Chapter Twenty Three: Thayer (and a little bit of Kelton)

Once upon a time...
"You should go out with him," my friend said. I shook my head, "I dont't know." In my mind I thought the muscular albino looking boy wasn't that attractive to me. "I promise he's a sweetheart! When he dated my best friend, he'd do anything to make her happy," she continued. I stared at him in the distance pondering. I did date a lot of losers and he wasn't all that bad looking. He had almost white hair and white eyebrows, bright blue eyes, tan skin, and muscles that rivaled Hercules. "Fine," I said. "Yay! I'll go tell him to ask you out!" she said and walked towards him, as I walked away.
It took about a month, but eventually Thayer called on me and we went out. We went to watch a showcase of horses. People wore silly costumes and rode the horses around in a pen for show. I loved horses, so I was nervous for the date, but excited to attend at the same time.
Thayer was as sweet as my friend said. His friend and his friend's date came as well. They were all very nice to me. The beginning of the date we had hardly anything to say, but by the end of the date, we were carrying on conversations like we were good friends.
When he walked me up the steps to my castle and asked if he could call on me again, I of course agreed. And so we went out a couple more times and then he disappeared.
Thayer could have been eaten by a dragon for all I knew. He could have been captured by an ogre. He could have gone to Neverland. The possibilities were endless. All I knew was he wasn't calling upon me like he said he would. Luckily for me, I had learned my happily never afters occurred almost without a doubt and was disattached so it didn't bother me much.
And then the fateful day came when he called upon me. About eight months later than he said he would. I almost said no, but my mother and friends all insisted I go. I reluctantly agreed and he picked me up for our group date.
On our group date we went to visit a religious historical sight that had beautiful buildings and amazing architecture and symbolism. We had a good time. When I say we, I mean me and another one of the guys there's dates.
Thayer almost didn't talk to me the whole time. And the little he did say, he spoke about a girl named Dinah, whom he'd recently been dating and had recently stopped dating.
I realized that for this date, he didn't ask because he wanted to take me. I was just the quickest option. At first I was disappointed that his disappearance meant he hadn't been having amazing adventures. I was looking forward to hearing about his battles or his escapades with Peter Pan. Then I became offended that I was not a priority and he didn't really want to be with me on this outing. He wanted to be with someone else.
I didn't give Thayer the time of day after that night. I had been polite and thanked him and let it be. Until one day he came up to me at the place of worship and said, "So my ex and your ex are dating each other." I looked at him confused. "Um, what are you talking about?" I responded. "The girl I told you about, Dinah, is dating Kelton." Not surprising, Kelton got around these days. "Wait, how'd you know I dated Kelton?" I asked. "Dinah told me," he responded. Why was Kelton telling girls he was dating that he dated me? I preferred to pretend I didn't even know of his existence, let alone the regretful fact that I actually dated him.
"Well, maybe they're the perfect match," I said trying to stay positive and not portray my bitterness about Kelton. "Maybe they'll be each other's happily ever afters." I wanted to leave at that moment, but Thayer wasn't done talking. "He doesn't really care about her. He'll just play her," he said bitterly. "You don't know that," I said. "You know him though, he gets around," Thayer responded. I sighed. "Yes, Kelton likes his women but that doesn't mean she's not the one he's been looking for." Thayer looked down, unresponsive.
Then it hit me. Thayer still liked Dinah. And Kelton liked Dinah. And Dinah liked them both. An evil plan brewed in my head. Kelton had messed with numerous guys I dated, it was my turn to mess with him back.
"Thayer, you have feelings for her still don't you?" I asked. He nodded. "Then just get her back. You dated her first, she's liked you longer." He shook his head. "I hurt her," he said. "How?" I asked. "She wanted to committ, but I didn't want to." I laughed. "Then all you have to do is show her you'll committ." He looked at me. "It's not that easy." I smiled. "Thayer, it is that easy. You have the help of a princess. And if any guy were going to win me back, it'd be a lot harder than it would be to win over a peasant. Lucky for you, I am going to tell you the secret that will make you win her over." A look of hope spread acrossed his countenance. "She did say that her heart was with me every time she was out with him." That line was the gold sealing to the execution of my plan. "Then no worries, she'll be yours in no time," I said reassuringly.
And just like I had promised, within a few days, Dinah and Thayer were living happily ever after. And Kelton was absolutely livid, which gave me my own taste of a happily ever after.
Until Kelton decided to take his anger out on me. He showed up at my castle. I was shocked. "What are you doing here?" I said closing the front door and leading him down the steps. He was not welcome here.
"Dinah told me everything you said to Thayer about me," he said spitefully. "Um I didn't say anything to Thayer about you," I responded truthfully. "Don't be fake with me. I know all the lies you said about how I was playing her and didn't like her and was using her," he said. What he said sounded a lot like what Thayer had said to me about his opinion of Kelton. "Look Kelton, I don't care about your love situation ok? I didn't say anything. I like to keep things cool with you. The only thing I said is that you like women, which unless you've decided to like the opposite gender I presume is truth?" I said.
Kelton wasn't buying it. "Look, you seem like a nice girl," he began. That struck me. I dated him over a year from start to stop, and he was speaking as though he didn't know me. "And you seem like someone who I could have been friends with," he continued. Again, my heart strings were tugged. "But I am not cool with someone involved with crowds like Thayer. Especially when that person goes running their mouth like that. So I'm done here." He turned and walked away. He was more drama than Cinderella's step family.
I watched as he walked away and then I climbed into my carriage. I didn't deserve that. I was going to have a word with Thayer.
I reached Thayer's cottage and he was surprised to see me. "What did you tell Dinah that I supposedly said about Kelton?" I said angrily. "Nothing," Thayer responded. "Really? Because I just got a visit from a very angry Kelton who said you told her I said some really rude things about him. I don't believe I did that," I said my voice raising. "You didn't," Thayer said. "Then why did Dinah tell him I did? And that you told her I did?" I retorted. "Brailee I don't know. I'm sorry. Maybe she thought that my opinion of him was based off of something you said," he responded. I was about to explode. "Alright well I thought we were friends, but clearly we aren't for you to throw me under the carriage like that," I continued. "Princess, we are friends. I will talk to Dinah," he responded. "Don't bother. She's too busy talking to Kelton about all the things you said about him."
I turned to walk away but wasn't finished. I spun back around. "It's so messed up that I get used on a date by a guy who is in love with someone else and then get dragged into this big drama because of someone I used to date and could care less for. I pity whichever one of you end up with her. She doesn't care about either of you, she just wants whoever will have her." With that I was done and walked back to the carriage and climbed in.
When I reached the castle I took a walk around the gardens, trying to calm down the flame that had built inside me. After playing with the fairies and listening to the sirens sing, I finally decided I was calm enough to go inside.
A few hours later, a knock came at the door. A servant answered it and then came in to the living room, where my mother and I were sitting talking by the fireplace. "A message for you, Princess Brailee," he said bringing me a letter. I opened the letter. "There you go blabbing again. This is why we'll never be friends. -Kelton" it read. I crumbled it in my hands and threw it in the fireplace, watching as the fire ate it up, first scorching the sides and slowly shriveling the paper until it dissolved into ashes.
I envisioned whatever form of relationship I had with Thayer and Kelton turning into ashes, just as the letter did.
And we lived happily never after.

