The Eldest Princess

Once upon a time, in a town on an island called Mawr somewhere in the Atlantic, a girl was born to two strong-headed parents. The mother, a beautiful woman with lots of potential, fought to keep her pride, while the father, king of the island, a proud, strong and critical man, fought to keep her down. And he broke her.

The daughter was born in hard times, the queen still fighting the losing battle of dominance, and there was a lot tension throughout the child's first one and a half years of life. It scarred her mentally.

Then, a second daughter was born. By then, the mother had somewhat succumbed to her husband, and the second daughter was taken care of and, though there was still tension, it didn't affect the second child as much.

Two more daughters were born, and by the time the last one popped out, the mother was broken completely. She was nothing more than a servant. Her hands, once pretty piano hands, were worn with work, her back slightly bent from labor, and all she could think about was pleasing her husband. Her pride had gone into her children, and she did well in taking care of them while trying to please her husband at the same time.

The king of the town was strong and respectful, wise and kind, compassionate and understanding, and the people loved him. He was personal with his subjects, and they loved and respected him for that.

In the first twelve years of the eldest princess, she was told to be the best, to try hard, to work hard, and she tried. But as she and her father, the king, drew farther and farther apart, becoming less personal with each other, she began to feel loathing for herself. Couldn't she be good enough to have the attention and compassion he gave his subjects?

She revered him as a king, thought he was fantastic and was proud he was her father, but, when it came to the household, she kept away from him and tried to avoid him. They hardly ever spoke anymore. She saw her mother, old and worked, and she became bitter. She could hardly tolerate her father ordering his wife around as if she was a common servant. The daughter began to wither and became unhappy, distraught, reserved, and restless. She longed to break away

The second daughter grew to be a beautiful young girl, strong, content, intelligent, and athletic. She excelled in sports and her father loved her for it. He paid money to make her become better, sent her to the best schools in the town to strengthen her, but the second girl, too, wanted to escape and to do what she wanted. Because her father loved her, he allowed her to go and gave her her own ship to travel the world.

The third daughter also grew to be a beautiful young girl, strong, happy, very intelligent, athletic, and wise. She was very wise in her ways and intelligent as well as kind, and her father loved her for it. He sent her to the best schools, paid money for extra tutors and allowed her to make time for sports as well. She was athletic and smart, and the king pronounced her as the next heir to the throne. She was capable enough.

The last daughter grew to be a beautiful girl as her other two sisters, and she was intelligent, though flighty and restless. But she, being the youngest, her father the king loved the most, and he took care of her and she was happy. She lived with her parents for years, and she was happy. She had everything she wanted, and she lived a good life as a princess.

The eldest daughter, now, saw her younger sisters and grew hurt. She watched as the second daughter received his love and attention, as she excelled in sports, and she tried to be the same. But though she could play, she was ignored. Her skills weren't good enough, and so she quit. She saw her sister off on the ship, and she wished desperately to go with her. She wanted to travel.

She watched as the third daughter excelled in academics and sports, and the eldest tried to copy her. She tried to study well, but her hurt was overpowering her, and though she tried to impress her father the king with her marks, she was overshadowed by her sister's excellent marks. So she gave up and failed everything else. Only then did she get attention from her father, but not the attention she wanted.

She watched as the fourth daughter was adored by their father the king, and she watched her sister get all she wanted, become spoiled but happy, and she watched as their father praised her and encouraged her. The eldest became even more hurt.

The eldest daughter of the king of the prosperous island of Mawr was nothing, and so she was ignored by her father. She had no achievements, and so, seeing this, she wanted to travel. She ached to feel the salty wind on her face, not the kind that came in the form of tears (she tired of those), and wanted to see the world. She yearned for the knowledge of what was in other countries, and she wanted to see it for herself. She was tired of reading about it and hearing about it from other people. She wanted experience.

The king, however, had other plans for his disappointing daughter. After conversing with his advisors, he decided to marry her off, at the young age of twenty, to the prince of a neighboring island called Anobaith. The wife, brainwashed, agreed that it was for the best. Their daughter had no skills, was good at nothing, so the best thing was to marry her off. The princess, feeling used and trapped, was in despair as she was carted off to await the next voyage to Anobaith. The only adventure she was to ever have was in marrying a man that was the same as her father. Her future was, because of missed opportunities, no skills, and her bitterness, bleak.