Once upon a time, there was a city. And in that city lived the happiest people, ruled by the wisest king. The people was governed fairly and the city was protected on all sides by great, tall walls and a legion of loyal soldiers. Excerpt from folklore 'The Heroic King' Crown or Tiara (Chapter 1) By Shinieris

Once upon a time, there was a city. And in that city lived the happiest people, ruled by the wisest king. The people was governed fairly and the city was protected on all sides by great, tall walls and a legion of loyal soldiers.

Excerpt from folklore 'The Heroic King'
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"So far so good, keep holding your foot up," the elderly woman said to the 14 year old girl. The girl was wearing a thin silken white dress, cropped above the knee and simple in design. At this moment, the girl was balancing herself on her left leg, with her other leg being held behind her in the air by her right hand's fingers on her toes. Her other hand was held away from her body, palms facing the sky.

"Balance!" said the elderly woman so suddenly that the young girl jumped and almost lost her footing.

"Steady... don't lose your balance," the elderly woman said before the girl fell onto the floor.

"Oww..." the girl said, rubbing her knees which got scraped on the wool carpet when she fell.

The elderly woman stood with her left hand on her face and sighed. "You only managed to stay balanced for two minutes, princess. Yes, that's an improvement, but it's still not much of a difference."

"I don't wanna do it anymore!" whined the girl, "Why must I do this? The palace has dancers."

"Well, you must. All princesses are expected to be a good dancer. Not necessarily the best, but good enough to attract a crown prince," the elderly woman explained tiredly.

"I'm not doing it!" the girl glared at the elderly woman with her big, bright and clear eyes, "And I don't want to attract a crown prince!"

The elderly woman sighed again, no longer surprised at this very expected tantrum, "It doesn't necessarily has to be a crown prince, Your Highness, your mother already said that she wouldn't force that on you."

"That's one more thing, why do I still have to do this when mother's already in that sleep?" the girl got up on her feet and put her hands on her waist.

"Because the queen entrusted me to teach you how to dance. Even if she's asleep, I can't just shirk away my responsibility like-"

"Elanara damned your responsibility. I don't care!" she cried as she pushed open the thick oak door leading to the hallway.

"No, no! A royal lady must not say such crude things, princess."

"I am NOT a lady!" she said as she picked up her day-gown, "And I am NOT a princess!"

The elderly woman watched the girl storm off hugging her day-gown. As the princess passed by a maid, the maid shrieked at the princess' near nakedness and shuffled her away to one of the rooms. The moment the princess went out of view, the elderly woman fell onto one of the chairs tiredly.

She looked up at the crystal covered domed ceiling and sighed again. Even the glittering beauty provided by the lumination crystals failed to push away the thought that she had failed in her task. She closed her old eyes and whispered, "Your Majesty, I doubt I would be able to fulfill your wishes." Then she dozed off and dreamed that she said the same words to Her Majesty the Queen.

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The girl almost collided with a tall man wearing partial plate armor and carrying a short spear - a member of the palace guard as she rounded the corner.

The man was startled but made a smile as he noticed who it was and spoke loudly to the girl who was running farther along the corridor, "Princess Feska, please don't run in the corridors.

The girl placed her palms on both ears and continued running while shoutiing, "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

It took her awhile before reaching her destination, as the corridor was long and the palace was big. She pushed open the large oak door with all her might, causing the doors to open quickly and hitting the wall in a loud boom, startling the two handmaidens in the large bedchamber.

One of the handmaidens gasped at seeing her and said, "Your Highness, Favored Princess, what are you doing here?"

Without looking at the maid who just spoke, she said, "I am going to be alone with the Queen Mother."

The maid looked horrified as she exclaimed, "But Your Highness, you should be in class now! Her Majesty's condition won't chance even if you come later in the evening, Your Highness."

The Favored Princess glared at the maid and said in an icy voice, or whatever a 14 year old girl can do that passes as an icy voice, "Who-Am-I?"

The maid withered under the Favored Princess' glare, "The Royal Highness, Favored Princess Feska, Your Highness."

"Is that not my mother?"

"It is, Your Highness."

"Am I not fourth in line to the throne?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Then get out!"

"As you wish, Your Highness," she bowed and turned to the door.

Just as she was about to open the door, the other maid who was following her whispered, "But I thought Her Majesty the Queen doesn't have a daughter?"

"Quiet you!" hushed the other one as she pulled the maid out.

Princess Feska approached the queen's bed as she heard the door close. She stopped when she was a foot away from the bed and started twirling around on her feet, causing the silk day-dress to flare around her. "What do you think, mother? The royal seamstress had just finished sewing it. Red suits me, don't you agree, mother? The seamstress said it doesn't work too well with my blonde hair though, but I just ignored her so it's fine."

The princess looked at the peacefully sleeping face of the queen and dropped to her knees next to the bed. The queen lay as if dead. But she wasn't dead, just sleeping. And none knew how to wake her up. The princess' bright amber eyes, almost the same color as her golden blonde hair started to shed a tear.

"Queen Mother, I ran away from my lesson again. I know you wanted me to study, to become a proper princess, but it's just so hard, mother. How can I learn things that normal girls learn as they grew up, when I'm not even a girl in the first place? I can't be a girl, mother, no matter how much you wanted it to be."

The princess crossed her arms on the bed, as the queen showed no sign of waking up. As her tears wetted the bed, she sobbed, "Mother, please come back. I don't want to be alone."

And with that, she cried herself to sleep.

*Sorry for not finishing The Half-Lilin. I have had a bit of problem with putting those in digital and decided to make a new series. Basically I'll be doing this one whenever I stumbled upon a red light in The Half Lilin. Don't worry, The Half Lilin will be continued.