of course, our princesses. Each prospective queen is looked over, examined in the greatest detail, to make sure our princesses remain beautiful. Her family tree is pored over so as to make certain there are not any secret deformities in her family. She is only then allowed to marry whoever is in line for the throne. Our mother was no different. She was a beauty, although not a classic one. She looked like a distorted version of me, brown hair, although hers was the color of chocolate and fell in luxurious waves, grey eyes, although she did have the face to support them, and she was tall, although she was much thinner than I will ever be. People tend to rave on about how I look so much like her. I hate it. It reminds me of two things. Firstly, my mother died when I was two in a freak boating accident on Thryne River, the body of water that separates us from Destromere, the country to the East. Secondly, my ordinary appearance. I never was, am not, and never will be even half as beautiful as my mother. Not like Relina, my elder sister. She is the picture of the perfect princess, with her golden hair, blue eyes, and petite frame. I am insanely jealous, although I can never admit it, because along with being gorgeous, my sister is also sweet, the sweetest person you'll ever meet. If you ever see her leaning over a kitten, or looking over a particularly pretty rose, you can't help letting your jealousy go.
I have two other sisters, Telinne and Oriala, twins, two years older than Relina, who is three years older than me. Both of them are very beautiful as well, Telinne having green eyes, red hair, and a temper that matches her hair color, and Oriala having short curly chestnut hair and green eyes. Telinne is fiery and stubborn, until you get her around animals, then she softens up like butter left in the sun. Oriala is the artist of our family; she draws, sings, dances, and plays the harpsichord. If she weren't a princess of Sarcocia, the theatre world would have a new star.
Both my eldest sisters are betrothed, Telinne to Prince Samdin of Tlee to the north and Oriala to Prince Jimuld of Harflin to the far south, past Kettering. The twins will be sent off to their respective husbands this year, and Relina and I will miss them greatly. However, there is a great demand for Sarcocian brides, so I am sure we will not have time to miss them for long. Well, Relina won't. Because I am not as beautiful as my three sisters, I will not be sharing in their abundance of suitors. My father says the best I can hope for is some duke who has never heard of my ordinariness, and even that would be stretching it. The last time I talked to him about it, he said "Lirianna, you must not seriously consider marriage, and if you do, do not consider love. You can barely hope for the first with looks like those, do not bother with the second."
He was not trying to be cruel, I know my situation as well as he does, and t depresses me to no end. With princesses like Relina, Telinne, and Oriala, why would anyone pick me? Still, silly and hopeless as it is, I still think about the man who would marry me, although chances of his existence are slim. He would be smart and funny, polite, and, most importantly, he would love me. Relina, the only one who I would ever tell any such thing to, asked me about his looks. "Don't you want him to be handsome, Lirianna?" she asked, looking up at me from the embroidery she held, her blond hair falling into her face. "Shouldn't he be tall and fair with flashing blue eyes and shining blond hair?" Relina's eyes were now bright and she had dropped the fabric and was motioning quickly. I shook my head. "No, Rel," I replied, using her nickname, "he shouldn't have to be handsome to be a good person." Relina shook her head, but smiled. "I'm sure he will be though Liri," she returned. "He must be absolutely perfect to be good enough for you!" At this last sentiment of sisterly love, the embroidery had gone flying. Laughing at my sister's unabashed affection, I fetched it from where it had come to rest in front of Oriala's harpsichord. "I'm sure your husband will be handsome and kind and love you very much Reli, although he may not want this embroidery!" I told her as I passed back the fabric, which was now ripped. Relina stuck out her tongue in reply.
Despite my sister's assurances that I would find the perfect husband, I knew better. If I couldn't marry to our country's benefit, however, I would help in other ways. This was how I first became interested in the government. Although my father is very kind, he is basically a figurehead; everyone knows the advisors run the place. The head advisor, a man called Gregton Biddlebok, although no one dares make fun of his name, is quite nice, but very commanding. He's been letting me help with state affairs since I was small and first expressed an interest in them. Unlike most countries, Sarcocia has actually flourished under his advisory, and with my help. Cloth, which was once a small portion of our economy has since propelled us to unmitigated economic success, becoming known for such colors as Relina Blue, after my sister's eyes, Oriala Brown, my sister's hair, and Telinne Purple, a color that my sister had accidentally made one day when she wandered into one of the dye rooms searching for a lost hedgehog. As of yet, I had no cloth named after me.
Deciding I had had enough brooding for the day, I walked purposefully toward Gregton's chambers, where I knew he would be as we had the day off from advisory meetings. "Gregton," I called, knocking softly on his door, "Open up, its Lirianna." At this, I heard groaning and the squeak of a chair and the door opened, revealing a disheveled Gregton. "Hello," I said, kissing him on both his round cheeks. "Been having a nice rest?" He muttered something about cheeky princesses and falls from tower windows, which I took as a yes. Because of my interest in our government, which I was now a useful member of, taking my father's place, Gregton and I had become quite close over the years. And before you go off in that direction, I'll tell you that he had watched me grow up, taught me to play chess, showed me how to balance a budget. He was my father in all respects except actually being related to me. Not that I didn't love my real father, we just never spent much time together, the last conversation we had, where he told me not to look for love, had taken place a little over a month ago and the one before that almost a year.