Chapter Twenty Two: Cedric Part Three

Once upon a time...
I'm a firm believer in second chances. However, why this wanna be prince charming has a part three is definitely beyond my better judgement. (refer to chapter one and chapter eight for part one and two.)
Loneliness is a killer disease and Cedric had ALWAYS been there for me. One particular day I was feeling very lonely and down. Believe it or not, even with all of my gorgeous dresses, my amazing castle, as many servants as I could ask for, and the nonstop attention I get for being a princess, I still felt alone sometimes. My mother, the queen, was trying to do her best to help but was of no use. After failed efforts, she told me if I needed a friend, I should call upon Cedric. I hadn't even thought of it since we hadn't spoken in months, but she was right. He had always been there for me. And so I did what my mother said.
Cedric and I caught up as if time had never passed, just as we had in part two. We went on a ride on his horse to our usual spot on the bridge. We talked and talked and talked. I told him of my heartbreak. He told me of his happily never afters with Amita. I couldn't help but be pleased about that, however I offered him my condolences. He told me how she and him had ended things over twelve times. With all of my experience and wisdom, I told him that was ridiculous and if there's a reason to end things with someone, it's usually a good enough reason not to get back together with them.
It was kind of a hypocritical statement considering the fact I was standing there with an ex, but I shrugged it off. I was a princess. I could do what I want. Cedric and I decided that clearly love was not for either of us and that we should be best friends forever and never let love hurt us or come between us again.
When do things ever turn out how you say they're going to?
We began to hang out as friends. And slowly it turned to dates. We were seeing each other multiple times a week. We would laugh and tell each other everything. It was so relieving to yet again have him back in my life.
We were playing chess one day, a game we were both TERRIBLE at. Cedric's friend had bailed halfway through our double date to have some alone time with his lady, so there weren't many options of what Cedric and I could do. Thus, the game of chess. I kept making jokes out of it and trying to keep the competition level not very high in order to make it more fun. He noticed.
"You're really fun you know that Brails?" he said during the game.
It caught me offguard. "I like to think so!" I said. "Why do you say that though?" I asked. He paused, it was his turn to play, and looked at me. "Every time I'm with Amita, she gets mad at me. Either I say something, or do something, or wear something she doesn't approve of. She can't just have a good time. We always have to fight," he said. "Well that makes me feel even worse for all the times you've stopped talking to me because of her," I teased, half seriously. "It's your turn by the way." He didn't play still. "I'm really sorry about that. She just gets so mad. She feels like you're a threat," he explained. "A threat to your relationship?" I asked. He nodded. "Then why are you here Cedric? If she's going to get mad at you, why are you here?" He looked me in the eyes and smiled. "There's just something about you that keeps bringing me back." I laughed flirtatiously. "Oh really?" He nodded and took his turn.
"Checkmate," I said. "What!? I thought you said you were bad at this game!?" Cedric complained. "I usually am! I got lucky." We smiled at each other. "So, Cedric, if you were a piece of the game, what piece would you be?" He thought for a second. "Well you'd be queen of course, since you're already a princess," he started. I smiled and shrugged as if saying of course. "So I'd be the knight."
The knight? "Why wouldn't you want to be king?" I asked. "Not in a romantic way, but if you were king of another land, we could just run away to all the far away lands whenever we wished and could have all the money in the world to do whatever we want with!?" I asked enthusiastically. Knights were highly ranked, but everyone would rather be royalty. Even lions can't wait to be kings. "I'd be the knight so I could always protect you, to save you, to be there for you," he said touching my hand.
My stomach knotted. We were just friends. "Yup, you'd be a great knight! Until Amita decided to come around," I said winking at him and standing up. "I guess I deserve that," he said pulling me into a hug. "You bet Merlin's beard you do!"
We went out and talked every day for the next several months. I realized quickly that my Cedric from the previous chapters was not this Cedric. This Cedric was much more self absorbed, had a smaller attention span, and was not quite as genuine as he used to be. However I didn't look at him romantically this time, so I decided it was ok. Not ok for a prince charming, but it was ok for a friend.
Cedric was preparing to leave the land far far away for thirty days, and so we decided to spend his last day there together. We were cuddled up on my couch by the fire and he kept kissing my cheek and forehead. But then, the moment came and he kissed me on the lips. And then he pulled back. And then leaned in and kissed me on the lips again. He repeated this a few times. It was bizarre. Our very very first kiss when he didn't know how to kiss was FAR better than this one. He was kissing me like a woodpecker pecks a tree.
Finally Cedric stopped. "You kiss different than you used to," he said to me. I looked at him in surprise. "Yeah so do you," I said looking away trying to bite my tongue. He had cheated on me twice with Amita who was gorgeous, but clearly sucked at kissing. That made me happy.
We didn't kiss after that. Instead we talked about all the adventures we wanted to have when he got back. I also teased him more about how there would doubtfully be any more times we'd see each other since he always stopped talking to me because of Amita. He kept reassuring me that he was done with her.
We said good night about an hour later, only for me to realize he forgot his feathered hat. I ran outside and shouted at him. "You forgot your hat!" I yelled. He waved his hand in dismissal. "Keep it until I return, that way you know for a fact you'll be seeing me again!" I couldn't help it, I smiled and believed him.
I didn't hear from Cedric until about three weeks after he was due back in the land far far away. I was disappointed when I didn't hear from him right away, but I refused to contact him first. He was the one who promised I'd see him.
He didn't keep his promise. I didn't see him. I sent him a happy birthday letter and gift, with no response. I sent him another letter, with no response. Finally, I showed up at his house in tears. I had had a terrible week and was distraught. He was my knight and the only person I knew I could turn to, despite his silence towards me.
When he opened his door, he looked surprised to see me. "Princess Brailee," he said. "What are you doing here?" My eyes teared up a little. "I'm sorry, I just needed a friend desperately and you have always been there for me." He took a step towards me and placed his hand on my shoulder. "I've always had a soft spot for you." I am not sure why, but it hit me in the heart as if I was being stabbed with a sword. Rather than hugging me like he would have done before he left, he was treating me like an acquaintance.
I looked up at him and hardened my emotions. "Nevermind," I said. "Brailee, what's up?" So informal. I shook my head at him and turned around. I don't know why I thought he'd change. I don't know why I thought he'd care. But all I knew, was from that moment on, I no longer cared. Without a doubt there would be no part four.
And we lived happily never after.

