Disclaimer: I own nothing, the characters belong to Stephanie Meyer

I'M BACK! Enjoy!

Chapter 1

There are some girls who dream of being princesses, they dream of wearing the fancy gowns, going to balls, getting the prince. Well… Let me tell you now, it is not all that it is cracked up to be! In fact, the prince you get will more than likely be an adult when you are born. The fancy balls? Yeah, not as fun as Disney movies make them to be. Oh, and the fancy gowns? They hurt, more often than not they are too tight. My name is Bella Swan, my mother and father are the queen and king of Denmark. I'm 18 years old and in just three weeks I will be marrying James, the Prince of the Netherlands. James is already almost 40 years old and just needs a wife before he can become king, enter me. I was handpicked when I was hours old… How wrong is that? What parent can do that to their newborn?

"This is a great business investment." That's what my father would tell me whenever I began to get upset about marrying someone so much older. A business investment… I was simply a matter of business to him. My mom didn't have much to say on the fact, hers had been an arranged marriage as well like most royal marriages. My parents didn't quite have the age gap that I would have in my marriage, but they still had 13 years separating them. Mostly, she just reassured me that I would learn to love him like she had learned to love my father. I doubt I would learn to love James.

James was a vile man, he was like the scum of the earth and I felt sorry for the people of the Netherlands who would soon be under his rule. James lied, he cheated, and no doubt he would cheat on me while we were married. He liked to show me off, he liked to brag about the young princess he would soon be marrying. He also liked to tease me, he liked telling me that I never had a choice and that I would never have a choice. I was a nobody, I was a means to an end. Of course, my parents didn't know this, if they did then they didn't care.

"Now, if we can move this wedding up then that will be perfect. Unfortunately, something has come up and I must take the throne within the next week. So, if we can have her ready to be married by this Sunday then that works for me." I couldn't believe my ears, move the wedding up? It had already been too soon and now my father and James were talking about moving it up to only five days away?

"Isabella's dress is not ready, press needs to be there, there's no way these things can be done in only five days…"

"Look, your highness, I have people on staff who can get her dress ready and I guarantee you the press can be there." I peeked around the edge, just enough to get a glimpse of my father's face. He looked conflicted, not because his daughter would be getting married sooner but because nothing could be ready to make it a big show.

"Isabella," I jumped out of my skin when I felt my mom's hands on my shoulders pulling me back into the shadows. "It's not right for a Princess to eavesdrop."

"Mom, they're talking about marrying me off in five days," I complained as we walked back to my room, "Please, don't let it happen."

"It's out of my hands," she looked sorry for me. "As a Queen, or a princess, your job is to simply support your husband and not argue."

"That's not me mom," I informed her sitting down on my bed, she let out a small chuckle. Maybe my mom and I weren't so different after all. We sure did look alike, we both had brown hair that was kept pinned up always. Our brown eyes were almost identical.

"I'm aware. Now, I must go change some plans if you are getting married soon." She began to walk out of the room then turned to face me. "Please, try and stay out of trouble. Do what you're told."

"Okay," I muttered and waited for her to be far enough away. Looking at the open window, I weighed my options. I could go out for a bit and have a little bit of fun, pretend to be a tourist? Or I could stay trapped in these four walls and live my life as I'm told. Not much of a choice. Getting to my closet, I tried to find the most normal clothing I had before climbing out my window. Thankfully, I had a drain pipe that I could shimmy down to escape this prison.

Once safe outside the palace gates, I turned to the palace and gave a small smile. My life would not be planned anymore, my life would not belong to someone else, I would be my own person. I would leave Denmark, fly far away and find somewhere new to live. Princess Isabella would no longer exist. I would simply be Bella Kay, dropping my last name and adding a new middle name. I would get a hold of some hair dye, get some new clothes and become someone new.