Chapter 1
Annabelle Collins breathed heavily as she raced down the streets of the Emerald Empire. Her white blonde hair flew in the hair while her brown bag hanging down her shoulder whacked her on the leg while she was running towards the palace. The cold air made her blue eyes water a bit so she kept blinking to avoid the tears from forming.
I’m going to be late! I can’t be late! She thought in her head as she was trying to run through the confined streets being very cautious not to knock someone over.
Annabelle checked her watch in panic. “Oh no! The king is going to kill me!”she yelled in a quavering tone. If she was one minute late, the king and the princess would get upset. They acted as if she was the only maid they had.
Of course there were other maids. They were treated with more respect than Annabelle. Sometimes she wished she could just quit but she knew that there weren’t any other options. Ever since her father died, her mother has had trouble keeping up with her finances. The government was very strict so she knew that it wouldn't be a matter of time until they were forced to move out of their home. Annabelle wanted to help her family. She struggled to find a job but luckily the palace was offering a position as a maid. Annabelle took advantage of the job offer as soon as she heard about it. As the years passed, she could never be more honest with herself.
She hated her job.
The soldiers dressed in golden suits stood in front of the crystal gates of the palace guarding the place. Every part of the palace was crystalized.
They should’ve named the empire The Crystal Empire if every street in town was going to be made out of shiny crystals!
The guards bowed to Annabelle as they opened the gates.
“Welcome madam,”they greeted casually.
“No time to talk! I’m running late!”she ratted at them as she rushed past the gates inside the palace.
The first person she saw was the princess. She was dressed in a blue flowery dress and her brown hair was tied into a bun.
Princess Emily looked very angry.
“You're late!”she snapped. “Why?”
“I’m so sorry,”Annabelle apologized. “I had to help my family and then something else came-
“Oh save your excuses!”the princess interrupted. “You’re making me and my father late for a very important meeting with the parliament. Now please iron my father’s robe and stack the crystals in the conference room. Hurry up before you hold up our meeting!”
Annabelle was confused as the princess dropped a box full of white and shiny crystals and her father’s smelly robe in her hands.
“I don’t get it,”said Annabelle. “Why does your father need his robe for a meeting?”
“No questions asked!”boomed the princess. “Do as I say before I ask my father to fire you!”
“Okay!”Annabelle grumbled.
Princess Emily’s eyes heated with fire as she rose up over Annabelle.
“Excuse me!”she barked.
“Yes. The Royal Princess who will soon be queen of the Emerald Empire,”Annabelle corrected.
Princess Emily smiled. “That’s better.”
With pride, she walked out of the room leaving Annabelle with a handful of chores.
Annabelle rolled her eyes as she walked out of the entrance room. She envied the princess.
Just have to be good at everything! Makes me so sick!
It was bad enough to have to work as a maid in the palace without getting paid enough but being around a princess who brags about her royal status was even harder. The princess made everyone call her “The Royal Princess who will soon be queen of the Emerald Empire” or “The Future Queen of the Empire”. She had always felt the need to be ‘valued’.
I wish she was never the princess. She doesn’t even deserve to be queen.
While walking down the shiny crystals halls, Annabelle thought about how miserable her life would be if Emily was crowned queen. She knew that the princess would make her do odd work and even help her handle ‘personal stuff’. At the palace, everything was done for the royal family. Annabelle was in charge of ironing, laundry, and setting the table. She was also responsible for scrubbing the floors and the walls.
I bet they have the maids or the servants brush their teeth for them for them too and. . . you know. That type of stuff.
Annabelle entered a small room which was the storage room and sat the box of crystals down on the floor. She threw the robe on a small wooden table and laid out the red robe. She then slammed a hot metal iron on the robe and roughly started to iron the robe.
“God,”she prayed. “Can You do me one simple favor and just set the palace on fire with me out of the palace of course but I can still get paid? Or maybe send a dangerous villain or an evil dragon here to conquer the palace and the princess and her father get overthrown? Just do that one simple thing for me!”
When Annabelle finished praying, she sat the iron on the table, folded the robe, and picked up the box of crystals. Stomping out of the storage room, she slammed the door shut.
Her final stop was the conference room which was where the Emerald Heart was kept. The conference room was the largest in the palace tied with the throne room. A large round brown table took up half of the room with a huge chandelier above it.
And there was the Emerald Heart! It was a shiny green stone which has been in the palace for centuries. The stone was what brought peace. It kept the empire safe.
“I wonder why they didn’t keep the heart in the throne room. I mean it is the main room of the palace. Right?”