Chapter Twenty One: Caldwell

Once upon a time...
In my land far far away, it was uncommon to be my age and not married, especially for a princess in a land. Without marriage there can be no heir to the throne. Due to my status, stories got around about my failed attempts at finding a prince. One day, a stranger graciously presented me with a painting of a prince charming while at the place of worship and told me I'd find him one day. I thanked them for the kind gift.
I looked at the painting in my hands. It was remarkable work. The prince was muscular, had black hair, dark eyes, and tan skin. He seemed like someone who would be so sweet, but had the look in his eyes of danger, as though he could turn into a werewolf when set off. I grinned. I would not mind if that were my prince.
I didn't realize someone was watching me until he spoke up. "Is that your boyfriend?" he said. I turned and looked at the boy next to me. He was not very appealing to the eye, but I've been taught to always be kind and not be shallow. I glanced back down at the picture of the beautiful prince charming. I knew if I said no then he would be likely to ask me out. I also was quite flattered that he'd think I'd be dating someone as beautiful as the boy in the painting. "Um..." I hesitated not wanting to lie, but quickly changed my mind after weighing the pros and cons. "Yeah he is!" I said enthusiastically. "I see," the boy said. "I'm Caldwell." He held out his hand. I shook it, "Princess Brailee." I then decided to make my escape and made up and excuse to leave.
I felt like a dodged a cannon ball, until I saw him again at the place of worship. He came and sat by me. "I don't really know many people, can I sit here?" he asked. I agreed, quickly regretting it. What was said at the place of worship, I couldn't tell you. Caldwell distracted me the whole time, talking nonstop about himself. He talked about his heritage, his family life, any little detail that I didn't really need to know. Then he showed me his religious book. I was trying to be polite and asked what his favorite passage was.
Excitedly, he opened the book to show me, only for me to realize he had colored in every single passage on every single page. The next hour was quite long as he recited page after page after page that he claimed to be his "favorite." I was grateful when he finally finished, until I found out the reason he stopped talking. "Would you mind massaging my back?" Caldwell asked leaning forward. I stared at him in disbelief. "What?" I asked. "Will you massage my back for me?" he said pointing over his shoulder. "Um no," I stammered. "Well why not?" he asked puzzled. My brain began to race rapidly. "I just really want to pay attention to what's being taught," I managed to say. He accepted that answer and didn't talk to the rest of the time.
As soon as I could, I stood up and practically sprinted out of the place of worship. I could see the carriage awaiting me. I'd be safe soon enough. Then I heard his voice. "Well someone's in a hurry," Caldwell shouted behind me. "Yeah I have duties to attend," I called back picking up my pace. Unfortunately he caught up to me. "We should go out sometime," he said. This guy was persistant. "I am kind of seeing someone, remember?" I said to him, not slowing down. "I get the hint. It's just an excuse. You're not interested." Had he forgotten asking about the painting earlier? "No I'm just interested in someone else," I said and climbed into my carriage shutting the door.
Was it rude? Maybe a little. But it's cruel to torture someone. Sometimes, you just gotta get to the point.
Next time I saw him, my point clearly hadn't been made. Caldwell sat by me again at the place of worship. "Does your boyfriend mind if I sit here?" I took a deep breath, not making eye contact. "Well since he's not here, I suppose not." He took a seat next to me and out of the corner of my eye I could see his big grin.
Our silence only lasted maybe ten more minutes when Caldwell spoke up. "You have the most amazing lips," he said staring at my mouth. My stomach lurched. I laughed awkwardly. "Well thank you," I said politely. "I bet your boyfriend can't ever stop kissing you," he continued. I looked up at the ceiling reminding myself that I was a princess and had to act as such. "Well he likes me for more than my lips, so yes he can." My comment was a bit rude, but not as rude as what I was thinking. "If I was your boyfriend I wouldn't be able to stop kissing you," he said still staring at my mouth.
I couldn't take it anymore. I stood up. "Excuse me," I said to him so that he'd move so I could get to the aisle. "Did I say something wrong? I meant it as a compliment," Caldwell said. "I appreciate the compliment, however you crossed a line. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go," I said and pushed past him.
There was never really a true once upon a time with Caldwell, but the ending is as true as the others.
And we lived happily never after.

Chapter Twenty: Cornelius

Once upon a time...
I'd run in to him a few times on different occasions while out and about. Cornelius was a stalky, light brown haired, green/blue eyed, tan boy. He was one of the most cocky self absorbed boys I'd ever met. After turning him down multiple times for a date, I finally said yes purely out of exhaustion.
He decided we would go eat at a banquet that I'd never attended before. I love trying new things so I was quite thrilled. When I climbed out of the carriage, we had to walk just a little ways to get to the banquet. On our way, a man was on the street playing an instrument called a bagpipe. Only one specific land far far away was known for playing the bagpipes, as it was a relatively new instrument. I had visited that land only once and I distinctly remembered the citizens' funny accents.
I was very excited and intrigued by this man and began talking to Cornelius in the accent I presumed this bagpipe player would speak in. "I'm from a land far far away and I play the bagpipe," I said giggling in the best accent impersonation I could manage. I then looked at Cornelius with a big grin on my face. He was not smiling back. In fact, he was staring at me with a blank expression on his face. My grin immediately fell and I stared straight ahead or focused on keeping my dress from dragging on the ground.
When we got into the banquet, Cornelius helped me decide what food I would like to eat. We ordedered, after I had a good ten minute conversation with the servant who was to bring our food. This servant had a far greater personality than Cornelius and I was sad to see him go. Cornelius and I sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes. Finally, he began to tell me almost his entire life story. He spoke in monotone. I was trying not to drift to sleep. If I happened to drift asleep, there'd be no hope for me. Sleeping Beauty was awaken by prince charming's kiss. Cornelius was not prince charming. I'd be doomed to sleep forever, eternally cast under his monotone vocal spell.
Cornelius began to talk about a woman he'd only recently broken up with about a month ago. He told me all about how he wanted to marry her and how she just didn't feel like it was right. When he said how she wasted two years of his life, it was the first time his voice changed pitch. I opted to keep talking about her, since it was the only remotely entertaining thing he'd talked about all evening.
Our food arrived, and we ate in silence. After we finished I said I needed to use the ladies room. I walked into the room and sat on a lovely couch positioned against the wall and across from a mirror. I stared at myself thinking, "Do I stay in here for fifteen minutes and then tell him I don't feel well and need to go home? Or do I do the right thing and just pretend to have a good time and go play croquet?" I stared at my reflection in deep thought. Maybe I could find an apple around here that would solve my problem. I shook my head and stood up. Be a princess. Keep your dignity.
We then rode in the carriage to a place to play croquet. When we arrived, Cornelius made sure to brag about how extremely skilled and talented he was in the sport of croquet. He said he had the option to play it in competitions against the other top croquet players in all the far away lands. As I've said in previous chapters, I was not so blessed with that talent. I should have eaten a poisonous apple, I said to myself.
We began to play and he was definitely unimpressed with my skills. Any time he remotely messed up when hitting the ball, he became very upset with himself. I, on the other hand, was kicking the ball with my feet and making funny noises every time I'd hit it. Any time I did something well I'd make sound effects that mimicked sound that played when fairies sprinkled fairy dust.
I realize that my actions were very unprincess-like, but it was a terrible date. I had to do anything I could to entertain myself. And accents, servants, and sound effects were the only options I had.
Not very surprisinlgy, Cornelius outscored me big time on croquet. He was so pleased with himself, it was almost disturbing. His cocky walk got even mightier. And his self absorption practically radiated a mile off of him and killed any living thing in its tracks. I congratulated him on his win and we began our ride home to my castle.
On the way, we were again silent until Cornelius spoke up. "Princess Brailee, I saw you perform in a musical." I smiled, "Did you? What did you think?" Still in monotone, he replied, "You were fantastic. Something you probably don't know about me, is that I too am very gifted in music." I was surprised. "Are you now?" I asked. "Yes, I used to perform with other musicians. We'd make music together. I was the singer. If only you could have seen us, we were truly amazing. Like song birds." I bet they were. "So sing something for me Cornelius," I said. He nodded, "I will indeed." He thought for a moment of what song he wanted to sing. Then he began. I had to hold back my laughter. His voice resembled more of a pigeon who'd just been shot for food by a hunter than a songbird.
When he finished, I complimented him politely, as I presumed I should. Unfortuantely, that may have been the wrong decisions, because the rest of the ride, he continued to sing for me. I practically leaped out of the carriage when we arrived at my castle. He managed to catch up to me halfway to the door. I was not fast enough, I sighed.
When we reached the door, he bowed and said, "I'd like to take you out again, Princess." I smiled, "I will have to let you know when I'm available next." He then kissed my hand and walked away, singing to himself. I shook my head knowing that I would never be available again for a date with Cornelius.
And we lived happily never after.

