Hallelujah

Arrival - Gracie

Once upon a time. Isn't that how all of the stories start out? 

When I was little, my dream was to become a princess and live in a castle. I'm sure other girls had the exact same dream, the exact same prince; it didn't help my prince was Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid,  and the exact same dress; Belle's ball gown from Beauty and the Beast. Maybe it was my active imagination though because some nights I could close my eyes and dream of the fabric, of the lights, the sounds, and the faces of the crowd as I took the Prince's hand and he led me up the steps to ask for my hand in marriage after seeing me from afar. The dream ended always before the Prince could ask the question, and it almost always ended with me crashing to the floor of my bedroom, tangled in sheets to get to the Prince in my dreams. 

I think those were the days my family was most annoyed with me. 

They never were maternal or paternal parents. They didn't understand that children had an active imagination and believed everything around them, along with everything said to them, was true with the help of magic. My mother would get so irritated when I spent the day pretending to be a princess, curtseying at all of the people that passed by our house, waving my hand in that motion that we came to associate with royalty, or merely drinking apple juice with my pinky up and out. In those moments in time, that I do remember, I kept thinking that I could wish away my mother's misery. She would finally laugh with me or dance around the living room with me when I would hum Disney songs, but those days never came, even when I would wish upon a shooting star. 

I could never fault my parents though, even now when I don't have a relationship with either of them. I was an annoying child. Lost in the world of make believe just to survive day to day. With both of them being gone constantly, or coming home with hazy looks in their eyes, it was no wonder they merely took the Welfare checks for themselves. They needed to be happy too. 

---

"Starting descent," the soft buzz of the intercom jolted me from my sleep, and my memories. I welcomed the intrusion as the staff bustled around to secure the loose items. 

"Do you need anything ma'am before we pack the the food and beverages away?" the woman who greeted me when I stepped onto the plane questioned. I smiled politely and shook my head no, telling her I didn't need anything. She went back to work, and I began to put my seat into the upright position. It was a recliner. One that would be seen in a man-cave in front of a TV, but in leather. 

The plane itself was beautiful. The colors of the Rockforth Kingdom must be green and gold, considering that was the colors of the inside of the plane, as well as a flag with a green background and a golden rose in the center. Bright red paint dripped from the flower, a clash of the green backdrop, but it brought a unique color scheme to the flag, and I couldn't say I disliked it. I actually loved it. 

My attention was then focused out of the window, looking down at the endless green fields and trees of the country. Houses dotted the country, they were few and far between, but small gravel roads made it easier for people to travel to and from the small villages. The small villages had horse-drawn carriages that was transporting items, no doubt things like crops. It was as if we went back in time to the early 1800s, or flying over a demonstration of how life use to work back then. From an eagle eye advantage point, I could see so many people milling around the gravel streets. A small market was down the one main road of the village with colorful stands set up. Maybe I brought too much modern wear, jeans and a shirt could've been appropriate instead of my formal jeans and the buttoned up shirt I was still wearing. Flying further though, it was evident that we were approaching the capital. 

The capital was a whole different emersion. As the plane flew lower and lower, there was a clear divide between the wealthy and the poor. The wealthy had modern cars, I spotted a BMW on the cobblestone roads, while the poor were riding around on horses or people pushing carts that held their crops in. There were buildings that didn't seem to reach more than four stories in height, allowing the castle to dominate the city below. The castle itself was white with the accent colors of gold, green, and the two supporting towers in the color red, much like the red paint that acted like blood dripping from the golden flower. Diversity between citizens were barely existent as well. The whole capital, as far as I could see, were predominantly white males and females. It was alarming in a way I never fully expected.