All I wanted was to be just like Ella. The girl who had overcome so many
obstacles to find the cure to her curse. Her wit and intellect, her skill
at tongues and her determination to rebel was far beyond anything I had
ever seen. She possessed a unique quality that was rarely seen in anyone in
high society. And she indeed vacated a seat there. She was a princess!
(Although she used the titles of Court Linguist and Cook's Helper)
The mistresses at our finishing school in Jenn saw her as a nuisance- revolting against their direct commands. If only I had had enough bravado and impudence to do that. My shyness was a nuisance to me, a pest. I could never muster enough courage to talk to any of the other girls at the school, and for this I was cast out among them. Everyone steered clear from me, Zuleika, the outlandish girl from the east.
My family had sent me there to Jenn from our country of Ellora, in hopes of my returning as a confident, outgoing lady. But I knew the real reason for their sending me away. All the inhabitants of Ellora had dark hair, and dark complexions to match. However, I was born different. I had blonde, almost white hair with pale blue eyes. I was seen as a disgrace in my own home and my village of Ndéla. My father refused to acknowledge me as his kin, and he soon taught my brothers and sisters to feel this way as well. Only my Mother brought me comfort in my so-called home.
It was she who slaved away for the money, so that I may escape the ridicule and taunts from the other children and their parents, and leave for Jenn in the western kingdom of Kyrria. The countries to the west were hated by ours, for they were seen as the destroyers of our once prosperous nation. So when I, an Ellorian through and through, held a severe likeness to their enemies, they shunned me.
It was this reason that I was so reserved. All the hurt and pained feelings I had accumulated soon faded away as I formed a callous against their words. I learned to bury my emotions with books and tales about the far-off kingdoms where knights and princes rescued "damsels-in-distress". I always frowned at these ladies, however, who required the aid of a man. In Ellora, men took the surname of the women when they were married, and women were the head of the household. The royal family's lines proceeded through the daughter- not the son, and there was great mourning if a baby boy and not a girl was born.
However I was told by my father, Aakarshan, that I would never receive an inheritance since I held the looks of a szneca, an outsider. He would often lament over what a waste Zuleika was, I who could never hope for a decent marriage. No matter how little I cared for him, his caustic words still burned my heart.
I left Ellora when I was fourteen, knowing only our language of Ellorei. This fact made all of the teaching mistresses dislike me, since I could not understand their gibberish. The only teacher who helped me was writing mistress, for she could speak fluent Ellorei. She assisted me in learning to speak and write Kyrrian fluently. I had never been very skilled at learning the different languages of the nomad tribes in my country, and that trait followed me there. Although it took a while to learn the western language, I finally mastered it.
I was sixteen when Ella arrived in Jenn, accompanied with her soon-to-be step sisters, Hattie and Olive. I remembered her worn-out, gaunt face that made it look like she had been starved for a time. After she married Prince Charmont, and her tale unraveled, I soon found out how right I was.
Not a short time after her arrival she escaped accompanied by the Lady Hattie's wig. I, however, stayed until my graduation at the age of eighteen.
And that was when my real story began.
*
A/N: I got the idea for this story suddenly today, and all of a sudden I was on Microsoft word typing it up. My muses are crazy no? I am NOT abandoning Princess Chiara, there should be an update on that before Tuesday. Please tell me if you like it or didn't like it! I have great things planned for this story!
The mistresses at our finishing school in Jenn saw her as a nuisance- revolting against their direct commands. If only I had had enough bravado and impudence to do that. My shyness was a nuisance to me, a pest. I could never muster enough courage to talk to any of the other girls at the school, and for this I was cast out among them. Everyone steered clear from me, Zuleika, the outlandish girl from the east.
My family had sent me there to Jenn from our country of Ellora, in hopes of my returning as a confident, outgoing lady. But I knew the real reason for their sending me away. All the inhabitants of Ellora had dark hair, and dark complexions to match. However, I was born different. I had blonde, almost white hair with pale blue eyes. I was seen as a disgrace in my own home and my village of Ndéla. My father refused to acknowledge me as his kin, and he soon taught my brothers and sisters to feel this way as well. Only my Mother brought me comfort in my so-called home.
It was she who slaved away for the money, so that I may escape the ridicule and taunts from the other children and their parents, and leave for Jenn in the western kingdom of Kyrria. The countries to the west were hated by ours, for they were seen as the destroyers of our once prosperous nation. So when I, an Ellorian through and through, held a severe likeness to their enemies, they shunned me.
It was this reason that I was so reserved. All the hurt and pained feelings I had accumulated soon faded away as I formed a callous against their words. I learned to bury my emotions with books and tales about the far-off kingdoms where knights and princes rescued "damsels-in-distress". I always frowned at these ladies, however, who required the aid of a man. In Ellora, men took the surname of the women when they were married, and women were the head of the household. The royal family's lines proceeded through the daughter- not the son, and there was great mourning if a baby boy and not a girl was born.
However I was told by my father, Aakarshan, that I would never receive an inheritance since I held the looks of a szneca, an outsider. He would often lament over what a waste Zuleika was, I who could never hope for a decent marriage. No matter how little I cared for him, his caustic words still burned my heart.
I left Ellora when I was fourteen, knowing only our language of Ellorei. This fact made all of the teaching mistresses dislike me, since I could not understand their gibberish. The only teacher who helped me was writing mistress, for she could speak fluent Ellorei. She assisted me in learning to speak and write Kyrrian fluently. I had never been very skilled at learning the different languages of the nomad tribes in my country, and that trait followed me there. Although it took a while to learn the western language, I finally mastered it.
I was sixteen when Ella arrived in Jenn, accompanied with her soon-to-be step sisters, Hattie and Olive. I remembered her worn-out, gaunt face that made it look like she had been starved for a time. After she married Prince Charmont, and her tale unraveled, I soon found out how right I was.
Not a short time after her arrival she escaped accompanied by the Lady Hattie's wig. I, however, stayed until my graduation at the age of eighteen.
And that was when my real story began.
*
A/N: I got the idea for this story suddenly today, and all of a sudden I was on Microsoft word typing it up. My muses are crazy no? I am NOT abandoning Princess Chiara, there should be an update on that before Tuesday. Please tell me if you like it or didn't like it! I have great things planned for this story!