My eyes snapped open. I sat up straight, and got dizzy. I paused before I could think. Where was I? What happened to me? Who was I? I didn’t know. All I knew was that I was sitting in a room. A dark room. I didn’t know if I should stand, or wait for someone to come get me, but did anyone know about me? I certainly didn’t. I was starting to get a little scared, but of what? I didn’t know. I had a lot of questions all bumping around inside my head. No. I had to calm down. I stopped and breathed deeply a few times.
What did I know? I was a girl, of that I was sure. I knew that I didn’t know much more than that. I ran my hand through my hair, it was curly and long. Running my hands down my stomach, I felt clothes. Clothes were good. I was wearing pants too. My eyes started to adjust to the darkness a little and I could make out dark shapes.
I stood on wobbly feet and walked slowly. CRASH! I knocked over something that felt heavy. I didn’t see it coming, so I hit it head on. I stumbled back and tripped on something long and skinny. I was lying on my back, when I sensed something falling on top of me. I rolled out of the way just in time. If I stayed there any longer, I would have been covered in glass. Not that I didn’t get a few pieces of glass in my arm. I could feel the stinging and clamped my hand over a particularly large cut. I felt blood.
I held my injured arm out in front of me so I didn’t run into anything again. Inching slowly forward, I took my sweet time, I mean it's not like I had anywhere to be. Well, I didn’t think so at least. I bumped into a few things and was sure my shins were black and blue by then. I finally made it to a wall. I let go of my throbbing arm and placed my palms against the wall. I had to find a way out… I thought. I didn’t know what to think. I was alone, I was cold, I was hungry, and I wanted to get some answers to my hundreds of questions. Yes, if finding a door meant finding someone who could help, I most definitely wanted out.
Shuffling along the wall, feeling it up the whole way wasn’t working. Nothing of importance had been discovered. I could tell there was wallpaper, and there was a thin chair rail running the length of one wall. I had felt many picture frames and hit some furniture. Finally, I hit something. It wasn’t big enough to be a picture frame. It was smooth and rectangular and had a little something sticking out of it. It was a light switch. I tested my luck and held my breath as I flipped it.
The lights blinked on and I was temporarily blinded. I shielded my eyes and squinted. I was in what looked to be a bedroom. There was a big four poster bed with maroon sheets in the corner, and a little side table next to it. The side table had a little lamp on it that was maroon with gold trim. The bottom half of the walls were covered in soft maroon flower print wallpaper and the top was gold. I could see a vanity and a bookshelf. On the walls were portraits of a little girl, getting older in each one. She held a little puppy that was black and curly.
A little girl played in the room. She tried on makeup at her vanity and read a book on her four poster bed. The door opened and her mom walked in and sat next to her on her bed. She ran her hand through the girl’s curly brown hair. The mom removed the little girl’s tiara and placed it on the side table and wiped off her makeup with a wet towel. She tucked her in and kissed her forehead. She flipped off the light and walked out the door.
The memory came flooding into my mind before I could even think. The little girl was in the room I was in. The little girl was me. I don’t know how I knew, I just sensed it. I remembered that day; I didn’t remember what my mom had said, or anything else for that matter. I just remember putting on the makeup then sitting on the big four poster bed and reading. What book did I read? I searched my brain and came up with an answer. Beloved. Why I remembered that, I don’t know. Another thing I noticed was the door. I clearly remembered her exiting the door, but looking now, there wasn’t a door there anymore.
I kept looking around and found a glass case, smashed on the floor. There were a few remains of some porcelain dolls, but one was still in tact. I walked over and picked her up. I shook off the glass bits and examined her.
The little girl sat on her floor, brushing the porcelain dolls hair. She smoothed it down with her hand. The blond curls bounced back up with a shimmer. She picked up an olive green dress and slipped it on her. The dolls cheeks were rosy and the lips red, while the eyes were a dull grey.
This memory, like the last slipped into my mind. The dolls curls were a little distraught and the olive dress was crooked. I sat the doll with grey eyes back down and examined the rest of the room. There were chairs and a little tea table, the cups still in place. I looked one last time and found her way out. A door by the bed. I hurriedly walked over, and grasped the handle.
“Here we go.” I mumbled under my breath. With a twist and a push, the door opened to a…Closet. I sighed and flopped onto the bed. Looking over at the side table, something caught my eye. I replayed the memory of my mom and remembered the tiara she removed and placed on my table. I sat up warily and picked it up gingerly off the table. It was beautiful. The diamonds on it twinkled and the dull green emerald gems shone. I walked to the vanity and placed it on my head.
