Once upon a time in the kingdom of Eusto, there lived a royal family. King George and Queen Annette had a daughter named Leslie, and lived in a large, beautiful castle. One day, the king and queen received a mysterious message from a distant kingdom called Mentir, threatening to invade Eusto and take over their throne. King George and Queen Annette requested to visit the ruler of that kingdom to negotiate. After receiving a word of approval, they set out to make amends, leaving their daughter with the care of her bestowed guardian, who was also their advisor. The advisor, Paula, was also in charge of the kingdom until they had returned.

Things were much different after Leslie’s parents left. She wasn’t allowed to go out of the caste, and had to take many lessons and practice rituals to become the next queen. She felt more restricted in her castle with these new rules that Paula created, and as time passed, Leslie constantly thought about her parents, missing them with every thought.

It was a warm and bright afternoon, and Leslie was out in the horse field, wearing a deep maroon equestrian uniform. She was watching the horseman to bring out a handsome horse, with a chocolate-color that matched her hair. It looked rather noble, until she noticed that his mane was braided! Leslie covered her mouth to hold back her laughter. As the horse came closer to her, Leslie took a good look into his eyes.

“He doesn’t seem well. I think I’ll take him back in and see if I can do anything to help.”

“Why don’t you let me take care of him, princess?

“I appreciate your hark work and dedication, Osmond, but I’ve known Raymond for three years. I think he will be much more comfortable with me. I’ll come back out for practice in a little. In the mean time, why don’t you go ahead and take a rest?” The horseman bowed and dismissed himself. Leslie took Raymond back to his stable. The horse whinnied as if he was in despair.

“Take. These things. Off me!” He stomped in the rhythm of his words.

“Oh, Ray, I think they look rather stunning on you.” Leslie giggled as she started to remove the elastic bands off of Raymond. He was her best friend in this castle since she discovered that he could talk. Leslie preferred to call him Ray, because she believed that it suited his wild personality better than Raymond. However, she was only allowed to call him Raymond in public. Ray was uncomfortable with this environment and often thought about running away, but the only reason he stayed was for Leslie. He knew that she needed him now that her parents were gone.

“So I heard Paula is having a party tonight.

“That’s right. She invited most of the entire kingdom. This is the first time I’m looking forward to something of Paula’s for quite a while.” Just as Leslie freed Ray’s hair from the braids, she began to smooth it out for him.

“By the way, happy birthday, kiddo."

“Thank you, Ray. That means a lot to me. Not very many people remembered today.” Ray snorted in disapproval.

“I don’t get it, isn’t that what the party is for?”

“Well, no. Paula says that this party is merely to socialize with the kingdom. You know, to still keep in touch with them. It’s been a while since we’ve hosted a party for the kingdom.”

“Well if you ask me, something is not right about that woman.”

“I understand, but it won’t be forever. After all, mother and father will return soon.” There was a moment of silence until a servant came to remind her to get ready for the party. She thanked her, patted Ray with a smile, and then left to her room.

Leslie looked at herself in a vanity mirror. She wore a long orange halter gown with gloves that reached just below her elbows. Her hair was worn half-up with a bun on top and the ends of her hair were curled. She wore a modest silver tiara on top of her head. Approving her appearance, Leslie walked out into the hallway and towards the staircase leading to the ballroom, where she could see close to a thousand guests. The soft music that played prior to her arrival went soft until it was ultimately silenced.

“Presenting Princess Leslie of Eusto.” Leslie slightly blushed at the introduction given by an unknown servant as she walked elegantly down the steps. Upon reaching the ballroom, she could see Paula in the far left of her eyesight talking to some villagers, wearing a long, slimming black gown. Suddenly, a figure approached her.

“Princess Leslie. It is such an honor to see you. I am Allen.” In front of her was a tall young man with copper-colored hair and matching eyes, wearing a formal, long-sleeved blouse with black pants and shoes. Something in his eyes told her that he had an ego that could take up a village. Leslie curtseyed.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Allen came closer to her, making her uneasy.

“Why don’t we dance?” Without a chance to say a word, Leslie was taken to the center of the ballroom where she had to dance a waltz with this strange, haughty individual. After a minute of awkward dancing, Allen spoke.

“So I hear that you’re now eighteen. Happy birthday to you, Princess Leslie.”

“Thank you, Allen. That’s kind of you to say.”

“Yes, I know. I’m also very good at hunting and negotiating. Just one punch in the rib and I can get any man to do as I say.”

“This just went from uncomfortable to bizarre.” Thought Leslie. The music finished giving her time to break away from Allen and walk around to enjoy the party. Within the hour, three other young men introduced themselves to her and shared a dance. One was clumsy, while another was far too talkative for his own good. The last young man to dance with her was a shy individual, which felt refreshing to her.

“So you’re the son of our bookkeeper. Do you like literature?”

“Oh, yes. It’s one of my passions.” There was a moment of silence until the young man shocked her with a question.

“If you don’t mind me asking, princess, but who will you choose to be your husband tonight?”

Leslie stared wide-eyed at him for what felt like eternity. Finally, she put two and two together. The men who went out of their way to speak with her, Paula within her peripheral vision when she first met Allen, and as she looked at all the guests, she noticed that most of them were men that were about her age.

“Princess? Are you all right?” Leslie returned to present time and could see that this poor boy was afraid that he did something wrong.

“I’m all right, thank you for asking. There’s no need to be concerned.” The music stopped and the young man bowed, walking away from the princess to leave her bewildered.

After the final song of the night, and all the guests went back to their homes, Leslie went searching for Paula. She found her in the dining room sipping on some red wine. Leslie felt embarrassed for not knowing what was truly going on, and angry that this arrangement happened without her consent. It wasn’t as if she would have permitted this, but a voice in the matter would have solaced.

Leslie entered the room while trying to control her emotions.

“Paula, I would like to know the real reason as to why you arranged this party.” Paula tucked a stray strand of her bobbed, dirty blonde hair behind her ear, then looked at the princess with her deep gray eyes.

“My dear, you’re eighteen now. According to law, you must find a husband immediately to make you queen of Eusto.” Leslie’s dark brown eyes darted around the room, trying to remember if her parents ever mentioned this.

“I…I don’t recall my parents telling me about this law."

“Well, it’s not an official law. However, the king and queen did want to establish this rule when you came of age.” Leslie was in shock. Never could she remember her parents discussing this to her or to anyone else for that matter. In fact, she knows for a fact that her father didn’t meet her mother until after he was eighteen! What was really going on?

“You must be feeling rather overwhelmed. After meeting all those bachelors and now just hearing about the new law, I would feel exhausted as well. Why don’t you go to bed and we’ll discuss the details in the morning?” Leslie half-nodded and walked out of the dining room. She slowly went up the stairs back into her room, with her stunned expression now blank, forming tears.