Chapter 4|Royal Family

  June 21 was the Summer Equinox, as well as the day Alice and I were born on. We finally turned 10 years old, of age to do our Dance of Legitimacy. We finally got to see what our powers were.

   It was an educated guess, but I suspected that since both Alice and I were half Von Grindstone and half Olcarta, we would have something to do with taking over body and or mind, like our brother Edward.

   Edward has Override, a power that lets you take over somebody's mind and override them with emotions. Papa, as I had started to call him after a while, could warp someone's idea of the world and mess with your mind. Mother had a relatively common power, Slight Charm. That just meant that sometimes, she could charm anyone into doing what she wanted.

   Alice and I woke up early. Papa and Edward were here, so Mother made sure to treat us very nicely. Instead of our usually cold baths, this morning's was warm and scented with oils.

   We didn't wear our colorful tatters, but these beautiful black and gold clothes Papa and Edward had found while they were at the capital.

   Alice wore a dark gray shirt with Victorian ruffles at the collar paired with a poofy, black skirt that was lined with gold and had at least 2 petticoats under it. As if to accentuate the poofiness of the skirt, near the bottom, there was what seemed to be intricate golden crosses on every vertical, gold line. To top it off, Alice had gold-toed ballet flats and a short black and gold jacket.

    My outfit was very similar to my sister's. There was a lot of gold lining and we wore the same top - a grey shirt with puffy sleeves and the same jacket. The only differences were that instead of me wearing a skirt, I wore black shorts with the same gold lining and crosses my sister had that ended right above my knee and I wore gold-toed boots with almost black socks that ended halfway to my knees. The socks had garter belts, to straighten my legs while I danced, I suppose.

   I thought this day couldn't be better, but then it was time for breakfast. I had never seen the dining room because Mother always made Alice and I eat breakfast in the kitchen, next to the servants. But since Papa was here, she had to be on best behavior.

   Anyways, Alice and I sat together at the table near Papa and Edward. Papa had to sit on one end of the table and Mother in the other. The only problem was that the table was long and if you say on one end, you would have to yell for anyone on the other side to hear.

   I never noticed how hungry I was until I saw all the food places down before us. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, cereal, milk, fruit, bread. I almost devoured it all on sight, but once Papa was gone, Mother would berate me. The four of us - Alice, Papa, Edward, and I - had small talk and Mother stared at us longingly. Too late, lady.

   At some point, it was noon and time to party! I hope everything goes smoothly.

   "Now presenting: Lord and Lady Grindstone and their children Alice and Charles," said an announcer loudly. He did this for everyone - if they had a title - but we were last. Alice held my hand as we walked down the stairs in front of Edward, who was followed by Papa and Mother. Under all those petticoats, Alice tripped but my grip on her was strong and she didn't fall.

   "Thank you," she mouthed to me when we got to the foot of the stairs. I turned my head to nod at her but my eye caught something else. The royal family. They were stunning, gorgeous. I wish we were like them.

   The king stood up when he saw my father and walked towards us, the rest of his family behind him, and Papa, Edward, and Mother bowed in response. It took Alice and me a tap on our feet from Edward to bow. "Apologies, your majesty- Majesties," said Alice. The woman next to the king - Queen Andoria, I suppose - laughed and signaled with her hand for us to rise.

   The reluctance was evident in Mother's face, as she didn't want to offend the royal family, but she did anyway.

   "Henry! It's been a while, hasn't it, cousin?" bellowed King Marquis. His voice had a very happy tone to it, it made me want to laugh with it. "It has, Marquis," replied Papa. They were talking for quite a while and after a good half hour of them talking, Mother finally led Edward, Alice, and me away from the old friends and to the other sons and daughters of dukes, lords, earls, and nobility.

   I found it all very boring but Alice seemed to thrive in the environment. She talked to everyone and held conversations with the other kids for very long. By the time it was 3, Alice had successfully established us as Alice and Charles Von Grindstone, children of Henry and Elizabeth Grindstone.

   Speaking of, it was 3. Time for the Dance of Legitimacy.

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