The Selective Mute Princess (Published Sample)

One

So as promised you are all seeing the first chapter before anyone else! I hope you enjoy!

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One

I stared at the wall, waiting for this to be over. It was a waste of time for me and her. Yet every week, like clockwork, I was forced to go. No matter how much I protested, it fell on deaf ears, and I suppose it always would. I stared at the clock as it struck midday. I stood and made my way over to the door.

"Princess, you may hate these sessions, but they will always be there."

I ignored the woman and opened the door. I would never use those sessions. I looked and saw my guard outside the door, waiting. I rolled my eyes; the new guards were always the worse—they refused to let you go anywhere by yourself. I say new, but in all fairness, this new one had lasted three months.

"Princess," Agent Sparks said, bowing his head. "Back to your room?"

I didn't answer. I walked ahead and made my way to my room, then slammed the door in his face. Looking around my room, I sighed. Nothing changes. I don't know why I expected it to. It would never change, not for the better, at least.

I sat on my bed and stared at the wall. I hated going to counseling, it was so unnecessary. I would never speak, and my parents should stop forcing the issue. I heard my door open and turned to see my mother enter the room. She walked in gracefully, keeping her back straight and head held high, always perfect my mother. "Amelia, you have those sessions to help you."

I rolled my eyes.

"Amelia, you need them. It's time."

I stared at her.

"It's been ten years!" Her nostrils flared as she glared down at me, but I didn't care. I wouldn't change just because she was yelling at me. She had tried it before, and the result was the same. She should learn. "If you want to act like a child, then I'll treat you like a child, Amelia."

She stormed out of my room, leaving the door wide open. Agent Sparks peered into the room, and I rolled my eyes. It was like clockwork; every week I would go to counseling, every week I wouldn't talk, and every week my mother would come into my room and shout at me over my actions. And every week I would just sit there and not speak because that's what I did.

"Princess Amelia, is there anything I can get you?" Agent Sparks asked gently.

I looked over at him and shook my head.

"Would you like the door shut?"

I shook my head. There was no point, because in about ten minutes, my father would walk in. Once he left, I would be able to do what I usually did, which in a castle with over a thousand eyes on you, was hard. I was always watched, and I hated it.

Sitting watching the clock was a good pastime, at least until my father walked into my room. He saw me on the bed and sighed. "Amelia." He sat on the bed next to me. He raised a hand, and I moved back. Hurt flashed in his eyes, and I looked away. "I know it's hard."

You don't, Dad. You don't know it's hard.

"Your sister wouldn't want this. She wouldn't want to see you sad and alone." I felt my eyes fill with tears and I turned my head to look at my dad.

She couldn't want anything, she was dead.

"You need to try, Amelia." I didn't want to try. "We need our daughter back."

Too bad she's gone. We were both gone. Dad stood and turned, leaving my room. He stopped at my guard and looked back at me. "Please, Amelia. Your mother and I can't do this anymore. Eventually, you will be queen... We have no other heirs."