The castle, home to the queen, king, and princess. I live so close to it, yet feel so far. After all, they do keep it highly guarded. The only time the gates are open, is when there is a party. As for the people who attend these parties, I'm nothing like them. Honestly, I'm quite poor. I can't afford things to wear to these parties. I'm barely able to feed myself.
When my parents died they left me in a mountain of debt. I'll never be able to pat it off at this rate, and they are slowly raising how much I pay them at once. Most jobs are not even an option for me. I have an issue. It's impossible for me to speak or scream. The doctors could never find out what was wrong with me.
Right now I'm walking through the small village surrounding the castle. My mind begins to process things I can do to earn more money. Such as, a second job. Two full time jobs may be exhausting, but I'm running out of options. I'm not sure what they'll do if I don't pay them.
As I'm thinking, I bump into someone. Feeling the soft chest before being knocked to the ground told me it is a tall girl. My eyes slowly look up at her apologetically. She wears high heeled leather boots, black jeans and crop top. Her makeup is dark, her hair is short and dark purple. Her vibe felt pretty intimidating.
"I've heard about you. Your name is Ellie, right?" She asked as I stood. I nod in response. "Well, the names Avaline, Ava for short."
Her name struck my memory, telling me she was the princess. My cheeks burned red in embarrassment. Not only did I literally run into the princess, my clothes are old and worn. I'm in no condition to meet someone like here. My worry showed as I looked at my old, torn clothes.
"No need to get embarrassed. I hate being a princess. I'm not going to judge you, but..." She paused for a second, looking at my clothes. "... would you like some money for some clothes?"
I frantically wave my hands in the air, shaking my head. Once I stop, I find her just observing me. I jump when she begins to laugh out of nowhere.
"You're quite shy and awkward. Here, take the money." Ava hands me a small punch of gold. "Buy some new clothes. You know, you should stop by the castle sometime. I don't have many friends, and you seem interesting."
My eyes open wide at the invitation to the castle. She wants ME to come to the castle? What could be so interesting about me? I don't even speak! I was so confused at her offer, but nodded anyways, agreeing to go.
"Good, because no was not an option. I'll send someone to get you tomorrow." She walks off before I could even show her my work schedule. I have work tomorrow. Oh well. Sighing, I give a soft smile at the gold pouch. Guess I should go buy some clothes. I happily start walking in the direction of the clothing store.
As I walk, I'm stopped by Ethan. He works for Caleb, the man I'm in debt with. "Your payment is coming up, do you have our money?" He leaned in a little too clothes, making me step back. I shake my head, putting the money behind me. "What do you have there?"
He quickly reached behind me, grabbing the pouch. Ethan whistles after examining the contents. I look down as he shuffles through the gold.
"Now, where did you get all of this? A big bonus at work? Or, perhaps it's time we up you monthly payment." He chuckles, examining me closely. I shake my head. If they raise it that much, I'll never be able to pay them. He grabs two coins, handing them to me. "I expect this much again next month."
Ethan walks off with more than four times my normal payment. My eyes are wide, considering my options. What am I going to do? It'll be impossible to come up with that much. I'll need to skip more meals, but that still won't be enough. My eyes shift to the remaining two coins. I should go home.
I turn and start heading to my small, two room house. One room is the bathroom, the other where I sleep and eat. It's tiny, but it's all I could afford. Now I might not even get this. Maybe I'll have enough if I don't have to pay for this place? No, it still won't be enough.
I plop myself down onto my bed. Maybe some sleep will help me come up with something. I get cleaned up and changed into a small pair of pajamas. After getting settled in my bed I just lay there for a few minutes, staring at the wall. Finally, sleep embraces me.
