Switched ~ a Fractured Fairytale

Chapter One ~ An Unnecessary Proposal

The problem with having a tower bedroom is that you don't always wake up on time. I had an awful tendency to oversleep and this morning was no different. Grabbing a cushion, I held onto my skirts as I slid down the wooden chute that ran alongside the spiral staircase down to the ground floor. Another problem with tower living? It's fun to slide down, but a pain to climb back up. I watched little snippets of green fields flash by through the windows as I zoomed towards the ground, my brown curls flying behind me. As the chute levelled out, I leapt over the edge and sprinted off down the corridor.

I ran through the hallways, dodging servants. The footman on duty smiled at me as I skidded to a halt outside the double doors to the dining room and leant against the wall, trying to catch my breath.

'Am I on time?' I gasped.

'I'm afraid His Majesty has already commenced breakfast, Your Highness,' he said with a smile. 

I sighed as he threw open the doors. For once, it would be nice to be on time.

'Announcing, Her Royal Highness, Princess Elia!'

'Morning,' I said, entering the large and airy dining room. 

Light flooded in from the long windows, glittering off the polished wood floor, and the smell of fresh waffles made my stomach rumble. The long dining table was mostly empty, except for the far end, where a mess of plates, books, apple cores and teacups indicated my family. Father was sitting at the head of the table, glasses perched on the end of his nose, reading his way through his daily mountain of letters and papers. His neat blue suit was freshly pressed, and I could see a thin gold circlet nestled in his brown curls, but he was also wearing his bedroom slippers, which struck me as odd. 

Cassy's old dressing gown was rather tattered and stained, and Theo had yet to change out of his pyjamas, but this was fairly usual. Bash, slumped beside Father, looked exhausted, he kept nodding off over his latest invention, no doubt a late night of stargazing, and his shirt was covered in a strange grey powder. Marianne was the only one properly dressed, in a pink frock with matching headband. She looked up at me as I approached and sniffed disapprovingly, annoyed at my tardiness.

I kissed Father's head and ruffled Theo's already messy brown hair as I passed. Father glanced up from his letters and smiled at me, watching as Theo attempted to put me in a headlock.

Marianne let out an impatient huff. 'Honestly, Theodore, you're the Crown Prince. Why don't you try acting like one?'

'Yeah, because you're the perfect little royal,' Theo shot back. 'Why do you always pick on me?'

'Because you're the eldest,' Marianne said primly. She brushed back her blonde curls and took the smallest nibble of her toast.

'By about five minutes!' Theo exclaimed. 'Why don't you pick on El for a change?'

Marianne opened her mouth to retort but shut it again as Bash shot her a warning look. To Marianne, whatever Bash said was right. Theo rolled his eyes at me and turned his attention back to his insect book.

'Hey, how are the dragons today?' I asked, sitting next to Cassy and pulling a plate of waffles towards me.

'You know this book is over two hundred years old, right?' Cassy said. She was pouring over a huge and dusty book, her nose an inch from the tiny, cramped writing.

'Yeah, but the bit you're reading is new to you,' I said, grinning at her.

Cassy rolled her eyes. 'Funny,' she said.

'If it's so old, why doesn't someone write a new one?' Theo asked.

'Because no one has seen a dragon for nearly a century,' Cassy said. 'We don't even know if any are still alive. But if they are, I want to go and live with them, learn about them, and then write a proper book about dragons.'