The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

It’s been about an hour since the ceremony started.

We’ve all been sitting here fairly quietly as Queen Vienna makes her speech.



But honestly I’m not even listening to a word she’s saying.



My eyes have been planted to the ground for the most part;



I’m way too scared to look up.



I can’t believe I was so stupid!



The first time I meet the prince and I embarrassed myself!



I feel myself growing red for the umpteenth time since the ceremony started.



He probably thinks I’m a doofus, he probably thinks I’m a complete idiot.



I squeeze my eyes shut tight and remind myself that I shouldn’t care.

He was never going to pick me anyways.

Why would he ever?



I feel a pang of sadness and then force myself to get over it.



What is wrong with me? I’m not supposed to care! I don’t even want the prince.



I take a deep breath and boldly look up. I gasp and shoot my eyes down.



Oh my God he was looking at me. At me!



What does that mean? It shouldn’t matter! Does he like me?



I’m not supposed to care!



I can still feel his eyes on me. I wonder what he’s thinking.



All of a sudden everyone starts to clap.

I look up slightly confused but then

I realize the Queen has finished has her speech.

Tess and Jadealinne stand up, and I quickly follow. What’s going on?



Then Prince Alekzander stands up.



My heart starts pounding. Oh please, oh please not now not yet!



He walks down off of his platform and onto ours.



It’s just skipped a beat now. He’s not going to pick you.

But you wish he was.



No you don’t! Oh yes you do.



I’m so nervous I can’t even think straight.



He walks in front of Jadealinne and stops. For a moment he looks at her and

smiles. My heart falls. He’s picking her, I knew he would. I feel a twinge of

something that sure as hell ain’t relief. Rage or maybe even jealousy. I make

myself calm down and force a smile to my face. You don’t care Rayne, you

don’t care.



But then he does something totally unexpected. He walks right past her. My

heart resumes its frantic beat. Does this mean…



Then he stops in front of Tess. He smiles and nods at her, she smiles and

nods back.



Oh.



Yeah.



Tess.



The rage is gone, but the jealousy is still there. I guess I should be happy for her.



This is stupid I should be happy for her.



But then again, he’s just walked right past her.



I think my hearts just stopped beating.



He stops in front of me.



The hall is dead silent as the prince leans close enough to say something

only I can hear.



At that moment, a stray curl chooses fall across his eye and a smug smile

appears on his face.



“Hello Rayne, remember me?”





(short one...i kno....forgive me....i do have a life!)

The next morning I’m awoken by a sharp ray on sunlight.



“Wake up, Wake up!” It’s Luciana’s voice that I’m hearing. I get up a little

groggily and look at the huge grandfather clock at the corner of my room.



“Six forty-five?!?” I groan loudly and cover my head with the covers once

more. Maybe if I hide under here she’ll go away, or maybe fade into oblivion.



Which ever comes first. I smile at the thought.



“Oh no princess, up now! We have so much to do. First you have to take a

shower. Then there’s your hair and make-up and we still have to find a

dress with jewelry and shoes to match. We can not afford to waste a

second.”



I groan inwardly and tell my self, just go to this stupid thing, it’ll all be over

very soon. I force myself out of bed and stumble my way into the shower.



Once I get, out I dry myself off and put on a robe and step out of the

bathroom. I am rushed right away. Luciana pushes me into a chair and

immediately starts working.



I tell you it was an assault to remember.



Some eye shadow, blush, eyeliner, lip gloss, mascara, a curling iron and a whole lot of hair spray later. Luciana takes a few steps back to look at me fully. Her eyes have a little shimmer in them and she is smiling as if she’s unbelievably happy with herself.



“Princess Rayanalise, you look…I mean…sigh”



I roll my eyes how good could I possibly look, I get up and start to walk over

to the mirror, I mean no amount of makeup can change plain old—Holy Mother of Crap. Who’s that girl staring at me from the mirror?? ‘Cuz it sure

as hell ain’t me.



“Whoa…” I whisper.



My eyes, they stand out, they’ve never looked so green. And my hair! She’s



curled it slightly and given me side bangs and it just looks…I mean…WOW.



I turn and look at Luciana with my eyes wide.



“Well…?” She asks.



I couldn’t contain myself. I run right over there and throw my arms around

her.



“I love it!!!!”



She laughs and hugs me back “I knew you would. And now for your dress.”



Luciana goes into the closet and brings out the loveliest green dress I have

ever seen. She places it on the bed and I run over to it.



“Oh my! It is so beautiful!” I touch right under my left eye. “It’s the same

colour as my eyes!”



She smiles and nods “Now quick! We don’t have much time, put it on!”



I nod and quickly run into the bathroom. Once the dress is one I run back

into the room to show Luciana but she’s already gone. She’s left matching

shoes and jewelry though.



