Happy New Year, everyone! I still can't believe that 2021 is over! It doesn't feel real, but it is. And so, to celebrate, here is my 900th story! It's a story I've been wanting to do for a long time! So, no flames please! Thank you! :)
Once upon a time...
is what every great story starts out with; stories like Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella, just to name a few. But this story is a little different, this is the story about a girl who was born into the life of a fairytale princess, a life she believed was the greatest thing ever. What little girl wouldn't dream of being fairytale royalty? Living in a castle, having an enormous closet filled with the best clothes and the best tiaras. Not to mention having adorable woodland creatures to play with you in the backyard? I loved everything about being a princess!
Well, that is, until a certain birthday party changed everything. Honestly, I wish I didn't remember it.
So, before I tell you my life-changing story at Ever After High, I have to tell you this life-changing story...
Riding in a royal carriage, Greenly Pea, daughter of The Princess and the Pea, looked outside the window. Her smile grew and her green, expressive eyes went wide with excitement. She moved back a little to see her reflection. Her fair skin had no blemishes, her short brown hair was wavy with her golden tiara placed well on top her head, she smoothed out her green princess party dress. She even looked down to see her long white socks and green slippers.
Greenly's mother, now known as Queen Pea, sat across from her daughter. In stark contrast to her beaming daughter who could barely sit still, Queen Pea sat poised, calm and regal in her seat. She wore a forest green ball gown and a light green pearl headdress was perfectly placed upon her brown hair that was pulled back into a bun. Her lips dipped down in a not-very-happy way. "Now, Greenly, I know you're hexcited, but you must remember, this is your first royal party outside the family castle, so don't get too worked up. As a princess, you must maintain your dignity. And you must remember what we talked about earlier before we left." she warned in a serious, no-nonsense voice.
"Yes, Mama." Greenly chirped, though she was too busy gazing at the amazing castle they were heading to. Sleeping Beauty's castle. Greenly was over the moon to be spellebrating Briar Beauty's sixth birthday party. Greenly had been castle-schooled her entire life, so she never had any friends her age to play with. Instead, she always played with her parents, the servants, and the woodland creatures that visited Greenly every day.
But today, Greenly was going to meet other princes and princesses and enjoy life outside the castle! And it was going to be at the castle of one of her most favorite stories ever after. Sleeping Beauty's family were on very good terms with the Pea family. Due to Sleeping Beauty's curse inflicted by the notoriously spiteful Dark Fairy, Sleeping Beauty and Briar Beauty suffered random attacks where they fall asleep anywhere at any time. So, they needed the best mattresses and pillows to cushion their falls and the best blankets to keep them cozy and warm. And the Pea family were famous for their unbelievably comfortable beds, bedding, and all things sleep-related.
Greenly had never met Sleeping Beauty or her daughter, but she did know that they were famous for throwing the best parties in the fairytale world! Finally, the carriage arrived at Beauty Castle. Greenly was breathless as she gazed upon the gorgeous rose gardens. There were even roses growing on the thorny vines that grew on the castle walls.
Queen Pea quickly grabbed her daughter's hand before Greenly jumped out of the carriage herself. "Now, remember, dear, you must be on your best behavior." Greenly looked at her mother and actually saw how cold her green eyes were. So cold, they made Greenly's excitement slowly drain. "Also, there are other royals with a higher staus than us, such as Sleeping Beauty, so do not draw attention away from them, just be another face in the crowd." She took out her royal fan and began gently fanning herself.
Being a young six year old princess with no social skills, Greenly didn't quite understand what her mother meant, but she knew she had to behave, so maybe that means don't pretend to be Snow White and sing princess ballads out loud and say the apples are poisoned like she would do at home.
The carriage door opened and the queen and princess walked toward the castle's massive doors. When they came inside, Greenly's excitement returned as quick as a flash. "Wooooooow..."
Sleeping Beauty Castle was, well, beautiful! Even more beautiful than Greenly imagined! They walked to the grand ballroom where the party was being held. The first thing Greenly saw was the enormous, but beautiful, pink diamond chandlier that lit up the entire ballroom. Greenly was amazed by how pink everything was. The marble floor was pink, the columns were pink, the intricate carvings on the walls were pink, even the party decorations were pink! Greenly felt like she fell into an ocean of pink...and she loved it! There were so many kings and queens along with young princes and princesses! Greenly was practically bouncing with joy, but her mother gave her hand a firm, but quick squeeze to remind her to stay calm, so Greenly did.
As Greenly and her mom walked further into the ballroom, Greenly waited for everyone to greet them, the queen and daughter of the Princess and the Pea, the beloved fairytale loved by all. She waited for the love and praise to come, but for some reason, no one said a word to them. In fact, it looked like no one even noticed them.
'Perhaps our dresses aren't pretty enough?' Greenly wondered in her head. She looked at Queen Pea, she thought her mother looked just as beautiful as the other queens, so, how come anyone was acknowleding her? And what about Greenly? No one complimented on how she looked. She saw other girls twirling their dresses and looking adorable to all the fawning grown-ups.
Queen Pea released Greenly's hand, but Greenly stayed close, feeling a little nervous. Queen Pea approached a man wearing a dark pink suit and a silver crown on his head. "Hello, King Beauty." the queen greeted in her most polite voice.
