“What do you mean she’s gone?” my mother snapped in a hushed tone. “There are a million security guards surrounding the palace and you’re telling me none of them could stop a teenage girl?”

“Your highness, she took out half of our men, it wasn’t exactly easy to get to her,” the head security guard replied.

“I don't care how challenging it was, there are no excuses! You are paid to protect my family and you failed. You better hope you find my daughter before the coronation tomorrow or else you're fired!” my mother screamed. “Now get to work!” The security guard walked out with his head hung low and took out his phone to call for backup. It seemed to me it was going to be a long night, so I tiptoed across the hall into my bedroom which conveniently had access to the balcony, and dragged my bed onto the ledge so I could sleep in peace and quiet. 

When I woke up the next morning my family seemed different. They brought me breakfast and were constantly asking me if I needed anything. They treated me with love and respect almost as if I were to become… a princess!

“Are you serious, you think by treating me like royalty that's it I’ll just flip a switch and want to be a princess?” I screamed at my parents as they sat on their thrones preparing for a television interview.

“I mean we hoped..” they replied, giving eachother a hopeless gaze as their voices trailed off into the distance.

“Absolutely not! Just because my sister ran away and our family is falling apart doesn’t mean you get to assume I’ll be a princess! Which I won't be by the way.” I screeched back.

“Adeline Cooper Mayfield, you do not speak to us like that, especially not with that tone. You’re being extremely selfish right now. Think of your country and the people looking up to you. They need an authority figure, and you will be it. Whether you like it or not,” my mother snapped.

“Ugh, I hate this family!” I moaned, stomping out of the room. I couldn't believe they were going to try to force me into being a princess, it’s so unfair, I thought to myself.

“Hey Addy, want to go play some baseball, or basketball or something?” James, my older brother, questioned, stopping me in my tracks.

“I'm not in the mood,” I grumbled.

“Why, what happened-” he asked, cutting himself off as he realized. “Oh, Mom and Dad talked to you about being a princess didn’t they.”

“You knew?” I shouted. I couldn't believe that my favorite sibling had lied to me.

“I mean yeah, but only because they promised me I could go to this sports camp in the Cook Islands, I leave tonight. I wish you could come too,” James sighed. All of a sudden I had a magnificent idea.

“Well guess what, I am coming, and they can't stop me. I’ll hide in your suitcase and we can take one of your friend’s planes there. I’ll get out of the coronation, and we both get to go to the sports camp!” I whispered.

“Sure, that sounds like a great idea,” James added. “ I’ll call my buddy Louis and see if he can get us on the plane tonight.”

“Great! I’ll go pack,”. I excitedly responded, and scurried my way down the elegant hallways, all the way to my room. 

As I finished packing I walked down to James’ room, where I hopped into his suitcase and decided to take a nap.

I woke up to the sound of mumbles and a plane whirring, what is going on?, I wondered. My question was answered as the suitcase unzipped swiftly and I remembered I was in a plane with Louis and James. 

“Well hello there missy,” a man who looked like a cowboy, croaked.

“Who are you?” I snapped, my groggy brain couldn’t tell if it was James in a cowboy hat or Louis playing tricks on me.

“That’s Daniel,” James answered. “He’s flying the plane for us. Oh and by the way we're going to have to take a pit stop for gas so I hope you were comfy in that suitcase because you're going to be in it for a little while.

“Fine.” I groaned, at this point anything was better than being crowned princess tomorrow, especially a sports camp without royal duties there to bother you. 

The plane stopped whirring and I felt it touch the ground, as James zipped me back into the suitcase. The process of getting gas took forever, so once they had gotten back into the plane, I once again, was already fast asleep. 

This time when I woke up the whirring had stopped, and I had a puddle of sweat surrounding me, when James opened the suitcase.

“Well we’re here, better get out and stretch your legs before they fall off,” he suggested. 

“Alright,” I agreed. I took his advice and climbed out of the suitcase, admiring the beautiful scenery surrounding me. Palm trees as green as grass, and skies almost as blue as the ocean, which was crystal clear.  Although we were still in the airport the heat was unbearable, and meant we needed to find water immediately.

As we set out on our adventure for water, we stumbled upon a little convenience store that looked perfect for what we needed. Inside I spotted a familiar looking girl, she looked almost like our sister, Amelia. I felt the urge to ask this woman where she was from or what family she was related to, so I walked up to her and shyly asked. “Excuse me, is your name Amelia or are you from the United Kingdom by any chance?”

“Adeline? Adeline is it really you?” the woman questioned, and without hesitation gave me a huge hug.

“Yes, yes Amelia it’s me,” I replied, embracing the hug. 

“Wow I can't believe you're here, let me guess running away from becoming princess.”