Apparently deciding that I was here to stay, which I was, Gregton woke himself up a bit. "Liri, dear," he said yawning, "you really must tell me when you intend to visit, maybe then I'd be awake." He glared at me as he said this, but I just smiled. He rolled his eyes and examined the plate of biscuits I had brought with me. Selecting one, he continued. "Well, I'm glad you came anyway. I have some news for you," he told me, biting in to the biscuit with relish. "This is quite good, what is it?" he asked. I rolled my eyes, "Stop stalling, what's the news?" He shook his head at my impatience, but he was smiling. "The prince of Exiand wishes to have a Sarcocian princess as his bride, or at least his advisors want him to."
Hmm, I thought, Exiand. It was the kingdom to the west, famous for its beautiful scenery and its odd royal family. Apparently, the queen had once been a goose girl, and one of the princesses was choosing not to get married, following instead the path of an ordinary pastry chef. "Exiand?" I asked, the surprise apparently evident as Gregton replied with a roll of his eyes. "Yes, Exiand." I rolled my eyes right back. "So Relina's going, right, since Telinne and Oriala are already engaged," I pondered, more a statement than a question. To my immense surprise, Gregton shook his head. "What?" I asked. "But she's the only one not married, so unless you plan on breaking Telinne or Oriala's engagement, that could only mean…You're not sending me are you?" He nodded. "What?" I cried. "There's only one reason a prince wants a Sarcocian bride, and that's for looks. In case you haven't been paying attention the last few years, looks are not something I have in abundance! Send Relina, send Telinne, send the housekeeper's daughter Saralinda for all I care, I'm not leaving! They'll hate me for not looking beautiful; they'll send me back! You know how strained things are with Exiand, this will be the thing that finally starts us fighting again!"
My last statements were true, things were strained with Exiand, and my being sent to marry the prince would be the thing that set us fighting again. You see, for many years Exiand and Sarcocia had been sworn enemies, with a long history of wars and battles, the first of which had been started over, ironically enough, a Sarcocian princess who was more beautiful than any person had a right to be and who refused the Exiandian prince's hand in marriage, instead choosing to run off with the steward who she had apparently fallen in love with.
"Oh come now Lirianna, you know sending Relina in would be like sending a lamb to the slaughter, and we need this alliance. If things get any worse, we may have another war on our hands, which I know you don't want" Gregton explained, taking my hands. "I know you don't want to leave Sarcocia, but we desperately need your skills in a place where you can truly use them." In his last words, I knew Gregton was not only talking about my love of all things governmental, but also my diplomatic skills and ability to smooth out almost any conflict. I sighed, unable to put up a resistance against his sensible arguments. "I see what you mean. Reli's sweet, but she wouldn't be able to handle the crazy that is the Exiandian royal family or the political mess we're about to walk into," I sighed again, pushing my hair back from my forehead as I did so. "Only, won't they request Rel?" I asked, certain that they would know of our family and looks before selecting a bride.
Gregton laughed at this, "No, Liri dear, in this we are fortunate." I must have looked skeptical as he continued, chuckling again. "Apparently, their king is ill, and the prince needs to marry soon so as to ensure the line will continue past himself, and the Exiandians must have heard we had an excess of princesses because I have a rather desperate letter, begging for me to send over one of the," here he paused to pick up the letter that had been lying on his desk, "'rather gorgeous girls, as rumors has it, to be our esteemed prince's bride.'"
The quote made him chuckle once again, although I didn't think it was all that funny. "You see? They expect someone pretty and kind and…princessy! They expect Relina! They don't want a too-tall ordinary girl with a knack for diplomacy!" By this time I was almost in tears, wishing yet again that I were more like my older sister.
"Oh come now LiLi," Gregton said, using a name he only pulled out when I was in a particularly bad mood or he wanted something from me, "you are a very pretty girl." Seeing the look I gave him, he quickly continued, "and besides that, you've actually got a brain, something which," here he lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "your admittedly lovely sisters are lacking."
I looked at him astounded. "But that's not true at all! How do you think Telinne would insult people so effectively, or Oriala play so beautifully, or Relina be so kind if they were not intelligent!" I was a bit indignant for my sister's sake, but secretly proud and happy. At last I had achieved something they had not, even if Gregton was the only one silly enough to believe they were brainless.
"Insults, music and kindness do not equal intelligence Lirianna, and you know it. Your sisters are all very good in their own ways, but you have something they do not. While they lack a certain…spark to their personalities and thought to their actions, you have both in abundance. You would make any one, especially this Exiandian prince, a very happy man," he looked at me seriously. "And," his eyes now crinkling, "if your husband throws you out, you know I'll always open my arms to you!" As he said this, he gave me a hug.
I smiled thankfully. "You have no idea how much that means to me," I told him. "If I must go," here Gregton shot me a look that clearly said you are going, "then I will miss you and Relina and Telinne and Oriala and even Father, so much, but especially you." I hugged him again, standing. "When shall I be leaving on this dubious adventure, if I have to?" I asked him.
"Tomorrow," he replied, all happiness gone from his voice.
A/N So that's the first chapter! Its a bit short, but once things get moving, they'll get longer. I already have the story planned out, except for a few details (like the prince's name! If anyone has any ideas, tell me!). So please review, and, like I mentioned before, any suggestions for the prince's name are welcome!