Princess Disaster

Chapter 1: Adriane

Adriane Vesper - Princess Royal of the Kingdom of Tartaria 2030

"Once upon a time, there was the Kingdom of Tartaria - a land of amazing technology, cultural marvels, and hidden secrets," said my father, looking me dead in the eyes. "In its grand castle, it is said that you can hear the ghosts moving about the hallway."

He made a ghost noise, moving his hands from side to side as if he was that scary ghost, before trying to tickle me into a fit of laughter.

"Dad, stop!"

"Alright, alright," said Dad, waving his hands up in the air in total surrender. "I must confess that that was only one ghost and she was thirsty for blood - Princess Gianna. After being abandoned by her husband to go fight in the Great War, she received the distressing notification that he had been killed in battle. She vowed her revenge, taking to her house and escaping the castle in spite of the distress of her ladies maids."

He makes clip-clop-pity noises, pretending to be the horse that gallops out into the wild open fields. I can almost see Princess Gianna now - she looks so ferocious that all the soldiers part at her entry. She waves her hand high, leading the men into battle with a sharp warrior cry.

"Then she charges forward," said Dad, making a whooshing noise. " She drives her bayonet right through Kaiser Wilhelm's heart, ending the war. There was such a celebration that she returned to many parades in her honor. That evening though, she died."

I plop back onto the bed, pretending to be the deceased princess. He gently lifts up my head.

"The people of Tataria made a promise to keep their rich traditions alive. They would celebrate this day for centuries to come, always keeping the magic and secrets of this kingdom alive."

He kisses my forehead and I fall back onto the pillow once more, smiling at the wonders of this magic place.

"Daddy, is Tartaria real?" I ask.

"Yes," he says. "Queen Cleodora is its queen, and Lisandro is her son, the royal apparent to the throne."

"Daddy, will we visit Tartaria one day?"

"Of course we will," he says, smoothing over my hair. "They will parade you around like the princess you are. Daddy just has to figure out a few minor technicalities first."

The alarm sirens start to blare and Dad quickly shuts the windows. Hana has suddenly appeared in our room, and she's hyperventilating. She sits right down next to me, holds me, and starts to cry profusely at the sound.

Spencer, my brother, also runs in. Dad yells something incoherently to him over the noise, and they are rushing to go and shut the windows downstairs before the bad air comes in. It travels now, from the moment this Great Pollution started to happen, just as the Dust Bowl traveled across the West. People say we are in the End Times but I'm not sure.

As Hana starts to cry, I awkwardly pat her back. A younger sister should not be comforting her older sister, but that's how it is in our world. Trauma after trauma has hit us, and we are doing nothing more than trying to survive.

...

"Earth to Adriane!" calls a voice, tapping my shoulder with impatience. "M'am, it's time to get up. We don't have all day."

Is my lunch break over already? The younger 20-something's are looking at me with annoyance, but I bite back a retort. I am not their mom. Regardless, I have to run Starship Coffee if I want to get my resume built. My whole life has been a series of mishaps, one job after the next, that fell through my feet. There was that time I tried to teach in Hawaii, and that other time I was a journalist in Dubai. I also have been living in the pits ever since I ran out of my money - Savannah, Georgia. Paying 1,780 a month for an apartment I can barely afford to rent.