Starlight

by Nikki Gaspar

  “Claire, we are doing the DNA test today,” grandma said. “These gentlemen are medical professionals from Bellanmuse Hospital.”

  “Good morning, Princess Clarissa. My name is Ed, I’m a Medical Geneticist,” the older of the two men said, and then gestured to the younger man. “This is Joe, a nurse practitioner.”

  Joe explained that they would take samples from the inside of our mouths using a cotton swab. That was a relief because I thought the test would be bloody.

  Joe, holding a cotton swab, approached me, while Ed went to Uncle Ant.

  “Please open your mouth, Princess.”

  Joe proceeded to rub the swab on the inside of my mouth and was certain to move the swab over the entire inner cheek surface.

  The procedure was swift, and soon, the two men left with the samples.

  “Claire, please stay. We wanted to discuss your education,” grandma said.

  “I just graduated from high school, but I don’t have my school records with me.” Who would have guessed that I would need it when I went to Bellanmuse?

  Uncle Ant waved his hand like it was not an issue. “I will take care of it.”

  “When does the University start the term?” I asked.

  “You will not attend the University,” Uncle Ant said. “Every royal family member is homeschooled. You need courses that you can use when you get your position in the future, like politics, taxation, and linguistics, among others.”

  That sounded difficult. I did not take any subjects like that in high school. What if I am not able to cope? When I voiced my concern, Uncle Ant assured me that no one was pressuring me to adjust to the Royal life immediately. And those courses, he said, were college level. Younger royals study probably almost the same as I did in high school.

  “You will talk to the headteacher and discuss with her all the subjects that you took up in your school, and then she will tell you which subjects you will need to take up now,” grandma explained. “By the way, do you play any musical instruments or some sports?”

  I gulped. “No. Do I need to learn those too?”

  “Yes, as the royal family, we often held parties attended by foreign dignitaries. We need to have some skills or talents to impress them with, or at least it can be an excellent conversation starter,” Uncle Ant explained.

  “And if a President of some faraway country invited you to play golf, you can’t just refuse and say you don’t know how to play, right?” Grandma said.

  That’s exactly what I would do in that situation but didn’t tell her that.

  “In about fifteen minutes, the headteacher will meet you in the study area. She will explain to you everything. The study area is a small building at the back of the palace. You will see it easily.” I took it to mean that I was dismissed, so I stood up.

  “Thanks, Uncle Ant, Grandma.”

  “You’re welcome, Claire, good luck.” Grandma patted my hand.

  ***

  The study area was a two-story log cabin that looked more like a vacation house. The relaxing atmosphere would, for sure, make me sleep during class.

  I saw Sofia through the window in the first classroom. The teacher was explaining what she wrote on the whiteboard while Sofia listens attentively.

  In the next room was Ysabel, she was conversing with the teacher, her hands gesturing enthusiastically in front of her.

  It must be difficult to be the only student. Imagine having never experienced what it’s like to look away or look down whenever the teacher asked a question and hoped she would call on one of your classmates, instead of you. Or hide snacks under your table and share them with your seatmate. The Royals missed out on fun experiences for sure.

  “Princess Clarissa?” A voice called from the door.

  I turned around and saw a woman probably the same age as my mom. She had wavy brown hair that she lets loose on her back, and was wearing the same uniform as Sofia’s and Ysabel’s teachers.

  “Hi, are you the headteacher?”

  “Yes, I’m Miss Breigan. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “It’s nice to meet you too. Is it okay if you will call me Claire? I am not used to being called Clarissa.”

  “Yes, of course, that is not a problem,” Miss Breigan said, “come on, we can use this room.”

  I followed her to the classroom opposite Sofia’s. A laptop computer sat on top of a huge wooden table with matching wooden chairs. That must be the trick to stop students from falling asleep—uncomfortable chairs. A whiteboard covered one part of the wall, while another part had shelves full of papers, pens, and probably anything a student and teacher would need.

  Miss Breigan sat on one of the chairs, so I followed suit and sat beside her.

