Part One
Three Years Later
The day was an ideal spring day. The bright blue sky was dotted with fluffy white clouds like sheep on a field. The sun shone down its warm happiness on the land. The dreary winter was over and everything had been born anew with such vigor and radiant passion that it seemed inconceivable for anyone or anything to have a shred of anger or sadness in their heart. Despite the perfect weather, there was much anxiousness in a certain dressing room in a certain palace.
The princess looked dubiously at her reflection in the mirror. She turned around and while never taking her eyes off the mirror, she spoke to her maidservant and best friend Maria, "This mirror has something wrong with it or I am eating too many sweets! My backside appears to be the same size as my father's steed's."
The blonde next to her sighed and shook her head, "You know perfectly well that the mirror you're looking into is as perfect as a mirror could be. Your father, the king, bought it from the oldest and finest mirror maker in the world."
Liz spun on her heel and gave Maria a harsh look, "Are you insinuating that I am the imperfect one?" She repeated her mother's favorite saying, "Well, off to the dungeon with you at once!"
Both girls were silent for a moment, they looked at each other and burst out in peals of giggles. They laughed so hard that by the time they had stopped, they were clutching their stomachs and gasping for breath.
Maria was the first to catch her breath, "You have got to stop doing that, one day your mother is going to come in and then she will want to know why we are making fools of ourselves!"
"I would just tell her that we were practicing a comical play about a stupid queen and her foolish escapades."
"But then she would want us to perform the fantabulous 'play' in front of the entire court and then where would we be?"
Liz got a mischievous look, "In the doghouse?"
The girls started to laugh again. Maria stopped herself and stood up, "Ok, that's enough for today. We really have to finish getting you ready." She smiled and helped her friend up.
Liz looked at her mirror again and groaned.
"Would you stop doing that!" Maria said, "You act as though you were the ugliest person in the kingdom. You're not, that's for sure. I mean just look at me." She looked down at her servant's dress.
"Nonsense, you have the perfect figure, a gorgeous smile, and those killer calves." Liz replied coolly.
"You forgot my deep, soulful blue eyes."
"Oh, I don't know about that."
Maria laughed and said, "Well no matter what you may think, you will be ravishing in that indigo gown," she lowered her voice, "besides, I think you're just worried Prince Max will think you are not as pretty as he remembers." She looked knowingly at Liz and added, "You needn't worry, if anything you have grown prettier."
Liz's heart beat faster, "Do you really think so? I mean seriously . . ." her eyes looked hopeful at Maria.
"Yes, of course, why would I lie to you? Now stop fretting and hurry up. Your dearest is supposed to be arriving by that great feast tonight." She shook her head. She really likes this one, Maria thought, I hope she isn't disappointed if he isn't as charming as she remembers.
Maria knew the princess well and really cared about her, she should, was it not she who was the princess's oldest and dearest companion? Yes, she happened to be a maidservant and not have noble blood, but that had nothing to do with the girls' feelings towards one another. Although many other nobles did not share the idea, Princess Liz felt that what a person does for a living should not restrain them from achieving their neither goals nor limit who their friends should be.
At first Liz's mother, the queen, didn't approve of the friendship, thinking that Maria's peasant manners would rub off onto her daughter. She eventually realized it was her daughter who had the rough manners. Besides, the king thought Maria was a loyal and trustworthy friend who would keep their daughter out of too much trouble. He knew she would have found different, more troublesome ways of entertaining herself. It wouldn't have mattered if the king and queen approved though, the girls had formed their unbreakable bond when they were but babes. Maria's mother was Liz's nurse since they both were newborns. In their hearts they were sisters, true and true.
o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o
Queen Eleanor strode proudly through the palace kitchen. It was bustling with much activity, for there was going to be a great feast that night in honor of Prince Max's arrival. Despite the chaos of the kitchen, no one stood in the way of the queen. Even in her "casual" attire she exuberated power and beauty. Her gown of gold silk brocade matched perfectly to her golden blonde hair, each had strands of shiny gold running through them. Her lovely, ivory hand pushed a few stubborn strands out of her face. Her ice-blue eyes darted, searching for any sign of trouble. She loathed coming anywhere near manual labor, it reminded her too much of her ugly past. In every way possible she had tried to forget what used to be. A small fortune (it would have been in her old life) had been paid to pay doctors, sorcerers even, to make her forget . . . to end the night terrors . . . trying to push these bad thought away, the queen almost tripped over a servant.