The girl stood on a little stage in front of her parents who were sitting on big red chairs. There was a large crowd gathered in front of them. I man stood next to her, holding a fancy olive colored pillow. On that pillow was a tiara. He spoke, and then placed the tiara on her head. The crowd cheered and the mother cried tears of joy. The dad was beaming in pride of his little daughter.
What could that mean? I didn’t know. I took off the tiara and looked into the vanity. My hair reached down to my waist and fell in curls. It was a dark brown. My eyes were a deep grey and my lips were plump and red. I was wearing basically rags. My shirt was a bad excuse for a shirt, with holes in it and dulled color. My pants were no better. I made a quick decision.
I stood again and walked into the closet. I doubted that there would be clothes that fit me. In the closet were lots of dresses and gowns. I shuffled through them. Finally I decided on one that looked like it would fit. It was green and poofy. I took off the clothes I had been wearing and pulled on the green gown. The sleeves fell over the shoulder and it hung perfectly on me. I walked out of the closet and into the room again.
“You’re Highness?” I jumped in surprise at the lady behind me. I turned cautiously around.
“W-who are you?” I asked. She curtsied low and then took a step towards me. I countered with a step back.
“It’s me ma’am, are you feeling all right? Perhaps I should call the doctor. He could help. I came up because I heard a crash, are you alright?” I just gawked at her. I pointed my finger at the fallen glass case. She gasped and hurried over.
“I-I'm so sorry ma’am! I know how precious these dolls were to you, we could always purchase other dolls, although they’ll never be as special as the ones from your father…” Her voice trailed off and she cast her gaze down as if she had said something wrong.
“I’ll get someone to clean it up.” She declared after a silence, and turned to leave.
“Wait!” I cried. She stopped short and spun around, her dull blue dress and apron twirling.
“Yes?” She asked calmly.
“I-I don’t exactly know how this is going to sound….But I was wondering, I don’t know who I am, or where I am, or what happened or who you are or…or… anything!” I blurted out. She looked genuinely worried.
“Oh!” She exclaimed. “You must’ve been hit when the doll case fell! I’ll go get the doctor.” She ran off and left me there crying. I sat there miserably as the doctor picked the glass out of my arm, stitched it up and wrapped some gauze around it. I rubbed it as he explained to me that I might’ve hit my head, and that it might have been how I lost my memory. I knew otherwise. I did hit my head, but I didn’t know anything before that either.
I paid close attention as to how they got out. There were two bookshelves; one was by the light switch, the other on the wall perpendicular to it. They would go up to it and pull one of the books and it would slide to the side, exposing an exit. It was very cleaver; I wondered who had thought of it. The lady grabbed hold of my hand and led me to the bed. She sat me down and explained,
“Ma’am, I don’t know how much you know, but it might take the whole day if I explained everything to you. So I’ll just tell you the basics. You are Princess Olivia Montreage, but you are known as Princess Olive to your people. I am your servant Madeline and have been for 14 years now, that’s how old you are. You are in your room in the castle, which is discretely hidden for reasons which would take a year to explain if you don’t remember. You are currently in charge of Zorinia, yet to become queen when you find your prince.
“Today is January 1, and there is to be a party soon. You will be sitting in your throne most of the time, I'm assuming, am I correct?”
“If it's a party why would I just sit there? Shouldn’t I go out and have fun?” She looked shocked. I felt pretty shocked too. The memory I had of when I got the crown must have been my coronation. I was a princess, in charge of what? A town? A city? A country? The world?
“Of course, you are allowed to walk around ma’am, but you usually don’t… You said ‘Parties depress me’ and never chose to do anything. If you are planning on moving, we better get you ready!” She whisked me off the bed and we walked to the door, I walked up to the bookcase and examined it. I knew exactly which book to pull. I grabbed hold of Beloved and tugged. It slid to the side and Madeline walked ahead of me. I followed and the door snapped shut.
We walked through the tunnel and then hit a dead end made of wood. She pulled a lever on the wall and the wall moved out of the way. We continued the walk down a regal hallway. There were portraits of many different people that I didn’t recognize. There were a few I thought I knew but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Then we passed one of a family.
Olive excitedly squirmed in her seat. She waited as her mom put on her earrings and crown. Finally she turned to Olive and swept the little girl up in her arms and spun her around. She placed her back on the ground and held her hand as they walked down to the drawing room. The artist and daddy were already there. They were talking gaily and their smiles grew as the girls walked in. They got seated on the small couch, the parents next to each other and Olive on their lap as the artist painted their portrait.
Olive looked again at the painting and noticed the smile on the little girls face. On her face. Her parents looked so happy; it was all an uplifting picture. They passed the little drawing room and the huge ball room, the kitchen and the dining room, and many closed doors. Finally they reached the fitting room.
Good job.