  “I was told that we needed to discuss the subjects that you already took. And then I will decide what you need to take for this year. Are you finished with high school?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Thankfully, I was not that far behind. My subjects in grade school and high school were almost the same as the subjects that the royals require. I just needed to study the History of Bellanmuse in addition to the college courses. Miss Breigan permitted me to attend the following subjects:

  Monday: History (8:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M.)

  Tuesday: Economics and Taxation 1 (8:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M.)

  Wednesday: Family Law (8:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M.)

  Thursday: History of Politics (8:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M.)

  Friday: Foreign Language 1 (8:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M.)

  Saturday: Music (8:00 A.M. to 9:00 A.M.) and Sport (10:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M.)

  “You’ll have a different teacher for each of those subjects. I will teach the history class, and you will meet your other teachers at the start of your classes next week. Understood?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I understood.”

  “And by the way, if ever you want to find some books, there is a library upstairs. You can go there anytime.” She stood up and shook my hand. “I will see you on Monday.”

  “See you then, Miss Breigan.”

  She sat in front of the computer, obviously about to do some work, so I went out of the room alone.

  ***

  “Hi, Sofia, Hi, Ysabel, are you done with the class?” I said when I ran into the sisters in the corridor.

  Ysabel rolled her eyes. “Obviously. Sofia, I’ll go back to my room.” She walked away without even looking at me.

  Sofia stared at her sister, her eyes bulging, and then looked apologetically at me.

  “I’m sorry, Claire. I don’t know why she talked to you like that. I have never seen her act that mean before.”

  “Don’t worry about it, Sofia, maybe she’s in a bad mood. I will talk to her some other time.” Even though I told Sofia not to worry, I was actually worried myself. It was clear that Ysabel’s hostility was more than just because of my being late for dinner.

  Chapter Twelve

  Three days have passed; by this time, I should already be back in my own house in Northern Guimana, but I found myself sitting in my bedroom in the palace of Bellanmuse—busy reassuring my neighbors that I was safe and they don’t need to worry.

  “Claire?” Mari called out, knocking on the door.

  I placed the phone down, leaving Mr. Taz and Mrs. Luminaire to watch the ceiling and then opened the door.

  “The king is requesting to speak with you. He and the queen mother are in his office,” Mari said.

  They probably have the DNA result because grandma said that it would arrive either today or tomorrow. I said goodbye to my neighbors and then went to Uncle Ant’s office to find out if I really am a princess.

  ***

  “Sit down, Claire. We have the result,” Uncle Ant said.

  Grandma’s eyes were red but did not say anything. She just watched as Uncle Ant gave me a piece of paper which I took with trembling hands.

  The heading said DNA Test Result. Under that was our names and then lots of numbers followed—I just skimmed because I did
not understand any of them. At the end of the page said The probability of relatedness is 99%.

  “99% means…” I looked at Uncle Ant for clarification.

  He grinned. “That means you are my niece. You are Clarissa Grandis.”

  Happiness and relief warmed my insides. I didn’t realize until now how much I wanted the result to come back positive. The royals may not be the family I expected to find when I came to Bellanmuse, but I have come to care for them in the few days that I have been here.

  ***

  After I left the office, I found Sofia to tell her the news. Out of my two cousins, I was sure that it was she who would be happy about the DNA test result.

  “I knew it!” she said, pumping her fist. “Come on. We need to celebrate.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see.” She grabbed my hand and started pulling me towards the kitchen. Celebration for Sofia, as it turned out, was to hang out in the kitchen and scrounge some of Mr. Kai’s desserts.

  “Here you are again, Princess Sofia!”

  My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I laid my eyes on Mr. Kai. He’s a big brawny man; if not for his chef’s uniform, you would think that he was part of the king’s guards.

  “And you brought Princess Clarissa!” he exclaimed when he saw me walking behind Sofia. “Pleased to meet you, Princess, I’m Mr. Kai, the maker of the best desserts that Princess Sofia ever tasted.” He puffed out his chest. “I am glad you are back.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Kai. The maker of the best desserts that Princess Clarissa ever tasted,” I said.

