Only Chance

1.

My eyes drooped as I tried to stay awake. I was only merely squinting now, holding in my large yawns.

"Princess Adelphia! Stop sleeping!" Mr. Whatever-his-name-was scolded.

I jolted awake. "What the- huh? I wasn't sleeping!" I said.

"Then what was I saying?" the teacher frowned, face turning a beat red, bright blonde hair falling into his tomato-colored face.

"I wasn't listening to you," I said truthfully. "Maybe if you want my attention, you should talk about some more interesting things." I gratefully stretched in my seat.

"Princess! Your manners! Would you like to get punished for such foul uses of language?" the teacher scolded, but instantly calmed down. "Princess Nydia! As the oldest, you should teach others about the fascinating schoolwork we were debating about."

I groaned. Oh shoot, I forgot she was still there. I whipped around, and to my disappointment, and find Nydia smiling snidely.

"You were saying that each human follows the rules of the kingdom or empire they belong to. If you follow your kingdom's rules, you are permitted to go anywhere under your empire," she recited. "Elves like us follow the Thinia empire, mermaids or other such underwater creatures, like sirens, follow the Eshaizar empire, morphed creatures such as half-bears or half-wolves follow the Zupia empire, and lastly, the people of the sky, which consists creatures such as ravens, fairies, nymphs and hawks, will follow the Veannekha empire. Those are the most powerful empires, but in the midst of that, there are also many smaller kingdoms. Was that what you were saying, Mr. Nakarado?"

"Perfect!" Mr. Nakarado (who can remember that?) beamed. "Princess Adelphia, you should learn from your highly skilled sister instead of sulking there in the shadows all day. More intriguing things, ha! We learn history and important things, not interesting-"

Abruptly, a servant came running into the study, interrupting his words. "Princess Adelphia, the empire is looking for you!" he panted as he braced his knees for support.

"Oh, her?" I frowned.

"Don't refer to your majesty as just 'her!'" Mr. Nakarado shouted. "Goodness heavens! Your manners are over the roof today!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I grumbled. I adjusted my crown and stood up, almost knocking over my oil lamp in the process.

"Be more careful!" Mr. Nakarado yelled.

I rolled my eyes not-so-discreetly and left the classroom along with the servant.

"Please, follow along here," the servant breathed. We strolled along the glistening hallways, filled with mirrors and beautiful vases, until we walked through the large bronze doorway and reached the throne room. The throne room, as always, was filled with protecting soldiers, each more imitating than the next. They all stood in an orderly fashion, traditional. Spears in the front and knives in the back, along with the two of the most prized military members right next to the empress, both carrying bows and bags loaded with golden arrows.

The empress herself, was dressed in her usual red silken dress with golden bows and white ruffles. Her brown hair was tied up into an elegant braid, and she wore her daily golden reading glasses around her green-hazel-colored eyes. It was hard to believe someone like this was my own mother.

"You are still causing a ruckus?" the empress sighed, looking bored. Our eyes locked in the middle, my blue against her brown.

"No, your majesty," I bowed down reluctantly. "I am not."

The empress examined me as I kept my head down. "You indeed are the most beautiful out of your sisters," she growled. "It's too bad you have your father's dirty and stupid ink hair."