Disclaimer:
I don't own any of the Anastasia or Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper characters.
Author's Note:
This story is based after one my sister and I cooked up a couple of years back. It's got more twists than a hedge maze and will probably surprise and maybe even disappoint you a little along the way. But over all, it is good fun, and I hope you will all enjoy it!
As a special warning to all Dominick fans, for the purpose of the plot (and the original version of our story) Dominick is an altered character in this fic, thus meaning that he will not be as you know him. He will take on a slightly different personality than that is portrayed in the movie. :)
Please also forgive slow updates as I will be conferring with my sister during the writing of this story and lately have been falling victim to writer's block. Thank you!
Chapter One
Princess Anneliese stood at her balcony dreaming of freedom. She could just imagine life with no rules and appointments, no meetings and royal balls, and most of all, no betrothal to a neighboring king. She often daydreamed her own future, beginning with her marriage to the man of her choice. Her tutor, her best friend, her teacher, Julian.
Her fantasies would carry on with a beautiful château in some far off place where the two of them could study plants and animals and grow a garden. They would spend their lives together where both would be shrouded in science and most of all, romance. There would be no rules, no appointments, no meetings, no royal balls, and best of all, King Dominic would be little more than a bad dream. After all, Anneliese expected more in life. Especially when she had so much left to live.
"Princess!"
Anneliese turned just as her mother's royal adviser, Preminger, stepped out onto the balcony. His golden shoes tapped on the pink marble as he proudly strode toward her. Anneliese hated the man, but still, she was a princess and had to be cordial. "Yes, Preminger?"
"The queen wants me to send you to her quarters. The tailor and his assistants have just arrived for the fitting."
"Fitting, Preminger?"
"Why, for your wedding dress, Princess!"
Of course. How could she be so forgetful? If only her mother would forget the wedding so easily. "Yes. Alright. Tell Mother I will be with her shortly."
Preminger smiled slyly and ducked back into the castle. "As you wish."
She watched him go and then returned to the edge of the balcony, sighing loudly. "Oh, what am I going to do?" She whispered the words as tears gathered in her eyes and she looked down upon the garden where Julian stood with his book referencing the species he found there. She'd give anything to join him, but she knew she had places to go. Her mother was expecting her in the other bedroom. She had no choice but to go, and, by the end of the month, she had no choice but to go and get married.