I put everything on and go to stand in front of the mirror once more. I see

myself and the first thought that pops into my head is



“I wonder what the Prince will think of me.”



I stop and shake my head, it shouldn’t matter because I don’t care. I look at

myself once more before heading downstairs.



“I’m just going to get this over with.”



Easier said than done.







-------------------







My mother and I had just stepped into Lyon Hall and my stomach was doing

flip flops. Why was I so bloody nervous?



There are a whole lot of people around, Dukes, duchesses, lords, ladies the whole shebang.

They all looked completely comfortable like they all knew exactly what they were doing. I on the other had, was completely lost.



My mom turns to me “I have to go greet the King, Rayanalise, I will see you later.”



“No!” I yell “I don’t know what to do, I don’t know anybody here!”



My mom grabs both my hands and says “I really have to go sweetie, don’t



worry, you’ll be fine.”



Then she turns and walks away. I cannot believe my mother just abandoned

me! I look around trying to be all sophisticated and cool, but then I realize

that I’m probably making myself look even more stupid, so I stand there.



For a good fifteen minutes doing absolutely nothing, then I notice people are

beginning to stare at me, point and whisper. I am sooo out of here. I pick up

my dress and start to run, out of the hall and into the courtyard.



I look to both sides and decide on left I keep running until I see a gate that seems to lead behind the hall. I go through it

I pause for a second and catch my breath. I’m glad to be alone.



After a couple of seconds, I look up, and there surrounded by tall trees, is

the largest fountain I have ever seen, it is beautiful!



As I walk closer I see there are white chrysanthemums floating in the water, they are my favourite flower! I gasp and run to the edge of the fountain, I know I have to get one.



Without really thinking about it. I slowly and cautiously begin to lean over

the edge of the fountain. There one particularly pretty one floating right

beyond my reach.



“Just a little further…”



Then all of a sudden I feel my self loose my balance.



I take a sharp breath as I see the water getting closer and closer to my

face, I close my eyes and brace myself for contact but instead of feeling cold

fountain water splashed on my face, I feel something go around my waist

and yank me back.

I gasp as I feel myself crash against someone’s chest.

For a second I freeze, I can hear nothing but my heart racing in my chest.



“Are you alright?” my savior asks.



I turn around and begin to reply “Yeah, I’m fine thank…”



I stop mid-sentence.





Holy Mother of Crap he’s gorgeous. My already frantic heart begins to beat

even faster. My eyes grow wide as I stare at him. He has black somewhat

curly hair, which go perfectly with his pale skin and his blue, or are they

grey? Eyes.



Soon this weird expression lands on his practically perfect face, that’s when

I finally realize just how hard I’m staring. I quickly avert my eyes.



“Y-yeah.” I stammer “I’m f-fine… thank y-you”



“Good.” He says.



I should probably look up now, but I can’t bring myself to. What’s wrong

with me? He can’t be so good looking that I can’t even look at him. I look

back up.



I loose all feeling in my knees.



“Are you sure?” He asks



“Yes.” I reply. I want to look away but I just…can’t.



Oh wow. He’s beautiful.



For some reason he laughs.



“What’s your name?” he asks.



My name, oh crap what’s my name!?! Think, think, think…



“Rayne!” I practically yell out.



Immediately I say my name his expression visibly changes. His perfect eyes

get all wide and his mouth slowly starts to open….



“Rayne? Oh my—“





Whatever he was going to say, was interrupted by a loud sound and a

booming voice coming from inside the hall.



“Attention all! The ceremony is about to begin!”



“Oh no!” we both say simultaneously.



We look at each other for a split second.



“C’mon!” he says and grabs my hand. I dont even really notice how cold his is becasue for a moment I’m dazed. I stare at our joined hands as he pulls me towards the entrance of the hall.



He’s holding my hand.



He looks back at me and smiles a weird yet so adorable crooked smile.



He opens the door but I’m preoccupied with the fact that he’s still touching

me to realize that everyone in the hall is staring at us. It’s not until he

releases my hand and begins to walk into the hall that I regain my

composure.



I look around the hall. There is an audience filled with all of the nobles, a

platform with three chairs, two of which are occupied by Tess and

Jadealinne, and an even higher platform. I quickly walk towards the chair

beside Tess which I am sure is intended for me.



She’s looking at me wide eyed and open mouthed.



“I know I’m late, but you don’t have to look at me like that.” I whisper to

her. I take another quick look around the hall and notice something.



“Why is everybody looking at me like that?”



My eyes finally land on the higher platform with two chairs on it, both



occupied. One by an incredibly beautiful older woman, which I suppose is

the Queen. She has black hair, pale skin and blue eyes. I squint.



