Grace and her Grandmas

     Once Upon a time, in a teeny tiny deserted cottage in the forest, lived Grace Bree, a beautiful fifteen year old chid. She wore dresses her grandmas sewed for her out of curtains, and had curly brown hair which complemented her warm blue eyes. She lived with her three grandmothers, named Dray, Dillan, and Dally Bree. Whenever Grace would ask who were parents were, the three old grandmas just shrugged and said she appeared out of nowhere. It just so happened that grandma Dally, the youngest of the three sisters, heard someone crying, and saw a beautiful baby wrapped in blankets next to a tree. Since no one but them lived in the forest, it's a wonder why a baby would suddenly appear in this place. And so, they adopted the girl and named her Grace. Ever since then, Grace was known as "the daughter of nature itself", and she and her grandmas had the best of their lives living in the forest, gardening, exploring, and singing with the cutest of woodland creatures.

     In a palace far far away, where music was a distraction, and money meant everything, lived Queen Romaine JoBeth Blackwood. Rumors were that Queen Romaine herself killed her husband in a fight, while the Queen announced to the public that her husband King Andro Ilbert Blackwood II died due to fatigue, insomnia, and pneumonia, but not a soul believed her, because no one, not even the palace guards, saw the king's dead body.

     "Come on dear, go blow your birthday candles! It's not everyday you turn sixteen!" 

"Oh please Dillan, the girl hasn't even made a wish!" 

"Time to eat the cake! Wait, why are there sill unblown candles?" 

Giggling, Grace squeezed her eyes shut and let her heart's deepest desire do the talking. Just like on every birthday, she wished for the same thing again. Despite how many birthdays passed and the fact that it still hasn't come true, she never lost hope. I WISH, she told herself. I WISH . . . TO KNOW ABOUT MY PAST. Grace opened her eyes then blew her candles. 

"HAPPY SIXTEENTH BIRTH - " The three grandmas were about to sing, when a loud knock interrupted. 

"Who could that be?" whispered Grace silently. After the grandmas and Grace exchanged looks with one another, Grandma Dally approached the door and opened it. A beautiful tall figure with black hair put into complicated braids, icy black eyes, and a green dress with yellow high heels appeared in front of the doorstep. She bent a bit to level Grandma Dally. "Good Morning, Mrs. Bree!" said the woman, as a chill went tingling through Grandma Dally's spine. "May I come in?" After a few seconds, Grandma Dally managed to utter some words and said "Yes. Yes, yes of course." As if coming back to reality, Grandma Dally opened the door wider to let the woman come in and fixed up the house quickly and let the scary woman take a seat. 

      Grace, not being able to see any other one of her kind except for herself and her grandparents, ran inside the room with Grandma Dray and Dillan chasing after her. "Honey, come out and say hello" said Grandma Dray. 

"There's a human inside our house! A human! A new one!" said Grace. "Of course there are! We aren't as isolated as it seems you know, Grace" said Grandma Dillan.  Grace sat quietly on her bed, letting five dead minutes pass by. "C'mon now dear, can't stay here forever." Grandma Dillan took her hand and assisted her to the door, only to be surprised by a weeping Grandma Dally in front of them. Grandma Dally took Grace's hand quickly and let her sit on the table, facing the woman. Grace looked curiously at the woman and immediately felt insecure. Her smile reached up until her eyes, as if she was forcing to show all the teeth she had. Her eyes were beautiful, but were filled with makeup and showed no tear or kindness. 

"Ah, there she is! Princess Christen Chasity Blackwood !" Queen Romaine stood up and shook hands with Grace. Her hands were icy cool and super bony.

"Er, who are you, miss?" asked Grace with a tingling sensation in her voice, like this was the first thing she'd said in all her life. 

"Haven't you're ugly grandmas told you about me?" She asked as she took a quick glance at the weeping whispering grandmas in the corner.

"I, am Queen Romaine JoBeth Blackwood of Ehuba! And I am here to claim you, my daughter." 

Grace gasped and focused on her. Daughter. Daughter she said. She had a mother. She had a real family. She wasn't a nobody. She had a mother. It was all just in front of her. Her wish had come true. THIS was her past. THIS was her ONE long life wish. She opened her arms and let them find their way around her mother.

