The Alchemist ✰〘 Varian One-Shots 〙

✰7. Not A Cinderella Story

Key:

(K/n): Kingdom Name

(Y/n): Your name

(S/n) Sister's name (I'm sorry if you don't have a sister, just pretend for this one!)

(F/c): Favorite Color

(E/c): Eye color

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(Y/n)'s Point of View:

Life as a Princess isn't as wonderful as everyone makes it out to be. Sure there are jewels and gowns; but there's also politics and customs that I had to uphold. Since my parents were the King and Queen of (K/n), they're always busy with the kingdom's affairs. When I was small, they would be gone for weeks having meetings and attending social affairs. Now that I'm older, I can travel with them and meet people from distant lands- but being the youngest sibling in the family, I can only really stand around and make polite conversation. So here I was, standing on the edges of a ballroom in a far away kingdom, watching as my parents and siblings talk to high society with ease.

"It has been a pleasure to meet you, Princess (Y/n)." An elderly countess curtsied and withdrew from my awkward conversation. She was the 5th person to walk away this evening. I felt a little bad for them, it was difficult trying to leave a conversation when it's with royalty- they feel somewhat bound by duty to wait until I signal for it to end. I lifted my decorative fan gracefully and started to cool myself with it. These ballrooms can get terribly stuffy (especially in my puffy ballgown), and it didn't help that it was in the middle of the Coronan summer. (K/n) was nowhere as warm as Corona, I almost got heat stroke when my family was having tea with the Coronan royals in the palace gardens.

I looked over to my older sister across the crowded room, and saw she was expertly chatting to a charming Duke. (S/n) was always great at being a princess. She always knew what to say, how to act, and how to please my parents. Just like the rest of my siblings. I always got the feeling that I was a disappointment. My other sister was married to a prince by the time she was 19, and by the looks of it (S/n) was on that track too. But I don't want anything like that. I don't want to be forced into a loveless marriage to a high-standing member of society, just out of my royal obligation. I wanted to be free from everything that my status meant for me.

I sighed and turned my attention to the Princess of Corona, Rapunzel, and her husband. I heard them tell me and my sisters about how they met. Their story was incredible: destiny, a thief's redemption, magic - it was like something you would read about in a book. Just by observing them dancing with each other in the middle of the room, I could see how in love they were. The other couples swayed half-heatedly, but Rapunzel and Eugene looked into each other's eyes with warmth. I couldn't help but smile to myself from behind my fan. If I ever get married, that's the kind of marriage I want. I sighed and lowered my fan as the music ended and a round of applause emerged from the guests. Some stayed on the floor to dance for one more tune, and others dispersed. I watched as (S/n) was led to the middle by her handsome Duke, and out of the corner of my eyes I spotted somebody walking to me. Subtly, I turned my head and saw a confident looking Viscount marching towards me with a strange look in his eye. I had no clue if he intended to ask me to dance or not, but I did not want to stick around to see if he was.

I quickly turned and pretended not to see his advances. Dodging palace staff and various guests, I briskly walked over to the main doors of the ballroom. There were a couple of guests lingering in the hallways, probably to escape the noises and heat from within. I looked behind me, and saw the Viscount standing in the doorway, confused about where I disappeared to. Not satisfied with my escape, I decided to get even further away. Then I knew the perfect place to hide: the Royal Gardens. I think that exploring the exotic flora would be much better that being a wallflower (or an unfortunate victim of a lonely Viscount) at the ball. I'm sure nobody would even notice me being absent, my parents had been speaking to King Frederick and Queen Arianna for what felt like hours now.