A breeze of clear warm air hit me in the face the moment I sat foot on the marbled floor. The steeled boots I wore, matching the full armored suit, ware making me suffocating, despite not being the first time wearing them.
For so many years, I was dressed tightly, with the picture of a victorious strong crown prince in front of the masses. People who always cheered the moment they saw me, a courtesy for their beloved, next to king, prince.
At this day, at this moment, their cheer for me nearly got me puked, not knowing how, I found myself walking to the end of the balcony, overseeing a sea of people stretched as long as my eyesight could go.
'What fools!' I muttered, painfully, to myself, knowing that they were fooled, just like me, by the biggest lie in our country's history.
Knights, on both sides of my stand, extending their lines downstairs, around that high, wooden, carefully built, platform, knelt on their knees, with their loud, unified, eye catchy courtesy voices bellowing in every man and woman's ears, saluting me.
"Long live the prince, long live the prince."
I just, as I used to do, waved my right hand to them, holding tightly on that small rod, the sacred item of our country, a scepter handed down from generation to generation since the first ancestor of mine.
He was a brave man, I heard, as tales always described him as a man of troubled times. I didn't know why, every time I heard his story I pictured myself in his boots, standing tall amongst turmoil, not bowing, not kneeling, not subdued by any force, no matter what it was.
Like me, he had a family that abandoned him, but he wasn't that much affected, as he stood tall, proudly announcing his allegiance, declaring himself king, against all the odds.
And here I was, standing tall amongst my people, couldn't even open my mouth and tell them the simplest truth, unveiled the lie they lived in for years, for over a decade.
I took a deep breath, not enjoying this clear summer day, not enjoying this last moment of mine, where I would set foot away from my shackles as a prince, to reign supreme as a king over my country, over my people, but certainly not over myself.
I looked shallowly into the faces of the men and women lining down there, taking their fooled faces as a reconciliation for my own misery, I wasn't the only one fooled here, but at least I was the one who knew the truth.
Unknowingly, I touched my chest plate, felt its coldness seeping slowly into my bare hand, shaking me out of my own thoughts, to face the utter truth.
The chest plate was tightly wrapped around my growing breasts. I closed my eyes and dreamt again of this moment, which I always kept dreaming of, the moment I took off this chest plate, undoing the spell that turned me, a girl, into this handsome male prince people always knew.
However, per usual, I reopened my eyes and heaved away this thought, as I knew I could never do this, not now.
"Make way to the esteemed guardian!"
A loud shout appeared not far from me, a couple of meters, with some windows and another balcony separating me from that guardian of mine, that unfilial guardian who was so beloved to the people that he even rivaled me.
My own father!
He appeared there, stepping calmly as his habit, not bothering anything, or anyone, even my glaring hateful eyes to him. If people had the brain to think, eyes to see, then it would be easy to spot my hatred, and that might reveal everything.
However, none of this happened, as he stood there, waving at the crowd, in a balcony situated a level below mine. a king couldn't have a place equal to anyone, and today I was going to be crowned a king, a king to my county, the main land country.
I sighed, as my own father, the one on top of my hatred list, was there bathing the masses' blessings. The one man who was responsible for every misery me and my house had faced, was enjoying the well of life and the glory, just like a savior.
"Today," his strong voice echoed, silencing the cheers and the blessings, "We have a very special moment, as our beloved prince, crown prince of our beloved country, prince Bill, will get to the age today, will be crowned as our king. God bless the king!"
"God bless the king!"
"God bless the king!"
"God bless the king!"
The cheers echoed like thunder, a plaque that spread without stopping, a grand salute for me, though I looked away, not wanting to accept any of their false blessings, to a king that never existed.
I'm no king, I'm a queen! I'm not Bill, I'm Bella!