I've been told that every young girl dreams of being a princess. That they want to wear the big ball gowns and meet Prince Charming. They want to have all the riches and the admiration that comes with the job. They want the fairy tale life.

But do they ever want to be the queen?

You often hear of the tales with the evil queens who try and ruin the princess's life, or worse, they try and kill her. They never seem to get a good reputation, it is always the princess that does. The same princess who is saved by a prince just in time from being burned by the dragons flame or is woken by a kiss after devouring a poisonous apple. These princesses get themselves into all kinds of mess and yet people still want to be them.

Well for the last sixteen years, that has been my life although I never once viewed my mother as evil, maybe stupid. I have grown up watching as she rues the kingdom from the safety of the palace, never leaving it unless she had to. Never once did she actually set a foot on the front line but I have. I braved running from the guards, entering rebel camps, I have seen people die right in front of my eyes and I survived. I had help but never once did I have a Prince Charming to save the day. I survived and now my reward is to become the evil queen.

There are people dying everywhere, in every corner of every street there is a life clinging onto its last breath and here I am clinging onto mine as 'Princess Alexandria'. Until now, I have never realised the importance of the title, what it means to me and the world and in a matter of hours, I am about to lose it. I will have to get used to a new title, that of Queen Alexandria.

For months I have been dreading this, hoping that there would be some reason to push it back but that has failed to happen. Here I am, in my room watching the hours tick by until I am officially the Queen of Strongway. i distract my mind by thinking about the Maxime's, the royal family of Shadowfell and how it is a big day for them too. Their heir of the throne, Robert Maxime is getting married in just a matter of hours. They were furious when they found out that my coronation coincided with it as both events will be televised all around the world.

That is how you know something is a big deal, when everyone gets to watch it. Ordinarily, we only broadcast events to our own country die to the rivalry between the two royal families with the exceptions of; a coronation, a royal wedding (involving the current king/queen, or heir) or a funeral (same applies as the wedding). Today we have two out of three ticked though it was only recently since my mother's funeral was broadcasted all around the world.

I wonder who will get the most views. Not that I am particularly that bothered but their certainly will be people who are and to them this will be one big competition. Instead they will not celebrate the fact that two people who love each are vowing to spend the rest of their lives with each other, or the fact another country is celebrating a new queen.

Queen. When I hear the word, my first thought is still my mother although I have been acting as queen for some time now. In the last few months, I have been able to do so much for my country such as handing the cure out for the unspeakable disease for anyone who needs it along with a vaccination. I have legalised gay relationships and hopefully next month, the law for gay marriages should get passed. The rebel attacks from the A Group have stopped along with the palace attacks. They are just a few things that I have accomplice in the last few months so I know that I am capable of being queen but I still do not feel that ready.

You have to do this though.

I keep repeating that to myself in front of my mirror. My room is bare now because once I have officially been given the title of queen, I will be moving into my mother's old room, forever being haunted by her. It is a tradition... apparently. Everything has been packed into boxes besides what I am currently wearing and the dress that I will wear for the coronation. Nothing about this room says that it has been mine ever since I was a small child. The rooms that are reserved for guests have more personality than this. I really am leaving my old life behind and starting a new one.

Getting up, I walk towards the door which leads into my bathroom and I take a look in. There is nothing special about it but it was always my place to relax in. Next I move over to the door which leads into my walk-in-wardrobe. Only a few days ago did clothes cover every inch of the place, draped over railings and even scrunched up in a corner when I could not be bothered to put them away properly. Now there is nothing in it at, every railing is bare. I think back to the time I wore the light blue jumpsuit to that dinner and how my mother went mental. That seems like another life ago. Sometimes, it feels even longer than when I was a child and I would hide in here to escape thunderstorms that were happening outside.

Finally I look at the door which ultimately led to my few weeks of freedom. I ran out of that door then I ran out of many others. When I walk out of that door today, I may never walk back in until I have children of my own.

