Chapter 1
It was a cold afternoon in the small English castle. I could never understand why mornings and nights were so cold and the middle of the day was so hot. I grabbed a shawl from my closet and headed to the common room of my bedroom. I opened the door slowly and as it creaked I saw a sight worse than death. Prince William was sitting down at my table. I greeted him politely and sat down for breakfast.
Prince William was my betrothed and a terrible nuisance. He was dull, unintelligent, and more arrogant than Narcissus himself. He was father's favorite of all the princes he looked at because he had been a warrior and had supposedly been the most intelligent of the bunch but that was a load of malarkey.
The man I was most impressed with was Prince David. He was handsome, charming, intelligent, interesting and there will never be enough words to describe how wonderful he is. He was better than Prince Charming you read about in all of the fairy tales. But he wasn't sitting across from me.
Father wanted me to eat breakfasts with William so I could get to know him and become good friends with him since the decree was he is to be my husband. William was a total barbarian at the table and in the world. He refused to use a fork to eat the eggs in front of him. He had no manners. Every time I tried to talk to him he would reply with the freshest food in his mouth while trying to answer.
After an hour of this torture I bid him farewell so I could get ready for my younger sister's betrothal ceremony. She was one of those girls that thought fairy tales were boring little stories that only children should indulge in. Her name was Beatrice and she was as dull as mud but not as dull as William. She would be in love with whomever father picked for her. She was the kind of woman any man would want. She was the perfect example of a Cinderella. No guts to stand up for her self or else no wits to see that what is going on in her life is wrong. Cinderella had to work and work and my sister just agrees to the men's biddings.
I have two other sisters who are better off then her. They are seeing with me that William is not a worthy man and have convinced father that they should help in choosing their husbands. I'm so proud that Sarah and Katherine are not as empty headed and fearful as Beatrice is.
After about two tedious hours of having my hair done and being asked which colors I think would be the best to wear I was ready to go and see Beatrice be promised to some arrogant foreign prince. If she wants to be betrothed then she deserves to end up with some fool like I did. My maid, Rotrude, took me from my chamber to the main hall of the castle where the betrothal agreement would be mapped and bound.
When I got down to the hall Sarah and Katherine were waiting with their blonde hair brushed and curled for the occasion. William was waiting to greet me as I descended down the stairs in a velvet green dress. When I reached the bottom he took my hand and kissed it. I winced slightly. Then he whispered into my ear, "My dear Celestria, your brown hair is so beautiful up in those braids amongst the straight hair. Tis sheer vanity to see you and think that we are such a beautiful couple." I stepped on his foot. "I'm sure you did not mean to do that seeing as I am the one you will marry and are in love with. If I were a young girl I would be jealous of you for getting the privilege of marrying me."
"I don't love you" I snapped at him coldly. I sat there listening to him go on and on about himself and how we are the cutest couple and I'm so lucky to have him. I had to escape. There had to be some way to get away from him. I ran through my options and finally decided that as soon as I heard whom my sister was going to marry I would say I felt too faint to see him today and then pretend to pass out. I already felt like I could faint wearing a corset made of the hardest whalebone. It supposedly helped me to look more attractive.
As soon as I was seated the ceremony began. My sister walked in with her future husband whom I recognized. It was a young prince my father looked over for me. His name was Henry. Henry was a smart boy and a fairly good man. I had no doubt that he was the perfect man for any woman he would have chosen to marry except me.
Now that I knew who my sister's groom was I could say I felt faint. I turned and looked behind me and instead of William was for some reason my father. He took my hand and said into my ear softly, "I must talk to you. Come to my room after you eat dinner." And before I could utter a word his Highness had made it back to his throne and was watching again.
