It's Just A Joke

It's Just A Joke: 14

"My... Spouse..?"

"There! I said it! Now I have to go before I mess anything else up," Mary Jane said moodily. She normally wasn't like this. She was normally calm and collected.

She left in a huff and I stared at my hands. I was going to get married soon? No, that couldn't be it. I was going to get married when I turned 18, I was fifteen and a half now. Too early. With a frustrated sigh, I realized I couldn't make sense of anything that had happened today. First Azare says something tells me he can't be around me and now Mary Jane is frustrated with me. What have I done?

Kicking the bookshelf, I crinkled my nose in annoyance. Scanning the shelves one last time, I pulled a book out and began walking. I wasn't sure where I was going, but I ended up in the middle of the garden where there was a small table set next to two simple outdoor chairs. The entire garden was void of life, for the most part, and snow covered everything. Brushing the snow off of one of the chairs with my dress sleeve, I made it suitable to sit on. 

Sitting down, I looked at the book I had grabbed. "Diary of Alondra Grida: Princess of Failure" compiled by Daniel Morrison. I furrowed my eyebrows and opened it to the first page. There was a note written by Daniel Morrison. It read:

"Dear reader,

I cannot fathom why you would wish to read the diary of a princess who only succeeded at failing, but I will not judge you. This book was compiled of the many entries from the many different diaries this young princess had over the years. It shows each of her failures and I have added notes where it is appropriate. Enjoy.

Don't say I didn't warn you,

Daniel Morrison"

I frowned. What possibly could've happened that made this girl such a failure? I doubt it was even her fault. Flipping the page, I began to read the first entry. It was from when the girl was seven.

"Dear Diary,

Father won't let me out of my room until I apologize to my little sister for pulling her hair, but he won't listen when I tell him I didn't do it! Big brother did it! He's the one always doing things and getting me in trouble. I mean, he's such a meanie! Why doesn't father see it? I don't know, but I won't apologize for something I didn't do. I have to go now, the tutor is coming and this is her new book I took to keep this diary.

Lots of love,

Princess Alondra Grida"

I couldn't help but smile a little. My mixed emotions from before, vanishing. This girl reminded me of myself. The father only paying attention to the brother, her hating the brother, causing trouble with the tutors. It was all things I had dealt with before.

I was about to flip the page and read the next entry, when I saw figure coming towards me out of the corner of my eye. Looking up, I realized it wasn't someone I was familiar with. Watching them as they came towards me, I closed the book.

Soon enough the figure was standing int front of me in a dark green jacket and black pants. She, for it definitely wasn't a he, had long brown almost black hair and dark brown eyes. She didn't come off as a threatening person. 

"Hello?" I said curiously.

"I just wanted you to know..." she paused and looked around her like someone was listening to our every word. She then proceeded to whisper. "I like turtles."

When I raised my eyebrow at her, she looked around her quickly like she had before and then ran off in the direction of the road. 

To be honest I was a bit confused, but I just shrugged it off and opened up the diary to read the next entry, again from when Alondra was seven.

"Dear Diary,

Today I took Natalie, my little sister, to the pond out in the garden. Natalie was more interested in the flowers of the garden than the pond, but I saw an animal I hadn't seen before. It was a small turtle with a dark shell and I thought it was just amazing. I tried to take it back to the castle with us, but father found it and cooked it into a stew... I had named the turtle and everything. His name was Gregory the Great!

Lots of Love for the dead Gregory the Great,

Princess Alondra Grida"

Um, what? An entire entry about a turtle? Right after that strange girl came up to me and told me she liked turtles like it was some big secret? What a coincidence...

Sighing, I went back to reading the diary.

I guess I fell asleep at some point and I guess at some point after that it started to snow, but I know for a fact that my dress was completely soaked with extremely cold melted snow and I was being carried inside by one of the very warm security guards when I woke up. 

Shivering, I tried to figure out where the diary was, but I couldn't feel my hands. So, through chattering teeth, I tried to ask the guard about it. He didn't even look down at me and I scowled at my shaking hands.

Once he got to the castle, I was handed off to another servant. I could feel the warm air of the castle envelope me and I was soon dumped, clothes and all, into a steamy bath. I felt feeling return to my fingers and I tried to stay still as several servants peeled my clothing off of me. Sooner than I would have liked, they were pulling me out of the bath and dressed me in flannel pajamas. Sneezing, I waited for one of the servants to finish towel drying my hair. By the time she was done, I had the chills yet I was sweating. Feeling something go into my ear, I stayed still, assuming it was a thermometer. I was right and I barely heard whoever had taken my temperature mutter, "Yup. She's got a fever. She needs to rest."

I'm not sure what happened next, but I imagine it involved me passing out and then being carried to bed because when I woke up, that's where I was. I couldn't move. I felt too weak to do anything. I could barely open my eyes.

When there was a gentle hand on my forehead, I groaned in protest. I didn't want anyone touching me when I felt this horrible.

"Quiet," a male voice scolded. I realized it was the doctor and obeyed him. I heard him "hm" thoughtfully and search his pockets. Soon he was helping me sit up in bed. Looking at him tiredly, he gave me a soft smile. 

"Now, I know I should just let you rest, but I want you to know what's going on at the moment. You are sick and have a fever. You'll be in bed for a few days, but you'll be better by the Christmas banquet. Take this and it'll help you sleep," he said and handed me the pill. I must've looked confused because he chuckled and said, "Don't worry. You'll wake up tomorrow. I just want you to rest tonight and let your body fight the cold, alright?"

Nodding, I picked up the glass of water on the table next to my bed and swallowed the pill, chasing it down with water. Feeling drowsy, I laid back and curled up beneath the covers. I fell asleep with the doctor's hand brushing my hair from my face.

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Yay for filler chapters! This is the only one that I'm going to have... I think. I may have another one just to delay the arrival of the Christmas banquet. Maybe.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!