Chapter Nineteen: Alden

Once upon a time...
I'd seen him before. He was so funny and charismatic and sweet that I wasn't the only person who took note of him. Everyone who knew him adored him. Not because he was good looking, but because he had one of the best personalities of anyone I'd ever met.
Alden had dark hair, brown eyes, he was only a few inches taller than I, and had crooked teeth. Sometimes he wore glasses, sometimes he didn't. He had this dark grey and black jacket that he had on almost every time I'd seen him.
I'd always taken note of him, but never really pursued anything. One day he caught me looking at him and approached me. He asked if I'd be interested in going on a date. I agreed and he picked me up later that week for a banquet that the shop he worked for was having.
We accompanied his best friend and his best friends beautiful date. It was a bit awkward at first, but he was absolutely hilarious so the mood lightened up quickly. He made funny jokes and even sang for me. I was quite impressed with his vocal skills. I always wanted a prince charming who was musically inclined. I pictured we'd begin to dance and they'd sing "I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream." Then animals would dance with us we'd be merry and live happily ever after. This situation with Alden wasn't remotely close to what I envisioned, but he could sing, so it was close enough.
After the banquet he asked if we could go out again. I accepted and we went to another far away land to look at decorations and amazing architectural buildings they had lit up. It was very chilly and a couple times he put his arms around me to warm me up. It gave me butterflies.
While we were admiring some of the work inside one of the buildings, a worker saw us and got angry. "We closed twenty minutes ago! You shouldn't be here," they screeched at us. "I'm so sorry, we didn't know," Alden said politely. I was baffled by the worker's rudeness as they hurried us out of the building. When we got outside Alden and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.
When he took me home that night, he came inside and met my family. The servants were struggling to put together a contraption for my little sister. Without hesitating, Alden jumped right in and assisted them. He put it together in less time than they'd spent trying to figure it out. He was so kind and selfless. I couldn't help but admire him.
We went out again to another banquet and afterwards he had to pick up a few things for an activity going on the following morning. Some friends of his were going to be playing a game outside that involved getting a ball from one end of a field to the other without losing a cloth that you would tuck into your pockets. I thought the game sounded insane. After we picked up what he needed, I went to his cottage and helped him tear cloth for each person that would be playing. The whole time I was there, we laughed and told each other stories about our life.
While we were talking, I asked him, "Alden what's the meanest thing you've ever done to someone?" He stopped and thought for a minute. "I don't know if I should tell you, Brailee." My heart skipped a beat. He had a secret. Oh no. "Tell me," I said, pushing him for details. "Well, my brother was dating a girl. And I found out that she had dated his friend as well. She didn't tell my brother. So I told him." He paused, a guilty expression written all over his face.
When he didn't continue, I asked, "Wait, that's the meanest thing you've ever done??" He nodded his head. He continued, "I shouldn't have told my brother. It wasn't my business. It was her business to tell him. They ended up fighting a ton. It was so sad and all my fault." He began to shake his head. I couldn't help it, I laughed. "Wow Alden, if protecting your brother from a girl who was lying is the meanest thing you have done, then I'll say you're a pretty good person." In my head I was thinking that there was no way we would work out. I was a princess, but I wasn't all about rainbows and butterflies. I'd done some mean things to people before and unlike his story, they weren't done for a good reason.
This boy, Alden, had the heart of a prince charming. He had the loudest laugh I'd ever heard and in public it embarrassed me. He also would talk in a strange girly voice when he got nervous or felt awkward. And he sometimes didn't know how to be serious. But he had a heart of gold. I looked up to him and admired him. He was exactly the kind of guy every girl, whether a princess or not, should want in a guy. For some reason however, despite these thoughts, I still didn't want to kiss him.
The next morning I, princess Brailee, did the unexpected. I accompanied Alden to the bizarre sporting event that we had been preparing for. Besides croquet, I never participated in sports. I was not athletic whatsoever. However, for some reason he made me want to go. It had snowed and we were playing in snow that went to my knees. I could hardly run in the snow and I fell, both forwards and backwards, a few times. I didn't score any points for my team, but Alden was thrilled that I was there. The happiness displayed on his countenance was worth the embarrassment for me.
We became best friends after that. We would go on walks together. He would come over to my house and hang out. We would go to dinners. He attended my royal banquet as my date. We would go to the gazebo together. I'd sit with him at the place of worship. Almost every day I saw him. Almost every day we'd speak. But only once did anything physical happen between us. Only once did we cuddle, because I fell asleep on his shoulder. Never did we kiss.
Alden proved to me again that his kindness was unmatchable. My carriage was broken and rather than hiring someone to come fix it, Alden volunteered. We took it to his little cottage, where for the next three hours Alden and I talked and sat in the cold while he worked. His father would come out occasionally and see how it was going and to talk to me. He brought me blankets and hot drinks. After chatting and joking around for a bit, Alden's father said he liked me and said I was a funny lady. This made me smile and caused Alden to wink at me. I liked Alden's family, except for his evil sister in law.
When the clock showed that the time was close to midnight, Alden finally finished. He had done a better job than anyone we would have hired. The carriage was as good as new. He told my father not to pay him, but he did anyways of course. Alden kept saying it was too much, but we insisted he take it and finally he did if I agreed to let him take me to dinner.
The night we went to dinner would change our entire relationship. After we ate, I had him take me home. I wasn't feeling bubbly, and Alden knew nothing but happiness and sunshine. I didn't want to bring him down and I made it a point to only let my personality be seen when I was acting the way a princess should. In this situation, I was acting far more like Grumpy the dwarf than Snow White.
My mother had a chat with me earlier that day about how I felt about Alden. She told me she could tell he liked me and if I didn't feel the same then I needed to tell him.
For some reason, (I blame my grumpy mood) I decided this was the best time to tell him. "Alden there's something I need to tell you," I began. "Yes?" he asked. "I don't think right now is the best time for me to have a relationship. I adore you and I want to keep being best friends. I'm just really busy with duties. I don't have the time for a relationship," I said. He nodded and said, "I understand." I felt relief that he wasn't mad. "So we're still friends? Nothing will change?" I asked hoping for reassurance. "Of course Brailee," he said and smiled. I breathed a sigh of relief and I climbed out of the carriage not realizing what the consequences of my actions would be
Alden did not speak to me after that. He stopped returning my letters. And within two weeks had a girlfriend. Me and my friend bet that they wouldn't last a month. Three months later I was proven wrong when I saw him at the place of worship and he informed me that he had bought a ring and was going to propose.
My heart dropped into my stomach. I thought they would break up and then things would go back to normal. I hadn't wanted to lose Alden. And now the damage was going to be permanent. I had always known I cared a lot about this boy, but I didn't realize how much until that moment. I made him promise to send me an invitation. He promised. I told him how excited I was for him, although it was a lie.
That night I cried myself to sleep. I didn't understand why exactly. I was the one who told him I didn't want a relationship. He hadn't done anything wrong. Other guys had broken my heart and not given it a second thought. The roles were now reversed. I broke his, and yet I was still the one in tears.
Two months later, my invitation still had not come. It didn't take a genius to help me understand that I had purposefully not been invited. I decided not to be spiteful and I sent Alden a letter just days before his wedding. "Dear Alden, I just wanted to congratulate you, yet again, on your engagement. Good luck at your wedding! You're fiancee is one lucky girl! I wish you two the best. Sincerely, Princess Brailee," it read.
I don't know what I was expecting to come from it, but I never got a response. In fact, he never acknowledged my existence after the day he told me he was getting married.
And we lived happily never after.

