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Princess Mind-Reader: Part One


by thornfoot2

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Hi!! New story and first series!! Yay!!! And if you're reading this, TNT have FINALLY decided for me get another story in!!

Victoria quietly hummed as she brushed the hem of her dress to get the dirt off.

      “Your Majesty?”

      Today Victoria would be crowned Princess. She would be Princess Victoria.

      Again the voice repeated, “Your Majesty? I don’t mean to intrude, but you’ll have to get out soon, dressed or undressed.”

      “Coming, Father.” Victoria’s voice was beautiful and high-pitched. Everyone loved to hear it. “Can you let a lady dress?” Victoria asked teasingly as she slipped her most beautiful, her most dazzling dress on. It wasn’t too dazzling; however, everyone said they were “blinded with awe!”

      Thinking of those certain people, Victoria chuckled. Finally she opened the door. King Hagan had a great smile on his face. “Finally, you’re old enough to be crowned Princess! You’ve grown!”

      Victoria rolled her eyes. Always, King Hagan treated Victoria like a five-year-old, but she was really thirteen, just getting into her teens. That is when Princesses are usually crowned Princess.

      Playfully Victoria said, “It’s weird, because I’m going to be treated like an adult now. How did you feel when you were crowned King? Were you Prince first, or King?”

      Hagan closed his eyes and was trying to imagine, Victoria could tell. “King. It’s a very long story; I told you once before, it took an hour.”

      No kidding, Victoria thought. She could only remember pieces of the story, it was so long ago. It was when she was six; seven years ago. Life flies by so fast!

      “You better hurry,” Hagan suddenly said, as if it was a race against time. “Hundreds of neopets are waiting for you. If you would like to be crowned Princess, you need to be quick. What sort of Princess are you when you’re late to everything?” he asked playfully.

      Scoffing lightly, Victoria continued to fly down the hall. It was only a matter of moments before they reached the balcony. Tim, a green Shoyru ready to announce the blue Wocky a princess, opened his mouth and shouted, “Quiet down! Quiet down!”

      The cheers and screams died down to nothing. Victoria strained so everyone could see her.

      Tim’s eyes were full of delight. “Today, we gather, to announce a very special blue Wocky a princess! Victoria has officially turned thirteen today, so we’re going to start with ‘Happy Birthday to You.’”

      Sighing, Victoria listened as the lines of “Happy Birthday to You” flew by.

      “Happy birthday to yoou. happy birthday to yoooou. Happy birthday to Victoria, happy birthday tooo yooou!”

      Little kids screamed out, “Cha, cha, cha!”

      Tim smiled when the song finally ended and said, “Okay, Victoria, do you accept the ways of a Princess, the ways of royalty, and promise never to leave the ways?”

      Silence crept along the square. Victoria thought she could hear people inhale sharply, as if they were holding their breath for something. Victoria nodded. “I do.”

      Tim held out his hand. “Victoria, you are now officially a Princess of Brightvale.”

      “Princess Victoria! Princess Victoria!! PRINCESS VICTORIA!!!” the neopets chanted as Victoria shook Tim’s hand, and an eruption of cheers and screams reached everybody’s ears within a mile of their radius. Princess Victoria sighed and turned back to the excited Brightvalians that were jumping up and down.

     ***

      That had been three years ago. Three years ago. Victoria was now sixteen. She wasn’t Princess Victoria anymore. In fact, everybody believed she was dead.

      A week after being named Princess Victoria, when she was getting used to living the life of luxury, a man of darkness swept the town. The shadow Usul had been an assassin, and Victoria barely escaped. Cries of intruders woke her through the night, and she nearly got killed. However, Victoria could remember the day clearly...

     ***

      “Go to sleep, Victoria.” Her father’s voice strung into her ears like an ant crawling in. Victoria rolled and rolled, but could not sleep. It was bugging Victoria constantly, and she didn’t like it.

      About when she was about to give in and read, she heard a thump. Victoria sat bolt upright. There was terrified screams of something Victoria couldn’t make out, until a loud shriek came loud and clear, “INTRUDER! ASSASSIN!” Scared for her life, Victoria looked at her window.

      Then the door was being shaken by a thump. The doorknob rattled, and a cold, creepy voice said, “Oh Princess, Princess, where are you hiding? I’m your friend; I won’t hurt you.”

      A very weird way to convince somebody that, Victoria thought, and threw a chair at her window a couple of shards fell out. Victoria scrabbled against the glass, cutting her neat paws. By the time she could get out, her nightgown was bloodied. Quickly she crawled through and heard some tears of her fabric. Cursing quietly, Victoria looked down.

