Kingdom

Chapter 1

Before I begin this story, I would like to say thank you to a very special person, @SagebrushSun

Thank you so much for helping me create a wonderful cover! I couldn't have asked for a better one, and also thank you for just being such a lovely person about the whole thing. You've really helped the story along, and I couldn't be more grateful. Thank You again, and I hope you like the story!

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I woke up to the sun filtering in through the window of my bedroom, at dawn like it did every morning. I sighed, shoving my head underneath my pillow trying to salvage the last 30 seconds of sleep before the inevitable ... my mother. Don't get me wrong, I love her to death, she has kept me together but honestly nothing in my life requires getting up at the break of dawn.

"Melony Ross, do you know what that sun means? It means that the day has begun and when the day begins we begin. It's going to be a marvelous day today." My mother came in right on time, throwing open the door and killing all my dreams of sleeping in and looking half decent.

"Every day is a marvelous day with you mother, tell me, is it really? Yes, there is good, but is there truly marvelous things in every single day?" I groan rolling out from under my pillow and quite literally onto the floor.

"There is good Mel, and then there is marvelous, and do you want to know where the marvelous comes from? You, you put it there and if you keep that attitude up I am quite certain I'll never see another marvelous thing again in my life." Mother said that with such feeling it was near impossible to not believe her. So, with a quiet sigh I got up and began my day, far too early.

I got up and opened the drawer beside my bed picking up and plain blue dress from inside. I closed the curtains and quickly changed. Re-opening the curtains to let some light in and stared into the mirror at the girl looking back at me. I saw this face every day, blue eyes and brown hair. Small nose and pronounced brows, I looked at my pink lips and my slightly crooked bottom teeth. I smiled, thinking of what my mother said and decided that today was the day I would create something marvelous. I braided my hair coiling it around my head. I smiled once more at my reflection before whisking out of the room grabbing my stark white apron on the way.

I knew my family's job was important, we were the reason Fantasyland looked so clean but getting up at 6:00 am every morning to clean the streets and gardens before school and then coming back after school to do a full clean of all the houses was a huge task. So, as I kneeled in the grassy area near Gaston's tavern pulling weeds I reminded myself that hard work made the world turn 'round. I'd finished my morning task by 8:00 am leaving myself an hour to get to school on Main Street. I kissed my mother and father goodbye before grabbing my younger brother Cal's hand and taking him back to the house to collect our books for school. By the time I reached Dumbo's it was roughly 8:20 leaving me just enough time to get to school. Sometimes if I finished my work early enough I walked to school, but today I didn't have the time so a flying elephant was the perfect option. It also gave me an excuse to talk to Daniel when no one was around.

Daniel Gardiner, how to describe Daniel Gardiner? He was tall and sweet, smart and strong. He was as handsome and brave as a prince, despite living in a world of cottages and cleaner girls. His family had run the Dumbo business since the original Dumbo had been alive. Now, they managed all of Dumbo's descendants, harnessing them as a safe and affordable transportation service running all through the Magic Kingdom. Every time I took Cal and I to the elephants Daniel let him pet them before we left whilst Daniel and I talked. It was here I fell for him, yes he had been an attractive boy in the classroom but here he was more than that. He was someone who understood dreams, hopes, wishes, who I could talk to for hours.