Why does she look so much like the guy I just--



My jaw begins to drop as my gaze shifts it the second chair which is taken by…



Holy Mother of Crap.



I feel Tess’ arm brush against mine. “We’re all looking at you like this

because Rayne, you my dear, just walked in with the one, the only Prince

Alekzander himself.”

“What if they don’t like me?” I’m sitting in the limo with my mother. Were on

our way to Lyon Hall.



It’s supposedly the meeting place for all of the Royals in this country.



I am wearing a gorgeous green dress with matching shoes and jewelry. I have to look nice and make a good impression on the princesses. Princess Tessanya Daven Port and Princess Jadealinne Beau Regard.



“Of course they’ll like you! You’re sweet, and funny, and kind, what’s not to

like.”



“You have to say that ‘cuz you’re my mom.” I mumble under my breath.



She laughs at that one.



“They were raised out of Argoneeva, right mom? Like me?”



“Yes, they were. And who knows? Maybe you’ll have a couple of things in

common!”



The car slowly begins to come to a stop. “We’re here already?!”



“Calm down Rayne, you’ll be just fine.”



Garret opens the door and helps me and my mother out.



“Thank you Garret,” I say.



“Yes, Thank you.” My mom adds.



Garret begins to blush. I raise one eyebrow, what’s that all about? Wait…

does he like my—



“Queen Avangelana!” I look up and see a short stubby man bounding down the stairs.



He grabs my moms hand and brings it up to his mouth as if to kiss it



“How lovely to see you.”



My mom quickly retracts her hand and places it on my back.



“Lord Huntington, how er, lovely too see you!” I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing.



“Have you met my daughter Rayne?”



Lord Huntington turns his gaze towards me with his beady rat looking eyes.



“Ah yes, the young Princess Rayanalise. How lovely to meet you.”



I quickly clench my hands behind my back, and curtsy.



“How nice to meet you to Lord Huntington.”



“Well,” my mother interjects, “We must be off!”



She grabs me by the arm and pulls me off to into the hall.



“I absolutely despise the man, he’s absolutely wretched. He thinks himself

God’s gift to women somehow oblivious to the fact that he closely resembles

a rat. ”



I laugh, “I could have figured that one out.”



We enter a small foyer where I notice two girls.



“Princess Tessanya, Princess Jadealinne, this is my daughter, Rayanalise.



They both stand up and walk over. One is extremely pretty and has long

semi-curly brown hair with big deep hazel eyes she flashes a huge smile at

me.

“Tessanya is my given name but you can call me Tess, everyone does. May I call you Rayne?”



I smile and nod at her.



The other girl has long light blonde hair with light steely blue eyes which

look me up and down. She doesn’t say a word.



“Well.” Mother says finally “I’ll leave you all to get acquainted.” And she

walks out of the room.



The moment my mother is gone Princess Jadealinne marches toward me

standing right in front of me.



“First of all, its Jadealinne not Jade or any clever little nicknames you can

come up with.

Secondly, please try your best not to talk to me in public, not unless you’re

spoken to first of course,

And lastly, I don’t know WHAT you think you’re doing here, or WHO you think

you are? But the Prince is mine. It’s best you learn that now.”



Even if I did have an answer to that, I wouldn’t have gotten a chance to

voice it because Jadealinne turned on her heel and stalked out of the room.



I stood there dumbfounded for a couple of seconds. I turn towards Tessanya.



“Did, did I do something wrong?”



She laughs walks over and loops her arm through mine.



Don’t worry about the Ice Queen over there, I got the same lecture.” she



says as we start to walk.



“She was raised by a rich couple in L.A so she

thinks she owns the place. ME on the other hand, I was raised on a farm in

Kansas. What about you?”



“I was raised in Jersey, middle class family I guess.”



“Don’t let her get to you.” Tess says “She’s way conceited. And the nerve of

her saying ‘The Prince belongs to me!’ that girl really bugs me.”



“The Prince?” I question



“Yeah,” she replies “The Prince!” I stare at her blankly.



“Prince Alekzander, you know? The only one left in all Argoneeva?”



My expression stays the same.



Her mouth drops.



“YOU DON’T KNOW WHO THE PRINCE IS?!?”



I slowly shake my head.



“Prince Alekzander!! He’s only like the hottest dark-haired gorgeous-eyed

angel to grace us with his existence! Gosh my knees are getting weak just

thinking about him!”



A tilt my head slightly. “Are you and him? I mean, Do you like, like him?



She pauses as if to think for a minute

“Well, I guess but I hardly know him. I just think he’s hot.” She smirks



We continue to walk in silence.



“I’m really surprised your mother didn’t tell you about him, he’s super

important to all three of us. You, Jadealinne and me.”



“Really?” I ask “Why?”



