Little Princess

Books

*Nymeria's P.O.V*

I flushed as I scrambled to my feet, my face red from embarrassment. I had no idea what to say, what could I say after being dumped on the ground in front of them? My hair fell in my face and I realized with sudden panic that they had seen me with my hair down. I quickly pulled my hair back, trying to braid it when I realized that I didn't have my hair tie. I must have dropped it in the stables.

"You may leave your hair down around us," Queen Morticia said, a wry smile on her lips. My cheeks darkened slightly when I realized that they had watched me try and fail to put my hair up.

"I'm not supposed to, I'm only supposed to wear it down around family," I answered as I pulled my braid over my shoulder, keeping one hand on it to make sure it didn't come unbraided.

"There is another reason you could wear it down around us," Queen Riniya said simply, her eyes piercing into mine.

"The only other way I could wear it down is if I was still a child," I retorted, feeling a bit proud of my knowledge.

"You are a child compared to us so therefore you can wear you hair down around us," Queen Elvira said simply. I bristled slightly at the implication of me being a child, a small frown on my lips. "We have been ruling for thousands of years, you have been ruling for barely two years," she said.

"That doesn't mean I am a child," I murmured, my ego a little wounded. I think anyone's would be if they were called a child by someone they were trying to make trade agreements with.

"To us you are, our children are much older than you as are our grandchildren," Queen Belladonna said, a small smile on her lips. My cheeks were flushed at the fact they considered me a child. "Onto other matters, you may wish to clean up when you head inside. Your dress is covered in dirt," she informed me. I nodded as I dusted my dress off slightly.

"The meeting has been rescheduled for tomorrow, it is of the utmost importance that we finish the practical discussion of the trade agreement," Queen Ordelia said simply. I nodded my head in understanding, relieved that I hadn't screwed up the meeting that much if they were still willing to speak with me.

"Perhaps you should make sure that your guard does not upset you again because it would be a shame if we had to stop the meeting because of your bad mood," Queen Elvira stated. I internally flinched at her words, knowing that meant I couldn't screw up again by mouthing off or being snappish tomorrow.

"We'll escort you back to the castle," Queen Morticia said, her fangs showing slightly when she smiled.

"My heels are in the stable," I said quietly, looking up when I heard a soft chuckle from one of the queens.

"We'll have one of the stable boys bring them in for you," Queen Riniya said as she smiled slightly. I sighed as I realized I had no other reason not to go back with them except maybe Nyx.

"I need to put my horse up," I added as I glanced towards the stables, noticing that there seemed to be some people working in there now.

"The stable boys will make sure she gets put up. It wouldn't be proper for a young, unmarried woman to be in the stables without an escort now that the stable boys are actually working," Elvira said, glancing towards the stables.

"Everyone is allowed a break Elvira," Queen Ordelia said simply. I trailed behind them as I held the end of my braid. Queen Riniya fell back to walk beside me, pulling something off her wrist and offering it to me. I realized it was a hair tie and accepted it with a quiet thanks. I quickly twisted it around the end of my braid which I let hang down my back.

"Where will you be after you clean up?" Queen Riniya asked. I thought about it for a moment as we rapidly approached the castle.

"Probably the library, I'm trying to read up on everything," I said honestly. She nodded her head with a thoughtful expression.

"Good to know," she said before she rejoined the other queens. I pondered why she had asked that but figured she had a right to ask for no reason. I was in her home after all. As soon as we entered the castle I curtsied to them, twice because I hadn't done it earlier when I first greeted them.

I made my way to my room, stripping and throwing my dirty clothes into the laundry chute. I took a quick shower, scrubbing the dirt off of my body. My braid got soaked but I just squeezed the water out. I dressed in another floor length dress, this one a beige color with lace patterns. It was one of my least favorites because it was so boring but at least if this one got dirty it wasn't one of my favorites.

I headed to the library, tugging at the end of my braid. I headed to the library, getting a book on merpeople. I wanted to know why Queen Ordelia's eyes had flashed earlier when she was upset with me. I found out that it was because a bit of her underwater magic had reacted to what she assumed was a challenge which made her eyes glow. I had now read a little bit on both werewolves and merpeople. I had a vampire book back in my room and got a book on witches and elves to take back to my room as well.

I looked up when two books were sat on top of my stack that I had acquired. I looked up and realized that Queen Riniya had been the one to set the books down. I watched her walk away without a single word, waiting until she left the library to look at the books she had given me.

My cheeks flushed when I realized they were two children's books. I opened one up curiously, reading over the first couple of pages. The book was about emotions and how to deal with all sorts of them. I read until I came across a page with a purple note. They had colored paper here? I had never seen that before, I would have to get some soon. It was very pretty paper, I wondered if they had any green colored paper. That was my favorite color after all.

'You need to work on dealing with this emotion, little princess. Big feelings are okay to have but you are not allowed to snap at people when you have them,' the note read. I realized that Queen Riniya must have written it. I blushed at the way she had described my emotions and felt a small bit of anger that she felt the need to treat me like a child. I pulled the note out and noticed that it had been put on a page about being upset. I shut the book and opened the next one, wondering what it was about.

I read the first couple pages, looking over the illustrations first. I flushed when I realized that the entire book was about dealing with emotions when you were unhappy, angry, or upset. However it was clearly for small children as it referred to the emotions as big feelings.

Well I didn't need to know how to deal with my emotions when I was angry. I didn't need a book on how to deal with big feelings. I wasn't a damn child who needed this book and I would tell Queen Riniya that. I was going to finish reading both of them first though. Only because they had good illustrations, that was the only reason.