Royals [h.s] (WATTYS 2016)

Prologue

I gracefully walk with my chin held up high and my back as straight as line. My slow and soft steps are carrying me in the direction of the palace gardens.

I can hear the soft clicks of my bejeweled sandals against the Italian marble tiles beneath me. With my hands on my sides, I touch at the white arrangement of pearls of different colors-bone, white, black. It would've passed for a wedding dress with the fitting waist and the lace sleeves if not for the fact that it landed just right above the knee.

It's the twenty first century. Times have changed an no one expects me to wear hideous, long petticoat-topped dresses that I absolutely abhor and develop a rash at.

I examine the intricate, gold leaves carved up onto the ceiling by a french artist hundreds of years ago when this palace was just being built by my great, great, great, great, great grandfather. I've lost count on how many 'greats' preceed the grandfather, but I know he was a king during the Tudor era.

Elaborate paintings of angels and nature greet me at every step along with portraits of my predecessors. I feel a deep press on my heart when I reach the painting at the end of the hallway.

A portrait of my mother and father done a few years ago. Their distinguished features and the usual intimidating royal glance is hung above a gold plate engraved with their birthdates and the day of their death.

King George of Islale
Birth: August 7, 1969
Coronation: June 9, 1983
Death: May 1, 2008

Queen Svetlana of Islale
Birth: January 16, 1968
Coronation: June 9, 1983
Death: May 1, 2008

~•~

"Sienna, when's mummy and daddy going to return from their business meeting in Chependale?" Claudia, my youngest sister, aged five asked me with a longing expression.

"I don't know Claudie." I reply timidly. She nodded her head and looked at the floor.

Our parents have been gone for about three months now to fix some conflict with Chependal about a land that lies in between the two countries. My tutor had told me all about it, but I wasn't really paying attention to his long words and monotonous voice.

"Hey, let's go to the garden and play with the dogs. That should cheer us up." I beamed at my younger sister who returned a weak smile.

I felt bad for her. During the five years of her life, it seemed that she had spent more time with maids than with our mom. Our guards than our dad. They always skip dinner to eat with another royal family and they travelled for such long periods of time.

They never watched us grow. They never found out about our first fallen tooth, they never watched our first piano recital, nor did they ever spend our birthdays with us.

I was already used to it, being the eldest. It was just hard to watch Gabriel, nine, and Claudia grow up the same lacking way I did. Lacking, not in a sense of materialistic measures, but the family time. We only celebrated four Christmases together and six thanksgiving dinners together.

Sometimes my dad would even call me Sierra. Oh how I wanted to correct him, to tell him and my mother that they spend more time with strangers than their own children but I never did. I understood. I knew that they were the king and queen and that they were pressured. I knew they love me in their own ways.

But I knew for sure that I would be a much better royal than they ever were. I'd have time for my kids and my people. I'd balance my schedule and never neglect the interests of both parties. I'll be better than them. I'll be the best queen. Sorry Queen Elizabeth.

Claudia was angering her nanny by dirtying her new skirt given by the Ambassador of Indiania. I couldn't help but laugh at her nanny's frantic efforts to detach her from rolls in the mud. Claudia has yet to learn the art of royalty.

I sat on a bench nearby and sketched a flower from a random bush. A rose that's beautiful and attractive yet thorny and dangerous. If I were a flower, I'd probably be a rose. I would be graceful and elegant, but stern and focused on my duties.

All of a sudden, a loud cough startled me and messed up my outline. I impatiently looked up and saw that it's our headmistress. I immediately stood up and curtsied.

"Good morning Headmistress Abbey." I said.

"Good morning princess Sienna. Please follow me to the library. Your siblings await you there". She said.

I walked nervously to the library. Only extremely matters are told to us children at the library.

I saw Gabriel's dark brown fuzz of hair buried in a comic book and Claudia played with the hem of her skirt.

"Children." Headmistress Abbey snapped. All our three heads snapped in her direction and our posture immediately improved.

"Your parents have died in a plane crash on their way home just last night."

I didn't even have time to think. I wasn't given time to recollect my thoughts and channel my emotions.

There was only one black day and that was it.

The next thing I knew, I was being whisked away to boarding school in Germany to continue specialized schooling for royals to train me to become the next queen.

~•~

"Good morning Queen Sienna." a maid curtsies at me with some Chinaware on her tray. I tilt my head at her and scurries away.

The picture after my parents is a portrait of me on my coronation last year. I'm wearing a grey, glittery gown that's cut off the shoulders, septor in hand and the royal crown on my head.

Queen Sienna of Islale
Birth: October 27, 1995
Coronation: September 5, 2014

*~*

Long may she reign