Total pages in book: 15
Estimated words: 13408 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 67(@200wpm)___ 54(@250wpm)___ 45(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 13408 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 67(@200wpm)___ 54(@250wpm)___ 45(@300wpm)
“Yeah, what else is new,” I holler back before emptying what little fish I have in my trap. This is definitely not how I thought my life would turn out, but then again, how could I have expected any different?
I grew up in the Evergreen Orphanage from when I turned three until I became an adult. In the early days of my childhood, nuns would come in and read to us, teach us how to pray and show us how to read. They would tell us that if we were studious, good members of society, we could be anything we wanted to be. I took that to heart. Surely, if a nun said it, it's the truth, right?
So my days would be spent reading all I could, teaching myself math and history. I used to lay in the threadbare bunk bed and dream of going on to higher education and becoming a professor in economics and history. I was determined to be able to help out my country and teach those without how to get it.
Then I got older. The nuns stopped coming, food became scarce, and having heat was no longer a given during the worst of our season. Me and the other kids spent hours huddled together in corners with a meager fire burning in one fireplace.
Days and weeks with nothing but watery oatmeal once a day and a piece of toast for supper. Hell, I wore the same clothes from age ten to sixteen because they didn’t have money to buy us any. I remember asking the housemaster who was responsible for the upkeep of the orphanage, my intention being to write them a letter and pleading with them for some help. I figured it was a church or some do-gooder. But then I learned it was the royal family. Our King and Queen, who live in that big castle high on the hill surrounded by luxury, are keeping us in this condition? My dislike for all things Royal began on this day.
That was the day I learned the truth. There was no future. None of us here in this palace would ever be anything other than people who started with nothing and, therefore, will end with nothing. “You coming?” Bingham calls, bringing me back to the here and now. Nodding, I grab my basket and step onto the plank. All around me are men and women alike unloading and trying to get to the weigh station. I hear conversations from teams and couples who fish together.
I have two baskets in my hand when a little kid runs underneath my arm. “Whoa. Slow down, buddy,” I scream at him. I look down and then back up, only to catch a glimpse of chestnut hair going in the opposite direction. The same little kid comes zooming back past me. I turned once again to avoid knocking him into the water, only to turn into someone else mid-spin. “Oomph.” I hit the ground with the baskets landing on my head.
“Ow. Oh God. I am so sorry,” a sweet, melodic voice says. My heart begins to speed up while I try to sit up, but I am covered in ocean water and fish dirt, and right now, I feel like such a schmuck. “Here, let me help you with that.” The beautiful voice offers. She begins to pull the baskets from my face, and I finally sit up. Standing, I bend over to wipe what I can from my shirt before standing up to thank her.
“Thank you so much…” My gratitude fades promptly when I see who stands before me. Immediately, a bitter taste enters my mouth, and my back straightens. I take my baskets from her hand and take a step back. “Your Royal Highness, I apologize.” I might not like her or her family, but I remember to keep my cool and show respect. The alternative is not worth my disdain. Now, I just need to walk away before I say something I regret.
CHAPTER
THREE
ANYA
“Your Royal Highness, I apologize.” His apology feels forced, and when he mumbles something under his breath, I can’t help but feel like I’ve done something to piss him off, other than crash into him, which wasn’t really my fault.
“I’m the one who should be apologizing. I wasn’t paying attention, and I was following you too closely.”
He nods and turns away from me. Uhhhhh, what? I hate to play this card, but I am a princess; I am so not used to being ignored.
I’m not exactly sure why I’m following him down the sidewalk, but I am. He stops along the way and sells his catch to the master fisherman. The man is so caught up in weighing the catch that he ignores me. Once the fish is weighed, I watch him count out money into the Viking lumberjack’s hand who immediately puts it into his pocket.