The Princesses Princess

Once upon a time in a far-off land, a true love story was about to unfold but not for the couple most expected. A young princess Casey who was as lovely as a starry night sky awaited her true love.

A knock on her door surprised her as seconds later her mother, Queen Evelyn, rushed in holding an elaborate dark blue satin bow in her hands.

"Now turn around my dear," she says quickly tying it around the waist of Casey's light blue dress.

"Mother, don't you think this tad too much?" she says looking in a mirror seeing how extravagant she looked.

"Why of course not!" the queen said, a bit taken aback by the statement. Casey chuckled at her mother's aghast reaction to her simple question.

"The King Samuel of Verdon and his children will be here shortly." Her mother informed her as she motioned for Casey to sit at the vanity so she could fix her hair. Casey slumped slightly knowing what this meant. She was to be wed to the King's son Carl in two springs. Casey did not find much interest in the boy but was also not completely repulsed by him like many of the other princes in the nearby kingdoms. The visit of the King and his children was not completely dreary to Casey as the King's daughter and Carl's sister Princess Ashely would also be coming.

As the prince was 5 years and 3 months older than her, Ashley was only 4 months older so the two girls always got along well. Princess Ashley looked older than her age and was extremely beautiful in Casey's opinion. She knew she could stare at the fair maiden for hours just admiring her beauty. All she could do was sit and think about the arrival of her alluring friend.

Finally, the fanfare of a trumpet interrupted her daydream and as the queen quickly tucked a piece of loose hair behind Casey's ear she rushed out of the room. Casey was soon behind her after pulling the meticulously placed hair out from behind her ear to have it drop along the right side of her face once again.

As the large doors of the castle opened, Casey ran out to see her friend who was stepping out of her grand carriage. It was very large for a three-person family as it was pulled by six large white horses. The two ran to each other and hugged once they met in the middle of the grand stairway leading to the large front entrance to the castle.

After she greeted her friend enthusiastically she moved to the prince who walked up calmly and stood next to his sister. Casey politely curtsied and as she stood up Carl grabbed her hand and bent down to kiss it. Casey was a little shocked by the action as he had never done this before. She looked over to her friend but Ashley just stared at the ground making her feel uneasy.

Eventually, the three of them made their way into the castle and into the dining hall with their parents soon to follow. The group sat down to eat when one of the cooks ran into the room and whispered in Casey's father's ear. The cook looked very scared before hearing the King laugh.

Caseys' father, King Nathaniel, was a very stern-looking man on the outside and this intimidated many people. Though Casey knew the reality of her father's personality was quite the opposite, his facade allowed him to be a great leader.

After the King finished his laughing fit he dismissed the cook and explained to his family and their guests the situation.

He said "Well it would seem that our blasted beast of a dog we have for a pet seems to have..." he trailed off trying to control a chuckle before continuing "bitten the Chef's rear and he spilled the entire soup onto the roast we were to have for our meal." Everyone chuckled at the King's story.

The king followed by saying "We will eat in an hour when the Chef has finished preparing the second meal, until then girls why don't you head to Casey chambers, Evelyn Hunny, you help the cooks, the rest of us will head to the throne room to discuss business."