Behind the Masquerade

Conviction

Sophia felt like someone had just poured a pound of sand into her throat as the sunlight filtered in through the window, shooting its rays into her eyes and making her wake from her deep sleep. She groaned as she felt the grainy substance in her throat cause her to feel like she was sick and dying. Rolling to her right, she wanted to go back to sleep-since in her opinion, it was way too early to wake up.

But she didn't know she had been sleeping on the corner of her bed and she fell right off, turning into a mess of sheets and flesh. That woke her right up and she peeked her head from under her sheets, staring out the window to see the sun up and the birds tweeting.

"Stupid birds…I'll shoot them one day," Sophia grumbled when she watched a bird fly straight into her closed window, to only bump off with a resounding smack.

She slowly made her way out of the covers and threw the offending sheets back onto her bed, grumbling under her breath about how she hated mornings. She made her way to her closet and found one of the most plain kimonos available and slipped it on, while brushing her hair a few times till the tangles and knots were out.

She slowly dragged her fatigued body out the door, making her way to breakfast. With the worst luck, Madison came out of her bedroom when Sophia was dragging her corpse-like body past, and Madison threw a disgusted look at her sister.

"Sophia, you have got to learn to be a proper girl. Look at me, you don't see black rings circling my eyes. You don't see me walking around with a slump, as if I was a hunchback. It's shameful to call you my sister!" Madison commented, while Sophia shot her sister a death glare in return.

"Save the lecture Madison. I don't have time for you," Sophia growled and quickly made her way down the stairs, while Madison huffed at the response and took her steps one at a time.

Sophia nearly tripped on the last step and she ungracefully tried to regain her posture, while passing maids and servants shook their heads quietly. Sophia wanted to flip them the bird, but that would only get her into trouble if the person told her mother what she had did.

The younger princess quietly opened the door to the dining room and saw her mother and father already eating and drinking their own breakfast. When they saw Sophia enter, Queen Montgomery took in a deep breath and Sophia knew that her mother was about to give her a nice, long lecture. Oh joy.

"Sophia! It's late! You woke up late! Again! It's afternoon! It might as well be lunch for you now instead of breakfast! Why can't you be on time? Why can't you be like your sister?"

"Madison is late too," Sophia quietly whispered to herself, but it didn't seem to reach her mother.

And at that precise moment, Madison entered the dining room and sophisticatedly made her way to her seat. The princesses' mother's frown suddenly twisted around and she smiled at seeing her older daughter, commenting, "Always on time, Madison!"

Sophia glowered and went to take a seat at the table too. "You said I was late! But Madison entered later than me... So why are you saying she was on time!" Sophia demanded while taking a toast from the table, and drinking some orange juice to quench the sandy feeling in her throat.

"Of course you're late! But Madison is never late! Right Madison?" King Montgomery questioned the older princess, who replied with a faint nod while munching on some toast. "You really have to be like your sister."

Sophia clenched her fists under the table and frowned across at her sister, trying to will the older princess to choke on her toast and die a very slow and painful death. It didn't seem to work as Madison glanced over at her icily from under her long lashes, giving her a half open eyed look.