Thorns & Roses

“Anastasia, please come inside before you catch a cold. You need to get ready before the guests arrive.” Rose said. She was my maid.

After my mom had me, she got extremely sick, and Rose was there to help my mom take care of me.

I get called the star child. I have an older sister named Veronica who has caused my parents a lot of problems. She still does, so my parents married her off. My parents thought she would become more mature and learn to be a lady and a wife if she had a husband. It seems that her husband is just the same as her, which has caused the two of them to come and live with us.

Today is my eighteen birthday. I got to pick out my dress. Well, my mom picked three, but! I got to pick out of the three. She was thrilled with my choice. I loved to dress up; Rose would often sew me dresses. I still have them. So that one day, when I have a daughter, she will be able to wear these as well. I hope Rose is still around to see and help me with my children.

I decided to wear a dark pink dress with flowers and butterflies at its ends and white lace going up the body. It was strapless. It was beautiful, and I could not wait to wear it. Wearing this, I hope, would make me look more like an adult and less like a child that I get called so often by those who visit the castle. Well, they would never say it to my face or my family’s face. They say it in secret, but sometimes you hear things you know.

I gave Rose a big smile and ran in through the back door, passing the kitchens on the way to my room. I wave to the cooks. Dinner smells fantastic, and I cannot wait to eat. I love food, and I love eating. I am not so good at cooking as I am baking, though. Sneaking down to the kitchens was a daily thing I would do. I still do that sometimes. Though I think Rose knows about it, which is why she catches me most of the time.

I was walking through the castle back to my room. The castle halls were so beautiful for my party. I heard my parents invited everyone they could from neighboring lands and those around them. Lots of essential families are coming. Maybe I could find a potential husband tonight. I do not care whether I do. I do not want to be tied down to boring and will take away my freedom. I want to be as accessible as a butterfly. To flap my wings ad be somewhere else instantly. Once we get to my room, Rose takes my coat and hurries to the bathroom to heat some water for my bath. I stood there waiting for her to finish.

“It’s ready for you now, Reign.” She says, and I smile.

“Thank you, rose,” I say, and she leaves me, and I get in the tub. It was nice and hot. I could’ve stayed in there the whole day. I took joy in the little things, and right here, I was grateful. I knew I couldn’t last as long as I needed to get ready for the party soon. I quickly washed my hair, body, and face before finally getting out. I quickly dried off and wrapped a towel around me.

Once out in my room, Rose came running in and grabbed the dress. I’ve never seen her run around so quickly before in my life. I must’ve taken longer than I thought. I instantly felt terrible. Maybe my sister was right, and all I do is bother those around me. I mean, I am a princess. People are supposed to be nice to me. But are they doing that because they want to be friendly, or because they have to be?

I was dressed and ready to go. I was so lost in my thoughts that my hair was kept down with small curls on the ends and little to no makeup on before I knew it. I didn’t particularly appreciate wearing it. I gave a small smile and tried my best to look happy. I didn’t want to upset Rose. She has done so much work to make me look beautiful.

“You look beautiful,” Rose said. Rose gave me a smile and a hug before pushing me out the door towards my parents, waiting for my sister and me. I gave my parents a quick bow before we stood there waiting for my sister, who never came. Looking down the grand staircase, it seems everyone arrived on time, looking elegant as they were painted to be.

My parents gave a quick nod before descending the stairs. My sister was nowhere to be seen. This wasn’t going to still very well with our father, which meant even though I didn’t do anything. I would have to be there to get reminded of our expected behavior. Things like this happened all the time. Growing up, I was always blamed for something I didn’t do. My parents believed that I did indeed do the things my sister said I did for a while. But soon found out that I was innocent. Since that day, my older sister Veronica has hated me. It makes me very sad, though, because I would love to have a relationship with my sister. Going and talking to our mother is great but it is different when you go to your sister. I shook those thoughts out of my head and focused on the task at hand. This was not to trip on my own two feet, which I did pretty often.

Once all of us reached the bottom of the stairs, we started greeting our guests. It was a constant. ‘Happy Birthday, your grace.’ Or a ‘Wow, you have snowballed into a beautiful young lady.’ I heard from almost half of our guests. I also got. ’You would love to meet our son. He is so handsome…. Blahh Blahh Blahh. I was getting tired of it. I wish someone could be themselves when talking to me. At the same time, my parents continued to speak to the guests. I slipped away against the far wall to look out the window.

I watched the snowfall ever so slowly. It was just beautiful. I got so lost watching the snowflakes as they got bigger and bigger. That I didn’t feel the presence of someone come up behind me. When the voice finally spoke, I jumped a bit.

“So beautiful.” A voice said. I jumped a bit, turning around.

“I didn’t mean to scare you, little one.” He spoke. His voice was smooth.

“T-That’s ok. I should’ve been more aware of my surroundings,” I said. I was blushing a bit. Quickly recovering, I answered his question. Well, it was more of a statement.

“Yes, it’s lovely out. I love this time of year.” I said, turning a bit so that I could still look outside. He smiled a little bit.

“Well, yes. The outside world is beautiful. Although I was talking about you, my dear.” He said, and I once again blushed.

I needed to stop. He was going to think I was born a tomato and not a girl. He moved a bit closer to me, just enough room between so it was still appropriate. I have never been this close to a man before.

“What’s your name?” I heard myself asking. He chuckled.

“It’s Fox, little one.” He says.

“Fox...” I whisper. Just trying it out.

“That’s a funny name, but I like it!” I said. He laughed. This man is going to get annoyed with you because you’re acting like a child! This is something a child says! I scolded myself.

“I’m glad you like it, little one.” He said, and we stood there chatting with one another about anything and everything. Talking to him felt so natural, like we’ve known one another for years, and we were old friends catching up.

“Darling, your mother and I have been looking for you.” My dad said; I looked over, and he was next to me.

“Sorry, sir, I was taking up her time. You have a beautiful daughter.” Fox said, and my father smiled and shook his hand. Now it was the two of them who started chatting.

I backed up a bit, not wanting to eavesdrop on their conversation. Just then, my father turned towards me.

“Sweetheart, why don’t you go find your mother. I will be there shortly.” He said; I nodded and turned towards Fox.

“It was nice to meet you,” I said. He grabs my hand and kisses it.

“The pleasure was all mine, little one.” He said, and I blushed and walked away to find my mother.

As I walked away, I quickly looked back, and the two of them were staring at me. I gave a small smile and turned back to the task at hand to find my mother.

-I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Let me know what you think while I work on chapter 2-