"OH! . . ." Queen Eleanor caught her balance, "Oh, how dare you be in my way! What the hell were you doing kneeling on the floor?!" She cast her eyes down on the servant girl.
The girl looked up fearfully. She was thin, life as a kitchen maid was hard. "M-My-Your Highness?" she quickly looked to the ground, "I b-beg your forgiveness Highness, I was looking for t-the pearls I had dropped, they were t'replace the baked fishes' eyes."
The queen's look softened, "For the welcoming feast we're planning for Prince Max? Tonight?"
The girl nodded. "Yes Highness, I just have to find them . . . if Madame Knox were to find out . . ."
"No need to worry, I will take care of that," the queen waved her hand at the girl, "I think the cook has no need of you at the moment, take some bread and fresh air. Shoo now, go."
Blue eyes watched as the skinny girl stood up quickly, nearly fell over in a curtsy and ran out the kitchen door, carrying a loaf of bread. She rarely was so pleasurable to anyone, but the servant girl had evoked yet another painful memory. Remembering her purpose for coming, she looked around for the head cook and servant mistress, Madam Knox. She spotted the woman not far away.
"Madam Knox, I am making rounds to make sure everything is working smoothly for tonight. But I'm sure everything is fine here," she raised an eyebrow, "Am I correct?"
"Of course your Majesty," replied Madam Knox in a shrill voice.
"That is good, I simply cannot allow ANYTHING to go wrong tonight--it MUST be perfect. The prince will see what a prosperous and great kingdom we are." Not wanting to spend anymore time then what was required, she quickly added, "I will leave you to do what you do best. Remember, I do not want the prince to think we are plain people with plain food. Follow the menu I gave you carefully."
Knox nodded, "Yes, your Majesty."
The queen turned on her heel and strode out of the kitchen. She let out a sigh of relief as she entered the courtyard.
I hate dealing with the help, but this is much too important, she thought, Who knows, Prince Maxwell may cast his eye on my daughter, hmmm . . . I should remind her to be on her best behavior.
Eleanor made a mental note to check on her daughter after her inspections. Maria may be a good influence, but she couldn't be with the princess all the time. Liz would have to be alone with the prince at some time. Too bad Maria cannot switch personalities with Liz.
Three Years Later
The day was an ideal spring day. The bright blue sky was dotted with fluffy white clouds like sheep on a field. The sun shone down its warm happiness on the land. The dreary winter was over and everything had been born anew with such vigor and radiant passion that it seemed inconceivable for anyone or anything to have a shred of anger or sadness in their heart. Despite the perfect weather, there was much anxiousness in a certain dressing room in a certain palace.
The princess looked dubiously at her reflection in the mirror. She turned around and while never taking her eyes off the mirror, she spoke to her maidservant and best friend Maria, "This mirror has something wrong with it or I am eating too many sweets! My backside appears to be the same size as my father's steed's."
The blonde next to her sighed and shook her head, "You know perfectly well that the mirror you're looking into is as perfect as a mirror could be. Your father, the king, bought it from the oldest and finest mirror maker in the world."
Liz spun on her heel and gave Maria a harsh look, "Are you insinuating that I am the imperfect one?" She repeated her mother's favorite saying, "Well, off to the dungeon with you at once!"
Both girls were silent for a moment, they looked at each other and burst out in peals of giggles. They laughed so hard that by the time they had stopped, they were clutching their stomachs and gasping for breath.
Maria was the first to catch her breath, "You have got to stop doing that, one day your mother is going to come in and then she will want to know why we are making fools of ourselves!"
"I would just tell her that we were practicing a comical play about a stupid queen and her foolish escapades."
"But then she would want us to perform the fantabulous 'play' in front of the entire court and then where would we be?"
Liz got a mischievous look, "In the doghouse?"
The girls started to laugh again. Maria stopped herself and stood up, "Ok, that's enough for today. We really have to finish getting you ready." She smiled and helped her friend up.
Liz looked at her mirror again and groaned.
"Would you stop doing that!" Maria said, "You act as though you were the ugliest person in the kingdom. You're not, that's for sure. I mean just look at me." She looked down at her servant's dress.
"Nonsense, you have the perfect figure, a gorgeous smile, and those killer calves." Liz replied coolly.
"You forgot my deep, soulful blue eyes."
"Oh, I don't know about that."
