BIRTH
Constantine Reinette was born on the windy, dusty summer night of August 10th. Her parents were momentarily upset about having a girl instead of the male heir they wanted, but soon found themselves much more absorbed in raising their daughter correctly than in trying to find ways for her to compensate for what they would rather have. There was a small argument over which grandmother to name her after, which was quickly resolved. Many plans were made, and numerous gifts were given.
age THREE
The firstborn was doing well. Reinette learned quickly, and her parents were pleased with her progress. There was, however, another thing on their minds. There was a large fuss around the second royal baby, soon to be born. Constantine was given less attention, even kept out of the way to a certain extent. In all honesty, she wasn't very interested in her new sibling, and was actually quite happy to receive some sort of freedom. After the baby was born, though, it was near chaos for the family- the new daughter had been born without the special royal gem, and controversy was sparked, as it always did when a royal baby was without the mark. Many people thought it was a cruel and unnecessary tradition to disown any and all who did not have this mark of a "true royal," while others stubbornly insisted that the technique had worked for generations, and had weeded out the "bad ones" successfully in the past, so why change it now?
As always, the tradition-centric side won out. The baby girl, still not named at a week old, was taken to the nearest town and abandoned there.
As always, the tradition-centric side won out. The baby girl, still not named at a week old, was taken to the nearest town and abandoned there.
age FIVE
Anger, frustration, and grudges always lingered after one of these disowning episodes, but after a couple years everything had at last settled down. Constantine was settling into a curious and inquisitive stage, despite her earlier apathetic silence, and often followed her parents around, asking questions. As a baby her memory was poor, and she didn't even remember her little sister by the time her fifth birthday rolled around. An unpleasant party guest asked Reinette about her sister, and, confused, the rather shy child ran to her mother, pestering her with all sorts of questions about the infant girl who would by now be two years old.
Everything was explained in due time, but Constantine became fascinated with royal traditions and code after this, and the questions did not stop coming. Around her sixth birthday Reinette became determined to study her lineage and responsibilities, and from then on she fully acknowledged she was a princess- no questions asked, just a slowly building resentment as she watched her life being planned before her eyes. |
age EIGHT
Constantine had gotten over her prying, intrusive stage, and soon after rushed through her know-it-all phase. By the time she was around eight years old, she was quite like how she would be at the age of twenty-three- quiet but strong, honest but cold, clever yet independent. She was advanced in thought and knowledge and spent most of her time gathering yet more information. She had gotten a bit more stubborn and pushy now, using the statistics and facts she'd found to get her way. Her parents were preoccupied with a task that would not be revealed to her until later, and now that Reinette was a big girl, she did anything she wanted to. Granted, she was still quite a docile girl and didn't care for daredevil stunts, but she did enjoy being able to tell off anyone who bugged her. The constant quest for knowledge became boring, and she turned to anything she could think of- flower arranging, interior decorating, spying, pottery, gardening, cooking, even fashion and sports when she got too desperate. It seemed that she had practically gone from apathetic to meddlesome and right back again. But still, she had to do something- and, with time, she got fairly competent at the pastimes of her choosing, with the exception of a couple.
age THIRTEEN
On the eve of Reinette's thirteenth birthday, her parents revealed a project they had spent five years working on- the search for the perfect husband for Constantine. The chosen boy, everyone was shocked to learn, was nobody special- not a prince, not even a noble. His name was Caspian, and he was perfectly ordinary. The odd decision, the parents explained, had been made based on the boy's potential, rather than his blood. He was a strategist, a (self-proclaimed) warrior, and by all counts a "brave" and "worthy" "man" to marry their precious daughter.
Caspian and Constantine, both mere children, had little to no interest in each other at first. Though they were officially engaged, to be married as soon as they were seventeen, the two quite disliked the idea of arranged marriage, each in their own way. Reinette was absorbed in a quiet, cold sort of fury- she had often read about arranged marriages in the royal line, but believed that her parents were too "modern" for that sort of thing- they had always scoffed at her when she'd used tradition for reasoning. Caspian, on the other hand, had been forced into this. He had not known that his own parents were arranging a marriage for him, much less one with the princess- it had come as an unpleasant shock when he heard the news. Caspian didn't mind Constantine, though, and was willing to try, despite her chilly attitude toward him. |
age SIXTEEN
Political matters had taken Constantine's parents away. They were always muttering under their breath, confused and disoriented, as they hurried up and down hallways, forgetting about their daughter. Reinette had assumed more responsibility in their absence, and was taking it as an opportunity to avoid Caspian. As the day of their marriage grew ever closer, the two had become more awkward around each other. Though Constantine had to admit he was nowhere as awful as she had originally thought, and they had grown to be something like friends over the last few years, she felt no attraction to him whatsoever. Occasionally her initial anger at her parents would flare up again at the mere thought of being married to Caspian. Determined to have some distraction, Reinette took up dancing as a hobby, perhaps the one thing she was beyond average at outside of politics.
age EIGHTEEN
Though Caspian and Constantine held no grudges against each other, a weary aura hung about their relationship, and Reinette began to have more and more doubts. When the month of the wedding, August, rolled around, both were nervous wrecks, and Constantine was bothered enough to speak directly to Caspian about it. They agreed to treat the wedding like a partnership rather than a declaration of love. Despite this, however, Reinette continued to grow steadily more anxious.
Thankfully, there were holdups. First, an extremely important political party, during which August slipped away into an autumn breeze. When Constantine's parents returned, the wedding preparations accelerated. A few days before the wedding, while being fitted for her wedding dress, Reinette received welcome news. A very rich and old distant family member, some cousin many times removed, had died, and the funeral laid exactly on the day of the wedding. It was postponed once again while the parents and relatives rushed over for the service (and the reading of the will, of course). During the time, Reinette became more interested in family history once again, and, when she visited the village graveyard where many of her ancestors were buried, met someone who she never expected to see. It was her sister, Alexandria- and they instantly knew they were related. Though Alex refused to come back to the near-empty castle with Constantine, she gave her elder sister a gift of some charms she made in her foster mother's shop, and they parted with a promise to talk again. Finally, Reinette became fed up with having to try so hard. Though Alexandria was living a much more difficult life than Constantine was, she was much more happy. That day, Reinette decided that she needed to take proper responsibility for her actions, and so she ordered Caspian to leave. She had no remorse, just a cold lump in her stomach, and this critical moment showed her path for the future- a future in which she could be as firm as she wanted. |
ages TWENTY TO TWENTY-THREE
Without Caspian, Constantine had far less social interaction, and to go along with it, she was much more authoritative. Her parents were even a bit scared of her, and understood clearly that she was not going to tolerate another arranged wedding. So they complained quietly and went on with their lives.
Constantine and Alexandria didn't meet again, for no reason other than that Reinette was busy with disciplining herself. Caspian didn't dare contact the family again, because he, too, was terrified of Reinette. He moved quite far away, and dedicated his time to fighting imaginary battles.
A not so happily ever after, but of course, it was bound to change one day.
Constantine and Alexandria didn't meet again, for no reason other than that Reinette was busy with disciplining herself. Caspian didn't dare contact the family again, because he, too, was terrified of Reinette. He moved quite far away, and dedicated his time to fighting imaginary battles.
A not so happily ever after, but of course, it was bound to change one day.