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Briar Rose smiled cheerfully as she walked home from school. Everything was going so well today. Everyone had been so nice to her. It really felt like a fairy tale. She walked and talked with her friends as they got to her house. She pushed open the front door and allowed her friends to follow. They said they'd wanted to come over early to help her decorate things and make sure she knew what they'd be doing for her party.
Her mother hurried to the door to meet them, followed closely by the twins, Oli and Lark, who peered suspiciously at the other girls from behind their mother's skirts. Her mother looked more than a little flustered. "Ah Bri, you're home. I..." she seemed aware of the three new sets of eyes staring back at her. "Can I speak to you for a moment?"
Briar Rose shrugged, "sure, what is it?"
Heather looked nervously from Bri to Bri's friends. "A letter came from the palace today..."
The girls behind Briar Rose whispered to one another excitedly. Briar Rose did her best to shush them. "A letter? What did it say?"
Her mother looked at the ground, "His highness requests you attend a party there, in your honor..."
Briar Rose was speechless, but apparently her friends weren't. "OH MY GOSH BRI!! You're SO lucky! I can't believe it!! I didn't know you KNEW the king! Why didn't you tell us?!"
Bri wasn't sure what to feel when she looked at the wistful expression her mother wore. "Um... why don't you girls give me a few minutes. I'd like to talk alone for a bit..."
Leah and the other girls nodded understandingly. "I guess the party's off..." one of them said a little disappointedly. "We'll come see you tomorrow instead, ok? Make sure you leave a note or something for the other guests."
Briar Rose nodded and said that she would before closing the front door behind them and turning back to her mother. "Mom? Is everything alright? What's all this about?"
Heather looked at her with a wavering gaze, then turned to the boys. "Bri and I have to talk right now Oli... Lark... Can you go play for a bit?"
One of the boys looked indignant, "Mom, I'm not Lar---" but the other cut him off, "Yeah Mom, we'll go play fort outside!" He dragged his brother's arm toward the backyard.
"Mom? Are you okay?" Briar Rose looked worried.
"There's something I've been meaning to tell you..." she said through a mask of a smile. "Your... your father had a brother..."
Briar Rose nodded slowly, "yeah, I kinda found out about that..."
Her mother looked surprised, "you... you did?"
She put her arms lovingly around her mother and rested her head on her warm shoulder. "Yes... but... you're still my mother. and father is still my father. Someone who left me behind for sixteen years couldn't possibly love me as much as you do. And that's all there is to it."
She could feel her mother tense and then return the hug. Her mother felt very small then as she shook with sobs. Briar Rose wished there was more she could do for her, but it was all she could do to not collapse into tears as well.
Heather pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped her eyes, "There's something else Bri... do you know who your father and mother are?"
Briar Rose put her hands on her hips determinedly, "My father and mother are Darren and Heather Morely!"
Her mother smiled and held up the letter, "You're a princess Bri... You always have been. Lance and Lily... the king and queen are your parents..."
Briar Rose's mouth hung open just a bit, "wh... what?"
"It's the truth... I'm sure this 'party' tonight is something to do with it... They've invited only you of course... I imagine they planned to tell you..."
Bri shook her head, "I'm not going without you and Lark and Oli. I want them to see what a real family is like. A real family wouldn't abandon their child... A real family cares for eachother and..."
"I know Bri... I know." she patted her daughter on the shoulder lightly. "I would be honored to go with you."
She gave her mother one more hug, "I wouldn't have it any other way. They can't argue with the orders of a princess anyway." she smiled.

At five o' clock sharp there was an elegant carriage waiting for them out front. It had magnificent silver accents and the horses were all white trotted in perfect step. Briar Rose walked out wearing the same dress she'd worn for the ball last week and helped her younger brothers into their tunics before hurrying them out the door and into the carriage. Her mother was last, dressed in all her finery. Enough to easily make her a match for any queen. Briar Rose smiled proudly and stepped into the luxurious carriage.

