Sapphire neighs as I gently pat her face. She lovingly rubbed her face against mine, making it harder for me to leave her. She is the closest thing I have to a best friend.
I have known Sapphire for seven years of my chaotic life. She knows everything about me; my age, favourite colour, favourite food, likes and dislikes, fantasies, etc. That is to say that I tell her everything, and I find it unfair that I know nothing about her, but I understand her. For example, I know when she gets tired of my blabbering and wants me to shut up, I know she likes it every time I give her a gentle pat on the head, I know she likes it when I give her food and water, I know she hates it when I am sad and angry, and I know that I am her favourite rider; Which is against our tradition, women are not allowed to own a horse or worse be engaged in an atrocious act of riding it. These traditions make me sick, as well as their makers.
"Okay honey, I have to go now. You know I can't be seen here. I will see you later?" I whisper-ask in a low tone as I hear faint voices and footsteps approaching us.
She bowed her head a little as I pecked her for the last time after making sure she was secure in her stable.
I ran to the back of the stable before any of the intruders could spot me; intruders I know so well, the old, grumpy stable owner, Mr. Gregory, and his sick-in-the-head son, Nicholas, AKA, Nick, who has made it his life mission to torment me after I turned down his courting proposal.
I don't know where it's written that a woman can't turn down a man's proposal.
I understand I hurt his feelings, but it is what it is!
"She was here. I can smell her salty sweat." Nick said in disgust, causing me to sniff under my arms. Well, hey! I don't smell that bad.
Upon hearing the approaching footsteps, I immediately ran to the small fence across and jumped, landing with a soft thud.
Maybe it wasn't a soft thud, but I managed to escape.
Following a familiar track road covered by large tall trees, and wild grasses, I make my way to the bustling market. Wednesday is our market day when people from neighbouring villages come to buy and sell in our land.
Despite the hot sun, the market men and women didn't stop advertising their goods to passers-by. Anyone who doesn't know better would easily fall for their sweet tongue.
Barely dodging the crowd, I made it to my favourite canvas seller. When he saw me, his moustache quivered in delight. A creepy smile ignited on his large lips, almost sending shivers down my spine. It seems the middle-aged man keeps getting uglier day by day. Or maybe it is just me, but whatever.
"Oh my! I have been waiting for you all day!"
Not like you have any choice, I am your only loyal customer!
"Good afternoon to you, Tim. Do you have my stuff?"
"Of course I do!" He immediately went into his scanty store to bring the canvas.
"Here.."
I took the canvas from him, inspecting it to my satisfaction
He cleared his throat, "That would be 25 bronze coins—"
Before he could finish, I hurled a small bag of coins toward him, which he caught effortlessly.
"You can keep the remaining."
I left with my newly purchased canvas before he could say anything.
********************************************************
I immediately covered my drawing and hid it under the bed when I heard a loud knock on my door.
"Come in!" I yelled loud enough for the person outside to hear me before sitting on my drawing stool.
Grace, one of the palace maids, entered with her perfectly stern face, her head held high, and body in perfect position. She is a beautiful young lady who should be in her mid-twenties.
Sometimes I wonder why she bothers herself coming here when she could ignore me as other maids do.
She gave a stiff bow before looking right into my eyes with her striking blue eyes that put my green ones to shame. I bet she can have any man of her choice by looking at them, including my uncle, the present king. I have caught him staring at her, but she never seems to notice him.
"My princess, the King, and the Queen have ordered all the princesses to be in the courtroom in the next 10 minutes."
"Courtroom?"
"Yes, I think they have a special announcement to make."
I rolled my eyes but nodded nonetheless.
What could be so special about the announcement?
Her eyes trailed down my paint-covered hands and dress. She was about to say something but stopped and settled for another stiff bow before exiting my small room.
Phew!
I washed my paint-covered hands and made myself decent enough to be in the presence of the almighty king!
*******************************************************************************************
When I got close enough, the guards blocked my way, "Maids are not allowed into the courtroom." One of the guards declared.
Ah, new guards!