"Mother! I love you!" she said. Grace didn't care if she had lots of questions. That could wait. She didn't care if she was to die today. She didn't care about anything, except for her mother. Queen Romaine's brows and nose knitted.

"Yes, yes, me too. Now off we shall go! We've only got a month before the big day." Queen Romaine seized Grace's hands quickly and dragged her outside, not letting her see her grandmas again. But Grace was okay with that, because now she had her mother. And that was all that mattered.

     Outside, a carriage and millions of guards waited, who bowed at each step Grace and Queen Romaine made. Queen Romaine rode in the large golden carriage, and let Grace ride in a tiny wheelbarrow waiting behind. "Wait, I want to ride with you." pleaded Grace. But her mother shut the door behind her and guards put her in the barrow. After hours of seeing nothing but trees and creatures, darkness had sunk in, and Grace was inside a palace. Her mother was a queen! She was a princess! She had the world with her. 

     

     During dinner time, Grace was dressed in a puffy pink dress and her hair tied into a bun with braids, and had a humongous tiara. Her feet were aching and she's slipped again and again because of the heels. A servant grabbed her by the shoulders and let her sit on the chair. The table was as long as a snake and the food never ran out! A servant would put another dish after another by the second! But before eating, Grace noticed that no one but she and her mom were eating. And her mom was a hundred chairs away!  After a few servants went in to fix some stuff, Grace ran to the chair next to her mom's and took a seat. "Mom, I have lots of questions!" said Grace excitedly.

"Where's my dad?" was Grace's first question.

"Died because of Insomia, Pnemounia, and Fatigue" said Queen Romaine smiling. Grace didn't feel too sad though. She had a mom, and that meant the world to her.

"Am I really your daughter?"

"Yes." 

"Do I have any siblings?"

"No." 

"When is my birthday?" 

"Sometime in fall, I think." 

"How did you know that I was your daughter?"

"Because I know, silly!" 

"You mean, you knew that your daughter lived in a cottage?"

"Yes, of course! I put you there."

Grace thought that this was coming out bad, but she knew her mother wouldn't leave her alone throughout the years without a good reason.

"Why?"

"Well, why wouldn't I? Daughters can be a pain in the neck, especially if they've got no use. And because I still had mercy, I put you in that forest, since I knew those old monkeys were so blind that they would do anything just to be kind and help others." She said this in a disgusted and What's-wrong-with-that? tone.

"You mean that you knew Grandma, Dray, Dillan, and Dally needed me, so you let them take me in?" 

"If you put it that way." 

"But you just did that to help them, didn't you? You did love me, and you knew that I'd have a better life with them, right? You love me, don't you?"

"Well, because you're asking me, I know that no one would have a good life with those old hags. They live in an isolated forest for heaven's sake! But a queen knows all of her subjects, far or near. And for the love thing, I don't know what that means."

"Then if you knew I wouldn't have a good life with them, why did you let them take me?"

"BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO USE AND ARE A PAIN IN THE NECK!" shouted Queen Romaine. She'd had enough. But Grace had to know. She needed to know more. With weeping eyes, she dared to ask another question.

"I know you don't love me." she started. "I know I'm a pain in the neck, and I have no use to you. But why take me now?"

Sighing, Queen Romaine replied.

"There's going to be a contest next week, which will be featuring Royal Princesses. All the princesses along with the kings and queens from different kingdoms will be arriving, and Ehuba will not loose. I've even got to find a new husband. We needed royalty, I remembered you, and got you from the old monkey hags. If anyone in this kingdom ever speaks that I just got you today, I will kill them one by one with no mercy. I'll be returning you to the cottage after the contest. Good Night." Queen Romaine got up and started walking up the stairs to her room.

Grace realized something. This was not a mother. A mother was someone who you could tell everything to. Someone who loved you for you, despite your flaws and differences.

"You aren't my mother" said Grace.

"Excuse Me?" 

"I am not a princess. My name is Grace Bree. A mother loves her child. She will do anything to protect her. She accepts her for who her child is. I'm going back to my grandmas right now wether you like it or not. Because no amount of flesh and blood will ever level how much my grandmas love me, if you're treating me as nothing until now. I don't care if you're guards kill me. I don't care if you say no. I don't care if I might die in the darknees outside. My grandmas are my real family. And I love them."