Genevieve has a high fever of a hundred-two. That's the highest It's ever been for Jenny since the Warcry which was almost ten years ago and little Jenny was just a toddler then. Mother sits next to her bed crying, I know I shouldn't be mad at her but I am. She ruined everything for Ardilin and now she's getting punished for it. She started this whole mess ending things with father. That's how this war got about. Faire didn't like the idea of it's Queen trying to get a divorce and leave Faire with nothing but the poor of Ardilin. If I were Faire I would declare war with Ardilin too. But I could never bring myself to say this to mother. She'd be crushed more than she already is.
Ever since the divorce nothing but tension between the two kingdoms has occurred. But now Faire made their first move, bringing down the princesses. I know father had nothing to do with this, he loved his daughters more than anything. It was probably the peasants that my Mother left to die alone in the streets of Faire. 'I'm sorry, but things didn't work out between the King of Faire and I.'.I remember her speech so clearly, I always knew my Mother never inherited my Grandmother's ability to write a speech so beautifully and speak it even better. It always made me angry that my Mother never did the speeches in Ardilin, how I thought of it was, if she was the Queen why isn't she doing the speeches, but I never dared asking because I knew my Mother wouldn't answer my question and Grandmother Veronica would just tell me that it was rude to ask such a thing and make me apologize. But I guess that's how it is these days. No one ever tries to make their own speeches anymore; it happens mostly among mortals, but you'll see a few Everafters here and there that clearly don't even know what they're saying.
"Oh Jenny, I'm sorry. Please don't die out like this, you're too good for that." Mother held Genevieve's hand tightly, I grimaced at how hard she held it, that'll brouse. I look at Genevieve's pale face in the moonlight. Her hair was a beautiful blond like Mother's, a gene that I wished to have for so many years, but no matter my efforts ever got. Her skin was a pale white with freckles all across her nose. Oh! And her nose was slick and pretty with no weird bumps from breaking it so many times unlike me. Genevieve was an overall very pretty girl and even when she was on her deathbed and was about as dead as a goat still looked as pretty as the stars.
She'd hadn't woken up in days and her breathing had been so slow that there'd been several false alarms about her death. I knew there was very little hope in Genevieve's survival and there'd be much grief in the Kingdom soon to come. And I also knew I needed to stay strong for my Kingdom's sake and my Mothers sake. That's what little Jenny would've wanted anyway.
I looked down at my Mother, who was still sobbing. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were very prominate.
"I am going to go to supper. Would you like me to bring you anything?" I ask trying to be nice to her. She'd been through a lot, but Mother's were supposed to be strong, not their fourteen year old who was practically doing everything with keeping the castle in order. I get closer to the door, not even bothering to get an answer from her. I was about to pull open the door and leave her behind but she spoke up which I did not anticipate.
"Abigail, could you write to your older brother?" I wanted to run very far away at that moment. And my face had it written all over me, that gene I did get from my mother. You want me to write someone who we are currently going to war against? Maybe mother got a fever as well? I try to reason with myself with all the possibilities that could be going on, but I only manage to say one thing to her.
"About Genevieve?" I ask. Mother shook her head violently. I close the door for fear of the guards in the hall hearing. But I couldn't help but think to myself after I shut the door. If Mother didn't divourse Father I wouldn't have to have extra security and thus I wouldn't have to shut the door. I knew I was being dramatic, but I couldn't help feeling that way. This was mothers fault and I have every right to be rude and mean to her, even if It's just in my head.
"Do not write anything about Genevieve. I don't want your brother telling your Father about Genevieve. He'd end up doing something drastic, like risking his title and life to come down here and try to help her." Mother let go of Jenny's hand and stood up straight. She was much taller than me, about three or four inches. I knew that I was done growing, I was fourteen and I hadn't grown in two years although my grandmother says It's still possible that I can grow an inch if I eat healthy. Which I highly doubted because I was pretty sure that if someone hasn't grown in two years and just starts eating healthy can't happen. I didn't really mind being short in Ardilin because I was about average for a girl in Faire, but now that I live here forever I can't help but feel very small compared to everyone else.
"I want you to send him my wedding ring." Now I was angry, first of all she wanted me to write to my brother, illegally. Second, she just wanted to send him her wedding ring through the mail which is very valuable. Third, it felt like a stab in the back, I always secretly hoped that they'd somehow come back together. But now sending my brother her wedding ring was like saying it will never ever happen again.
Mother took the ring off of her finger and put it gently in her hand. I glared at her but I took the ring from her anyway. Mother tucked a strand of my dark brown hair that fell out of my bun back behind my ear. I usually wear it loose and messy because I honestly did not care what people saw me as. For I was not the oldest so I would not inherit the kingdoms, If I cared for them in the first place, and I never actually liked being royalty and I made that very clear to the servants, but not clear enough to my Mother. Even when I was a little girl I threw fits about wearing the bright pink dresses and the very tight small shoes. But now everything's changed because of the divource. My older brother will inherit Faire and I will inherit Ardilin, so I've got to dress and act nicer in front of everyone or nobody will listen to me in the future.