She stops turns and faces me, “Because my new friend, by the end of

tomorrow, one of us will be picked to be the future wife of Alekzander Sin

Clair, Prince of Argoneeva.







I raise one of my eyebrows, “You’re kidding right?”



“No!” she says as she loops her had through mine again. “It’s true, one of

us will be chosen by the prince himself to be his future wife!”



“What? I mean, I don’t understand…why?” I say a little staggered.



Tess shrugs “ Well, were the princesses, and he’s the prince and uh…Well I

don’t know, it’s just the way it is. And I don’t mind, he is sooo hoooot!”



“Yeah I get! I interject But it’s a little…strange!”



She shrugged again. “I just hope he doesn’t pick the Ice Queen.”



She continues walking.



“Wait!” I yell as I chase after her “I can’t believe your being so nonchalant

about this! I mean it’s practically an arranged marriage!”



“Yeah, to a hottie!”



I roll my eyes. “I would, I could NEVER!”



“If he picks you, you’ll have too, you won’t have a choice.”



“I don’t believe that.”



“Well it’s true. And I have a feeling he might pick you.”



I look at her quizzically “Why do you say that?”



“Just a…feeling.”



I shake my head at the whole “I won’t. And that’s it. Let’s just forget about



this stupid prince thing for now.”



“Whatever you say Rayne,” She says.



We spend the rest of our time telling each other about ourselves. I don’t

think I’ve ever met a cooler person than Tess. She’s witty and bold and

outspoken and is completely crazy! But in a likeable sorta way. It isn’t until

late at night that me and my mother finally get home. I’m on my way

upstairs when my mom calls me back down.



“Yes mom?” I ask as reverse down the stairs.



She clears her throat. “I’m sure, by now you’ve heard of Prince Alekzander.”



I nod.



“And you know what’s expected of you?”



I pause. “You cant be serious. You honestly expect me to MARRY a boy I’ve

never MET?”



“If he chooses you, yes I do. It is the way things are done in Argoneeva.”



“Well I won’t. I just won’t”



“Rayne, dear heart, it is the way things are done.”



“No I won’t.” I say as calmly as I can “And you can not make me.” I sprint up

the stairs and into my room slam the door and lay on the bed. I sit there

steaming with anger but then feel a twinge of guilt.



I can’t believe I just spoke to my mother like that. But how could she do this to me an arranged marriage its…it’s…its just bad! A stinking bloody arranged marriage!



And he just gets to pick?!? Like we’re just some objects to be chosen.



I start to get angry all over again, but then I stop. Why am I getting so angry?



I feel a smile break out on my face He won’t pick me! I laugh out loud. He

just wont! He has the extremely unbelievably beautiful, witty, smart, funny

Tess and The Drop Dead Gorgeous, Ice Queen, Not-Jade-But-Jadealinne.



I would be his last choice! I smile a satisfied smile and get up out of bed. I

change into an oversized t-shirt and crawl back into bed. Tomorrow, I will

wake up get dressed, go to Lyon Hall, watch Prince Alekzander pick

someone who is not me, and all will be good in the world. I fall asleep with a

smile on my face.



“He won’t pick me.” I whisper.





Shows how much I know

COMMENTS

-

---

LordWolf
03:10 Jan 17 2009

you are a romantic...but not dark. you should be greatful for that. your quite a writer.

---

POST COMMENT

I woke up to the sound of my mother’s voice. “Honey, we’ve landed.”



I slowly open my eyes and look around.



Dammit.



It wasn’t a dream.



I sigh deeply and slowly lift out of my chair.



I and look in the overhead compartment for my hand luggage



Once I retrieve it, I look around again. We’ve just landed in an empty

section of an airport in a private, that’s right private, jet.



“This is too awesome!” I think to myself.



Not the whole: you’re a princess and you have to go live in some far off

country that nobody’s even heard of.



Seriously, if right now anybody, anybody, can point out Argoneeva on a map I’ll—



“Rayne,” my mom says interrupting my thoughts “You have to exit the jet now.”



I’m led to an exit by a flight attendant with a really cool accent. ”Hope you had a pleasant flight Princess Rayanalise.”



I look at her funny for a second.



“Oh wait! That’s me isn’t it?” I clear my throat a little. “Yes my flight was quite pleasant thank you.”



She smiles real big at me and I smile real big at her.



“Bye!” I say with a wave and exit the jet.



Once I’m out of the jet I stretch my arms. I am still a little tired from the 14



hour flight. I look up in the sky for a second. It’s still bright outside.



“I wonder what time it is.” I say to myself.



I try to calculate in my head but decide my head needs a little rest right now.



I turn around to see them unloading my suitcases from the back of the

plane.



That’s when I realize something. My suitcases. My suitcases and no one else’s.



