Dedicated to thatreadeer Troofle

Thanks for the follow guys ❤

♚♚♚

Mom and dad are standing in front of our house speaking to a uniformed male. Dad hands him a paper which he accepts.

The horse standing beside him is the first to
register my presence with a neigh. I always had this connection with animals.

All eyes turns to me, even the male whose eyes assesses me scornfully.

"Ah! There you are." Dad says, holding out his hand to me.

Confused, I walk over to him. "Uh, pa, where's the princess?"

Mom snickers. "Oh don't be silly, Al. The princess sent someone in her place."

"Sign this." The other man requests, shoving a piece of paper under my nose.

"Hey! Watch my eyes."

Oh, surely, my eyes nearly fall off after reading through the paper.

" THE ROYAL PALACE,
EASTWOOD,
EXPLODIA

Princess Sophia requests a replacement for her at the Choosing ceremony of Prince Alek Peter Mills, son of King Rufus Gregory Mills of The Supreme kingdom of Crystadale, Explodia.

Alanna Kennedy, of Eaton, daughter of Harry Kennedy and Marianne Kennedy has been hereby selected as the princess' replacement.

SIGN:
DATE:

"

↭↭↭

Fast-forward to two hours mom was filling my ears with the rules and regulations of living in the palace. I had less than an hour before the carriage would arrive to take me to my nemesis.

Mom's words were swallowed up in my thoughts. My brothers, Tony and Axel in particular would not take my leaving so well. Axel was out helping out in the fields as usual while Tony did what other kids do. Play with his friends.

From where I'm sat, I can spot Tony, Rohan and Freya playing tag outside.

"Mom, I don't want to go."

My mother sighs. "You've signed it already."

I shouldn't have though.

"I'm doing this for the money though." I mutter, getting a laugh from my mother.

"That's my daughter. Never let an opportunity pass by you."

Opportunity to disgrace myself because I know for sure there would be trained girls from all over Explodia clamouring for the Prince's attention. How on earth would I compete with that?

I smile weakly for mom's benefit before excusing myself to write a letter to Axel in case he doesn't return before my carriage arrives.

Three O'clock, I manage to squeeze into one of my old gowns made out of sea green lace material.

My hair, it's still neat in braids. That should do.

The sound of hooves around the corner signals my departure time.

As instructed, I'm only allowed the liberty of taking a small bag containing my valuables, as every other thing would be provided at the palace.

Outside, a little crowd had gathered to see me, Alan of Eaton, on her way to the Supreme Palace of Crystadale.

My life changed in less than a day.
.

♘♘♘

I avoid communication with the only other occupant of the carriage, same man that delivered the letter to dad. His name should be Malav or so I heard dad call him.

Whatever. He seems not to approve of the Princess Sophia's replacement. Me. But, I have never been one to give a shit about people's opinion of me.

Truth is people will always talk whether you do good or bad. Period.

The carriage jostles down a path in the thick woods separating Eaton from the rest of the Kingdom.

Minutes stretch into hours and its way after sunset when we arrive at the magnificent Supreme Palace.

The palace alone seems to be six times bigger than the whole of Eaton. No exaggerating.

At the first and second gates, we get checked by the security before smoothly sailing through the remaining five. Yeah, you saw that.

The palace has seven gates.

I snort at the waste of money.

One of those gates would feed the poor in Eaton for three months and here, the royal family from decades ago decided to invest such large money on a gate.

"We've arrived." Malav announces in a gruff voice.

There are close to forty human guards lined up along the large steps that led up to the main building.

I even have the guts to wave in the eyes of one of them, but he remains motionless.

Did they have a special training for that?

"Your maids will soon arrive." Malav informs me.

I snort. "How convenient."

Barely a minute after, two young girls in maid uniform come running through the floor to ceiling high doors. The colour of their uniform is plain grey trousers and white shirt neatly tucked into the waist.

They curtsey gratefully.

"Welcome, Lady Alanna." One of them with shiny brown hair greets.

"It's Alan, thank you." I correct.

Beside me, Malav sighs. "These are your maids, Judith-" she's the brown haired girl. "-and Symphony." Symphony's skin tone is darker than mine and her hair elegantly styled up with hair pins.

"Well, it's nice meeting the both of you but I'd like to skip this awkward introduction."

Malav again sighs. "Alright, ladies. She's in your hands now."

Symphony makes to take my bag but I refuse, carrying it myself and Judith leads the way, Malav follows closely.

Inside, a stern looking woman pens down my name in a jotter. She and Malav converses for a short time before he leaves and I'm left to the mercy of my maids and this strange woman.

"You barely have much time until dinner. Your maids will show you to your room." The woman instructs, her face showing no emotion whatsoever.

That's all she said before Judith and Symphony lead me down a long corridor bordered by guards and the last one before stopping in front of a door with the number 20.

"I definitely would get lost one of these days. " I mutter, earning a giggle from Symphony.

Judith unlocks the door, leading into a beautiful room bigger than my house at Eaton.

"Are you sure this is the right room?" I ask.

Symphony nods, giggling again.

"Stop giggling." Judith warns her.

I temporarily lose interest in admiring the grey wallpaper and focus on Judith who's flinging open a couple of drawers. "And why shouldn't she?"

"It's unprofessional, my lady." She replies.

I let out a snort. "Yeah, whatever. Those rules suck."

Horrified, Judith gapes at me. "B-but."

I start undoing my zipper. "Ask around Eaton. Alan has never been one to follow the rules."

•

Lol. What do you think about Alanna, oops Alan.

Why does she hate being called Alanna though?

I think I'd do a brief explanation some time as the story progresses.

Don't forget to vote and comment.

Thanks for reading.