  He grinned and made an exaggerated bow. I could see that his playful nature was part of why Sofia was fond of him. “Come inside. The kitchen staff are hoping to meet you.”

  The kitchen was located beside the dining area. It was more like a commercial kitchen rather than a normal kitchen. It was complete with appliances, including what looked like rice cookers large enough to feed hundreds of people, cooking equipment of all kinds, walk-in refrigerators and freezers, plenty of long preparation tables that were arranged like a maze in the middle of the room, and gleaming pans and pots.

  “Ladies and Gentlemen, I want you to meet Princess Clarissa!” Mr. Kai announced as soon as we stepped into the room.

  Loud metallic sounds rang in the kitchen after Mr. Kai’s announcement as everyone dropped their utensils in their haste to greet me. Some of them, like Mr. Kai, have been working in the palace for a long time, knew my parents, and met me as a baby. Some were younger and only started to work after we were gone, but their happiness to see me was the same.

  “Mr. Kai, we came here to celebrate,” Sofia said. “Claire’s DNA test result confirmed that she is Princess Clarissa!”

  Her announcement resulted in another round of greetings from the staff, except for Mr. Kai.

  “Oh, so you visited me for my sweets? Here I thought you came here because you wanted to see me. I should have known that you only like my cooking.” Mr. Kai glared and crossed his arms on his chest, acting offended.

  If intimidating was the look he was going for, then he was unsuccessful because he looked like a huge teddy bear denied of its toy.

  “It’s because you make the best sweets!” Sofia showed him her puppy dog eyes.

  He let out a huge sigh, as though annoyed, but his smile betrayed him. He turned to the chiller and pulled out a tray.

  “I have a caramel cake. I was saving this for dinner tomorrow, but I guess I could let you have some now in honor of the occasion.”

  He placed the tray on the prep table in front of me and Sofia, while another staff gave us plates and forks.

  We were all enjoying the celebration when the door opened.

  “What’s the commotion?” Ysabel appeared at the door, all smiles. When she saw what’s happening, however, she gave me a look of annoyance. “I should have known that it’s because of you again.” She made an about-face, slamming the door shut behind her.

  All the staff stared at her back, their mouths hanging open.

  “What happened to Princess Ysabel?” Mr. Kai asked Sofia, shock evident on his face.

  Sofia continued staring at the door where her sister disappeared. “I also don’t know.”

  “Maybe she has problems with that boy,” Mr. Kai said before turning to me. “Do not worry, Princess Clarissa, she’s a nice girl, you will be friends soon.”

  ***

  That night when Mari brought me a glass of milk, I asked her to stay so that we could chat. She had been a friend to me, far nicer than my own cousin, that’s why I was comfortable to share my worries with her.

  “Is Ysabel nice to you?” I asked, playing with the condensation that formed on the glass.

  Mari looked at me curiously. “Of course, Claire. Princess Ysabel is nice to everyone.”

  “I think she hates me.”

  “Don’t think like that. You are cousins. I am sure you will be good friends. Try to talk to her and do something together.”

  I looked doubtfully at Mari. It’s obvious from Ysabel’s attitude towards me that I have to consider kidnapping before we could bond.

  ***

  I was walking around the garden the next day afternoon when I heard someone giggling.

  “Believe me, Princess, I could not look at queen mother’s eyes for a year after that incident,” Jazaael said to Ysabel who was gasping for breath. Her face was red from so much laughter.

  “Hi!” I decided to follow Mari’s suggestion, hoping I don’t need to kidnap Ysabel.

  “Hi, Princess Clarissa!” Jazaael said.

  I gave Ysabel a shaky smile. “Hi, Ysabel! Do you want to walk around the garden with me?”