"Please Abigail, you know your brother is of age. He'll be asking for that ring any minute now that me and your fathe-" Mother did not finish her sentence and simply looked back at Genevieve. My face was red and my thoughts about what was happening were everywhere. I need to recollect myself quickly or I'll end up saying something that I'd regret later. I needed a break from her and Genevieve and I needed it fast.
"Okay, mother." That's all I ever said when I was angry at my Mother. I knew she couldn't take the yelling right now, and especially not around Jenny. I tightly closed my hand around the ring and silently left the room.
The ring I held in my hand was ancient, It gets polished every month to keep it looking new and it's in relatively good condition. The oldest son in each royal family gets the ring when they are of age. When there is no son that generation gets skipped and it keeps skipping until there is an oldest son. Even if I did get the ring It wouldn't matter to me anyway because I don't plan to get married ever, and I definitely won't have children. Men are babies are gross, the only thing they're good for is to use them as a servant and you can't even do that with babies.
My Great Granny says I'll grow out of it like my Father did, and I honestly I don't know what she means when she says that. I didn't bother to ask her about it because I knew she'd tell me some love story and I think love stories are disgusting and I'd rather not know. It always bothered me when people would kiss it make me want to vomit.
One time I was walking down the town street, this was long before the divource and I had to have body-guards wherever I went. And I saw my Art Teacher kissing her boyfriend. The first time it happened I just rolled my eyes and walked away. But the next day it happened and the day after it happened again. All the times it was in the same spot. So I decided to set a trap for them, so that night I snuck out, which was very difficult and I almost got caught multiple times. But in the end I managed to set a trap for them although I barely managed to get back into my bed without getting caught. By the next morning I completely forgot about my trap on my Art Teacher and when I went to her class a few hours later she was covered in weird sewer stuff I found a few weeks before and she smelled like skunk and eggs. All the kids burst out in laughter including me, she demanded to know which one of us did this to her, but nobody spoke up. She even questioned us indivously, but apparently I'm as good a liar as I am a Trickster.
I smile fondly at the memory, but quickly get angry at Mother and Father again. Some of the guards follow me down the hall as I make my way to the dining room. On the way I try to think of ways I could lose the guards in the chaos and try to sneak outside. A place my Mother hadn't let me go ever since Genevieve got poisoned by Faires people, and maybe even some of the royals. All I know is it wasn't father. I hadn't been aloud outside because someone might try and assassinate me for they managed to do it to Genevieve. I knew not letting me out was for a good reason, but I'll die if I can't go any longer and It would just be for a few minutes.
I see the servants bring the desserts into the dinning room. I must have missed dinner, but I didn't really care, dessert was always better than dinner and I wasn't particularly hungry to eat both dinner and dessert.
I walk into the large room and see my Grandparents seated at the large table. They were all dressed nicely though you could see that they all had shed a tear or two. I wonder why?. They didn't know about Jennys fever. It's probably about how Mothers been acting recently. I concluded. They hadn't noticed me coming into the room and when I took a seat next to Grandmother Veronica you could tell she was surprised I bothered to come.
"Oh hello Abigail." Grandmother Veronica said, you could tell that she wanted to ask me about Mother and how she'd been, but knew that she shouldn't. Mother hadn't let anyone see her other than me and Geneiveve after the devource, and now that Genevieve's sick I'm the only person that knows anything about Mothers condition.
"Mother is doing a lot better than she was yesterday." I say shuttering at the memories of yesterday. Everyone at the table let out a gasp of relief, they'd all heard rumors that the servants spread about mother and some of the things she had said. I wouldn't have been surprised if the whole kingdom had heard a bit of it by now. I don't bother to look at anything other than the dessert tray making It's way over to me.
"That's amazing news!" Great Granny Relda said. I never trusted her, not even a little bit. After the last of the Faire people left Ardilin, I saw her writing a letter with the royal seal. Great Granny Relda does not have permission to use the royal seal anymore because she is not Queen or the Queen's daughters. The only way she has permission to use such a seal is if she was writing to a Kingdom in which Ardilin is tied too. And the only Kingdom we've been tied to in the last hundred years in Faire. So I try not to give her any information about anything unless I have too. And I never tell her anything about Ardilin's state of being no matter how many times Great Granny Relda asks.
I'd would've told Mother about Great Granny Relda writing to Faire, I suspect it was father that she was writing to, which is very illegal and rude to my Mother, but she was just too depressed about Genevieve to listen.
"Well what about little Jenny? It's not like her to miss dinner." Great Granny Relda said. My grandparents all knew something was going on with Genevieve. They'd been asking me a lot of questions about her. Whenever I see them I try to avoid there great many questions about Genevieve and just change the topic, but sometimes I am forced to give them a lie.
