“Edith, darling, won't you come down?” Mother pleads from the ground. She must be terribly angry, her face is almost the same color as her crimson dress.

“I'd rather stay in this tree until I'm eighty four!” I say back. The tree is a perfectly nice spot to stay. Much better than making a decision that could change our entire kingdom.

“Honey, you have to get packed. They want to move you into the castle today,” she says.

Of course they would want to move me into the castle, “Why do i have to be the one that chooses? I would much rather you pick for me.”

“You know I can't do that,” she says then shades her eyes from the sun, “If there was only one heir to the throne then you would be expected to marry the heir, but there isn't. Now you must move over there and choose.”

Why should I have to choose something the royal court couldn't even decide over? Everyone knew about it. The Royals were choosing sides. The prince was the first born but considered unfit for the throne by some. The princess was perfect for the throne, but she was born minutes after her brother. And that's another problem, why must I choose between a man and a woman?!

“I’ll send them away and tell them you need time to pack,” Mother says, “But you are leaving first thing tomorrow. I’ll even send a servant to make sure the second you come down you are brought straight to me! You’re lucky your father is away on business.”

She stomps back into the house and as promised, sends a servant out to sit at the bottom of the tree.

“I don’t plan on coming down,” I yell to them. They don’t answer.

I wrap my arms and legs around the trunk and rest myself on a branch. I know I'm not going to last through the night, but maybe another hour or two will get my point across. Damn, I wish I had brought a book. I wonder if either of the twins like reading. No, I can’t remember them ever reading. 

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We had baked together once. It was Nicole’s idea. Nicholas would have much rather us go horseback riding or fencing. Nicole had convinced him with the promise of a chocolate cake. We both knew chocolate was his weakness. The adults didn't think it was a great idea, they said it was the servants' job to make the food, but the king gave us permission. I’m not sure if it was because we were annoying him or he really didn't mind. The servant that helped us had said it would be a great bonding experience. We were expected to get along. At least now I know why.

Nicole did most of the work. She was better at that kind of thing anyway. I helped to stir and taste. Nicholas just smashed a few eggs and pretended to guard us with a spoon. When the cake was almost done, Nicholas ran his finger through the excess flour. He shook his hand, hoping it would come off. When it didn't, he resorted to whipping it on his sister’s dress. That made her angry, so she threw a handful of flour at him. This resulted in an all out war between the three of us, (Because who would want to miss out of the fun?) and soon the whole kitchen was covered in white dust and the air was still thick with the powder. We looked like little ghost children coming from a burning house. The adults were understandably livid and our punishment was not being able to see each other for three months. 

I wish I could just go back to those times. The sky starts to turn a light shade of pink. I shift positions because I'm starting to cramp. Maybe this will be a good thing. The sky deepens into a dark shade of orange and red. The sun paints the clouds golden and the opposite side of the world turns dark blue as the first stars come out. I sigh and start climbing down the tree. It's no use spending the night up here. No matter how long I sit up here, life will go on, and I’ll need to make a choice. Besides, if I’m still up here whenever father gets back, he’ll have the whole tree chopped down. 

“I’m not going to see my mother, but you can tell her I came down,” if I go see her she will only start yelling at me. I might as well start packing.

I march up to my bedroom and look around. I wonder how much of this stuff I’ll be allowed to bring. I can at least have one suitcase. I find my biggest one and start packing. Mother will probably have my clothes packaged, so I should stick to other things. It takes an hour to choose ten of my favorite books. Each one dog eared and ragged from the amount of times I've read them. A small doll I’ve had since I was a baby. A chess board. It was a gift from my father. Each of the pieces are worn down from the amount of hours we’ve spent playing together. A rose perfume that is a gift from an old admirer. A dried flower from Mother. She insisted I use it as a bookmark. A few changes of under clothes - just in case. And lastly, my journal and favorite pen.

At least I’m a bit more prepared for what is to come. Choices, love, kings, or queens. Whatever happens, I’ll at least try to do my best. I sigh and go to sit by my window. I watch as each new star fades into existence. Sleep won't come easy tonight.