LOL. Not a popular story at all. But I enjoy writing it. See note at the end for what's to come.
Please enjoy!
I Will Survive as Princess Jessica
Part II
"Sue Clearwater." The King acknowledged with a head nod towards us both. I was still leaned over in my curtsy, but my eyes weren't to the ground. They were fixated on the evil, crooked smile he was bestowing on us both.
When my nerves finally got the best of me, I bent my head down to the marble floor. I focused on the the sheen of the black surface while I waited for either Sue or the King to break the unsettling silence.
"She has grown well in your care without my ability to pay her attention given my obligations to my court."
I bit my tongue to stifle the laugh ticking my tongue at his obvious lie. Everyone knew of his neglect of me. His snide attitude was on full display despite his decent words.
"But going forward, I will be more personally involved in her upbringing."
Internally, I spiraled out. Curses were thrown. Rage was exuded. Frustration was fired up. But on the outside, I was a picture-perfect image of a princess oblivious to the hate radiating off a full grown man that could snap his fingers and have me offed.
I looked up to meet the King's cold gaze. Please let me live. Please just cast me away and ignore me. Just pretend I never existed in the first place.
"Starting today, Princess Jessica will be treated as she deserves as a royal member." A glint shimmered in his right eye that bordered on an evil wish or a scheme. Perhaps he couldn't kill me in cold blood and had to go about another less obvious but still insidious method?
I didn't understand the deep root of this plot since in the manga he never thought of my character as a daughter. I really had no idea who I was up against.
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My character is not the only one with a tragic story though. The King was the second son to his Father and born to someone other than the queen.
The advantages of his difficult childhood allowed him to be outcast from the normal, evil regime reigned by his father and the future King, his older brother. Eventually, he brought them down and slayed everyone in the palace who was under their influence. He was hailed as a hero. But at what cost? Because he was just a cold, hearted monster until Bella comes into the picture.
Bella was born to his first and only fiancé, Renée Dwyer. Renée died in child birth like my own mother in this world. He cast her aside before he met my mother. So the story goes, she was fooling around with his brother before he overthrew the old King.
My mother caught his eye. She died when she had me. That is all I know. Learning more won't shape my future so I try not to dig into it more.
But on one occasion, I let my desire to know more escape from my tongue.
"Sue," I asked while we strolled around the gardens, "What did my mother look like?"
A red surface coated Sue's dark-skinned cheeks. "Let me think of the best way to describe her."
I could infer Sue wanted to know why I had a sudden interest, so I made something up. "I was thinking about drawing her. Just for me though. I won't tell, Papa." Bleh. I had no desire to keep calling him that, but I had to commit my act with everyone or it would never succeed.
Sue knelt down when we reached the end of the daisy bed. She plucked the prettiest daisy in the bunch and combed it through my hair. Placing it behind my right ear.
"To put it best, you are her mini-me, Princess. I am sure you will grow up to be just as beautiful and kind as she was."
"How was she kind?" I blurted without thinking more on my question.
Before Sue could answer, Sam found us.
"Princess and Sue." He offered a deep bow. "Greetings to you both. Princess, should we be off for tea then?"
It was such a lovely day though and I didn't want to spend it with the devil's reincarnate! But I had no choice.
I turned on the show. "Yes!" I clapped my small hands together to convince my audience of my joy and enthusiasm. "I cannot wait to see, Papa."
Sue offered me her best encouraging smile as Sam plucked me from the grass and carried me off to hell. I waved to her and hoped it wouldn't be the last time we would see each other.
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After surviving three tea times where my heart threatened to put out, the King had a different plan for our "father" and "daughter" time today.
"Bring her to lake." The water would be my undoing. This was my ultimate demise. He would hold my head under water and laugh while drowning out the life in me.
Sam carried me as instructed behind the King towards the lake front and a fancy boat. I clung to Sam when he tried to put me down. I preferred a quick death over a slow, agonizing one. When he unlatched my arms around his neck, I wanted to mouth the words to him "traitor" because Sam Uley from Twilight would have never allowed this to occur.
