Crowds cheered and lined the streets, young and old, rich and poor . Kids sat on their parents shoulders all were watching and waiting, hoping to get a glimpse of the Pharaoh and his family. It was rare for people to have a chance to see his family but today was the Festival of Opet. It was one of the few days people got to see the Pharaoh and his family at the same time, making it one of the most exciting festivals of the year.

There was one girl though, who was not looking around and cheering. The girls' name was Bella which meant "Beautiful". Anyone who met her agreed her name most certainly suited her. Her black hair flowed down her back and her eyes a deep chocolate-brown that anyone would get lost in. Even her skin was flawless of any marks. She always silently disagreed that her name suited her. 'What's the point in having people think you're beautiful if no one listens to what you say?' She often thought to herself.

Her family had made everyone come to the festival and she had to put on pounds of jewelry, and so much makeup she felt like if she moved a muscle it would all fall off her face. She never wore makeup except when she needed to. She in truth hatred it but her mother had insisted though that the whole family look their best, and decided that that would include makeup and jewelry for the whole family. They had to put on black kohl all around their eyes and for some reason she had made the eldest daughters put on wigs even though they already had black hair. Her brothers', sisters', and her own sun-kissed skin had been bathed in the early morning before the festival. The whole ordeal of it annoyed Bella to no end. If it were up to her she would wear only the makeup necessary for being in the hot sun.

"Yesh! When will we ever go home?" She thought annoyed. "People make such a big deal over seeing the Pharaoh and his family. I heard he and his family are all jerks, especially their youngest son, Edward. He apparently acts like he's the best thing the god's created since the beginning of time."

The Pharaoh and his family had started to come down the street at that point in time, with dancers and musicians in front and behind them, trumpets blew and sounded at they came. The crowds of people even waved little flags they have made to honor the pharaoh. Bella noticed that the order was the same as always Dancers with musicians, the Pharaoh, the queen, their sons, Peter, Emmett, Edward, and their daughters, Alice, and Kate. This Pharaoh, unlike others, had chosen only one wife to be with, whereas other Pharaohs had a main wife and several minor wives.

The parade seemed to move in slow motion in Bella's opinion. Two of the princes in the parade, Emmett and Edward, were randomly winking and smiling at the girls in the crowd. When they did the girls swooned in delight, and some even fainted. Everyone else simply bowed to show their respect for the royal family. The sons were passing by Bella now, and when Edward looked over and saw her, he winked at her. She simply glared at him in return, and then very stiffly bowed to him like everyone else. He looked surprised by her action then stopped winking at random girls as the parade kept moving, stunned that she had glared. The parade finally ended as the sun was setting. The sky lit up with reds greens pinks and people started to head home for the next day.

"Why on earth are the festivals so long? We could be doing anything else, like hitting ourselves with a stick and still get more done than watching these things," Bella thought as she went off to find her family and when she did her eldest sister was shrieking with excitement.

"Oh my goodness! Edward winked at you! You… are… so lucky!" Rosalie shrieked.

Her youngest sister looked at Bella with green, curious eyes.

"Bella. Why don't you act like all the other girls when Edward winked at you?" Charlotte asked her.

"Because I'm smart enough to realize that I don't have a chance with him, and even if I did, I wouldn't want to because he is a jerk," Bella answered honestly. "So that's why I don't bother swooning over him like some people do."

She then looked over at Rosalie while she told her the second part of her explanation and raised an eyebrow at her.

"What?" Rosalie asked when she saw the look.

"Wow" Bella thought to herself.

Then they saw that their brother had come up and had heard most of the conversation between them.

"Well I'm glad she didn't get excited over such a little thing," her eldest sibling, Jasper commented. "It means she has more sense than most of the other girls around here."

"Thank you Jasper."

"No problem sister. I know you don't enjoy these. Of course, I don't as well, but I think you hate them even more than I do."

"Hello my children! So what did you think of the festival?" Their father asked them, walking up to them.

"It was great!" Rosalie screeched happily.

Bella, Jasper, and Charlotte all said at the same time in a monotonous chorus, "It was boring."

"It's too bad you feel that way but considering it's a major festival we have to attend and watch it," their mother, Renee, reminded them.

"We know mother," they all simultaneously replied.

The family walked back to the house, passing by the houses and shops along the way all still had their banners out. They felt the coolness of the night wind drift as they walked home. A few hours later they ate the duck their father and his sons had hunted earlier for dinner. The fire crackled as they ate and the smell of the suck filled the house with its rich aroma.

That night, as Bella thought about the day in her bed on top of the roof, she grew more irritated by the minute. "He thinks he's so great. Someone needs to tell him he's not the center of the universe. He should learn what people do just to get the best for his family, not just that we trade items and it magically ends up at the palace. "