Princess Serenity yawned slightly on her throne. Sitting on it was very tiring, not to mention very uncomfortable. She sighed and put her elbow on the arm, and leaned her head on her hand. Her grandmother—a very old woman with extremely long pink hair in pigtails—looked over to her, and frowned, then strode over.
"Queen Serenity," she heard someone say when she past, and then saw the person bow. She was now standing in front of the 12-year-old princess, glaring down at her.
She smiled. "My granddaughter, what are you doing, you silly girl?" she asked, trying to be nice. She was rarely nice. "You're slouching, and acting lazy. We don't want our future Queen to be lazy, do we?"
The young princess only smiled. Queen Serenity—who was once called Rini—walked away, and started chatting with a few nobles. She sighed when she looked the old woman, wondering how she could ever be called 'Rini.' A rich proper Queen—or Princess at the time—shouldn't have been called Rini.
And yet this particular young princess didn't like to be called Serenity. All her friends called her Trini. Well, if she had any friends. Her grandmother usually scared them off when she met them.
Trini didn't have a mother. She did at one time, though, but she was taken away when she was only an infant. But she never knew why, and whenever she brought up the subject, say at dinner or tea, Serenity would only shake her head and say that it was none of her business. It was her business, though. It was her mother!
Trini now sat up straight. She didn't look at all like her mother. Her hairstyle was completely different. There was a large, silver scrunchie half way down her thick khaki-colored hair. Her bone structure was different as well. Serenity was tall and thin, and was never seen slouching. But young Trini was always slouching, and was very short, but that didn't mind to her…
She decided not to be a Queen a while back. She wanted to be a hero! With magic powers, and a super cool uniform. Not the incredibly long white dress she had, with the golden leaves protruding down the side. Her grandmother never aloud her to go play in that dress, and she had to wear it, almost, everyday.
Serenity glanced at her, and smiled, then went on chatting to the noble and his wife. Now Trini slouched down, almost pouting. How she hated being royal. All she had to do was sit there, and be pretty. She liked the pretty part, but she could be pretty being a hero, too. And she wouldn't have to sit all day and be proper.
Someone leaned over her chair, and she gasped and sat up straight again, then groaned. It was only the butler.
"Would you like some caviar?" he asked, showing her a large silver tray of crackers, with a dish of caviar in the middle. She shook her head, and when he was gone, she practically gagged. Caviar! Fish eggs? None for her, thanks.
"Serenity?" She looked up. It was her grandmother, of course. "Would you come over here, please?"
And she did.
"Yes, Grandmother?" she asked, politely, then curtsied to the two nobles. "Good evening."
Serenity looked at the noble's wife. She was a very pretty woman, with long flowing red hair and green eyes. She looked to be in her twenties. "Gabrielle, my granddaughter and heir to the throne," she added, with a bright smile, "Princess Serenity." She turned to Trini. "This is Gabrielle, from Phobos." She recognized that name. It was one of Mars' moons.
Trini waited for Gabrielle to curtsy, then she returned one. "What an honor," Gabrielle remarked.
"The honor is mine," Trini replied, trying to be as polite as possible.
"Gabrielle was just telling me that she knows a lot of folktales," Serenity stated. "I know you're bored, so I asked if she could tell you some. I also know you love tales." It was very true. Trini had her own library filled with folklore stories, and some rumors.
"I'd love that!" she shrieked. "Thank you."
They walked out of the boring ballroom, and down a hall toward Trini's room. "There's one in particular I'd like to share with you," she said, when they were almost there. "It's about the Three Princesses of Silverpond."
"I've never heard of them before," Trini said slowly. "Sounds very interesting."
"I think you'd be very interested in this tale, my princess," she said mysteriously. For some odd reason, Trini felt her accent grow stronger.
She stopped at a red and gold door. "This is my room, my lady." She took out a strange funny-looking key from her shoe, and unlocked her door. There was a stone staircase, winding upward. Her room was in a tower.
When they reached the top of the stairs, Trini unlocked that door with the key, and swung it open. This room looked like it was from a fairy tale, and it was circular. The bed—blue with a purple silk drape on it—was under a large purple net. On the other side of the room was a small dresser with an oil lamp on it. Then near the door was the changing part. Next to the dresser, there seemed to be a trap door, Trini explained to be where her bathroom is.
"Pleasant," Gabrielle said sarcastically, then went over to sit on the bed, and Trini sat next to her.
"I hope it's not too cold up here," she said, shivering slightly. The window—between the bed and dresser—was wide open, but it seemed it didn't have anything to close it with.
"I'm fine, love," she replied. "Now are you ready?"
"For the story? Yeah." She lied back in her bed, and stared at the ceiling, listening intently at the story Gabrielle was telling her.