Cursed

Done

The queen's welcoming party was an ostentatious thing if Ellinor had ever seen one, but that was her place now: amongst the nobles. She was the princess, and one day, she would become queen and give rise to little princes and princesses of her own. Lavish gatherings and parties were a sort of lovely, amazing, and unacquainted thing that would become common in her life. At least that's what she hoped. Truth be told, it was all still a bit perplexing to her. Life at the old chateau had been so much different, but even though she was in a better place now, something still felt a bit off. Perhaps it was just her lack of confidence that caused such fear.

Among the denizens of the realm, the princess couldn't keep her eyes off the loud, flamboyant jesters that worked on keeping the crowd entertained. The music was gentle and pleasant to her ears, but she still found herself searching for someone. Despite all the fun around Ellinor, she still needed someone. And there she was.

On the opposite side of the great hall, a large wooden door slowly crept open. As a thin ray of light cast upon the gritty floor, Ellinor watched carefully until it opened fully and Stephanie emerged from it, her bright, lavender gown bringing sparkling like a pearl under the sunlight. Happy to no longer be alone, she stood up and waved her step-sister over with a wide, unfailing smile.

Unfortunately, however, Stephanie didn't seem to notice. Instead, she walked toward the vast crowd, nearly disappearing among them for the moment. Anxious to greet her, she stood up to excuse herself. "Pardon me, your grace," she said, turning from King Paul to Queen Annabel. "Your grace. I'll be right back."

As Ellinor stepped away to find Stephanie, she could hear the king and queen speaking of her in hushed tones. It was a common thing for her to play the fool and listen in without notice, but sometimes she didn't exactly want to hear what was spoken of her.

"That one is certainly an interesting girl," the King whispered, as the princess attempted to part through the sea of guests toward the one thing that would keep her afloat.

"We'll talk about it later," was the Queen's reply.

Ellinor stood there, eyes swarming over the nobles and other visitors in search of Stephanie. She didn't want to walk out of hearing range of the King and Queen just yet, but the next line sent her on her way. "Let's hope her oven is hot," King Paul snickered, his haunting laugh echoing in her ears.

After scouring through the crowd, she finally saw the glimmer of Stephanie's beautiful dress just by the door she had come in through. Ellinor walked up, happy to see her again. "You came."

Surprisingly, however, Stephanie didn't respond. Instead, she looked right past Ellinor with a dazed look in her eyes, and without realigning her focus, pulled out a kerchief and ate something from it. Was that a cherry?

"You know... there is plenty of food here that you can have," Ellinor said, shaking her head.

Stephanie slowly turned toward her as the dazed look faded. She looked much more relaxed all of a sudden, smiling gleefully as she spoke. "I never thought I'd be happy to see you, but I am."

Ellinor huffed, unsure of whether that was meant to be a compliment or an insult. "Well, that was a nasty thing you did with the tea," she said, letting out a quiet sigh.

"I couldn't help it," Stephanie replied as she looked down in shame for a moment. "It's something... I'm sorry. Really."

Princess Ellinor frowned, averting her gaze as she thought about how rude Stephanie could be at times. Still, there was a familiarity that she felt with her step-sister; a bond that was strange and confusing, but stronger than what she had with anyone else for the time being.