The Legends of Paradise The Lost ~ Caraval Fanfic

The Young Princess

The Young Princess
Chapter 1

     If there was anything that the princess of the Meridian Empire loved, it was causing mischief. It was not only fun to create and watch unfold, but mischievousness usually caught the eye of the young princess's mother.

     Paradise ran through the palace halls, her emerald green gown trailing behind her. She may have only been six-years-old, but that didn't stop her from being quickly paced.

     "Your Highness?" A guard asked wearily, and Paradise slowed down momentarily. "Don't run too fast down the halls, you could hurt yourself."

     A devilish smirk spread across the young princess's face. "Catch me if you can!"

     The guard seemed to freeze, giving Paradise the perfect opportunity to get a head start before he would follow her. Her small hands grabbed at her skirt, lifting it above her ankles so she wouldn't be slowed down.

     "Your Highness, please reconsider this!" The guard called after her, but Paradise would not slow down again.

     As Paradise continued down the countless halls of the palace, her hand outstretched and knocked over a nearby vase, hoping to maybe catch her mother's attention.

     She tossed a quick glance behind her, and did not see the guard chasing her, but she could hear his heavy footsteps. Paradise pushed open the nearest door and darted inside before the guard could see. She loved playing hide and seek, even if sometimes other people didn't know they were playing with her.

When Paradise finally stopped to realize what room she had stumbled into, her tiny mouth parted in awe. All different sorts of jewels and paintings littered around the room, along with crowns and necklaces.

Paradise twirled around the room, feeling every inch of the princess she was. Her eyes landed on a beautiful deck of cards that outshone everything in the room. As she tripped over different boxes and cases to reach the deck, the door swung open and a familiar shriek filled the echoey room.

"Paradise!" The empress ran over to her young daughter, and while Paradise was the least bit disappointed she didn't get to inspect the deck, at least her mother was paying attention to her. "I had to leave a meeting because of this."

Paradise looked up at her mother and made her eyes go wide. "I just wanted to explore the palace, Mommy."

"And what have I told you about coming up here, past the red archway?" The empress snatched the cards, containing them in her hands for the time being.

Paradise took a moment to ponder, and soon realized that she had wandered in the red wing; the only wing in the palace she wasn't supposed to roam. "That it's strictly forbidden," Paradise muttered, her eyes trained on her feet.

"That's right," her mother affirmed, pulling a key out of her pocket and picking up one of the discarded boxes on the floor. She placed the deck inside, locking it shut before placing it in a glass case as well, securing that no one would be able to so much as glittering cards.

"But you know how much I love the colour red!" Paradise tried to reason with her mother, her eyes carefully watching where her mother put the key.

"Princesses do not whine, Paradise."

Paradise puckered her lips, eyes narrowing at her mother. "What are we having for supper tonight?"

Elantine tilted her head to the side, a blank expression casting over her face. "I could send you to your room as punishment, you know?"

I could, in other words, I'm not going to, but I have the power to. Elantine loved playing the power card with her daughter, and Paradise wouldn't realize that until she was older.

"You're not going to?" Paradise's eyes lit up, hoping she would be able to talk to her mother about going on a floating carriage to see the city.

"As long as you promise to never come inside this room again."

Paradise crossed her fingers behind her back. "I promise."

"Good. Now come along, Paradise." Her mother held out her hand for Paradise to hold. "We're having your favourite, grilled chicken and Valendian salad." A rare, genuine smile was seen on the empress's face.

Paradise eagerly took her hand, walking with her mother happily to the dining hall.

     With time, Paradise would learn those cards would forever change her life. They would bring her suffering, fear and agony, but also love, joy and two amazing daughters.

A/N
This is more like a prologue than anything, but I wrote this kinda similar to Tella and her first experience with the cards because of how many parallels Stephanie made with Tella and Paradise. It might be a while before I post the next part, but I'm hoping to upload it within two weeks.