Fixation

Chapter 1- " The Troublemaker Princess"

It was the break of dawn. The castle was quiet save for the few maids that were up already and scuttering about, making preparations for the day. A lone figure sneaked past the maids and the half asleep guards guarding the back entrance before stealthily making their way towards the royal stable. "I'm here Beauty", the person whispered as she reached the stall of a brown mare with beautiful dark brown mane and brought her out of the stable. The person however froze midway as someone cleared their throat behind her.

"And pray what are you thinking of doing, Princess?" The person, princess Amelia turned around and breathed a sigh of relief. "Andrew, you scared me! I thought it was someone else!" She grinned at the light brown haired man, her childhood friend, who had a frown on his face.

" You're not thinking of going to your little 'excursion' today,are you? You know the Emperor is due for arrival, anytime now." He said worriedly. Amelia rolled her eyes.

" And that is exactly the reason I have to go to my 'excursion' Who knows for how many days mother is going to keep me cooped up in the castle once 'The Mighty Emperor ' and his people arrive, whom you all love to obsess about" She added sarcastically and hopped up on her mare. Andrew shook his head and followed her.

The guards at the drawbridge seemed reluctant to let her pass, courtesy of her mother but she was able to persuade them with Andrew's help. "I won't stop you but try to comeback as soon as you can or else I will be in trouble. " Andrew said. "Oh don't worry, I'll be back soon. Cover for me if something goes wrong. " She said as she pulled up the hood of her brown cloak up and secured it on top of her head. She grinned at Andrew once more before taking off.

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The fields of Daffodils, Tulips and Irises were in full bloom as she raced through the valleys leading into the forest. The cool morning air was pleasant and refreshing. This was the only time of the day she felt alive and free. Being born as a princess, several norms and standards had been forced upon her from the childhood. Princesses were supposed to be demure, elegant and graceful-much like her elder sister Juliet. Two years older than her, Juliet was the epitome of a beauty and poise. With long, silky blonde hair, cerulean eyes and a model of rectitude, she was an ideal princess and her mother never failed to mention it to Amelia how she should follow in her sister's footsteps.

Amelia was the complete opposite of how a princess should be, she had more in common with her elder brother. From a very young age she had been intrigued by nature and adventure. Whereas her sister played with dolls, she loved to spar with her older brother. As they grew older, her brother started getting venerated and commended for the same activities she did whereas she was chided and told to behave like a 'proper lady'.

Her mother chastised her when she would sneak out into the archery fields. Her mentors often reprimanded her and disapprove of her interests and hobbies. Her brother and sister shared their mother's views too. Only her father supported her and even though he too was not fond of her being on the archery grounds, since she could get hurt, he did not forbid her from horse riding. And so, along with Andrew she made her own archery spot in a secluded clearing of the forest.

Oh Andrew. Andrew had always supported her, from the childhood. He had grown up in an orphanage from a very young age. He had saved her life once from a few bandits when she had rebelliously run away from the castle in the middle of the night, angry with her mother's tirades. He was only thirteen back then, too young to join the knights of the kingdom but her father had accepted him with open arms.

Since then he had been living with them in the castle and their bond had grown strong. He was like the brother she never had, with her own brother rebuking her for her subversive and rebellious ways. He was close to her brother's age, four years older than Amelia herself. He had joined the cavalry once he was of age and had helped her a lot with archery. With light brown hair and amber eyes, Andrew was rather good-looking and it was no surprise her sister, Juliet, used to have a crush on him.