Princess Love - Chapter 1
 
        Elizabeth sat in her room and looked out the window to the endless lush gardens that surrounded the palace.  They had been beautiful the first time she had seen them, but now they were dull, yet sometimes colorful, much like her life.
         At the age of twenty-six she had led the life that every little girl had dreamed of.  As a young girl she was raised by her single father, who gave her all the love that she would need from two parents.  Her mother had died during childbirth and Elizabeth had blamed herself, as ridiculous as it may seem.  It had been a rough pregnancy, her first pregnancy, for her mother.  At twenty she had died and left her twenty-five year old husband to raise a motherless little girl.
         Elizabeth was fair, coming from the Irish-Catholic family that had bred generations to generations of beautiful women and handsome men.  When you were born into the O'Donnell family, you had a title to hold. It was in a grand estate in Beverly-Hills that the young Elizabeth Grace had been born and raised.  Her father was the third richest man on the planet, developing software and computers that would be used well into the future.  His name was better known than any developer on the planet; but he never let this go to his head, he had a daughter to raise.
        Private schooling had been the only way for Bill's daughter to be taught.  She had to be taught by the best professors and the best nuns had to discipline her.  Her only goal was to please her father, the last thing she would ever want to do would be to embarras him.  At nineteen she had come home from school one day and her life had changed in a flash.
         "Elizabeth, darling..." Her father had said and patted the place next to him.  They were sitting in the well furnished sitting room, which was only used for extremely special occasions.
         "Yes father?" She said, her slender figure taking her place next to him.
         "I went to work this morning and I was told of a move that you and I will be taking." He began and Elizabeth looked at him.  Her long blonde hair was in a braid that went down her back.
         "Where would that be?" She asked, her blue eyes meeting his.  They looked exactly alike except for the jet black hair that was peppered with gray that her father had begun to develop.  It made him look even more powerful, even more dignified, if that was possible.  She was very use to their vacations in the South of France, or Austrailia, Italy maybe, it was no big deal to her.
         "Britain." He said and looked at her to see her reaction.
         "Okay, we haven't been their in a long time." She said and thought back to when the last time had been. Maybe six or seven years.
         "No, I mean we are moving there." He said.
         "No!" She yelled and stood up.  She never talked back to her father, but there was a first time for everything.
         "Don't talk back to me young lady." He said, and she bowed her head.
         "I apologize sir." She said as she curtsied.
         "All of the servants must be told and the packing must begin as soon as possible." He said.  At the age of forty-four he was still as young and viabrant as he had always been, but he had also become a little more demanding.  Elizabeth nodded and walked the house.
         When you walked into the mansion your breath would definatly be taken away.  The ceilings were up twenty feet and painted in a light beige with the outlines of birds up above.  There was a huge skylight above the grandstaircase. The first thing you could see when you walked in was the red carpeted staircase.  Five long,wide steps covered in a red rug led to a platform.  Once you got up to the platform you were closer to the gigantic portrait of Mrs. O'Donnell.  You could take the stairs to the left that led to the bedrooms and bathrooms or the staircase the right that led to the
offices, gym and studio.  But if you chose not to go up the stairs, you could stay downstairs and visit the kitchen, servants quarters, ball room and dining room.  Behind the house was the private beach and sundeck.
        She knew that she was going to miss the house, more than anything. She never really had friends and she stayed home most of the time, taking care of her father. The move to England wouldn't be that huge for her, but she would still miss America.
         Two weeks later they had boarded the private jet and were on their way to England.  Elizabeth sat in her seat and didn't say much, she just looked out at the flowing clouds that passed slowly underneath her.  Down below was the clear blue of the Atlantic Ocean and far off to the east was their destination.
         Her father typed quickly on his keyboard and the rhythmic noise of his typing was soothing to her ears.  She had heard it throughout her childhood and it had become comforting for her.  She was never a huge computer geek like her father was, but she knew how to use it in case the
occasion that she actually to use it would arrive.  Her father wasn't overbearing and didn't want her to become a computer engineer like he was, he wanted one thing; that she be happy.  She could do anything that makes her happy and that would make her father happy as well.  Even at the age of nineteen she didn't know what she wanted to do with her life.  One thing that she wanted to do when the time came was to have a houseful of children that she would raise unlike her mother.
         "Liz?" She heard the gentle voice of her father say to her right and she turned her glance to him and smiled.
         "Sorry Father, I was daydreaming again." She said as she smiled and he nodded.  That was one thing that he didn't like.
         "We are almost there," he said and pointed to the window.  She looked down and saw the sprawling countryside beneith her.  She nodded, she was unfazed by it all, she had been to every country and city that mattered and nothing really impressed her anymore.
         "Very well then." She said and looked down as the greenness of the brush and trees came closer and she wandered what the new country would bring for her.
 