King Beauty turned. "Ah! Queen Pea! What a rare sight! Welcome to our grand castle!" Greenly was amazed by how much this man looked and sounded like a king. "I wasn't hexpecting you to show up!"
Queen Pea gave a small shrug, still calmly fanning herself. "Well, I, too, miss seeing everyone's faces. And it never hurts to step outside the castle once in a while." She managed to put on a smile. "So, how's your lovely daughter, Briar?"
Just as King Beauty was about to answer, a loud, excited cry came from the other side of the ballroom, Spinning around, King Beauty spotted his daughter, Briar Beauty, sitting on the top of the stair rail. All eyes were on Briar as she slid all the way down the stair rail. Greenly's jaw dropped as she watched that incredibly dangerous stunt. King Beauty sprung into action and ran to the boom of the stairs. Briar slid all the way down and landed right into her father's outstretched arms. Everyone cheered and applauded as King Beauty glared at his daugher.
"Hi, Daddy!" Briar said with an innocent smile.
"Briar Beauty!" King Beauy huffed as he set his daughter down. "I told you over and over again; no wild stunts at your party!"
"But they're fun!" Briar pouted.
King Beauty sighed and took his daughter by the hand. "We'll talk about ths later, let's just get you some fairy berry punch and play some safe party games, shall we?"
As Queen Pea chatted with some other queens, Greenly gazed upon that magnificent staircase. The way Briar slid down it with ease, it looked like so much fun! And Briar got so much attention doing it too! Maybe if she did the same thing, everyone will clap for her too! Greenly rushed up the stairs all the way to the top. She looked at all the royals mingling with one another. No one noiced the small princess up the stairs, but they were going to.
Greenly sat on the railing and let out a big shout of excitement. But the ride only lasted about half a second. Greenly fell right off the railing and fell straight down to the floor. Pain surged through Greenly's body and the girl uncorked a shrill scream of pain. Within moments, Queen Pea came rushing to her daughter and scooped her up in her arms. As the queen rushed to get help, Greenly noticed that despite being in severe pain, none of the people seemed to care, they contined to chat peacefully among themselves as if nothing ever happened.
Outside the castle, the doctor had just finished tending to Greenly's injuries. She had a broken arm, but nothing serious. As the doctor left, Queen Pea noticed her daughter was very upset. "Sweetie, it's alright. Your arm will be better soon."
"It's not that..." Tears formed in the princess' eyes. "Mama, how come those people didn't help me? They just ignored me..."
Queen Pea looked surprised, then her face saddened. She took a deep breath. "Well, honey, I didn't want to tell you this until you were older, but...we may come from royalty, but our story isn't as...popular as everyone else's."
Greenly looked at her mother in shock. "What?! But...our story is The Princess and the Pea!"
Queen Pea raised her hand. "I know, I know." She tucked a lock of hair behind her daughter's ear and patted her head. "But you see, there's a lot of magic and influence in the stories of Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella. Unfortunately, our story doesn't. When I was younger, I went through the same thing, I barely drew any attention and hardly made any friends." She saw Greenly dip her head in despair. Seeing this, her mother managed to smile a little. "But that's okay. I still made the best of it."
Greenly raised her head, confused. "You did?"
The queen nodded. "That's right. I threw myself into my studies and became one of the top students in my school! You see, most royals get so caught up in the glitz and glamor of royalty, they lose sight of what's really important; and what truly matters when it comes to royalty is being humble and helping those who deserve it, that's the real magic behind a good kingdom."
"Really?" asked Greenly, wiping away her tears.
"Really." Queen Pea held Greenly's face in her hands. They both looked deep into each other's eyes. "Greenly, you are not just a princess, you are a fairytale princess. From the moment you were born, your path was already chosen for you, a path that you can take pride in. When the time comes, you will live out the story of 'The Princess and the Pea' and inherit my crown. You will spend the rest of your days as a noble and diligent leader. There are so many people out there who have none of the things you've been blessed with, or aren't even part of a fairytale, so you musn't take things for granted. And don't bother wasting your time comparing yourself to those royals swept away in their own selfishness." She smiled and gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek. "Now, what do you say we go get some dragon fire pizza at Skippy Spitfire's?"
Greenly's eyes lit up, feeling better already. "Yaaaaaay!" She always felt better eating at her favorite pizza place.
And so, that's what happened. Despite my awful experience at Briar's party, I had fun at Skippy Spitfire's. I played in the dungeon ball pit, took pictures with Skippy Spitfire, the restaraunt's dragon mascot, and ate so much delicious pizza, I thought I was going to pop. But I didn't forget what my mom told me that night. The next day, I decided to throw myself into my studies just like mom did. I stayed in my castle and spent my youth learning hard to improve my skills as a future leader.
As I studied, my world was so quiet. Too quiet, so I dabbled in some hobbies to keep myself entertained. And it worked. Everything I could ever want was right at home in my castle. So, I had no problems being castle-schooled.
So, when I learned that Ever After High, the elite school where I sign the Storybook of Legends and fufill my destiny was a boarding school, I was filled with dread and worry. I never attended a real school, but I did learn everything I could about school through books, magazines, and movies. I wasn't concerned about the ins and outs of high school, I was concerned about having to live under the same roof as those stuck-up, snooty royals that turned their backs on me.
But if I was going to honor my story and earn my title as queen, I was willing to pay the price.