The (Not So) Perfect Princess

Home Free

Because I was so exhausted from everything that was going on, I guess I just assumed that I would have a peaceful sleep. And, of course, I just had to be wrong.

It seemed that every couple hours, I'd have an eerie dream about someone I once knew, and then I'd wake up gasping, covered in a cold sweat.

First it was my parents, telling me how much they were disappointed in me. Then it was Mrs. Bolshire, laughing at what I'd become. After her was the brown-eyed maid that had called the guards. Next was Mercer, the boy I'd gotten fired, then Fäbi, the traitor. After them was Brady, the farmer boy Eily had reluctantly (maybe not reluctantly) kissed. The five of us had been through so much. It seemed insane that, only a few weeks ago, I had still been locked up tight in the palace, wondering if that was how I was going to spend the rest of my life.

Thankfully, after maybe a day, the dreams stopped. I'd still float in and out of sleep, groggy and disoriented though. Sometimes I'd open my eyes and Eily would be sitting there, braiding her hair and watching me pensively. Other times it would be Q, fast asleep in one of the many cushioned chairs in the room. Once it was even Mr. Greg, pulling the room's curtains closed, encasing me in delightful darkness. And for however many days I was asleep, I don't remember hearing bad weather once, not even subconsciously. No pounding rain, no howling wind, no gigantic waves crashing into the side of the ship. Nothing. And I mean, I knew that this island was supposed to be the number one destination for rich families to vacation, but there couldn't be perfect weather there all the time, right? Heck, I'd stayed there for a few days, but that was a couple years ago. Was it possible that this place was as perfect as before?

A few minutes later-or hours, I couldn't tell-something poked me in the nose. At first I just swiped at whatever it was and tried to get back to sleep, but two seconds later, there it was again. Finally I cracked open my eyelids and got a blurry picture of something bright and red. After I blinked a few times, my vision became much clearer. Nessa was standing literally three inches from my face, watching me intently with her blue eyes, which impossibly looked even bigger up close.

"Avani!" she exclaimed when she saw that my eyes were open. "You're awake!"

"I am now," I teased, slowly stretching.

She poked my nose again. "Guess what?"

"What?"

"No, you have to guess."

I sighed. "A purple unicorn landed on the top deck and is now demanding to be fed muffins?"

Nessa just shook her head sympathetically. "Avani, you know unicorns aren't real, right?"

I smiled. "Yeah, I know."

"So guess again."

"Hmm," I said, tapping my chin. Finally I shrugged. "I give up. What's going on?"

Nessa grinned. "We can see the island."

I inhaled sharply. "Seriously?"

Nessa nodded, making her curls bounce. "Scout is already outside, so Q told me to go wake you up. He wants you to come see!"

"Okay," I said, carefully sitting up. "Go tell him I'll be out in a minute, alright?"

"Alrighty," Nessa breathed, skipping away.

I rubbed my temples. My head hadn't exploded when I sat up, so that was good. Hopefully these few days of nothing but rest had helped a little. Gingerly, I pulled myself to my feet, and pleasantly found that my head wasn't spinning. Well, at least not nearly as bad as a couple days ago. I took a few experimental steps forward, and thankfully felt fine afterwards. All that was left of my little misadventure was a pulsing-but dull-ache at the back of my head. Now that I could deal with.