Izzy stood in front of the dusty mirror that had been buried deep inside her closet. It was the first time she examined her body top to bottom. She noticed she had grown taller and her hips were curvier than the lean body as a child.
She nervously fiddled with the only nice looking dress shirt she had owned. The soft white fabric reminded her of the soft carpet in Alexander’s room. She hadn’t meant to think back to his room but remembered the times they had played on his bedroom floor with toys he had gotten. Izzy shook her head with such childish memories and took one last second to rearrange her long curly hair.
Afraid of being late, Izzy ran down the corridor as fast as her legs could take her. Every now and then, she came across a window that flaunted the flamboyant full moon. The bright stars had already begun to shine brightly in the sky.
She opened the wooden door and suddenly her feet landed in soft grass, lightly wet with yesterday’s rain but it didn’t stop her from running across the lawn. She found a lonely figure, lying quietly on the grass with hands around his eyes, making an imitation of a microscope with his bare hands.
“You’re late,” the figure called. His hand dropped to his side as he cocked his head towards Izzy. She felt herself blush but quickly wafted her hands around her face to make it disappear.
“It’s a hot night,” she said, feeling like she needed an excuse as she fanned out her blush.
“Are you feverish? It’s rather chilly if you ask me,” Prince Alexander said which only made Izzy roll her eyes.
“No one asked you,” she laughed and sat next to him. Prince Alexander grabbed her hand and pulled her down to where he laid and she fell back in surprise. “What was that for?” she puffed, wrinkling her nose at him.
“Well you did come here to stargaze so you need to lie on your back,” he said breathlessly, staring at her fully but at the same time mocking her.
“Okay, my goodness, you’re still so impatient, Zander,” she rolled her eyes. Prince Alexander chuckled and placed his hands on his head to support his head at a better angle to view the stars.
“You called me Zander,” Prince Alexander smiled smugly.
“Sorry, it slipped,” Izzy said, covering her mouth.
“What? I told you to call me that,” he grinned but she looked away. She mistakenly let the nickname slip.
“No. I can’t,” she said, looking at the open sky, away from the prince, in fear that he would read her face.
“Fine, don’t tell me but I know you’ll come around some day,” Alexander sighed. He took a deep breath, letting the smell of nature consume him. He felt at peace and it felt natural to him to be next to Izzy. It almost felt like they were close friends but in reality neither of them knew where the other stood in their life.
“The stars are pretty bright,” admitted Izzy. She couldn’t deny the beauty of the stars as they shown brightly above them. It reminded her of what beauty looked like. “They’re so beautiful,” she whispered to herself.
“Not as beautiful as you,” Alexander whispered. He was looking at her the entire time but she was too absorbed in the stars to notice. She suddenly got up and flashed him an evil glare.
“Don’t do this,” she snapped. Alexander remained clueless.
“Do what?” he asked innocently.
“This little game of yours!” Izzy exclaimed. “You can’t treat women like this!”
“What? Being nice to them? Giving them compliments?” Alexander asked, suddenly a shot of anger coming out. He didn’t understand why people didn’t think he changed. He looked at himself and found a new person and not the old selfish brat he used to be.
“And then ripping their hearts out in a matter of a week!” Izzy scoffed. She hated where it was all leading to but she reminded herself who she was dealing with.
“I told you I changed. Doesn’t our promise mean anything?” Alexander asked, frustrated.
Izzy fell silent for a moment as she thought back to his promise but only came up with the memory of him kissing her cheeks. The memory only fueled her anger. “You were never the one to fulfill any of your promises.”
“Then let me prove you wrong,” Alexander pleaded. He wanted to make things right.
“We’ll see…” Izzy trailed, confused with what she felt. She wanted to believe his words but the past was too permanent in her memory that it seemed impossible for any silly hopes to happen.
“I won’t fail you my Isabelle,” Alexander whispered softly to himself as he watched her retreating figure. He sighed and went back looking at the night sky.
*******
Izzy woke up the following morning with a vague memory of what happened the day before. They had left everything to where it had ended and that was that. Izzy sat on her bed, unsure if watching the stars was such a great idea.
“Izzy!” came a muffled sound after the repeated knocks by Timothy.
“Come in!” she yelled just as she pulled over her shirt. Timothy came in, looking fresh in a pair of new trousers and cuffed shirt. His hair was pulled back and he cleaned up the stub of his prickly chin. “What’s the occasion?” she smirked at his attire.
“You’ve already forgotten?” Timothy asked, aghast. When Izzy didn’t reply, he shook his head. “You’re in serious trouble. The king from the neighboring kingdom and his daughter and son are coming today and you’re in your dirty clothes as if it’s just a regular day!”
