The Restless Princess

“I don’t want that,” I told my brother as he held out my birthday gift. 

He blinked at me and then exclaimed, “Evelyn, that’s no way for a Princess to behave!”

“Well, that’s no riding cloak.” I crossed my arms and stared him down. 

“This is a very fine cloak made by the best seamstress in the Kingdom.” He held up the cloak and ran his hand over the purple velvet fabric trimmed in snowy white fur. “What more could a Princess want?” 

“A riding cloak,” I replied through gritted teeth.

“What use do you possibly have for a riding cloak?” he scoffed. 

I smacked my hands down on the armrests of the padded leather chair and stood. “You know I want to take Diago out riding.” My brother opened his mouth to reply. “Outside the castle walls,” I cut him off.

“And you know that is forbidden.”

“What point is there in being a Princess if I can’t do anything exciting?”

“The point is for you to be safe and protected. If anything should happen to me–”

“Pfft,” I wave away the rest of his words. “You are quite well protected yourself, brother. And you’re to be married in a fortnight. You’ll have an heir in no time and have no need of me. All of this suffocating behavior will have been completely pointless.” I turned away from my brother and walked to the other side of the room, gazing at a family portrait that covered half the wall.

“Is that what this is about, Evelyn?” He followed me across the room and placed a hand on my shoulder. “My upcoming nuptials?” 

When I didn’t reply, he spun me around. “I will always have need of you, little sister.”

I raised my eyebrows in question.

“Who else will tell me when my crown is crooked or my hair is sticking up?”

I grinned at that. “No one else would dare displease their King.”

He lowered his voice and looked into my eyes. “I can trust no one else in this court to be honest with me, not like you are.”

“I suppose you would be lost without my wise counsel.” I kept my tone light, despite the depth of emotion I felt at his words.

“Precisely.” He clapped me on the back and cleared his throat. “Now would you please accept my gift and wear it to your birthday feast, before the food gets cold.”

…

I played the perfect Princess throughout my birthday festivities and being presented with extravagant gifts, but I couldn’t help but wonder what it would have been like to be born someone of no importance. To be free to live whatever life I chose. To be free to do anything besides sit in the castle and look pretty.

I know my brother and many others truly believed my role was important, and most times I felt that way too. I understood that with the death of my parents, it was up to my brother and I to keep the realm from chaos. But just because I felt safeguarding the royal line was crucial didn’t mean I didn’t also wish I could do more to help.

My brother didn’t operate under the same restrictions I did. He could go on royal visits and speak to our people. He could join hunting parties and form alliances. The most I could do was ride around the castle grounds surrounded by guards. There had to be some other way for me to make a difference.

Towards the end of the night, guests began to scatter throughout the palace and mingle in smaller groups. I took my leave as soon as was polite to do so. I glided down the hallways, trailed by my ladies-in-waiting and guards. As I passed my brother’s chambers, I heard voices seeping into the hall. 

I paused. “Alice, could you help me. My dress seems to be caught.”

Alice was my closest friend, and it took only a look between us for me to convey that I was stalling. She fluffed and fiddled with my gown, mumbling under her breath as if things were quite a mess. I suppressed a smirk.

“-thinks I don’t respect her because she is a woman. Every deal I try to make, she turns down because she assumes I’m trying to cheat her.” A frustrated sigh. “I don’t care that Movalon is a Queendom. I care that they would make powerful allies. I don’t know how I can convince Queen Amaria of this.”

“Thank you, Alice,” I say, afraid to linger too long.

I ponder the overheard words as I stroll back to my rooms. Maybe there is a way for me to be useful after all, and to get what I want at the same time.

…

What do you think of the story so far? Would you want to be a Princess? Let us know in the comments! Check back next week for part 2.

Thanks so much for reading!
-Clever & WTF