Chapter Eighteen: Byron

Once upon a time...
Who doesn't love a man with a title? I sure am guilty of it. Doctor, King, professional athlete, Knight...any of the above turn my heart and brain to mush. And the oh so eligible King Byron was no exception.
I first saw him at the place of worship. I took interest in him and found out he was a King, was from a different land, was ten years older than I, and single. He was tall, tan, dark eyed, and dark haired. He was already a king, so he was on the right path to being my prince charming! And he, King Byron, wanted to take me out. I agreed of course.
Byron showed up to my castle in the nicest carriage I'd ever seen, apart from my own. I was absolutely thrilled. Why hadn't I thought of going out with a king before!? We attended a banquet, in which we had a lovely chat. During dinner he said a few strange things that I should have been offended by, such as he "didn't think the night was going to go so well so he didn't plan anything afterwards." I was just too in awe over his age, looks, and title that I didn't really care.
We decided to go to the mansion he was staying at and figure out what to do there. When we arrived, we thought it'd be a fun experiment to make cookies, since neither of us ever needed to cook. It ended up being a blast. We got into a cookie dough fight, and then a water fight, there in the kitchen in the mansion. It was so unroyal like. It felt amazing! While the cookies were baking, he began to sing and danced with me in the kitchen. It was so cute. When the cookies finished, we ate a few and cuddled by the fireplace.
Byron leaned in, obviously to kiss me. I hesitated, because I usually have a three date rule. He was king, older than I, and I wasn't sure if I'd get another chance, so I threw all rules out the window and kissed him.
When he dropped me off at the castle later that night, he kissed my hand, and said he hoped to see me again. I said nothing, but hoped I'd see him too.
We planned a second date and I was super excited for it. I spent hours getting dolled up and put on my nicest dress. And then I waited in a room down the hall from the entry for him to arrive. And I waited. And waited. I was getting sick of waiting when two hours had passed. I told the servants I was leaving and if he arrived to tell him I was sorry, but I made other plans due to his tardiness. I grabbed my cloak and headed to the door. When I opened it, I saw Byron standing there, his arm raised about to knock.
"We have a date right?" Byron said acknowledging the fact that he knew it looked like I was about to leave. "That's what I thought two hours ago," I said. "I'm sorry. Can we still go?" he asked. I wasn't sure what to do, but I agreed we could still go.
The night was a little bit awkward, because I was not happy. However, it still went well. And we went out a few more times after that. There were also a few dates that he flat out didn't show up to. He always sent me a letter and flowers days later to apologize for not showing up. I believed he was sorry the first time, but I quickly realized he wasn't. And I quickly realized that there was a reason he was ten years older than me, was good looking, had a title, and yet was still single.
We grew apart and ended up not speaking for a while. One day when I was out and about doing my princess duties, I saw him out and about as well. Strangely enough, he pretended to not know me. A few people recognized the friendliness in my greeting to him and asked if I knew him. They also recognized the rudeness in the way he treated me and asked me why he blew me off. I told them we had dated and that I wasn't really sure why he treated me rudely. Maybe he didn't recognize me? I was confused about how we could have gone out so many times, and yet he still forgot who I was.
Byron didn't really forget who I was. Or at least he didn't forget who I was when he wanted something from me. He spoked to me a couple months after that incident, because he wanted me to set him up with someone. He was growing desperate in his old age, because he needed an heir to his throne. He'd dated girls everywhere else, but couldn't find what he was looking for. In our talk, he also wanted to inform me that I was an extremely emotional girl and that's why we didn't work out. I told him he was a jerk and that in a million years I'd never set him up with anyone I knew. And then he said that I was a witch and he understood why my ex's didn't want to date me anymore.
I ordered the king and queen have him be taken away from my land and to never be allowed to speak to me again.
And we lived happily never after.

