Ok, people, this seems weird, I know. It's still Chapter One, but I was on the recently updated list. I revised it and you do need to read it, or at least get the changes that I've made. Chapter Two will be here tomorrow, no worries.
Disclaimer: As much as it may seem to be original fiction, I'm basing this story loosely off of the Twelve Dancing Princesses (anyone heard of it?) Don't steal- it's not nice.
Summary: Elensar is a Princess who has been kidnapped by the dashing King Adrian of Delran, at the behest of her oldest sister, Evadne. Through her wry wit and cynical assessment of her situation, she tells her story, complete with romance, daring escapes, espionage and even a little public humiliation.
Warning: Language and some innuendos
Rating: PG-13 (for the afore mentioned warnings and intense situations.)
Chapter One: Block (head)s of StoneI looked at the wall, counted every block of stone, and then recounted it again. I was as bored as hell. My total was 54 blocks. I cursed in frustration, muttering obscenities that I had heard the sailors use.
Nobody heard me, or cared, so I wasn't scolded for not conveying myself with the proper decorum that all Princesses have. That was the only positive aspect of being locked in the tiny, moldy little cell that wasn't much better than the hold of the ship I had been locked in for over a month.
I sighed, wondering how long I would be here. My family should have gotten the ransom note by now, sent out a whole fleet across the Willoway Sea to save me, gotten to Delran and rescued me by now. Yet they hadn't. I didn't really wonder why, all that much.
I was the youngest of twelve royal daughters, fated to be the one who would bring my sister's nighttime charade to an end. We had all had our fortunes read one time by a traveling teller, and mine had been that. My darling sisters had been determined to get rid of me from that moment on. They liked their games, and their dancing parties late at night. They wanted it to remain a secret.
I didn't care either way. If that damned prophecy hadn't come up when it did, I would still have been dancing the night away with some ensorcelled prince, laughing and having a splendid time.
I jumped as the door to my little cell screeched open.
"So, Princess Elensar, what would you like to do today?" Adrian's charming voice grated on my nerves even more than usual.
"Well, I was planning on maybe making a nice candlelit dinner for you and I, then later embroidering a lovely pillowcase for you to lay your inflated head on. Does that sound acceptable?" I stayed sitting on the slightly damp floor, not wanting to accord him anything that resembled respect.
"As long as you are next to me," Adrian replied glibly.
"Shove it," I told him grumpily. I wasn't really in the mood for mincing words with him, at least, not before breakfast.
"Oh my, would the pretty Princess like her breakfast?" Adrian asked me sweetly.
"No, but Princess Elensar would like her breakfast," I told him just as sweetly, determined not to let it show how much he was annoying me.
"Fine," He dropped the cutesy voice for a bored tone. "Oy!" He shouted over his shoulder, "Finnegan, get the Princess's breakfast!"
The little manservant scurried to do Adrian's bidding. No one, apparently, disobeyed the King of Delran.
"You know," Adrian started out, raising one eyebrow, "One would have thought that someone would have at least attempted a rescue mission for you." He smiled cruelly, "But then again, I can also see why they wouldn't."
I leapt to my feet at the insult, all the self-control that I had had gone. "You nasty little bastard!" I yelled, walking up to him and slapping him smartly across the face.
He laughed; he just stood there and laughed at me. I stood there in shock, frozen at this new twist in events.
"Elensar, you are spirited, just like Evadne said." Adrian rubbed his cheek, looking vaguely amused. I was happy to see that it was turning a brilliant shade of red.
"Evadne," I hissed angrily. Evadne was my oldest sister, and the mastermind behind all our escapades.
"Yes, Evadne. Hadn't you figured it out that she was the one behind your kidnapping? She's also the one that is making sure that no one sends any rescue missions after you. Don't you just love your sister?" Adrian patted my shoulder in a pseudo-comforting manner, "I do," he whispered confidentially, "She's very good in bed."
I shoved him away angrily. "That's not something that I wanted to hear."
Adrian laughed heartily. "I'm sure it wasn't." He smiled broadly as little feet could be heard pattering up the stone hallway. "Here's your breakfast, Elensar."
I turned away from it, as the little Finnegan set it down. "I don't think I'm hungry anymore," I said weakly, my stomach churning at the news of Evadne and Adrian's affair. I had fancied him, at first, when he had first arrived in Meridian to solidify a good relationship. Then, of course, he had gone and kidnapped me.
"Oh, come now," Adrian said, mocking me, "Surely you can't be full without eating anything!" His voice was a mixture of scorn and mock-horror.
"Oh yes I can," I muttered darkly.
"You wouldn't want little Finnegan here to lose something vital, now would you? It would be his fault after all, if you didn't like your meal." I whirled around angrily. Adrian had the little boy by his collar, stroking the poor thing's neck.
"You are quite heartless aren't you?" I asked him coldly. "Killing little children, sleeping with an unwed Princess, not to mention kidnapping a Princess, you've just no limit, do you?"
