Run Away From The Pain

Samarinia; The Land Of Never Ending Beauty..... And Pain

I stepped off of the royal jet, and instantly felt a cool breeze on my face; though it was only January, Samarinia had the weather similar to April, or early May, back in Jersey.

"First thing we're doing once we get home is taking you shopping, honey.." I mom chuckled a bit, forcing me to look down at my attire.

I thought I looked perfectly fine.
I was in a black tanktop, and an open, oversized red flannel, with a pair of jeans, and my black combat boots.
My long brown hair was braided to the right side of my ghastly pale face.

I haven't eaten, or slept... or really even breathed since Steven walked out on me in the hospital a week ago.
Tears welled up in my eyes at the memory, and my mother must've noticed.

"It was the right thing to do." Isabella smiled, and pulled me into a big hug.

"I know." I sighed, and stepped down and off the jet, and slid down into the black cadillac that was waiting to take us back to the royal palace.

You would think I would be more excited about seeing the palace, considering I haven't been here since I was was about four years old... but no.. honestly, I couldn't care less.
There's nothing I wanted more than to be back in the States, touring around with Steven, and the band.
I wonder how they're doing right now...

"Snap the fuck out of it, lovergirl..." My mind hissed at me.

I forced my attention back towards the landscape we were speeding by.

I was shocked at how beautiful this country was.
Fields of green grass, and red and yellow flowers, forests of trees, filled to the brim with life, and quaint little villages of people busying themselves with the day's chores.

It all seemed so surreal.
Like something out of a fairy tale.

After about 10 minutes, we pulled up to large golden gates, which bared the crest that was in my dreams.
They slowly creaked open, and the cars drove us inside the courtyard.
When the car lurched to a halt, I opened the door and stepped out, marvelling at the grandiose palace before me.
Now, imagine Buckingham Palace, meets the White House, meets the most elaborate Hollywood homes in all of California... and finally, multiply that by 100,000.

This was the home of all homes.
The palace of all palaces.
This was the kind of house you'd see in a disney movie; like Cinderella's castle on steriods.

It was constructed entirely out of white, shinning marble.
There were large pillars guiding us up the white marbled steps, and hanging off of each pillar was the Samarinian flag; Golden, in color, with 3 red stars circling a crescent moon, in the center of the flag.

As the heels of my boots clicked up the stairs, I was greeted by servants, and maids who all bowed and smiled at me.
"Oh god, this is going to take some getting used too..." I sighed.

As the large marble doors swung open, I was ushered by my mother and father into a grandiose open foyer, with white and black marbled tiles along the floor, and gold accents in between each tile.
There was a long red carpet which lead from the door all the way to the other end of the foyer, where a superior winding staircase swirled it's way up to the second floor, which no doubt, was as magnificent as the first.

"Shall I show you to your room?" Isabella grinned, and linked her arm through mine, dragging me up the winding stairs with her.
At the top of the stairs, was another bombastic hallway, decorated with the same tiles, and red and gold curtains as the foyer was down the steps.
We continued down the same hallway for what seemed like ages.

"This is the bridge." She smiled, as we entered another set of french doors.
I looked around me at the larger hall, which was exactly that; a bridge.
The walls weren't actually walls, but were 20 foot high windows, that stretched the length of the hall.

"Don't worry, it's all bulletproof glass." She chuckled, which worried me... have there been that many attempts on my life that they needed to reinforce the windows?

Eventually, we reached the end of the bridge, and strolled through another set of white french doors.
This hall was a tad bit different from the others;
It was softer, less regal.
Instead of the pristine white walls that was so commonly found throughout the palace, the walls of this hallway, were painted a soft baby blue, so soft infact, that it was more like a tint, rather than a full on color.
There was carpeting along the floors, as white as snow, and as soft as the fur of a kitten.

The walls the the left of the hall, were exactly like the bridge; 20 foot story windows, allowing in as much light as the day would permit. Where as the right of the hall bared multiple sets of french doors.

