The Princess Sisters (The Princess Sisters Series)

Stacy Lynn
Carroll

Copyright © 2013 Stacy Lynn Carroll
All Rights Reserved

The Princess Sisters Edition Two

ISBN: 978-0615848297

This book is a work of fiction. 
Any similarities to actual persons, living or dead, or events are entirely
coincidental.  All characters and events are products of the author’s
imagination. Any trademarks, product names, or named features or places are
assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for
reference. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole
or part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation and
cannot be used without permission in writing from the author

To my wonderful
husband, Matt, who saved me from a pond of frogs and showed me that true
princes really do exist.

Prologue

Once
upon a time there lived four Princess sisters.  The four sisters did not live
in a castle, they did not have knights slay dragons in their honor, and they
did not own beautiful crowns or gowns to wear to a prince’s ball.  These
sisters lived in a small, two bedroom apartment with their mother and father in
a magical land called L.A.  The four Princess sisters were not princesses in
the literal sense, rather their last name was Princess.  As the young
Princesses would gather around Mother’s bed for their evening story, she would
tell them tales of their father Princess and how he had swept her away to his
“castle” on the back of a shiny moped.  Father Princess had rescued Mother Princess
when she was eighteen from her evil stepmother and together they had found the
apartment and raised four beautiful Princess daughters.  Mother Princess would
always end her stories by saying, “Although your father’s name is Princess, he
will always be my prince.”

The
Princess sisters loved to hear their mother’s stories and as they lay in bed
each night, they would dream of finding their own princes some day.

One
day, when the oldest Princess daughter was eleven and the youngest had just
turned four, the winds changed on the happy Princess family and they fell on
hard times.  Father Princess had met an evil witch at work who stole his heart
away from Mother Princess, and he ran away, leaving the Princess sisters and
their mother behind.  Mother Princess had to take on a second job to support
her daughters, and she would often get home too late to tell the Princess
sisters a bedtime story.  But the idea of someday finding a prince never left
the sisters, and they would repeat the stories to each other every night as
they prepared for bed.

***

Fifteen
years had passed since Father Princess left home.  The four sisters, Dana, Rachel,
Mary, and Elizabeth grew up into beautiful maidens and had each attempted in
turn to find a prince.  But without any good examples of a real prince in their
lives, they all struck out one way or another.  So after going their separate
ways for a time, some having failed marriages and others with failed
relationships, they found themselves back home pregnant and prince-less.  But
the Princess sisters would never give up!  They worked hard to care for their
ailing mother, as well as each other, and together they prepared for
motherhood.

Mother
Princess died shortly before any of her grandchildren were born.  After the
funeral the four sisters paid final tribute to their mother by watching her
favorite movie;
Cinderella
.  The soon-to-be moms laughed and cried as
they remembered the fairytale stories their mother used to tell when they were
young.  Then Dana spoke up.

“I’m
going to name my daughter that,” she said pointing at the TV.

“What?”
asked Rachel.

“Cinderella,”
Dana said.  “Maybe if she has a name fit for a princess, she’ll stand a chance
of meeting a prince someday.”

“I
don’t think Cinderella became a princess because of her name,” laughed Mary.

“No,”
said Dana smiling, “but it’s a nice thought.”

“I
always liked the name Aurora,” said Rachel.  “And if I also use Ariel…those
would be cute twin names!”

“If
I have a girl too, I’ll name her Snow White,” said Elizabeth.  “I think we
should all do it; in memory of mom.”

“Belle,”
Mary piped in, “for Mom.”

“To
Mom,” they all cheered as they raised their glasses of ginger ale high and
clanked them together.

“They say before
you find your prince

You’ll kiss a
frog or two

But here’s
some friendly advice

We’d like to
give to you—

Don’t let his
green color fool you

Or his eyes so
bulgy and bright

And don’t
plant a kiss on every frog

Just find the
one that’s right.”

--Anonymous

Chapter
One

Friday,
June 4th

“I
can’t believe we’re finally done!”

“We
never have to go to junior high, ever again!”

Cinderella
and Belle spoke animatedly with their hands as they walked away from the yellow
school bus, signifying the end of their junior high school experience. 

“We’re
done!  We’re done!  We’re done!  We’re done!” chanted Ariel and Aurora in
unison as they skipped past the other girls on the sidewalk.  After a couple
more happy skips, the twins turned around and began walking backwards in front
of their cousins. 

“Do
you think high school is really going to be like it is on TV?” asked Ariel.

“Here
she goes again,” Belle said, rolling her eyes.  “Everything has to be related
to a movie or TV show.”

