A Deal With Satan

A different me

I walk into the cottage house that Henry directed me to. I feel a little different not only because of my looks, but for the first time I'm out in the open without bodyguards besides me. It feels, different.
But I won't say I feel free when I am impersonating someone I am not and I never will be.

I have my values, passed on since generations and I will never truly let them down.
I remind myself that this is just an act.
"Princess Maria." I'm greeted with my care-taker Carl's voice.
"I'm glad that you've chosen me to keep you safe and to guide you around. Don't worry I won't let your expectations down."

"Expectations? I'm afraid, I have no idea what to expect." I reply.

"I see you're still a little pissed at my fake death stunt. I apologize, but it was necessary." He replies, truly sorry.

"But you could have at least told me about it. You have no idea how much that added to the heavy weight on my heart." I reply.
"But okay, enough of this. What are we going to do now, Mr.Carl? "

"Please call me Carl as Mr.Carl would be too formal for a city girl."

"Alright Carl."

He gives me a small smile and then disappears into a hallway.

He returns with a file and says, "Here are you're fake birth-certificates and stuff. You're name now on will be Sera Jones. You have two days to settle down until you're sent to boarding school. In order for you to blend in, you have to do what other teenagers do and school is first on the agenda."

"Wow." I say as I have absolutely no words to express myself right now.

"I understand that all of this is happening way too fast for your liking but as you know, most of our soldiers died on saving the Queen, we are kind of short on soldiers so we need more time to build back our army. You'll have to stay in disguise for safety's sake."

"Okay, I'm kind of tired though. Where can I rest?" I ask Carl.

"First left through that way" he directs me as I start walking towards the hallway, my shoulders bent just like my mood.

"Also, I'll have my nephew taking care of you while you're in college- like guiding you around and stuff. Freya will be impersonating you're friend as she'll be there 24/7 to help you with your vocabulary and styling stuff." Calls out Carl.

"Alright." I yell back.

I hope I get along with Freya and Carl's nephew whose name I forgot to ask.

I walk into my 'temporary room' which has a pretty old bed to it and a cupboard full of 'rich-girl' clothes as Freya would have said.

The view from my window is of a beautiful lake and green beds all around it.
I suppose this is an isolated part of New York City, the place I've only read about in books.

I change into the pj's I found on top of the pile of clothes which had some weird looking yellow blockish cartoon on it and collapse onto the bed.

I open my necklace, the one which had a picture of my mother and I on it for one last time today and push my thoughts to sleep.
*** ****
"The secret of getting ahead, is getting started."

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