“You mean Mom’s a princess?!” Adya exclaimed. “What does that make us?”

“She used to be a princess…” Gadalik corrected his little sister. “She stopped being a princess when she was seven years old, because her parents sold their kingdom. None of us are royal.”

“But–but–we could have had everything! A castle, and servants, and–”

“That’s only if her family had stayed in Peakisa. And if that had happened, Mom would have ended up marrying a prince instead of Dad. She wouldn't have been in Arcritta to take me in after I was orphaned, too, so…neither of us would be here right now if she were still a princess.”

The six-year-old sniffled. “Well I don't want to be here! I want to be in a castle!”

“What's all the shouting about?” a darker skinned man with a blue-violet mohawk asked as he descended the stairs.

“Dad!” Adya cried, running up to hug him tightly. “Mom was a princess!”

Her father returned the embrace, but his attention shifted to his adoptive son. “You told her?”

The girl immediately let go and backed away with betrayal. “Dad, you knew?!”

“Adya, calm down…”

“No! I wanna be a princess, too! And I would be one if it weren't for my dumb grandparents!”

“Don't call your family ‘dumb’...”

“Well they are dumb! They sold their own kingdom! What could possibly be worth more than a kingdom?!”

“Your mother may be a miser, but we can afford to live comfortably because of the riches she inherited from her parents. That money will belong to you and Gadalik when we're gone, too. And after that, it'll go to your future kids, and their kids, for generations to come. You're lucky–we’re all lucky–that we have this money to ensure we'll never go without.”

“But what's the point if we aren't spending it?! You and Gadalik still have to work, and we live in the middle of nowhere! We don't even have a TV!”

“Gale? What's going on?” Glacia asked from the top of the staircase, then froze at the scene below her.

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Adya glared at her mother. “Take us back to Peakisa now!”

“What?” The purple-haired woman looked to her adoptive son, piecing together what happened.

Gadalik averted his gaze. “I'm sorry… I shouldn't have said anything…”

“You should have stayed there instead of leaving with your parents!” Adya continued yelling. “You should have married the prince instead of Dad!”

Now it was Gale’s turn to step back with betrayal.

“I hate you, Mom! I hate you!” With that, she ran out the front door.

Gale was still in shock from her comment, and Glacia was too far away to catch her in time. So Gadalik immediately raced into the night after her.

The little girl had gone to the stables and was trying to lead their dappled gray stallion out.

“Punsiv, woah!” Gadalik commanded, and the horse obediently stopped. “Adya, what are you doing?”

“I'm riding Punsiv to the pier,” she explained. “Then I'm gonna take our boat to Peakisa!”

“But you can't man a boat… And you don't even know how to get there…”

“I'll figure it out!”

“Adya… It's been, like, twenty-seven years since Mom left Peakisa. Whatever you're planning on doing there, it's too late.”

“Maybe if I just tell them who I am, they'll let me stay at the castle with them!”

“I told you: none of us are royal. And after how our grandparents acted when they were royal, I don't think the kingdom will just welcome us into the castle.”

She glowered at the ground.

“...Do you really hate it here?” Gadalik asked gently.

“N-No… But… If we're that rich, why can’t we go and buy back the kingdom? Or–or why don't we build our own castle? Why don't we have servants? Why can't a prince be ‘betrothed’ to me?”

“I'm sure all of those things sound like good ideas… But that kind of life requires a lot of responsibility, too. And being betrothed isn't necessarily a good thing, either, if you and the prince don't love each other.”

“But…but…”

“Come on. Let's go back in the house. I think you hurt Mom and Dad’s feelings…”

Adya reluctantly let go of Punsiv, and Gadalik returned him to the stable before the siblings headed inside their home.

Gale and Glacia were sitting on the couch, leaning against each other for comfort. They both looked up when their kids came in.

“Mom, Dad, I… I'm sorry for hurting your feelings,” Adya apologized, but even though she obviously felt remorse, she still seemed convinced that her life could have turned out better.

Her parents picked up on that, too. They opened their mouths as if to answer, but seemingly couldn't think of what to say.

“Adya, I don't think that's good enough,” Gadalik stated. “You said some very hurtful things to them.”

She glanced away. There was silence for a moment that felt like forever.

“...Alright. Until you can apologize properly, you're grounded.”

“What? You can't ground me,” Adya cried. “You're not my parent! You're not even my brother!”

Gadalik’s heart skipped a beat.

“That's it. Go to your room,” Gale demanded.

The little girl hesitated, unused to hearing that tone from her father.

“You heard him. You're not leaving your room for a week,” Glacia joined in just as sternly.

“A week?! That isn't fair! I said I was sorry!”

“Room. Now,” Glacia snapped.

Adya’s eyes watered and she ran to her bedroom, shutting herself in.