Please ignore the typos! My grammarly is not working on my laptop! :(((

"Agatha, you worry too much" the king complained, taking his wife's hand into his. The king and queen had just ended the banquet, sending everyone off with well wishes and small keepsakes, praying they would push the display their daughter delivered far away from their minds.

"Worry! Wouldn't you be worried too Rowand! Did you not just witness what happened! She scared off all her suitors" the queen lamented.

"Just a minor inconvenience."

"A minor inconvenience?!!" the queen's voice raised, "Rowand! Did you see how violently she smashed her violin! She left a trail of blood on the floor!"

"You don't think the preparation and pressure leading up to ball led to that? You were putting so much stress on her so she probably just... snapped." the king shrugged, lifting the blankets to commence his slumber.

"No! It was not the pressure of her snapping. Something about her...is ....different." the queen reflected, thinking back to all her daughter had done in the past.

"She is no different than her Ella and Elaine. She is the perfect little princess." the king shrugged, "the doctor is coming in the morning to assess her wounds. She will be fine"

"But you remember when she was 4 in the forest?"

"So what? I kill for sport and slice open game? She did it for a purpose. You told her to never loose her ball and she got it back"

"She poisoned her sister. I knew it was her who put those nuts in her Elaine's soup"

"That was never proven Agatha and she wasn't poisoned, it was a minor allergic reaction" the king said, defending his youngest daughter.

"What about when she was 10? Remember she tried to cut my hair off? So when I refused, she cut off the heads of every doll she had? I find her smiling to herself, humming and whispering."

"ENOUGH Agatha!" the king shouted, making his wife jump back in fear. "You are painting your insecurities onto her. She is perfect and because of this, you are trying to find a flaw even if it is over-exaggerating her simple actions. Wasn't it you who held her in your arms? Whispering how perfect she was and promising to love her no matter what?" the king reminded his wife.

Queen Agatha pouted as she heard her husband's wise words and nodded. "I suppose you are right Rowand" she whispered but Queen Agatha only said this to silence her husband.

She thought of her christening and the moment that strange witch came and gifted her daughter that golden ball. She said keeping that ball on Anai was the only curse she had bestowed but maybe...there was more to it?

____

The next morning Queen Agatha ventured to her daughters room, timidly entering into the room to witness the atmosphere. She saw her daughter sitting on the floor, turning the pages of a picture book she had unearthed from some distant chest. On her hands were thick white bandages, hiding the scars from last night.

The doctor sat at a distant chair in the corner of the room, writing a couple of notes in his journal. The queen hurried over to him and he quickly rose, bowing to greet the queen.

"How is she?" Queen Agatha whispered.

"She is fine. Much better than last night."

"Any idea why she...? Her outburst was very unusual"

"A Stress induced upheaval. It seems as if the weight of the banquet and all it wntailed finally reached her headspace."

"Weight? She barely had any weight. I had the dresses sown for her, cloths imported from far away lands."

"She was very malnourished as well. She could barely stand without some aide.

"I only put her on a simple, minor restrictive diet. That is all"

The doctor pushed his spectacles down, looking up to observe the queen. Even he knew she sounded insane.

"I will come to redress the wounds in three days time. Until then, let her rest and feed her well. Whole foods, fruits, berries and such then make sure to give her warm tea at night"

"Yes doctor" the Queen said, already dismissing his advice. She would build her own diet plan for her perfect daughter. No one knew her better than her own mother.

The doctor packed his things and walked over to the princess as she turned another page of the book. "Goodbye princess Anai, feel better my child"

"You may not tell me what to do stranger!" she frowned, turning back to read her books. He chuckled, thinking she was joking and left.

Queen Agatha stood at a distance, watching her daughter as she crouched against the wall. "Anai" the queen said but the princess still continued reading her picture book, making a commitment to ignore her mother.

"Anai!" Queen Agatha snapped again and this time the princess tilted her head. "What"

"Show me your pouch."

The princess stood and took her pouch from her wrist, throwing it onto the floor. "All you care about is that silly ball! That is the first thing you ask about instead of my well being" she fumed.

"How are you daughter?" Queen Agatha sighed, quickly unclasping the cotton pouch.

"Miserable and hungry" the princess grumbled.

"Awww...bless your heart" the queen taunted her, patting her cheek to show her love. Anai pushed her hand off and went to sit on her bed.

"You care more about that ball than your own daughter!"

"May God strike you down for your lies!" the queen gasped, untying the end of the pouch.

"And may you get struck by lighting" Anai smirked, giggling at her mother's emotions. Queen Agatha ignored her daughter and finally opened the pouch, fuming once she saw what was inside.

It was a small pile of dirt and leaves?

"Where is it?" Agatha fumed.

"Where is what mother?" princess Anai frowned, pretending to appear as shocked at her.

"The ball! The golden ball!"

"Hmmmm." Anai pondered tapping her chin to think, "I don't think I have ever seen a golden ball. As a matter of fact, I don't believe I know what a ball truly is?"