We passed the first two sets of doors, and then stopped at the third.
"Anastasia," My mother grinned, and held the knob on the door. "Welcome home, love."

I held my breath as she flung the double doors open, and I bared witness to my bedroom.

I've never seen a room so big before.
This room alone, was probably the size of my home back in New Jersey.
The walls were a deep cherry red, with light pine colored floorboards, and a white carpet covering the center of the floor.

In the dead center of the room, was a magnificent black-wood four poster bed, with mountains of white pillows, resting on top of a white comforter that looked as light and soft as a feather.
At the far left corner of the room, was another set of french doors, which lead into a ridiculous walk in closet, that was split into two sections; the right side was for street clothes, while the left side was for ball gowns and the crowned jeweles.

Opposite of the closet, in the far right corner of the room, was a third set of french doors, which lead, through a small hallway, to an extraordinary bathroom, with an extravagant jacuzzi, and a shower.

I walked out of the closet, and back into the main bedroom.
And the first thing I noticed was a large black-wood desk, to match the color of the bedframe.

The room was so organized, and so pristine.
So.... so.... rock-n'-roll for a princess's room.

"i......I love it!" I gasped, and ran into my mother's arms, with tears streaming down my cheeks. "Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome darling... I just hope you find this to be as much of your home, as the States were to you, for so long.." She sighed heavily.

"I'll try." I smiled faintly.

"Now, wash up, and get ready for dinner." She smiled, and back out of my new room, closing the doors behind her.
I ran over to the large bed, and did a nose dive into the sheets.
I'm so overwhelmed, I don't even know how to handle it...

As a normal reaction, I burst into tears, letting out heavy sobs.
I missed him so much, it broke my heart.
It's my own fault, and for both, mine, and his own good, but it hurt so much I don't even know how to explain it.

One last thing stuck in my mind.
Where the fuck am I gonna get blow now...?
It just hit me that I've become addicted... I've done blow at least twice or three times a day since Steven and I first met a month ago..
Great... I'm a princess addicted to cocaine.
The tabloids will have a field day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke up to the curtains on either side of my bed being drawn back, as streams of light flooded onto the floor, and a maid danced around my room.
"Good morning, princess." She sang. "My name is Claudia; I'm your personal maid/servant.. Anything you need from me, you just ask, okay?" She had a cheeky little grin on her face.

"Hello, Claudia." I smiled, and rubbed my tired eyes. "Mind telling me what time it is?"

"Why of course, Miss. It's 8:15 in the morning." Her melodic voice danced around the room.

"Oh shit, I slept all day?!" I gasped "Didn't we get here at like.... 3 in the afternoon yesterday?"

"Yes, Miss. Jet leg is an awful thing." She sighed "I brought you some breakfast, Princess.. it's out on the terrace, if you wish."

"I have a terrace?" I asked wide eyed.

"Yes, miss. If you open the doors to your bathroom, it'll lead to a little hall, before actually going into the lavatory. The first door to the left, is the one that leads out to the terrace."

"Oh, thanks." I muttered.

"Will that be all?" She bowed her head slightly.

"Uhm... if you don't mind me asking..." I paused, knowing the question I was about to ask is sort of rude. "How old are you?"

"I'm 22, Miss."

"And you're my personal servant.. for like... ever?" I was amazed that she nodded.
"Yes, Miss."

"That must fucking suck..." I sighed. "Do you have many friends?"

"Friends aren't needed, miss." She seemed sad.

"Is that a joke?!" I scoffed "Of course they are! I lost a few realy good one's when I moved here..." I swallowed the lump rising in my throat, then looked up at Claudia.
"Hey... would you wanna be my friend? I don't mean any of this servant... waiting on me hand and foot, catering to my every whim, bullshit... I mean, would you actually want to be friends?"

"Miss... I..."

"Come on! It'll be fun! I mean, I don't have any friends.... you don't have any friends... It's perfect." I sighed. I was extremely lonely. "Come out on the terrace, and eat something with me... did you have breakfast yet?"

