Hello! So this is when the story sort of starts for real.
By the way, I really appreciate reviews, they help me improve a lot and give me ideas so please review if you can and thank you if you already have!
This story (not necessarily this chapter) includes several fairy tales so they do not belong to me however some characters do belong to me such as King Charles Queen Rosemary, Lord Gregward, Lucy Whitehill, and Elissa.
I hope you like it!
Sisters
Part 1
Elissa woke up to the sound of hooves and carriage wheels rattling on the cobblestone path that led to the castle.
She yawned and was about to go back to sleep when she remembered: today was the annual mourning for her sister.
She sat up. Her younger sister, Rapunzel, had been taken away when she was two. Rapunzel had only been born a few days before she was taken away so she hadn't really known her.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't guess what her sister would be like now or what she was like before besides her parent's definition of her.
The annual mourning for Rapunzel was normal for Elissa.
She looked out the window and saw a red carriage pulled by two black horses.
She scrunched up her nose as she saw a man with a mustache and a black top hat walk out of the carriage.
Lord Gregward.
Lord Gregward was betrothed to Elissa, they had been since last week.
She was sure though that he had eyes for her cousin, Lucy Whitehall. Although Lucy's father was Elissa's mother's older brother, he had turned down the position as king (much to Lucy's disappointment) and Elissa's mother being second eldest inherited the throne.
Lucy was a posh and prissy as could be, she always carried a reticule like many proper young ladies and wore long and elegant over-perfect dresses everyday.
Unlike Elissa's dark brown hair, she had curly blond locks that looped gracefully at the ends.
Sighing in annoyance, Elissa quickly got dressed into a simple beige lace dress and did her hair in a bun. Being a princess, she needed to have a reticule like all proper ladies did and she also needed to wear her tiara although she rarely did. As much as Elissa didn't want to, she had to wear her tiara on behalf of her sister.
With a quick glance at the mirror and with her gloves in her reticule, she strided out the door.
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Elissa scanned the crowded Entry Hall for her mother or her father. She was careful to avoid Lord Gregward so as not to have to speak with him.
Visitors greeted her and she nodded politely in return like her mother would do. Making her way slowly through the crowd, she finally spotted her mother and father at the far end of the room, accepting gifts from visitors in honor of Princess Rapunzel.
Determined, she pushed through the crowd with effort and reached her parents.
"Mother, Father!" she called. She wanted to tell them that she wouldn't be taking part in the ball that was usually slow dancing and involved her sitting looking from the sidelines. She was not going to sit through another one of those again.
With all the noise from the crowd, they didn't hear her so she cut in front of a posh lady with bright red lipstick and faced her parents.
"I say!" the lady said in utter disapproval.
Elissa ignored her. "Mother, Father! I just wanted to say that I won't be attending the ball. I'm not in the mood."
Her mother shook her head and pursed her rosy lips. "No, dear. You are the princess, you know that you must attend the ball. For your sister," she said.
Her father chimed in.
"Maybe you could stay at least for half of it?" he asked hopefully.
Elissa sighed and walked away and back into the sea of people, there was no use in arguing with them.
The ball would start at night after dinner so she was safe for now. Now all she had to do was stay away from Lord Gregward.
As she finally got out of the Entry Hall and into one of the many winding hallways of the castle, she spotted two people that she would recognize anywhere: Lord Gregward and Lucy Whitehall.