The Wide-Awake Princess Read Free Page B

the morning looking for spinning wheels, when the guards arequite capable of doing it without you. Today is Gwendolyn’s birthday. The least you can do is sit with her while she opens the rest of her presents.”
    “But I’ll have to sit in the back of the room and I won’t see a thing when everyone stands up.”
    “I’ll be there and I’ll make sure they stay seated. Your sister wants you there today and so do I. We don’t do enough together as a family.”
    “Will Father be there, too?” asked Annie. She saw her father even less than she saw her mother and sister, and looked forward to talking to him.
    Queen Karolina appeared puzzled. “Why would he be? He hates this kind of thing. We’ll see him during the jousting and races this afternoon. You’ll sit on the other side of the field, of course, but we’ll all be there. Now go attend your sister. You know I do everything I can to make you feel included. It isn’t as though I ask very much of you.”
    “Of course not, Mother,” said Annie. She would have liked to have kissed her mother’s cheek as she’d seen Gwendolyn do, but she knew it wasn’t allowed. Even the mention of it would make her mother angry, not at Annie, but at the situation, as the queen told anyone who would listen. Annie was the one she would take it out on, however, lecturing her on being considerate of others and how awful it would be for the kingdom if she, the queen, were to lose her beauty.
    Once she was dismissed, Annie bowed to her motherand escaped from the room. She still didn’t want to go to Gwendolyn’s chamber, however, and when she arrived, the first thing she said was, “Maybe I shouldn’t stay. I don’t want to make you look less than your best on your birthday.”
    “Pish posh!” said Gwendolyn. “Just sit in the back like you always do and nothing bad will happen.”
    Annie glanced at the ladies-in-waiting. She could tell by the expressions on their faces that they didn’t want her in the room any more than she wanted to be there. The daughters of high-ranking nobles, they each had been given magically enhanced qualities like beauty and charm, although none of them were as beautiful as Gwendolyn.
    “We were just admiring the gowns Prince Digby sent me,” said Gwendolyn as Annie made her way to a chair by the back wall.
    The ladies-in-waiting watched her go, their expressions turning to one of approval when she finally sat down. Annie knew that they would be friendly, as long as she didn’t get too close.
    “He sent twenty gowns of the finest linder cloth!” announced Lady Cecily, the youngest of Gwendolyn’s attendants. She held up a gown of violet trimmed in silver. “Isn’t this lovely!”
    “It certainly is,” said Annie. “The color matches your eyes, Gwennie.”
    Gwendolyn blushed, her perfect cheeks turning alovely shade of pale rose. “I’ve asked you not to call me that. It doesn’t sound very regal.”
    “Neither does Annie, and you’ve called me that my whole life,” Annie replied, and turned to look out the window. She didn’t want to see her sister pout or let tears gather in her eyes or any of the other ploys Gwendolyn used to get her own way.
    “There you are, my dear,” said Queen Karolina from the doorway. “I’m delighted to see that you decided to join your sister while she opened her presents.”
    Annie sighed and turned away from the window. If her mother wanted everyone to think that Annie had come there voluntarily, that was her business. “Good morning, Mother,” she said, getting to her feet just as everyone else had already done.
    “Please be seated,” the queen said, taking the chair closest to Gwendolyn, causing the young woman who had been sitting there to find another seat. “This is an informal gathering, after all.”
    Gwendolyn sat with her hands in her lap while the ladies-in-waiting changed seats, vying for the best place to see what she had received. Everyone knew that once the princess tired of a