Chapter One: Be Careful what you Wish for
Alyssa's pov
I flipped the page of my new book and sighed, placing a hand on my cheek and propping my elbow on the metal arm of the swing.. My blue and white gown was swinging back and forth as I kicked my foot back and forth, not touching the ground, as Mother insisted. Queen Emalia was talking with my older cousins, Sierra and Hannah, who laughed and smiled and sipped and tasted the food and tea with a gentle feminism. Rolling my eyes, I brought my attention back to my book.
I loved being the princess. I was not girly, preferring jeans and a black Tee to beautiful gowns and jewelry, but I was used to never having to do anything or think too hard. Someone picked out my clothes, dressed me, chose my hairstyle, made me breakfast, and bought me a new book everyday. Then I curled up in my room, the garden swing, or the library's sofa and was not seen for the rest of the day. My cousins were always complaining that their parents were trying to marry them off at thirteen, but I was never spoke to about my marital future.
You see, a few days before my birth, a villager who hated my parents slipped something into my mother's drink. I almost died as the doctor's scrambled to get me out. I made it, barely, but with a lot of brain damage. I can think and move like a human being, breathe and feed myself. But I can not speak, nor concentrate on a thing too long without a headache that lasts me days. Reading helps me learn a bit, but it does trigger many headaches. I also have a lot of "little episodes", as Mother and Father, King William the third, call them. I believe the doctor called them seizures. They spring up out of no where and they hurt. It's like hot acid is being inserted through my blood and fire is erupting from my bones. I can't scream. All I can do is wither around in agony. My parents stand by my side and look, not blinking. As soon as it's over, I am giving my medicine and sent to bed.
Mother always said she blamed the villager, but when she found out the only thing the drug did was make her go into labor earlier, but only by a couple days. Then she said she blamed herself. But I know better. They wish I had been normal. They wish I wasn't different. They wish I could be like Hannah and Sierra, which is why Mother offers to entertain them so often. She loves me, because I'm her daughter. That is it.
I closed the book and set it aside, and then looked up at the sky and closed my eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun sliding over my skin.
I wish, I wish I would just disappear. Just vanish. So my parents could have a normal child and I wouldn't be a burden on anyone. I wish for a handsome boy, maybe fifteen or sixteen, to whisk me off my feet and take me to his home. I wish. . .for the impossible.