The Curse of a Half Blood Princess

Chapter 1

"Corset?"

"Check."

"Pantyhose?"

"Check."

"Contacts?"

"Check."

"Hair dye?"

"Mother, we dyed my hair yesterday," I protest. "I don't want to dye it so frequently. I want my hair to be its natural color."

"Honey," my mother frowns, pinning a loose strand of hair into my once perfect hair wrap, "you know how it has to be. How many times must we discuss this?"

"I will discuss it until I get my way, Mother," I sigh, turning back to look in the mirror. I look pretty decent, really. My hair is done up for my grandfather's birthday dinner and my dress is long and silky. It isn't very poofy, but it still is beautiful and looks lovely with my curves.

"A 17 year old such as yourself shouldn't constantly speak of such nonsense. We must keep it hidden or they'll know."

"Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing if they knew," I suggest. I take a deep breath and turn to my mother so she can do one last look over before we head down to the dining room.

"Scarlett, don't be ridiculous," she scolds, wiping a piece of mascara from my nose. "They would throw me in the dungeon and I dare not think what they'd do to you."

"All I want is to be myself, Mother," I say, ignoring her dramatic comments. "I want no more."

"I know, sweetheart, and I'm sorry. It's my fault that you're suffering, but I wouldn't have done anything differently. You're the greatest blessing in my life. Now you straighten up that gloomy face and smile because your grandfather loves to see his shining face. I wouldn't want a sad face to ruin such a happy day."

I smile at her and give her a small hug before we stroll away from our chambers and down into the bright, glossy dining room. My grandfather and grandmother are already waiting in their places at the table as my mother and I enter. As soon as they see us, they jump out of their seats and come to greet us.

"If it isn't our beautiful Scarlett," my grandfather beams, coming to give my mother and I a hug. I quickly smile, but not too quickly or he will notice my failure to do so. I hug his tall frame in a fast manner so he can continue from my mother and I to my mother's elder brother and his family. I peek gracefully around my mother to see my cousin, Peter, who is my age and he gives me a playful wink. His elder sister and brother, Annalisa and George, are right behind him and they acknowledge me with a nod of their head and a slight smile.

In this family, you have manners or you don't get any priviledges. By no priviledges, I mean you sit in your room alone so you don't have any chance of embarrassing the family in public. There's nothing more important to my grandfather than his reputation.

As soon as the greetings are exchanged, we take a seat at the table and begin our first course. The chef and his servers bring out a salad full of fruits and vegetables, a healthy start to a meal, and we begin eating.

"Father, how has your birthday been?" my uncle Xavier asks my grandfather. I keep silent as always; children are not allowed to speak at the table unless they are given permission or they are adults with a spouse or kids, so the silence includes Peter, Annalisa, and George.

"It has been absolutely splendid! I have everyone I love with me and I cannot possibly be happier! Thank you, son and family."

"You're welcome, Father," Uncle Xavier smiles respectfully at his father and takes another bite of his salad. I take one more bite before I can't take anymore, so I place my fork diagnol across the dish to indicate I'm done. With a corset and a small frame, there's not much food that can get in there, so I have to save room for my favorites.

Throughout dinner, the adults discuss all sorts of topics. It takes all I have to stay proper at the table as the adults speak of the most boring of topics. It's torture that I'm not allowed to join in to make them even slightly more interesting.

As we are about to begin dessert, the loudest of noises comes crashing in from the balcony and it makes us all jump. A bunch of guards are suddenly running for my grandfather and my mother has me in her arms within seconds. A guard starts escorting us out of the dining room, leaving my favorite part of the meal behind, and there are many cries of terror.

Happy Birthday, Grandfather...

"Mother, what's happened?" I inquire of my mother once we are in a safe place. She keeps an arm protectively around me and strokes my shoulder in a calming way.

"An attack, Scarlett," she replies, looking back at the chaos. "Someone is either rebelling or trying to attack your grandfather."

"An attack from whom?" I ask, confused. My mother frowns, blinking as if she's in pain.

"I presume it's from the demons," she whispers, looking up at the blazing tower of our castle. The soldiers and guards are persisting to put out the fire, but it seems to be getting worse.

"Perhaps it's-"

"Hush, Scarlett," my mother orders. I feel upset, but if she's hushing me, she must know what I was wondering.

It's an attack from my father. He's attacking my grandfather and little does he know that the king of the human's grandchild is also his daughter and she's in the same castle that he's trying to destroy. It makes me sick with curiosity to know what he's thinking and to know what he would be thinking if he knew who I was.

Oh, Father. Just what is going through that big head of yours?