My Dysfunctional Fairytale Life - Chapter One

One overcast night, many, many years ago, when the clouds cast shadows over the shy moon, and the owls ceased their hooting sound, there sat a girl, on her solitary bed, staring at the wall in complete and utter silence. She methodically loosed her long, shiny golden plait, fingering each strand before letting it slip through her fingers into the mass of curls already freed. She frowned, halfway through her combing, and sighed, letting go of the whole plait and allowing it to swing to her waist. Tonight was not the night for sitting around.

She stood up and straightened her dress, tugging at the skirt and walking over to the large, gilt-framed mirror that hung on the wall. She was still in her normal day clothes, but soon the time would come to get ready. In fact, that time was now. She surveyed her reflection, sighing at the mirrored sixteen-year old that stared back at her. She was insecure, unsure of how to look, even at this age. How was a princess supposed to look? Not in her own style or way, obviously. That would be just too outrageous. She would be forced to dress how a princess dressed, in royal robes, rich materials, fancy jewelry. She studied the girl in the mirror, her slight frown making creases on her light brown forehead.

The young women that looked back had waist long, curly, golden hair, hair that was silky and smooth and that shined in the light. Her eyes were big and green, cat-shaped and sparkling. They were vividly emerald, and sometimes people asked her whether they were the results of some new kind of dye treatment. She would shake her head and look down, muttering ‘I don’t think there’s any such thing’ before walking off with a briskly polite goodbye. Her skin was milky white and tanned well; in the summer she was orange to the point of golden brown. But once she got a tan, it always lingered, and even now, with her face under scrutiny, she could see traces of faint bronze in her cheeks and nose. Her nose was small and slightly pointed, with freckles dusting it when she was exposed to the sun. She sighed again.

She was not beautiful, not like everyone told her. She was perfectly normal. She was expected to be extraordinary as a princess, but she was just normal. Plain. Normal, plain Amethyst. Her bottom lip quivered dangerously in her depression, and she whirled away from the mirror in order to get ready. She could wallow in self-pity later.

A dress, The Special Dress, hung on one of the wooden beams of her four poster bed. She walked over to it, taking it from its hanging place and down onto the bed. She stroked the exquisite material down the front, the wonderful, sparkling green that matched her eyes. Intricate gold thread was stitched in patterns down the front. It was floor length – her mother would not allow her to even dream about wearing any shorter. The bodice was tight, and cut in at the waist, before billowing down to the floor in elegant folds. The neck was a large square, showing her shoulders. Gloves and antique gold jewelry came into the equation, and together, Amethyst knew, the effect would be absolutely stunning.

She pulled the gorgeous dress on, hooked the wonderful earrings on, closed the catch of the necklace up, and slipped the silky gloves on. She made her face up without even looking in the mirror – all she needed was a little kohl, blusher and lip balm. Finally, she glanced in the mirror. The girl that was reflected in her eyes was not Amethyst the girl, the person was Amethyst Autumn the princess. She smoothed the creases out of her skirt, hitched up her neck and fluffed up her locks. She had piled them up in a messy tumble of beautiful curls. They looked wonderful.

But she didn’t think so. With a last woeful scan of the room, she left, making her way to her mother’s chambers. Time to have a chat with the queen…