Jolie

*Preface*

Bréi sat on a plush sofa, her lips soft, her eyes wide, her lips rosy red. Her hair looked even more glossy in all of its golden glory, the moonlight gave it a special glow. We sat in a large room at the end of the guest hall inside of the king's palace.The large windows hung open igniting the room with a silver brilliance. An ornate gold vanity sat in the room. The air hung heavy with a sweet perfume, probably one of Bréi's many gifts from the king. I often wondered why he liked her so much. She wouldn't tell me why we now lived in the king's palace, how we went from slowly starving to a banquet every night and why I suddenly lived with her. I had no choice, my parents were dead.

CHAPTER 1

Bréi had been beautiful her whole life. With her flowing golden hair and blue eyes, she had always been adored. When we walked to school together, she would walk with me part of the way, but when her friends were around, she would pretend that she didn't know me. I think part of it was the fact that all of her friends were the rich girls that lived in the big houses in town. They wore flouncy lace dresses with bows and ribbons trailing in their hair. My sister tried her best to be like them, but what was her gingham compared to their silk?

I didn't mind how she treated me because I wasn't like her. I was content with our small but cozy cottage. Our daily breakfast of bread was not fancy, but it was filling and I enjoyed it. My dresses were plain, but they were comfortable. I had the love from my parents. It was sure to always be there, and I went through every day of my life knowing that. Miss Helen Parcels, our street's local gossip, lived right next door. She wore her hair in a bun so tight that you were surprised that her brain received blood. She had her opinion on my sister and I, and wasn't afraid to voice it, " Bréi is so pretty, she'll have no problem fetching herself a fine husband. That Jolie is another matter, she will be a burden on her parents, bless them. She wears her hair in one braid down her back, she acts like a boy and is absolutely nothing like her sister. All of the townspeople had their opinions about me. Miss April Hanes, our florist, was a woman who wore her hair flowing and loved my sister. Every day after school, Bréi went straight to the flower shop, she always came back wearing a new wreath of flowers on her head. Most days she went alone, but some days I went with her. " Good Afternoon Bréi, you look lovely as always. Would you like a wreath of daisies to go in your hair?" Bréi jumped up and down, "Yes please." She gave the florist the kind of smile that some people call brighter than the sun. The difference is that the sun is genuine in its shining. I looked at Bréi, she looked pretty, but she was always pretty. These flowers might be a small improvement on my ugliness. " Miss Hanes, can I have a wreath? I like flowers too." Bréi gave me the glass eye, and Miss Hanes turned around sharply." Oh dear Jolie, I did not realize you were here. Now I know where that awful smell came from. You really ought to stop tossing mud with those awful Gregor boys and start acting like a young lady. Oh, I must have forgotten, you aren't one. Hair the color of coal does not complement beauty." I blinked back tears and Bréi grinned. I turned and I ran.

I ran to the place where the bridge reaches over the lake like a helping hand...and I jumped in. When you are in water all things are pretty. Even an ugly girl can be beautiful. Even the clouded eyes can see. I let the water run over my skin, through my hair. As I sat on the strip of land on the edge of the lake, I looked inside of myself and decided I needed a change.