“Mother, how can you not believe in finding your one true love? Love is the only thing that keeps the world at peace.” Liz asked her mom one day, while trying to get her parents to listen to her.

“Elizabeth. I was brought up on believing in having a father set up marriages. I don’t care if you don’t “love” the prince, you must marry him. Marrying into his family will help our family survive. You will learn to love him.”

“But can you see mother? I could never LEARN to love him. That is not what love is about.”

“’Elizabeth!! Stop arguing with me, because there is nothing I can do. Now leave me.” Liz’s mom said, before dismissing her.

The young princess rushed to her room before any of her tears fell. She got halfway before giving up to crying. Collapsing on the hard stone floor of the castle, Liz’s body gave in to the hard sobs washing throughout her.

“Princess! Princess Elizabeth!?! Are you ill? What is wrong?” One of the family’s many servants asked.

“Nothing! Now, please leave me alone!” Liz screamed at all the people hounding her. It was always like this, she was never alone, was never just by herself to think things out. Somebody was always with her. Why anybody would want to live kind of life was beyond her. She had always wanted to go out and see how the peasants lived. Life was probably quite simple.

“Somebody, go get Maria and Alexander and tell them to meet me in my chambers! But only them, I don’t want any servants in with them. Tell them I’ll be there soon!” Liz shouted her orders to anybody who would listen.

“But, Princess, they aren’t allowed in the castle! They are but peasants, people you should not associate with. Your parents have made that forbidden!” One brave servant spoke out.

“I don’t care! Get them now! Or I will have you punished for going against my orders! NOW!”

Several of the servants ran off the find the two people. Liz’s maid came over to help her clean herself off and get to her chambers to meet Maria and Alexander.

“ Come, Miss Elizabeth, if you wish to be presentable for your friends we must go.” Isabel said gently and offered her hand to the unhappy young princess. When Liz looked up and reached for Isabella’s had, she smiled. Her first smile in a long time. Liz and Isabel walked to her room, washed her face, fixed her make-up and changed her dress into something more suitable. A few minutes later Maria and Alexander walked through her door. Liz rushed over to them and nearly threw herself into their arms. Isabel looked surprised at the princess, who was never really open with anybody except her only two friends. She was glad that the beautiful princess had somebody to help her through all her hard times, which were often and many. Liz turned to Isabel.

“Thank you, kindly, for helping me, Isabel. You are dismissed.”

Isabel nodded, curstied and then left. Liz turned back to her two friends. She had known them since, forever. Her mother didn’t really care to show any interest in her daughter, so she hired a nanny to watch over her always. The nanny was given permission to bring her two children to the castle while taking care of Liz. That is how the three of them became friends. Liz had lover her nanny very much, she was her true mother, and was upset when her nanny had to leave. Liz visited her nanny, Alexander and Maria, who she considered her own siblings, every day until her “parents” had found out where she was going and ordered her to stop.

“Lizzie, what’s the matter? Are you alright?” Alexander, or Alex as Liz called him, asked. Him and Maria were worried when they heard Liz wanted to see them.

“Oh, Alex, it’s awful! My parents have set me up for an arranged marriage to some prince in another country! I’ve tried to get them to unto it, to let me marry someone I love but they won’t agree! What am I going to do? The only reason they set up this marriage is because the other family is wealthy and will help our family become more wealthy!”