Chapter Seventeen: Marsden

Once upon a time...
Looking at this boy, I never would have thought I'd ever have been rude to him. Marsden had dark brown hair, perfectly styled. His eyes were a piercing bright green. He had a beautiful smile and tan skin. I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that I had once blown him off back when I was in school.
We were talking, being goofy. He was quite funny and that is something I want my prince charming to be. He was talking in different dialects for me. He was also being sarcastic, which if I wasn't the future queen of the land far far away, I'd be the queen of sarcasm. He was very thoughtful, much more than most guys. And he loved to write. He wrote poetry, which is kind of sexy. My mother thought we were a match made in heaven. My best friend also approved and they both said I needed to go out with him.
So when the fateful day came when he asked me out, I of course said yes.
Marsden wanted to take me to a show and then to a land a bit out of the way. I agreed under one condition: he had to get specific seats to the show. I described the seats and told him that I couldn't sit anywhere else. I had to sit there or I wouldn't go. I even drew him a picture and circled the section I had to sit in. Everyone I knew either thought I was being a bit rude or that it was funny. My mother asked if I was trying to create a fairytale about how long it took to lose a guy.
Everyone wanted to date a knight in shining armor. Well, I princess Brailee, dated a lot of losers in aluminum foil. Therefore, I didn't really want to date anymore. I decided if I went out, then I was going to get what I want. And if a guy couldn't handle me knowing exactly where I wanted to sit, then he wasn't worth dating.
Luckily, it didn't bother Marsden and I was quite thrilled that I got the seats I wanted. I wasn't thrilled however when he picked me up and didn't open my door to the carriage. Or to the theatre. Or any other doors we encountered. And I wasn't thrilled with how self centered he was. I would ask him simple questions, such as where are you working? Then he would go on for at least fifteen minutes about all the places he's worked, all the places he wanted to work, where he wanted to be working right now, where he almost got hired to work, and what he wanted to do in ten years as far as work goes. I'd have to repeat the question and ask, so you work where? So your favorite color is? So you like to read what exactly? It was bizarre.
Thank goodness we chose to see a show, because by the time we reached the theatre, I thought my brains were going to explode. And thank goodness the show was awesome. Because after that, the date got worse.
We were headed a different land because there were special decorations up on on of the streets in that land. It was actually a really cool place and I was looking forward to going. What should have been at most a twenty minute carriage ride, turned into an hour and a half. He could not find the street. He was getting frustrated. And I was getting bored. Finally, I just suggested he return me to the castle. He agreed and we headed back.
The castle came in to view and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I was almost home. Thank goodness. Except, the carriage kept going, right past the castle. "Um Marsden, my home was that way," I said puzzled. "Oh I know, I want to stop at the store in town and get some snacks," he said. "Snacks? For what?" I asked. I was going home, he could get snacks after. "I don't know, some things just sound really good right now. You don't mind do you?" He said. I took a deep breath and told him I didn't. He took me to the show so I needed to be polite.
We reached the store and he got his snacks, not offering to get anything for me, the princess. On our way to pay for them, we walked by a few overweight citizens. "I have no compassion for overweight people," Marsden began. I almost choked on my breath. I stared at him stunned. "Why not?" I asked. "I used to be overweight. After I changed my diet and worked out a bit I lost all the weight," he explained. "Shouldn't that make you more compassionate on those poeple since you know what they're going through?" We had exited the store at this point and were climbing in to the carriage. Again, he didn't open my door. "No, I know that the only reason they're overweight is because they aren't trying hard enough to be healthy."
I was speechless. All manners went out the door after that comment. "So you're kind of shallow then?" I asked bluntly. He paused for a second. "Some say I'm shallow, but at least I'm getting my feet wet." I just stared at him. He continued, "Wow that line was good right? I'm going to have to write that one down to incorporate in to a poem." I stopped looking at him and stared out the window, wanting to be safe in my castle doors where the soldiers could beat him up if he came close to me.
We finally reached the castle and he caught me offguard when he walked me to the door. I thought he didn't have a single bone of a gentleman in his body. Apparently he did. It had to be the smallest bone in his body, but it was still there. When we said goodnight, he leaned in to kiss me. I turned my head and hugged him instead, thanked him for the date, and hurried inside. I had been mistaken. There definitely wasn't a bone of a gentleman in his body. He had alterior motives when walking me to the door rather than doing it to be polite.
When the door shut behind me, I started to cry. My parents and little sister heard me and walked to the door to see how the night went. They were a little stunned when they saw me in tears. "What happened!?" they all exclaimed. I just walked by them and said, "I'm never going on another date again."
This is where the story should have ended.
However, shallow poet Marsden didn't think the date went remotely wrong. He thought it was fantastic and that I was the kind of person he wanted to spend more time around, because I made him feel good. "When are you free this week to go out again?" he asked me when he saw me a few days later. "This week is actually really busy," I responded truthfully. He shook his head, "Oh I didn't mean this week, I meant next week." Right he did. "Ask me the beginning of next week. We are supposed to have some guests visiting from out of town so I may not be able to, but I'm not totally positive that they're coming."
He forgot that I said to ask the next week, because I received a letter from him two days later asking when he could see me. I wanted to beat my head on a door and take back the first date. I didn't respond to his letter, which deeply upset him.
When I was in town, he saw me and ran up to me to confront me. "Don't worry about getting back to me, I've gotten the hint," he said rudely. "Gotten back to you about what?" I asked. "About when you're free to go out," he replied. "I told you already that I wasn't." He paused and thought. "Sorry for bringing it up then," he said, unapologetically. "It's not a problem to bring it up, it's how you brought it up," I lectured. "I agree it wasn't the best way. I just have had this stuff happen before and I don't like having my time wasted." Oh my, I thought to myself. I took a deep breath. "We went on one date Marsden. How am I wasting your time? You're thinking way too much into it," I then began to walk away.
He stopped me. "Well I'm not going to waste my time asking anyone to go out if they don't want to," he said. "I am a princess. I have a lot of responsibilities and duties. I'm busy. If that bothers you then don't ask," I said. "It's good for one to remain busy. It doesn't bother me. I will see you around," then he bowed and walked away. Did he say it's good for ONE to remain busy?? Weird.
I thought I'd gotten rid of the strange shallow poet when he approached me yet again, a couple weeks later. This time he wanted to take me to a jousting match. With his dad. I was bewildered. I had only gone out with him once, I was not ready to meet his family. Let alone to play third wheel to him and his father, or have his father play third wheel to me and him. I politely declined. Not just for this date, but for all future ones as well.
And we lived happily never after.