I never dared tell any of my Grandparents what was going on with Genevieve because someone would tell Great Granny Relda and I was very sure she was spying on us for Father. And one thing I do agree with my Mother on is if Father came to the kingdom now he would surely be killed and make everything worse for Ardilin. I closed my eyes trying to think of something. That was one of my tells when I lie, I always closed my eyes because I was quickly thinking of a lie. Father knew that and after I was accused of stuff by Mother he'd say. '"Abigail, you do know you get very ugly when you lie right?'" And that would be the end of the conversation. Sometimes I'd get punished. Most of the time my Father thought it was funny what I did and wouldn't do anything about it which really annoyed Mother.
I had no idea what to say without causing suspicion. She can't be playing outside because Mother was forcing us to stay inside, my grandparents didn't know why mother was making us do this so If I said that it would cause the most suspicion. Geneieve can't be studying, she hates studying for things. In fact I'm pretty sure she has a strong allergy to books. I open my eyes and look at Granny Relda.
"She's talking to Mother." And I left it at that, I didn't want to say anything more because I knew very well that Great Granny Relda would end up writing Father about it and I can't risk that. I quickly eat up my dessert and leave the dining room. I could hear them talking about mother the moment I left. I wanted to eavesdrop but I had a bunch of guards following my every move. I have to convince mother to get rid of them. It's a complete invasion of my privacy.
I walked to my room, the only place I could convince mother to let me have my own space without a bunch of grown men following me. I shut my door and locked it, and I made sure to let the guards know that I did not appreciate their presents. For extra precaution I put a chair in front of the door making it very hard to twist the knob.
I went to my bed and laid on it. If I didn't stop myself I probably would've cried, but I knew that I needed to stay strong. What If I bring Geneieve a flower? Something from outside might help her and remind her that we still are there when she wakes. I've planned to go outside anyway, might as well make the trip a little sooner.
I went over to my door again. Once I was sure that the guards outside the door couldn't get in without breaking down the oak door, I rinsed off all my makeup that was put on me this morning by one of my stylists whom I really do not like. And I took out some of my clothing that I wear among mortals. A dark green T shirt and some boot cut pants. I also had a pair of purple sneakers that didn't fit anymore hidden in the back of my closet. I had very few mortal clothes as it was rare that I went among them. The only reason I remember going to a mortal town was to visit my Granny Relda who lives in a town called FairyPort Landing. It's a good distance away and I'm always amazed when I see it. My Father always laughed at me because I acted so stunned to see the tiny houses and the mortal schools. He'd always say, 'I need to convince your mother to let you out more.' But that never came. Instead I'm stuck in this castle for the rest of my life, forced to be Queen and lead people that I can't even see.
I take off my blue dress and I put on the T-shirt, jeans and sneakers. I take my hair out of a bun and look at myself in the mirror. Why do humans wear such ugly things? I almost wondered aloud but I stopped myself just in time. What I do admire about them is they can put on their clothing very quickly. They've got so much more time to do other things then worry about if their dress is too loose. When I'm Queen I'm totally going to wear stuff like this. I don't think that I'd actually be going among the mortals, but in case I go to far into the woods It's good to be prepared I guess. I scout my room for anything that I'm missing and then I remember something. The ring, I pulled the blue dress I was wearing earlier back out of my closet and checked the pockets and luckily there it was. A priceless Goodfellow Arlume. I slip the ring under my mattress, and pray that It doesn't get crushed. I wish I had somewhere else to hide this, but after a quick scout around my room, I knew I didn't. The servants come in here to clean my room every morning. It's actually quite annoying.
I slowly put the mattress back down and I walk over to the doors of my balcony. I silently opened it and looked behind me to see if any of the guards heard anything. Then I almost laugh at myself for turning around because I had the door locked with a chair in front of it.
I feel the breeze of the night sky on my face. Oh, how Genevieve would have loved for me to take her with me. I grinned. When she gets better I will take her with me and we can explore the woods together. I looked down to see if any guards were here and as usual they weren't. That's why I picked this room so I could escape very easily without being seen. I'd wanted this room for so long so I could do that, and Genevieve's room was right next to it so I could take her with me very easily. It's a shame Genevieve Isn't in her usual room when I got back I could've told her about the woods. Wait until she gets back from the hospital room. I'll tell her everything.
I looked up at the stars and whispered, "Please let Genevieve come back to us." And with that I closed the balcony door in case anyone heard anything. I climbed up to the side of the balcony and I popped my wings out. This will be fun.
I tried writing a story in first person. Turns out I'm not very good at that. I will probably not continue this one unless somebody actually thinks it's spectacularly amazing and awesome. I think I'm going to take this down, I don't like how I wrote it. Also I don't think it will be very popular because It's about Sabrina's and Puck's kids rather then Sabrina and Puck and those stories don't usually get very good reviews…. But I have wanted to write a story like this for a while. Maybe I'll rewrite it in third person I'm not very good at writing in first person.