Happily Ever After......NOT!

Chapter Two

     King Alden gave his only grandchild to a King and Queen who ruled a kingdom far away from the kingdom of a Agog. He didn't want to take any chances of his daughter to find her child and take her back. King Jack and his Queen Macie were thrilled with their baby girl they were given they named her Princess Amaya. The King and Queen had been longing for a child forever so no one in the kingdom of Rollick questioned whether or not Amaya was their child by blood.
       Twenty years later............
        I strolled the place gardens with the most boring Prince I have ever meant in my life!! And believe me I know a lot of princes! I've been having suitors come to offer me their hand in marriage since I turned sixteen. They've all been the same, spoiled rotten mama's boys with way too much money. Everyone of them bore me, all they talk about are their kingdoms and how much I'll love it there. Why can't I find one that interest me and make me happy? I pondered as we walked along the well known path.
     Flowers of every kind were on both sides of us, from roses, to violets, to daffodils, we had them all. The scent of flowers was very strong as we walked, and the sound of Prince Goliath's boring voice seemed to echo in my ear.
     I turned away from him and stared into the beautiful marble fountain that was in the middle of the garden. Crystal clear water fell from the fountain's three layers that it had.
    "Princess Amaya," Prince Goliath took hold of my hand, "Have you not heard a single word I said?"
     I pulled my hand free from him, "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"
     He moved closer to the marble foundation and ran his hand along the smooth edge, he smiled back at me,  with that perfect smile, "Princess Amaya of Rollick, you are the most beautiful princess I have ever seen. Your pretty blond hair is like the sunshine, and your dress...."
     I looked down at my sleeveless silky peach dress that hugged my waist and then flared out to the ground, the hem of the dress brushing my feet and a sparkly sash covering the skirt of my gown. I had left my long blond hair down today and with my light blue eyes I probably did look stunning. I shifted uncomfortably on my high heels that match my gown.
    "Why your dress is like a nice soft peach plucked from the nicest peach tree. You are so beautiful Amaya, you belong in my beautiful kingdom."
    I rolled my eyes and stared at the flowers, and we're back to him talking about himself and his perfect kingdom I thought to myself. I plucked a red rose from a rose bush and twirled it around in my fingers at Prince Goliath found something else to talk about.
     Suddenly there was a disturbance in the garden, Louie the palace cat was running with Henry the palace St. Bernard dog barking and chasing after her.
     "Meow!"
     "Woof!! Woof!!"
    "Henry you leave poor Louie alone!" I don't know who was I talking to, it's not like Henry understood what I was saying. I bent down and patted my knees, "come here girl, come here Henry."
   Henry's floppy ears perked up at the sound of my soft voice and with Louie completely forgotten he made a mad dash towards me. But instead of jumping up at me wanting petted, he ran right by me and jumped up on Prince Goliath sending him tumbling backwards into the marble fountain!
   My hands flew to my mouth and I stifled a giggle. I smiled as Goliath stumbled out of the fountain, his velvet suit dripping wet and his a was a wet mop! He quickly saw the smile I was trying to hide behind my hand, his face turned a bright red, "I've never been so humiliated in my whole life!"
    He looked so funny standing before me drenching wet! I gave a little laugh then said, "Henry didn't mean too."
    His eyes flashed at this, "Henry! You think I blame the dog! You're the one who called that beast over here! This is all your fault!"
     I couldn't believe it! This spoiled Prince thought it was my fault! I felt my face heating with anger, fire growing in my stomach.
    He continued, "I will not be coming back here after this humiliation! You may look like a blossom, but I'll be sure to tell all the eligible young men to stay far away from you, you're a recipe for disaster!"
    "Fine! Go right ahead you'll be doing me a favor!" I shot back my face red with fury, "All you Princes are the same, spoiled, vain men who can only talk about themselves and bore me to death! Don't EVER come back!" I kicked my high heels off and picking the up I lifted up the ended of my gown and fled away from Goliath and the beautiful gardens.