"Yes, yes I do," he responded cheerily. I eyed him suspiciously, "I'm just not telling you."
"That was extremely childish."
"I know," he said with a laugh. "Aren't you going to eat your breakfast?" He motioned to the tray sitting untouched on the ground.
"If I may dine in peace?" I asked him pointedly.
"Oh but of course, my fair Princess Elensar," Adrian said with a sarcastic bow. Then, he left, dragging the poor little servant with him.
I picked at the breakfast, eating a few pieces of toast. The rest I shoved into the waste hole.
I wasn't in a lavishly decorated room, like one would expect a Princess to be lounging in; instead, I was stuck in a damp cell that was partially underground. I had a candle that I used at night to do nothing but dream and count the steps from one side of my cell to the other. (Seven long steps or twenty itty-bitty steps.)
In my spare time, I dreamed of my rescue. I was becoming obsessed. My favorite fantasy had a handsome Prince sweeping in on his gallant steed, dueling with the evil King Adrian until my Prince killed Adrian. Then, he would find me, looking pale, sickly, close to death and tragically beautiful. He would take me back to my own kingdom of Meridian where he would wait with me until I reached my majority of nineteen, and then he would marry me. He would not have been enticed in that two-year time span to dance with my sisters and me at night, he would stay away, even though I would not have told him. My Prince would take me back to his kingdom to be married and then we would live happily ever after.
Unfortunately, this was just a dream and nothing more. It probably never would be anything more than a dream, either.
Evadne would make sure of that.
Out of all my twelve sisters, she was the most ambitious. One would have though that Jeanette, Faelyn or Isabel or one of the middle sisters would have been the ambitious ones, as there would be no power or anything of that sort for them; only marriage.
Evadne coveted her position as heir, and she was determined to remain unmarried until she had been officially crowned Queen. She and Father did not get along at all. He had wanted to use her as a bargaining chip in his alliances, but she would have none of it. Her mother had been favored when she was alive, and Evadne had been spoiled rotten.
Next in line were the twins, Lark and Wren, two years Evadne's junior at twenty-four. The triplets were twenty-three, and always getting in trouble for something. Faelyn was the most rebellious, and Jeanette and Isabel were of such like minds that one could never tell what they were saying to each other. After the triplets came another set of twins, Carmen and Carina. Carmen was the elder, and she always made sure that we all knew that.
Alyssa was my favorite sister, and I hers. She was three years my senior, but she treated me as if we were a pair of twins. We looked nothing alike, with Alyssa being tall, muscular and blonde and myself petite and stick thin. The only physical trait that we had in common was our deep black eyes, a trait that we shared with only one other person, our father.
Johanna and Maria were the next set of sisters. Although not twins, they were often times mistaken for such. Their strawberry blonde curls were the envy of even Evadne, whose golden hair was long and luxurious.
I was the only one in my family with hair any shade other than blonde, besides my full-brother, Owen. We both had the same dark brown hair inherited from our mother, the last of Father's wives.
Alyssa loved my hair; she could play with it for hours on end. She thought it was beautiful. I thought it just made Evadne hate me more. None of the sisters wanted Evadne to hate them. Evadne had power over all of us, since she was the heir-apparent to the throne.
Once again, the screeching of the door hinges startled me out of my family-oriented reverie.
"Princess Elensar, King Adrian requests your presence in one hour. He has sent me to escort you to a bath and then instructed you to don some clean clothes." Little Finnegan puffed out his chest as he delivered his message.
I was fairly certain that Adrian hadn't used such polite language, but I smiled graciously and let Finnegan lead me to a much-welcomed bath.
Later, as I sank into the warmth of the tub, I had the sense to wonder why exactly Adrian wanted to see me. After that one spare moment of thought, I was denied that privilege as three servant women bustled in and proceeded to clean me until the water was brown and I was clean again.
It felt absolutely wonderful to be clean.
As soon as I was pulled out of the tub and dried off, I was wrapped in a fluffy robe and got my hair combed. The comb dragged painfully through the thick tangles and knots, making me scream. Once, I even tried to bite the hand that held the comb.
After a time, my hair was combed, my head felt like it was on fire, and the servant women were completely wet.
Then came the issue of getting me into a dress. I still had a fairly child-like body, and the only dresses that I wasn't swimming in were made for bustier women than I. Eventually, in last minute desperation, a tailor was brought at a run to take a few tucks in the bodice.
By the time the hour was up, I was ready to be presented to the King.
Author's Note: I revised this chapter suddenly, and you really do need to reread it. It figures in into the plot later on, and it would be very helpful if you did read it again, or at least skimmed it to get the changes.
My other story, Promises Broken, is still just sitting on my computer gather dust and giving me writer's block, so I'm sorry for those of you who were/are reading it.
The next chapter should be up tomorrow, as planned, and I shouldn't have any sudden inspiration to revise that one in the middle of the night, because I got it with this one.
Much love and cookies to those of you who reviewed!