Early Princess Gets the Unicorn
Bright sunlight filled Bella’s room. She blinked slowly and yawned, stretching in her bed. I love Saturdays, she thought. And Violet’s asleep just down the hall! That made Saturday even better.
On the wall at the end of Bella’s bed, a handful of sparkly silver letters read HAPPY WEEKEND! They were Blinkers, and using her voice, Bella was able to change their color and message anytime she wanted. The Blinkers knew her so well that they had already preprogrammed their “Happy Weekend” message to appear every Saturday.
Yesterday Bella had helped Violet unpack and settle into her guest room. One of the maids hung all of Violet’s clothes in the closet. The girls picked out a pair of Bella’s riding boots for Violet so her toes would be safe from unicorn hooves.
They’d ended up sitting cross-legged across from each other, talking and swapping stories until Queen Katherine called them for dinner. Bella had asked Violet if she wanted to talk about the Pairing Ceremony, but Violet was too sleepy. She said she wanted to be super awake when she heard the story. Bella’s mom wanted to end the night with the family all together, so she and King Phillip had watched a movie with Bella and Violet until bedtime.
After such a full day, and with all of the excitement with Violet’s arrival, Bella had fallen asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Bella rolled over onto her side and checked the time on her pink alarm clock. It was barely after eight. Violet has to be tired from traveling, Bella thought. I want to wake her up to hang out with me, but that would be mean. I can wait a little longer.
Bella sat up, stretching her arms. She slid out from under her covers and plucked a cozy cotton robe off her closet door. The princess went to her favorite spot in the entire castle—her window seat.
She watched the flowers wake up—yawning and stretching like the princess had done moments earlier. Unicorns nibbled at the grass in pastures surrounding the castle. A handful of people whose faces Bella couldn’t make out unloaded wood from a large van. Bella followed the workers with her eyes and realized what they were building: a stage. What would a stage—?
“Oh!” Bella said. She put her nose against the windowpane. The stage was for Friday’s party! Queen Katherine had mentioned to her last week that workers would be making an outdoor dance floor. Bella had been excited at the time but forgot about it as her cousin’s visit got closer and closer.
I didn’t even get to explain the class party to Violet last night, Bella thought. Both princesses had gone straight to bed after the movie. King Phillip almost had to carry sleepy Violet up the stairs.
Bella couldn’t wait another second. Violet had to see this! The princess hopped off her window seat and sprinted across her room. She lifted a foot, and one of her slippers—purple with pink sequins—lifted off the floor and glided onto her foot. Bella opened her bedroom door and hurried down the hallway. She eased open the door to the guest room.
The large four-poster bed was empty. The bed had been made up with a daisy-patterned quilt, and the blinds were open.
“Violet?” Bella called out, walking into the bedroom. The bathroom door on the right side of the room was open, and no one was inside.
Bella left the guest room and headed down the hallway. She hurried down a black-and-white marble spiral staircase and heard her mom’s laugh coming from the kitchen. Bella pushed open the white double doors, and Queen Katherine, sipping something steaming from a mug, smiled when she saw her daughter. Thomas, the chef at Crystal Castle, stood across the kitchen island from the queen and had a pen in hand.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” Queen Katherine said.
“Hi, Mom,” Bella said. “Good morning, Thomas.”
The black-haired chef tipped his head. “Princess Bella.”
“Honey,” Queen Katherine said, “Thomas and I are putting together a menu for Friday’s party. Do you want to help us with food and drink ideas?”
“Yay! That’s exciting!” Bella said. “I’d love to help. But where’s Violet? Her room is empty.”
The queen put down her mug and waved a hand at a glass pitcher of OJ. The pitcher rose into the air, tipped, and poured orange juice into a short glass. Bella’s mom handed it to Bella.
“Violet was up a couple of hours ago,” Queen Katherine said. “Thomas made her a lovely breakfast, and we talked for a while.”
“Oh, okay,” Bella said. She took a gulp of OJ. “Where’s Violet now? I have to find her and show her the view from my window. The platform for the party looks so amazing.”
Queen Katherine smiled. “I’m glad you think so. Violet headed down to the stables about an hour ago. She talked about Glimmer so much, Bella. You must be so excited that Violet and your unicorn get along so well.”
