2- A Special Companion
"Daria! Daria?"
Daria opened her heavy eyelids and rubbed them lazily as she heard someone running up the stairs.
There was an impatient knock on the door and without waiting for an answer, the person swung the door open and bounded in.
"Christine! Do you know what the time is?" Daria shouted angrily at her beaming cousin, who was all but bouncing on her heels.
"Daria, Daria! It's such a beautiful day, isn't it?" Christine sung, leaping around the room.
Daria frowned, but smiled slightly. Her cousin was acting out of character.
"I wouldn't know…" She muttered before Christine giggled madly and threw open the curtains to let in the blinding sunlight.
"It is!" Christine shrieked with delight.
Daria looked at her cousin with concern, her eyes scrunched up against the light.
"Don't look at me like that cousin!" Christine exclaimed once she stopped to catch the look on Daria's face.
"What in the world has happened to make you so…so happy?" Daria asked curiously, standing up from her bed. Then the answer hit her like a twenty foot ogre.
"You're getting married to Prince Jerrold!" She gasped.
Sudden disappointment filled her stomach and she thought she was going to be sick. It was not only the fact that she was older than Christine by four years, nor the fact that Christine would be married before her; it was simply the fact that it was Prince Jerrold. How she hated him.
Her face was ghostly white.
She had only met Prince Jerrold once, when she had been introduced at Court. The only time she had entered the Castle.
She did not like crowds. She did not like parties. She did not like Balls. She had protested to no end with her mother, she simply refused to be introduced at Court. But as her mother had put it, her whining and moaning was of no use, she was going.
Daria snapped out of her reverie at Christine's sudden laughter.
"I'm happy for you," She told Christine. Because it would make everyone else happy and proud that Christine was marrying the Prince.
"Of course I'm not getting married to Jerrold!" Christine snapped, her voice filled with humour.
"I've known him less than a year, really Daria!" Christine shook her head.
"Oh."
"Yes," Christine said firmly. "Now guess what brilliant news I have, your first guess was humorous enough," Christine carried on with a smile.
"Oh, you know how I hate guessing," Daria mumbled but Christine would not tell until she guessed at least once.
"Prince Jerrold has asked you to go to Ayortha with him in February?" She guessed randomly.
Christine smiled widely, but shot down that guess with "You know that would be most inappropriate as well as not allowed."
Christine placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow.
"Hmm. Your father is betrothing you to Sir Peter?"
"What? Never!" Christine fumed. Daria laughed as she searched her closet for a gown to wear.
"Alright I'll tell you…You, Daria are coming with me to the Kyrrian Castle for the Debut Season!" Christine finished with a flourish.
Daria stared at her, her chosen gown falling to the floor limply. Her mouth was slightly parted and her eyes as wide as saucers. She was gob smacked. The words penetrated her skull and angrily she put her thoughts into words.
"You're mad!" She picked up the fallen gown swiftly and shrugged it over her head. She didn't see Christine's disappointed face as she was struggling with the tangled mess of a dress.
Christine helped her with it and Daria shoved her away when she faced her again.
"Won't you even consider it?" Christine asked softly.
"No! Because there is no way I will be going!" She said through gritted teeth. Daria could not believe Christine would even propose such an idiotic thing.
"And anyway, Christine, I'm hardly a debutante like you and your friends. Why would I go?" Daria asked a logical question.
"I thought…I thought you could be there for support…" She whispered.
Daria frowned.
"Why would you need my support? You've got everyone's support." Daria turned away from her, not wanting her cousin to see the jealousy welling up inside her.
"Daria, wake up, please…you know that those girls aren't my friends! They're jealous and sly and cunning. All the things you're not," She took a deep breath.
Daria didn't know why Christine was so desperate. It wasn't like it was going to persuade her. But Christine's words had made her realise she was one of those girls. Maybe not sly or cunning, but slightly jealous. She was guilty of that.
"I don't know how I could spend four months with them all scheming and plotting. It will be absolutely horrid Daria! Murderous! That's why I want you to come…as my special companion," Christine looked at her pleadingly.
Daria shook her head.
She hobbled over to her vanity table and started running a comb through her tangled, brown hair.
"What you're suggesting…Christine, I couldn't," Daria started softly, meeting her cousin's eyes in the mirror.
"I couldn't leave mother here all alone. Mother sometimes becomes ill and I would want to be here to look after her…you're blowing this all out of proportion I think. Once you get there you'll see it wasn't as bad as you thought and you'll make plenty of friends. You already know the castle like the back of your hand, and your Prince will be there to help you. And anyway, I don't want to go." She realised how childish she sounded towards the end but didn't care.
Christine looked somewhat angry and tears were welling up in her eyes. "I've listened to you, now you listen to me!" This was the first time Christine had ever sounded aggressive and Daria took a step back.
"My Aunt Loretta will be well looked after, my mother has promised to visit regularly and I have even asked your mother on her views on whether you should come or not-"
Daria whipped around, gob smacked.
"I can't believe you asked her behind my back."
"Please don't interrupt Daria. Your mother has taken my side and said that you should come with me, for my own benefit…Daria, I didn't even know that you'd put up a fight. I thought you'd be ecstatic to come with me," Christine added truthfully.
"Well I guess you don't know me too well!" Daria seethed.
"Look at me Christine," Daria ordered tiredly.
"What?" Christine asked blankly.
"What do you mean 'what'?" Daria asked snappishly.
Daria indicated to her right leg.
"It's shorter than my other leg."
"That-"
"No. And I bet none of the debutante's have these thick spectacles." Daria pointed to her nose, where she had just placed her wire-rimmed spectacles.
"Really-"
Daria listed her problems until Christine yelled,
"Daria! That's it! Really! Listen to yourself. You sound so childish."
Daria opened her mouth to snap back. How dare Christine, four years her junior, reprimand her?
"Anyone with half a brain can see that you're a beautiful person, inside and out, but the way you're acting now, I'm having a hard time believing myself."
The two locked eyes and stared at each other coldly.
"Be ready at noon on Friday cousin. I'll see you at our party on Thursday." And with that Christine sashayed out, leaving Daria to mull over her cousin's words in anger.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you spurred me on to write this, so thanks!
Disclaimer: I do not own Ella Enchanted.
If you've read this please review because feedback would be appreciated:-)