Chapter Sixteen: Terrence

Once upon a time...
"I know you from somewhere," he said. "Yeah we used to go to school together," I said. He smiled, "That and you are the princess. I'm an idiot." I laughed. "I'm Brailee." He shook my hand. "I'm Terrence. So were we friends in school?" I shook my head. "Not really. We have mutual friends so that's how I know who you are." He nodded in understanding, then shot me a smile. "I think we should be friends. Want to go out some time?" Smooth, I thought to myself. "Why not!?" I said in agreement.
Terrence planned a date consisting of dinner, croquet, and skating. Dinner was awkward. We had been able to carry a conversation before, but it wasn't flowing like it usually did. I became nervous for the croquet part, especially since I was so bad at it. He realized quickly that I wasn't joking about being terrible at croquet. He did something that a guy never had done before. Rather than being competitive with me, he began to do things to help make me feel better. "Kick it with your foot!" he'd say. If I hit the ball and it was way off, he made sure to be standing there to lead it in the right direction.
After croquet we went to skate. Terrence helped me on to the ice and I stumbled a bit. He tightened his grip on my hands. We began to skate. I fell multiple times, as did he. Mine was due to clumsiness, his was due to trying to ice dance. By the end of the night, I had laughed so hard that I was pretty sure I had incredible stomach muscles.
Later that week, Terrence called on me again. I was thrilled of course. We decided to go on a walk. We walked down the sdirt pathway and were coming up to a bridge. As we were crossing, he stopped me. "Stand here," he ordered. I stood confused. He ran backwards a few feet. "What are you doing!?" I cried. "Just wait!" He paused, put his head down, then began to raise it and serenaded me one of the songs from the musical I had been in. There on the bridge, we acted out the scene as dramatically as we could. We laughed hysterically after and then continued on the path across the bridge. He skillfully grabbed hold of my hand as we walked.
The sun had gone down and it was dark. We stopped at the edge of the river and took a seat, resting our feet on some rocks. We began to talk about life and everything we could think of. While he was talking, I looked at him, taking in his good looks. He had perfect brown hair, with just a patch of grey behind his right ear. His skin was soft tan. His eyes were big and a medium shade of brown. When he smiled, it made you want to smile. He had a beautiful big smile that alone could melt the wicked witch of the west.
He caught me looking at him and pulled me closer to him. Raising his hand, he tucked some hair behind my ear and left his hand holding the back of my head. He then rested his forehead on mine. He pulled back slightly, our eyes meeting. Hesitantly he leaned in and kissed me.
If the scenery wasn't romantic enough, the kiss would have been enough on it's own.
When he pulled back he began to laugh. "Was I that bad at kissing?" I asked somewhat hurt. He shook his head and looked at his foot, raising it up so I could see. He'd taken off his shoes to make sure he didn't accidently get them wet, but unfortunately our kiss had distracted him and his foot had slipped off the rock into the water and his sock and the bottom of his pants were soaking wet. "I'd say quite the opposite!" he said still chuckling, removing the sock.
The spot became our favorite one after that. We'd go there often. Once when we were there we saw two ducks in the water. "It's too cold for them to be here. I wonder why they're out here?" He said, thinking out loud. "Well," I began. "That one is sick. All the other ducks left to head south, but that duck was in love with her and stayed to take care of her." He looked at me. "Oh really? What are their names?" I raised my hand and pointed at the "sick" duck. "That one is Gladys," then I pointed to the other. "And that one is Florence." Terrence began to laugh. "Wow I'm impressed! You didn't even miss a beat. How'd you come up with that!?" I smiled and shrugged. Then I flirtatiously looked at him and said, "It's part of my charm." He grabbed my hands and helped me to my feet. "I'll say it is!" he said laughing.
I was standing on a rock and despite his tall frame, I stood a little bit taller than him. "Wanna know what this reminds me of?" I said whispering. "What?" He asked. I turned around so he was behind me, his hands still on my waist. I then held my hands straight out. "I'm flying Jack! I'm flying!" I said quoting one of my favorite fairy tale love stories. He began to laugh. "You know how that scene ends right?" I grinned and turned my head and our lips met.
When we finished our kiss, we traded spots. I was now positioned behind him and he held his hands out, quoting the story. Then we kissed and began laughing like children.
I liked Terrence. He was charming, silly, an amazing kisser. It was when he sang for me that I knew I was done for. We were in my carriage and he was bidding me a good night. He asked if I'd heard a particular song. I shook my head no. He began to sing it for me. His voice was low, unique, strong, smooth, skilled. I was blown away. He cuddled up close to me and rested his forehead on mine, still singing it. After that it was "our" song. And after that I knew Snow White, Cinderella, and Rapunzel's men didn't stand a chance against my prince charming.
Months passed, and we continued to go out. I began to attend banquets with him and visited his cottage and met his family. They were lovely. As lovely as he was.
When I was at his cottage one day, we went on a walk to a big open field of grass. We decided to play croquet on the field, but didn't have the right equipment. We began to play with a stick and a ball of yarn. It was close to ridiculous, but I laughed the entire time. After we grew tired of the yarn and stick game we evented, we climbed a tree and sat chatting about life.
In the distance I saw a man, dressed in torn clothes, carrying a bag, walking on to the field and I began to feel frightened. Terrence could tell. "He's probably homeless," Terrence said to me. "I'm kind of scared," I replied. "We can go if you'd like. I'll protect you." I nodded and he climbed down the tree, me following closely behind. He helped me down and we ran as fast as we could to the carriage. Once, safely inside we began to laugh. "Brailee he was not even close to frightening. He probably wouldn't have said anything to us," Terrence said. I smiled at him and felt badly for assuming the worst, but also feeling safe being there with Terrence.
A few weeks later, Terrence was leaving to a far away land for work. I was so disappointed, but we promised to still go out once a week. He followed through with his promise for the first month, but slowly began to bail on dates or just not show up for them. Our dates became superficial. Rather than becoming closer, our conversations became more shallow, and we grew apart. I was getting frustrated. It seemed like he didn't want to get to know me. I was just being dragged along for a night when he didn't have things to do. I found out girls would go visit him at his work and that's when I decided I was officially done. Snow White, Cinderella, and Rapunzel were definitely not going to be impressed by my prince charming.
I refused to write him back when I received letters saying how he missed me. After time, when I thought I was over him, he asked me to go out and I agreed. We went to our usual spot at the river. When we were there we fed some of the bread from the castle to the ducks. Then Terrence took my hands and pulled me close to him. He began to sing me "our" song and we danced in the starlight, the slight sound of the river running in the background. Then he kissed me. Our first kiss in months. "Brailee, I keep thinking about you," he said. "I'm sorry I kind of fell of the face of the earth for a while." I didn't respond. He kissed me again. "There's something different about you. I don't want to say goodbye to you tonight, or ever." I just smiled and kissed him.
History repeats itself, even in fairytales. And as before communication failed yet again. Terrence stopped talking to me, and I began to date other people. But like before, we caught up again after months and decided to go out.
We went to a gazebo located in the gardens on the castle grounds. It was one of my favorite places to go. It was lit all around with candles and had a mistletoe hanging from the middle of it. In the gazebo, you could stand on opposite sides and whisper to each other and hear what the other was saying as if they were right next to you.
We stood on opposite ends and began whispering to each other in foreign accents. We then walked towards each other until we met in the middle. I looked up at the mistletoe. He did too. "I've never kissed someone under a mistletoe before," he said. I smiled knowing what that meant. Then, as I predicted he would, he kissed me. I had secretly wanted him to, but didn't really think he was going to.
Afterwards, we returned to my castle and cuddled by the fireplace, until the time came when he had to bid me goodnight. I walked with him outside. When we reached his wagon, he told me he'd see me soon, and then we said goodbye. I was in a good mood after, the kind I'm always in when I spend time with him.
My mother advised me to just look at him like a friend and not try to be more. I thought that'd be best. I didn't need a relationship with Terrence. A friendship was acceptable. And maybe a few kisses here and there. After another month passed of unreturned letters and silence, however I gave up. Friendship or not, I couldn't handle it anymore.
Everytime I give up, the guy decides to show up. And Terrence was no different. A servant entered my chambers saying Terrence was there. I went downstairs to see him standing in the door. He asked if we could talk. I agreed and followed him out into the gardens.
"Brailee, I owe you an apology," he said. Yeah you do, I thought, but said instead, "For what?" He looked at me. "For dropping off the map after we went out. It was wrong. I should have communicated instead of being distant." I snorted a little. "It's fine. I got the point pretty fast. It's all good." He looked at me apologetically. "But I could have done it in a more mature way. Thanks for not being mad. I still want to be friends." Anger was burning inside of me. I was mad, I was just not showing it. And I most definitely did not want to be friends anymore. "That's how you treated me when we were friends Terrence, so consider yourself forgiven, but I definitely don't consider you a friend." With that, I turned and headed back to the castle.
"Brailee," he called, stopping me in my tracks. "Being exclusive with you was always on my mind, but I couldn't make up my mind. I understand there's no excuse for my actions, but I hope one day you'll consider me a friend again. What do I need to do in order to accomplish that?" I was going to explode. I turned and faced him.
"I never pressured you to make up your mind. Our whole friendship has been up and down," I said as calmly as I could. Then I forced a smile. "You have plenty of friends Terrence so just don't worry about it." I could see him losing his cool. "You were sending more than friends vibes. That's not fair to say you didn't want that. I am sorry that I wasn't more straightforward. I really still want to be considered a friend."
I lost it. I hated when people assumed I felt or wanted things. If I say it, I will own up to it. If I don't, don't assume. "I don't know what 'vibes' you got," I said angrily. "But guys who want to be exclusive with me actually learn things about me. You never did. You kept everything superficial."
"I'm trying to be genuine here. Don't try and say I never tried to get to know you," he responded. I glared at him. "All I'm saying is you got the wrong vibes. I know you and so I had no expectation," I retorted. With that I turned, ending the conversation. "Have a good day Terrence!" I shouted back. "You too, Brailee," he said irritated.
And we lived happily never after.