Bella smiled, nodding. But something felt wrong.
“I wonder why Violet didn’t wake me up,” Bella asked.
“I’m sure she didn’t want to disturb you so early in the morning,” her mom said. “Have some breakfast, then change and go join her.”
“I’m not that hungry,” Bella said. “I’ll eat a little later.”
Before Queen Katherine could question why Bella was skipping breakfast—something she never did—Bella walked out of the kitchen and slowly climbed the stairs.
Violet and I have always woken the other person up if we were having a sleepover, Bella thought. We never wanted to waste any time we could be spending together.
Once she got to her room, the princess closed her door. She opened her closet door, flipped on the chandelier, and walked inside.
A nagging feeling in her stomach wouldn’t go away. Why hadn’t Violet asked her if they could go see Glimmer? Did Violet like Glimmer more than Bella? That would explain why she hadn’t woken up Bella and why she’d gotten up so early.
Stop being silly, Bella told herself. Violet probably wants to be around a newly matched unicorn, since she’s having her own ceremony soon.
Still feeling a little grumpy, Bella changed out of her pj’s and into a sky-blue T-shirt with a sequin pocket, black leggings, and riding boots.
She sat down on her bed and dialed Clara’s and Ivy’s phone numbers on the castle phone in her room. “Leave message,” Bella said aloud.
A small, square silver frame appeared in the air. It floated until it found the perfect spot in front of Bella. A red light started flashing—it was time to record a message.
“Hi!” Bella said. “I wanted to see if you guys wanted to come over and meet Violet and hang out. One of our carriages can pick up both of you whenever you’re ready. I’m heading down to the stable, so I’ll take my Chat Crystal. Clara, send a pink signal for ‘yes’ and when you’re on your way. Use red for ‘no.’ Ivy, message me with purple if you can come and blue if you can’t. Bye!”
The square folded and disappeared into the air. Bella hopped off her bed, shook out her arms, and rolled her shoulders, trying to shake off her weird mood. She pocketed her Chat Crystal and left the castle.
The sun warmed Bella as she headed to the stable. The closer she got, the worse she felt about how she had reacted to Violet being at the stable. When the princess walked through the stable entrance, she was smiling as she headed for Glimmer’s stall.
“Good morning, Princess Bella,” Frederick said. The stable manager was fixing a gold nameplate on one of the stall doors.
“Morning,” Bella said. “I hope Glimmer was a good girl last night.” She stopped near a stall door and peeked inside at one of the royal unicorns.
“Perfect as always,” Frederick said.
That made Bella grin.
“But if you’re looking for her,” Frederick said, “she’s not in her stall. Ben took her out for a walk with Princess Violet.”
That feeling came back deep in Bella’s stomach.
“Oh,” she said. “Um, okay. I’ll go find them. Thank you.”
She turned around and walked out of the stable. Bella walked over to the dark-brown fence that made up the riding arena. She climbed the fence and sat on the top board. Glimmer, Violet, and Ben were nowhere in sight.
I’ve never cared if Ben took Glimmer out of her stall, Bella thought. I wouldn’t even mind if he rode Glimmer, even though he’s not allowed because she’s matched to me.
Bella didn’t know why, but she was annoyed that Glimmer wasn’t in her stall. It kind of felt like Violet had taken something of Bella’s without asking first. Bella sighed. She knew she was being silly, but she couldn’t stop how she felt. She wasn’t mad at Ben, but she was irritated with Violet. The walk was probably Violet’s idea, Bella thought. She put Ben on the spot. He probably felt like he couldn’t say no to a princess.
Bella’s shirt pocket vibrated. She reached inside and pulled out her Chat Crystal. It flashed two colors: pink and purple.
The princess let out a tiny sigh of relief. Ivy and Clara were coming. Having her friends around would get Bella out of her bad mood.
Just relax for a minute, she thought. It’s not like Violet took Glimmer out alone. That would be a reason to get mad.
Bella tipped her face toward the cloudless sky of Crystal Kingdom. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in through her nose and a slow exhale out through her mouth. It was something her mom did to relax, and she had shown Bella. The princess took a couple of deep breaths and listened to the tweeting birds, chattering squirrels, and occasional neighs from unicorns talking to each other.