I look towards the jet door only to see it being closed.



“WAIT!” I yell.



They reopen the doors and I run right up the plane steps back into the jet.



Both my parents are still sitting in their seats.



“Mom? Dad? You’re not coming with me…?”



It’s silent for a moment before my father answers.



“Oh, sweetheart I’m sorry but we can’t.” my father says.



“But why? You have too!” I can already feel the tears building up in m eyes.



“No love, we can’t. We have lives back home. We were only supposed to

bring you here.” My dad says.



“Mom?” I look at her, she hasn’t said anything. Then I realize she’s already

crying.



I run over to her and give her a hug. “Please, don’t go.” I say tears spilling

down my cheeks.



“We…have…to” My mom replies between sobs.



I bite my lip hard because I can’t believe this is happening. They’re my

parents. I’ll be lost without them.



I release my mother and walk over to my father. He’s crying a little bit too.



“I’ll miss you Rainbow.”



“I’ll miss you too daddy.”



I hear a slight cough from behind me. “Princess Rayanalise?”



I turn around and see a man with a chauffer outfit on. “Your car is ready.”

He says in an accent similar to the flight attendant’s.



I nod at him and turn back to my parents. “I love you both, very much.”



“We love you too Rayne.” They say in unison.



I exit the jet now basically bawling my eyes out.



There’s this totally awesome stretch limo waiting there for me. But I don’t even really notice it.



The chauffer opens the backseat door so that I can get in. I can’t believe I may never see my parents again.



The car starts to move, but the tears still continue. The chauffer looks

through the rearview mirror.



“My name is Garretheus, Princess” He says to me. “But you can call me

Garret.”



“You have such strange names here.” I mumble back to him.



He smiles at me. “If I’m not mistaken princess, you have one of them.”



He was right I did. I laugh but not for long, I’m so still stricken.



“I know it seems hard Princess. But it’ll get better I promise.”



I look up at the mirror and smile just slightly. “Thank you,” I whisper back.



And that was the last thing I said for a very long time.











“Holy Mother of Crap.” I whisper to myself. “It’s huge.”



Garret chuckled slightly as he carried my luggage past me and into the doorway.



After an hours drive, we finally arrived at our destination. And it was bloody enormous.



I know I shouldn’t be surprised because my parents had already told me

that I would be living in a castle. But I wasn’t expecting this. I was



expecting…Well I don’t know what I was expecting. But not this.



I hurry after Garret. “How many people live here exactly?”



“Well including you…umm…Three.



I look at him for a minute. “Three?!?”



“Well that’s not including all of the servants. But they reside mostly in the servant quarters.”



“Servants?!?”



Garret looks at me with a smile for a second “You’re really new at this ‘Princess’ thing aren’t you?”



I look around the gigantic main hall of the castle “Don’t worry.” I say



“I’ll adjust.”



He laughs again.



I honestly can not believe this is where I’m going to be living. This is my

home! I feel like screaming and jumping up and down but I contain myself.



I’m a princess now and princesses don’t do that sort of thing.



All of a sudden I hear a small gasp. I look at the other end of the main hall,

and there in a lovely green dress, is the most beautiful woman I have ever

seen.



She had fiery red her and deep green eyes which actually, were staring really hard at me.



“Queen Avangelana.” Garret says and then stoops down in a low bow. He

quickly hurry’s out of the hall leaving me alone with the beautiful woman.



We stare at each other for a good ten minutes. I finally break the silence by

putting up one of my hands and saying



“Hello.”



“Rayanalise.” She whispers and begins to run towards me.



At first I don’t know what to do. Do I bow like Garret did? Or do I curtsy. I

can’t bring myself to do either. All I do is stand there.



She reaches the other end of the hall standing right in front of me.



There are tears in her eyes as she stares at me.



“Rayanalise,” she repeats. “Do you…Do you know who I am?”



There a short silence as I stare at her big green eyes. Eyes completely identical to mine. Then it hits me. I stop breathing and my heart starts

beating really fast.



For a moment I can’t really bring myself to say it. It’s almost too much. But I

know I have to.



“You’re…” I whisper as I begin to feel the tears in my eyes now.



“You’re my mother.”



And then we both burst into tears.





It has been two hours since I arrived at the castle and me and my mother

have done nothing but cry. Okay maybe not nothing but cry. Between huge

sobs she would tell me: How much she’s missed me, and How big I am now,

and How she’s so sorry she couldn’t watch me grow up. But yeah, mostly

cry.



I am still totally overcome. This is my mother! My real life mother! And I look

just like her!



We talk and talk and talk. For hours. She tells me of Argoneeva and of all

the things I must do now that I am back. I tell her about my life back home

about all my friends and about my foster parents and how much I loved

them.





