Lapis Lazuli: the Ninja Princess

Chapter 2: A Sheltered Life

For her entire childhood, Princess Lapis had been constantly watched by her mother and every single member of the royal staff. The empress basically kept her daughter in this safety bubble, but to the princess; it felt like a penitentiary.

She put up with it until she reached her teenage years. That was when things got harder.

Because she was getting close to becoming empress herself, Lapis was given strict schedules that planned out her whole day. Every minute of the princess's day was planned out and there was nothing she could do about it.

Lapis was especially not allowed to go outside without a supervisor, whether it was a guard or a royal maid. The only exception was the royal garden where she would go to the cherry tree her parents planted. Her late father was buried right near the tree so she would take to his grave wherever she could. On most days, the princess would just come to the cherry tree to take a much needed nap under its blossom filled branches.

Although Lapis couldn't leave the palace, she did have friends who could come visit her (provided that they had the empress's permission.)

Jamie and Steven were a pair of farm boys from the village right next to the palace. They were good friends to each other and maybe even closer friends to Princess Lapis.

Steven had fair skin, black eyes, curly black hair. He would often wear a mauve men's kimono.

Jamie was skinnier with tan skin, black eyes, and brown hair. His kimono was a bright teal.

Lapis befriended them after she saved the boys from wrongly executed for a crime they didn't commit. Since then, the three of them had been very close.
Jamie and Steven were great listeners, especially when the princess was ranting about her daily annoyances.

The times where Lapis couldn't go to the garden or see her friends were often the lowest points of her day. Her mother always expected to wear the fanciest kimonos, no matter how hard it was the young girl to walk in them.

Everytime she would complain about her attire, Blue Diamond would always say, "A princess must always look her best in the presence of her subjects."

Sometimes, she would attend meetings with her mother where the empress would settle disputes or approve of construction plans. The subjects would often bore Lapis to sleep.

Whenever she did doze off during a meeting, Empress Blue frowned at her and said, "A princess must be alert at all times."

Lapis was also required to attend etiquette classes in order to be as prim and proper as any other princess could be. But, the young princess would rather engage and play with the teenagers in the village.

But when she tried to convince her mother to participate in a cart race, the empress would scowl, "A princess would indulge in such uncouth activities." That left Lapis with no other choice but to look the other way.

And of course, the princess had to be homeschooled and she was given many lessons from her tutor like mathematics, geography, science, and many more.

Lapis wanted to avoid the mundane lessons, but her mother would tell her daughter; "A princess must have a well-rounded education."

And it wasn't just her finicky mother who got on the princess's nerves. The servants and guards were no better. The royal handmaidens would help Lapis do everything that most girls her age could do on their own. And that included things like bathing, getting dressed, and even eating.

Meanwhile, the royal guards would be watching the young princess like a hawk. They were especially watchful when visitors came to the palace to make sure they didn't harm the girl in a way that would be a cause for alarm.

Lapis was not helpless, but the royal staff didn't see it that way.

Whenever the young princess tried to do anything herself, someone would often stop her and say, "No need to trouble yourself, Your Highness."

"But, I need to learn to do things on my own at some point." Lapis argued.

"Lapis, you are not to turn down help from the royal staff." Empress Blue scolded her daughter. "That is my job."

"But, I'm a teenager." the princess shot back. "I need to have at least a little independence."

"A princess never raises her voice at her mother!" the empress said sternly.

"That's not part of royal etiquette!" Lapis yelled. "You just made that rule up!"

"A princess must also be seen and not heard!" Blue refused to be wavered.

At that point, Lapis just had enough. There was no way she was going to win this argument.

So in surrender, she marched off to her room and hollered, "I will not condone to being silent!"

"Teenagers." one servant rolled her eyes. "They can be so stubborn."

"What am I going to do with her?" Empress Blue sighed, shaking her head.

"Worry not, Your Majesty." the servant consoled her. "She's sure to come around eventually."

Blue wanted to believe her, but knowing her daughter; something like that would not come cheap. Lapis was becoming more problematic by the day. It wouldn't be too long before something happened that would push the princess past her boiling point.