One of us marrying Prince Callum

The kingdom was called Hampshen and it was in a time similar to that of the Victorian Era. It was night time and opening her eyes Loque Bella found herself lying down on a bed in a bedroom. There were four beds, including the one she was on, with a chest of drawers against the bare wall and burning oil lamps on the walls. She sat up; wearing a simple dress with her long dark hair flowing down her back and onto the bed. 

Downstairs, her family sat; father, Mr. Braun, and her three sisters. He was sitting on his sofa by the fire place as the girls set the dining table; singing a song they loved with their voices blending together like angels singing. The first born was Ida, the second was Kima, the third Miro and the last was Loque Bella. Listening in and watching them, Mr. Braun smiled, his daughters were quite a sight, all of them spitting images of their late mother. They lived in a secluded farm house in the outskirts of the village and were a lower middle class family. He was one of the palace guards and had been working there pretty much his whole life.

Just then a knock came to the front door and the singing came to an abrupt stop; with a wondered look coming over each one's face, it was a little too late for visitors, who could it be?

"I'll get it," father said standing up and went to answer the door. Upon seeing who was on the other side, he gasped and immediately bowed. "Your majesty."

"Majesty," the girls said to themselves and as father opened the door for her and she walked in, with four guards standing outside, the girls bowed to her. "Your majesty," they then said.

"Good evening girls, Mr. Braun," Queen Roselyn said; forty five years old and as always well put together, wearing a blue dress with a red cloak over and her golden crown on her head.

"Your wonderfulness, to what does a lowly man such as I have this pleasure," father said.

"Oh Mr. Braun stop, you're too modest; you have served the crown so well you're practically family."

"Thank you your majesty. Please forgive our home, we were not expecting company."

"It's alright," Queen Roselyn said and sat down on one of the sofas as Kima handed her a cup of tea. "Thank you darling."

"You're most welcome," Kima said curtsying and walked to join her sisters sitting down by the dining table.

"Mm good tea." Kima smiled. "Right, it is rather late so why don't I get straight to the reason why I'm here."

"Of course," father said, sitting on his sofa.

"As you know, my time as queen is about to come to an end and that only when my son Prince Callum finds himself a suitable wife, supportive, of good manners and background, will I be able to do so, so having that said, I have been out these past few days with him searching for a suitable woman to take up the responsibility of the crown with him and though we did find some rather good candidates, none of them came close to just what I was looking for which is why I have decided to pick one of your girls to be the next queen," she said and the girls quietly gasped.

"Oh my goodness, your majesty, we are nothing but peasants."

"Please Mr. Braun do not refer to yourself using such terms. You have served me and the entire royal family very well for many years and are as deserving of this as anyone else."

"But . . . But we are not worthy," father said.

"Yes you are. You are a good man and if your girls exhibit the same dedication to life as you have to your work over the many years then either one of them will make a perfect partner to my son and a fine queen to my people."

"I don’t know what to say."

"Just say you’ll think about it and have an answer for me in two days," Queen Roselyn said and father looked to his girls and they quickly nodded their heads, each one with a wide smile on their face.

"I will think about and have an answer for you in two days."

"Lovely, we shall wait till then," she said standing up, and they all did.

"Right. But you know your majesty I do have four girls, so which one exactly did you have in mind?" he asked and the girls immediately fixed their postures.

"Oh right of course, my apologies, I got so caught up in the moment I forgot to say oh dear, I guess old age is catching up with me," she said and they chuckled. "Um," she then said looking at the girls. "You do have four girls don't you Mr. Braun?"

"Yes I do, forgive me, the other got a little tired and decided to have a lie down."

"Oh right Loque Bella is it?"

"Yes Loque Bella," father answered.

"Uh that's the one."

"Pardon?"

"Loque . . . She's the one I want my son to grace with a hand in marriage," Queen Roselyn said and the girls subtly passed looks at each other.

"Loque Bella?"

"Yes, Mr. Braun is there something wrong?"

"Um not really but Loque your majesty is still a child, being the youngest and all, she doesn’t quite know as much as these do and so I’m not quite sure she’ll be suitable for the task at hand, I think either one of these will be a much better choice for his majesty. Loque Bella is still growing and so fragile, humble, naïve, she’d bring nothing to the crown."

"True but she is innocent and there is nothing people find more appealing in a queen than innocence, she’s perfect." They just stood there looking at her with wondered looks on their faces, did she just say she wanted their sister Loque Bella to marry Prince Callum? "Right so in two days you will come to the palace with your answer, and we will be waiting, hoping that it'll be good news."

"I assure you it will be."

"Wonderful," she said and Mr. Braun walked her to the door. "Thank you for sparing this time Mr. Braun and I look forward to seeing you and your lovely girls on Wednesday."

"We'll be there," father said and opening the door for her she walked out and was guided to her carriage by her guards. Closing the door, father then turned to his girls and they screamed in excitement; one of them set to marry the prince, what a dream come true.

Just then Loque Bella walked down the stairs and found them still jumping around, with father just standing there looking at him and faintly shaking his head.

"Goodness what is all this about?" Loque Bella asked and they turned to her immediately going quiet, but still with smiles on their faces. "What? What's going on?"

"We just had a visit from someone," father said.

"Right I heard the door, who was it?"

"It was her majesty."

"What? Her majesty was in our house?" Loque Bella asked.

"Yes she was. And she wasn't just in our house, she came bearing word."

"Good word," Miro said.

"Wonderful word," Kima said.

"Spectacular word," Ida said and they giggled.

"Goodness what has gotten into them?" Loque Bella asked.

"Don't worry, you'll be joining them soon enough," father said.

"What did she say?"

"Well, her reign of queen-ship is soon coming to an end and as a requirement of the prince to become king, he must find a suitable woman to marry."

"Oh right, yes I’ve heard of that, but what does that have to do with her coming here?" she asked and her sisters grinned at her.

"Well what is has to do with her coming here is that she has decided that one of you will be that woman to marry the prince," father said and Loque Bella gave out short scream and her sisters laughed.

"You lie. Father you lie. One of us? One of us marrying Prince Callum like actually marrying him? Like husband and wife you may kiss the bride actually marrying him?"

"Yes."

"Oh my gosh!" Loque Bella shouted and she along with her sisters screamed. "Who is it? Who is it? Huh wait it’s Ida isn’t it?" She turned to her. "It’s you isn’t it?"

"No," Ida answered shaking her head.

"Huh it’s Miro, she’s always had a certain poise-ness about her that is annoyingly always on point."

"I do have a poise-ness about me that is annoyingly always on point but it is not me," Miro said and Loque gasped.

"Kima!"

"No! You!" her sisters said together and Loque Bella immediately froze; like a mannequin in a store window. She pointed to herself. "Yes!"

Loque Bella screamed to the roof and her sisters once more joined her, jumping around and hugging each other like children at a playground. She had just gotten to Hamsphen and she was already set to marry someone, a prince for that matter, it was like she had just walked right into a fairy tale. The daughter of a palace guard becoming queen, Loque Bella was over the moon. But little did she know that it was a happiness that would not last and that her life was about to take a series of dreadful turns that would test her more than anything else in her life ever did.