For my two Princesses: Suhani and Lopez…
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The Naughty Princess
Once upon a time, there lived a King and Queen, who desperately wanted a baby. For five years, they had tried to conceive, but so far no children were written in their destiny. They had almost given up hope, when one day, the Royal Astrologer assured the King that his wait was over and he would soon be blessed with a child.
He shared this good news with his Queen who was absolutely thrilled!
One year later, the King and his wife welcomed their cute little Princess into the Royal Family. “What shall we name her, My King?” The Queen asked.
The King looked down at his cute baby daughter who lay asleep in her cot.
“We will call her Pragya.” he said to his wife. “It means “genius” or “intelligent.” The Queen found the name a bit unusual at first, but she loved what it represented.
“Our daughter, Pragya” she said looking down at her little bundle of joy. “Princess of the Roses Dynasty.”
But that little bundle of joy turned into a big bundle of mischief a few years later, as the daughter of King Ranjit and Queen Sarla, grew to be a naughty little girl, who loved playing pranks on everyone in the Kingdom.
No matter how many times her mother reprimanded her, she did not listen.
“But Maa, it’s just a little fun!” She would say to the Queen, then give her a cute, cheeky grin and her mother’s heart would melt with love. One day, she went a little too far with her prank and the Queen scolded her for putting glue in a little boy’s hair. “But Maa, he deserved it. He pushed me and he’s been pestering me all morning!” she exclaimed. “That still doesn’t excuse your behavior, young lady! Now go to your room and think about what you’ve done!” her mother scolded. The Princess pouted her cute little cheeks and then turned to go, mumbling to herself. “Mom scolded me because of that cartoon. If I ever see him again, I’m gonna cut off all his hair this time.” She said in temper as she stomped off to her room.
As she got older, Queen Sarla tried to get her to behave more like a princess and less like a tomboy, but to no avail. She would rather climb trees with her cousin-brother, Neil, than wear a pretty dress.
One day, Queen Sarla got tired of her mischief and decided to bring it to the attention of the King. “My King, what are we going to do about our daughter?” She said to her husband. “What’s the matter?” he asked.
“She’s creating havoc around the kingdom!” The Queen replied. “She troubles everyone with her pranks.” The King laughed.
“She’s my daughter after all!” he said proudly.
King Ranjit’s daughter was his greatest treasure, and in his eyes, she could do no wrong.
So what if she played a few harmless pranks?
He saw nothing wrong with that.
No one seemed to mind. In fact they all laughed when she did such things.
“It’s all because everyone in the kingdom has pampered her!” his wife said to him. “She gets away with all mischief.” “My dear, there’s no need to get so worked up over this.” The king said. “She is only ten years old! This is the age for all these things. Let her be a child.”
“Yes, but –”
“Relax, my Queen” he said to her. “Soon she will grow out of it.”
“I hope so” she told her husband. “If she like this now, I can’t imagine what will happen when she gets older….”
Princess Pragya stood at the top of the grand staircase, six years later, looking down at the crowd of people who were waiting for her to make an entrance.
All these people were here for her…
Yeah right! Pragya thought, rolling her eyes.
They were only here because her father was the King, and sooner or later, they would want some favor or the other! What a bunch of phonies!
Maybe she should do something that would make these pretentious fools go away… No Pragya! She said to herself.
Ma has already warned you about doing any mischief.
Besides she didn’t want to tarnish her father’s image by wrecking the party.
She had done it twice already and she didn’t think she would be forgiven a third time.
Truth be told, she would rather be anywhere but here.
Although she had been born and brought up in Royalty, she was a simple girl who loved doing ordinary things. She only to pretended to like these big parties for her mother’s happiness.
Today was her sixteenth birthday, and according to her Dadi, this was very special time in a girl’s life. A time when she starts viewing the world differently and begins to have a more mature outlook on life… A time when she starts thinking of her future and begins making plans to make her dreams a reality… A time when she begins to wonder about “The One”… that Prince who would come into her life and sweep her off her feet… A Prince who would sweep her off her feet?
Dadi must have missed her taking her pills again.
She didn’t want a Prince, or any of that stuff.
She was going to remain here with her family, so Dadi could save her romantic theories for her other grand-daughters. She could care less about that flowery crap.
All she was thinking about right now was plotting revenge on her cousin-brother, Neil. They were always trying to be ‘one-up’ on each other, but it was all in fun.
Just yesterday, they were shooting down bottles with sling-shots at the back of the palace, when Neil decided to aim his sling shot at her instead. She laughed and ran to get away from him.
Pragya looked back to see if he was coming, not realizing she was headed toward the river. She was about to fall in, when a she felt a someone grab her arm and pull her back.
Pragya didn’t even bother to look at her Savior.
Thinking it must be Neil, she threw her arms around him in a hug.
Phew! That was close! she thought.
She was about to thank him for saving her, when she heard that voice, recognizing it instantly. “Are you ok?” he asked.
