Disney's World of Adventures: Princess Alliance

Chapter 01: The Princess And Her-Lady-In-Waiting

Once upon a time, in the beautiful kingdom of Hermosa Vista, there lived a princess. Growing up, her mother told her fairy tales about princesses like herself, about damsels in distress rescued by charming princes, and how they fell in love and lived happily ever after. Though her mother sadly passed away, the princess kept her stories alive and close to her heart.

As she grew older, the princess heard news of other princesses from other kingdoms similar to those in her favorite stories. She learned about a princess under a sleeping curse rescued from an evil dragon and awoken by true love's kiss. She learned about a princess with long golden hair rescued from a tower, a mermaid princess who fell in love with a human prince, and an enchanted princess with the magic to summon ice and snow.

She heard as people eagerly shared stories of these princesses. She hoped to one day live a life as fulfilling as theirs and worthy of being told as a fairy tale. She longed to be just like the princesses in the stories her late mother told to her. And, most importantly, she wished to one day meet her true love and live with them happily ever after. Little did she know that her true love was closer than she realized, and that falling in love with them would only be the beginning of their story together.

Princess Marianna wanted to be somewhere, anywhere else. The last place she wanted to be was sitting in a parlor attending to yet another suitor. Yet there she was, in one of the many sitting rooms of her palace, being courted.

The young princess, sole heiress to the kingdom of Hermosa Vista, slouched into the satin cushions of her chair, leaning against the armrest, her hand under her chin. She rolled her hazel eyes, which matched her tan hazel complexion, and combed back a tress of her long strawberry pink hair, as she listened to the prince seated across from her drone on and on.

What this particular prince was talking about, she wasn't paying attention to. She even forgot his name and which kingdom he hailed from. She simply didn't care. He was merely one of many noblemen her father arranged for her. She courted so many suitors in the past year that she lost count of them. All she knew was that not one of them appealed to her in the slightest, and neither did this one.

Making matters worse was how she was forced to court this suitor on her eighteenth birthday of all days. Her father had the bright idea that the ideal present for her would be to match her with yet another potential husband—and unfortunately, this gift wasn't refundable. So she was forced to spend her birthday going through the same motions she performed with every suitor: introduce herself, give him a private tour of the castle, strike a conversation, and then have dinner with him and her father in the royal banquet hall.

Now she was in the final stage where she sat with him in one of her palace's many parlors and continued their conversation to better determine whether or not they were the right match for each other. Of course, as with her previous suitors, she knew only after the first five minutes that he wasn't. And yet there she was still listening to him.

This was not how she imagined celebrating her eighteenth birthday. However, due to other matters at hand, her father had to postpone her birthday celebration. He had something else planned for her, and he wanted to surprise her. Until then, she had to bide her time with this impromptu date. The sooner it ended, the better.

The faint ring of a chiming bell roused her from her near boredom-induced slumber. She jolted straight in her seat and saw that the noise came from the clock set atop the mantle. It rung at the top of the hour: seven o'clock. Just the time she was waiting for!

She sat up, dusted her rose gold dress, and cleared her throat.

"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you—uh, good prince, but I'm afraid I have another appointment to attend to, so I must be going now."

"Going already?" Her date raised a finger as she passed him. "But tell me at least if you will consider my hand in marriage."

As she reached the door, she sucked breath through her teeth. "Let your people contact my people—or better yet, don't call us, we'll call you. But I'll certainly consider the proposal and get back to you on it."

She slammed the door behind her. She wouldn't consider the proposal. And she wouldn't get back to him on it. The obvious answer was, "no!"

Metal clashed against metal. Susanna sparred against her fencing partner in the royal training grounds. Ever since she could pick up a sword, she seldom, if ever, missed a weekly fencing lesson. She had studied the blade since the ripe age of four. Fourteen years later, her swordplay improved so much she could fight on equal footing against the Captain of the Royal Guard. Of course, that was to be expected: the Captain had tutored her for all those years. Who else better to train her than her father?

