Story Saturday: The True Princess

"The True Princess"

Mira was born with only one purpose: to overthrow the monarchy. The rebel alliance that raised her had trained her for her entire life to fight by their side. Their goal was to defeat the wicked queen and king who had abused their power with taxation and greed. The day was finally at hand for them to take down the wicked monarchs' daughter, Princess Larissa, at her coronation ceremony and claim the kingdom by force. Mira knew exactly what she had to do. She was ready.

The palace looked even more beautiful than Mira could have imagined. Royal crests decorated the halls, and colorful banners were on display over every turret in honor of the princess's coming of age. Yet, she knew that all of this extravagance represented everything the kingdom had taken away from its citizens. She silently slipped in and out of passageways like a fly on the wall, avoiding the guards' notice. Finally, she found her destination.

Princess Larissa was surrounded by handmaidens who adjusted her elaborate gown of gold and velvet for the ceremony. Mira clutched her spear and held her breath on the other side of the door, waiting in silence. It seemed like they were never going to leave. She listened with surprise as the princess shared kind words with her handmaidens about all her hopes and dreams of improving the lives of her people. For the first time in her life, Mira began to reconsider her purpose. Was she really doing the right thing?

Finally, the handmaidens cleared out, letting Larissa prepare for her moment to ascend the stage, a moment that would never come if the rebels had their way. When the last maid left, Mira revealed herself to the princess in the doorway. Larissa was neither scared nor surprised to see her.

"So, you're the one who is here to relieve me of my duties," she said. "If we do this quickly enough, no one will notice the difference."

She began stripping herself of the elaborate velvet cape and robes before Mira could even gesticulate a response.

"Who told you our plans?" she asked accusingly. "Was it Adam? He was always a sneaky one."

Larissa laughed at Mira's rage. "I've always known. My parents have been planning this for years. They switched with the daughter of the rebel leader as a baby so their true daughter could ascend to the throne, and the rebels would leave them alone so we could finally have peace."

"Are you telling me I'm the true princess?" Mira gasped. "This must be a trick! Who are you working for?"

Mira took a closer look at Larissa. Her pale blonde hair and crystal blue eyes looked nothing like the darker features of the king and queen. Yet, her own features were a much closer match. She thought back to all the time she had spent with her family of rebels. They had never once treated her like one of her own, only a pawn in some sort of twisted game.

"I suppose you couldn't have known," said Larissa, "but it's all right. I'm ready."

"All those things you were telling your maids earlier about helping your people and improving the way of life for the kingdom--Were they true?" Mira stumbled over her words as she kept her spear raised in a defensive stance.

"I would love to have had the chance to improve things for my people, but that was never my destiny," Larissa said, sighing dreamily about a future she would never see.

Mira cautiously leaned her spear against the wall and held Larissa's cloak up in front of her.

"What if it could be?"

Larissa gasped. "You would give up the chance to rule an entire kingdom for a complete stranger? Isn't this everything you've ever worked toward?"

"They never told me who I was. They never told me who you were. Everything I've been working toward was a lie."

Larissa decided it was worth being a little late for her coronation to discuss her kingdom's future. They had a long talk about their lives, and Larissa learned how Mira was brought up with the arts of stealth and warfare, which would make her a great soldier, but not a great monarch. Meanwhile, Larissa had all the training to rule a kingdom that a leader should know. The two ultimately agreed that Princess Larissa would be a better fit for the role. In return, she offered Mira a position in the royal guard, where she would never be lied to again.

When Larissa appeared at the coronation, the rebels from the alliance knew that something must have gone wrong. They invoked their alternate plan and tried to attack Larissa in front of the large crowd. However, they had trained Mira too well. She raised her spear and defended the princess against the people she had once called her family.

Adam, her best friend from the alliance, asked her why she had suddenly betrayed them. When she explained that they were both lied to all their lives, he laid down his sword and agreed that it was wrong to stay with such a nefarious group. Larissa agreed to let him join the guard at Mira's side. Eventually, Mira and Adam were married and dedicated the rest of their lives to defending the true princess.