The sun shone from the window directly in front of my bed. My brown dresser stood next to it, and the glare from my hand mirror was hitting my eyes.
My mother left the mirror for me right before she passed away after giving birth to my sister Ava.
Ava stirred in her sleep.
We slept in the same room, but it was separated into two equal parts. One part was yellow and brown with a queen sized bed in the middle. It had many books lined up in alphabetical order on the shelf attached to the wall, and a dresser right next to the window—my side of the room.
Ava’s side was pink and had lacy things strewn all over the place. Her bed had four posts, and a pink mosquito net covered the area where she lay asleep.
The birds outside started to chirp. I stood up and leaned on the window.
I thought of all the fairy tales I’ve ever read. All the princesses seemed to have problems, and suddenly, one day, all those problems would disappear—but not only that. They’d also meet a Prince to call their own.
If the happily-ever-after’s depend on the degree of suffering a princess endures, I thought, then I deserve the happiest ending of all.
“Wake up!” Palila, our Step-Mother, entered without knocking—again.
Ava stirred in her sleep again.
“Wake up! Breakfast has been ready an hour ago. Lazy little airheads. I’ve got a long day ahead of me, and I don’t want to spend it trying to straighten you out,” She screamed while tugging at the blanket of Ava until she was finally able to grab the entire thing. Palila’s bird-like eyes pierced through my soul as she turned to me, “Wake up!”
“I’m awake,” I answered. Leave it to Palila to command a girl who is standing up with her eyes open to wake up.
“Well, move then! You won’t get any work done standing there,” She nagged as she slowly walked to my side of the room. I stood up straight immediately.
“Alright, alright,”
“Good,” She smirked. She raised her over-waxed eyebrows even higher up her forehead, “Wake your sister up as well. I need you finished with breakfast within an hour. Get dressed immediately. Try to make yourselves look even the least bit presentable. The King of the neighboring kingdom is bringing his son to visit. The Prince is thinking of courting one of you. Of course he won’t pick one of you—just be there to show that we actually have heirs to the throne of Avila,” She started to walk towards the door with her chin held so high she could strain her neck.
As much as I hated talking to her, I needed to ask her something.
“Will Father be there?”
She stopped in her tracks, but began to walk once more. She opened the huge oak wood door and before she closed it with a bang, she said “No, he’s busy,”
Well of course, he was busy. He was the King. Father was always busy. He had been doing some very serious work in the library. Some people called him mad for locking himself up in that lonely place, but we all knew he was just doing a lot of extra work for the kingdom.
I walked towards Ava’s side of the room. It was so strange how our rooms were divided. My foot passed the border between the light brown wood and the dark brown wood. It was always a joke between me and Ava that my side was the “light side” and hers was the “dark side”.
I think it’s only because her side didn’t have a window.
“Ava—“
“I’m awake,” She said as she swiftly sat up and stood to walk to her dresser.