“Or
song,” Ariel added smiling.  “But really,” she said, a more serious look coming
over her face, “do you think all the popular girls are really cheerleaders and
all the popular guys are jocks?”

“Probably,
but I really doubt high school will be as cheesy as it is on a lot of shows, and
chances are there won’t be a laugh track in the background whenever one of us
makes a joke,” Aurora said.

Ariel
gave her a glaring look before continuing.  “No, not one of those silly shows,
I’m talking more like a drama.”

“I
don’t know, but I sure hope there’s a guy as hot as the ones on all those
shows.” Aurora retorted.  “I don’t think a single show exists where the main
guy isn’t smokin’ hot!”

“Of
course they’re all hot,” Belle added, rolling her eyes.  “Why would anyone turn
on the TV for a bunch of uggos?”

“And
the actors who play high school roles are usually in their twenties it seems
like.  So of course they’re hot.  They’ve gotten past all the awkward stages,”
Cinderella added, joining in.

“You
probably stand a better chance of getting one of those awkward boys over a hot
one,” Ariel joked.

Aurora
tried to kick her sister in the butt, but Ariel jumped out of the way just in
time.

“You
guys are super mature,” Belle admonished them, glancing around to make sure no
one saw.  “Definitely not ready for high school,” she mumbled just loud enough
for the others to hear.

“Fine
miss know-it-all,” Ariel stopped walking and confronted Belle, her hands on her
hips.  “How are we supposed to behave now that we’re mature high-schoolers.” 
Ariel said the word mature in the snobbiest voice she could muster.

Belle
just rolled her eyes again, and then pushed Ariel aside and continued walking
forward.  “I don’t know what it’s going to be like, but I do know chasing each
other around and acting like little kids is not a good way to get a guy’s
attention.”

“Who
cares about guys?” Ariel asked.

Aurora
looked at her like she had just sprouted a third arm and was waving it around.

“That’s
not completely what I meant,” Ariel said.  “I like guys, don’t get me wrong.”

Aurora
released a huge sigh of relief.

“But
I’m not going to change everything I say and do, just to impress some guy. 
Which brings me back to my first question.  Do you think all those stereotypes
are real?”

“Well,”
Cinderella looked thoughtful.  “Let me ask you guys this.  Think of your
favorite movie that takes place in high school.”  Ariel started to respond, but
Cinderella put up a hand to stop her.  “Don’t tell me the movie, just think of
the main guy from that movie.  Now what sport does he play?”

“Basketball.”

“Football.”

“Soccer.”

“Football.”

The
girls all looked at each other and then laughed as they tried to guess the
movies they were each referencing.

“I
think that answers your question, Ari.  There has to be something to it if we
can’t name a movie where the lead guy doesn’t play sports.”

Ariel
nodded.  “I guess we’ll find out soon enough.  Hey, remember that movie we used
to watch when we were little though?  The main kid ditches sports for singing
instead!”  Ariel began belting lyrics from one of the show’s most popular
songs.  Her cousins all joined in, Belle finally giving in and singing the last
line along with them.

“I
can’t believe we remembered those words!” Cinderella laughed.  “I haven’t seen
that show in ages!”

“Wouldn’t
it be awesome if life were like that?” Ariel asked.

“What?”

“A
giant musical, where everyone randomly bursts into song!”

“Really
though, how weird would it be if everyone suddenly knew the same words to sing
and they suddenly all started dancing together?” Cinderella asked.

“That’s
how we can make our mark in high school!” Ariel laughed.  “We can start turning
every day into a musical. That would sure leave an impression!  What do you
think, Snow?”  Ariel put an arm around Snow White, who hadn’t joined in the
conversation yet.  Snow White looked up from the book she had been reading as
she walked home from the bus stop.

“Yeah,”
she said with a smirk.  “I can just imagine people will all be sitting around
in the cafeteria and then suddenly break into song about the food or something.”

“Okay
I’m done.  No more talk about school till after summer is over,” Cinderella
said.

The
group was quiet for a moment as they rounded the final corner to get to their
houses.

“I
hope boys aren’t as stupid in high school,” Belle chimed in, breaking the
minute silence.  The others laughed, and soon Cinderella joined them.

“I
can’t wait for dances!” said Aurora.  “The fancy dresses, getting your hair
done, and especially having a date.”

“What
if one of us doesn’t get asked to the dance?” Snow White asked quietly, coming
up behind them. 

“Don’t
worry about it Snow,” Cinderella replied.

“Yeah,”
said Ariel, “if you don’t get asked, we can always get Aurora to beat up a guy
for you and make him go.”

With
that said, Ariel took off running, Aurora close behind her.  All the girls were
laughing as she chased Ariel down the sidewalk.

