The first sound in the royal palace each morning should be the ringing of bells.
Today, however, it was a sneeze.
"Ah–CHOO!" echoed through the golden corridor, followed by the clatter of a dropped crown.
Princess Lila blinked at her reflection in the mirror. Her blonde hair puffed out wildly like a startled sheep, and her tiara had fallen into her porridge. Again.
"Oh no, Father will say this is 'unbecoming of royalty' again," she muttered, scooping oatmeal off her crown. "But in my defense, who eats breakfast before brushing their hair?"
Her maid, poor Marianne, was already pale. "Your Highness, please! The court painter arrives soon for your official portrait—!"
Lila waved dismissively. "He can paint me as I am — natural, authentic, mildly chaotic!"
And just like that, the princess skipped toward the balcony, still wearing her breakfast crown, humming as sunlight spilled across the royal capital below. Bakers shouted, carriages rattled, and children laughed in the streets — the city she loved so much, though she wasn't supposed to wander in it.
But of course, she would.Eventually.
For now, her day had just begun — and the palace staff already looked exhausted.