“You guessed it,” I groaned. After our reunion Amelia spotted James and talked to him as well. We then walked over to customs where we would be granted entry into the country, and handed the man working our passports. As he examined them a strange look came across his face, almost as if we were fugitives from another country.

“Backup, I repeat I need backup at customs counter 13,” the man mumbled into his walkie talkie. Airport security showed up no later than thirty seconds later, and grabbed each of us by the arms as the man explained to them the situation. “These kids are royals from the U.K. There's currently a return immediately notification on each of their profiles. You’re gonna have to take ‘em back.” the man spoke.

“What no this is just a big understanding, we're not royals,” James argued, but before he could argue, the men grabbed our arms and pulled us away into a big dark room. As the light flickered on I heard whirring, we were in a plane again. I knew there was nothing left to do but sit there and wait for our arrival home. The plane ride took two long hours until the men grabbed us again and walked us off the plane.

“Oh my goodness, kids! Come here!” our parents screeched, they were thrilled to see us. Us on the other hand were not thrilled to see them, in fact we all rolled our eyes and walked past them as the security guards let us go. “Hey, get back here!” our parents roared waiting for us to return, but none of us did. Instead of yelling for us a third time they opened up the car doors and jumped in, us following. 

The car ride home was silent, so silent a pin could drop. We dropped off Louis, then Daniel, and then pulled into the palace driveway. The emerald green gates opened and revealed our shiny palace, which I wish wasn’t my home. 

The butlers opened the doors for us as we stepped out of the car, and then made our way inside, still not speaking a word to our parents. We climbed the elegant staircases and groggily walked down the hallways to our rooms. I opened the door to my room and immediately laid down on my bed, wondering what life would be for me now that I would be becoming a princess. I then heard a knock on the door.

“Sweetie, it’s us. Can we come in?” my parents asked.

“I guess,” I groaned. Seeing my parents was the last thing I wanted to do now. They slowly creaked open the door and stepped in.

“We want to talk to you about tomorrow, the coronation. If you don’t want to be the princess, we’ve decided you don't have to be. It’s your choice and we would like to respect that.” they said in unison.

“Wow really? Thank you guys, but who's going to be princess?” I questioned.

“Adeline decided she would like to become princess, so if you change your mind at next year's coronation you can become princess too.” they sighed.

“Okay. Thanks Mom and Dad, I love you so much,” I announced.

“We love you too,” they replied.

“What do you mean she’s gone?” my mother snapped in a hushed tone. “There are a million security guards surrounding the palace and you’re telling me none of them could stop a teenage girl?”

“Your highness, she took out half of our men, it wasn’t exactly easy to get to her,” the head security guard replied.

“I don't care how challenging it was, there are no excuses! You are paid to protect my family and you failed. You better hope you find my daughter before the coronation tomorrow or else you're fired!” my mother screamed. “Now get to work!” The security guard walked out with his head hung low and took out his phone to call for backup. It seemed to me it was going to be a long night, so I tiptoed across the hall into my bedroom which conveniently had access to the balcony, and dragged my bed onto the ledge so I could sleep in peace and quiet. 

When I woke up the next morning my family seemed different. They brought me breakfast and were constantly asking me if I needed anything. They treated me with love and respect almost as if I were to become… a princess!

“Are you serious, you think by treating me like royalty that's it I’ll just flip a switch and want to be a princess?” I screamed at my parents as they sat on their thrones preparing for a television interview.

“I mean we hoped..” they replied, giving eachother a hopeless gaze as their voices trailed off into the distance.

“Absolutely not! Just because my sister ran away and our family is falling apart doesn’t mean you get to assume I’ll be a princess! Which I won't be by the way.” I screeched back.

“Adeline Cooper Mayfield, you do not speak to us like that, especially not with that tone. You’re being extremely selfish right now. Think of your country and the people looking up to you. They need an authority figure, and you will be it. Whether you like it or not,” my mother snapped.

“Ugh, I hate this family!” I moaned, stomping out of the room. I couldn't believe they were going to try to force me into being a princess, it’s so unfair, I thought to myself.

“Hey Addy, want to go play some baseball, or basketball or something?” James, my older brother, questioned, stopping me in my tracks.

“I'm not in the mood,” I grumbled.

“Why, what happened-” he asked, cutting himself off as he realized. “Oh, Mom and Dad talked to you about being a princess didn’t they.”

“You knew?” I shouted. I couldn't believe that my favorite sibling had lied to me.

“I mean yeah, but only because they promised me I could go to this sports camp in the Cook Islands, I leave tonight. I wish you could come too,” James sighed. All of a sudden I had a magnificent idea.

“Well guess what, I am coming, and they can't stop me. I’ll hide in your suitcase and we can take one of your friend’s planes there. I’ll get out of the coronation, and we both get to go to the sports camp!” I whispered.

