03.

"Queen Avantika inherited the throne 26 years back." Madam Acacia, the huge, rambunctious governess who taught me history stated. We were in my wing of the palace, the room where I took all my lessons.

"Chaos broke out following her coronation. She was an unmarried female crowned to rule the Kingdom." She looked at me then. "I'm sure you know how it was for women in those times?" She continued to explain after I nodded. "Most of the people within and outside the Kingdom fought against her rule. The faction consisted mainly of men and a few old women.The men couldn't fathom why a woman would rule over them, tell them what to do. The old women believed that it wasn't in a woman's place to rule. That a woman's only job was to take care of her husband. Imagine the shock when they learned she wasn't even married. The rulers of the other kingdoms also refused to acknowledge her crown."

"And so, the Queen, ever so diplomatic came to an agreement with them. If she couldn't raise the kingdom's standards within six months, they'd remove her from the throne," I'd heard all this before. I grew up hearing this. I wanted her to finish so I could ask my question. "She did that. Within those six months, the kingdom's standards improved. She told them to give her another six months and our kingdom would be the best one in the world."

"Once she did that, I'm sure you can imagine the shock that came when Taektum, the poorest kingdom in the world became the not just the richest, but the best. She earned her way to the top. Five years later, she had Princess Althea, the sole heir to the throne." She concluded standing in front of me.

Trying to look disinterested, I asked "And what's my origin? Where I come from?" It still sounded weird to me. "With whom did the Queen have her heir with?"

Madam Acacia looked startled. "Well, no one in the kingdom knows." She sputtered. She was lying. I knew she was.

"Madam Acacia, who is my father?"

"Princess Althea, I-" she started to cough. The serious, hacking kind of cough. The kind that made people to double over in agony. I was worried that she might start to cough out blood.

"Thank you, Madam Acacia. That will be all for today." came my mother's voice from the doorway. I was startled. My mother hardly ever left her region of the palace.

The governess stopped coughing and righted her posture. She muttered her thanks to the queen before gathering her belongings and scurrying out of the room.

"Follow me." My mother said before turning and heading off most likely in the direction of the throne room. I nodded standing up and trailing behind her. I nervously rolled my tongue in my mouth wondering if she'd heard. From her well-timed interruption, she must've.

Ketki opened the door for her and we both stepped in. She settled on her throne. "I've told you to stop asking such questions. Why do you insist on behaving like an insolent child?"

"I only want to know who my father is." I said. "Since you obviously aren't going to tell me." I added under my breath.

Her eyebrow rose. "Watch your tone and remember whom you speak with."

I nodded. I didn't want to apologize. She always threw my apology back in my face and yet, she'd consider it an insult if I didn't. I swallowed the defiance bubbling in me. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for yourself." came the anticipated response.

"You wanted to see me, Mother?" I asked, wanting this conversation to be over.

"Yes. Prince Otis wishes to court you. Hopefully, this association will further our alliance with his kingdom. As good as Taektum is, we are severely lacking in the area of defence."

"Aren't I too young for marriage?" with the way she'd talked, I knew that marriage was where it'd lead.

"You're twenty-one, a grown up woman by every law."

"So I suppose that if I were to request that I stop these lessons I've had since I was two because I'm a grown up woman and that I start participating in our kingdom's rule also because I'm a grown-up woman, your response would be?"

She showed satisfaction in the small twitch of her lips and I could see a hint of... pride? Was this what it took for her to notice me? To be proud of me?

"My response would be that you do not behave like a grown woman is expected to. You haven't grown. You still act like a child. So, I advise that you save your defiance for whomever cares for it and go and dress up. Prince Otis arrives by noon." Glancing at the golden wall clock to her left, she added. "You've an hour to look presentable. You are dismissed." She motioned her hand towards the door for emphasis.

After bathing for the third time that day, I put on a robe over my underwear and went to my dressing chamber. I sat on my stool and watched in the mirror and Ketki worked her magic. It was silent as usual. That uncomfortable silence I'd grown accustomed to. Whenever it was this silent, different thoughts ran through my head.

"Ketki," I called. Through the mirror, I saw her glance up at me before continuing to style my hair. It was her way of telling me that she was listening. "Do you believe in a place other than this world we live in?" I'd dreamt of somewhere different. A place where technology was advanced, where paintings were things of history, where things were so advanced it was like a dream. But then again, it was a dream- a dream that felt so true...

I waited for her to say something. With every second that passed by, I felt more and more stupid. It was a dream after all...

"I think that," she said. "anything is possible."

I nodded. I didn't know why I felt hope bubbling through me and I couldn't suppress that hope either. Ketki seemed wise. She might've been twenty-seven but she had this way about her. Plus, my mother seemed to trust her. We fell back into that silence once again. Once she was done, I dressed in a purple gown with a V-shaped neckline and trim waist.

He had to have been waiting for like twenty minutes because when I got to our palace living room which was reserved for whatever guests we had, Prince Otis was checking his pocket watch and looked to be trying to stifle a yawn.

"Prince Otis," I greeted alerting him to my presence. He stood up and bowed. "Princess Althea." Then he resumed sitting on the double couch. I took a seat opposite him.

"What brings you here?" I asked.

His red eyebrows rose. "The queen hasn't informed you?"

"What exactly would the queen inform me of?" I feigned ignorance trying to look puzzled.

He sighed before sitting up straighter. "I wish to court you, Princess Althea."

I nodded. "So how exactly do we go about this courtship process?"

"We'll get to know each other, ask questions, determine our compatibility," He said. "even if I'm sure you're the one." He added. I nodded signalling for him to carry on.

"Favourite colour?" He asked.

"Green. Yours?"

"Purple." He answered.

"Purple?" I repeated.

He cleared his throat and I saw the tip of his ears turn pink. "Yes. Moving on..."

And as the questions continued, I began to feel that perhaps he wasn't so bad. A friend, and maybe a husband.