"Do you not want to go?" The indifferent tone speckled with an edge of command rang in my ears. We both knew I didn't have a choice.
"Of course, Papa! I cannot wait for this adventure with you!" I scurried to the boat to follow him in. It looked sturdy enough to carry is both. Its lavish decoration was fitting for a King with the shaded awning and wide space. I looked at Sam, expecting him to follow us to row the boat. But we took with just the two of us.
I ran to the edge of the boat to understand how this was occurring. We were moving yet...then I remembered I was reborn into a world full of magic. My heart leapt into my throat as I jerked my head to face the King. The source of the magic steering the boat. It was my first time seeing magic performed first hand and not just reading about it with Sue.
I leaned back over the edge while the King said nothing. I wasn't sure how we would pass the time for however long we were out here. I continued to stare at the water to make a game for myself to pass the time. Like counting the lily pads. Then to my delight, a frog was bouncing on a lily pad near me. I leaned over the edge to direct it to a lily pad by the boat with my right index finger. I just wanted to see it's pretty colors up closer.
That was my last thought before tipping over into the water. I splashed above the surface trying to catch my breath and tell myself I could swim. "Papa?" Between head bobs over the surface, I caught his eyes glancing at me. The unamused brown pools in his eyes were cold and uncaring.
He was not going to save me.
I thrashed around to make it to the safety of the boat. "Save me?" I asked in a pitiful voice before I was pulled below the surface by something wrapped around my foot.
He is going to let me die. I knew this was coming...yet still, I feel disappointed underneath all the rage.
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A sharp, uptake of air filled my lungs before I coughed up whatever water had filled my little lungs while I was drowning.
"Princess?" Sam was kneeling by my side and I felt at least one man was worried for me in my presence.
"Take her back to recover. Teach her to swim, Sam." I didn't dare to look at the King because I wasn't able to fake any love for him at the moment since he almost let me die. "It seems unbefitting for a Princess to die by drowning," he sneered while Sam picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder. It was only when we were out of ear shot of the King that I allowed myself to cry.
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The recent drowning event escalated my need to vacate the Palace as soon as possible. My attempts at charming daddy dearest into tolerating me were epically failing. I had made no headway with him since our first meeting and I was so tired of acting with him. Why couldn't he ignore someone he just hated so much? It is what I wanted in the end as well.
The only wrench thrown in my plan was that after that day, Sam was assigned my personal body guard. Therefor, making it more difficult to hoard treasures and deposit them in my hole (yes, it two weeks but I eventually found my hole again after I first created it!)
I had not desire to visit the King after I nearly drowned, but was forced to make an appearance after three days. Which wasn't enough time to recover from all the emotional scars I received from that traumatic near-death drowning event.
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"Go in, Princess," Sam encouraged. "It will make his highness happy." Giving into my need for self-preservation for once, I shook my head no before Sam put me down on the ground outside of the King's bedroom.
"Papa should sleep," I justified while folding my arms around my chest. It was a great excuse to avoid the dirt bag for another day or two.
"But you waking him up would make his day," Sam insisted before opening the door and gently pushing me inside. Little did he know he was signing my death warrant.
That fool! How was he ever the Alpha?!
I was about to open the doors back up when I heard a strangled snore coming from behind me. Perhaps the dirtbag was really asleep. I followed the noise to a suede purple velvet couch that curled up on each end. The King snugly fit on it. His attire was casual for someone of his status. He was wearing a white, puffy shirt (perhaps pirate like?) that was untied at the top. His pants were black leather which looked entirely uncomfortable. But..he was handsome. I could understand how his and the rumored beauty of my mother's genetics could create the adorable face I had. It honestly heightened my appeal to others when I put on my "cute" act.
Except on this dirt bag here.
I wanted to get even with him. Here he was defenseless. So I thought a taste of his own medicine wouldn't hurt as I leaned in to pinch his perfectly straight nose while he snored.
