A Little Princess

by Seraphine

Chapter 1
A desperate gesture

What a nice melody! Candy thought listening to the music “Candy’s happiness box” Alistair had given her, before he went to the war. That little music was very comforting! The little box near her ear, Candy was trying to imagine her reunion with Terry: the train will arrive at the train station, she’ll get off the wagon, and there, on the platform, she’ll see him among the crowd, as handsome as he was the last time she saw him in Chicago, on the train that was taking him back to New York, they would fell into each other’s arms and whisper promises of eternal love.

Rethinking about it she said to herself, her life until now has been very… how do you say it; her life has been one big adventure!

Taken in when she was just a baby by the Pony’s House, she’d lived with her adopted two mothers, Sister Maria and Miss Pony, two women full of heart who took care of abandoned children. She’d made a friend, Annie, a shy little girl, but she was adopted at the age of six by the Brighton family, a rich family of Chicago. For a while Annie wrote her regularly, then her letters became more and more rare, and one day, in what was her last letter, Annie announced to her friend that she won’t write her anymore, because she didn’t want her new friends to know that she was an orphan. Sad, she took refuge on the Pony’s Hill, and there, she’d met her “prince of the hill”, that, in spite of the time, she never saw him again.

A few years later, at the age of thirteen, she was hired as a lady’s companion at the Reagan residence for their children, Neil and Eliza, two spoiled rotten kids, who never ceased to torment her. However, she found comfort with Mr. Albert, who lived in the forest, and cousins of Neil and Eliza: Archibald, Alistair… and Anthony, who lived not too far from there, at Lakewood. Anthony, who looked a lot like her prince, Anthony who created the rose “sweet Candy”, Anthony and her in love, and Anthony who was dead. He died of a horse fall, the day of the welcome party in Candy’s honour, into the Andrew family, that the mysterious Uncle William had adopted, after her three friends had insisted on him to do so, and who, according to the Great Aunt Elroy, the dowager of the family, was controlling all the family business.

After Anthony’s funeral, Uncle William had decided to send her to England to the royal college St. Paul, to forget. On the boat that was taking her there, she met this nice arrogant aristocrat, Terry, whom she took for Anthony from the back. In that college she saw her friends Archibald and Alistair and also Neil and Eliza who didn’t stop annoying her there either. She’d also met Patricia, and found Annie.

She had been a glimpse of hope for him, Terry, and he had been her redemption: he helped her forget about her ghosts, she helped him not to be afraid of his. In fact during a nightly unfruitful escapade, Candy discovered he was the natural son of a noble English family, the Grandchester; his father was head of the family, and his mother was the famous American actress Eleonor Baker. During the summer vacations in Scotland, Candy had made Terry not to hate his mother, getting him to know her and to learn to love her. It’s also during those vacations that they learned to better appreciate themselves, to tame themselves, and to love each other. Terry even stole a kiss from her, a kiss he was paid for by a slap. “I wonder if today, I’ll slap him again!” she said to herself, blushing.

They then went back to college, but because of Eliza’s machinations, Terry was forced to leave the college. He went to America to pursue his dreams, becoming an actor at Broadway, against his father’s wishes. At once, she ran away from college to have a chance to find him, and she became a nurse in Chicago, but they barely met, while he was on the train taking him back to New York.

The war had started in the same period. A few days after Terry’s departure, she’d found Mr. Albert at the hospital, but he had amnesia, while on a trip to Italy, after he’d been hurt by a mine explosion. To make him get his memory faster, and after his wounds were healed; she decided to move in with him in a charming little apartment, not too far from the hospital.

A short time ago, she’d discovered in her mail box, a letter from Terry, a single ticket to New York and a ticket for the premiere of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, played by his troupe, in which he had the male leading role and Susanna Marlowe, attractive young woman in love with Terry, who in Chicago had helped destiny keeping Candy and Terry separate, was playing Juliet.

Leaving Albert alone at the apartment, she left to New York. Now she was impatient for her trip to end. “This train is very slow, at this rate, I’ll see Terry in a hundred years!” she ranted.

- A little more tea, aunt? Asked Eliza, while pouring herself a cup of the burning liquid. She was trying as usual to appear nice and polite in front of her great-aunt, to look good.

- No, thank you, said Aunt Elroy looking at her niece with a sugary smile. Your manners are becoming more and more or a great lady, she added turning to her mother. You must be very proud of her.

- Yes, indeed, aunt, nodded Mrs. Reagan.

- What a pity, thought that you haven’t found a fiancé yet, you are so delightful, she continued.

- Ah! Eliza is much too exigent; no man could ever content her! Laughed Neil. Eliza looked at him furious.

- That’s enough, don’t start fighting again, cut short Mrs. Reagan.

- Like I was telling you dear, said Aunt Elroy, like nothing happened, I’m profoundly stunned by Alistair’s decision to enroll himself in the army. Do you know what his parents are thinking?

- Just like you, aunt, they are upset by his choice. All they know, it’s through a letter to his friend Patricia O’Brien, where he announced he going to defend his peace ideals!

- What foolishness! It’s probably Candy who put all those nonsense in his head. What an idea to enroll with all the dangers that it implies. Ever since her arrival, bad luck had struck our family! Concluded Aunt Elroy furiously.

- May I be excused? Asked Eliza to the two women, feeling the atmosphere getting heavy, and hating everything related to Candy. And also, her brother didn’t seem in the mood to slander Candy like they used to.

- Yes my darling, you can go, you aunt and I have to discuss the organisation of the upcoming charity gala.

- I’m coming with you Eliza; Neil had a mean look for aunt Elroy. For a while now he had a strange behaviour, he was acting weird: as soon as a conversation about Candy was happening, he would start acting out saying he’d had enough hearing talking about her, either, like he just did, he would leave without saying a word, but looking furious and wasn’t fooling anybody. That behaviour surprised the whole family, knowing his aversion for the young girl, and the fact that before, he never hesitated, together with his sister, to paint a portrait not very flattering. Nevertheless, at that moment, aunt Elroy didn’t take offence, and, one Eliza and Neil had left the room, she made a surprising remark to her niece:

Then again what a physical resemblance, has in character with her! Always doing whatever she wants, wanting her freedom! Her independence! And her eyes, those eyes, identical to theirs…

Indeed, aunt, agreed Mrs. Reagan, still a little shocked that she dared talked about it.

Chapter 2