Just Add Water

Chapter 1

          Suddenly, I couldn't breathe. All of the air had been knocked out of me. "Don't-you-think-that's a little-tight?"
          "Nonsense. It fits you perfectly. Right Ella?" Ella nodded obediently. "See, even Ella agrees with me."
          "But I-can't-breathe." My grandmother just rolled her eyes. "Grandma-I'm-serious!"
          "Alright, alright. Ella loosen the corset." I gasped for air as soon as I the corset was loose again. "Darling you need to practice these sorts of things. You are getting married very soon so you will need to learn how to be a queen."
          "How many times are you going to tell me that I need to be more queen-like? I'm already 16 I think I have it down." My grandmother just laughed. "What's so funny?"
          "Oh nothing Danielle. Just remember you have a reading session and a tea party this afternoon with Eric to discus the wedding. And there are a few more wedding dresses you have to try on to find the perfect fit."
          "Ok got it. Now can I take this thing off?"
          "Yes."
          As Ella and some of the other maids stripped me of my dress to my underwear, I almost forgot that other people undress you. I tried to cover every part of me that was showing as they put on my afternoon session dress.
          I curtsied to them and walked out of the room to my reading session with Peter, my childhood friend and new guard in training.
          Everyone, and I mean everyone, that passed me in the hallway bowed or curtsied when they saw me. And of course, I returned the favor by curtsying back.
          By the time I had gotten to the royal library, Peter was already waiting for me by the doors, with his arms by his side. As I approached him he opened the door for me and I walked inside.
          "Peter, you look so different and you don't have to be so stiff around me. I mean like, I've known you since you were born I'm pretty sure that you aren't this serious and boring."
          As soon as we were inside, Peter looked around to see if anyone was there and said, "Since when am I boring? I just have to do this while my dad or any other guards are around. Ok now let's start that reading lesson. We will be reading Shakespeare today."
          "Ugh", I moaned. Do I have to? And why is it always Shakespeare? Why can't it be something else. Huh?"
          "You know that it is your duty to take all
Of your sessions seriously. Now shall we get started? Ok", he said as he handed me a copy of the book.
          "You know I can't read any of this right?", I asked as he was flipping to a page in the book.
          "Of course you can. Just believe in yourself. Just stop being lazy. You know you are a future queen!"
          "Then you should know not to talk to a future queen like that!" I said as I rose out of my chair and stormed out of the room. How could he say I was lazy?! I'm the one who's learning all these things to become queen! He should never talk to me like that!
          I was sick and tired how how today was going so far, so I just slipped away without anyone knowing to my thinking tree. It was a tree house Peter's dad had made for us to have tea parties and whatnot. He and I would go there all the time just to talk or relax. Him and his dad are he only ones that know about it other than me.
           Maybe I shouldn't have snapped at him like that. Did I overreact? Maybe maybe not.
          Just then I heard something rustle in he bushes. I didn't know what to do so I just grabbed the nearest stick I saw, and held it ready to throw. "Who's ever there I'm warning you! I am armed!"
          "Danielle, what are you doing here? Everyone has been looking for you," said Peter's dad, Mr. Menrow. He was wearing his usual uniform, but as I looked at him I couldn't help but notice that Peter looked exactly like his father. I I kind of made a sympathetic look because I felt bad about how I treated Peter before.
          "Oh um you know just thinking about stuff."
          "Come," he said as he reached out to grab my hand, "your afternoon tea with Eric starts in a few minutes and you don't want to be late."
          "Ok I'm coming," I said as I got out of the tree as gracefully as the future queen. If graceful means falling flat on your butt from like five feet, then yeah -- I was graceful.