My Segregated Dragon Lover

I, the princess

I am woken by the royal trumpets just like I am every morning. I yawn and stretch my stiff limbs before opening my eyes to the bright light. What a beautiful day to be alive. I am such a morning person. I love waking up early and getting all my duties done early. That way, I have loads of time to do the things I love at the end of the day. I hop out of my silk bed sheets and slip on my slippers. First things first, I need to get ready for the day. I start this off by brushing my teeth and taking a shower. A princess must always look after her personal hygiene. A princess sets good examples for the other women around her. I am a role model and must look and behave my best. That is just how things are. After I dry my hair as best as I can with my towel, I braid it into the perfect braid, allowing my hair to stay out of my face while looking presentable. Everyone always thinks that a princess is spoilt and has no chores to do. Well, let me tell you, that is the complete opposite of my life! As the daughter of my father King Julliard the third, I must be fully skilled in all the necessary life skills. This includes cooking, cleaning, fighting and caring for others. My duties were small when I was growing up, but now I am 20 and my duties are much more serious. I always start my days off with my favorite chore, looking after the royal horses.

Horses are our man form of travel. We do have carriages, but they are heavy and slow. Horses are agile, fast and powerful. The royal horses must be in the best shape. You never know when you will need to get to somewhere in incredible speed. We often have emergency duties in neighboring towns and villages. Our horses are very reliable and very well taken care of. My duties include cleaning their stables, brushing them, feeding them and taking them out on daily runs to ensure that their endurance remains as high as possible. There are five royal horses in total. One for each member of the royal family and one extra. We have hundreds of horses in the kingdom but only these five are considered worthy of carrying a royal. I walk to the stables, enjoying the feeling of the cold breeze on my face. I love nature and animals. Those are the things that make me happy. When I get to the stables I go straight up to my favorite horse. I know I shouldn’t have favorites. I treat all the horses as equals, but Dash is my favorite. She is so beautiful and majestic. She is also much faster than all of the male horses. I admire that. Very often people tell me, how will you be in charge of the kingdom if you don’t have a king? That makes me laugh. A woman does not need a man in her life in order to succeed. A king does not define a queen’s ability to lead. I do all my chores with the horses and head back to the kingdom to get changed and take a quick body shower again. I can’t smell like horses for my other chores.

My next chores on the list is breakfast. I enjoy cooking so I took up the duty of making breakfast for my parents and I. Some days when my younger sister is not asleep, she joins us too. We are complete opposites. She is a night owl while I am a morning person. She hates her duties and is quite rebellious while I tend to follow the rules. That’s always the difference between first born children and others. She gets away with a lot of things that I did not get away with when I was growing up. The fact that I will be queen one day also contributes to this. For today I cook some bacon and eggs. The local farmers provide us with fresh produce every morning in exchange for some coins. We love supporting local businesses. The kingdom in general is very supportive of the humankind. If anyone needs a place to stay, the doors of the castle are open for them. We make sure nobody is hungry or cold. That is the best we can do for our loyal people. I love being kind and giving back to the community. I am blessed to live a luxurious life and I am aware that others are not as lucky as I am. So, I do my best to make life easier for those who struggle on a daily basis. I often volunteer in the hospitals and farms. This has made me a very cherished princess and I am beyond proud of that.

“Good morning my lovely daughter Alice,” greets my mother, Elizabeth. I give her a huge welcoming smile “It smells delightful in here, as always,” says my father who follows my mother into the dining room. “I cooked your favorite,” I announce and place the plates on the table. Despite me having a lot of duties, we still have some servants who help around the castle. Every member of the public who contributes to the castle and royal family receives food and coins in exchange for their services. The maid has set up the table with plates, knives, forks and drinks for us. That saves me a lot of time and allows me to focus on creating delicious tasting food. “How did you sleep?” asks my mother. We sit down at the table together. “I slept very well mother. I spent some time reading the tales before bed, it gave me interesting dreams,” I state. She smiles. “What kind of dreams?” she asks. “Dreams about the unknown lands. Dreams about creatures that don’t even exist. It was magical. I wish I could make the world from my dreams real and visit it,” I laugh. She smiles. “There is a lot out there that we don’t know about. Who knows, maybe one day fate will lead you down a path that takes you to such places,” she says. My father grunts. “Stop talking all this nonsense. You are putting stupid ideas in her head,” argues my father. I chuckle. “Don’t worry father, I won’t go searching for a land that does not exist. I know where my duty lies,” I assure him.