She smiles “Ah, yes. Robert and Andrea Cambridge. I knew they were good

people immediately they offered to take you.”



I feel a pang of sadness. I really, really miss my parents. They would have

loved to see this.



As if reading my mind, my mom says to me “Don’t worry Rayanalise, you will

see them again soon.”



I nod at her and smile. I just met her and I already love her.



There’s something else that has been bugging me since I got here. I think I

know the answer but I know I have to ask anyway.



“Mom?” I ask.



She beams at me. “I’ve waited so long to hear you call me that. What is it?”



“What about...” I pause “What about my father…?



You could instantly see the pain in her face. She bit her lip and took a deep

breath.



“Your father, he died before you were born. He was killed in a battle. There

was a war and…”



“Oh.” I whisper I look down at the floor. “What was his name?”



“Jedediah.” She says sadly “And I loved him very much.”



We are silent for a short moment.



“Oh!” My mother said suddenly. “You must be so exhausted!”



I shrug “Just a little.”



“I will ring for someone to show you to your chamber.”



And to my surprise she actually honest to God rang a bell. No less than five

seconds later, an old woman with white hair and deep blue eyes.



“Ah! Perfect!” My mom says. She turns to me and says “Luciana will lead you

to your room.”



I look at the woman only to see that she’s staring at me wide eyed.



“Follow me.” She says in a bare whisper.



I am led to a giant pair of doors which were opened by men on each side. I

walk in and…



OH MY GOSH!



It’s the most beautiful room I have ever been in. It’s almost completely red

which my favourite colour is. I spend the next hour and a half going through

the room. It’s filled with all of my old stuff, as well and some brand new

ones.



Clothes, shoes, and jewelry it’s absolutely crazy. I crash onto my bed and

sigh with satisfaction.



“I’m sure I can get used to this!”



Luciana laughs at my comment. I had completely forgotten she was int the

room.



“You better get some sleep.” Luciana says interrupting my momentary bliss



“We have an early day tomorrow.”



“Huh?” I ask “Early day? What? Why? Where are we going…?”



Luciana looks at me and a slow grin spreads across her face.



“To meet the other princesses of course.”

Ten Years Later



I shoot up from my bed, letting out a small gasp. I blink once, twice, trying to get the sleep out of my eyes.



I take a few deep breaths and then pause. What a weird dream. I hadn’t thought about that day in ten years, and now to suddenly dream about it?



Kinda strange if you ask me.



I slowly lie back down in my bed and stare up at the ceiling.



I closed my eyes trying to remember more of the dream. But most of it was gone now. All I could remember was the snow and the boy, and the kiss.



”Was that even real?” I ask myself quietly.



I try even harder to remember, I sigh and give up, it doesn’t matter anyway.

I turn my head slightly and look at my clock, 9:15am December 12th. The

day of my 18th birthday.



I can’t help but smile, I’m 18 now! A full fledged adult!



I am free to do what I want now, so many new privileges. Like for

example, I could purchase a pack of cigarettes if I wanted to.



Not that I would ever. Smoking is a horrible habit.



After a couple of minutes of dreaming of adulthood I get out of bed and hop in the shower.



Once I get out, I get myself dressed, a plain red t-shirt and a black pair of jeans, and go stand in front of my vanity.



I take a deep breath and look hard into the mirror. I squint a little as I stare at myself.



I don’t look any different. I tilt my head slowly to the side and look even harder.



Nope. No change at all. My nose, my lips, my deep red brown hair and my

dark green eyes. All exactly the same.



I frown at myself and shake my head slightly. Why was I expecting anything to change?



Just because I’m and adult now doesn’t mean anything is really gonna change.



I look exactly like I did yesterday and that’s the way it should be. There was no reason for anything to be different.



I leave my vanity and go to my cupboard to look my favourite pair of shoes. And there they are. Right were I left them.



“Nothing’s changed Rayne,” I mumble to my self as a shove my foot inside of my black converse. “Everything’s exactly as it was.”



I get up and I towards my bedroom door, and right before I leave my room I turn and look out the window.



I stare out of it for a moment, and then I smile.



“Something has changed…” I whisper to myself.



And I knew, right then, at that very moment I knew. Something was going to happen. Something big.



Something that would change everything.









---------------------------





I bound down the stairs right into the kitchen doorway lean against it. There sitting on either ends of the kitchen table, are my parents.



I stand there for a minute and watch them.



My dad is reading the sports section of the newspaper while my mom is trying to do the crossword puzzle.



I smile while as I watch them; I can’t help it because this is exactly what they do every single morning.



Dad will read the sports section and will start swearing because his team lost, again.



And mom will try and try on that crossword and will eventually give up and just start making up words.



I look back and forth between my mom and dad; it’s uncanny how much they look alike.



