Struggle for Acceptance

Chapter 2

"Louisa?" yelled her mother through the door. "Let me in this instant!"

"Why should I? I've heard your speech about going to the ball a dozen times. How it would benefit the kingdom and shit," said Louisa.

"Do not use that language! You are going to the ball, and you'd better get ready, We're leaving in an hour!"

"Okay, I'll be out in 30 minutes," snapped Louisa.

"The maids need to help you! And your gown! They have to dress you!"

"No. If you want me to come, let me dress up myself in what I want."

"Okay, but just hurry! We need to get there if not we won't be able to hear the announcement!"

"What announcement?" asked Louisa suspiciously.

"By the end of tonight, the princes will decide who they will marry," said her mother coldly through the door.

"Oh..." said Louisa

"Hurry up now! We will be waiting for you outside in the carriage- oh wait, yes, yes okay, thank you. Louisa! You need to bring bits of clothing with you. You were picked as one of the candidates to marry the prince!" said her mother giddily.

Louisa groaned loudly. She knew that at this point, she would have to go to the palace and stay there. She went to her closet to get out a gown that she'd been wanting to wear for a long time.

She got one of the maids to help her with her corset then shooed her away. Louisa put on her dress and looked in the mirror. It was perfect.

It was a suit, red like a rose and had a tail piece that poofed out until her feet. On the inside part of the dress, it had ruffles that were different shades of orange, giving the illusion of fire in her overall dress. The tail piece was removable, so she would be comfortable.

After doing that, she unbraided the braid her maids did and clipped it in a faux mohawk, which made it look like her hair seem very short.

For her makeup, she applied orange eyeshadow with a little bit of red. Her lips were such a deep and glossy red, it looked like she'd used blood.

In the end, she was satisfied with her appearance, then packed a skirt and nice blouse if she needed to look formal. She also packed baggy pants and shirts with some sneakers for comfort.

Louisa hurried out of her room and passed through endless halls until she got to the front of the palace, where the carriage was waiting.

"Your Highness!" said Dorotia.

"Yes Dorotia?" replied Augusta.

"We are packing a few of your belongings because... you got picked as a candidate to marry the prince!" she squealed.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes! You will need to hurry up, your parents are outside waiting in the carriage for you. I will walk you out if you like. The other maids have already begun packing," Dorotia said.

"Of course! I would love to have you walk me out," said Augusta while opening the doors of her room.

Dorotia hooked her arm through Augusta's and they began walking through the long halls of the palace and went down the winding stairs until they got to the carriage where her parents were waiting.

While walking up to the carriage, she asked Dorotia, "Are you going to come with us?"

"I wish I could, Your Highness, but it was said that there are enough maids over there to assist you," she sighed.

"I wish you could too. I'll miss you," she whispered. Before hopping into the carriage, she gave Dorotia a hug and a peck on the cheek.

"I don't get why you're so close to those maids. They're the same as every other one. Nothing necessarily special about them except that they serve us," said her mother with a serious look in her eyes.

"You just don't have any feelings towards others to know that they are amazing and caring, and everything you could never give me," spat Augusta.

"Do not speak that way to your mother," said her father.

"I will speak to her that way because it's not like she'll talk to me about it later. You'll both be too busy trying to suck up to the king and queen at the ball," she said, a very angry tone.

"It will just be for your benefit," said her mother with a piercing glare.

"Oh, so you admit that you are going to suck up to them. You are ridiculous, honestly," sighed Augusta loudly.

For the remainder of the ride, they stayed silent.

The castle of Weldenesia was as big as a mountain. It sat at the edge of Weldenesia, with a single row leading to it and had a circle with a fountain in the middle. Ten carriages from ten different kingdoms circled around the fountain. Those ten princesses looked out from the windows of their carriages, to the castle towering above them.

But there were two other carriages arriving with scowling princesses inside them. They glowered at their parents and then at the palace, where they would be staying until or if they got eliminated.

The princesses got out of their carriages and looked around, their parents trailing behind them with the same look of awe on their faces. They walked up the steps leading to the grand castle, which against the sunset, looked a light orange. It looked beautiful.

Louisa got off the carriage and her parents followed. As they walked up the stairs, Lousia's dress seemed to flow, making it look like she was on fire. Her parents wore a matching blue dress and suit. Her mother's traveled down her petite waist like a waterfall, and her father looked like he was being enveloped in water. Her family looked elegant.

Augusta's carriage followed Louisa's, and Augusta shoved her way out of the carriage, to be far away from her parents. They wore flower-based clothes just like Augusta's gown. Her mother looked kind and motherly in that dress. The opposite of what she is, Augusta thought.

The dozen princesses and their families walked through the endless halls of the castle, which eventually led to an elegant ballroom, half made of gold. There were four thrones at the end of the ballroom. One was bigger than the others, with the symbol of Weldenesia on it, which were three swords crossed together to make a "w" and a serpent entwined with them. There was another smaller one with jewels encrusted into it. The last two thrones were positioned on either side of the larger thrones and were the smallest ones. They had a few jewels and had the symbol of Weldenesia.

As they all gathered around, looking at the ballroom in awe, horns began to play and silenced the crowd. "Welcome, all! Your Majesties, we have selected your daughters to compete for the love of the princes, who are in search of future queens of this beloved kingdom. What will happen now is the ball. No one will be eliminated during this time. Further instructions will be given to the princesses once the ball concludes," said one of the king's knights.

Everyone cheered and the ball commenced. The small orchestra on the stage was playing fast-tempo music, and everyone was dancing along. There were already rulers from other kingdoms there who had come days before, so they could see the princesses that were going to compete. Some of them started talking to the princesses. But then another horn sounded and the ballroom went quiet.

"Hear ye, hear ye! I present to you, His Royal Majesty Lionel the Fourth," everyone cheered as the king went to sit on his throne, "Her Royal Majesty Anastasia, and the Royal Highnesses, Prince Brice and Prince Nicholas!" The princesses cheered loudest of all as the Princes took their seats next to their mother and father. The ball resumed, and the princesses tried to get as close as they could to the princes, but they sat at their seats, looking around.

Meanwhile, Louisa had indulged herself into the small buffet on the tables on the side. She kept stuffing her face thinking, Huh, this isn't so bad. At least I get to eat. And then, she came up to the table.