Ugly Perfection

Joy, Peace, and Duty

Joy, Peace, and Duty

King William sat with intrigue as he watched his firstborn child, Esther, take her very first steps towards her mother. Queen Anne could not help but laugh with extreme joy and pride as her beautiful daughter ran (or rather stumbled) into her arms. Her smile only widened when Esther got back up and stepped on wobbly feet back to her father. This continued for several minutes until their daughter collapsed on the floor and fell asleep.

Though the past moments had been full of happiness, Anne soon felt a pang of remorse. In the kingdom of Kanzan, an infant could stay with their mother throughout the day, but as soon as the child began to walk, they had to be separated so that the child could be trained in a certain skill. School was a requirement until the age of eight. At this time, they would choose a profession and be placed on a strict schedule. Since Esther was part of the royal family, she would have a personal tutor instead of going to school and her job when she got older would of course be dealing with royal matters. Though Ester would remain in the palace for her training, she would not see her mother and father until dinner each night. Anne wished that Esther could be exempt from such traditions, but her duty to the Kingdom of Kanzan remained stronger than her own personal desires. If she failed to uphold the rules, the people would follow her example and the kingdom would fall into utter chaos.

When the time came to give Esther to her so called new tutor, Anne put on the bravest smile she could and pretended this event was one to be celebrated not mourned. The last night, she had whispered softly to Esther attempting to assure her that it was all for the best. Over and over in her head she had traced and retraced the reasoning behind such rules. If the rules were not upheld, control would be lost. If control was lost, Kanzan's perfection would no longer set it apart from surrounding kingdoms. If this kingdom was not set apart, it would become just as violent and horrid as the others. This was why she would give up time with her own daughter.

Although her resolve seemed outwardly strong, she questioned whether it was really worth all this effort to keep Kanzan the way it had been. Almost as soon as the traitorous thought hit her mind, she dislodged it by telling herself the truth. Yes. Yes it was worth it. So though she longed for the forgiveness of her daughter someday, Anne knew her decision was final. She was not going to ruin the paradise kingdom simply for a child. Her affections were looking far too much like love (which was strictly forbidden). This fact made it all the more clear to the Queen that separating herself from the child would indeed be best for the both of them. With one last "goodbye", Anne left her baby and assured herself that the child would be with her again for dinner.

Esther sat by her window subconsciously fidgeting with her long blue dress. It had been fourteen years since she had first began learning what it meant to be Princess of Kanzan. Her schedule sat on her desk where it had remained for at least seven years. Although royalty dealt with the outside world and could not be expected to hold as strictly to their daily duties as the villagers, she and her parents were expected to still attempt to be extremely orderly in their activities.

Now looking out the window, she was filled with curiosity of what life may have been like if she had been born into a commoner family. She pondered even more deeply what the life of a sixteen year old woman was like. Esther knew word for word the schedule that each citizen upheld. Breakfast at first bell, professional work from two bells to five bells, a lunch of village-made bread and olives at six, work again from seven bells to nine bells, and then dinner and family time until ten bells. At ten bells, everyone went to sleep and started all over again the next day. That being said, the schedule was not at all what Esther was truly curious about. She wondered what profession she would have had, what sorts of clothes she would have worn, what her commoner parents would have done for a living, what sort of husband would eventually have been assigned to her and many more of the same sorts of questions. By the end of her ponderings, she had created a very vivid picture of who she would have been and seemed to nearly drown in her own fantasy. She was so focused in fact that she hardly noticed the horsemen riding straight for the palace. Moments after they passed, a knock at the door brought Esther completely out of her daydream.

Ester snapped her face towards the door and plainly stated, "What is your business here at my door?" as a way of welcoming them in.

A somewhat small man with a red beard and piercing eyes came in. "I have come urgently to your room by request of the King and Queen. They want to see you. Now."

"What would they ever want from me?" she asked suspiciously. The last time she had been summoned by her parents, it was because she had forgotten to follow her schedule as accurately as was required.

"Please Miss, I had no business asking them the reason for their request. All I know is that they looked somewhat astonished by something. I would suggest you hurry."

Graciously, Esther answered with a simple, "Thank you." and turned to leave. Just before she went through the door though, she paused. "May I ask your name?"

"Friggerdern, Ma'am." He held an amused yet respectful smile on his face. Esther nodded and thanked him, then rushed off praying that this meeting with the King and Queen was not one of condemnation or punishment.