Mellifluous(BSP)

There was a prince looking for a real princess to marry. One day, a girl appeared near the prince's tree. They had a conversation and the girl disappeared. The prince's mother scolded him for sleeping outside and reminded him of their plan to choose a girl they can manipulate. The prince kissed his twin sister's grave and reflected on seeing his own name on the headstone. The Princess and the Prince by Nicky Nicholson Kingdom. Once upon a time there was a prince who wanted to marry a princess, but she would have to be a real princess. There were princesses enough, but it was very difficult to find out whether or not they were real ones. The World Princess by Hans Christian Andersen. Three dawn fog rolls in from the spiky ridges of dragon's back mouth, wiping out the last of the stars. I know I am dreaming because the glitter is like a million fairies trapped inside. From beneath the belly of the fog feet settle on the ripples of the water and stand like a solid ground. My heart beats unnaturally fast. I wait to see more, but the fog drowns me and my tree. I jerk awake nearly falling out of the tree and instinctively looped an arm through the branch as if it were my twin's arm. There was no fog, only damp clothes and dappled sunlight. I yawned and stretched my stiff limbs preparing to jump down and stopping just in time to keep from jumping on the head of the girl standing beneath me. She wrung out her curls like she was dripping river water all over my twin's grave. As she flipped back her hair and began winging out her shirt, I dropped my perch directly in front of her, just missing the beamy puddle next to her. The girl didn't even flinch, just eyed me. I folded my arms. What do you think you're doing here? Drying off. She took her soft pimp jacket to give me an extra good twist. The damp sunflowers dotting her shirt clung to her even more. You're flinging water onto my twin's grave. An unfortunate consequence, drying off. Besides, the dead don't mind. A laugh rang through my mind. I stood my ground. You're still trespassing. Trespassing? She looked up at the branches above her. This tree invited me here. I blinked at her. Say what now? Your tree invited me here. Uh, wait, what? The girl peered up at the highest branches, hands on her hip. Trees do tend to speak in unusual ways. Do they? Why did you bury your twin under an oak tree? Oak trees are good for climbing. The word slipped out. She smiled. Are they? I shook out her halo curls a bit more. Cal, where are you? Cal? Cal? Mother's melodic tones cracked through the palace garden. Relax, I'm talking to an intruder. Intruder, what is your name? But the girl was already gone. Cal? Mother trotted towards me, mud smudging the hem of her burgundy dashiki as she didn't quite miss the puddle. Did you say intruder? I stirred the tree, confused. Yeah, but she vanished. She halted beside me, fanning herself. Vanished? Is this one of your tricks? What? No, I mean, I don't think so. I might have dreamt her. Dreamt her? Cal? She stopped panting long enough to interrogate me. Did you sleep in this tree last night? I, well, yeah. How did you know where I was anyway? She didn't even bother to hide the traitor. Ayako did me a favor. Oh, how thoughtful of him. As I imagined a multitude of ways to repay Ayako for his kindness, her hand swept dirt and bark from my back. It's barely spring. You could catch your death out here. How could you be so irresponsible? Her? Do you want to leave Emperor without a ruler? Do you want to leave me childless? What about the people? Mother, I came out here to ease my anxiety, and I didn't mean to fall asleep. It just happened. Nor does it barely spring. There hasn't been a frost for weeks. Calm down. Don't tell your mother to calm down, and don't be so curt. I dug in my heels. I'm not trying to be rude. I'm anxious. She shook out the hem of her dashiki, hoping to free it of mud splatters. Don't be so dramatic. We have a plan. We will choose a girl we can persuade. We manipulate? That was our plan last year. And a girl died. She winced, but waved a hand. Last year's choosing was cut short because that girl was a spy. Unrelated. Now, let's get back. We don't have time for this. I don't know why I'm here. I'm talking to my other half. This is not the day for a visit. This is the perfect day for a visit. You visited all night. Now, let's go. Wait. I need to kiss Tao goodbye. I walked over to the ornate headstone. I had insisted that the mason carve a crescent moon and shooting stars onto the stone slab. Underneath it read, Calista, daughter of King Caden and Queen Sio, beloved princess of Everence, Peace Era 693-705. I kissed my fingertips, then pressed them to the word beloved, the only true word on the headstone. Even after all these years, it was strange to see my name staring back at me.