Out in front of me, was the place I always dreamed of seeing; this palace and what it holds inside. It is the reason I can bring a smile on my face and hum silly, little tunes. Because of a dream, my feet lightly jumps to the rhythm of my heart beat, pounding faster as my excitement grows. My hands dangle in the air care freely, I dance.
Although, I may have given up, I can pull myself up. The feeling of emptiness was soon filled with the same passion as before, or even more than before. My dream is to be that princess, standing right beside my prince. His eyes staring into my eyes with love and adoration, being princess and his lover, I return the same love. Nothing can separate us apart, we are one.
I want to live out the fairytale of a prince and princess, the thought frequently came up. I don't know why it was important. Was it because they were the stories Ma read to me? I remember a vivid memory of Ma reading me all the fairytale books when I was a toddler.
The stories were my bedtime stories; Ma read to me every night. We would somehow act out our favourite parts of the book. We weren't the best at acting, but at that moment it didn't matter.
On the first day of school, entering first grade, Ma told me that I was a princess. It was a moment I still treasure.
She looked me in the eye, while holding my two tiny hands in her warm hands, as if I was everything she had, "Sara, be the princess you are. You are beautiful." She tugged a strand of hair behind my ear.
Her following sentence was, "I will always love you." She meant it, I could tell, even at such a young age.
She said she would always love me, did she keep her words?
I want to believe so badly that she did keep her words. There must me a tiny corner of her heart that still loves me. There must be, I am sure.
However, her confession was her last. Ever since that day, my step-dad came into my life. My mother poured all her love into him, instead of me. He also brought Gabriella, but she was never forgotten.
I don't know.
I don't know how many stories I made up about mother and her abandonment. Some stories were rather stupid, but they healed me. They gave me a reason to forgive my mother.
"Lady Aimi?" someone asked, stealing me away from my thoughts.
I realized that, that was my last name. I turned to face her.
"Sorry, yes?" I replied, politely.
"Are you alright? I called you several times, you didn't answer." she asked, concernly.
"Yes, I am alright. Thank you for asking," I responded.
"I am one of your three maids. My name is Lucy." She said with a smile.
Lucy has plain blond hair, with streaks of golden highlights. Her eyes were dark brown, a perfect balance between her light-coloured hair. She had thin lips, which pulled into a shy smile.
"Nice to meet you Lucy," I pulled out a hand.
Her eyes widened as she saw my hand. In return, I gave her a confused expression.
"Now, it is not lady-like to shake a maids hand," a brunet said in a stern voice.
I blushed, embarrassed at my mistake. No one has ever taught me manners.
"Thank you for telling me." I replied to the brunet.
"I am Silvia, the royal planner of the Selection," she stated, looking at me straight in the eye.
Her eyes were like Lucy's, but with a slight lighter shade. Nothing but formality was seen from her eyes. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun, not one strand of hair is out of place.
I gave her a forced smile, nothing can go wrong with a smile.
Lucy backed away, taking my bag of luggage from the butler. I didn't pack the luggage, Ma gave it to me the previous day in the dungeon. Ma packed the luggage and found a way to bring me to the palace. Many questions were built by her act of kindness, especially supported from her past.
" A lady must not dare to be daydreaming during a conversation." Salvia corrected.
"Right, I'm sorry." I apologized.
"That's alright," she said, with no emotions. She looked down at her watch and spoke, " It is time for your makeover, you will meet the other contestants during this event."
And with that, I walked into the palace, one step closer to my dream.