Ann The Brain

Chapter 1 : The Letter

"Ann, there's a letter for you." said Stacy's dad standing at my room's door. I jumped up from my desk and walked towards him. I took the letter from his hand, said thank you and closed the door behind me.

I opened the letter as fast as i could while standing and began to read.

Dear Ann,

This may come as a shock to you, but i, Azrul - King of the Royal Sapphire Kingdom - am your father. And that, of course, makes you a princess.

"Huh?" My knee wobbled so hard that i plopped back into my chair. I read on:

You must be, what ... ten years old now?

"Try thirteen," i mumbled under my breath. For most of the years, i had yearned to know who my parents were. I'd spun endless stories in my head, imagining how they looked and what they were like.

At last, a piece of the puzzle had been solved. My eyes raced across the rest of the letter as i continued:

At any rate, you're plenty old enough now to continue your schooling at Royal Sapphire Academy, where i - your dear ol' dad - am the principal. The academy is located above the cloud. I hereby command you to prepare at once for the journey to Royal Sapphire Kingdom. A winged chariot will pick you up tomorrow morning.

Your dad,
Azrul

Out of the blue, my best friend, Stacy, came into my bedroom. Stacy eyed me, munching an apple."What's that?" she asked, gesturing toward the letter i was holding.

"Umm..."

Looking suspicious, Stacy came closer, trying to see what it was. "Come on. Give. I've known you forever. Why are you suddenly keeping secrets?"

"It's a letter," i admitted. "From my dad. Turns out he's ... a king."

"Wha? Your dad is a king?" asked Stacy who is still munching on her apple.

I nodded, holding out the letter. Stacy pounced on it. By the time she finished reading, her eyes were as round as a ball. "You're a princess?"

"Yup. So you think i should go?"

"Are you crazy? Of course you have to go!" Stacy exclaimed. "This is your chance to really be somebody, i mean who wouldn't want to be a princess?"

I looked outside, feeling a little hurt. It sounded as if Stacy was trying to get rid of me. I'd lived with Stacy and her family since i was a baby. We had shared this room and been as close as sisters all their lives.

"But i'll miss you, Stacy," I said softly.

"Yeah, i'll miss you too. But you've always wondered about your parents. This is your chance to find out about them." she replied.

"Yeah...you're right. I wonder what the academy will be like," i mused as i finger - combed the rope mane on the back of my favorite childhood wooden horse toy whose name is Woody.

"I bet the princesses and princes are all brainy like you. In fact, I can hardly believe we didn't guess you might be a princess. I mean, you learned to draw, knit and do math when you were only three years old! You're way smarter than the rest of us." said Stacy.

I shrugged, knowing it was true. My studies here were so easy they were boring.

"I'm tired of trying to hide that i am different. It would be nice to fit for a change," i admitted. "I only wish you could come too."

Stacy shook her head. "I don't belong where you're going. But hey! Maybe i can visit you. If it's not against the rules, i mean."

I brightened. "Yeah! I'll ask Azrul when I get there."

Stacy sat up. "So you're definitely going?"

"Like you said, who wouldn't want to be a princess?" I said.

"Come on, let's go tell my parents and then i'll help you pack." said Stacy.

I began packing while Stacy's mom and dad checked out that Azrul's letter was for real.

"An entire suitcase full of books? Don't you think they will have a library at the academy?" Stacy teased at one point.

"I'm not taking any chances," I said. Carefully, i stuffed the suitcase full of books written by my favorite authors. Then i added my own note books, which contained my invention and knitting ideas and ideas for math and science projects.

By that evening, i had packed my entire life into two suitcases and one bag. I was exhausted but Stacy and i stayed up half the night anyway.

At 2 midnight, we went to sleep. After Stacy dozed off, i tossed and turned until sunrise, dreaming of Royal Sapphire Kingdom.