It is not surprising at all. Being mistaken as a maid in my own home has become something I am used to, and the fact I barely come around here makes it understandable.
"I am not a maid."
"You are still not allowed. The royal family is having a meeting."
"Okay." I nodded in understanding.
I was about to do what I usually did in situations like this, which was gracefully walking away because I do not have the time to start explaining to them that I am one of the palace princesses.
Besides, I still have a painting to finish, so why waste my time when I have an idea about what the king and Queen have summoned us for?
Luck wasn't on my side as I saw the devil herself elegantly walking towards us. Her long jet-black hair was perfectly styled, not one strand out of place. The perfection made me sick to the stomach. She is an indisputably beautiful woman who consistently oozes elegance, but her poor personality rules everything out.
Fiona, Uncle Zaiu's daughter. Age: 23 years old. The favourite princess of the people. She always carries herself like a goddess and thinks every other person is beneath her. She sees herself as nothing less than Little Miss Perfect. It's hard not to notice her in a room for her beauty or her arrogance.
The guards immediately gave a deep bow, their heads almost touching the floor.
"Your Highness." They chorused.
"Let her in." She declared in that annoying authoritative voice that always makes me want to punch her beautiful face.
"Your Highness, the King has ordered that no other persons should be allowed entrance into the courtroom except for the princesses."
"Well, unfortunately, she is one—of us." She gave me the usual look of disgust as her eyes roamed my poor hair that had not been washed in days, my free faded beige gown that stopped right above my ankles, and finally, my bare feet.
The guards seemed to have been in shock but recovered under the glare of Fiona, who doesn't appreciate delay of any sort.
As soon as the doors closed behind us, I began to regret ever agreeing to attend the meeting. Not like they would have noticed my absence. I can't wait for this meeting to be over already.
Upon sighting her daughter, Fiona, the Queen beams in joy. Fiona offered a graceful curtsy while I, on the other hand, did my best to imitate Grace's stiff bow before going ahead to stand behind my three sisters, Ella, Cynthia, and Ava.
Olivia is the eldest of us all, but she is not here. According to her, she is happily married. The truth remains that she was practically given away against her will to the second prince of a neighbouring kingdom by my uncle, King Zaius.
Countable times they have visited, I have seen Prince Jonathan verbally and physically abuse her. I have tried convincing her to leave the marriage, giving her a thousand and one reasons. But she was adamant that the union would work. She is the type that deeply cares a lot about what other people say or think of her. Her naivety makes my heart ache, which is why I pity her at times while at other times, I want to slap sense into her.
And in a society where divorce stigmatisation is gender-based, I understand her fear. Nobody cares about the reason for the separation. I have seen cases where female divorcees are being dragged and segregated surprisingly by other women, which mostly didn't end well. There have been cases of female divorcees committing suicide after separation.
Divorce usually comes with a prejudiced belief that women are always at fault for any failed marriage, while the men are justified. There should be a limit to these absurd mindsets and these inhuman practices should be brought to an end in our societies!
Ella is the second eldest. Age: 23. Always calm and collected anytime you see her. She is known for her belief in sexual purity. She can spend years educating every unmarried young adult like her about the dangers of premarital sex, always advising them to keep themselves pure, and astonishingly does the opposite of what she preaches. She ceased to be my role model the day I caught her sneaking around at night with one of the palace guards. I mean, everyone is supposed to be doers of their own words!
I am the third eldest child, followed by Cynthia, who cares about nobody else but herself. She is outrageously annoying and doesn't think before speaking. She is always living her life to impress people and is an opportunist. I don't expect anything less from someone who sees Fiona as a role model. I see her as the younger version of Fiona. If not for their age gap, Cynthia would be mistaken for Fiona's twin. She is just 18.
And the youngest of the five of us, Ava, is just 16. She is a sweet girl who doesn't know how to say 'NO' to people. In my opinion, she is too good for this world. People will only prey on her innocence and naivety, which scares me. She is one of those people who believe that they can change this world with their kindness and gentleness, but little does she know that she would need equal wickedness to survive in our world.