Maria laughed and said, "Well no matter what you may think, you will be ravishing in that indigo gown," she lowered her voice, "besides, I think you're just worried Prince Max will think you are not as pretty as he remembers." She looked knowingly at Liz and added, "You needn't worry, if anything you have grown prettier."
Liz's heart beat faster, "Do you really think so? I mean seriously . . ." her eyes looked hopeful at Maria.
"Yes, of course, why would I lie to you? Now stop fretting and hurry up. Your dearest is supposed to be arriving by that great feast tonight." She shook her head. She really likes this one, Maria thought, I hope she isn't disappointed if he isn't as charming as she remembers.
Maria knew the princess well and really cared about her, she should, was it not she who was the princess's oldest and dearest companion? Yes, she happened to be a maidservant and not have noble blood, but that had nothing to do with the girls' feelings towards one another. Although many other nobles did not share the idea, Princess Liz felt that what a person does for a living should not restrain them from achieving their neither goals nor limit who their friends should be.
At first Liz's mother, the queen, didn't approve of the friendship, thinking that Maria's peasant manners would rub off onto her daughter. She eventually realized it was her daughter who had the rough manners. Besides, the king thought Maria was a loyal and trustworthy friend who would keep their daughter out of too much trouble. He knew she would have found different, more troublesome ways of entertaining herself. It wouldn't have mattered if the king and queen approved though, the girls had formed their unbreakable bond when they were but babes. Maria's mother was Liz's nurse since they both were newborns. In their hearts they were sisters, true and true.
o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o+o
Queen Eleanor strode proudly through the palace kitchen. It was bustling with much activity, for there was going to be a great feast that night in honor of Prince Max's arrival. Despite the chaos of the kitchen, no one stood in the way of the queen. Even in her "casual" attire she exuberated power and beauty. Her gown of gold silk brocade matched perfectly to her golden blonde hair, each had strands of shiny gold running through them. Her lovely, ivory hand pushed a few stubborn strands out of her face. Her ice-blue eyes darted, searching for any sign of trouble. She loathed coming anywhere near manual labor, it reminded her too much of her ugly past. In every way possible she had tried to forget what used to be. A small fortune (it would have been in her old life) had been paid to pay doctors, sorcerers even, to make her forget . . . to end the night terrors . . . trying to push these bad thought away, the queen almost tripped over a servant.
"OH! . . ." Queen Eleanor caught her balance, "Oh, how dare you be in my way! What the hell were you doing kneeling on the floor?!" She cast her eyes down on the servant girl.
The girl looked up fearfully. She was thin, life as a kitchen maid was hard. "M-My-Your Highness?" she quickly looked to the ground, "I b-beg your forgiveness Highness, I was looking for t-the pearls I had dropped, they were t'replace the baked fishes' eyes."
The queen's look softened, "For the welcoming feast we're planning for Prince Max? Tonight?"
The girl nodded. "Yes Highness, I just have to find them . . . if Madame Knox were to find out . . ."
"No need to worry, I will take care of that," the queen waved her hand at the girl, "I think the cook has no need of you at the moment, take some bread and fresh air. Shoo now, go."
Blue eyes watched as the skinny girl stood up quickly, nearly fell over in a curtsy and ran out the kitchen door, carrying a loaf of bread. She rarely was so pleasurable to anyone, but the servant girl had evoked yet another painful memory. Remembering her purpose for coming, she looked around for the head cook and servant mistress, Madam Knox. She spotted the woman not far away.
"Madam Knox, I am making rounds to make sure everything is working smoothly for tonight. But I'm sure everything is fine here," she raised an eyebrow, "Am I correct?"
"Of course your Majesty," replied Madam Knox in a shrill voice.
"That is good, I simply cannot allow ANYTHING to go wrong tonight--it MUST be perfect. The prince will see what a prosperous and great kingdom we are." Not wanting to spend anymore time then what was required, she quickly added, "I will leave you to do what you do best. Remember, I do not want the prince to think we are plain people with plain food. Follow the menu I gave you carefully."
Knox nodded, "Yes, your Majesty."
The queen turned on her heel and strode out of the kitchen. She let out a sigh of relief as she entered the courtyard.
I hate dealing with the help, but this is much too important, she thought, Who knows, Prince Maxwell may cast his eye on my daughter, hmmm . . . I should remind her to be on her best behavior.
Eleanor made a mental note to check on her daughter after her inspections. Maria may be a good influence, but she couldn't be with the princess all the time. Liz would have to be alone with the prince at some time. Too bad Maria cannot switch personalities with Liz.