Prologue
Leslie is the best darn coffee waitress in Enchanté, a small but in-vogue café in downtown Érnille, capital of Soln. Struggling to make ends meet while living with her family and providing her little sister Fawn with an education she herself couldn’t afford, she studies at night, while she works during the day.
One sunny afternoon, though, she meets an inigmatic man named Edmund. After failing miserably at making him laugh with her jokes, she serves him his cappuccino and leaves embaressed and dejected. Unbeknownst by her, her attempt to humour the crown prince of the empire did not go unnoticed.
Princess Coffee is a blend between fantasy and real life, served as a modern rendition of a faity-tale for those of us who can embrace glitter and pink while still enjoying a good adventure.
Prologue
Leslie curved over the poorly lit desk, several books of the Arts opened and laid on her front, the soft breeze that escaped the window playing with her mane of curls. In a moment of distraction, her eyes wander through the glass into the quiet nightly landscape of the suburbia of Érnille. From downstairs, she could hear her sister and parents laughing, enjoying the rest of the evening.
She was once again frustrated with a new concept introduced by her academic reading, which meant - just as it was becoming routine - she’d have a couple more hours of research before she could go into the next chapter. It was a definitive annoyance.
Suddently, a creack from her bedroom door startled her from her stray thoughts. From the small sliver she could see of the hallway, her mother’s wrinkly smile appeared, her own smile coming to greet her.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were celebrating downstairs with Da." Leslie asked, standing now straight, watching as her mother entered the small cramped bedroom.
"I thought I would make you company for once." Her warm voice told her. Despite the darkness, Leslie could still see the sober and kind attitude she and her dad both shared.
"You should be celebrating Fawn's A on the exam. We need to celebrate something on this house for once." Leslie offered, as she vacated the stool next to her, putting the books down on the floor as she extended the chair to her mother. Her mom simply rolled her eyes.
"Well, it's not a celebration if we aren't all present, isn't it?"
"It's not like I can just ditch this and go downstair, Ma." She reasoned, her mother's warm eyes watching her closely as she sat to her left. Leslie's hands took the opportunity to organize the desk a little bit. "I need this chapter done tonight, so I don't fall behind - and my shift tomorrow is already going to be bad enough with the nice weather they're predicting. You know how busy the entire downtown gets on sunny days."
"I know that." Her mom finally conceeded, Leslie catching up to a sad undertone tone in her voice. "I just thought I'd come spend some time with my older daughter." Leslie smiled, giving her mom a hug for once. When she parted ways, she felt a sting straight to her heart as she saw her mother's sadness still present on her face.
"It's ok, Ma." She said, trying to cheer her up. "Everything will end up fine - you'll see." She offered her her genuine smile, her mother replying with one of her own.
Without a second word, her mother's hand turned to the bracelet she always wore on her wrist. It was an enchanted Ridian silver string which she loved dearly. It had been an heirloom from her own mother. Noticing her quick movements, a certain panic befell Leslie.
"What are you doing?" Her mother smiled.
"Passing down a gift from your grandma. She'd wanted you to have it." She said, as she laid the simple but elegant string on the desk. Leslie's shock was more than transparent to her mother. "Wear it." She said. "It's a celebration tonight. I can't gift you both with a full education - but I am gifting you something of mine."
Speechless, she watched as her mother left the room, as quietly as she had entered. She didn't know what to do. Eyeing the silver string her mother had just given her, a range of emotions filled her. In silence, Leslie fastened the bracelet on her own wrist.