"No, Miss... I didn't." She smiled slightly. "Are you sure it's okay?"

"Yeah, come on!" I grinned.

"Thank you, Princess." She bowed.

"No bowing though...." I joked around. "And please... call me.. err... call me Ace."

"Okay, Ace. Thank you." She smiled, showing me her pearly white teeth.
We strolled out out to the open balcony, posted just outside my bedroom.
There was a gorgeous wrought-iron table with a glass top and matching chairs, that we sat down at.
A large tray of absolutely marvelous looking food sat on top of the table, smelling as good, if not better, than it looked.

I took a plate filled with eggs, ham, something that looked like a wet pancake, and a bowl of fresh fruit.
Claudia followed my lead, and grabbed the similar looking dish.

The flavors of sweet syrup, and savory meat exploded against my taste buds.

"I could get used to good food like this..." I mumbled with a mouth full of food. "This is freakin' amazing!"

"It's a typical Samarinian breakfast, miss." I shot her a funny look, realizing her mistake. "Er sorry.. I mean, Ace." She smiled

"It's okay." I chuckled and took another bite of my pancakes.

"So, Ace.. If I'm not over stepping any boundaries by asking," she paused and bit her lip, as a small smile grew on her pink lips, and a rosey blush spread across her cheeks. "How are the states? What's it like over there? Are there any cute boys?"

My mind instantly shot to Steven, whom I'd forgotten about, briefly.
My smile faded, and a weary sigh escaped my lips.

"It's alright.." I stuttered. "And.. Well.. Yeah. There are a lot of cute guys."

"Oh! Did you get to hang out with any of them?" She was giggling like a school girl.

"You could say something like that." I blushed at my memories with the band, and especially with Steven.

"Well? What did you do, then?"
I had only just noticed her strange accent, it was like a cross between a Frenchman speaking English, and an englishman's normal accent. "Who was the boy? I can tell there was one.."

"I.. Uhh..." Stuttering was my new speech impediment. "His name's Steven."

"Ohh! Like Steven Tyler? Like the guy from Aerosmith?"
My jaw dropped open in astonishment.

"How'd you know?!" I gasped.

"I didn't!" Her eyes reflected the same shock that was in mine. "He's the only American I've heard of named Steven, so I was using him as a reference! I do love Aerosmith though. They're my favorite band!"

"Mine too." I smiled softly and pushed my empty plate of food away from me.

"So, you and Steven, huh?" The glimmer in Claudia's chrystal blue eyes, sent a shiver down my spine.

"No..." I swallowed hard, sending the painful lump, back into the depths of my throat. "Not anymore.." 

"Awe, honey, what happened?" The bittersweet empathy in her voice made me cringe. 

"I....Uh..... He..." I can't get the words out... I don't quite know how..
"It's a long story..." I ended up muttering, after moments of silence.

"Well, we've got time," She quickly shut up, and straightened her posture, returning to the simple house maid I saw almost a half hour ago. "I'm sorry, miss... please forgive me. I don't mean to pry."

I chuckled a bit, and smiled kindly. 
"Claudia... It's what friends do... If the roles were reversed, I'd pry the shit out of you.." 

"Well then, Ace... What's the problem?" She grinned.
I really like Claudia; she's kind, and as in need of a friend as I am. 

"Well, I guess the biggest problem was that... well.. I'm a handful." I confessed. "He's a rockstar, and well... Look at me. I'm some fucked up teenager, with terrible trust issues.. I'm not really very pretty, or talented. It never would've worked.. no matter how hard we tried."

"I'm so sorry to hear that.. I really am." She paused, choosing her words carefully. "And.. please don't ever say you're not pretty. You are gorgeous, and he was lucky to even get a chance with you." 
I couldn't help but to smile at her kindness.

"Princess," She gazed into my golden eyes, which were pooling over with salty tears. "May I ask you something personal?"

"Of course."

"Did you love him?" Her eyes never left mine.

I opened my mouth to speak, but then closed it again, really thinking about the question I was asked.

"Yes."