The Queen in the South

The Queen

"Wow." Mikayla gasped as I walked out into the hall, Greta and Sarah ran after me, adjusting the cape that was attached to my dress, it was pretty long and swept the floor behind me.

I loved the dress, I really did and I'm sure Queen Tiana had looked absolutely breathtaking in it. It had been tailor made for her after all. But as gorgeous as it was, it wasn't me.

In Tren, I had four dresses in my closet and they were simple dresses that I had gotten from the market place. Only one of them was a fancier design that Matilda made for my birthday.

It's a strappy white number with a full lacy skirt. It was my absolute favourite thing in my closet. Nothing like the closet here with it's endless options of dresses, skirts, shoes and scarfs. Stella would go insane if she was here.

"How will I move in this without falling flat on my face?" I asked as I kicked out the long skirt that brushed the floor.

I could see how this blue and flowy material respected the Water Kingdom's element but it was so impractical. Did I really have to get this dressed up for breakfast?

Mikayla looked at Fara. She gave a slight roll of her eyes before stepping forward.

"Watch me." She spoke, she threw her shoulders back and lifted up her silky ivory dress slightly. "Good posture is key, pull your shoulders back. Swing one foot in front of the other, leading heel to toe as you walk forward. And lift the skirt like this, do not bunch it up."

I followed Fara's instructions and lifted my dress.

Okay, I could do this, hopefully without falling flat on my face in front of the King and Queen I so desperately wanted to make a good impression on.

"Okay, so King Joash and Queen Sheila are out in the garden. Remember, don't -"

"Bow, yes, I know." I told Mikayla.

Royalty doesn't bow to royalty.

I still wasn't used to the fact that that's who I was now, royalty. But I had to. I especially didn't want to come off the way I had to Trina who had called me a child right to my face.

Where was she this morning anyway? I thought she would be the one walking me through all this. Sure she hadn't exactly been a ray of sunshine but at least she had been straight forward and honest with me. That's exactly what I had needed if I was going to get what I wanted here.

"Okay, lets go." Mikayla spoke, she looked more nervous than I did.

I sucked in a deep breath. It was now or never.

As we walked down the hall, guards were lined up at all corners. I wondered if this was common protocol or if they had placed them there because I was a flight risk.

As I walked by, they all begun to bow.

I cringed again at this gesture.

I wasn't worthy of this respect, I really wasn't.

As I walked, I tried to maintain my posture the way Fara had told me.

Mikayla and Fara walked in front of me. It felt like hallway stretched on forever until we finally got to a pair of large double doors.

The minute the guards saw us, they bowed and pulled open the doors. Light spilled in and what was before us was a garden like I had never seen before.

It was filled with green vines entangling everywhere and red flowers.

Red flowers, everywhere.

Roses, fire lilies, petunias, red poppy's, you name them.

How could I forget about the red garden? I had only read about it a thousand times.