This really is it.

People should be here any minute now to do my makeup. That is when it all really starts and I will not have time to think for myself then. A knock at the door brings me to my senses but it is not who I am expecting.

"Jasper, Max, what are you two doing here?" I ask them both while standing in the doorway, only then do I realise that I am still in my pyjamas.

"We came to talk to you about something." Jasper informs me.

"You do know I have a busy day planned?" I try and keep my voice light and beckon them both in.

"I heard you were doing something today," Jasper then jokes. "We also thought that you might like a distraction." I smile, I have only known the two of them for a matter of moths and yet they both know me so well.

"What is it?" I sigh at them, sitting down onto the bed.

The two of them exchange looks between each other before actually saying anything. "Well?" I prompt, "I have not got all day, and you know that."

"We-were-thinking-of-moving-out." Jasper says really quickly so that I am unable to follow.

"Pardon? Could you repeat that but this time speak a little bit slower."

"We were thinking of moving out." Max tells me in a calm voice, the complete opposite to Jasper.

"Oh..." Is all I can say to begin with. It certainly was not something that I was expecting.

"Please do not think that we are not grateful for everything that you have done for us because obviously we are. It is just the time for us to have our own space now." Jasper explains to me after a few seconds of silence.

I should have expected this, they are together after all and probably do want their own privacy. It has just been nice having them around and having people who are similar age to me to talk to.

"No, of course I do not think that. In the next few days, after everything has died down, I will help you look for somewhere if you want. Or get someone else to help you look, after all, I am not an estate agent but I am sure I can find some good ones for you." I babble to them.

"That would be great. Thank you." Max says to me, pulling me into a hug.

There is another knock at my door so I get up to answer it. This time it is the people who are going to do my make up so, for the time being, Jasper and Max get up to leave and I think about how strange it will be not to have them around the palace all the time now. At least they get to have their own happy ending.

My makeup artists come heaving in the room, dozens of them all carrying large boxes which I assume is full of makeup. I must be hideous to look at right now. Following them is someone I recognise instantly, mainly because their appearance is exactly like mine.

"Crystal, what are you doing here?" I ask my cousin, walking over to her with my arms outstretched but then I draw them back, wondering if it is too soon for us to be hugging again.

"I came to see you. I still can't believe what you did but I guess I can understand. I was so worried all that time you were gone, blaming myself mostly but then again, I know how stubborn you can be Alexandria. I just want us to be friends again, the way that we used to be." It feels so nice to hear her say that because that is exactly what I want too.

The two of us hug and then fill each other in on everything we have both missed in each other's life while I begin to get ready. Apparently, while I was gone, Crystal and her father had been living in the palace, helping my mother (something which no one old me about) but luckily for them, they were out the day of the attack. My mind wonders onto how things could be different if they had been there, maybe my mother would still be alive and right now I would be doing something completely different.

I tell Crystal everything from my journey, starting with the very moment that I left the palace until returning again. She seems awestruck by the whole thing and does not say a single word until I have finished.

"Wow, I can't believe you actually did all of that. I thought you would have trouble leaving the palace for an hour like you told me, never mind weeks at a time."

"Honestly, I do not think that I thought I would be able to do it either. I am glad that I did though." I say.

We keep talking like this while my makeup is being plastered on. It feels so heavy on my face and not at all natural but I let them do what they have to do. I have layers of product on my face alone, foundation, concealer, powder and then even more. After what feels like hours, they final move onto my eyes, starting with the eyebrows and then moving down to do they eye shadow. Today they seem to be going for more of a dramatic look on my eyes than what they normally do as they blend a lot of dark colours together which creates a smoky eye look.

They finally finish with that and move onto my lips, applying a nude colour onto them. It feels weird where nude as normally my lips are the main focus, not my eyes. All in all, the look feels complete. My hair is also done because someone was working on that at the same time. Instead of straightening my hair like they normally do, they plait it and work it into some kind of bun. I certainly do feel more royal like this, I have to say.

