The Pigeon and the Dove

Ange I.

Ange wiped the sweat off her brow with her sleeve and rubbed her fingers. She had never worked so hard in her entire life.

"Oi! Don't stop! We ain't got all day to laze around!" A gruff voice yelled from the other side of the room.

It was Thomas Murrey, her boss. Ange had been working in a so-called orphanage, sewing. Two weeks had passed since she was separated from Charlotte - who was the real Ange.

The two girls had swapped places - just as they always did. Only this time was different: this time they had agreed in the real Princess Charlotte (who we will call Ange from hereon) going beyond the palace walls to see London while the real Ange (who we will call Princess Charlotte from hereon) would stay at the palace posing as the princess of Albion.

Charlotte warned Ange that London was a rough place; not one for a princess like her. But Ange insisted saying she could handle it. Reluctantly, Charlotte agreed and so they swapped.

Unfortunately, on that fateful day happened the great Revolution, in which the nation of Albion split in two: East and West - Kingdom and Commonwealth, the London Wall separating the Kingdom from the Commonwealth.

The reason was because the Kingdom had authority over one of the world's greatest forces: the Air Fleet, supplied by the new-found substance, Cavorite.
The Commonwealth and its government wanted authority over the anti-gravity substance, too, however were not granted it. This resulted in riots and an uprise against the Kingdom, and the final result being the great Revolution and building of the London Wall.

Ever since then, Ange and Charlotte hadn't met. It seemed they were forever swapped and stuck in roles they never thought they would have. An orphan girl living a tough life turned into a princess, and a princess turned into an orphan trying to survive the rough London streets life.

*

Finally, Ange had finished. It was 9p.m. Her fingers were sore from sewing and her eyes ached from all the focusing in the terrible light. She and dozens of other girls, aged six to fourteen, left the sewing room to go to the dorms.

Ange took her apron and dress off and sat on her bed in her nightgown. She gazed out the window towards the newly-built wall that stood between her and Charlotte. It was so high, so long, so. . . impossible to get over.

I will get over one day, Ange thought. And we will be together again.

The last candle was blown out and only the lights of the city illuminated the room.