For the Crown

Ch. 1 "So It Starts"

It smelt like the sweet smell of burning wood at a campfire on a cold winter night, only this wasn't your typical evening campfire.

The smoke all but smothered me as I hid my face beneath my blanket in an attempt to get fresh air. I gulped up as much as I could before I held my breath, pulled the covers away from my face, and ran to the other bed across the room.

"Emmy!" I cried as I ripped back her bed sheets. The eight year-old girl was curled up in a ball with her freckled cheek leaning on her pillow and her eyes darting around the room.

I didn't wait for her to respond before scooping her up into my arms and dashing down the antique wooden stairs. We were not by any means rich, but we were not poor either. It took a few years for my brother to afford our middle-class luxury home, but now I was starting to think that maybe an old wooden house wasn't a good idea after all.

I rushed through the double oak doors that had already been opened.

Maybe the rest of my family had made it out before us, I thought.

Charlie stood in our small front lawn wearing a plain white shirt and blue pajama pants.

"Where's Mom and Dad?" he asked with his dark hair blowing in the ash-filled  wind. His hair reflected the red glow of fires all around us; the whole neighborhood was going up in flames.

"I thought they would be out here with you," I told him, releasing Emmy who had been clutching tightly to my shirt.

Charlie looked behind us at the burning house and instructed us," You both wait out here while I get them. They might just be having trouble with Dad's wheelchair."

I heard Emmy call out for Charlie, but I stood watching his silhouette disappear into the house.

---

"Bella!"

The memory began to fade, and my senses came alive. I was engulfed by something incredibly soft and the room I was in smelt like roses rather than smoke.

"Miss Bella! Please wake up!" squealed that same high-pitched voice from before.

I shot up from my pillow to see three very relieved faces and a blinding ray of sunshine streaming through my balcony doors.

I quickly covered my face and rubbed my eyes as I heard the sighs and chatter of my maids.

"I told you she was fine," my head maid, Brielle, stated, looking over at the sisters she worked with.

Alayna rolled her eyes, while Tuesday huffed," Well I wouldn't call that fine! She was shaking worse than the last time. One more minute of that and I would've called for a nurse!"

Ending my nap time, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and steadied myself once I stood.

The current topic of conversation was an old one for me.

"I'm fine, Tuesday. They're just memories. They'll go away eventually," I insisted. More recent memories began to flood my mind. I was in the palace. I was chosen to be a contestant for the crown. I was battling several other girls for this position, and today we'd be introduced to the world. I held my head up higher. "Now, can we please get ready for the big event?"

At those words, my maids immediately put aside their discussion and began their normal duties: picking an outfit, starting a bath, and fixing my hair and make-up. They didn't seem pleased by my request, but they never dared disobey an order.

I pushed thoughts of my family away as I sat down in front of my vanity and started to recite the small speech I planned to read at the introductions tonight. Nerves crept up my spine at the realization that I would be speaking to a large crowd, not only to those in the ballroom, but also to the citizens watching at home on television.