Unspun: A Collection of Tattered Fairy Tales by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: After Ever After Publishing
Published: 2018-04-10T04:00:00+00:00

Perfectly Real

by Robin Prehn

Over three weeks ago, I was fighting with my parents about their ridiculous expectations. Then I ran away and got caught in a storm. Days later, I found this castle and took refuge, though my first night was not at all restful. When I admitted I did not sleep well, a gorgeous guy—a prince named Johan—asked me, Isabella, to marry him. All under his mother’s triumphant gaze. Then his mother, the queen, said she placed a pea—a pea—underneath my mattresses to test me.

Because I’m stubborn and perhaps a bit defiant, I agreed to marry Prince Johan. I deflected their questions about my lineage with a vague, “Oh, yes, I’m a princess.” They clearly wanted to believe me, and as I needed to escape my parents’ plans for me, I nodded and smiled and tried my hardest to play the role of a “real” princess—whatever that was.

The castle—a palace, really—burst into activity from that second until now. I’d dealt with fittings and place settings and wedding plans. Through it all, I managed to hold my tongue, for the most part. But I could feel myself wearing down, could feel the familiar resentment at my place in life burning in my chest. Johan rarely made an appearance, and although I caught glimpses of him here and there and he spoke kindly and carefully at shared meals, I spent most of my time with his mother, the queen.

At first, I thought maybe her outlook would be less oppressive than my own mother’s. I hoped that I could find freedom just that easily: a hasty and impetuous run through the forest and an unplanned trip down a river during a storm. But after nineteen days, I was beginning to realize that although the prison looked slightly different, it was still restrictive. Today, they planned to outfit me with my royal clothes, the formal wear I’d use during official meetings, banquets, traveling, and so on. I didn’t enjoy being dressed like a straw doll, and although I’d gotten a little better at withholding my impatience and even scorn, the restlessness was building.

I sat this morning in the sunroom, my favorite space in the palace. Though I rarely had the chance to escape, when I did, it was to find this oasis in the midst of the chaos. I perched on a padded lounge, watching as the early-morning sun built tree shadows across the wide lawn leading up to the forest. My mind drifted like the few puffy clouds, and for this moment, I felt peace.

A door creaked, and the queen’s voice interrupted the stillness. “Here you are! Why are you not in the fitting room? The prince would like to see you in orange, our family’s royal colors.”

“I’m not a fan of orange.” Then I remembered my manners, stood, and curtsied before the queen. “I apologize, your Majesty.”

She nodded, her brown eyes narrowing a bit. “Did you not get enough breakfast this morning?” Without waiting for an answer, she beckoned me with her slender arm.

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