“Sure, that sounds like a great idea,” James added. “ I’ll call my buddy Louis and see if he can get us on the plane tonight.”

“Great! I’ll go pack,”. I excitedly responded, and scurried my way down the elegant hallways, all the way to my room. 

As I finished packing I walked down to James’ room, where I hopped into his suitcase and decided to take a nap.

I woke up to the sound of mumbles and a plane whirring, what is going on?, I wondered. My question was answered as the suitcase unzipped swiftly and I remembered I was in a plane with Louis and James. 

“Well hello there missy,” a man who looked like a cowboy, croaked.

“Who are you?” I snapped, my groggy brain couldn’t tell if it was James in a cowboy hat or Louis playing tricks on me.

“That’s Daniel,” James answered. “He’s flying the plane for us. Oh and by the way we're going to have to take a pit stop for gas so I hope you were comfy in that suitcase because you're going to be in it for a little while.

“Fine.” I groaned, at this point anything was better than being crowned princess tomorrow, especially a sports camp without royal duties there to bother you. 

The plane stopped whirring and I felt it touch the ground, as James zipped me back into the suitcase. The process of getting gas took forever, so once they had gotten back into the plane, I once again, was already fast asleep. 

This time when I woke up the whirring had stopped, and I had a puddle of sweat surrounding me, when James opened the suitcase.

“Well we’re here, better get out and stretch your legs before they fall off,” he suggested. 

“Alright,” I agreed. I took his advice and climbed out of the suitcase, admiring the beautiful scenery surrounding me. Palm trees as green as grass, and skies almost as blue as the ocean, which was crystal clear.  Although we were still in the airport the heat was unbearable, and meant we needed to find water immediately.

As we set out on our adventure for water, we stumbled upon a little convenience store that looked perfect for what we needed. Inside I spotted a familiar looking girl, she looked almost like our sister, Amelia. I felt the urge to ask this woman where she was from or what family she was related to, so I walked up to her and shyly asked. “Excuse me, is your name Amelia or are you from the United Kingdom by any chance?”

“Adeline? Adeline is it really you?” the woman questioned, and without hesitation gave me a huge hug.

“Yes, yes Amelia it’s me,” I replied, embracing the hug. 

“Wow I can't believe you're here, let me guess running away from becoming princess.”

“You guessed it,” I groaned. After our reunion Amelia spotted James and talked to him as well. We then walked over to customs where we would be granted entry into the country, and handed the man working our passports. As he examined them a strange look came across his face, almost as if we were fugitives from another country.

“Backup, I repeat I need backup at customs counter 13,” the man mumbled into his walkie talkie. Airport security showed up no later than thirty seconds later, and grabbed each of us by the arms as the man explained to them the situation. “These kids are royals from the U.K. There's currently a return immediately notification on each of their profiles. You’re gonna have to take ‘em back.” the man spoke.

“What no this is just a big understanding, we're not royals,” James argued, but before he could argue, the men grabbed our arms and pulled us away into a big dark room. As the light flickered on I heard whirring, we were in a plane again. I knew there was nothing left to do but sit there and wait for our arrival home. The plane ride took two long hours until the men grabbed us again and walked us off the plane.

“Oh my goodness, kids! Come here!” our parents screeched, they were thrilled to see us. Us on the other hand were not thrilled to see them, in fact we all rolled our eyes and walked past them as the security guards let us go. “Hey, get back here!” our parents roared waiting for us to return, but none of us did. Instead of yelling for us a third time they opened up the car doors and jumped in, us following. 

The car ride home was silent, so silent a pin could drop. We dropped off Louis, then Daniel, and then pulled into the palace driveway. The emerald green gates opened and revealed our shiny palace, which I wish wasn’t my home. 

The butlers opened the doors for us as we stepped out of the car, and then made our way inside, still not speaking a word to our parents. We climbed the elegant staircases and groggily walked down the hallways to our rooms. I opened the door to my room and immediately laid down on my bed, wondering what life would be for me now that I would be becoming a princess. I then heard a knock on the door.

“Sweetie, it’s us. Can we come in?” my parents asked.

“I guess,” I groaned. Seeing my parents was the last thing I wanted to do now. They slowly creaked open the door and stepped in.

“We want to talk to you about tomorrow, the coronation. If you don’t want to be the princess, we’ve decided you don't have to be. It’s your choice and we would like to respect that.” they said in unison.

“Wow really? Thank you guys, but who's going to be princess?” I questioned.

“Adeline decided she would like to become princess, so if you change your mind at next year's coronation you can become princess too.” they sighed.

“Okay. Thanks Mom and Dad, I love you so much,” I announced.

“We love you too,” they replied.