Broken Crowns

Chapter 2

"And now presenting the Princess Emberleigh Loralai Kristaline Aldi." He said as he waved his hand towards the doors. They doors swung open and I walked towards the edge of the balcony. Everyone, not including my family, bowed to me. I walked towards the stairs and slowly descended them. My father met me at the bottom and took my hand. He led me towards the center of the ballroom and turned me so I was facing him. 

He smiled at me and I smiled back. We started to waltz as the music started up, everyone around us watching politely and in awe. We twirled around the room and my father started to speak quietly. 

"I'm so proud of you Ember," I smiled up at him and leaned my head on his chest. 

"Thank you, Father." We continued to dance until the music stopped and my father and I bowed to each other. 

Someone tapped on my shoulder and I whirled around. Behind me was my brother, Greyson (we call him Grey). He smiled, bowed and held out his hand. I laughed at his formalness, curtsied and lightly took his hand. 

We walked onto the dance floor and started to dance around. 

"What's up, Em. Talk to Father about your idea yet?" He asked me.

"Ha! No way. You know he wouldn't say yes, I don't know why I'm even trying to ask. He wouldn't let me go, I'm the heir to he throne for god's sake!" I replied. It was true, in this instance, I am the heir to the throne even though I'm the youngest member of our family. That was the way our kingdom was. The youngest always took the throne because they always had the best view on everything. They always connected with the people more, and they knew more about what the country needed. It had more benefits than if the oldest took the throne. And since I was now 14, I was eligible to take the throne.

"I don't know Em. You are his favorite kid, even if he won't admit it. He might let you go. Trust me. Just go and ask him. You might be surprised by his answer." He smiled and rubbed my head, almost messing up my hair. I glared at him and patted my hair down. 

The song ended and we stepped away from each other and bowed. He winked at me and mouthed 'go talk to him'. He walked away before I could refuse, probably to go flirt with a girl that he had seen earlier. 

I sighed, exasperated at his antics, and looked around for my father. I found him near the center of the dance floor dancing with my mother. I ran, well, quickly walked, up to him in the middle of the floor and said, "Father may I talk to you for a minute, please." He nodded and smiled at my mother. She smiled back and kissed him on the cheek then went to go mingle. 

"What do you need Ember?" He asked me.

"Father I have a question for you. Since you know that I have just turned 14 and I don't have to ascend to the throne any time soon hopefully. I was wondering if you would let me go on an...excursion for a year or so." I asked, hesitantly.

"Well...where would you want to go." I took a deep breath. Here we go.

"America"

"No, absolutely not. You are the heir to the throne and America has too high of a crime rate."

"But...Father, wouldn't it be good for me? To know what to do and what not to do. Shouldn't I learn about what people want and what they need? Isn't my whole purpose in life to make sure that our country and the people in it are happy? I need to have experience in the field if i'm going to rule this nation."

"You make some good points Emberleigh and that is good, but America is simply too dangerous and too far away for the crown princess. You can go to England or Scotland if you want to observe some common people. America is out of the question. Do you understand me?" I sighed, defeated.