They both are quite tall with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. I never

understood why I don’t look like either of them.



It used to bother me a lot when I was little but now I really don’t mind. I’m pretty sure I’m just adopted.



“Seven letter word for heating device…” My mom mumbles to herself. “Heatfier!”



I let out a small laugh right as my mom is about to write the word down.



“Radiator mom.” I call out.



My mom looks up at me and smiles.



“Thank you sweetheart and Happy Eighteenth Birthday!”



She gets out of the chair and gives me a big hug. Then my dad looks up.



“Yeah, Happy Eighteenth Rainbow.”



Normally I get really irritated when my father calls me that. But since it’s my

birthday and all, I’ll just let it slide.



“Thanks mom, thanks dad.”



I go to the fridge and get myself some orange juice, I turn and smile at my

dad.



“So any plans today?” he asks.



“Ummm, Not really. I reply “I think I’ll just go over to Ellie’s for a little while,

maybe watch a movie.”



“Oh.” My mom says, and then she clasps her hands together and starts

fiddling with her wedding ring. My mom only does that when she’s really

nervous about something.



I cock one of my eyebrows up “Anything wrong mom?”



“No! No! Not at all sweetheart! Everything’s just peachy!”



My mom’s a horrible liar.



I sigh and pull out a chair sit in it and stare directly at my mom. “Spill.”



My mom and dad start looking back and forth from each other. This gets me

a little nervous



“Guys?” I say. “What’s wrongs?”



My mom opens my mouth to say something, but then closes it again.



“You tell her Robert.” She finally says.



My dad lets out a sigh and reaches across the table to grab my hands.

“Honey, we have something to tell you.”



“Yeeaaahhhh….?” I say a little impatiently.



“Rayne.” My dad says “You were adopted.”



I stare at my day for a brief second. “Yeah, I know” I say as I pull my hands

away. I lean back in my chair as I watch their eyes grow wide.



“You know?” my mom says.



“Well, yeah. It’s kinda obvious. I don’t look anything like the either of you.”



They look at me with blank expressions for a minute.



“Well,” My dad says, finally breaking the silence. “There’s more…”



I look at him, waiting for him to continue, but it is my mom that takes over.



“You weren’t really adopted. I mean you were but, it was more like you

were given to us.”



I look at my mom funny. “Okay now, what are you talking about?”



My mom and dad look back and forth at each other again.



“There’s no easy way to say this Rainbow, so I’m just going to come out and

say it.”



He pauses.



“Your name isn’t really Rayne Alexandra Cambridge as you have been led onto believing all your life, it is actually, Rayanalise Persephone Constance Willow Van Der Laure.”



He pauses again.



“You are not only the Princess, but you are also the last remaining heir of

the Van Der Laure Kingdom.”





That’s right about when I burst out laughing.



“You can’t be serious.” I say still laughing. “This is some kind of joke.”



I look at both my parents; they have the identical slightly pained yet very

serious expression on their faces.



“You guys are kidding, right? This is some kind of joke. Right?”



“No Rainbow, were afraid it’s true.”



“Oh my God.” I whisper. “My parents have gone mad.”



My mom lets out an exasperated sigh “What we’re telling you is the truth. I

know it sounds hard to believe, but it is.



When you were nothing but a small child, your real mother, Queen Van Der Laure, gave you to us to look after…”



“Which we’ve done.” My father interjected



“After you father, King Van Der Laure, died. At least until, you reached the

age of eighteen…”



“Which you have.” He interrupted again



“Then we would take you back to your home kingdom, so you can become

one of the many ladies that will be given to Prince Alekzander to choose

from.”



“Which we’re going to do, once you’ve packed of course.” My father finished.



“Wait. What? What home kingdom? What other ladies? Who’s Prince

Alekzander? And what do you mean “given to him to choose from?”



My head was starting to hurt.



“Sweetie, I know it’s complicated.” My mom says patting my hand. “But right

now I need you to go upstairs and pack. Okay?”



All I do is nod.



I slowly get up walk up the stairs and into my room and start packing. I had

almost finished when I stopped.



“What am I doing? I pause for a second.



What was I really doing? Even if this wackjob story is true, don’t I get a say

in it?



What if I don’t want to go to wherever the hell they are taking me? I’m an adult now! I have the right to say no!



I nod to myself and storm down the stairs. I was about to enter the kitchen when I overhear my parents talking.



“She’s not going to want to go Andrea.”



“I know, Robert but she has too. Her mother will be expecting her.”



My mother?



“We can’t force her to go if she doesn’t want to.



I smile and nod hard. Right on dad!



“But if she doesn’t her real mother will be devastated. She has been looking

forward to seeing her daughter since she was forced to give her up when

she was just a baby.