Queen Agatha grabbed her daughter's jaw and looked into her eyes. "Tell me where it is you reckless little princess" Queen Agatha whispered.

"What if I say I lost it mother? What would you do then?" princess Anai grinned, titlting her head to the side. 

"You liar! Where is it! Tell me!" Queen Agatha yelled.

"Why!"

"Why what, daughter?" the queen retorted.

"Why do you care so much about that ball!"

"That is none of your concern" the queen snapped, releasing her daughter's jaw.

"It is my concern! I am the one who has to carry it around! I have been carrying it around since I was 3. You wouldn't tell me then and you don't tell me now. I am 16 mother! I am old enough to know!" Anai shouted, trailing behind her frantic mother.

"No...no. You must not...cannot know" Queen Agatha muttered, shaking her head whilst frantically looking for the ball. Princess Anai walked to her mother, pulling her wrist she could face her.

"You will tell me mother, I demand it!" Anai yelled, letting her voice echo against the room.

Queen Agatha looked down at her daughter's grip around her wrist and dropped her head. "YOU WILL DIE OKAY! YOU WILL DIE!!!"

Anai stepped away from her mother, shocked by her words and stumbled back into her bed, covering her body with her blankets. "I cannot belive this" Anai grumbled, thoughtfully beginning to cry. Queen Agatha felt pity on her daughter as she cried, crouching down to hug her trembling frame.

"Anai, don't cry.." the queen grumbled, pushing her daughters hair off her face, "You are too pretty to cry"

"Mother...you mean to tell me, that I could have been DEAD all this time and you didn't tell me?"

"What?" Queen Agatha gasped, taken back by the words coming out of her daughter's mouth. "Anai... you don't mean that?"

"I want to leave this place! This earth! I am tired of it all! You, this stuffy palace, not being able to eat!"

Queen Agatha looked down in shock studying her daughter to see if her words were true. "Anai...you cannot be serious?"

"I am! I hate it here!" Anai spat, pushing her mother away.

"What is wrong with you??? You are breaking my heart!!! And my sanity! Stop it"

Princess Anai ran to her mother and pulled her into her arms, forcing her to look into her eyes. "I hear voices mother! They are voices that.... tell me what to do. What to wear..what to like and dislike."

Queen Agatha stood there aghast as she heard her daughter's crazed confession but still listened.

"They speak to me and guide me and sometimes I like what they say... but sometimes I hate it. I want them to go away but pray they never leave because... I will miss them."

"And these...voices" Queen Agatha whispered, "how long have they been present?"

"Since all my life. In the forest when I killed the frog and when I kissed Elaine's suitor... I was the one who put peanuts in her soup. I was the one who tried to kill her."

"Anai" Queen Agatha whispered.

"I didn't want to mother!" she smiled, chuckling with pride, "but the voices... they told me to"

"Stop it! Stop it! You sound crazy! You are not crazy! This is not real! You making it all up!!" The Queen shouted.

"It is true mother! I hear them!"

"Shut up!
Shut up! Anai! Where is that cursed ball!!!" the queen yells, crouching low in search. She knew that ball had something to do with her daughter's outburst.

Ella and Elaine run in, alerted by the commotion in the room. "What is going on?" Ella yawned.

"Did Ella cut open her legs this time?" Elaine teased. Both girls giggled before staring into the room.

"Mother will you just listen? You never listen! To me, to father, to anyone!"

"What more is there to listen to? You are not crazy! I refuse to accept it! I will not be the mother of a tainted princess" the queen yelled, wiping her hands clean.

"Mother I would listen to her! We always told you she was a freak!" Elaine spat, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Hush!" The queen roared turning to the twins. She did not need to hear any more of their conversation. The queen turned back to face Anai, carefully walking over to where she stood. "Now Anai, tell yourself dear mother where you have hidden the ball."

Princess Anai looked to her fingers then smiled. "You want the ball?" she asked, running over to fish it from beneath her bed. She pulled it from a small box and showed it off to her mother.

"Then go fetch it!" Anai yelled before throwing it out the window!

"Noooooooooo!!!!" Queen Agatha screamed, frantically pushing herself out the window. Thé border of the opening stopped her before she could fall out.

"Mother!" Ella and Elaine gasped, pulling her from her certain doom.

Anai smiled, relishing in her mother's worried gaze.

And Queen Agatha lost it! She pushed her daughters off her frame and walked over to Anai.

SLAP!

Anai held her cheek in pain as her mother's blow connected to her skin.

The two women stood there, glaring at each other in hatred.

"I HATE YOU!" Anai screamed, pushing past her two sisters and running out the room and to the stables. She needed to leave the palace once and for all!

She could take it no more!

"Anai! Anai! Come back here!" Queen Agatha yelled but she would not listen.

Don't turn back.

Author Note:
Shout out to whoever can figure out what the plot of this story is gonna be. Can anyone guess so far?

Also, anyone got any face claims for me? (Age 25-40s 👀)
I was gonna find an Asian model but I'm not really into Asian men.