Spelled

Chapter One

Charlene's POV:

"Princess?" I heard a maid rap her knuckles on the door to my spacious bedroom, awakening me from my peaceful rest. I yawned and propped myself up to a sitting position on my pillows.

"You may come in," I granted her unspoken request in a regal tone of voice.

"Thank you, Your Highness," the maid, who I now recognized as Emilia, bobbed in a curtsy before scurrying over to my closet to select my outfit for the day.

"Emilia?" I said in a less harsh tone of voice, now that I knew who she was.

"Yes, Princess?" Emilia paused on her way to my large closet brimming with dresses.

"Why did you wake me up so early? It's only 5:45."

"The king wished for you to get an early start on today. He wanted to speak to you about your coronation before breakfast," Emilia continued on her way. We sat in silence for a moment, until she asked, "What dress would you like to wear this morning, Your Highness?"

"Umm..." I thought for a moment, "What about my pale pink dress with the diamond encrusted waist? With my ruby and diamond tiara and white heels?"

Emilia nodded, not bothering to turn around.

"And what scent should I draw your bath in?"

"Lavender, if you don't mind."

"Of course I don't mind, Princess."

I sighed. It got pretty tiring, being addressed as "Princess"  or "Your Highness" all the time. But that was the rule. Only royalty could address each other by their first names.

"Princess?" Emilia's voice snapped me back to the present, "Your bath is ready whenever your ready. I'll send in one of your ladies to do dress you, do your hair, and your make-up after I leave. Enjoy your bath, Your Highness," Her head bowed, Emilia walked briskly out of the room and was gone before I could say, "Thank you". 

Trying to ignore the fact that Emilia thought me so hard to deal with she couldn't stay for another second, I slipped out of bed and made my way to my bathroom. I stopped at the door and cupped the framed picture of my mother and I in my hand, smiling ruefully.

"I hope I've done you proud, Mother," I whispered to her smiling face. In the picture, Mother and I were standing in the castle gardens, the gazebo in the distance behind us, a mountain poking out just over the top. That was Mother's favorite place. We buried her there, right in the center of a new flower garden. Roses. Those were her favorite, too. I used to love that spot, but I could never bring myself to go there but once a year, on her birthday, to visit her grave. Though Mother died when I was fifteen, three years ago, it still hurt as if it happened yesterday.

Wiping away the tear that had sprung to my eye in memory, I proceeded into the bathroom where I undressed and waded into the bath Emilia had drawn for me. I closed my eyes and leaned back, breathing in the calming smell of lavender. I had a feeling I was going to need to be calm when I talked to Father this morning. He only summoned me to talk before breakfast when something drastic had happened.

After I had dressed, my lady, Marie, started to curl my hair and pull it into a waterfall braid. Once she had finished, she silently started on my makeup. Holding my collection out for me to see and choose from, Marie kept her head bowed. I chose a sparkly pink eye shadow, black eyeliner, black mascara, pale pink blush, and a shiny pink lip stick. My favorite color should be obvious.

Sooner than soon, I felt myself gliding down the corridors to the breakfast nook to meet with Father. I hoped that thirty minutes would be long enough before breakfast. As I stepped in the door to the nook that a soldier had opened for me, I spied Father sitting on his ruby red recliner by the fire place. I curtsied politely before I said, "Good morning to you, Father."

Father nodded, "Come, come sit with me by the fire."

Taking care to move quickly, but still look elegant, I went to the matching red recliner across from his, "Emilia said you wanted to talk to me about coronation before breakfast. Is that right?"

"It is, my dear," Father blew out a hot breath, "Well, in a way," he held up a finger, to signal that he did not wish to be interrupted, "You see, I was going through her will again, just for old time's sake, when I found that she left a box to you marked, "'Charlene's Coronation'. I didn't feel it was right to open it. So I brought it with me for you to open this morning," Father reached for the box beside his recliner and handed it to me, "Careful now, it's quite heavy."

All I could do was nod when I took it, I was so shocked. We had gone through Mother's will countless times since she had died. How had we missed this? I set it on my lap and just stared at it for a moment, flabbergasted. Though it was small, it was very heavy. What could possibly be inside?

I opened it and took the envelope from inside, "It's a letter," I said more to myself than Father, "Mother left me a letter."

I began to read it:

"Dearest Daughter,

Tell no one what this letter reads. To satisfy anyone's curiosities, read them the following paragraph:

I love you so much, daughter. I am so proud of your accomplishments. I know that you will be a much better queen than I ever was. Just remember to stay true to your heart. I love you.

-Mother

Later, alone, continue to search through this box for your true letter. I love you, dear."

I gasped.