“It’s just so crazy that you’re from Foris! We have lots to talk about.”
Bella opened her eyes at the sound of Violet’s voice. Her cousin, Ben, and Glimmer headed her way. Ben waved with his free hand—the other held a rainbow rope attached to Glimmer.
“Good morning, Bells!” Violet said. She climbed the fence boards and sat next to Bella.
“You got up really, really early,” Bella said. “I went to look for you, and my mom said you had left way before I came downstairs.” She gently elbowed her cousin. “Why didn’t you wake me?”
“Yeah, Vi,” Ben said.
Vi? Bella thought. It had always been Bella’s nickname for her cousin.
“I didn’t want to wake you,” Violet explained. “I peeked into your room before I went to breakfast. You were snoring so loud—it sounded like you really needed sleep!”
Ben grinned, looking from Violet to Bella.
Bella felt herself blush. She looked down and stuck out her hands to rub Glimmer’s nose. The unicorn walked right up to Bella and thrust her nose into the princess’s hands.
“Aww,” Violet said, scooting closer to Bella. “You’re blushing. I didn’t mean to embarrass you! You snore supercute!”
Bella nodded. “I know!” she finally said with a smile. It was no big deal. Violet didn’t have an ounce of meanness in her. She wasn’t making fun—right?
Glimmer moved her head out of Bella’s hands and craned her neck toward Violet. The unicorn nudged Violet’s arm. She squealed, hopped off the fence, and threw her arms around Glimmer.
“You’re the cutest! Lucky you, Glimmer. You’ve got the best match in all of the kingdoms.”
Bella smiled at the compliment.
“I hope it’s okay that I asked Ben if we could take Glimmer for a walk,” Violet said.
“Oh, um . . .” Bella stumbled over her words. “Of course.”
Violet looked up at her cousin. “Are you okay? Is that a problem?”
Bella shifted her eyes from Violet to Ben to Glimmer, then smiled. “Of course not! I’m really happy that Glimmer likes you so much.”
The second part of that is true, Bella thought. But the first kind of isn’t.
“Once Ivy and Clara get here,” she said, “do you want to talk about the Pairing Ceremony?”
“Um . . .” Violet’s eyes were on the driveway. She hesitated, then looked at Bella. “Maybe later, if that’s cool? I’d really just love to hang out with you and your friends.”
“Okay, sure,” Bella said.
Suddenly a carriage appeared at the driveway of the stable. The doors opened, and Ivy and Clara climbed out. They stopped, looking in different directions for Bella. The princess wanted to shout at them, but she didn’t want to scare Glimmer. Ivy spotted Ben, Violet, Glimmer, and Bella, and tapped Clara’s shoulder. Both girls waved and hurried toward Bella.
“Hi, Violet!” Clara said when she and Ivy reached Bella and the others. “Finally! You’re here!”
Clara gave Violet a huge hug before the princess could even introduce her cousin.
“Welcome to Crystal Kingdom!” Ivy said, hugging Violet next. “I’m Ivy, and this is Clara. We’ve heard so much about you from Bella. It’s so great that you’re here!”
Violet’s fair cheeks flushed. “I’m so happy to meet both of you! Bella has told me tons of stories about her best friends.”
“I didn’t even get to tell you more about the party,” Bella interrupted. Ivy and Clara didn’t even say hi to me, she thought. The princess had thought that bringing Ivy and Clara over would improve her mood. Instead she felt even grumpier.
“Oh my gosh,” Ivy said. “Bella! Total fail in the hosting department!”
Everyone laughed. Except Bella.
“We can tell you everything,” Clara said. “You don’t even know about the class sleepover.” She clasped her hands together, grinning. “Bells, would you like to do the honors and start telling Violet about the party?”
Bella placed a hand over her stomach. She hadn’t planned it, but she needed a break from everyone—even though Ivy and Clara had just arrived. “Um, actually, I’m not feeling very well.”
“What’s wrong?” Ben asked, his eyes darting back and forth as he looked at Bella and the rest of the girls.
“Nothing major—my stomach is just a little upset. I think I need to go back to the castle and lie down,” Bella said.
The princess climbed down from the fence, and Clara put an arm across Bella’s shoulders.
