"Ahhhh!" Luck exclaimed, "Why do I have to choose?! I don't want to be any of these things. I don't want to be a doctor or an artist. I don't even want to be famous!" She lowered her head and rested it on the desk in her bedroom. She hears footsteps nearing her door and sits up.
Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock!
"Luck, open this door this instant!" bellowed her mother.
"I know! I know! I was hoping for quiet since your making me write this stupid essay!" Luck replied heated as she walked towards the door to open it.
"You know very well it's important for your future! Just open the door!" her mom exclaimed angry but passionate.
"I'm coming! It's not like I can be there in point 2 seconds!" Luck replied mockingly. Luck opened the door to see her mother's fuming face who she stared at blankly. Her mother pushed the door open further aggressively and stomped over to Luck's laptop.
"Seriously Luck! What in the world are you doing?! There's not a single word written! Don't tell me you were reading stories again!"
"I wasn't!" Luck cried.
Luck's mother, Beatrice, had always been dissatisfied with Luck. She couldn't understand her. She was always daydreaming and reading fantasy stories of no use to her. Luck's other siblings had everything put together. Her older brother, Asher, is set to take over the family company, and her younger sister, Belle, is a musical prodigy who travels the world to perform and teach. Beatrice bestowed the name Luck to her for a reason; she saw the brilliance in her from the moment she was born. Beatrice found it devastating to see her child have no desire to live up to her potential. She tried to get Luck to focus by banning all sorts of things that added to her daydreaming, but Luck always found a way. Perhaps, it was Luck's luck that allowed her to manage this.
Beatrice scrolled through Luck's history, but there was no evidence of her purposely doing other than she was told. "It appears you were telling the truth, but you still haven't finished it. You'll be stuck in here with no internet or books until your essay is done." Beatrice said firmly.
"But mom..."
"Don't "but" anything. This is imperative for your future" Beatrice said with a kind tone but firm.
"I don't want that future," Luck cried softly.
"I know, but it's time for you to grow up and face reality. I'll be back to check on you every hour till nine," replied Beatrice.
Hours passed, and Luck eventually finished the essay she was made to write. She closed the computer, rushed downstairs, and shoved the computer into her mom's arms.
"There! It's done!" exclaimed Luck. "You can read it through, but I doubt there will be a single mistake!"
"Yes, I am aware of your capability for writing. Where do you think you got it from? Even the best writers make mistakes though," Beatrice shouted after Luck as she ran up the stairs and slammed her door close. "What am I going to do with that girl?" Beatrice mumbled beneath her breath as she slumped down into the nearest chair. She was emotionally exhausted from the circumstances.
Up in her room, Luck was laying on her bed. She was deep in thought. "Why am I even here? I don't get it. It's not like I fit in. This whole world feels wrong to me. The way things are just doesn't suit me. How am I supposed to find happiness here?" she thought. "Uggghhh! I feel so frustrated!" she exclaimed out loud. "Maybe my imagination is actually a curse. Maybe that's what been killing me. Maybe dreaming of something better has brought me to a position of permanent dissatisfaction," she pondered. Slowly, she drifted into sleep.
"I see you've returned again," laughed a boy's voice.
Luck rubbed her eyes. The sun was so bright. She found herself sitting up high on a tree branch. "Mhmm," she replied as she stretched.
"You always seem to fall asleep in such peculiar places," said the boy as he continued to laugh.
"What do you m- OH MY GOSH! Why here out of all places? I could have died!" she exclaimed. "Wait, this is a dream, so I guess it wouldn't have mattered anyway," she mumbled to herself.
The boy was laughing even harder now. His name was Puck. He had sandy brown hair with a slight curl to it as well as pointy ears and green eyes that seemed to glow. He was extremely happy constantly, and Luck had taken a liking to him since she was young. He was her closest friend although he only existed in her dream world. The two were practically inseparable and had certainly made a name for themselves as the mischievous Luck and Puck.
"Shut up Puck! It's not even that funny!" she exclaimed to which he laughed even harder. Luck snapped off the nearest branch and chucked it at him. It hit her target, his head. It was so small it didn't actually hurt him though, so he ended up laughing even harder. Luck climbed down several branches and then eventually jumped out of the tree. Luck thought, "At least I'm wearing pants instead of a dress in my dream this time. It's rather inconvenient to wear the gowns I end up in occasionally. Not to mention, Puck always makes fun of me when I'm wearing them."