The woman has suffered for eighteen years, all she wants is her daughter back.”



I feel a wave of guilt flush over me. My real mother. Ever since I was old enough to realize the reason why I didn’t look anything like my parents. I always fantasized about my real mother. She always looked just like me. I bit my lip nervously and I debated with myself. This could be my chance to finally meet her. Finally I close my eyes, sigh and reverse back up the stairs.



I had to finish packing.

COMMENTS

-

---

LordWolf
02:17 Jan 17 2009

strong writing style....id like to read the rest of the tale.

~Wolf~

---

POST COMMENT

Prologue



BAM! Something cold hit me at the back of my neck. I let out a loud scream.



A snowball; someone had thrown a snowball at me. I reached behind my



head and tried to scoop as much of the snow as I could out from the back of

my jacket. I cringed as some of it touched my skin. I frowned slightly and

whipped my head around.



I saw a boy that couldn’t be much older than I, laughing and pointing at me.



I glowered at him, but his laughter continued.



I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. It was the day of my



eighth birthday and my parents let me go out and play in the front yard all

by myself.



I was NOT going to let some stupid boy ruin it. So I turned back around and



continued to work on my snowman. BAM!



I turned around again; this time, he was rolling in the snow, laughing so



hard that his pale face was turning slightly red.



“Well, since he seems to enjoy the snow so much, I should just help him out.”



I picked up a large snowball intended for my snowman’s head and walked in

his direction until I stood over him.



I waited until he stopped laughing hard enough to open his eyes and see

what I intended to do. They were bluish-grey, his eyes I remember this

because of how wide they got when they saw me with the snowball.



His wide eyes quickly turned to slits. “You can’t do that!” he said to me.



“Why not?” I said back.



“Because you’re a girl and girls can’t--”



He couldn’t finish his sentence, on account of the fact that it’s pretty hard to

talk with a mouthful of snow.



It was my turn to laugh and point.



And that’s what I did, at least until he got up wiped the snow of off his face.



He didn’t look so happy.



I took a step back knowing that if I stayed, it wouldn’t end well for me. But

then he took one forward, and another, another. We both froze for a

second, seeing this as my only chance of escape, I broke into a sprint but

didn’t I get very far.



I let out a high pitched shriek as he tackled me to the ground.



“Stupid boots...” I muttered.



He tried to get me flat on the ground, but I wasn’t about to let him beat me,

so I fought back. We wrestled for about a minute before I finally pinned

down. I looked down at him.



The messy mop of curly black hair he had on his head was even messier. A stray curl fell across his eye and a smug smile appeared on his face.



“I let you win you know.”



I shrugged. It was probably true. But I didn’t care. I had still won.



“Now get off me.” He said.



“No.” I simply replied.



“But you have to.”



“And why is that?”



“Because I’m ten and you’re eight. I’m older by two whole years so you

have to do what I say.”



“No.” I said again.



He frowned for a second. But then smiled again. “How about this, if I get

you off of me in the next… fifteen seconds, I win, if I don’t you win. Okay?”



I thought about it. He could get me off of him no doubt, but in the next fifteen seconds? I’m a girl but I’m not weak.



“Fine.” I replied. “Fifteen seconds, that’s it.”



His smile grew even bigger. I frowned a little, slightly suspicious, but I

started counting anyway.

“One.”



He didn’t make a move.



“Two. Three...”



Still, nothing



“Four, five, six…”



He opened his mouth to say something, but then he closed it again.



“Seven, eight, nine…”



His face began to turn red.



“Ten, eleven, twelve…”



Why was he blushing?



“Thirt--”



Then suddenly, lightning quick, he shot his had up, grabbed the back of my

neck, pulled my face down, and kissed me.



I lost count.



I could feel my face heating up as I stared at him, shocked. I expected him

to push me, pinch me, maybe even punch me. But kiss? Now that was unexpected.



“Rayne…?” he started.



I just stared.



This seemed to amuse him because that smug smile of his reappeared. But

then his face got very serious.



“Rayne,” he continued “When we’re older, were gonna get married you and

me. Okay? We have to.”



I couldn’t do anything, I just nodded.



He smiled in what seemed to be satisfaction and lifted me up enough so

that he could get out from under me.



He got up, waved down at me, and walked away.



I’m not exactly sure how long I was there for, sitting out in the snow. It had

to have been at least twenty minutes before my dad called me to come

inside.



It wasn’t until I had actually gotten inside that I suddenly froze. My breathing increased slightly and my eyes widened in realization of something. I am sure I had never seen that boy before, but yet…



How did he know my name?

COMMENTS

-

---

LordWolf
02:19 Jan 17 2009

your story is delightfully innocent. very enjoyable.

~W~

---

POST COMMENT