The King sighed, sitting atop his royal throne. It had been eight years since the princess had waltzed out of the room, determined to do whatever she pleased. Many incidents involving the princess had occured, from scaling castle walls to messing around with Nile Crocodiles.

Several new lines had appeared on the King's forehead in the process.

"Hey, Dad!" an excited voice shouted. "I just got back from the swamp!" The princess bounced into the room, her dress covered in sludge.

"Hello, sweetie." the King said. He looked very tired, with heavy bags under his eyes. "What have you been doing again?" he asked, having noticed the Princess's ruined clothes.

"Just having some fun." the Princess replied innocently.

The King sighed again.

"Jehanne," he began, using the Princess's first name. "You must stop! You can't be running around doing as you please."

"Father-" Jehanne began.

"You should be safe and sound in the castle, learning from your tutor. You should already know proper etiquette and manners.

"But Father-" Jehanne was cut off once more.

"In addition to all of that, you will need to learn how to conduct yourself properly in front of people and, most importantly, how to run the kingdom."

"Father!" Jehanne yelled impatiently.

"Yes?" the King answered, focusing on his daughter.

"I don't want to do all of this!" Jehanne said, still frustrated. "You know I hate being cooped up in one place."

"But Jehanne," the King said, his facial features softening. "You must. There's no one else to run the kingdom." The Princess reached out a hand to comfort her father.

"It's just been so hard," the King said, tears welling up in his eyes. His shoulders slumped. "With your mother gone and all."

Only several months before the beloved Queen had died. She had been a very head strong independent woman, and rumors circling the court had told of her being quite the prankster in her younger days.

"I know, I know." the Princess said soothingly, trying to comfort her father. "But we both have to stay strong for this."

The King sighed, wiped the tears away, and said, "Oh well, no use being sad now. You're 25th birthday feast it tonight! We should be celebrating, not mourning!"

The Princess smiled, happy to see her father feeling better.

"I'll go get ready then!" She ran out the room and dashed to her room.

The King thought back to the last day she had run out like that.

The prophecy about the Princess had always lingered in the King's mind-if only in the very back. The King shook his head and tried to shove the thought back. Forget about it he told himself. This is Jehanne's birthday. Be joyful. 

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