A/N: I'm not entirely sure what this is either, but we'll see how it turns out. Also, I'm not a history nut or anything, so any incorrect things will be my fault. Perhaps it's an AU thing entirely. All mistakes are mine, as I have no BETA.

Many years ago, a princess was born in line to the royal throne. She was a pretty thing, with thick chocolate curls and doe brown eyes-and nothing short of a miracle. It had been believed for many years that a heir to the throne would not be produced, and that when Harold and Eleanor Waldorf passed on, there would be no one left in the royal family, as neither Harold nor Eleanor had siblings.

However, after years of attempting, Eleanor was with child, much to the delight of the king, a kindly man who adored his kingdom, as did the queen-although she was rather less likely to show it, preferring to have a cold demeanor. It was also a delight to all in the kingdom, as they had grown to love the Waldorf family as their rulers, although many loved the king more than the queen-although if it was ever said aloud, the consequences were sure to be rough.

At the beginning of fall, just as the leaves were changing into warmer colours, Queen Eleanor went in to labour, and King Harold prayed for the safe arrival of his daughter, whether male or female, and for Eleanor's health-as long as his family was safe, King Harold was content.

After many hours of waiting outside the King and Queen's quarters-Harold had been instructed to wait outside, and he had done so, spending many hours pacing around outside, everything forgotten except the safe arrival of his child and Eleanor to survive giving birth-a midwife came to see him, and with a curtsey and a 'your Highness' she announced the arrival of a baby girl Waldorf, a girl who Eleanor had already declared as 'Blair.'

He entered the room and held out his arms-Eleanor, perhaps deciding to keep the child from her father would be cruel, or she was just too tired to argue, handed the small bundle to him.

"Blair" Eleanor said, as midwives rushed around her "Blair Cornelia Waldorf."

"Named after both your grandmothers" King Harold had whispered to his daughter, who was crying in his arms "Bless you."

...

Blair Cornelia Waldorf grew up to be everything a princess should be-beautiful, wise and elegant. She learned to read and write at an early age, had no need to be taught how to dance (although she still attended lessons)-she was a fast learner, and it seemed that she was born with all the skills that came with being a future queen.

Although she had a kind heart, Blair took after her mother in almost every way, and many in the kingdom were terrified of the small girl-not just because of her power either, but because even at a young age, she could be rather frightening. This did not mean, however, she was a cruel princess. She was rather bossy and spoilt, but like her father, she had a good heart, it was just hidden by the tough facade her mother had encouraged her to put up, and although the princess preferred the company of her father, she did what her mother instructed, knowing that it would help her become the Queen she was born to be-Eleanor was nothing if not perfect royalty, and one day, Blair hoped to follow in her footsteps, which at times, upset King Harold, who loved his daughter.

It was simply because despite Eleanor being a wonderful Queen, she wasn't much of a family woman, giving Blair instructions only when her daughter did something incorrectly as the girl grew up, and whispering comments about the others in the kingdom. Due to her mother's teaching, Blair began to try and fit what she thought was required of her, and although it was unintentional to hurt Harold on Eleanor's behalf, she did so, and as the years grew on, their marriage become strained, much to the discomfort of Blair, who loved both her parents very much, even if she preferred her father. However, as Blair grew older, she began to distant herself from both, although she continued to hold her chin slightly higher and whisper cruel things about the others in the kingdom to the only girl Blair considered a friend-Lady Serena, a pretty and wealthy girl who was Blair's age, although she tended to be the kinder of the pair, which only upset Blair more. Although Eleanor was put off by their friendship at first-Blair relaxed more around Serena, and she seemed to forget she was a royal at times. However, at other times during their friendship, Blair would seem put off by Serena's beauty and people's preference of her over Blair, causing the princess to storm off on numerous occasions. It was upsetting at times, yes, but Harold noticed that Blair was happier around Serena, and managed to stop Eleanor from doing anything to ruin the friendship between the two girls. It reminded Harold of his little girl, before she became what her mother wanted her to be.

When Blair was around seven, it was decided that she would marry the Prince Charles Bass when her time came, son of the King Bart Bass, a few lands over. He was well known around many of the kingdoms, and there were whispers that Charles was a cruel man, which unnerved Harold. His daughter, though tough and well on her way to becoming like her mother, had a vulnerable side, one he was scared would be exposed to Prince Charles, with bad consequences. However, when he raised it with Eleanor, she had dismissed it, as she did with many of the points that Harold raised regarding their daughter.

