"But Father, please, wait..." Annabelle's voice trailed off, wispy as the smoke coming out of the dying coals in the fireplace.
"Nonsense, Annabelle!" he barked, turning around, perhaps so that the look of despair on his daughter's face couldn't make him even consider her argument. "I won't have any of it!" He continued, pacing back and forth, his back stiff as a soldier's. "You will go to the ball, and you will find a husband. I can't have you as an unmarried maiden. You would lose your respect, your title!"
"But Father-"
"Don't interrupt me!" the king bellowed. "You are Princess Annabelle of Aslaria, daughter of the King! You should know better than to interrupt the king!"
"And you are King Alexander the 5th, son of a-"
"ANNABELLE!"
"And YOU should know better than to yell at your daughter! If Mother were here, she would understand!" Annabelle felt a drip of water on her cheek, and her eyes were wet. She wasn't supposed to talk about the queen, especially in front of the King.
"What did you say?" The King's voice dropped to a whisper, making it twice as frightening for 16-year-old Annabelle.
"I said," sobbed Annabelle, "If Mother were here, she wouldn't be yelling at me! She wouldn't be making me go to the ball at all!"
"Annabelle-" But Annabelle wasn't done.
"Mother wouldn't make me wear the corset, either! She wouldn't make me wear the dress! I can't breathe in it! It's like you expect me to be an inch wide. If mother were here-"
"ANNABELLE!"
"She would LOVE me!" Annabelle closed her eyes and laid back in her chair, only to find that it wasn't there. She had missed by a couple of feet. Sobbing, she made her way to the door of the castle. "I'm leaving, Father! And I am NEVER coming back!
"That's wonderful news!" her father exclaimed, "because I don't want to see you again. EVER!"
YOU ARE READING
Without a Crown
General FictionIn this novel, Princess Annabelle of Aslaria runs away from home after a fight with her father. She becomes a servant at one of her subject's home, only to find out that she was becoming much more of a servant than she could have ever imagined!
