Chapter 3

3 years later ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Can you teach me to swim now?" Julie had her pouting face on.

"Julie, you know the answer to that question. It's the same as it was last year and the year before that. Not till your sixteen." Daphne replied exasperatedly.

"Why! Why don't you trust me? I can take care of myself." Julie cried angrily.

"I know you can, but accidents happen."

"Ok then, what happens when I accidentally fall into the lake and drown, because I didn't know how to swim?" She asked tartly. "Please maman, I really want to learn."

Daphne's face turned red, and suddenly her eyes blazed, "Don't call me that! I'm not your mother, and I've had enough of this conversation!"

Julie's mouth dropped open as tears started to prick her eyes. "But I th- thought."

"Well you thought wrong!" Daphne replied hotly as she walked swiftly upstairs. Seconds later Julie heard the door slam shut, making the window shutters rattle. She burst into tears, and ran out of the house.

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"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid Idiot!" Daphne screamed at herself. Now what was she going to do! Ever since the girls 10th birthday she had lost her temper more and more. Now Julie was gone and everything Daphne had been trying for was completely thrown to the wind. Ever since she had made that blasted promise her life had been in a constant turmoil.

A sudden fear crept over Daphne as she thought,' What if Julie found what she'd been looking for all these years?' All the questions Daphne had been fighting to figure out for the last 13 years came tumbling into her head.

' What was the birthday present for the princess?' 'Why wasn't the princess to get it?' 'What was so important about the Princess's 16th birthday?'

One thing Daphne knew for sure was that Julie must not find out who the princess was or how she herself and the Princess were connected.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Daphne and Julie (who I am sure you have guessed by now is the princess) lived in a cottage by a huge lake. This lake was in the middle of a small forest on the outskirts of the kingdom of Dawntre ( dahn-ter ) or otherwise known as the "doomed kingdom". Dawntre used to be the most prosperous and strong kingdom in all the 8 kingdoms. It had wonderful monarchs like King Benjamin and Queen Donna, King Courtenay and Queen Anna, King Richard and Queen Amanda and more. The people loved their rulers and were entirely loyal until the reign of King Drake. When Drake came to rule at age 21, no one questioned his right to the throne or the sudden unnatural deaths of his mother and father. Only too soon the bleak and devastating truth came out. King Drake proved himself a madman by worshiping a golden bathtub and marrying a horse at the age of 25. The three years before these dire circumstances King Drake had been the most beloved King the people had ever known. After him the kingdom had fallen into ruins, the price of food and necessities skyrocketed to an enormous amount, trade and agriculture failed completely as the poor deserted their lands and their boats because the price of rent was too high. More and more families were thrown into the street with nowhere to go. Diseases started to spread rapidly from one town to another killing more than half the population. 2 years later as the kingdom fell into the darkest stage of it's existence. It is said that an old women walked down the polluted streets, past the half-burnt and fallen in houses, past the weak and starving children up to the towering castle of the king, and as she walked she hummed softly so softly that it blended with the wind. A cloud dark as midnight descended on the already devastated kingdom smothering it in a shroud of darkness so deep you could not see your own hand in front of your face.

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Julie had sat by the lake for about 10 minutes when it dawned on her 'What if Daphne didn't want her any more? Daphne had always told her to call her maman, why were things so suddenly different?'

"I'll run away," she said determinedly aloud as she stood up. So she went softly back up the slightly sloping hill to the cottage where she found that Daphne was still upstairs, so she went to her room and packed up a change of clothes and the necklace Daphne had said her mother had given her. Then she went down into the kitchen where she grabbed a loaf of bread and three apples. She quickly ran back to her room to grab her brush and on last thought wrote a small note to Daphne

Dear Daphne,
I'm sorry about this afternoon. Don't worry about me I can take care of myself. I hope you live a long and happy life without me. I'll miss you

Love,
Julie

She placed the note on the table ran out around the lake and into the woods on the other side.