A True Hero

1 - The Beginning of the End

Today is the day, I thought. The day my life will change forever. Today is the day I decide which prince I will have to marry. Which man was worthy to rule my kingdom Arkiva. I glanced at the time. 3:45 pm. I was supposed to go meet my suitors at four. I glanced into the mirror. My white silk dress felt smooth against my legs and arms but hugged my waist so tightly I couldn't breathe. I looked beautiful though. I refused to let my lady-in-waiting do my hair for me. My mother insisted on braids, curled into a suffocating bun that pulled the skin so tight across my face I appeared to be either disgusted or joyfully laughing at everything. I was feeling the more 'disgusted' face. I put my long, wavy hair into a ponytail and tied it with a golden bow to match my golden sashes. My long eyelashes and sea green eyes stood out from my blond hair and skin with golden eye shadow.

As complimentary as I am to myself, I must note that I am fairly short, shorter than many people, and I had stopped growing when I was fifteen. I'm seventeen now.

My hair, even in a ponytail, still came down to my waist. I picked up my tiara, encrusted with blue diamonds and green sapphires, and fastened it on my head. Looking back at the clock, I saw I only had five minutes. Smirking at my reflection, I slipped on my white slippers and started down the landing outside of my room. One flight down from the entrance, I stopped to listen to the men coming in. I had never met any of the three princes visiting today. I had only been allowed to hear of their nobleness and royalty. While I had no idea what they looked like, they had been sent pictures of me. I had received several letters from them telling me how wonderful I seemed and how excited they were to meet me. Because of the rules of my kingdom, they could not send pictures of themselves to me. It was part of the tradition that the princess does not see the suitors before the engagement day.

I was dearly hoping for a knight in shining armor to walk through the palace doors, but I was more than disappointed to even hear them walk in. The first prince to enter had a deep voice and an English accent. When greeting my father, his voice boomed through the grand hall; I could feel the vibrations in the steps. The second prince to enter had a squeaky, shrill, nasally voice. He sounded much like my father when he was sick with pneumonia. Whenever he inhaled, it sounded like barrels of mucus were stuck inside his throat, and he was constantly wheezing. The third and last prince talked in grunts with hardly any intelligible words or phrases.

Exhaling and trying not to panic, I listened for my mother's voice to call me down. As another custom, the king and queen would be the first to make the princes' company. When the greetings were finished, I was to make a grand, yet humble entrance. Just as every princess of Arkiva before me, I had to glide down the stairs, hands clasped, eyes closed and head bowed as a show of humbleness. I had rehearsed this many times with my mother, for my gracefulness was not like that of other princesses. I had fallen at least seven times on the same stupid fold in the carpet.

"Princess Nicolette," my mother called, and I took a deep breath. I said a quick prayer, then closed my eyes and began my descent. 1...2...3...4... I counted, making sure not to miss a step. There were seventeen in total, the number supposed to represent the maturity of the royal child when they reached the engagement age.

As I neared step twelve, I heard a gasp arise from the three visitors. It took everything within me not to giggle at their boyish surprise. Unfortunately, in my effort to keep a straight face, I lost track of the step I was on. Wait, was I on fifteen or six-

"Oof!" I gasped, falling on my father's arm. He was waiting for me on the bottom step. I was supposed to gracefully take hold of his arm, not plummet head-first into his chest. He was a broad shouldered man, tall for Arkivians and very strong, so he caught me with grace and put me back on my feet. Cheeks flushed, I tried my best to regain composure and let my father take over. Peeking out of one eye, I saw him reach up to his short chestnut beard and smooth it out before guiding me to my suitors. Over my heavy breathing, I could hear giggling from the princes.

Fantastic, I thought. I'm officially a ditzy oaf.

"Welcome to Arkiva," my mother, a slender woman with wavy blond hair and blazing blue-green eyes, said with a hint of embarrassment in her voice. "And may we introduce our daughter, Nicolette."

I opened my eyes and gasped at them. The first prince, Prince Richard, was even shorter than I, and skinny as a twig, if not skinnier.

The second prince, Prince Bill, was almost a foot taller than me, with a nose so big he had to bow his head see the crown of my head. He was also incredibly stout, and his thin, wiry hair didn't hide his giant ears.

The third prince, Prince Diddimus, was a pale purple, almost pasty, with a mustache that covered most of his face, and so muscular I could see his biceps through his robes.

To say the least, none of them appealed as a lifelong partner to me, much less a ruler of a kingdom.

After several minutes of awkwardly staring at each other, my parents dismissed them to the waiting chambers. Within they would have stacks of doughnuts, fruits, and hot chocolate to keep them occupied.

Once they had left, my mother motioned me to join her in the palace gardens. Her look of embarrassment and anger were gone and replaced with pity. I angrily shouldered past her and into the soft, lush grass. I threw off my shoes and laid down by the fountain, while my mother sat on its edge. The sun was still high enough to blind me, so I looked away from it and my mother into an apple tree. The pink blossoms were beautiful and provided shade and housing for a family of scarlet birds.

After a period of awkward silence, my mother finally said, "I...uh...I'm sorry.." I glanced up at her, then back at the beautiful crimson bird. "I was told they were...um..."

"Is this how you and dad met?" I interrupted, scowling at her. She glared at me in disdain. "Sorry," I added, plucking a piece of the grass and twiddling it between my thumbs.

"Well, no," my mother said, "but this is how your grandma met her husband, and her mother met hers, and her mom, and her mom, and so on."

"Then how did you and dad meet?" I demanded, biting on the grass.

"Didn't I tell you?" She asked. When I shook my head, she sighed, blowing the bang in front of her eyes to the side. The sun silhouetted her body and gave her an angelic complexion. "Well, I was a princess of another kingdom, and your father was the prince of this one. We had to go through all of the traditional stuff, but it was easier to marry him because I had met him previously...in a war actually." Her bright eyes darkened. "You see," she said, unsheathing her sword, "your father is part of the Arkiva ninja clan." She studied the blade, wiping it with her dress.

"Yeah, I know," I said, "that's why dad's been training me in ninjutsu. He needs me to lead the clan someday." I felt under my left sock, where I hid my own blade. I was told to keep it on me at all times.

"Yes," she whispered, staring at the apple tree I was looking at earlier, "only because you're the oldest, and you need to defend yourself. When I met your father, he saved my life. Our castle was under attack, and he came and saved me from the mouth of a monster named Wolfwrath. He and your uncle, Tomas, were fighting together. The whole clan was there, and even a few GSA soldiers."

I knew what the Galaxy Soldier Army, or commonly known as the GSA, was. Several childhood friends of mine had enrolled already. Even though the war has been waging for several hundred years, the fight between the GSA and Nightmare Enterprises was still at large. Their goal was to stop evil monsters from destroying the good and taking control of the universe. The Star Warriors were the elite soldiers among them who possessed warp stars and sometimes had special powers. Not everyone could be a Star Warrior. Only those born with the destiny and strength could do it.

"While they were fighting, your father lost his best friend and brother by choosing to save me and my family. We want you to be able to defend yourself, hoping you won't be as defenseless as I was. Your father has been teaching you skills that only he and his brother knew."

Slipping her blade back into its cover along her waist, she turned and smiled at me. "I know that these guys aren't the smartest, funniest, or best-looking princes out there. But for the sake of the clan and the kingdom, choose one.'' With that, she gave me a kiss on the forehead and sent me to my room to put on my evening gown and prepare for the banquets.

"And Nicole," my mother called one last time.

"Yes?" I sighed.

"I want to see the bun in your hair tonight!"