The Necklaces

Chapter 14

As I walk around the village more and more people notice me. They notice how nicely I am dressed and how I walk. I get many stares and awes as I walk by. Many little children run up to me and I happily speak with them. This is the happiest I’ve been in this place. One little boy with scruffy hair and dirty clothes runs up to me and looks up at me with the most innocent look, I bend down to speak with him.

“Hello young man, what’s your name?”

“I…I am Georgie and I’m 6 years old!” He looks at me proudly.

I smile at him, “Well I am Jasmine and I am 16 years old.”

He touches my dress, “Why are you dressed so fancy?”

“Well I am a princess and I have to marry one of the princes here.”

He smiles at me widely, “Are you going to be our new queen?”

I laugh a little, “I guess so.”

“Will you make sure that the new king is nicer? My mommy got sick and he said he didn’t care.”

I look at him in shock, “Is your mommy still sick?”

He nods, “She’s even worse, I wish I could make her feel better.”

“Will you take me to her?”

He smiles and takes my hand. He leads me to a tiny wooden house on the outskirts of the kingdom and we go inside. I instantly hear coughing.

“Mommy! I brought a princess and she wants to see you!”

He walks me into a small room and I see a woman lying in bed and she looks horribly ill, “Hello, I am Jasmine and your son tells me that you’re really sick.”

She looks at me in shock, “Are you a real member of the royal family?”

“Well sort of, I was engaged to the oldest prince of the Water Kingdom but then we were attacked by this kingdom and to avoid any more deaths I promised to marry Ethan.”

Anger crosses her face, “Oh that horrible king of ours, I bet he only attacked to take you! He’s an awful man, he is! His sons are also bad, except Ethan, I think he’s going to be a good king. But that is still horrible. Poor girl, now why are you here to see little old me?”

“I came to see if I could make you feel any better, if not I came to at least show you that someone cares that you get better.” She looks so grateful as I give her a basic checkup. “Well it looks like you can be cured; it’d be easier if I we were in the Water Kingdom because medical attention is easily available but I think if I take you to the castle doctor you’ll be fine.”

“You mean you’d take me into the castle just to be cured?”

“Of course, now let’s go.” I help her up from bed and we walk to the castle. Once inside I take her to see the doctor and he sets her up in bed and begins to give her all kinds of medicine to make her feel better. Once the doctor leaves the room I chat with her.

“I’m so glad that you came here, you see, I am a single mother who struggles to get food for her only son and it’s been bad since I got ill. I just hope that once the King is gone that Ethan will rule better than his father.”

I think to myself for a moment before asking this question quietly, “Do you think if the King was dead, everything would be better?”

She looks at me for a moment and then nods slowly.

I smile at her, “I can’t promise that I will be a ruler but I can promise that I will be getting rid of the King if it kills me.” I help her back to her house before going to the castle and locking myself in my room once more. Ethan knocks on my door and I let him in, “Yeah?”