“I’ve got Glimmer,” Ben said. “I’ll take her back to her stall. Feel better, Bella.”
Bella thought she saw a look of annoyance flicker across Violet’s face.
Ivy tipped her head in the direction of the castle. “Can you walk? Or do you need to sit down somewhere softer than the fence?”
“You can sit on my jacket,” Clara said. She started to shrug out of her dark jean jacket.
“Oh, no!” Bella said. “Thank you, Ivy. That’s so sweet, but I can walk. And I want you guys to stay here and have fun in the stable. I’m just going to be lying down and watching TV.”
“As long as you’re sure you’re okay,” Violet said, “I’d like to hang out at the stable. Plus, it would be awesome to get to know you guys.” She looked at Clara and Ivy. “We don’t want to bother Bella if she wanted to take a nap or something.”
“True . . . ,” Clara said. She scrunched her eyebrows together like she always did when she was worried.
“What if we at least walk you back to the castle?” Ivy asked. “Then we’ll have our Chat Crystals and we’ll be there in two seconds if you message us.”
“That’s more than enough, guys. Thank you,” Bella said. “And I’m okay to walk by myself.”
Before her friends could argue any more, Bella gave them a little wave and walked away from the group.
She felt guilty and a little sad at the same time. She had never lied to her friends before. She had already lied to Violet about not caring that the Foris princess took Glimmer for a walk. Now Bella had just lied again to Ivy and Clara when she had told them she wanted them to stay behind.
With every step, Bella actually started to really feel sick. She had been sure that Violet would come back to the castle with her. Once, Bella had gotten a stomach bug during a spring vacation while her family was visiting Violet and her family. Violet had refused to stay away from Bella, even though she could have gotten sick too. She helped the kitchen staff bring Bella chicken noodle soup, crackers, and bubbly water.
I have to remember that Vi doesn’t have friends like I do, Bella thought. She took in a deep breath, trying to fight back tears. She wished Clara and Ivy wouldn’t have stayed back with Violet, but the princess didn’t want her friends hanging with her if they didn’t want to.
The princess had also guessed that based on how fast Ivy and Clara had bonded with Violet, they, too, would stay behind.
One minute, Violet was the cousin that Bella loved and adored. The cousin that Bella was happy to share Glimmer with. The cousin that she wanted Ivy and Clara to love.
So why did these little flickers of New Violet keep coming up?
A couple of hours later, Bella woke up on the living room couch. She’d actually fallen asleep not too long after she’d curled herself in a blanket. She blinked, and her cousin and two besties were sitting on the floor in front of her. The girls were surrounded by shopping bags. Bags of every color and shape stretched from the fireplace to the couch.
“How are you feeling?” Violet asked.
“What is all this?” Bella asked at the same time.
“You go,” Violet said.
“I feel totally fine,” Bella said. “I guess I just needed a nap!”
Queen Katherine walked through the living room toward the kitchen. “How do you feel, sweetie?”
“Perfect, Mom,” Bella said.
“Well, I came over to check on you and you looked so peaceful. I cast a sweet dreams spell, so I hope you had good dreams,” Queen Katherine said.
“Mom!” Bella said, yanking up the blanket to cover her face. “Sweet dreams spells are for little kids.”
She started giggling, and so did Violet and her friends.
The queen blew Bella a kiss, started laughing, and walked out of the living room.
“So, where did all of this come from? What’s inside the bags?” Bella asked, sitting up and stretching.
In the moments before she had fallen asleep, she had thought through everything that had just happened. Bella knew she had to keep reminding herself that her cousin didn’t have a unicorn and she didn’t have friends like Ivy and Clara.
Plus, knowing Ivy and Clara, they had probably thought they needed to sort of chaperone Violet, since she was company and Bella was too sick. Bella didn’t want to spend another second thinking about what had happened earlier. She was ready for a fresh start with Violet. She owed it to her cousin to give her another chance. Now, she was just excited to be with Violet and her friends.
“We were hanging out at the stable,” Clara said. “I was talking to Ivy about the Crystal Kingdom Magic Market, and we both needed new outfits and sparkly jewels for the party. We had heard about a sale. Plus, Violet had never been to our amazing market!”
