Welcome

"Oh my dear god! You are lovely. Oh, I have wished every second of my life for the last 16 years for this moment to come and now that it is here it all seems like a dream. A wonderful dream I tell you. I never wanna wake up." The queen squeals, shaking her hands that are folded in a grasp in front of her. Her burgundy hair is swept up in an elegant updo, a few curls hang around her ears. 

Her rare violet eyes are so mesmerizing that I could've stared at them for hours but just then the king says, "Calm down, darling. You are absolutely right. The princess is really beautiful, but I'm sure we wouldn't want to scare her now, would we?" His ginger hair sits messily on the top of his head underneath his crown, the dishevelment makes him look more endearing. He is the epitome of perfect with hazel eyes that have sparkling tints of blue in them, my eyes. 

"No absolutely not, but can you believe it, she's finally here. I had lost all hope of ever seeing her again. Oh, I'm beyond ecstatic. Oh.." The tears she had been holding back make their escape and slowly fall onto her rosy cheeks.

I feel a tug in my heart seeing her cry and am filled with a strong urge to comfort her but I quickly remind myself not to.

"Let's give her some room to process everything OK? We'll talk to her once she is well rested." The king gives me a concerned once over, maybe because I haven't spoken a single word since I got here. Right now I feel like I have permanently lost the ability to talk, that even if I tried I wouldn't be able to. "Would you please escort the princess to her abode, Alexius?" He then adds to his son.

Alexius seems to know that I am extremely overwhelmed, just like the king seems to have realized it, which is a bit strange because he doesn't know me at all, but not that unexpected since I am sure it is written all over my face just how appalled I feel right now. At once Alexius takes my hand in his and starts escorting me inside.

(Finally away from all the noise.)

The chorus of 'long live princess, Alexis' follows us down to a set of the biggest doors I have seen in my entire life. But the palace that lay beyond these doors is grander.

It is like nothing I've ever seen before but I love it. Though I have not seen all of it but the intricate carvings on the pillars and walls draw me in, intriguing me. When we reach the long staircase I notice men with violin in their hands. On seeing me they begin playing a soft melody while we ascend the stairs.

I give Alexius an incredulous and confused look, he just shrugs in reply. Our journey is completed in silence mostly because I can't seem to form words.

On the third floor we round a corner and come upon a big white door with carvings of vines and flowers.

Alexius pushes the door open and on entering I find myself dumbfounded once again. The room is beyond words. You know the feeling when you suddenly get something and then realize it is the one thing you've always wanted but you didn't even know that until the moment you have it? That's what looking at the room felt like. It is my dream, how had the king put it? Ah yes, abode.

Firstly it is huge, like fit in a elephant and a giraffe together huge. You could have fit two rooms the size of my earlier room in there which had been big but nothing compared to this. The room is a combination of lavender and white, red and black, blue and green at different intervals. It has a huge book shelf with most of my favorite books. A king sized bed with frills around it and really comfy looking blankets. One wall is all glass and leads to a big balcony which overlooks the garden or is it a forest?

(Wait, is that a freaking lake? Oh hell no it's a goddamn river, flowing through their forest. These people really are Royal. Nothing to make you realize that than the fact that they fucking own nature.)

The walk in closet is nothing less than a store at a mall with dresses upon dresses, different kinds of shoes (I think I even saw a pair of glass slippers like Cinderella's), jewelry, watches, a whole lot of other things.

Photo frames line the wall, some with pieces of art, some with a few pictures of what I assume is the palace, a few hold the royal family, some are empty to be filled with whatever and whoever I want them to hold as Alexius put it.

There is one particular painting that captures my immediate attention, it looks as real as a picture. It's a portrait of a family. The mother is sitting on an elegant throne-like chair with a baby sucking it's thumb cradled carefully in her arms. The father stands behind her, a loving smile on his face, he is holding an adorable two to three year old by his shoulders while the child attempts to climb the chair and reach over for his sibling. The photo captures the woman looking sideways while she laughs at her son. A sudden jolt of recognition passes through me, it's us, as in little Alexius, baby me, the king and the queen.

I just stand there staring at the portrait for a long time like it's going to come alive any second and when I finally speak I am just as surprised as Alexius who is standing beside me with a gentle smile on his face, "While we were down stairs I realized something."

"Please tell me you are not planning to leave. I know it can be a bit overwhelming but you'll see it's not so bad. I mean I think you'll see that..." He rushes through his words panicking more than he should've.

"Alright calm down before you give yourself an attack, it's not that. I just realized I don't know the king and queen's name is all." I hold my hands up in a calm down manner.

"Oh thank god, ya, um yes. It's King Romanus Markson Parker and Queen Eleanor Roberta Parker." He says formally.

"Those are some heavy names. Wow. But I think I like them, they have a nice ring to them." I state nodding slightly as I roll the names in my head.

"Well I'm not done yet. My full name is Prince Alexius Scott Parker and yours is Princess Alexis Helena Edinburgh Parker." He says with the same serious and formal tone he had used earlier.

He saw the look of extreme unbelief on my face and started laughing. I knew he is joking. (I did. Pinky swear.)

"Alright quit playing around what's it really?" I give him an eye roll to show my lack of amusement.

"Alright fine. It's Princess Alexis Rosalyn Helena Parker. From what mom told me, dad and she couldn't come to an agreement on the middle name so they kept both." He shrugged.

"It's way better than Edinburgh at least." I cringe at the mere thought of that name. "But it's so heavy. I like Rosalyn better, I think."

"It was dad's recommendation." Alexius says with another small smile.

I picture the king, my eyes, Alexius's ginger hair and square jaw. I strongly want to believe that I am not related to these people but I can't deny the very obvious similarities. The queen's smile that Alexius and I inherited, her rare eye color that variated and gave Alexius his dark blue ones and her burgundy hair that transformed into my red hair.

"Why did my adoptive parents name me Alexis too? It can't be a coincidence." I frown in question at the thought.

"I think they left a name tag with you." He doesn't elaborate but I understand what he means. When they left me at the orphanage I had a name tag on me. Good to know. 

(I will like to admit, sometime after today and tomorrow's events, I may lose my way. The reason I came here, to find the truth, is going to take a back seat, pettiness and revenge may dominate.)

"I am so tired and hungry and filthy." I comment as I scan my appearance as far as I can see it.

"You should have dinner in your room tonight, I'll send someone to deliver it and to run you a bath. Then you can rest peacefully and I'll come and check in on you tomorrow morning."

On saying this he takes my hand and kisses my knuckles, brushes a gentle hand on my head, walks to the door giving me one last wink on his way out and then he is gone. I am left alone, smiling and shaking my head at his antiques.

Looks like first impressions aren't that accurate huh...