Chapter Fifteen: Marius

Once upon a time...
Despite being someone everyone wanted to be, I still got a thrill out of pretending to be someone else, and so I picked up the hobby of theatre. Not just theatre, but musical theatre. This particular one wasn't my first audition, nor my first production, but it was the one that mattered.
The audition wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Neither was the call back. Until he walked through the room. He showed up halfway through the call backs. He had almost black hair, dark blue eyes, and very white skin. I had to remind myself to breathe, he was so striking.
I was absolutely thrilled when he got paired up with me to read lines. Then he was paired up with me to dance. And then he got paired up with me to sing. During the song, we hit all the notes with perfection, but it wasn't until the eye contact was made at the final four words that the sparks went flying. I knew it was the start of something new. And I was praying that I would get the lead alongside him.
Monday came and the list was to be posted at one o'clock. I paced my chambers anxiously watching the clock. I begged my mother, the queen, to cancel my princess training for the day. She wouldn't do it, but she allowed it to be postponed until two o'clock so that I could see the list. At a quarter to, I climbed into the carriage and was taken to the courtyard outside the theatre to see the list.
We arrived, but the list hadn't been posted. I crawled back in to the carriage disappointed. We waited. And waited. And waited. About 35 minutes later, someone arrived and posted the list. I practically leaped out of the carriage and ran to the door. "Brailee," I whispered, finger sliding through all the names until I saw it and my finger came to a stop. I was cast. I got the lead. I looked at who would be playing my costar. "Marius," I said aloud. I didn't know who the name belonged to, but I crossed my fingers that it would be the boy I'd been paired up with.
Rehearsals weren't going to start for another couple of months, but in the mean time, we had appearances in parades and festivals and had to work with music directors on our songs. I knew I'd see my mysterious costar soon enough.
Parade number one came around, and my costar was missing. So was the boy from callbacks. I put two and two together, and knew that the boy from callbacks was indeed my costar, Marius. At first I was so excited, but quickly became frustrated. Marius did not show up for any of the parades, appearances, or festivals we were in. We would have to substitute another actor to take his place. He also did not show up for our appointments with the music director. Our duets were being sung solo.
I was offended. He was cast alongside a princess! I was taking it all very seriously. I was busy quite often with duties, but I made time to memorize and to be at everything I could. And Marius didn't care enough to show up to one thing.
Finally, rehearsals began. I pretty much expected him to not show up at all, but there he was, in all his beauty. The excitement hit me again, full force.
The director called Marius and I in to a room and had us run through our lines. We were extremely awkward. It was nothing natural, as it was at the callbacks. The director had us stop. "Alright, here's your assignment," the director said. "The next week, you two are to become friends. Then we will continue working the scenes." I tried to hold back the grin creeping on my face.
We left the room and went to watch the other actors who were working on choreography. "I'm Brailee," I said holding out my hand. "Marius," he responded and took my hand. "We missed you at the parades and festivals," I continued. He looked down at his feet. "I was really busy with some things." Being friends was going to be harder than I thought.
Despie our talks and time we spent together in the next week, we still couldn't be classified as "friends." But we couldn't postpone any more time and had to start reading lines.
We were in the middle of a break up scene, when the director shouted, "Cut! Marius, have you ever liked someone or loved someone and hurt them? Or had someone hurt you?" He looked at his script solemenly and nodded. "That's what you've done in this scene. And now you're putting yourself out there hoping for her forgiveness, but also preparing for rejection. Think back to your experience and lets try it again."
We ran through the scene again. This time, he performed to perfection.
When we walked out, I was too curious not to ask. "So this girl you thought of in there, what happened with her?" He shook his head, "You don't want to know." I pushed him for more information. "We are supposed to be friends. You can talk to me. What happened?" He sighed, "She and I have been friends for a really long time. I ended up falling for her and told her. She goes back and forth about whether or not she likes me and whether she wants to date other people or not." I looked at him. "I'm sorry," I said truly meaning it. "I know how that is."
Our friendship blossomed after that. We talked about everything and on rough days, would build each other up.
Opening night came and we were backstage, butterflies in our stomachs going crazy. The whole land far far away would be coming. We had our pep talk and the lights dimmed on stage. "Break a leg!" We whispered to each other. Each scene started and ended. We took our bows. The entire show ran flawlessly.
Show number two came. Before the show, the directors came up to Marius and I. "We want to add something to the show," they began. "We want a kiss at the end." Marius looked like he'd just seen a dragon. My eyes widened. "You two can either practice now or save it for the end." Neither of us moved. "Alright, we'll save it for the show! Break a leg! You two are doing fabulous!" They left us standing there in silence.
Marius opened his mouth and spoke, "I've never kissed anyone before." I stared at him, not sure I'd heard him right. "You what?" I asked. "I've never kissed anyone," he repeated. My stomach flopped. How was that possible!? He was beautiful, kind, sweet, talented, and overall mirrored perfection. Physically, he had every trait of prince charming.
"Ok," I took a deep breath. "Ok this is what you do. You'll come up to me," I said grabbing him and positioning him in front of me. "You'll put your hand on the side of my face." He lifted his left hand. "Other hand, Marius. The one not facing the audience." He lifted the right one and put it on my face, almost horizontally. I laughed. "You really haven't kissed anyone have you?" I straighted his hand so it followed the line of my cheek. "Then you'll lean in close and put your lips on mine. It's a stage kiss so you don't have to pucker if you don't want to." He nodded and put his hand back down at his side. "Don't be nervous, it'll be ok," I reassured him and walked backstage.
The show started and we went through the scenes, one by one. Then came THE scene. The scene we would kiss. He stepped close to me. His right arm rose and he rested his hand on my face. He was shaking terribly. He leaned in and our lips met. The directors hadn't told the rest of the cast, who stood there stunned. The music began, breaking the spell that had captured everyone and the rest of the show continued.
I had to do that every night for two weeks?! Well, if the directors insist! I smiled to myself.
Closing night came and I had to fight back the tears so that I didn't ruin my voice. We performed again with no mistakes. The show ended, we took our bows, and the audience gave us a standing ovation. I grinned knowing that if Marius wasn't holding my hand right now, then it would not have been the same experience.
Afterwards, the city was having fireworks and the cast was going. I was so excited to spend time outside of the show with Marius. Except, much to my disappointment, he didn't go.
I saw him the next week at our party for the cast. It was held in the most suitable place, my castle of course. We played games and awards were handed out. At one point, Marius was sitting outside in the garden. I strolled over to him and took a seat beside him. We began to talk.
We shared secrets, dreams, values, and ideas. It was so personal and deep that no words I share in this story will do it justice, so I won't even try. In the thirty minutes we talked, Marius changed my life. He made me want to be a better person, a better ruler. He opened my eyes to new perspectives. I saw him in a different light. I respected my costar in a way I never had before.
And before he left, he told me he liked me.
It was all I could think about until the next time when I saw him. I attended a jousting match in which he attended as well. When he saw me, he ran over and gave me a big hug. I was so happy to see him. He was with a group of friends, but sat with me for almost the entire match. "Don't you need to get back to your friends? I don't want to take up all of your time," I finally said. "Brailee, right now, there's nothing in this world that I care more about than you," he said smiling and wrapping his arm around me.
I foolishly thought "right now" meant more than its literal meaning of "right now." Our busy lives caused us to grow apart which resulted in our friendship dying.
And we lived happily never after.