Author's Note: Hi, everyone! Here's another one with Princess Annie through the years!


6

Princess Anne ran through the hallway with a big smile on her face and a big canvas in her hands. Every staff member who she passed through greeted her with a slight shake of the head and a chuckle. The little girl with messy dark hair never failed to be the castle's ball of sunshine, even though she causes some of the weirdest accidents inside the palace walls. Some of which were quite hilarious after the whole ordeal is over.

The princess placed the canvas down beside the door of her father's study, straightened her dress, and smiled up to the knight guarding the door with a cute curtsy. He smiled down at her, waiting for her command. She got the canvas back in her hands, gave the guard a nod, and was announced to the people inside the room.

The people being her parents in her father's study who were in a very compromising situation, thankfully Annie has yet to know about that. Snow White tried to fix her hair as she hopped down from the desk as Prince Charming cleared his throat and sat down on his chair.

"Daddy, Mommy!" Annie giggled, running towards them with the canvas.

"Oh, careful, honey," Snow told her. She smiled when Annie offered the canvas up to her. "What's this?"

Annie beckoned her mother to come closer before whispering, quite loudly. "It's for Daddy's birthday."

Charming pretended not to hear it and fought the smile on his face. "Oh," Snow whispered and nodded, playing along with the little girl. "Should we show him now?"

"Yes, but it should be a surprise!" the six-year-old said with wide eyes, looking over at her father. Charming was looking at her, making her giggle and place her hands over her mouth. "Daddy, don't look!"

"Okay, okay," he chuckled, closing his eyes playfully. "I don't see anything."

There was a couple of shuffling before Annie said, "Okay, Daddy. Open your eyes."

Annie was perched on top of his desk with her new painting held up for him to see. She had a bright smile on her face as she waited for her father's reaction. It was a painting of their entire family in stick figures complete with the sun and clouds and grass and trees. On top of the stick family, 'Happy Birthday Daddy' was written in her childish scrawl. The picture melted the king's heart.

"Annie, it's beautiful," Charming said warmly with a big smile on his face before kissing her forehead. Annie grinned at him happily. "You made this all by yourself?"

"I – Neal helped me with the words," she explained. "But the drawing was mine."

"Thank you, sweetheart," Charming said, taking the canvas from her. "Where do you want me to put it?"

Annie looked thoughtful for a moment before asking, "Somewhere you will always see it, Dad?"

He nodded, "I know just the place." He helped her down the desk and smiled when she immediately latched her hand to his.


16

Anne felt really pretty today.

Her dark curls were pulled back in an intricate braid with some loose curls framing her beautiful face that was powdered and her lips tainted red. She was wearing a pale yellow dress which corset hugged her figure perfectly and the skirt followed her every move. She loved dressing up whenever the occasion presents itself, unlike her sister who preferred armors instead of dresses, and was especially excited as she waited for the arrival of a certain prince from another kingdom.

Up until the moment her maidservant came up to the room to inform her that the welcoming luncheon was cancelled, but her parents and brother were waiting for her in the dining room for their own family meal together. Disappointment flooded her face as she nodded and followed her out of her bedchambers.

Neal, thankfully, was very talkative that day and carried most of the conversation with her parents as she silently picked on her food. The three of them showed their adoration of her appearance that day, and she mustered a smile for them in return. She was hoping that Mateo would express the same sentiments when they met each other that day, but she guessed it was just not meant to be.

Ever since the festival back at the kingdom, they haven't been able to see each other. Other than a few letters via bird, they have no other means of communication, and both of them expressed excitement upon the news of their arrival to the Seventh Kingdom after the dispute in their home has been settled. Something must have come up that caused the sudden cancellation.

Anne was looking forward to showing him around her palace, show him the beautiful gardens, and share with him her love for the arts. Everything was planned out the way it should be. It just sucks that nothing was going the way she hoped it would.

"You okay?" her brother asked after their lunch. They were walking down the hallway together. Neal had lessons to attend to, and Anne was on her way to find an interesting book in the library. "You seem a bit quiet today."

"Yeah," she smiled wanly up at him. "I'm fine."

Neal regarded her for a moment and was about to say something when Will, the family butler, suddenly appeared in front of them. He gave them a low bow before saying, "Princess, your mother requests an audience with you in the gardens. She says it is important."

Anne gave her brother a look, making the latter smile at her and kiss her on the side of her head. "Go on. I'm sure she's also just worried about you. I'll talk to you after my lessons." The princess sighed and nodded before following the messenger to her mother's gardens.

Will left her when they arrived after she said that there was no need to announce her arrival. Anne saw her mother walking around the apple tree in the middle of the garden. She remembered asking why it was her favorite, but Snow would just smile secretly. She walked over quietly, preparing to scare her mother, when the latter said, "Don't even think about it, Annie."

She groaned. "How do you do that?"

Snow White smiled. "Bandit, remember?"

Her mother looked gorgeous, as always. She was wearing a simple lavender dress with her hair pulled back at the sides by a comb at the back. Annie always expressed her love for her mother's simplicity and wanted to be just like her. She fidgeted for a moment before asking, "Am I in trouble, Mom?"

