The Secret Princess

The Secret Princess -- Amelia Bradshaw --

Chapter 2 –

“Come in Alice.” My mother called from inside her office and I frowned. She always knew that it was me? My mother was sometimes a scary woman. I opened the door and skipped into the room and I watched her head look up from the desk and the frown on her face melted away. I made my way across the room and leaned over the desk to give her a light kiss on the cheek before settling myself gracefully into a chair. She smiled at me and put down the papers that she had been studying to give me her full attention.

“How do you always know it’s me?” I asked out of curiosity and she flashed a grin which didn’t happen often, my mother always seemed calm and composed and always keeping her emotions controlled.

“I’m your mother Alice; it is my job to know when you are knocking on my door.” I snorted and received a frown from her. She wanted me to be like her, a lady. I tried and could just about manage it in public for a few hours but when I was out of the public eye I was myself. I watched her face soften as she studied my face.

“You want to ask me something.” It wasn’t a question. I gave her a small smile.

“I want you to talk to father about getting the law changed.” I rushed out and mother frowned.

“Why would you be concerned about changing the law Alice?” I shrugged but she was waiting for an answer.

“Because it’s important.” My mother smiled.

“I see. You have come to me in hopes that I would talk your father round to change the law to suit you.” I gaped but slowly nodded. I couldn’t believe that she had guessed my motive, she was really scary sometimes.

“Close your mouth Alice, you look like a goldfish.” I snapped my mouth closed.

“What do you want changing?” She asked and I could tell that she was curious to see what I would want to change. I took a deep breath and knew what the answer would be but I had to try.

“I want the law changed so girls don’t have to go through the games and die.” Mother looked shocked but then her face turned sympathetic and she sighed.

“I know its hard Alice, I was there once but this is a tradition that was made hundreds of years ago and we can’t abandon tradition.” She wanted to change the games as badly as I did, it was there in her eyes but she knew that she couldn’t. Father wouldn’t allow it.

“But all those girls! They will die! They all have families, and some of them won’t want to marry George because he is a pig.” I burst out an immediately waited for the scalding from mother but it never came. I glanced up from my lap to meet her eyes and I could see the pain in them.

“I’m sorry Alice but there is no way that this can change. It is a tradition and we must stick to it as well as George. The games will happen whether you want them to or not and I am sorry you feel this way Alice.” I sighed in frustration and leapt up from my seat and glared at my mother.

“I thought you would understand! You went through this and saw all those girls die! You are the only person that father would listen to about something like this as he knows what you have been through. He would change the law if you asked him to but it seems as if you want the games to go ahead as much as he does!” I yelled and turned on my heel.

“Alice.” I heard my mother call after me but I didn’t stop. I slammed the door behind me and headed up to my room fighting the tears all the way. Sofia was waiting for me in my room turning the bed down and making sure the room was tidy but stopped once she saw my face.

“What’s wrong?” She asked and I just collapsed onto my bed.

“My mother won’t talk to father to get the law changed.” I didn’t look up at Sofia’s expression but I knew that she would be frowning. I then felt her arms around me.

“I’m sorry Alice.” She whispered. I shook my head.

“It’s not your fault Sofia, you don’t want this to happen as much as I do.”

          Time was passing fast and I was running out of time. I had told George about the meeting I had with mother and he seemed to lose all hope of not getting married. I thought of all the possible ways in which the games but be stopped but they all came to a dead end. I also was avoiding my mother like the plague; I couldn’t face her after I had yelled at her. Sofia had tried to help me find all the loopholes but we kept coming up blank. Before I knew it the games were happening in a week and today was the day where the girls would be announced of who would fight for the hand of my pig of a brother. I was wearing a blue dress with small heels and had a black clutch bag to finish the outfit. My hair had also been platted and pulled up into a bun. I sat with the fake smile on my face as I watched my mother and father stand at the front of the stage that had been placed in the middle of the town so everyone in the kingdom could watch and see who was chosen. My brother and I were sat on smaller thrones that were on either side of my parent’s throne. I tried to look interested but this was the last place that I wanted to be. There was a large container that contained the names of all the eligible girls in the kingdom and my parents between would pick six each making up the party of twelve. I could feel the tension in the air and I looked out into the crowd and watched that some families had come to support their daughters and were clinging onto them for dear life. I felt sick. We were taking them away from their families and asking them to kill or be killed. I turned away trying to fight the urge to push the container off the stage and demand the games to not go ahead but I knew I couldn’t. I would bring shame to myself and to my family and I could not do that. I forced myself to look back out across the crowd and I could see the clear difference as if a line had been drawn between the very wealthy families and the normal people of the kingdom. I hated the wealthy girls as all thy cared about was how they looked and were stuck up. If the games had to go ahead, I hoped my brother got a girl who came from a normal family life to teach him some things about life and make a fair kingdom. It was then time for my parents to start picking the names of the girls. Cameras flashed as my father started the ball rolling by picking the first name and I knew all the pictures would be in the magazines. All the magazines had been centered around the games for months. I heard my father call out the first name. I don’t think I would ever forget that name ‘Amelia Bradshaw’. ‘Amelia’ cried out in horror and I watched as she clutched to her parents crying and begging them not to let her go, they cried along with her but there was nothing they could do. Two of the castle’s guards went to her and managed to pull her away from her family. My heart went out to her and it took everything I had not to scream at them to let her go. The crowd parted to let the guards and Amelia pass and she dug her heels in all the way. She glanced back at her family one last time.

“I love you.” She yelled to them and she barely heard them before she was put into a car and taken towards the palace where her training would begin. I turned away from the crowd and I prayed that she would be okay. The rest of the names passed in a blur and many of the girls were excited to be picked as they would be treated like princesses for the next few weeks and for some that was a dream come true but at a huge price. Their life. However, some reacted like Amelia and cried and begged their parents not to let them go. Some of the wealthier girls were picked and they were all smug and all bragged about how they could be the next ruler of the kingdom. I wanted to hit them for their stupidity. They were giving up their lives in order to get in the pants of my brother and for money. It seemed like an eternity before the ceremony was finished and we could return back home and I couldn’t get away quick enough. The ride back was very quiet and I couldn’t get Amelia off my mind, there had to be something that I could do for her. As we entered the gates, I had the craziest idea that could cost me everything including my life but I knew I had to get Amelia out, she wouldn’t survive these games.  

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The Secret Princess © 2014 LIZ JOESBURY-CLARKE

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