As she exchanged blows during this particularly intense swordplay session, the maiden with the roasted-hazelnut skin tucked a sweaty tress of her wavy purple hair behind her ear, allowing her to better see her opponent with her hazel eyes. Flawlessly, she countered his strikes. He attacked. She parried. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Their fight continued until her father lunged back from an attack. Narrowly ducking under the swing of her sword, he quickly lunged at her. She spun away from the attack, and, as she spun to face him once more, clashed her sword against his. Her attack sent his sword flying out of his hand and across the field several feet, crashing upon the hay-covered stone floor. He craned his neck toward his fallen blade, then turned to face down the tip of his daughter's sword, aimed inches from his face. She lightly tapped it against his nose.

"Touché!"

The middle-aged captain with the low wave haircut and petite goatee playful lifted both hands in the air in surrender. "I see I've taught you well."

Susanna lowered her sword with a satisfied smirk. Her attention shifted from her father to the sun above. She could tell the time from its position in the sky. Her gasp revealed she was nearly late.

"Gotta go!" She raced passed her father, but not without planting a kiss on his cheek. "See you later. Same time next week?"

"As always, pumpkin!" Her father waved goodbye as she passed through the door into the castle.

In less than a minute, Susanna set aside her sword and fencing gear until only her purple tunic and pink apron remained. The young maiden raced through the halls of the castle, carefully skirting past other servants along the way. Turning sharply on her heels, she made a quick detour into the kitchen. The staff busily cleared away the tables and cleaned the pots and utensils after that evening's dinner. Susanna rushed up to an apron-wearing woman who appeared to be a portly, middle-aged reflection of herself.

"Are they ready, Mom?"

While busily scrubbing away at a pot, her mother pointed to a tray of pastries laying upon a nearby table. The steam rising from them revealed that they were hot and fresh from the oven.

Susanna squealed in glee. "Oh, they look delicious."

Her mother chuckled. "You should know. You helped make them."

That statement was true. Susanna had helped her mother, the Head Cook, prepare the pastries and set them in the oven an hour ago. Now, after her fencing lesson, they were ready to serve. She placed a few in a gingham cloth before wrapping it into a neat bundle. She pecked her mother on the cheek before sprinting out the kitchen with a "Thanks!"

Susanna sped through halls, up stairs, and past corners until she reached her destination, and she stopped when she met who she wanted to meet. Waiting for her in the glow of the setting sun shining through the window was her childhood friend.

Princess Marianna smiled as her lady-in-waiting, and her closest friend, approached.

"About time you showed up, Susan."

"Hope I'm not late, Maria."

Maria shook her head. "Nope. Right on time."

She pointed to a grandfather clock. Its face showed five minutes after seven. She glanced in both directions to see if no one else was around. She approached the clock, opened the glass door, and pulled back on the swinging pendulum.

A secret passageway opened next to the clock. What had once been an unassuming blank wall opened like a doorway to reveal a staircase. Both she and Susan had known about the secret passage since they were little, and they had kept it their secret.

"Race yah!" Susan darted past the princess and up the stairs.

Maria followed, the panel to the passage closing behind them.

Up the stone staircase, the two maidens climbed until they reached a belfry at the top. Maria rushed to a pair of dusty shutters and pried them free. The two girls gazed out a window atop the tallest tower of the castle, which sat upon the tallest hill of the kingdom and loomed over the bay below. The sun dipped into the horizon, melting into the ocean and dyeing its waters tangerine. The whole sky glowed with an orange tint, casting everything below with a sepia tone.

Maria sat upon the sill as she gazed upon this sunset-lit view.

"Is there anything more relaxing after a hectic day than a gorgeous sunset like that?"

Susan sat next to her and opened her blanket, revealing the pastries within.

"How about watching the sunset while eating one of these babies?"

Maria's face lit up as bright as the sun when her eyes fell upon the pastries.

"Pan dulce!" She plucked a pastry from the pile. "Conchas! Mi favorita!"