* * * * *

Christopher paced back and forth, wearing the floorboards in the shop thin. He was already dressed in his same black tunic and leggings. He held his mask nervously in one hand. The hours were slowly counting down to their performance and Ethan hadn't arrived yet. "Four o' clock. he should be out of school by now... we need to leave soon!"
Just then the bell at the front of the shop rang, announcing a visitor. "Sorry I'm late..." Ethan's voice carried over to him.
Christopher rolled his eyes, "Any later and I would leave without you..."
Ethan just shook his head, "yeah yeah, sure you would have..."
Chris looked him over critically, "So this is what you're wearing to the performance?"
Ethan shrugged, "sure, why not?" He turned around a few times. It was probably the nicest outfit he owned. A nice clean blue tunic with trim and a black work shirt underneath. A pair of dark leather leggings completed the look. "It's nice enough. Plus it's comfortable... can you even scratch your butt in that thing?"
Christopher frowned, "I try not to think about it too much..."
Ethan laughed, "alright, alright. So are we walking or--"
"Nah. My parents said it was alright to borrow the carriage..."
"Nice!" Ethan smiled, "My feet have been killing me."
They made their way to the back of the shop and toward the small stable. "Hey Christopher..."
Chris turned. He knew it was important. Ethan almost never called him by his full name. He usually stuck with the shortened "'Topher." "Yeah?" he asked, a look of concern on his face.
"It's hard to believe but... something big is going to happen tonight. You just have to trust me... I don't want you to get pulled into it... so when I say run... you better run..."
"Ethan, what are you---"
Ethan opened his mouth to speak, but he could hardly get the words out. "Just... I'll be in the carriage. Make sure you tell your parents goodbye."
Christopher took a deep breath. It was always difficult to understand what was going on in his friend's head, but he never doubted the sincerity. "I'll be back in a few minutes."
Ethan nodded. "Take your time."

Christopher peered back into the shop. His dad was sitting lazily at the counter, waiting for customers to come in, and he could hear his mom bustling about on the second floor. He hurried up the stair and found her cleaning in the bedroom. She smiled at him, "look at you. so grown up in that costume."
Chris smiled back, "Thanks Mom." He kissed her cheek. "I'll see you later ok?"
"Alright honey. You have a good time."
"I will."
He stepped carefully down the steps to his father. "Bye Dad..." was all he could manage.
"Bye son. You knock 'em dead over at your party ok?"
Chris just smiled and nodded before turning back out the door to leave.

As soon as the clopping hooves of the horses covered most of the noise around them Ethan started talking in hushed tones. It was really starting to weird Christopher out. What was going on?
"i know this is going to sound completely looney..." he started.
Christopher sighed, "I've always known you were looney. Tell me something new."
Ethan smiled, "Ok... here goes. There's a book."
"ok. A book. Anything else?"
"Yeah... it's got some sort of magical powers."
"So a magic book."
"Right. The power is that whatever gets written in it has to happen in the real world."
Chris nodded, "okay... I guess I can see that..."
"If they write a story about you... it'll come true..."
"They?"
"Yeah, whoever is writing in the book."
"You don't know who it is?"
"It doesn't matter. Anyway, even if you don't WANT to do what they've written, it'll still happen. It makes people act strangely."
"Okay..."
"You know Briar Rose's party tonight?"
"uh... yeah. That's kind of obvious."
"well... it's kind of... been written about in the book."
"Oh really. Well then Ethan I suppose you'll be able to tell me everything that's going to happen tonight then..."
Ethan looked down, "not everything... just the important parts. You and I aren't in the story."
"Ah, well, that's no surprise."
"But... let's just say if you don't get out of the castle in time tonight... you might not... see your family again. For a very long time."
"Ethan, you're really starting to weird me out..." Christopher said as they rode onward.
"Trust me, I'm creeped out plenty on my own. Look. It should be fine. but just... if I say to leave, I want you to run out of that castle as fast as you can and never look back. You got it?"
"Yeah..." Christopher said, feeling a little fear replace his nervousness. "I got it."
The rest of the ride there was in silence. The usual valet and servants were there when they arrived, to take their horses to the stable and to direct them the way to go to prepare for the party. They walked in nervous silence, but before long all of Chris' fears were placated by the warm smiling faces and greetings as they followed one of the attendants to the performance hall.