  Upon my arrival, Ysabel’s laughter quickly dissipated. With narrowed eyes, she said, “No. How about you just walk back to where you came from? Your mother took you away from the palace for a reason, just follow her wishes and get the hell away from here.”

  “Princess Ysabel!” Jazaael gasped.

  My chin trembled, but I refused to let her see that she was getting to me. Her hostile behavior was unwarranted because I never did anything bad towards her.

  “I just want to be friends, Ysabel,” I said, forcing my voice not to crack and betray my emotions.

  She glared at me, as though I offended her. “Well, I don’t—”

  “That’s enough!” Jazaael interrupted. He glared at Ysabel and pointed his finger towards the palace’s back door. “Go back to your room, Princess Ysabel. The way you’re talking to your cousin is not right. If I hear more hateful words come out of your mouth, I will not hesitate to tell the queen mother and the king.”

  Ysabel continued to glare as if she didn’t hear what the butler said.

  “Go!” She jumped at Jazaael’s booming voice and left without another word.

  Once she was out of sight, I wasn’t able to stop the choking sobs that came out of my throat. Jazaael rubbed my back and whispered comforting words, echoing what everyone had been telling me: Ysabel is a good girl, and we will be friends.

  Chapter Thirteen

  I was the last to arrive in the dining area for breakfast the following morning. Ysabel’s back was facing the door, and she didn’t turn when everyone greeted me. She pretended to be busy on her phone and continued to fiddle with it until the food was served.

  “Are you sleeping okay in your room, Claire?” Uncle Ant asked. I went into the dining area with heavy steps, dreading to be around Ysabel again, and he probably mistook my gloom as sleeplessness.

  “Yes, Uncle Ant. I slept well.”

  My bedroom was very comfortable. The bed was so soft that you would fall asleep as soon as you lay on it. There’s a study table in front of the huge window, providing a good view of the mountains while studying. A huge walk-in closet large enough to hold an entire store’s worth of clothes and shoes. And a luxurious bathroom with a huge bathtub and all the most fragrant soaps and shampoos.

  Uncle Ant chuckled. “Your dad liked hi
s things luxurious; your bed must be soft like a cloud. It was his old bedroom, did you know?”

  I nodded. “Jazaael told me when he showed me the room. I appreciate that you let me have it.”

  “You also stayed in that room when you were a baby. Your mom and dad were not comfortable to let you sleep with a nanny, so they just placed you in between them and stared at you all night.” There’s a touch of smile on grandma’s face as she reminisced.

  “Then they probably did not get a lot of sleep.”

  “Yes. They looked like zombies, but they were very happy. All they talked about was you. They never shut up,” Uncle Ant said.

  Grandma giggled. “Clarissa turned in her sleep! Clarissa said dada! Clarissa this, Clarissa that…Both of them were so proud of your little achievements,” she shared.

  Eighteen years old and this was the first time I heard stories about my family. It was sad if you think about it, but my heart was full instead.

  “Hey! I remember that when you were one year old, I told you that my name is Ant because Anthony was difficult for a baby. Then, when we were having dinner one night, you saw an ant on the table, you said ‘Ant! Ant! Ant!’ and then pointed at it and then at me, laughing so hard!”

  Our burst of laughter startled the king’s guard standing nearby. Even Ysabel, I noticed, managed a smile.

  “Thank you for sharing that, Grandma, Uncle, I appreciate it. My mom never told me any stories.”

  “Well, we have a lot of them, we can tell you more sometime,” Grandma said.

  ***

  After breakfast, I decided to pick some flowers in the garden to decorate my room. The sunflowers and lilies were the finalists in my flower décor search, and I was about to do the reliable decision-making tool of eeny meeny miny moe when I felt eyes on me. I figured that it must be the gardener and realized that I never asked if I was allowed to get flowers, so I made an about-turn.

  “I’m sorry, Sir I—” But it was not a gardener.

  I have never seen the guy before, and I don’t think he’s part of the royal family. Everyone I met so far had black hair—aside from some older members of the royal court whose hairs have turned gray— whereas this guy had brown.