Amber and the Magic Thread

Chapter 2

When Amber opened her eyes, she found herself in the same hallway she had been in when she pulled the thread. She looked around, but everything seemed the same. She started to wonder if the thread didn't work at all when she noticed that the window seemed lower than normal. She turned around and walked towards the mirror that hung on the adjacent wall. When she saw her reflection she gasped.

"I'm a teenager!" She exclaimed aloud. "And I'm absolutely gorgeous!"

She stood in front of the mirror admiring herself a few minutes more until the castle steward approached her.

"Excuse me, Princess Amber," Baileywick greeted politely, "Your friends are here for your tea party."

"Ah, yes thank you Baileywick. Please send them to the garden, I'll be right there."

Baileywick bowed before returning to the entrance of the castle. Amber took one last glance in the mirror before heading to the garden herself. When she got there, she sighed with relief at the sight of a fully prepared tea party. She didn't even have to lift a finger! She sat down at the table and was shortly joined by Princesses Clio and Hildegard.

"Good marrow, Princess Amber," Hildegard curtsied politely, and Clio followed suit.

"Ah, good marrow girls," Amber returned. "Please sit! Tell me all about how your lives are going."

Amber was genuinely curious. How was life for them now that they were teenagers? Had anything changed or was everything the same as it had always been? She could hardly contain her enquiring mind from going through all the possibilities as she sipped her tea.

"Well, I've been pretty busy lately," Clio started off. "I've had play rehearsals almost every day, what with the show coming up in less than a week. You're both coming, right?"

"Of course! I wouldn't miss it for the world," Hildegard assured her.

Amber frowned. Since when was Clio into theater? She thought to herself. And Hildy hates going to plays!

"I've barely had any time for myself lately too, what with all of the suiter dates my parents have been setting up for me. The princes just can't get enough of me!" Hildegard boasted, though she did seem partially annoyed at the prospect as well.

Clio nodded, "I had forgotten about those. My father is setting some up for me as well. After the play, of course."

"Suiter dates?" Amber asked awkwardly. Are we at that age already?

"It's strange to think in a few years we will be getting married isn't it?" Hildegard asked her friends. "It's seemed like only yesterday we were just children."

"I've missed having parties like this with you two," Clio confessed sadly.

"When was the last time we all got together like this outside of school?" Hildegard asked to the group. "Hasn't it been a few months or so?"

"That long?!" Amber yelled, slamming her hands down on the table. The two other princesses sat back in shock.

"Y-yes…it's not like any of us have the time to do this on a normal basis," Hildegard told her carefully. "You know that."

"Oh…yes…of course," Amber replied dejectedly, sitting back down. "I guess I just…forgot."

"You must be stressed," Clio said, putting a hand on Amber's shoulder. "I know you are worried about finding a good suitor."

Amber furrowed her eyebrows, "Why would that be an issue for me?"

"Oh, well I know you've been worried that you won't find a suitor good enough for you since a `lot of the princes at school are trying to woo your sister…" Clio explained cautiously.

"But there is nothing for you to worry about," Hildegard cut in, sending a glare at Clio to tell her she'd said enough. "Sooner or later, they are all going to realize their mistakes and appreciate how beautiful and perfect you are."

"I'd rather it be sooner than later," Amber pouted, her shoulders sagging.

"Just give it time," Hildegard assured her. "It'll happen on its own time."

Amber faked a smile to her friends, and after about another hour or so of chatting and drinking their tea it was time to say goodbye. Amber walked her friends to the entrance of the castle and waved goodbye to them as they flew off in their respective coaches.

As Amber returned to the castle, her mind couldn't help but wander. How long would it be until someone asked for her hand? Would it take a few weeks? A month? Maybe it would even take as long as a year! There was no way she could wait that long. After all, she needed a prince so she could be queen. With her mind made up, she slowly took the golden bauble out of the folds in her dress where she had hidden it.

With the bauble in her hands, she pulled the thread.