“It is a regular day. We have training as usual, don’t we?” Izzy asked, wondering why it was a big deal for them if they didn’t have anything to do with the business of the two kings.
“King John wants you to dress like a lady today and cancelled practice for a whole day,” Timothy emphasized, waiting for a grin to appear on Izzy’s face. When it didn’t appear, he stepped back and crossed his arms. “What’s wrong? You never like intensive training and you’re not celebrating.”
“I’d rather train ten times harder than wear those tight, uncomfortable dresses,” Izzy spat bitterly. She started to like training and she definitely did not want to try on the dresses she abhorred.
“Well, it’s by the order of the king so deal with it Izzy. You’ve dealt with things far painful than dresses,” Timothy chuckled and took Izzy’s hand, dragging her away.
“Timothy…” Izzy groaned as he continued to pull her to a room.
“Ah, Timothy. You brought Miss Isabelle,” Irene said in a thick French accent.
“Good, good. Come here,” she said, eagerly taking Izzy into her hands. Irene was a maid, a little older than Izzy but specialized with clothing. She was said to be one of the best in all the kingdom and Izzy knew why as she looked around the room filled with many different designs of dresses scattered around the room.
“Irene, please, we don’t have to do this,” Izzy said, nervously backing up but Timothy caught her before she could run.
“She’s a little bit grumpy today so I’m willing to lend you my assistance,” Timothy offered, flashing Irene a smile. All Izzy saw was pure evil in them but all Timothy could do was grin at Izzy.
“That would be wonderful Timothy,” she smiled kindly and clapped her hands, smiling as she observed Izzy from head to toe. “Let’s get to work.”
After countless hours of hair pulling and brushing, Izzy’s hair was finally done. They didn’t give her a mirror, saying that it would come last but she didn’t care about how she looked like. To Izzy, it felt strange having to pull her hair down and curled. She picked up a curl and twirled her finger around her brown hair but was slapped by Timothy.
“Don’t touch your hair. Your curls need to be stayed put,” he said, before walking away to help Irene help choose Izzy’s dress.
“Irene, how about this one?” Izzy asked. It was the plainest one of them all and looked like it would be looser than the others.
“The king would have my head if I let you wear that pitiful thing. I was going to throw that out anyways,” Irene said. “Now this one, I think, will be perfect for your small figure.”
In her hands, Irene held a pale vanilla dress that looked too regal and expensive in Izzy’s eyes. Even the thought of Izzy wearing it made her feel unworthy and too ugly to wear such a dress.
“I can’t,” Izzy said, feeling a wave of sickness. “It looks too tight.”
“You’ll have to deal with it like a warrior Izzy,” Timothy said, helping her fantasize.
“That’s not part of the job description.”
“You’re still going in this dress whether it’s in your job description or not,” Timothy shrugged.
“Yes, Miss Isabelle. We do need to hurry. The king is waiting and we all know how far his patience extends,” Irene said nervously. With that, Izzy finally let Irene help her into the corset and then the dress. Timothy was forced to leave but came back as soon as Izzy was done.
Izzy felt the world spinning as she gasp for oxygen in the tight dress. She placed one hand on her stomach, attempting to help herself breathe but it was useless. Black dots danced in her vision and Timothy had to help her up too many times. Izzy looked at the mirror but had no response because she had been too busy trying to tell her body to breathe.
“She doesn’t look so well,” Timothy observed, looking at Izzy’s tight face. She looked like she was having a hard time in the dress but there wasn’t anything Timothy could do. The king had ordered them exactly five hours and they had taken almost all of it.
“The nausea and the dizziness will go away as time passes,” Irene told Izzy. All Izzy could do was nod her head. She hoped that the awful feeling would leave her soon.
“We should start going now,” Timothy said quickly. “The king and the prince are probably waiting.”
Without taking another gasp of breath, Izzy was pulled by Timothy and led to the king’s court. Michael stood in front of the door with his weapon poised for any harm but nodded towards us when we stopped.
“My goodness! Is that you Isabelle?” Michael asked, amazed. He gave her an approving nod which made Izzy blush.
“Yes but it’s quite uncomfortable,” she complained.
“This is how you were supposed to be raised. Not as a bodyguard! Those kinds of jobs are too dangerous for a soft hearted person like you,” Michael said then chuckled to himself.
“I’m strong enough!” Izzy exclaimed, needing to protect herself. “Do you have anything against women?” she accused.
