14 Days

Chapter 1

"Miss, for next weeks winter ball what sort of gown would you prefer?" My maid Anne asked.
"Hmm...," I pondered,"could I please have a moment to think about it?"
"Of course your highness," Anne responded.
"For the thousandth time, please don't call me your highness! I've known you for what feels like forever. You're amazing; except that you keep calling me your highness. I know I'm a princess, but still. So to be the best maid ever, only call me Caterina or Cat please!"
We both started laughing immediately.
"As you wish, Miss ... Umm ... Cat ...?"
"Perfect," I said, "anyway, may I describe what I would like the dress to look like?"
"Yes. I'm listening."
"Could I please have the bottom part of the gown (the part that will touch the floor) to be dark, dark blue? Then have it get lighter towards the top of the skirt so in the end it would be maybe ice blue? I was hoping it would look a bit ombré. Then could I have a dark blue ribbon around my waist, the same dark blue as the bottom of the gown? And could the top be white, sleeveless, and decorated with ice blue sparkles? Is that too much to ask for since you and the dress designers have only a week to make it? Please be honest with me, I don't want to over-work you guys."
"Well, you're a girl who truly knows what she wants out of life! but do not worry, Miss Caterina, because it would be a pleasure - and a fun challenge - to try and make this dress in one week."
"Thanks so much Anne! I'll give you the rest of the day off, so you can begin. Have a wonderful day.!" And with that, I turned and decided to go get some lunch.

* * *

"Dad, can I go for a horseback ride in the forest? I haven't ridden Daffodil in a few weeks."
"It's not safe outside of the city walls, much less in the forest!"
"Why isn't it safe?" I questioned, suddenly quite interested.
"Well If you get hurt you will be hard to find, and..." He ended there, almost as if he was scared to say any more.
"And? And what?"
"there are rumours about a pack of wild wolves that eat people alive!"
"Hahaha you had me scared for a second!" I said after I controlled my laughing fit.
"No," my dad began, "I'm being serious. We have found human limbs spread out all around the forest, with wolf bite marks. Okay yes, I may have exaggerated when I said they ate them alive. They [wolves] kill for fun. So no. It is definitely not safe for you to go by yourself!"
"What happens if I didn't go by myself? What if I went with a bunch of guards?"
"Still..."
"What if all the guards were armed, and I brought my bow and arrow and my phone with me?"
"Fine. You have so much of your mother in you, like her stubbornness. She would have been so proud. But anyway honey, stay safe and be back by 2:00pm ... Alright?"
"Thank you so much! Love you dad!"
While I was going of to get the head guard, I was so deep in thought about my mother that I walked right into the prince of Nihani, who was staying at our castle for 2 months.
"Ouch" was the only sound he made when he fell to the floor, but when I fell on top of him (it was really awkward) he made a small little squeaky noise I'd never heard before.
"Oh my gosh," I said ,while helping him to his feet, "I am so, so sorry. I wasn't thinking at all!" Well actually, I thought to myself, I was thinking to much.
"Don't worry, it's okay. I should've watched where I was going to. anyway, where are you heading off to right now?"
"Actually, I'm going to get a handful of guards to accompany me on a horseback ride through the forest. My father says there are wild wolves that are dangerous, so I need to bring a bow and arrow with me. Crazy, huh?"
"Could I come along as well? A princess always needs a prince." He said with a wink.
I laughed.
"Of course you can come. Here, follow me."

When we finally got to the forest, I started to get a little tense. What if my father was right? What if a pack of wolves attacked me? What if - "are you nervous, miss Caterina?" Prince Erik asked, with an amused look on his face.
"No. Well ... Yes. I'm just scared of running into the wolves and them killing me."
"They rarely attack during the day, and anyway, as long as I'm with you they won't attack."
"You seem to have a lot of confidence in yourself"
He laughed, "just ... Trust me. They would never attack if I'm here."
I didn't respond, but I was pretty sure he whispered after that, to no one in particular:
"they would only attack if I told them to."
I was a bit creeped out, but I probably heard him wrong. He seemed like a pretty nice guy.

* IF YOU WANT ME TO MAKE ANOTHER CHAPTER PLEASE COMMENT AND/OR LIKE THIS BOOK! ITS MY FIRST BOOK ON WATTPAD, AND I KNOW ITS NOT THE BEST RIGHT NOW BUT I HOPE YOU ENJOYED READING THE FIRST CHAPTER😂☺️