I Must Save the Evil King

Chapter 1: Once Upon a Time

I have never been the happiest kid. My mother died when I was 7 and I never knew my father. I was left alone with my older brother on the streets of Berlin. He was ten years older than me and gave up on college to take care of me. On my 9th birthday he gave me a book, The True Princess. It told the story of a girl discovering that she was the illegitimate daughter of the King and her journey to becoming the Queen. A month later my brother left me in front of a fire department. I was alone with nothing but the book and it's characters to keep me company.

On my fifth reading of the book I had an epiphany the evil prince was actually a pretty cool dude. And the older I got the more intrigued I was by the prince. He was the main character's older brother and resented her for trying to stop him from taking the throne. He is hateful and resentful towards the main character from the second she is born. But yet he never hurt her, never killed any of her friends. I mean he is believed to have killed her cousin but the narrator never actually confermines it. And by my 10th read I was in love with him. I read it through 35 and a half times. Then on my 17th birthday I was hit by a train.

I pace around the room trying to figure out what is going on. I appear to be in the world of The True Princess. Is this a prank? Not likely, I don't have any friends or enemies. But if this is real how am I here? As I walk by a mirror my appearance catches my eyes. This must be real because that is not me looking back in the mirror.

Claudette was never described in great detail in the book except to explain that she was not as pretty as the protagonist, Cordelia. The girl in the mirror had the same tan skin as Cordelia but her hair was a deep cherry color instead of a glistening white. And her eyes were a dull grey compared to Cordellia's bright green eyes. I touched my face wistfully wondering what had happened to my freckles and strawberry blonde hair.

"Miss, is everything alright?" said a maid from behind me, startling me. Come on Elizabeth, just act like Claudette would in the book. Calm, and sweet.

"It seems because of my...." Oh no, what was wrong with Claudette? I got hit by a train but I'm certain Cluadette wasn't. "Un-well-ness...... I appear to have lost track of time. Could you please remind me of my schedule."

"Oh well yes of course!" The maid seemed startled, was it too much? I had never seen Cluadette interact with servants only family. And well... the prince. Oh wow, the Prince is real in this world. I could met the Prince! My thoughts were interrupted by the maid. "You were supposed to have a meeting with a possible suitor in two days but since you are feeling ill Lord D'aureville talking of delaying it."

Oh. How stupid was I? In all the chaos I had forgotten, Claudette Rousseau D'aureville died the night of her engagement to the Prince. This is what led Cordellia to fight for the throne. She believed her half-brother to be responsible for the murder of her beloved cousin.

"Are you okay miss, should I call the doctor?" the maid asked worriedly, I was letting my emotions show.

"No I'm fine, you're dismissed." I sigh, waving her off. Once she closes the door I collapse onto my bed. "I'm screwed."

Okay, Elizabeth this is really happening. You are somehow in the body of Claudette Rousseau D'aureville, a minor character from The True Princess. And you have an encyclopedic knowledge of everything that happens in this book. What should I do? Well my first goal is to not get killed. In the original story Claudette is an orphan after her parents pass away in an acccident. She is taken in by her uncle who has recently become Cordellia's step-father. But their household relied on what amounts to child care payments from the King. So when he passed away they married off Claudette to his son in an attempt to keep up the good relationship.

The problem is I don't know exactly how Claudette dies. It's left a mystery and only described by other characters who weren't even there. Which leads to another thing. If I am to survive my wedding that would mean I would carry out the rest of my life as the prince's wife! I need to come up with a plan now. Mom always said to make plans by asking yes or no questions. So,