Without hesitation, she bit into it, savoring the sweet warm dough topped with pink powdered sugar. The warm feeling from one bite, to the point where it nearly melted in her mouth, assured her that the pastries has been pulled fresh from the oven.

"Mmm! Deliciosa!" No sooner had she swallowed the first bite that she took another. "I love these so much. How did you know?"

Susan chuckled before playfully bopping one finger on the princess's nose. "Girl, we've been friends longer than either of us could remember. How could I not know your favorite dessert?"

Marianna scarfed down one pastry before helping herself to another. "They certainly make for an excellent gift. I assume this is my birthday present."

"Course! Even baked them myself—with the help from the best chef of the kingdom."

Maria half-finished her pastry. "Your mother is the best cook. That's why she's the Royal Chef!"

Susan wrapped an arm around Maria and drew her close. "Happy birthday, Maria. Or rather, feliz cumpleaños!"

Maria rested her head on Susan's shoulder. She finished the rest of her pastry as the two of them gazed longingly into the sunset.

"What a wonderful view!" she sighed and peered up at her friend. "You do know the story of this kingdom, don't you?"

Susan nuzzled her chin into Maria's strawberry hair. "Course I do. But I always love hearing you tell it again."

Maria chuckled as she say upright. "Of course!"

She cleared her throat and licked her lips before continuing.

"Well, it all started when my great, great, great—too many times to count!—great abuelo decided to find himself a kingdom. Wearing his shiniest morion, wielding his sharpest lance, and riding upon his whitest steed, he sallied forth in search of the perfect place. He searched far, and he searched wide. He searched high, and he searched low. He searched and he searched until he climbed to the very top of the tallest hill. There he gazed upon the landscape below and saw the rushing waves of the ocean, the rolling hills and forests, and the rising mountains. Barely able to catch his breath from such a breath-taking view, he exclaimed, with the loudest voice, 'Hermosa Vista'! That was the name he wanted to call his new kingdom. And upon that hill overlooking that beautiful view—that Hermosa Vista!—he wanted to build his castle.

"There was only one small problemo: there was already someone else living there!

"Living in a cottage on top of that hill was an evil witch by the name of Bruja Dama. She was an enchantress as evil as she was ugly—and, oh boy, was she muy feo! Nevertheless, my very great abuelo decided to strike a bargain with her. He would give her as much gold as she wanted in exchange for the hill and the entire land that surrounded it, for as far as the eye could see. She refused. Long story short: my great abuelo used a magic spell to turn her to stone."

Maria pointed to the courtyard below. "Legend has it that, in the castle gardens, the ugliest statue of the ugliest hag is none other than Bruja Dama herself."

Susan raised an eyebrow. "You think that's true?"

Maria blew a raspberry and swatted the air with her hand. "Nah! ¡Claro que no! It's just an old fairy tale. But it does make for a great story."

She sighed as she rested her chin in her hand and continued gazing into the sunset.

"I hope one day to have lived a life so fantástica that people tell it to their children. I'd love nothing more than that story to include how I met mi amor verdadero—my true love!"

Susan sunk her teeth into another pastry. "I take it you still haven't found Prince Charming yet?"

Maria sighed. She stole yet another pastry for herself and shoved it in her mouth, hoping to drown her disappointment with another sugary serving.

"It certainly wasn't this prince, I can tell you that. You could not believe how boring this one was. I don't even remember his name!"

Susan licked the sugar from her finger as she finished her pastry. "Your father sure knows how to pick'em."

Maria gave a half-hearted laugh as she shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes. "Can't blame him for trying. Still, I wish I could find the right person."

She glanced at her friend. "Have you managed to find yourself a good boy yet?"

Susan scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm not really into men. Haven't found a good one yet."

Maria, smiling, took Susan by the hand. "Well, I hope when you do fall in love, that it's with someone as close to you as we are with each other."

Susan blushed, then covered Maria's hand with hers. "Thanks. I hope you do the same thing. That you fall in love with someone as close to you as me."

Both girls released their grip on each other as this finished that most solemn vow.