Her mother laughed, shaking her head. "No. Why, can I not ask for a few moments with my favorite daughter without having to scold her for doing something?" she gave her a look. "Unless you did do something I didn't know."

Annie giggled. "No, Mom. I didn't do anything." She walked over to a bench and sat down before giving her a sly grin. "Favorite daughter, huh? I'm going to hold that over your head and tell Emma when she gets back."

"You do that," Snow chuckled. They were quiet for a few moments before her mother turned serious. "Is everything okay, sweetheart?"

"Yeah," she answered a little too quickly. "Why wouldn't they be?"

"Well, you were a bit quiet at lunch today," she answered promptly. "Your father and I were supposed to talk to you, but he had to attend a meeting with the advisors." Snow crossed her arms over her chest, watching her flickering expressions. "Annie?"

Annie shook her head. "It's silly, Mommy."

"If it's bothering you, I don't think it's silly at all," she told her with a small smile. She walked over and sat beside her daughter. "Talk to me."

The princess sighed, scooting closer to her – something she always did since she was younger. "I just – I was looking forward to seeing Aunty Ariel and Uncle Eric all week." She gestured towards herself. "I even got dressed up and everything."

Snow was quiet for a few moments before she replied. "Huh. I was sure it was about a certain prince. I didn't know you missed his parents." She winked at her daughter playfully, making the latter huff. The queen chuckled. "Am I right?"

Annie hesitated before sighing, "It doesn't make any sense. I don't know why I feel like this, and it's not like we're close. Sure, we spent majority of the two days together, but – I don't know. It's weird." She bit her lower lip before asking shyly, "Was that how you felt with Dad?"

"Well," Snow smiled. "It was much more complicated than that – with the whole evil queen and evil king shenanigans, but yeah, that was what it felt like. It doesn't make any sense."

Annie looked conflicted. "But it doesn't have to make sense to make sense, does that make sense?" Snow laughed at her own sentence, making the princess roll her eyes at the joke. "Your father and I – there were more downs than ups at first. But if it's real, if it's true love," she smiled, squeezing her daughter's hand. "Then fight for it, because it's so very worth it."

Annie smiled brightly before biting her lower lip. "But, do you think – you know – is he the one for me?"

"You're going to have to be the one to figure that one out for yourself, baby," Snow answered, tucking some loose hairs behind her ear. "I, for one, am happy for you when you find your true love. Your father on the other hand might need a little time to process things."

The princess wrinkled her nose in apprehension. "Can you please tell Dad not to scare him away? I remember Killian nearly passing out back then."

The queen laughed. "I'll tell him."


26

The bride looked gorgeous in her white ensemble but couldn't tame the butterflies in her stomach. It also didn't help her that her mother was anxiously fixing her gown every chance she got. "Mom, can you please relax? My dress is perfect." Annie admonished Snow playfully, looking back at her mother who was fixing the train. She glanced over at her brother, Neal, who was standing beside her, and whispered, "Where's Dad? Mom might pass out if she realizes he's still not here."

Neal was about to respond when Snow beat him to it. "Where's your father?" Snow asked, standing upright suddenly. Her daughter cringed inwardly before turning to face her mother. "Oh, now you've ruined the train again." She was about to bend down when her daughter caught her arm and stopped her. "What?"

"Mom, everything's already perfect," Annie smiled, squeezing her mother's hands. "My dress is fine, everyone's fine, and you're going to be fine. We are just waiting for Dad before we get this thing going."

Emma suddenly showed up, looking beautiful in her pale yellow dress. "Okay. Everything's ready inside. The groom looks like he's about to pass out, but that's normal. What are we waiting for?"

"Now I think I'm about to pass out," Annie complained, fanning herself a little.

"Dad decided that this is another perfect day to be late," Neal answered his older sister, making Emma laugh. She walked over to him to fix his collar as he glanced at his mother who was rubbing her hands together anxiously. "Mom, why are you so fidgety? Dad's always late during weddings. Remember mine and Emma's?"

Emma added with a laugh. "Oh, yeah. I remember him reasoning that maybe if he was late, the wedding would be cancelled. Then he won't have to lose me." She rolled her eyes, but they appeared a bit teary. "Oh, and he called me his favorite daughter." She winked over at Annie.

Annie huffed. "Please. Everyone knows he loves me more."

Snow cut in with a sly grin. "I'm pretty sure he loves me most." Her three children laughed, relaxing at the sight of her back to her normal self at that moment. "I'm sorry, I just want everything to be perfect. This is the last time I'm going to watch my child get married."

"Aw, Mom, now you're going to make me cry," Neal joked, pretending to wipe away a tear.

Snow ignored him, cupping Annie's face in her hands. "Have I told you how beautiful you look today, my little princess?"

"About a hundred times," Annie laughed, a stray tear rolling down her cheek. She wiped it away and shook her head. "Oh God, can we stop with the family drama and get this over with?"

"I'm here!" Prince Charming announced, jogging over to the foursome gathered in front of the closed church door. They all looked relieved at the sight of him. "Did I miss anything?"

"Not yet, but you were about to, Dad," Emma said before placing a kiss on his cheek.

Neal grinned, rubbing his hands together. "All right, everyone's here. Let's get this thing going! My little sister's getting married!"


Author's Note: Reviews make me happy!