Luck was wearing high-waisted black trousers with leather riding boots and a renaissance-style blouse that tied into a bow at the neck. Her chin-length blonde hair was french-braided back on one side and tied with a blue bow on the end. She would almost look royal if it wasn't for her short bob with bangs. Even common folk of her dream world found her hair to be a bit strange given its short length. People would often gossip saying how it makes her look masculine, especially when she was wearing trousers, but Luck never really paid attention to them. The way she saw it was inconsequential because she was just in her dream world.
Luck landed right next to Puck after jumping out of the tree. Puck was still sitting on the ground laughing. Luck bopped him on the back of the several times. "Stop laughing!!" she exclaimed.
"Alright, haha. Alright, haha. I'm done," Puck replied and then gulped.
"How long has it been?" Luck questioned Puck.
"About 2 weeks," Puck replied.
"Hmm, anything interesting happen within that time?"
"Ehhh, if you consider Lord Chunky Thomas not being able to fit through his carriage door news," he chuckled.
Luck laughed at his remark. "I'm pretty sure everyone knew that was gonna be the case if he ever tried to leave," she giggled. "Why would he be leaving his estate though? He's notorious for making people come to him."
"I guess the self-entitled prick got a call to the royal palace. It's not like he can get away with inconveniencing royalty."
"Oh, what would the royals need from the almighty Lord Thomas?" said Luck sarcastically.
"He certainly is enormous," Puck laughed.
"He wouldn't be if he didn't host so many extravagant banquets and balls. Then, maybe the common folk wouldn't get taxed so much. Anyway, why did the royals call him in?" said Luck.
"Ahh, you know Lord Thomas's brat?" Puck asked.
"Oh, I've heard of him. Phillip, right?" Luck replied.
"Ya, him. I guess he's all knightly now and earned some award, so the Heroux, Lord Thomas's family, is going for his awarding ceremony."
"Oh, I was hoping he was going to get caught for embezzlement of taxes, but that could be difficult on the common folk too. It's almost worse to have no Lord than a corrupt one, unfortunately."
"Ya, hopefully, his son isn't greedy like his father and takes over soon."
"One can only hope," Luck sighed. Luck reached out her hand to Puck and pulled him off the forest floor. "Let's go to town," she said as a smile curled onto her face.
They ran down the trail of the forest headed towards the small village of Greensbury. After some time, they reached the village. It was much more noisy than usual. Luck knew this meant a juicy bit of gossip had reached the common folk.
"Did you hear? The princess is an imposter. Apparently, she holds the blood of neither the King nor Queen," said a village woman to the next.
"They think she was switched at birth," the other replied.
"I heard there's an investigation to retrieve the real princess," another chimed in.
"It's no wonder she had no ability in magic," said the first.
"I thought she was suspicious the whole time," said the second proudly.
"Don't be ridiculous. You couldn't have known that," said the third annoyed.
"Oh, and I guess they're bringing the Grand Mage in to summon the real princess wherever she be," said the first.
"The Grand Mage," Luck thought. "I'm surprised they'd be able to make use of his service. Our country, Grencivia, isn't on the greatest terms with most others because of our past actions."
"Luc-" Puck's voice called but seemed to be fading. Luck was being pulled back and awoke to an alarm.
"Arggg! I forgot I was gonna watch the Lunar eclipse tonight! Of course, when I'm finally able to dream of Grencivia again, I don't get a full night of sleep!" Luck exclaimed frustrated. "Whatever," she thought, "it probably won't be the last time."
She slid her window open and climbed onto the roof. Then, she sat down with her legs pulled up to her chest and stared into the starry sky. After a short amount of time had passed, the eclipse began. "It's so fascinating," she thought. She wanted to get an even better look.
She stood up quickly but lost her footing. Her feet fumbled beneath her as she saw herself get closer and closer to the edge. She tripped over her fumbling feet and fell face first towards the ground. She braced herself for the impact of the ground, but it never came. Instead, she found herself waking to an extravagantly decorated room with faces she recognized from drawings.