“You’re
such a brat,” Aurora said, stopping, clutching the stitch in her side.

“If
she hadn’t said it, I would have,” said Belle, catching up to her cousins.  Aurora rolled her eyes and then smiled.

“He
did deserve it though,” she said, and they all started laughing again.

Earlier
that year, Aurora had fallen asleep in math class with her head resting on the
desk.  Several boys in the back of the room thought it was funny and they dared
one of their friends to kiss her to see if she would wake up.  He had
approached her quietly and said, “Awake Sleeping Beauty with this kiss,” before
kissing her on the cheek.

Aurora
did indeed wake up and the boy had to go to the dentist to have the tooth put
back in that she had knocked out.  Aurora claimed that she might not have
reacted so strongly, had this same event not occurred so frequently in the
past, but she was still suspended for a week.  And although she got in trouble
at home, Aurora could tell her mom was a little proud.

Unfortunately,
however, Aurora had a hard time sleeping after that.  It didn’t matter if she
started to doze in class or if she was trying to sleep for the night in her own
bed at home.  As soon as sleep started to come, Aurora would jerk awake and
frantically look around, expecting to see someone hovering over her.

“See
you guys tonight,” Cinderella said as she walked up the three small steps to
her front door.  The girls had made it home and they said brief good-byes as
they each walked up the three steps into their adjoining townhouses.

About
a year after the new generation of Princess sisters (that’s what everyone calls
them even though they are cousins) were born, their moms decided to move out of
the cramped apartment.  They wanted to raise their daughters in a better
neighborhood and give them a better life than they had, so they all began to
search.  They wanted to find a place where they could stay close to each other
so they could all take turns going back to school, but they also wanted a yard
where their daughters could play.  What they found was perfect!  So they packed
up their few belongings and traveled, caravan style, to their new homes in Layton, Utah.  The townhouses the sisters moved into were located on a side street in a
small complex with ten houses on either side of the road.  The brown brick
buildings were each three stories, including a basement.  They each had a small
fenced-in yard with a gate between yards, so the families could leave the gates
open and have one large adjoining yard.  The houses were small, but just the
right size for a mother and daughter(s) to get by in.

Snow
White shut the door quietly behind her, hoping her mother hadn’t heard her get
home. 

“Hey sweetie,” Elizabeth said, coming into the room.  “How does it feel to be done with junior high?”

“Fine,”
Snow White said as she walked past her mom into the kitchen.  She wished
sometimes that her mom wouldn’t ask so many questions.  She always wanted to
know everything about her life; Snow White wished she’d just get a life of her
own instead.

“I’ve
got some apple slices in the kitchen if you want a snack,” Elizabeth said.

“Mom,
please,” she replied, giving her mom a sour look and heading upstairs to her
room.

Snow
White did not eat apples ever since she was little and her mom packed an apple
in her lunch for school.  She had pulled it out in the cafeteria but before she
could take a bite, a boy in her class said, “Look out Snow White, it might be
poisonous.”  Many kids in her class had laughed and several others joined in.

“Don’t
eat it!”

“Who
gave you the apple, was it the wicked queen?”

“Hurry,
we better get the dwarfs to save her.”

Snow
White had always been quiet and especially shy in elementary school.  After
being surrounded by so many of her teasing classmates, she hadn’t associated
with anyone at school, other than her cousins, ever since.  And she definitely
never ate apples again.

Snow
White entered her room and shut her mom out with a ‘click’.  She threw herself
on the twin size bed and reached for the blue phone on her nightstand beside
it.  Dialing the number from memory, she lay on her back as it began to ring.

“Hello?”

“Hey
Cindy, it’s me.”

“Hey
Snow!  Miss me already?” Cinderella asked.

“She’s
trying to get me to eat apples again,” Snow White said bitterly.  “I wish she’d
just give it up already.”

“I
know,” Cinderella replied.  “Trust me.  My mom’s been trying to get me to wear
different shoes for a year now.”

Cinderella
only ever wore one pair of shoes: combat boots.  She used to wear a variety of
small, colorful slip-on shoes until eighth grade.  Their junior high school had
a large staircase leading right into the entrance hall.  On more than one
occasion, while heading down these stairs, Cinderella would lose a shoe and
have to turn around to put it back on.  Such an incident would not be a big
deal under most circumstances, but not for Cinderella.  After the fifth or
sixth time of losing her shoe and having someone yell, “No, don’t pick it up! 
How else will the prince find you?” or, “Hurry Cinderella, it’s almost midnight,”
she gave up on wearing shoes that had even the slightest chance of falling off,
and stuck with her boots from then on.

“They
just don’t get it,” Snow White said.