Over My Rainbow

Chapter 1

WHEN I was little, I didn't believe that there was magic. I had been taught that no elves, witches, leprechauns, unicorns, harpies, trolls or dragons had ever existed. No one could turn into anything else and everything happened for a reason. Now that I'm older, I realize that even if a tutor told me those things, you can't believe everything people say. I happen to know that magic exists because I have seen it with my own eyes. If you believe that dreams come true, they will. And fairy tales aren't only in storybooks.

Let me back the story up a little and tell you the story from the beginning.

My kingdom did not believe in any sort of magic. Not even luck. And I have since heard that there is absolutely no such thing as luck. But I will spin you the tale and let me believe for yourself.

I am Princess Amantha Pasquale I of Jale, a small kingdom not many have heard of much less visited. My castle is large but too small for my family of five kids living inside it, from my older brother Hayden who is seventeen to my baby sister Leigh Anne. Parents who have their hands full usually forget about one child. Usually, that child is me; I am the daughter no one realizes exists.

Most of the palace staff is kind to me which is a blessing and balances out the fact that I am forgotten. About the only people that never forget about me are my older brother Hayden and my little sister and biggest tormentor, Claire. She has decided it is her royal duty to remember about me and annoy me for the rest of her and my days. She is the biggest troublemaker, rule breaker and baby you have ever met, and spoiled rotten. It is always impossible to find her when you need her and to be rid of her when she feels like pestering you. She resorts to making messes and making weird noises of her own language when she is bored. The tutors and nurses have spent hours trying to make her behave, learn and act like a princess, but she doesn't listen and no one can pin her down to a chair. At least she has been convinced to dress like a princess. While I spent most of my days in tunics and breeches, she only wears the poofiest, frilliest, girliest dresses imaginable with bows and fancy hairstyles. I rarely remember to brush my hair but somehow she finds the time and patience to sit for her hair to be styled each morning. And by the midday meal, it looks crazy like she is a peasant. The servants wait on her hand and foot and the whole kingdom is enthralled with the adorable blonde six year old in the cute outfits that if you ask me are a waste of the kingdom's gold.

My seventeen-year-old brother, Hayden is also very royal, but in a good way. He has learned everything that he can possibly learn about how to be a good king and leader. He is extremely talented and willing to go out into the real world and get his hands dirty, unlike other nobles. He regularly swims, horseback rides, practices his fighting skills, navigates on land and by sea and he is very book smart, scoring so well on tests that other young men of neighboring kingdoms cannot compete. He has taken the time to learn the languages of neighboring kingdoms while I know one language and that is the one of the common people of Jale. He wins most of his jousts and sits tall with perfect poise atop any mare or stallion and he is always a good sport. He is compassionate, loving and kind-spirited. When I look at my brother, I can only find one single fault.

He is terrible with women. Yes, he's good-looking, smart, brave, chivalrous and absolutely everything a woman could ever want, just once they meet him the attraction fades away. It is my brother's one flaw and I see no way to change it and my mother disrespects him greatly for it. Hayden learns every day how to become king, but my mother wishes she had gotten him betrothed at birth. My father says "a good ruler has qualities not possession" but my mother argues that "a king household and his children are the most important aspects of his life."

I was visiting in Hayden's quarters one day when my mother first changed my life. From now on I will remember the story as if I were today.

"Amantha, you know what? I have learned it's hard to make a good marriage. Mother is threatening to choose a wife for me but I want to be the one to choose her because love and devotion matter more than appearance and status," Hayden declared gazing out the window. The rolling hills outside the village are a dazzling green as he turns to face me.