Royalty Mysteries

"Nice to meet you." I say, curtsying to the gentleman who stood in front of me. "You as well. I am Prince Ash of Belcourt. I would hate to interrupt your peaceful evening, but urgent news must be passed on." He said, a grim expression of his face. "Continue." I say. He takes a deep breath. "A terrible storm is raging across the coast. It is heading this way, Princess Belle. Your family's castle will be underwater within days." I gasp. It is rare there would be such a horrendous storm on this side of the land, that when there are storms, they are quite awful. "We must evacuate." I murmur, looking down at the skirt of my teal gown. "Pardon me?" Prince Ash asks politely. "Evacuation measures must be put into order. This warning is very much appreciated." I begin to turn away, lifting my skirt. "Do you suppose you shall need any help?" The Prince asks. "Well... Would you mind alerting the townsfolk? Our messengers are... Preoccupied." I shake my head. "Of course. I shall return momentarily." He responds, then leaves the foyer. I climb the spiral staircase up to the family living quarters. "Mother? Father?" I crack open their bedroom door, and find them sitting in the small area in a corner of their bedroom, talking. "Yes dear?" My mother asks. I enter and explain all that Prince Ash warned me of. "What a kind favor. Yes, we are aware of this, darling. The storm has been building for several weeks. Everyone is leaving in 2 days. Until then, pack. And quickly, too." She says, and my father smiles at me. He seems sad... How bad could this storm be? I leave the room and go into my own. I leave out 2 gowns- one for tomorrow and one for traveling. The rest of my clothing I pack into a leather case along with any of my other possessions. As I close my bag, I hear heavy footsteps passing my door. I sigh. I leave my room and go down the hall to my little sister, Lily's room. "Lily!" I gasp as I open her door. She is covered in mud from head to toe- it's even in her hair! "What happened?" I exclaim, beginning to help her strip. "I fell off Chip at training. I cannot ride a horse for the life of me Belle! I'm a hopeless princess." She says, her eyes filling with tears. "Oh Lily. I can help you tomorrow. For now, I need you to clean up. Mother would have a fit if she saw you like this." Lily nods, taking off her riding boots. Her socks underneath were caked with mud. "Well, I suppose these are ruined. I'll sneak these down the trash chute before mother can see, alright?" I smile. "Alright. Did you hear that we are leaving in 2 days?" Lily asks. I take her dress and under gown and set them in her laundry bag as I nod. "Yes I did. Did you know it's due to a terrible storm?" I ask. "No. Really? We haven't had a storm that bad in a long time then!" I smile, leading her into her bathroom. I pour warm water into her bathtub and motion for her to get in. I hand her a bar of soap and she begins to clean the dirt off. "Guess what? I found out from a handsome prince. He was Prince Ash of Belcourt. He came all the way from there to warn us! Isn't that kind." I say, glancing out the window at the Cliff that lead to the ocean. "Yes it is. Can you hand me that towel?" Lily asks, and I hand it to her. She dries herself. "Good. Now that you have all the dirt off, why don't you go get changed into a decent gown, and I'll meet you down in the entry. Maybe we can go down to the sea, eh?" I smile as Lily begins to change faster at the mention of the ocean. Closing her door, I go down the stairs and see Prince Ash speaking with my parents. "Hello darling! Where is Lily?" My father asks. "She's getting changed from her riding lesson. What is the matter?" I ask. "Well, as you are aware, we shall be traveling soon. Prince Ash requested he travel with us to ensure we are in the correct direction. Arrangements have been made and you, along with your sister, will travel with the prince. Your mother and I will be in one of the carriages behind you, with all of the luggage we shall be taking. There was simply not enough room for all of us once we put everything in our carriage. That alright?" I nod. I shall be in a carriage for possibly days with a stranger. Not to mention that my sister shall be with us too. Just at that moment, Lily came pounding down the stairs and landed next to me. "I'll be doing what?" She asks. I bite my lip as my mother shakes her head, then explains to her. "Where's the Prince?" She asks. "Oh! Hello!" She exclaims when the prince raises his hand as a small greeting. "He is so not handsome." She whispers to me as we continuing to descend the stairs. I smile, but do not respond. "I am going to take Lily for a walk, if there are no further objects of importance to discuss." I say, and receiving no objections, I lead Lily out of the castle and down the trail to the sea.