Sickly Sweet

A Story

Sophie stared at the princess with wide eyes. She knew that the King and Queen weren't exactly the BEST parents in the world, but still. It was surprising to witness the Princess call the pair a nightmare so bluntly.

"The Queen is probably the worst of the two. They fight a lot, and so to get back at him she brings strange men to the table for dinner. She flirts with them coyly and always chooses the seat closest to him. As soon as dinner is over, Father apologizes for whatever urged the two to quarrel and Queen Coraline has the man executed."

Sophie gasped. Martek took a few steps toward her and gave her a quick hug, matching her brown eyes with his black ones.

"It happens. More often than it should."

Thoughts whirled inside our protagonist's head. How could the queen do such a thing? After all, they must have been quite fetching for her to invite them to dinner... Sophie pictured strong men with blonde hair brushed to the side and a navy pardoom. Orange-gold skin glittered, and shockingly blue eyes crinkled into a smile.

Focus, Sophie.

The princess continued her rant.

"Papa isn't so bad. I can bear to call him Papa, after all. He is rather cold and distant even to me, but I know he loves me. And he doesn't exactly love my mother but he protects her from everything and soothes her fears."

She looked at Sophie with sad lavender eyes. Reaching out a golden finger to caress her cornflower hair, she gave a soft smile. Sophie lurched backward at the sudden gesture but reluctantly came forward and let the princess stroke her soft hair.

"I wish I could live like you. You're so.... Curious. Unique. Different. And you seem oddly strange from the rest of us."

Sophie gulped. Should she say that she wasn't from their world? She was pretty certain Martek already knew, with her being so naive when he showed her around. Oh, and the fact that her skin was a normal color (at least for her) and no pardooms had been at all attracted to her except for the weird orange one Martek had told her was lurking at the arena.

"But, I can't. I'm a princess, and I must live like a princess." She sighed deeply, putting her shimmering hand on her forehead.

"Do you mind if I sleep over here for the night? I'm not feeling well, and I definitely can't go back to the palace. My parents won't even know that I'm gone."

Martek looked uncertain, but Sophie made the decision for him. She smiled brightly, though her stomach churned.

"Sure! Um... You can stay with me, I guess. I'm in the guest room. We'll have a little sleepover!"

Princess Lana visibly relaxed.

"Great! Lead me to the sleeping chamber." She looked down at the gum and rolling pin in her hand. "Oh, let me just put these down first." Handing the rolling pin to Martek, she popped a piece of gum in her mouth and offered one to Sophie. She politely accepted and winced at the sharp mint.

Lana tucked away the pack in the pocket of her dirty sleeping gown and straightened the frilly cap on her head. "I'm going to need three pillows, swan feather, two lavender and the third gold. The room must be painted purple as it is a relaxing color. Light purple, of course. Regular purple means death. That won't do. No stripes, they make me feel dizzy. Dots are fine. Plain walls are unacceptable. I will also need one blanket of snow tiger, laid artfully on the golden bed with a lavender canopy. That will be all."

Sophie grinned crookedly and winced. "Will this do?"

Opening the plain white door, Sophie flourished to the soft blue room. Cream walls with light blue borders shimmered. The ground was crushed diamonds, and so were the turrets of the bed. The blankets were white snow tiger with soft blue pillows. It was a dream to Sophie.

"No, thanks." Said the Princess dismissively and she pivoted out of the doorway. Sophie caught her arm.

"Wait! Please stay. We can stay up all night talking, or play games, or draw, or watch the H.V. (Hologram Vision), or... Or do ANYTHING you like. Please. I just want a friend."

The golden-skinned girl let out an exaggerated sigh.

"But it's blue!" She whined.

Sophie gave her a small smile. "For me? Pleeeeeease?"

"Fine." Said the princess, glaring at Sophie. She eventually gave up on trying to be angry and smiled at the younger girl. "Just this once."

Sophie squealed and threw her arms around her. She pulled Lana into the cozy but elegant bedroom and flung her onto the bed. Sophie jumped onto the bed and straddled her around the stomach. She looked deep into her eyes and...

Tickled her like there was no tomorrow! Dancing her wan fingers across the Princess's bare feet, she got a clear, crystalline laugh out of her smiling mouth. Lana pushed Sophie off her stomach and threw one of the soft blue pillows, engaging the two in a typical pillow fight.

Pillows and stuffed sky-blue bears flew through the air as well as the shrieks and laughter. Sophie hid under the bed but Lana found her, whacking a pillow across her gentle features. Sophie squealed and wiggled to the other side of the bed, ramming into two coal-black feet.

"I think that's enough," emanated Martek's husky voice from above her. Sophie blushed and crawled out from under the bed. Lana was already standing right next to her when she stood up, and there was a faint pink blush powdered across her features.

"Sorry," said Lana, looking deep into his eyes. She fidgeted her hands and crossed her legs. "We'll be going to bed soon."

"Okay," said Martek uncomfortably. There was suddenly tension so thick one could cut the air with a butter knife. Both of them stared at their toes for a few moments while Sophie looked on curiously.

"Um, well, I'll... Be going now." Martek quickly shuffled out of the room and shut the door with a small bang.

"Anyway!" said the Princess, false cheer dominating her voice. "Why don't we go to sleep? Then we'll be plenty rested in the morning."

Sophie gave her a fake smile to match the fake cheer. Climbing into the fluffy bed, she picked up a stray pillow and set it on the right side. She got under the fur blanket and closed her eyes. Sophie felt the bed become heavier and heard a small squeak as the Princess joined her.

"Good night." She said in a small voice.

"Night."

~*~

When Sophie woke in the morning, soft orange light poured out from the baby blue window. She crawled out of bed and paused to look at Lana's angelic face. The purple hearts dancing across her golden skin made Sophie wish she were brave enough to get a tattoo. Her eyes were closed, and where Sophie's passive 'sleeping face' was normally drawn rested a small smile.

She went over to the crystal window and looked in awe at the majestic view. Colorful turrets lined the gorgeous sunrise, and a pair of small children stood on an emerald balcony.

Moving to the bathroom, Sophie washed her face and brushed her teeth. After dressing in a simple silver gown Martek had hung for her, she sorted her hair into two braids and was finally ready to go downstairs.

With one last look at the Princess's sleeping face, she strode out the door and down the stairs.

No matter how odd a day with the Princess may be, Sophie decided that she was more than ready. And at least she had a friend, though it was dangerous as someone could report her and bring her back to the palace. She breathed in a deep breath and decided to stay positive.

Sophie slapped on a smile and walked into the kitchen.

(A/N)

I'm sorry for not updating!

Winter break REALLY up settled my writing schedule. And food poisoning played a part in that too.

Anyway, hope you guys liked that small chapter.

Vote. Comment. Fan.

Heart,

TheCubedCat