Springalia

Chapter 1

Growing up, every little girl's dream is to find a perfect prince and ride off into the sunset. Well, it just so happens that some girls are anomalies to that fact; whether they are tomboys or just uninterested in boys because they have cooties, not every girl wants a Prince Charming. With that in mind, let us travel to a very certain girl with big opportunities that just so happened to be against the very idea of love, yet could not avoid it.

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Florence was a small, young girl who lived in a big, old kingdom that just so happened to be run by her parents, who by chance, were the king and queen of Springalia. Keep in mind that Florence was always bright and filled with compassion, yet totally anti-princes. She was a walking contradiction since most fairy-tales like Cinderella or Snow White starred princesses that found a Prince Charming due to their compassionate and joyful characters.

When I say Florence was opposed to princes, and any boy for that matter, I mean it. At her first ball at age six, Florence punched Prince Deleo in the face when he, like every other classic boy would at this young age, asked for a mere peck on the cheek. Her parents assumed that this behavior was natural for a girl of her age since we must admit, it is. However, they were proven wrong when Florence purposely stepped on the toes of Prince Ferdinand at her birthday ball when she turned ten. Prince Ferdinand ended up throwing a fit that dampened the whole evening and all fingers coldly pointed the blame at Florence, rightly so mind you.

Naturally, the advisers of the King took the occasion to criticize the parenting of King Leo and Queen Marie. After brainstorming a solution, the King and Queen forced strict lessons of proper conduct in every circumstance onto Florence. Her tutors were patient and kind despite Florence's resistance. Still, Florence was a joyful youth and accepted the lessons after time.

Now, let us fast forward to Florence's fifteenth year when things got slightly out of hand in the best of ways.

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"Mom, please tell Jace to give me my tiara back! It is my prettiest one, the one with lavender jewels." Jacoby, or Jace for short, was Florence's younger brother who, at only six, had a mind for mischief. Despite his best attempts, however, Jace could not divert Florence's love from him. (Do you see the irony here?) Florence, while simply incapable of feeling love towards boys she was not related to, loved Jacoby with all of her heart and often found his behavior amusing and adorable.

"Jace," their mother's warm voice commanded the attention of even the small fruit fly near the oranges, "you got the laughter you seek, now please return Flory's tiara to her." Jace, while sulking in his reprimand, stuck his tongue out at "Flory" and signaled that he would be right back. He scurried out of the room to retrieve Florence's beloved crown.

"Flory," now Marie's attention was directed toward Florence who revered her mother in her entirety, "I've been meaning to talk to you."

"About what Mom?" her tone was sweet and excited.

"Well, you are coming around on your sixteenth birthday," Florence let out a sigh as she knew what was coming next. "And with your sixteenth birthday comes the Coming of Age Ball."

"Yes Mother," when annoyed, Florence took to calling her mom "Mother." "I am quite aware of the ball." She fought the urge to roll her eyes. Why must they constantly remind me of the stupid ball?

"Florence, fix your tone! As I was saying, this ball is different from the others."

"Yes, I know it follows my Coronation as the Princess."

"Well, it's not only that dear, you see-"

But Florence did not have the opportunity to "see" because at that moment Jace, accompanied by his father, decided to make his second appearance.