     I walked up the grand staircase to the large double doors to my family's castle. Two of the palace guards opened the large mahogany doors for me and I stepped inside, when the heavy doors closed behind me I leaned against them pondering what just happened. Who needs a man anyway? I do just find on my own! I don't need to get married, I'll rule this kingdom by myself when the time comes. Satisfied I smoothed out the skirt of my gown and walked with determination to my chamber which was on the second floor of the large castle.
     I was walking by the library almost to my chamber when I heard my mother's voice, "Darling, is that you?"
    I stopped, and making sure my hair wasn't a wild mess from running, and smoothing my gown out again I turned and entered the huge Library.
   The walls were covered from the high ceiling all the way to marble floor with bookcase after bookcase full of books with colorful covers. A moveable ladder was off to the side to use to reach the books on the higher selves. In the center off the room was a wooden oak desk with  a lamp and some books stacked neatly on top. An oak chair with velvet green cushions was beside the desk. But my mother wasn't in her usually spot. Instead my mother, the Queen sat on a red velvet couch beside the large window overlooking the gardens where I just came from.
    Oh no, certainly she didn't see the whole disaster with Prince Goliath from way up here did she?? I thought to myself, walked over to my mother and sat down beside her on the velvet couch.
    Queen Macie wore a velvet green gown with black lining along the neck lining in and where the sleeves stopped at her wrists. The Queen's dark brown hair was pulled up into a fancy bun. My mother patted my hand, "Tell me, how did your walk with Prince Goliath go?"
    I shrugged, "Oh he's not coming back."
    "What! Why?  What happened?" Queen Macie laid her book down and looked at her daughter.
   "He fell into the marble fountain in the flower gardens." I replied meekly trying to make it not seem like a big deal.
    "Fell!" My mother said in surprise.
    "Well I sure didn't push him in if that's what you're wondering. Though I would have gladly done it!"
    "Princess Amaya of Rollick!"
    Oh boy, when my mother said my name like that she usually got into a lecture about how I need to marry and have children. I quietly sighed, I was going to be here for a while.
    My mom sighed, "You can't keep continuing this! Prince Goliath falling into the fountain, Prince Gal poor boy is terrified of snakes and you and him encountered one in the palace and the guy fainted! Another Prince was allergic and broke out after eating garlic in one of our soups, another stepped in a yellow jacks nest when you guys were out riding horses in the woods, and Prince Peeta!"
    "My favorite! Walked right into a huge spider web and starting screaming like a little girl and ran around like mad till he hit his head on a tree branch and wiped out!" I burst out laughing historically holding my arms around my belly.
    "You think these things are funny?!"
    "Come on, Mother, you have to agree that Peeta acted like a girl! It was a harmless spider and he screamed like a girl!"
    My mother gave me a small smiled, "I guess it was pretty funny." We shared a laugh, "But dear, you are twenty years old, most princesses are married and settled down by your age raising children and helping her King with decisions about their kingdom."
    "So maybe I won't get married!" I stood up and turned so I could still talk to my mother, "Mother, I was never happy with any of those men! They bore me and I'm not happy with them. If I do ever get married it will because I am happy with him and I love him." I pause and then added, "And it's not my fault those things happened to Goliath, Gal, Peeta, and those other..... Bad things just keep happening and I don't know why!" I brushed my hair out of my face and crossed my arms, "Why can't I just rule our kingdom without a King anyway?" I asked.
    "Because those are the rules, a Princess must marry a Prince!"
    "But mother, maybe it's time those rules were broken." I said slowly.
    The Queen chuckled, "You can't break rules." Her face changed suddenly and she placed her hand on her forehead and moaned.
    Alarmed I quickly bent down and placed my hand on my mother's other hand that was still in her lap, "Mother, what is it?"
    She stroked my cheek, "Don't worry dear, just one of my migraines. OH! It hurts so bad!" I helped laid her down on the velvet couch.
     "It'll be ok, I'll go make you some lavender tea just the way you like it!" I smiled at her, and then quickly left the Library and headed down the long carpeted hallway with  portraits of all the royal family going back for generations. I decided to take the short cut to the kitchen by using the servant's stairway which was narrow and the floor boards creaked when you stepped on them; instead of using the grand staircase with it's velvet red carpeting which would take me longer to get to the kitchen.
