Destined
By Misha
Disclaimer- Not mine. I’m just borrowing them and will return them when I am finished.
Author’s Notes- This is a short look into the life and motivations of my main TRR MC, Eleanor Sloane, and touched on her relationship with her mother and what inspired an American waitress to believe she could be a queen.
Rating- PG
Summary- On the day of her coronation, Eleanor remembers her mother and the lessons she taught her.
Words- 434
“Once upon a time, long, long ago a king and queen ruled over a distant land. The queen was kind and lovely and all the people of the realm adored her. The only sadness in the queen’s life was that she wished for a child but did not have one.
One winter day, the queen was doing needle work while gazing out her ebony window at the new fallen snow. A bird flew by the window startling the queen and she pricked her finger. A single drop of blood fell on the snow outside her window. As she looked at the blood on the snow she said to herself, “Oh, how I wish that I had a daughter that had skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony.””- The Story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
Jennifer Sloane stopped reading long enough to reach out and touch her daughter’s long brown locks. “I know exactly how that queen felt, because I wished just as hard for you, Ellie and just like the Queen, my wish came true.”
Eleanor rolled her eyes. “Mom, you say that every time you read Snow White.”
It had been part of their bedtime ritual for as long as Eleanor could remember, even as the nightly story turned to chapter books instead of fairy tales on a more regular basis, Jennifer would still occasionally insist on reading this story even though at nine Eleanor thought she was starting to outgrow fairytales. She wasn’t ready to say that out loud yet though.
“Because, it’s true,” Jennifer commented, “you were our Snow White, our beautiful daughter that we longed so hard. It’s not my fault you’re as pretty as a princess and as special as one too.”
Eleanor smiled and leaned against her mother as Jennifer continued to read. Finally, when the story was done, Jennifer got up pressing her lips to Eleanor’s forehead. “Sleep tight, Ellie, and dream of all the impossible things you are going to do when you grow up.”
“Mom!”
Jennifer just smiled as she straightened, “one day, Ellie, I hope you see just how special you are and that you are meant for extraordinary things.”
—
Sixteen Years Later
Eleanor stood in front of the mirror, taking in the sight of the blood red Coronation gown. Almost a year after her journey had begun, here she was, about to be crowned Queen of Cordonia and for some reason all she could think of was her mother reading her Snow White so long ago and comparing her to the princess in the story.
What would her mother think if she could see her now, about to become a Queen? Somehow, Eleanor had a feeling her mother wouldn’t be surprised. After all, Jennifer Sloane had never made secret of her belief in her daughter.
“You are meant for extraordinary things.” Eleanor had thought of those words, uttered often by her mother in her childhood, frequently during her Cordonian journey. Sometimes she thought it was those words that had given her the courage to get through the darkest periods of the engagement tour and the aftermath of the assassination plot.
It was also what had convinced her that a simple American girl could become a queen. Because she wasn’t simple, she was Eleanor and she’d been destined for greatness from the moment she was born and now, like in every fairytale, that moment had finally come.
- End
