The Princess Choice

Chapter 2

(Even though I literally only have 10 or so reads so far, I really, really appreciate everyone who has taken their time to read the first chapter of this story! It means alot to me and it makes my day even when I see one more read. Thanks again.)

(Note: Picture to the right is what Adrian is supposed to look like....like the actor Max Irons from most recently "Red Riding Hood" and "The Host")

Chapter 2

 Draigen sat at his study, carefully reviewing some documents that Alfrid had asked him to look at. His curving, yellowing fingernails skimmed the pages. There was a timid knock at the door. He slid his half-moon glasses to the bridge of his nose, “Come in.”

There was a small creak of the door and it was quickly shut as the young princess, Catrina, entered the room. “Sir Draigen,” she whispered urgently, “I came to ask you about a certain matter.” Her green eyes were wide and her light eyebrows were upturned in a state of worry.

Draigen examined her up and down, noticing the way she breathed harshly and how her chest moved up and down. He shook his head a little, “Well of course,” he put the documents into a shelf and looked up at her, “and I already know exactly what you need to tell me.”

Catrina completely lost it at this point; she let out a few sobs and hid her face in her delicate, pale hands. Draigen stood up, his wiry body topping Catrina’s by a foot at least. He grabbed her shoulders and guided her towards a chair, “Sit down, child.” He kneeled in front of her.

Catrina stared at him momentarily, still very shaken by the whole situation. He was a skinny, knobby old man with tufts of white hair sticking out from the sides of his head, a long, thin nose, and stony grey eyes.

“Draigen?” she asked a little apprehensive.

“Yes, princess?” he replied.

“You won’t tell anyone my secret…” she bit her lips, “Will you?” His stone grey eyes made her uncomfortable, but he was the only one who knew. She had sat in her chamber the night before, pulling her satin sheets over her chin, blankly staring at the ceiling of her four-poster bed and racking her mind over whether or not she should trust Draigen. She trusted him.

Draigen reached out to brush a blonde curl from her face. Cat shivered from the touch. He smiled, showing worn, yellowed teeth, “Of course not, dear.” He had to keep a straight face and convincing eyes because he most definitely knew he wasn’t telling the truth.

* * * *

“Eavie…” Adrian let her name drag out teasingly, “Are you messing with Maxie again?” Adrian stood at the foyer of the palace, with his hands crossed over his chest. Maxie whimpered as he ran behind his legs. Eavie followed closely behind, her boots trailing bits of mud onto the newly-washed floor. Agnes, the head housekeeper, and the rest of her staff would not find this humorous. Eavie looked up at her brother and paused. Adrian couldn’t help but smile; she looked absolutely mad. Her usually wild curly hair was crazier than usual, with wisps sticking up every which way, and her green eyes darted back and forth between him and Maxie. Adrian took this time to look down at his dog and he quickly let out a guffaw. Poor Maxie had a headband made of a pink, floral garment and on his back was a crudely cut yellow dress-like outfit. He shook his head and clucked his tongue, and he started to peel the clothing off of Maxie.

Eavie’s large green eyes widened even more, “Adrian!” Her small, porcelain hands tried to stop his stronger ones.

Adrian looked up at her, very amused, “What is it Eavie?”

“You can’t ruin my creation,” she looked down, “I worked all week on it.”

“But why did you choose poor Maxie as your model?” Adrian asked, “He’s not exactly feminine. What about Riss?”

Eavie rolled her eyes at Adrian, clearly thinking he was stupid, “Riss is a cat? She doesn’t let anyone touch her.” She rolled her eyes again to prove her point, and added a little scoff.

Adrian laughed, for an 11-year old she was awfully sarcastic…and a little loony. Her velvet green dress was a lot dirtier than a little princess’ dress should be and the hem was already tattered and dragging on the floor. To top it off, the boots on her feet were 5 or 6 sizes too large as they were actually his boots. He shook his head and thought jokingly, why did God curse me with such bizarre sisters?

At this point Eavie had dived under his legs to catch poor, unsuspecting Maxie. Adrian, with his fast reflexes, caught her before she could even have time to yelp. They wrestled for a few seconds, but then he started tickling her so hard, her cheeks turned beet-red.

“Okay….okay…” she tried to say in between giggles, “You win Adrian! Get off!” He flipped her over his sturdy shoulders and spun her around a few times before attempting to crash land on one of the foyer sofas. She screamed with terror and delight, her brown curls whipping him in the face occasionally. Maxie, meanwhile, had taken this time to escape the grasp of Eavie and ran off to an unknown location in the palace.

“Ahem,” came from the entrance. Adrian turned around….Draigen was standing upright in the room. His face was neutral, completely and utterly serious.

“Oh, ah, hello,” he gently placed Eavie on the floor who had her arms crossed but a huge grin on her face, “Hello Draigen.”

Draigen checked his watch, “Is it time for this tomfoolery to end?”

Adrian ran his hands through his now-messy wavy brown hair, “Uhh…yes.” He was a tad embarrassed, but he had made Eavie laugh, so it was worth it.

“Well I advise you to straighten up, Prince Adrian,” Draigen sputtered out, “The princesses are here.”

“Princesses!” Eavie squealed, “Oh my goodness, let’s have a party!”

Adrian stared at Draigen, ignoring Eavie's naiive little remark, feeling as though it was Draigen's fault that he had this fate.

“Very well,” he muttered. He pointed to the stairs, “I’ll go straighten up.”

“Go change into something proper, young girl,” he heard Draigen scold Eavie.

As he climbed the stairs, he felt an overwhelming sense of dread. This was the beginning of the end.

                                                                                                                       

Tune in next time to meet the four princesses :)