A Blessing and a Curse

Chapter One

This is Miraculous Kitty! I hope you enjoy this story!

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I live in a world where all that matters is dresses and parties. It may sound fun to some, but I can't stand it. I am Katrina Marriana Casanova, daughter of the richest lord in Basinesse. I wish I could go outside the mansion gates and explore every nook and cranny of Basinesse. Of course, my father would disapprove. You see, I am technically heiress to the Casanova estate because my mother died giving birth to me, her first and only child, and my father refused to marry again.

I always tell him that, if he can find love again, maybe some of the pain will go away, but he refuses to listen to anything related to the matter. He is super protective over me because he thinks that he will lose me like he lost his wife. Not that he thinks I'll have a child before I get married, he's just afraid that I'm as delicate as my mom was. I heard that she was the most beautiful and delicate woman in the whole of Basinesse. Even more beautiful than the queen herself, or so I was told.

Most would say that I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, and I can't deny it, but it's not all cupcakes and rainbows. My father forces me to go to these stuffy parties and insists that I make some friends and find someone to marry. People try to get close to me because I'm rich. It's the exact same with my father. Everyone knows that he's single now, and he has been for the past seventeen years. All the women try to cuddle up to my father, but he coldly turns them away. To be honest, sometimes I feel more sorry for the women he turn away than I am for my father even though they are gold diggers trying to get money out of him. He's that cold to them. He's even beginning to get more and more distant with me.

"Katrina, if we are to make it to the party on time, then we must leave now!" my father urges me.

"Alright, Father, I'm almost done," I call to him. I am fastening a necklace around my neck that my father insisted I wear.

When I finally get the necklace on all the way, I run down the steps to where my father is holding his arm out to me. I take it and we go outside and get in the limo waiting for us.

"Katrina, you really should have worn the dress I picked out for you. It's much better suited for this event," my father says, frowning. I am wearing a baby blue sundress with slightly darker blue leggings. The dress my father had picked out for me was long, black, and tight. It has one sleeve and shows most of the back.

I have never really been one to wear those kind of dresses. I never really much liked the sharp contrast between the black dresses my father tends to pick out for me and my blond hair and bright blue eyes. My sundress matches me much better, not that my father bothers to notice. He tries not to look at me too much because of how much I look like my mother.

The limo stops in front of a smaller version of our mansion. The driver opens my door and helps me out. I really don't need someone to help me out of a car, but my father wouldn't like it if I got out by myself. He would get furious at the driver. He thinks that if I'm left by myself for too long, I'll end up fatally injuring myself, which isn't very likely. My father keeps me under lock and key. He has guards watching my every move, listening to every word I speak. I'm not even allowed to go outside without my father unless I have at least ten guards with me. It's a bit suffocating, but I live with it because I know that it's only because he loves me and is afraid to lose me.

We walk into the mansion together and are instantly surrounded by a crowd. So much for hoping I wouldn't be bothered this time around. It's like this every time. When they notice us, they swarm around us like bees to honey. We're like celebrities to them. Most of them only want to be our friends for fame and money, which is super annoying. I'm glad when I can get even a moment of peace, which is pretty rare. If this is how we are treated, I wonder how it is for the royal family, who have more fame and money than my father and me. My father and I cling to each other to avoid being separated as we make our way to the host of the party.

"Oh, you look so amazing, Katrina!" the hostess says.

"And you look very, very handsome Lord Casanova," she says, turning to my father with a hungry look in her eyes. My eyes shift to her husband, who is right next to her. He is scowling, no doubt because of all the attention his wife is paying to my father, even though she's already married. Money can do that to a person.

I pull my father away and notice the relieved look on the host's face when his wife turns her attention back to him. He locks eyes with me and mouths, 'Thank you'. I just smile and nod at him. I bring my father to an uninhabited corner of the room. It's time to see if I can convince him to let me have more freedom. I have been trying since I was ten, and I never really succeeded, but it's always worth trying. That's what I tell myself, at least.

"Father, I'm seventeen now," I say, trying to ease into it. Though I'm sure that he already knows what I'm trying to do. I swear he knows every way of trying to get something out of someone, not that he ever uses them. He doesn't have to.

"No, I will not let you go into the city alone, or with any bodyguards," he says, confirming my suspicions.

"But Father, I just want to see something that isn't just brick walls and perfectly manicured gardens," I say.

"No, it is too dangerous. You will speak no more of going out into the city, Katrina," he says angrily.

"Yes, Father," I say.

"Now go and make some friends," he says, his face softening slightly.

He turns around and disappears into the crowd. I make my way to the snack table and just hang around there for a few minutes, watching all of the guests chatting away. I jump when I feel a hand on my right shoulder. I shrug the hand off and look at who it is. I have no idea who it is, which makes it super weird.

"Uh, who are you?" I ask.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm Malcolm Henry Buckingham, at your service," he says as he does a little bow.

"Oh, so you're Lord Buckingham's son," I say uneasily. I don't really have friends, but anyone who knows anything knows that Malcolm Buckingham is bad news. No one really knows why, though. Some say he's cursed. Some say he's some sort of demon. No matter what the rumor is, it isn't good.

"Yes, I am, and I couldn't help hearing you back there, talking to your father. You are Katrina Casanova, right?" he asks.

"Oh, that," I say, embarrassed. I didn't think anyone heard us talking.

"I am Katrina Casanova," I say after about a minute, realizing that I hadn't answered his question.

"I could help you, you know," he says.

"You... what? How can you help me?" I ask.

"I could help you be free, and see the city whenever you want," he says plainly.

"You're kidding," I say, thinking it's too good to be true.

"Nope. Not kidding," he says, slightly amused.

"There has to be a catch. What is it?" I ask suspiciously.

He refuses to meet my eyes as he says, "You have to marry me."