Sorry this took me soooo loooonnnngggg. I have been working on it as much as I can, but I haven’t had any real ideas, despite your guys’ help. So without further ado…. Oh wait, I forgot something, didn’t I?
And the winner of the contest is, drum roll please?
And first place goes to HappyFeet ! (I can’t stand it when they wait till the very end to say who was the winner!)
Second place goes to sekayi_101
Third to iluvhiking
and honorable mention to luvmykitty
And now, without further ado, here is part 7.
A
knock at Christina’s door the next morning came rather untimely, and what she
considered quite early. Christina sighed and slid off the bed and into her soft
slippers waiting on the floor. She wondered who it might be at this time in the
morning. Walking quickly over to the door, she opened it, only to be quickly
pushed aside as her mother, trailed by several other people, walked in.
Queen
Charlotte turned around and said, “I expected that you would sleep in till nine
o’clock on such an important day as this, but that still doesn’t excuse it. I
do hope you have your speech all memorized and ready.”
“Well…”
Christina stalled for time, “There is always room for improvement…”
Charlotte
spun around at Chris’s delay, “Do you even have a speech? And you probably
don’t even know what today is do you?”
Christina
was still a bit fuzzy from sleep and wouldn’t have been able to remember if it
was her birthday let alone any other important day. Chris shook her head
slowly, “No I can’t remember.”
“Let’s see…
Well yesterday was Monday, October 18. I am sure you know what today is then,
right?”
And just
like that, it hit Christina, today was probable one of the most important days
of her life. Her 16th birthday. Of
course, today would be the one day I sleep in and forget to practice my speech
for. Come on! It isn’t every day that you are officially crowned High Princess
of Vendara! Christina thought to herself.
The shock that
coursed through Chris’ body, must have shown up on her face.
“Ahhh, I see
you remember something then,” the queen’s words bit deeply into Christina’s
heart.
“Well we
must leave in two hours, I am sure that is enough time to get yourself
presentable enough for the ceremony. You will just have to learn your speech on
the drive,” Charlotte said just before spinning out the door, leaving the
others behind.
Christina tried to lay down on her bed to sort things out,
but one of the ladies, quickly pulled her up and pushed her into the closet to
change into her formal, royal trappings that had been made special for this
important day. She sighed and pulled layer after layer of clothing over her
head. First a corset, luckily it didn’t need to be pulled to tight because of
Christina’s already slim waist. Next, came the smooth satin slip. Then,
petticoats after petticoats were added. Also there was a small hoop to hold up
the heavy skirts. Next was the cream-colored tulle dress that made her hazel
eyes look green more than anything else.
Chris sighed for the 17th
or 18th time that morning, and it was only 10:30 A.M.! She had three
people tugging and pulling at her hair to get it just right. They had made many
tiny braids, then pulled them into an elaborate bun. The intricate pattern
could only be described as a sort of flower shape. It truly did look
magnificent. But that is not why she was sighing. Christina still had no idea
about what she was going to say for her speech!
After a few more spritzes of hair
spray and a few pats to make sure everything was just right, the group of
attendants left Christina alone with her thoughts. She grabbed a paper and
pencil and sat for a few moments trying to think of what she could possibly
say. Chris put her head down on her desk. She had nothing to say. Absolutely
nothing.
A timid knock sounded at Christina’s
door. Her head snapped up. She would know that knock anywhere. Isabelle, Chris’s
little sister was the only person she knew that could make her knock sound
pleasant. A slight smile touched the corners of her mouth.
“Come in!”
Chris called.
Isabelle swept delicately into the room, closing the door
carefully behind her. Walking up to where Chris sat with a blank sheet of paper
in front of her, she sat down.
“Do you need
help with your speech?” she asked nicely.
“Yes, I
never did have your way with words, Isabelle,” Christina replied, “I haven’t
got a single thing to say!”
Isabelle glanced around then pulled
a few sheets of paper covered in writing. Christina down at them when Isabelle
placed them in her hands. She wrote me a
speech! Christina thought in glee, Dear,
dear Izzy came through for me again! I wonder how she knew I needed one. Chris
was about to ask, but the anxious look on her usually reserved sister’s face
quickly changed her mind about that. Chris was quite surprised. What could have put that look, pleading for acceptance. Her
twelve-year-old sister was usually very sunny, bubbly, and people pleasing.
Never before had she thought of her little sister this way before. Well, she
was almost thirteen, and people said that when kids became teens, then they
became more relying on others for emotional support. But if she knew anything about
her Izzy, than this would not last very long.
“You wrote
this for me?” Chris inquired.
“Yes, I
thought you might need help writing your speech, and I figured I would put some
ideas down, and then you could arrange them as you like.”
“Oh thank
you so much!” Christina said, leaning over to hug her sister, “Thank you, thank
you, thank you!”