“No, no. I just don’t want to see you getting hurt little one,” Michael said worriedly.
“Yes, we all worry about you but right now isn’t the right time to discuss what’s been already done. Michael, we need to get through.” Michael simply nodded to Timothy and cleared his voice.
“Your majesty. Timothy and Isabelle have arrived,” Michael said in his booming voice. It echoed clearly through the halls and inside the room.
“Enter,” a strong voice replied back.
“Straighten up and look confident,” Timothy advised. “Pretend you own the room. Show them you’re capable.”
Michael opened the gregarious door and a waft of air tickled Izzy’s skin. Timothy wrapped his hand around her waist and helped her walk in. Izzy felt better when Timothy placed his arms around her. The sudden feeling of something familiar had calmed her as she walked into the court of the king. The nausea and the dizziness had already faded as she walked in and she was able to take in the new changes in the room.
The walls were lavishing with gold that boasted of the king’s obvious wealth. The king himself was in new clothing that was most likely made by Irene but what made Izzy take her breath away was Prince Alexander.
He had a new tunic embroidered with golden thread. His hair was combed back but she still noticed the extra strands of hair that flew back in front of his face in a natural, charming way. He looked fresh and clean cut as if ready for a wedding ceremony already. Although he looked like he stepped out from a fairy tale, he looked troubled and a little angry. His eyes were staring at her from head to toe and she suddenly became self-conscious.
“Isabelle! My beautiful one!” King John laughed full-heartedly. He walked towards them and hugged Izzy close. “My! You look like a completely different person!”
“Thank you, your majesty,” Izzy said, giving a small curtsy.
“Thank you Timothy for escorting her here. We are to receive them any moment now,” the king said excitedly.
Alexander, who stayed behind his father, felt embarrassed to be in the same room with Isabelle. He hadn’t recognized her at first but as soon as his father addressed her, he had been shocked. He had noticed the way Timothy’s hand wrapped slyly around Isabelle’s waist as if he was claiming her his.
He also noticed her beautiful brown hair that seemed to cascade like a waterfall behind her small back. She looked royal, as if she stepped out of a princess fairy tale. Cinderella for sure. No Sleeping Beauty. No Snow White. Alexander sighed as he remembered that each happy tale had a striking young male who had the beautiful ladies by the end. For Isabelle there would only be death.
“Zander, are you ready?” the king asked his son. King John was worried about his only son who looked like he didn’t want to be in the room.
“Yes father, I’m ready,” Alexander nodded, shaking his heading slightly to get rid of whatever thoughts he had. This had sparked the king’s interest but he stored it away for another time.
“Your majesty. King Henry and his daughter and son, Anastasia and Maliki,” Michael’s voice projected into the room.
“Enter,” King John said loudly.
Izzy noticed the tight expression Alexander gave her but when she cocked her head, he looked the other way. She didn’t have time to question him because the doors opened widely.
Three heads came walking across the grand room towards them. The oldest and wise looking man was King Henry, a man that was ready to rest forever in peace. His white hair grew thin and he was becoming skin and bones but the way he walked showed that he was definitely not ready to die just yet.
To his right was his daughter who Izzy assumed was Anastasia. As soon as Izzy’s eyes landed on her, she gasped. Anastasia was the most beautiful woman Izzy had ever seen. Her blonde hair was straight and long but it made her small face look angelic and holy.
The young man on the other side of King Henry looked like Anastasia but he had his own features that set him apart from his sister. He had dirty blonde hair unlike his sister’s light blonde one and he had the clearest blue eyes Izzy had ever seen. It reminded her of the ocean or the blue sky and she felt captured in the alluring eyes just by looking into them.
“King Henry, my good comrade. It has been a while since we have last seen each other,” King John said, welcomingly.
“Ah, old friend! It’s wonderful to see you again,” King Henry greeted in a deep, chuckling voice. “This must be your charming young man!” It had been the first time King Henry laid eyes on his friend’s child because they hadn’t seen each other all the years. They had once fought bravely side by side, enduring the wars with each other’s company.
“Yes, this is Alexander,” King John introduced, using his full name for the first time. However, Alex was too focused on something else. His eyes held in the same position for the entire time since the king had entered.
“My dear boy, don’t stare!” King John chided. “What is wrong with you?”
Alex couldn’t hear anything his father was saying. All he could do was stare at the lady in front of him. It had felt forever since they had last met but being in her presence made all the old memory they had made together come rushing back. From where Izzy stood, she understood exactly what was unfolding before her eyes. She felt her heart drop but put on a good smile, hiding her emotions like she was thought so many times before.
“Annie.”