p.s. this story is set in a fictional country, so don’t try looking for Lintonia on the map…LOL

       Well, during their early teen years.

       You see, Lillian and Eleanor had two different personalities that seemed to matter nothing when they were younger, but seemed monster-sized when they were older. Lillian, the oldest, loved sketching and sewing and wasn’t exactly the princessey type. She squirmed impatiently at royal ceremonies, banquets, and balls, and even though she was the eldest and the Heir Apparent, she wasn’t really sure if she actually wanted be become Queen one day. She wanted to go to public school to be around normal kids, but her mother sent her to a prestigious, expensive private school. On the other hand, Eleanor loved everything about being a princess and wasn’t afraid to say so. She leaned forward in eager interest while her sister stared out windows at ceremonies, she peeked in at the Assembly doing court and asked her mother question after question about how decisions were made and laws passed. She could hardly wait until she was old enough to wear a necklace with real diamonds, and she watched a bit enviously as her Lillian was heaped with royal roles and responsibilities as the Heir that she didn’t even want. Before you knew it, the girls had seemingly forgotten their former sisterly bond and were fighting all the time. The Queen sensed something was going on between her daughters and tried to talk to them about it, but being Queen comes with about a billion responsibilities, so she didn’t have enough time to talk to both of them and sort it all out.

       Finally one day, on Princess Lillian’s seventeenth birthday, which is legal and traditional adulthood in Lintonia, the whole country gathered in Buxelmyne’s largest ballrooms and banquet halls to celebrate their Heir’s adulthood, even though readiness to inherit the throne came at age twenty-one. Lillian was surrounded by professional Parisian makeup artists and hairstylists, royal seamstresses, and lots of fuss was made over the whole affair. Quite a bit of fuss, Eleanor thought, too much fuss. Finally, jealous of all the attention her sister was receiving, Princess Eleanor began to make sarcastic comments. And soon the two were having the worst fight they ever had. They argued and snapped and yelled, fighting for a long time until Eleanor finally turned on her heel and stomped out of Lillian’s suites, slamming the doors.

       Lillian was angry. She yanked off the beautiful prom dress the seamstresses had fitted for her, kicked off her heels, and jerked the jeweled hairpins from her fancy updo, letting her dark hair fall. She stomped into her large bathroom and glared at her reflection. What am I even doing here? she fumed. Like I actually want to be Queen one day. Yeah, right mom. Not on your life. The princess glared around the shiny, polished and tidy bathroom, wondering what to do now. Suddenly, an idea came to her. She pulled open drawers until she had collected a chestnut-brown hair dye, mascara, a flat iron, a pair of colored contact lenses, and a pair of fake glasses. She washed off the professional makeup job and began to work on her face, changing her appearance and sculpting her eyebrows. She hurried through her disguise, hoping no one would knock on her door before she was through and out. When she finally finished, she was a brown-haired, brown-eyed twenty-year old with dark purple glasses. Lillian ran to her fitting room and picked up an extra seamstress’ uniform wrapped in plastic that had originally been brought to give to her best friend and personal assistant, Margaret. But Margaret hadn’t shown up, she was needed in one of the ballrooms to help hang decorations. Sorry, Marge, Lillian thought. She ripped open the bag and slipped on the red polo-style shirt and black pants, completing the look by sticking various hair supplies into a apron-caddy and tying it around her waist. She stared at herself in the mirror in amazement for a long time, barely recognizing her own self. Blinking and shaking herself from the daze, Lillian ran to her bedchamber and ripped a sheet of paper from a notebook and snatching a golden pen. She wrote hesitantly, forcing herself to make the message brief, and finally folded the note and left it on her desk. She picked up a large purse and hurriedly packed money, the gold pen, and a water bottle. She jumped up from her chair and was about to dash out when she saw her favorite tiara, made out of pure silver studded with diamonds, sitting on her large king-size canopy bed. She tried to force herself away, but walked over and laid her hand on the tiara, and finally slipped it into the bag. She ran out of her bedchamber and through her suites, finally reaching the exit to her rooms. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

Part 2 coming soon!