(Untitled, as of now)

The little girl stared back at her own reflection and barely recognized what she saw. Her chambermaids were hovering over her, fussing about her hair and her dress and a million other things that apparently looked wrong. She sighed and stared at the open windows, the tantalizing yellow sunshine calling to her. However, she couldn't escape, not today. They had covered almost every inch of her face with some sort of powder or sticky stinky stuff. Her shoulder-length black hair was pulled, combed and styled into large curls that were tied up with the help of a pink ribbon. She was dressed in a baby pink dress that tied at the waist with a bow.

She was tired of the constant concept of "looking acceptable". All she wanted to do was wander the palace grounds alone. There were many children in the palace. She had 5 older siblings, or cousins and 3 younger ones. Yet, she still felt alone. All her older sisters wanted to do was giggle and talk about how handsome the soldiers are. Her older brothers were too busy in training for the running of the country that they couldn't waste their time in playing. Her little siblings were...well...too little. So, Eliza caught in the middle with no friend of her own age was in a state of loneliness, which she had gotten accustomed to every since she was born. She was perfectly fine on her own.

Her mother called from the corridor, "Minnie! Bring Eliza, quickly!" Minnie grabbed Eliza by the arm and pushed her to the corridor where Eliza's cousins were waiting. She placed Eliza at the end of the line. Angry that she had to go to the banquet and nod to fat women and men politely against her will, she swiped the pink sticky paste off her lips, smearing it across her cheek. Satisfied, she crossed her arms across her chest and settled into an aura of seething anger. Unfortunately, it didn't escape Minnie's practiced eye. She gave a cry in exclamation and pulled Eliza to apply fresh lipstick and cleaned up her cheek. Eliza groaned and stuck her tongue out at Minnie and went back into the line. She could hear Minnie muttering under her breath , "That child...." .

Eliza then made up her mind to remain cynical for the rest of the monotonous evening as they all entered the grand hall.

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"Sit straight." Rosie whispered in Eliza's ear. Wishing that the dull evening would just end, Eliza straightened. Eliza's eyes roamed the crowded room. The usher's voice boomed through the hall and he introduced each count, duke and earl into the hall. They then proceeded to the front of the hall where the royal family sat and bowed and smiled. The same thing again and again. A particularly ornamented countess started conversing with the queen. Bored out of her wits, Eliza looked at he round tables that littered the great hall. in the the corner the hall, she caught the eye of a boy with her same black hair , tan skin and sparkling green eyes.

For a moment, they just stared at each other. Then, suddenly, the boy grinned from ear to ear. Eliza caught her breath and her eyes darted back to the ground at her feet. Because of her royal status, barely anyone of her age made eye contact with her and if they did, accidentally, they would bow. Of all her 11 years, she never saw anyone outside of her family, grin so unabashedly at her. Overtaken by curiosity and a little apprehensive, she cautiously lifted her eyes to look at the boy. She was surprised to find that he was still looking at her. When she met his eyes, he grinned even wider. Fascinated by his daring friendliness, she sat staring at him, her eyes wide and her mouth open.

Summoned by social protocol, she snapped out of her trance and smiled back.

That night, all she could think about was whether she would meet the boy with the green eyes again.