A Typical Card Game

Princess of Passion

 "Bella. Time to get up," said a nice, cheery voice. Five-year-old Isabella shrank deeper into her bed, as she giggled happily at her nanny. "I'm not playing this game. Time to get up," Emma said, as she pulled the pink sheets from the princess's bed to see Isabella shiver from the lack of heat. "Isabella. We've been over this. A princess can not wake up at 11:00 in the morning," Emma sternly said as she laid out her gown on the bed as Isabella stretched out.

"But, being a princess is boring!" Isabella whined, as Emma pulled the white nightdress and cap and replacing them with the pink and red dress with a golden heart design. 

"Don't let your father hear you say that," Emma said, as she gave Isabella the strange red fruit she seemed to be obsessed with. "Bella, you are very lucky to be a princess as there are children living in the streets."

"I know Miss Emma, but Papa doesn't let me go outside and it's boring sitting in here everyday," Isabella continued, as Emma led her out to the main hallway where her father was listening to petitions from the people as they bowed and he nodded kindly. Alvarez stood next to him with a bright smile. Isabella knew she would never be queen, because she was just the spare in all respects, but that's okay. She looked over at Emma, and said, "I'm going to head to lunch." Emma nodded and Isabella quickly ran off before  Emma decided to follow her. She loved Emma, but Emma was very overprotective and she wouldn't tell her why. She rushed down the heart shaped corridors trying to remember the way to the kitchen. She skipped happily through the corridors to the lower rooms, when she bumped into someone and her head hurt from the collision.

She rubbed her skull, and heard someone say, "Hey! Watch where the hell you're going idiota!" She looked up to see it was a boy with brown hair with a gravity-defying curl, olive skin, the mark of the Ace on his neck, and a seemingly permanent scowl. The boy looked her in the eye and they widened when he saw who it was.

"Oh! I'm sorry I didn't see where I was running," Isabella said, quickly getting up and holding out her hand for the boy. The boy was blushing a deep-red color, and Isabella happily said, "Ah...You look like a tomate. It's so CUTE!"

"Yeah. Whatever," the boy said, looking away and ripping his hand away from the princess. "And I'm not cute. I'm devilishly handsome."

The princess laughed. "What's your name?" Isabella asked, and the boy immediately ran away covering his deep red face. "That was weird," Isabella said and felt her stomach grumble from inside her belly. Isabella shrugged off the experience and quickly ran to where she thinks the kitchen was so she could get some tomatoes.

The corridors seemed to blend together, as the five-year-old ran through the hallways. It was such a beautiful castle with its lovely red painted walls, cheery yellow hearts that lined the walls, statues of white marble, and the paintings of her family members lined the wall. She looked at one such painting of a an absolutely beautiful woman with red hair, sky blue eyes, and cinnamon skin, and she wondered who she could be. She slowly walked up to the portrait and read the caption underneath and it said the lady's name was "Maria Fernandez Carriedo, Queen of Hearts". 

"Fusoso! She's so pretty!" Isabella cried, happily before she looked back at the name to see it was her last name. "Why does she have my last name?" Isabella had never been the brightest candle in candelabra, but she had been told that she once had a mama so she must be her mother. "I wondered where she went?" Isabella said and ran her fingers over the smooth golden letters when one shifted beneath her chubby, little fingers. She looked up to see the painting seemed to disappear into the wall, until she saw that there was a hidden tunnel behind the portrait. Curiosity took over the princess's heart and she grabbed the frame and pulled herself into the painting, and quickly locked the painting back in place.