Annabelle walked to the nearest shelves on the right and sat down the crystals on the floor along with the robes.
She kneeled down and dug through the crystals and was amazed by all the beauty that came with them. There were pink ones, bright blue ones, and green ones. There were crystals of all colors.
Annabelle smiled. “Wow. I wished I owned all of these. The family’s rich!
Annabelle began to think. If she sold one of the emeralds, she could earn a lot of money. Then she could use her money to get her family out of debt.
No, if she took one of the crystals, that would be stealing. She didn’t want to steal.
But it was for a good cause and what the king was paying her just wasn’t enough.
Without a second thought, Annabelle grabs the brightest color crystal and slips it in her bag. Hopefully the king wouldn’t notice if one crystal went missing.
Annabelle stood up and looked back down at the box.
Ok, maybe two or three won’t hurt.
Annabelle grabbed two more colors and quietly slipped them in her bag. She snapped the bag shut and started placing the rest of the crystals on the shelves.
“ANNABELLE!”the princess shrieked.
Annabelle jumped thinking that she got caught. She quickly grabbed the robe and turned around and saw the princess. The princess was standing at the door glaring at her.
“What’s taking you so long? It’s literally almost time for the meeting!”
The Princess stalked towards Annabelle. Annabelle quickly placed the crystals on the shelves.
Emily glanced over at Annabelle’s bag. She saw something glow and snatched the bag.
“HEY! GIVE IT BACK!”Annabelle screamed. She grasped the handle tight trying to take it back from the Princess.
“What are you hiding in here?”the Princess investigated.
The two played tug-a-war with Annabelle’s bag. Annabelle accidentally pulled on the flap making the bag snap open.
While opened, the bag fell on the floor exposing the stolen crystals and they landed on the hard crystal floor.
As soon as Emily had her eyes on the crystals, Annabelle felt blood rushing up to her face and her palms started to sweat.
Emily swooped up the crystals. “What are these?!”
Annabelle started to stutter. “L-Listen! I can explain!”
“You thief!”the Princess accused. “Father!”
The king and his soldiers rushed into the conference room. The king had a dark brown mustache, brown hair and a bright blue suit with a cape on. He looked a lot younger than how Annabelle pictured him to be when she first met the king.
“What is it Emily? What’s going on?”the king intervened.
“This girl is a thief! She stole three of the crystals that belonged to the palace! You should lock her up! I bet she has more up her sleeve!”
She showed her father the crystals that Annabelle had in her bag. The king’s eyebrows lowered as he laid his eyes on Annabelle. By seeing the king’s look of dismay, she knew she was in big trouble.
“What is the meaning of this?”he asked sternly.
Annabelle couldn’t speak. Her voice trembled. “I-I was desper-”
“I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT! I WAS LOYAL ENOUGH TO GIVE YOU A JOB HERE AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME! I DON’T CONDONE STEALING! YOU’RE FIRED!”
Annabelle’s heart sank. Those were the last words she wanted to hear.
“No Your majesty! Please! Give me a chance! My family needs money and what you’re paying me is not enough. I can barely afford groceries with my salary!”Annabelle begged.
“You know the rules. All maids get paid an equal amount. I’m sorry. You should’ve thought about it before you wanted to steal. Guards! Get this thieving woman out of my palace. Now!”the King ordered.
Annabelle’s face broke out with tears as the soldiers took her by the hand leaving her bag behind. The princess looked as if the punishment was not enough. She glared at her father.
“Really Father? That’s all you’re going to do? If I was queen, I would’ve locked her up a long time ago!”
Annabelle was brutally thrown out of the palace gates by the soldiers.
“You may not enter the palace grounds ever. King’s orders.”
Annabelle broke into a run crying her eyes out. She ran and ran down the streets away from the palace.
Oh what was I thinking! I never should’ve taken those crystals. Oh I’m so stupid!
Annabelle sat at the nearest bench desperate. Worried thoughts floated through her mind. She was without a job. She was impoverished. What was she going to tell her family? How will she find another job? Worst of all, if she doesn't get another job quickly, how will they survive?
Annabelle dropped her head on her hands sobbing. She then heard a wild scream.
The scream made her head shot up. She looked around and saw the sky turn black and people were running up and down the streets.
The streets were crowded again. She didn’t know what was going on.
“What’s happening?!”she yelled. “Why’s everyone running?”
“SOMBRA’S BACK!”one person screamed
Sombra? Who?
Just then, an arrow shot Annabelle in the stomach and darkness fell upon her.
She saw nothing but pitch black dark.