"Nonsense" Eleanor had said "Prince Charles is a perfect match for Blair. They'll run a very powerful kingdom together."

And despite Harold's protests, that had been that.

Around this time, Blair was seventeen, and had yet to meet Charles once over the past decade, although she was due to wed him eventually. Harold had meet with King Bart a few times, although their children never accompanied them. Bart never denied the tales surrounding his sons, and whether that was because they were never bought up or because they were true, Harold was unaware. He had no idea what to think of the boy, and was glad, although wary, when it was decided it was time for Blair to meet her future husband.

On the day of Charles' arrival, Blair had worn a beautiful dress of red fabric, and many a seamstress had been fired due to what Eleanor called 'their lack of knowledge.' She had then continued to talk about the one who was due to make Blair's wedding dress, the same one who had made the dress on the day she was to met Charles.

Blair had simply nodded curtly and said "Yes, mother."

The arrival of the Bass royalty had sent the kingdom in to panic as they attempted to prepare for the arrival of Bart and Charles, although they headed off to the palace immediately, and Harold was unsure if he would ever be prepared.

When the carriage pulled up, Harold considered hugging his daughter, although that would seem ridiculous and unnecessary. Instead, he squeezed her shoulder, earning a glare from Eleanor and a small smile from Blair, before she straightened up and fixed her eyes on the carriage door.

Bart and Charles stepped out, and Charles, a boy a year or two older then Blair had an unkind face. Small dark eyes, dark hair and a smirk, he hoped that looks could be deceiving as Charles took his daughters hand and kissed it "Princess."

Blair had forced a smile on her face and allowed him to do so-it rude seem rude to not abide the rules, although she already disliked Charles "Prince Charles."

They spent the day together, and every time Prince Charles spoke, Blair began to dislike him more and more-he was clearly a cruel man, and terrorized the animals and people in his kingdom alike. He seemed to be rather rude to the royalty he had already met, and despite comforting her, his remark of not doing the same to Blair herself made her feel sick. She was a good actor however, and with a forced smile and a quick reply, she simply sipped her tea-something she had been told to do the right way too.

Harold watched from afar, and frowned at his daughter's discomfort.

At dinner that night, not long after the Prince and the King had left, Harold considered raising the issue of Blair's dislike of the Prince, although decided against it, knowing that nothing could be done. Eleanor made several remarks on how lovely the two looked as a couple, how charmed the prince was, and how beautiful Blair was. Blair had simply nodded at everything, and Harold did nothing. Eleanor appeared to be saying these things for show, as her lip curled every time she did so.

Later that night, after Blair had gone to her chamber for the night, Harold raised the issue with Eleanor, pointing out how the tales had portrayed Charles, and how unhappy Blair seemed. Eleanor had sighed and shook her head, as if Harold was ridiculous for bringing up the obvious facts.

"There is nothing we can do, Harold" she had reminded him "Perhaps the tales are false, and Blair has to get to know Charles a bit more."

"We both know that both of those statements are wrong, Eleanor" Harold had replied, upset his wife was going to brush this under the carpet.

Eventually, their argument escalated, and Blair was awoken from her slumber by their yells. It had never happened before, and although she had considered informing her parents to let her rest, she decided against it, listening to their points. It appeared none of them were fond of Charles, but Blair, despite her and her father's wishes, would be forced to marry him, as there was no other way.

The next morning, Blair found her father seated at the dining table, his lack of sleep apparent. Blair had frowned, and picking up her skirts so they wouldn't get dirty brushing along the floor, she made her way to her father and hugged him.

"I am not in favour of marrying Charles, however, mother is right" Blair announced, frowning at the thought "I do have to marry him."

Blair, however, had not planned on fate intervening. Up until that day, her future had been planned out-marry Charles, become Queen, give birth to their next heir to the throne, and eventually, pass away. It was simply the way her life was supposed to go, with no distractions, no problems. Her future was out of her hands.

But that day, however, was the beginning of her new future, the one she could control, despite the outcomes. It was a normal day for the most part-the sun was out, she had lessons to attend while the servants did their work and her parents did their duties. But it was also the day that a new farm boy had been hired to work at the palace, a farm boy by the name of Daniel Humphrey.