Before I could lay my fingers on him, he caught my hand. And I went into save my ass mode by reciting a lullaby Sue sang to me most nights.
"Moon and Stars,
How you shine.
But didn't you know,
It's my bed time?
In my dreams,
On grand adventures we will go.
Collecting star dust,
Will be how we start the show.
But for it to start,
I must fall asleep,
So just wait a little longer,
Til I finish counting sheep."
I butchered the last stanza because I couldn't recall how it ended. But I saved my skin when his brown eyes reviewed me only with indifference before letting go of my wrist.
"What was that?"
"A bed time song. Since you were sleeping I thought it would help you sleep longer," I cooed with feigned innocence.
"It's not morning," he mumbled to himself before sitting up. He ruffled his hair before glancing at the entrance of his room.
"Sam, let you in?"
I nodded while backing up to a safe distance for my own safety. "Ah yes, good evening Papa!" My smiled was not returned as usual. The King grunted and then announced he would order our dinner to his room.
oOoOoOo
The next day, Sam and I em encountered my third twilight character in this world. And as I had dreaded, Carlisle Cullen was cast as the scheming duke plotting to make Bella known to the King and to begin the pivotal point of my downfall in the future. That also meant Edward was his son and the confirmed Male Lead destined for Bella. (Yay for them! Why did they have to be my doom?!)
"Sir Sam," a beautiful stranger called out while approaching us. I was waiting on Sam's back while the King kept us waiting to spend time with me.
"Sir Carlisle."
Without meaning to, an "Ack!" slipped from my lips when I confirmed Carlisle Cullen's role in this story.
I wasn't ready to meet his family yet because they spelled my doom!
I ignored the pleasantries of his greetings while pondering how to make him go away. I still had years to make good on running away before he would come into the picture permanently. And as if god himself heard my silence prayers, the doubles doors to the King's office opened and I was granted an out.
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Upon entering his office, his majesty immediately walked towards a couch. After he laid down, he waved me over.
"Sing me that lullaby again." His tone was flat.
The one I butchered?
So, I sang it only half correct this time, but by my third repeat he fell sound asleep. While mulling over what riches I could get away from stealing from his palace, I caught myself playing with his hair while he slept.
I didn't stop myself. I continued to play with his hair when pondering how my life was unfolding since I had slightly altered the course of the storyline by meeting the King too early and being acknowledged by him.
"Princess?" Sam whispered as he approached from the room's entrance. "Sue mentioned you wanted to know what your mother looked like. Would you like me to ask the King-" my fingers froze in his hair as I realized Sam was throwing me under the bus by mentioning her in front of the King.
I withdrew my hands from his hair and waved them around to insist on my refusal of his offer. "No! I only need Papa. Pay no mind to what I said before."
"I am sure he wouldn't mind if-"
"Just Papa!" I whined while frantically looking for any signs the King was really awake. But his light snoring and the consistent rise and fall of his chest led me to believe he was still asleep.
"If you wish." I nodded before Sam backed away and left us alone. I said a silent prayer of thanks that I was most likely going to live to see another day.
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Three years later...
Once upon a time, it was hard to imagine visiting Charlie of my own free will. But, there were perks to it. It increased my frequency of being able to pilfer small, knickknacks for my collection of goods to sell one day. My investment hole had grown to a meter in size and depth. I was just about at the point of biding my time until I could survive on my own at an appropriate age.
On today's visit to see Charlie, I had a particular gold ball in mind to steal. It had caught my eye for awhile but I had to survey it to make sure no one would notice if it went missing.
On my way to visit Charlie, Sam and I stumbled across Carlisle. He was only too happy to push the agenda for me needing a companion, like his son Edward who was three years older than myself. This however was not storyline territory. I wasn't sure why he even asked. But I refused insisting to both him and Sam I wasn't in need of any friends.
To be continued...with Jacob and Edward making their grand appearance in Part III. Bella may pop in too depending on how much I write in the storyline lol
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LOL. If you enjoy writing, write for yourself.