    Zora an elderly lady with salt and pepper hair and a wonderful smile knew everything about the palace's kitchen. She was also one of the best cooks in all of Rollick. She saw me come into the kitchen using the servants staircase and clicked her tongue, "The Queen and King won't like you using the servants staircase Amaya, you know that."
    I gave her a long hug and a quick kiss on her cheek, Zora was more like a grandma to me than the our palace cook. "Mother has one of her migraines, do you have any water brewing?"
     Zora shook her head with sympathy, "I have some on the stove right now, getting ready for supper, how Queen Macie doing?"
     I went to the wooden cupboards and got out two China teacups
     "Her headache is bothering her, I wish she would stop worrying about me not being married yet to a Prince." I carefully took the heavy metal teapot off the stove with a rag so I won't get burnt and started pouring the hot tea into the teacups.
    "She just cares about you, you know that." Zora started peeling some carrots.
    "I.. Ouch!" I accidentally touched the hot teapot with the palm of my hand. I looked down at the welt and winched pulling my hand close to me.
    Zora quickly dropped her work, and went to a cupboard and pulled out some ointment and some fresh clean scraps of cloth. "Here, Princess." She took me over to the sink and turned on the cold water for me.
    "No, I'll do it Zora." I said gently when she tried to put the ointment on my wound, "But thank you." Zora went back to her carrots; while I dressed and wrapped my burn. I returned to the tea and took a bottle of lavender that I had sat beside the teacups and put some drops in the tea. Then I found a silver tray and placed the teacups and carried them up the servants staircase back to the library where my mother was waiting.
    My heels clicked on the floor as I walked into the library and placed the silver tray on the desk. I picked up my mother's teacup and carried it over to her, "Here mother, I made it just the way you like it!"
   The Queen smiled gratefully, "Thank you darling."
   I went back for my cup, but before I reached the desk I heard my mother coughing and making horrible noises. I swirled around, "Mother?"
   Her teacup crashed to the floor and shattered into tiny glass pieces, she tried to sit up grasping her throat and coughing, she moved her mouth as if to say something but no words came out.
    I stood there paralyze not sure what was happening, then I shook myself and forced myself to run to the door, "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME PLEASE!" Then I rushed back into the library and grabbed my mother's hand, she looked deathly pale and her eyes were blood shot, "Mother, stay with me it's going to be ok! Help!!" I yell again tears fell down my face.
   My father King Jack rushed in with two guards and a few servants at his feet. "What it it?!"
   I stood up shakily my mother had stopped coughing and grabbing her throat and now she just laid there with her eyes close, "it's mother, I gave her her tea, and she just started coughing and acting like she couldn't breathe! Oh father! What do we do?" I sobbed a servant came over and patted my back while my dad went up and touched mother's neck searching for a pulse. What happened next went so fast I hardly knew what was happening.
   Father asked if mother had taken any of the tea before she started coughing and I couldn't remember but I thought so, then he picked up pieces of the broken teacup and sniffed a few drops of tea that was on it. Then he stood and turned around his face full of grief and sadness. "She's dead. Guards grab her!"
    The two guards in their blue uniforms grabbed my elbows so fast I didn't have time to reach, "what! Father what's going on?!" I tried pulling free from the guards grasp but they held on tight. "Let go of me!" I commanded.
    "No daughter, until we know how my queen died." I shook my head speechless, what was my father saying! "Until we know how she died you'll be locked away. Take her to the prison." King Jack waved his hand.
    "Wait! Father, you can't think that I killed Mother!"
    "I don't know what to think, Amaya....."
    "Father! I didn't kill mother! This is absurd!"
    "Maybe, " then he turned to the guards, "No one is allowed to visit her except me, "I'm sorry dear, but it's just till we make sure your mother wasn't poisoned.
   The guards started dragging me away, while I screamed and kicked, "FATHER! PLEASE! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG!! NO! PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!"
   The guards took me way down to the bottom of the castle where the prison was. The prison was cold and dark and had a wet moldy dirty smell to it. They gently put me in a cell and closed the iron bar door behind them locking it in place.
    I clung to the iron bars, "Please! I didn't kill her!"