We continue to eat our breakfast while my father reads a report of what has been happening around the kingdom. “The Reilly family have welcomed a beautiful baby boy,” says my father. “That’s great news,” says my mother with a smile on her face. “Children are such a blessing. I would be lost without my beautiful daughters,” she tells us. My younger sister Dahlia comes into the dining room. She is still dressed in her sleepwear and she has a huge bed head on her. I laugh. She looks like she just rolled out of bed and walked straight to the dining room. She probably has. “Good morning sleeping beauty,” I tease as she sits down beside me. She laughs. “I stayed up almost all night long,” she brags and reaches for a piece of bread. “So, it is safe to say that I shall not be doing any of my chores,” she adds and sits back. Everyone laughs and we go back to eating our food.

“I am glad to have the family together in one place because I have something to say,” says my father, breaking the silence in the room. We all take our attention off the food and look up at him. It is very seldom that my father makes family announcements. It must be something serious. “As we all know, Alice is turning 21 in a few weeks,” he begins. I get excited. Maybe he is planning a birthday party for me. Or an awesome present! What could it be? “Alice you are becoming a woman. You are so grown up and mature. I am incredibly proud of you. You will always be my little girl. I remember when you took your first steps and said your first words. But it is time for you to step up in the world,” he says. A new duty? New responsibilities perhaps? I do not disturb him and let him continue speaking. “I believe it is time for you to consider finding a man worth being king,” he says. My smile drops. What a disappointment. “What do you mean father?” I ask. He smiles at me lovingly. “You are old enough now to find yourself a potential husband. You cannot lead a kingdom all alone. I am fully confident that you will do a fantastic job as a queen, but this is a job for two, not one,” he explains.

“So the announcement is that I should start dating?” I question. He shakes his head. “No, not at all. I wanted to tell you that I have sent out an invitation for other royals and high-status families to put forward their eldest sons. I will hold an event in the castle, allowing you to see all the possible dates for you. I will not arrange a marriage for you, but I will help you find the right man for you,” he explains. I frown. “But what if I don’t want to date? What if I don’t find the right man for me?” I question. I have a lot of emotions stirring through my body. I do not want to be disrespectful towards my father, but I don’t think I am ready for the commitment of a relationship. I rather focus on myself and improving my skills which will help me be the best leader I can be. “Don’t be silly girl. You will definitely find the right man for you. You are perfect, men will be lining up to talk to you! The event will be held tomorrow!” he states and gets up from the table. “Thank you for breakfast, it was delicious. I shall see you in a few hours, I have a few meetings with the warriors which will help organize the event. This is so exciting,” he states and leaves the room.

I look over at my mother who has a small smile on her face. “I have tried speaking to him, but he is convinced that this is the best idea ever. You won’t convince him otherwise. Just go to the event and see how it goes. If you don’t find someone then we can at least say you tried,” she says. I nod. She is right. What is the worst thing that could happen from me going to this event? Maybe I will make new friends and potentially meet someone who is just as passionate about the kingdom as I am. “Okay, I will go. But I do not promise that I will find the perfect match for me. I can’t simply find love in one day. I don’t believe in love at first sight,” I state. My mother smiles. “Your father will be thrilled to hear that you will go to the event. He only wants what is best for you,” she states. I agree. We all finish our food and resume our daily duties. I find myself thinking about the event for most of the day. How will I be able to judge the men from only one day? Do they actually want to be here or are they going to be forced to come? So many questions and so few answers. I guess the only way I will find out is by going to the event. Tomorrow can’t come quick enough. I am both excited and nervous at the same time. I have so much preparation to do. What will I wear? What will I say? I panic and run to my room to start organizing things for tomorrow. It has to be perfect.