Crystal has her makeup done at the same time as me and I turn to find myself looking at what normally would be the spitting image of me. Her hair is down and straight, though it is a few inches shorter. Her lips have been painted bright red, in fact, if it was not for her eyes, I would say that she is me.

"It is time to get changed, you will be needed shortly for the ceremony." An older woman snaps at me while she unzips the bag that my dress is in.

She opens the bag to reveal a beautiful dress which is in the lightest shade of green, so close to being silver. The top half of the dress is covered with lace while the bottom half represents that of a ball gown. I love it because it is so different to what I was expecting. Normally I am dressed up in dark colours to match my hair so this makes a very nice change. I am then given some heels that match and I am ready to go.

Originally, before the unspeakable disease, coronations of the next monarch were held in big Abbeys but since then, traditions have changed. Now we hold it in the palace but personally, I wish it was still in the Abbeys because everything there looks so much grander. I am taken into a room where I will to be called out and then the ceremony will begin. A robe is placed around my shoulders while I wait, the Robe of State of Crimson, it is called, the only robe to have survived all of this time. My mother never wore this as it was my father who had the coronation so the last queen who wore this before me was one before the unspeakable disease, Queen Elizabeth the Second they called her. The longest reigning monarch in history. I hope I can second that.

"It is time." Someone says and everyone takes their place.

The doors in front of me open and I walk out, the robe trailing behind me. All eyes turn and look at me while I walk down the aisle, feeling as though it is my wedding day. At the end of the aisle is one of the Archbishops, one of the few traditions that we have kept, holding a pillow with the crown sitting neatly on top. Next to the crown is a bible, which I will have to swear the oath on. I sit down on the throne and wait for the questions to be asked.

"Are you, you majesty, willing to take the oath for your country?" the Archbishop asks me.

"I am willing." I rreply back to him, trying to stop my voice from shaking too much.

"Having the bible in her hands, The Queen will answer each question that follows. Do you solemnly promise to protect the people of Strongway, along with its possessions in the correct way?"

"I do."

"Will you use your power to execute law and justice in a fair manner?"

"I will."

"Then you may rise and repeat these words, keeping your hand on the bible as you do so. 'The things I have here before promised, I will perform and keep. So help me God.'" I repeat everything that he tells me to and then kiss the bible as I know that I am supposed to.

I do not have the heart to tell them that I am not religious.

The next part of the ceremony then begins where I am anointed with holy water. Next comes the part where I am crowned. The crown fits nicely on my head because of the way that my hair is done although it does feel heavy.

"Long live the Queen." The Archbishop says.

"Long live the Queen." The audience then repeats, echoing around the room.

This has happened, I am officially the queen and Strongway is my country to rule. I spot Jasper and Max in the audience who both smile at me so I smile back at them, not quite believing what has happened. Everyone in the audience looks happy. Maybe I can do it and be the best queen that the country has ever seen.

'Long live the Dark Queen' is what I say.

THE END!

A/N: and that's the end of the story! I hope you have enjoyed reading it because I certainly enjoyed writing it.

What was your favourite part of the story?
Did you have any least favourite parts?

At some point I will be editing the story in terms of the plot (my friend it editing the grammar at the moment). So is there anything that you think should be down in more detail? The main thing I will work on is the Unspeakable Disease because originally it wasn't going to be that big in the book (just briefly mentioned) but then people seemed interested so I added more of it in.

At the moment, I am unsure as to whether I will be doing a sequel. I have some ideas jotted down but at the moment, I am happy leaving the story as one book.

However this summer I will be uploading a new story that I have written with snekceratops called Yellowstone so I hope you stick around to read that!

Also in the autumn, I will be uploading chapters of the sequel to Fingerprints, which is Handprints. As you can see, I'm quite busy with writing.

A big thank you to everyone who has voted and commented on the story so far. It means so much to me.