Born to Rule

Prolouge

We ran as fast as we could in our new pretty dresses. I had never worn a dress like this before. It reminded me of the ballgown on my favorite doll I was gifted on my fifth birthday.

"Come on Blair, hurry up!" Jane yelled.

I gripped as much of the skirt as I could hold, speeding up. I was right on her heel when we turned the corner.

The grand window was in the middle of the hallway. We both let out an excited laugh as we hurried toward it.

The courtyard was full of carriages waiting to drop off their esteemed owners. The stairs leading up to the front door were crawling with beautifully dressed people. Men walked hand in hand with their respectful ladies.

"Look at them, they're so pretty," I said looking out at the arriving guests.

Our faces were mashed to the glass to get a good overview of the courtyard. We loved to look at the handsomely dressed men, with suits and hats. But mostly we looked at the stunning women with beautiful ballgowns, and how lucky they were to dance at balls. They wore the most beautiful dresses and jewelry.

"One day that will be us," Jane said dreamingly. She twisted her arm around mine and continued her dream with me.

"We will have the finest dresses in the kingdom, our hair styled in stunning updos like theirs-" she pointed at the women exiting their carriages.

"-and have all the jewelry we want. Dancing the nights away with every boy in the room," she giggled at her thought.

I laid my head on her shoulder.

"It all sounds so exciting but I do not think I would like to dance with that many boys," I said and we laughed at the idea.

Her life seemed wonderful, being the Princess. Everybody wants to be her friend. Her dad would give her beautiful dresses, tiaras, and the best toys on the market.

Whenever she got a new toy, she would run to me and show it off, and we would play with it right away. I was ever so grateful when I was gifted the most beautiful doll myself.

And I have been more than thankful for them taking me in after my parent's death. I do not know much about it only that King Edward was like a brother to my father, and that it hurts for him to talk about it.

"This might be the beginning you know," I told her.

"Our very first ball," she said, and we finally tore our gaze away from the courtyard and looked at each other.

We sat in our new dresses, skirts crooked by the running, and the bows on our bodices were loose. Not a word was spoken but we knew how nervous the other was.

Footsteps sounded throughout the hallway, and a familiar voice said from behind me, "Princess Janessa, Lady Blair, I thought I might find you here."

I looked around to find Jane's lady's maid standing behind us.

She looked at our excited faces, "You girls need to head back to your chambers, your hair is a mess."

We quickly looked at each other knowing that the time was near. The excitement was unbearable. We leaped to our feet getting ready to run for our chambers.

"No more running, you will wrinkle the dresses... even more!" the lady's maid yelled from behind us. But we were already around the corner.

When we got to the hallway splitting our rooms, we hugged for a bit of good luck. Then we went our separate ways. I had to continue a few hallways to get to my chambers.

I hurried into my room. Quickly, I went towards the mirror to see the damage. My hair went in every direction, my face was red from the running, the dress sat crooked, and my skirt was wrinkled.