Susan cleared her throat. "Anyway, let's just hope that your father is willing to wait as long as you are to find your true love."

Maria rolled her eyes as she helped herself to another pastry. "Well, mi papa is simply going to have to be patient with me. If he wants me to marry someone ASAP, he's just going to have to find the right person and stop pushing so many nobodies before me."

She took a bite.

"I mean, it's not like he can just force me to marry some prince I never met."

"You're forcing me to marry some prince I've never met?"

Princess Marianna picked her jaw off the floor upon hearing the news. Susanna stood next to her in equal shock. Both stood before her father, King Hernandez. He had called her into his throne room the next day for an important announcement. Unfortunately for her, it was not an announcement she wanted to hear.

"We're negotiating a trade deal with another kingdom." King Hernandez informed her from upon his throne, dressed in his regalia and crown. "It just so happens that they have an eligible bachelor of a prince. So they made a bargain: they would enter into our trade agreement if we offered their prince your hand in marriage. So we agreed."

Maria threw her hands before her in disbelief. "But why would you do that without asking me first?"

"It was a deal too good to pass up," King Hernandez replied. "Besides, I did not think it would be too much of a problem for you, considering that you have yet to find a suitor."

Maria placed her arms akimbo. "That's because I haven't met one that's right for me."

King Hernandez cupped his hand. "Ever since your quinceañera, I have been lining up eligible bachelor after bachelor for your consideration, and you've rejected every one."

Maria crossed her arms. "That's because every one of them was terrible."

"What about Augusto?" the King asked. "He seemed like a nice young lad."

Maria raised a finger. "Was he the one I recently courted? That was his name? Alberto? Ay! He was so boring, I forgot."

"And what about Felipe? He came from a very wealthy family. Marrying him would have been a literal bargain."

Maria shook her head. "Yeah, and he cared more about money than anything else. He's a greedy, selfish jerk who would have easily traded me in for a golden carriage."

"And then there was Naveen, who you so rudely slapped across the face."

This made Maria's face turn red. "Only because he had the nerve to touch me inappropriately. The man knows as much about boundaries as he does the meaning of the word 'no!', and no means no."

The King stood from his throne. "Mija, I have been more than patient with you, but my patience has run thin. You have now turned 18, and you are not getting any younger. If you are not willing to choose your suitor, then I had no choice but to choose one for you."

"But I am willing to choose my own. I just want to marry someone I love. I want to find mi amor verdadero and live happily ever after, just like the princesses in the fairy tales Mama read to me."

The King sucked a breath through his teeth and clenched his eyes shut upon being reminded of his late wife. He stepped down from his dais and place a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"Mija, I know you're still grieving over your mother. I miss her, too. But she would have wanted you to make the right choice, and that choice is for you to grow up and stop believing in fairy tales. This marriage will unite our kingdom with another and benefit us all in the long run."

He let go of her shoulder and turned away from her. "I have arranged the wedding for the end of the week. I suggest you prepare yourself for your big day."

Maria reached her hand out to her father. "But Papa—"

The King flung his arm to his side. "That is final, Mija!"

Tears rolled down her face as she rushed out of the throne room, crying.

Susan tried to console her, but the princess already left. With a furrowed brow, she faced the King.

"Your majesty," she addressed him. "With all due respect, I must object. This isn't right."

The King stared her down, his brow likewise furrowed. "With all due respect, I do not request the advice of a scullery maid."

If Susan wasn't upset before, she was more than offended now. Nevertheless, she bit her tongue and maintained her composure and obeisance before her superior.

"And with all due respect, your majesty, I am not a scullery maid. I am her lady-in-waiting and her closest friend. And as her friend, I will not see her passed along as a bargaining chip to someone else, especially to someone she doesn't know."

"Be that as it may, I am her father, and I know what is best for her more than you do. You will know your place and respect my decision."

He held his hand out in a halting gesture. "You are dismissed."

Susan would have argued endlessly in her best friend's defense; yet she was restrained by her station to reluctantly nod, curtsey, and reply with "Yes, your majesty" before leaving the throne room.

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