“You guys went to the market?” Bella asked slowly. Her friends and cousin had gone shopping? Without her?
“We called your mom to ask permission and to see if you were awake,” Ivy said. “But Queen Katherine told us that you were still asleep.”
“I mean, I’m glad you were able to go,” Bella said. “But couldn’t you guys have waited until tomorrow so we all could have gone together?”
Clara made an apologetic face. “Sorry, Bells, but there was something I really wanted for the party, and I wanted to make sure it was still there. You really didn’t miss anything, so don’t feel bad! I bet we can even go back tomorrow if we want.”
Bella didn’t even want to hear the word “shop.” Violet was not making a fresh start very easy!
“Want to go to my room and watch TV?” Bella asked, changing the subject. She got three nods in return. The girls piled their bags out of the way in the living room and dashed up the stairs after Bella.
In Bella’s room, Ivy claimed the window seat, curling her legs beneath her. Clara plopped into Bella’s brown-and-pink polka-dot beanbag chair. She pushed it next to Bella’s bed and sank back into the cozy chair. Violet and Bella sat down on Bella’s pink couch.
Just smile, breathe, and don’t get upset. They thought you were sick. They had to go today. Bella turned on the big TV screen and scrolled through her list of recorded shows.
“Ooh, wait a sec!” Clara said. “We need to explain the party to Violet. Can we do that and then start a show?”
Bella and Ivy nodded. This time, Bella really did want to tell her cousin all about Friday’s party.
“Yes, let’s!” Ivy said.
“Clara, you start,” Bella said.
Clara grinned. She did a little dance in her seat. “Violet, you already know that Ivy and I go to school here with Bella, right?”
“Yes,” Violet said. “Doesn’t your dad work here, Ivy?”
“He is a groundskeeper for the castle,” Ivy explained. “I brought Clara to the castle with me one day because I just knew that she and Bella would get along.”
“The three of us totally clicked,” Bella said. “We were best friends so fast. My mom and dad saw how happy I was once I’d made friends with Ivy and Clara. That’s when they got the idea to invite other kids to have school in the castle.”
“But I’m the odd one,” Clara said, giggling. “My parents work in town at Crystal Bank and Crystal Kingdom Inn. I sneaked in because of Ivy.”
They all laughed.
“Ooh, that’s right. Your parents don’t work here,” Bella said, teasing Clara. “I’m kicking you out of our classroom!”
Clara stuck out her tongue at Bella.
Grinning, Ivy rolled her eyes. “So we have seven other people in our class, including Ben. He’s a little older than us, so our tutor, Ms. Barnes, gives him higher-level work. The other six kids are our age—eight.”
“My parents didn’t even tell me about the party,” Bella said. “Ivy, Clara, and I all found out at the same time. Ms. Barnes said that we got the entire week off and on Friday, the class was invited to come to the castle.” She took one sip of soda and then another.
“Ms. Barnes didn’t get super specific,” Clara added. “All we know is there will be a movie, music, and desserts.”
“Oh! Add a giant wooden platform to that list,” Bella said. “I watched some construction workers this morning. It looks like they’re building a dance floor or something.”
Violet’s eyes widened. “I would be way too nervous to dance in front of your class. I don’t know any of them.”
“You know Ben,” Ivy said. “Everyone in our class is friendly. You’ll fit right in.”
“Totally,” Clara said. “I wish you could go to school with us! Wouldn’t that be the best, Bella?”
“The best,” Bella echoed, her tone a little flat.
“Bells,” Violet said, “is it okay if I go get us some snacks?”
“Sure,” the princess replied. “Use my intercom if you want to reach the kitchen staff.”
But Violet stood. “That’s okay! I’ll just run down there and be right back.”
“Ooh, I want to pick out snacks!” Clara thrust up her hand for Violet to grab.
“Me too!” Ivy jumped up. “Be right back!” she said over her shoulder to Bella.
Giggling, the girls ran out of the room and down the hallway, leaving Bella sitting alone in her room.
“Ugh,” Bella said aloud. She pulled the purple pillow from under her head and placed it over her face. The princess squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block all the Violet! Violet! Violet! Violet! thoughts that wouldn’t quiet down in her head. Suddenly Friday felt very far away.