Her eyes widened and she immediately let go of him.
“You!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here?” “Not happy to see me, Princess?” he asked, in a mocking tone.
She turned away from him, feeling a bit embarrassed at hugging a stranger. Well, technically, he wasn’t a stranger.
She just didn’t like him.
He was the son of her father’s oldest friend, King Nihar and his wife, Queen Ashna , who were rulers of the neighboring Kingdom, which was considerably bigger than theirs.
They had known he each other since they were kids, but had spent most of it fighting.
While she troubled everyone in the kingdom, he looked for ways to trouble her. She hadn’t seen him in a while and thought she had finally gotten rid of him for good…but here he was…back to irritate her. Then she remembered he had saved her from falling into the river.
She didn’t like him, but he saved her from having a big accident, so the least she could do was show a little gratitude. But she didn’t have to like it one bit!
“Thanks…for..um…you know…” she said begrudgingly. “And sorry for the….you know…” referring to the hug. He just nodded and said “Yeah”, as if it was just as awkward for him.
“Well, see you around Princess..” he said and left.
Pragya walked slowly down the staircase and was immediately greeted by the photographers, who were all waiting to take her photo. Will these people get a life! she thought.
Couldn’t they go take pictures of people who actually wanted to be photographed…like her cousin-sis, Tanu? She was a little older than Pragya and spent all day dressing up in front the mirror and looked for every opportunity to gossip with her ‘airhead’ friends.
Thankfully her father saved her.
He held her hand and gently moved her away from the crowd of photographers.
She loved her father.
Unlike her mother, he didn’t force her to conform to his ideas of how a princess should behave and allowed her to be her own person… After being introduced to a few Royal Dignitaries, and having that father-daughter dance with her Dad, Pragya was getting a little tired of this party, and even Neil was nowhere to be seen. he was probably off chasing some girl.
Even her best friend couldn’t make it!
She didn’t have alot of true friends, but the one real friend she did have was at home with the flu. What a shame! He couldn’t even be here for her sixteen birthday.
Not that turning sixteen was a big deal for her or anything. She didn’t care. She just wanted him to be here. She tapped her father’s arm lightly and he turned to her.
“Papa, can I please be excused?” she asked.
Her father nodded and said, “Stay close. We’ll be cutting the cake in a little while. ”
“Ok Papa.”she replied and left from there.
Pragya went outside to the beautifully lit garden to get some peace and quiet.
She sat down by the fountain and took a deep breath.
It didn’t bother her one bit that her white and silver ball gown might get wet.
She just couldn’t wait for this stupid party to be over!
Maybe I should forget Ma’s warnings and pull out the main power supply. Then they would have no choice but to leave! Or maybe I should let our pet snake join the fun, she thought with an evil smirk.
Boots loves a good party.
No Pragya, Papa would be upset.
She took a deep breath and sighed.
Guess I’ll just have to wait for them to leave, she thought. “Getting bored at your own party, Princess?” That familiar voice asked and Pragya jumped.
Oh No! Not this idiot again.
Where did he come from…. and what business did he have sneaking up on her like that?! Pragya turned immediately toward him.
“You again!” she said, looking at the guy who had saved her from falling into the river.
“Let me guess..” he said. “You’re thinking of some evil way to end this party so all these pretentious people can go away. Am I right?” “Look, Abhi, if you’re here to bother me, I’m really not in the mood.” she said.
He sat down next to her.
“If I can’t pester you, what other purpose does my life have?” he teased and Pragya glared at him. “Has it ever occurred to you, Princess, that I’m only like this around you?” he asked, looking at her. “Why?” she asked innocently, turning to face him.
“Why do you think?” he asked, answering her question with a question.
Pragya didn’t have a clue.
“Is it because you hate me so much that you just look for ways to irritate me?” she replied. “Or is it payback for putting glue in your hair when we were kids.”
Abhi laughed and shifted a little closer to her.
“No” he said. “Think again.” While she thought about it, Abhi took her by surprise and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. “Happy Sweet Sixteen, Princess.” he whispered to her.
And while she remained stunned and speechless…he got up and walked away from her once again.
That night, as Pragya lay in bed, she thought about the kiss Abhi had stolen from her.
She had felt something when he briefly pressed his lips against hers and remembered all the things Dadi had said to her. About her life changing…fulfilling her dreams…falling in love.
What did she know about love? Pragya asked herself.
This was only her first day being sixteen and already so many feelings, emotions and thoughts were running through her. Why did that fool have to kiss her?! She was perfectly fine before that!
She only hoped Abhi kept his distance from her, because she would make damn sure he didn’t want to see her ever again! With that Princess Pragya closed her eyes and went to sleep….
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Hi guys! How are you all?
Were you surprised it was me…or did you scroll down to see the author before reading the story? lol.
Anyway, hope you liked it. Let me know what you think.
I will update my fan fiction in a couple of days.
Till then take care. Love you!