      It was a long, long ways down. Victoria could swear she could hear keys jangling as they were unlocking her door. Jumping, Victoria willed for some luck to be on her side. She hit the ground hard and knocked the breath out of her. Lying frozen on the ground for a moment, Victoria could barely breathe. She jumped up when she heard her door splintering. Quickly, the Princess took out down the lawn.

      It’s just a dream, it’s just a dream, Victoria was convincing herself, but when she looked at her bloodied paws and how much they were stinging, she knew it wasn’t a dream. It was real. Flying quickly, she looked like a ghost out to get revenge rather than a runaway princess. She scrabbled in mud, caking her dress in squishy muck.

      “Ew.” Victoria shook off some mud, and then realized her paws were getting muddy. In horror, she realized her cuts were going to get infected. She had to go somewhere now.

      Kauvara had been a close friend of Hagan’s; perhaps Victoria could go visit Kauvara. However, she was so far away.

      But Kauvara can heal me and help me, Victoria thought.

      A voice replied, It’s too far away; you’ll never make it.

      I have to try. It’s my only chance of going somewhere to some neopets I know that won’t turn me in. Kauvara isn’t like that, Victoria argued with the voice. I’m not going to let some infected cuts get in my way. I’m going to Kauvara.

      Ouch! the voice replied indignantly. I think you got some glass shards stuck in your cuts. That’s going to make it real bad. Are you sure about this?

      Victoria wished she could send the voice an annoyed look. Go away.

      As if on cue, the voice didn’t say anything. At one point, the voice said, I’m still here.

      Who the heck are you? Victoria asked. You’re not my own thoughts, that’s for sure.

      Trekking along the plains and fields, forests and rocky terrains, Victoria found herself tired, hungry, and thirsty. Oh, water! She could wash off in a river of some sort.

      In the middle of a plain, Victoria could see some trees up ahead. Where there were trees, there was water. Where there was water, there was fish. Where there was fish, there was water. Wait, did Victoria think that already? She couldn’t remember; hunger was making her nauseated.

      In time, she finally made it to Neopia Central. Sneaking on the edges, she found the shop. It was empty, luckily, except for Kauvara. Knocking on the window, she tried to whisper loud enough for Kauvara to hear. She couldn’t, however, so Kauvara opened the window.

      “Princess Victoria!” Kauvara said with a gasp. “But – but – but you’re dead!”

      “What?” Victoria cocked her head. “No, I’m not! It’s really me! I barely escaped the assassin, and I need a place to stay, to hide! I can’t go back to Brightvale – the assassin will be after me again! Please help me!”

      Kauvara was silent as she thought things over. “First, it looks like you need a good meal, a bath, and some ointment for those cuts. You look like a homeless child.”

      Technically, you are, a voice sounded in her head.

      Can you at least leave me for ten seconds without having to say a word? Victoria thought back sharply at the voice. Can you tell me who you are?

      The voice chuckled darkly. No can do, Princess.

      Angrily, Victoria came through the front door quick and fast. She looked down at the carpet. There were mud tracks all over it. “I’m sorry, Kauvara,” Victoria said.

      “S’okay,” Kauvara, clearly bright. “I haven’t had many royal visitors here. This reminds me, you might need to Paint yourself something different, or Morph. I’ve got enough money, three times as much money, in fact. So, Victoria, you ready?”

      “Ready for what?” Victoria asked.

      “Getting a bath, of course!” Kauvara said, still bright. “I haven’t had such a special visitor before, like I told you. Now, you better hurry, because we’re going to eat and go shopping!”

     ***

      Sitting next to the fire, Victoria’s eyes danced as she remember those days clearly. Since then, the voice hadn’t returned, but every day, Victoria was prepared for something to come into her mind. Now, she had become an assistant of Kauvara’s.

      Dusting the floor every day with a broom, helping Kauvara count the sales of Neopoints, pointing the neopets in the direction of the potion they needed, Victoria didn’t want to change her life. However, the oath of a princess came into her mind.

      Okay, Victoria, do you accept the ways of a Princess, the ways of royalty, and promise never to leave the ways?

      I do.

      It was hauntingly familiar. It was today. It was yesterday. It was tomorrow. Some days, Kauvara would throw some questions of her royal life, that short royal life that she had had. Funny times, and even telling Kauvara the small bits of the story of her father’s life.

      Did I tell you yet, Victoria? Would you like to know who I am?

      The voice had finally spoken.

To be continued...

 
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