I walk into the room to see my mom staring at me expectantly from the platform built for events just like this. As I walk up with Callista at my side, I feel her squeeze my arm in support, which I am forever grateful for. I walk up to my mother and place a kiss on each cheek, pretending this is normal for us. Callista and I take our seats next to my brother, whose eyes hold a look that say, “Mess this up and I'll kill you.” I look back at him with an expression that reflects, “I won’t, you dick.” I then look back over at Callista, and notice my shoulders loosen. She puts her hand on my knee and squeezes it gently, a reminder that she isn’t going anywhere. I place my hand on top of hers as an expression of gratitude, before looking out towards the sea of people in front of us. The cameras are still flashing, though less so now as mom stands up to give a speech to the people.

“Great people of Revalia, thank you for joining me today. I am so honored to have all of you supporting me and my family. Myself, your Queen, Queen Cecelia.” There is a round of applause. “My dear husband, King Regulus, who wishes he could be here to greet all of you but is unfortunately preoccupied today. My darling son, and the crown prince, Prince Astin. And finally, my precious daughter, Princess Elara.” I feel my eyes starting to well up, but I push the sadness down. “Thank you to their escorts, Daria and Callista for helping them today.” You can tell that Callista did not expect to be mentioned, as the warmest smile I’ve ever seen graces her face for a short moment.

“We welcome you into our home. Today, we are not here to talk about much. I just know that it’s been a while since you’ve seen all of us, and I wanted to change that. So, with that said, does anybody have any questions they’d like for any of us to answer?” Almost everybody in the room raises their hand, and Mom calls on somebody in the front row. “You there, what is your question?” The person she pointed to stands up. “I was just wondering, could we get a comment from Princess Elara about her recent controversy in the press?” My mother looks over at me and beckons me towards the podium she stands in front of. She grabs my arm with such force that I know it will bruise later, most likely as a warning. I get in front of the podium and look out towards the crowd. “To our wonderful people, I apologize for any discomfort I may have caused. I realized recently that I should have handled my actions better and not snapped at the press in the way that I did. I only ask for your forgiveness as I do my best to repent for my actions.”

Everything I said in that speech was untrue, but I don’t want to risk making my mother angry. I walk back towards my seat on the stage, while my mother asks for more hands. She calls on someone near the back this time. The girl stands up and looks at my brother, Astin. “Can the prince make a speech? I just love hearing his voice.” She is practically swooning. There is a round of whoops and hollers from the crowd. He flashes his golden boy smile and walks towards the podium. My mother looks at him as if the sun shines out of his ass, like she always does. He begins to speak into the microphone. “Well, I didn’t prepare a speech, but whatever a lady wants, she gets.” He winks at the girl who asked the question. She practically faints. “As the crown prince and future King of Revalia, it is important to me to keep all of our citizens happy. If this is what keeps all of you guys happy, then I am happy to oblige.”

He continues. “I want to say thank you to my mother, Queen Cecelia, for holding this presentation today. I am so thankful for the opportunity to look at all of your beautiful faces.” He really is laying it on thick this time. I think this is the stupidest thing ever, but it’s easier to manage with Callista by my side. I look over at her and she takes my hand into her own. She squeezes it reassuringly. My brother finally finishes up with his stupid, charming bullshit and comes back to sit down next to me. My mother looks out towards the crowd again. “We will take one more question.” Everybody raises their hand higher, hoping they will be called on. Mother calls on someone towards the middle of the crowd, on the right side. A man around my age stands up. “When will Princess Elara begin looking for men to marry?” I have to hold myself back from puking. Mother smiles gently. “We will most likely begin looking for matches within the next year or so.” I place a smile on my face to conceal the panic beneath my features. Mother will force me to marry within the next year. I believed I had more time. I guess I was wrong. It takes all of my might not to puke right there on the stage. Mother begins to speak again. “Alright, that is all we will talk about today. It has been a wonder seeing you all, and we will see you at the next presentation.”

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

We all walk off of the stage together in a line, while the camera flashes pick back up again. Once we get through the door and it closes, I look towards my mother. “Excuse me for a moment, but I must use the bathroom.” As soon as I turn the corner and I am out of her sight, I sprint to the nearest bathroom and throw up in the toilet. After sitting there on the ground for a second, I realize that mother is most likely waiting for me. I quickly flush the toilet and clean up my makeup. As I step out of the bathroom, I see my mother waiting for me at the end of the hall with a scowl on her face.

I walk over to her quickly, but not too quickly, hopeful to not agitate her further. “Why were they only asking questions about you, Elara? Why couldn’t you let your brother shine for once?” She is almost yelling. Beside her, I see Callista, Astin and Daria staring at me. “But, mother, Astin did get to speak.” I am almost silent as I speak. Clearly, this was the wrong thing to say as she only gets angrier. “You listen to me, Elara! I am your mother! You will treat me with respect!” She is very angry. “My apologies, mother. I was not aware I was being disrespectful.” This must’ve been the wrong thing to say as well, as she raises her hand and slaps me. She then grabs my arm and throws me to the ground. As I lay there on the ground, I can feel blood pooling into my eye. One of her nails or rings must have broken skin. “You are worthless. You are nothing without me, Elara! Remember that.” She then walks away and leaves me laying there on the ground. Once my mother is gone, Callista runs over to help me up. My left eye is completely swollen shut, as well as full of blood. With my other eye, I look around at the other people. Callista looks worried, Astin looks smug, and Daria looks downright horrified. My ears are ringing slightly, but I can hear Callista speaking to me. “Come with me, Princess. Let us go to your room and get you cleaned up.” Walking hurts, and I'm 80 percent sure that there is some form of gash on my back from my mother throwing me, but I follow Callista because I can’t handle being around Astin’s dickishness right now.

When we get back to my room, Coral is already sitting on my bed waiting to undress me. When she sees my injuries, she immediately goes into nurse mode and rushes towards me. I am so dizzy from the blood loss, but I know I need to tell her about the gash on my back. “Bleeding… my back…” My words are heavily slurred. Coral is amazing though, and immediately recognizes what I’m trying to say. I can hear her speak. “Callista, I need you to help me get this dress off of her back. Now!” I feel the fabric peeling off of my injury, and I hiss in pain. I can feel the worried expressions on both of their faces. I begin to feel my consciousness fading and reach for Callista’s hand.

For the next half an hour, I blink in and out of consciousness as Coral treats my wounds. Everytime I wake up, Callista is holding my hand tighter until finally, Coral is done and the pain is fading. As the two lead me to my bed, I hope that Callista isn’t looking at me naked. The moment my head hits the pillow, I begin to feel tired and within seconds, I am asleep.