         Valerie made her way up the long path up to her house on the top of the hill.  She sighed heavily as she walked up, she was only have way there.  Her strawberry blonde hair was put up in a ponytail on top of her head.  She green eyes showed nothing more than tiredness and anger.  She had to do this every day and there really was nothing else that she could do about it.  The laughter from behind her irritated her even more, it was just another part of a long day.
         She lived in a large complex among many other kids her age.  She had lived there for only six months and she hated it already.  She was not new to down, just new to the neighborhood.  She was a quiet, reserved, girl.  She kept to herself mostly, she never got in anyones way, until now, apparently.
         She was a tall girl, with darkened skin that was often marveled over.
         She had a tan all year long and it was winter up in upstate New York! She was a pretty girl and taller than most of the girls in her school.  She was a senior and she couldn't wait to get out of high school.
        Her voyage up to her house from the bus stop down below was anything but fun.  The incline kept her from walking any faster, but she was nearly at a run.  She tried to avoid the 'creatures' that stood behind her.  They said nasty things to her and often hurt her feelings.  She was to shy to say anything, but she knew that if they kept up with it any longer she would be forced to tell them off.  It was just another day for Valerie and she breathed a sigh of relief when she reached her front door and opened it.
 
         Kimberly stood in front of the packed gym and looked around.  This was what she liked, the crowd cheering for her, everyone getting into the game and giving her motivation to get the job done.   She lifted the ball above her head, curved her wrists and shot it at the net.  "SWOOSH!" Could be heard all through the gym and a cheer was let out by the fans.
         She had played college basketball in California for the three years that she had been there, and she was a favorite among the crowd.  She scored dozens of points and was always fun during the games.  She was very vocal and cheered as much as the cheerleaders.  She ran to the locker room and pulled her medium length brown hair down from the ponytail and shook her head to get
it to flow down to her shoulders.  She quickly dressed and ran out the door.  Greeted by many of her team mates and the audience that had cheered for her.  Through it all she kept a smile and left.  She had more important things to deal with.
 
         Jasmine made her usual rounds up on the maternity/pediatric floor.  Being a doctor had been her life long dream; and now she was living it.  It really was as good as she thought it would be, but it took hard work and patience.  She was a pediatrician and it really wasn't always easy.  She had
to many cases where parents came in. "Can you fix my daughter? She tripped down the stairs." A smiling parent would say and Jasmine would look the child over, realizing that the stairs hadn't done it, the parent's had.  She had been working in Los Angeles General for two years and she had worked there, as a resident and now a doctor.  She had had her share of punchings and heard her share of cussings, but it was all part of the job.  Nothing could replace the love that she had for her job.
 
         Jen sat on her bed and frowned.  She had drawn a beautiful picture of a man and a woman, full of smiles.  She looked at it carefully and realized that the person she had drawn were her parents and she didn't even realize it.  "If only..." She mumbled to herself and heard a scream, she didn't even flinch.
         "Get out!" She heard her father say.
         "You get out, you bastard!" She heard her mother say.  She shook her head and stood up to stretch.  The door slammed, but again, she didn't react or even wonder who had slammed it.  She, like Valerie, was used to what the day brought.
         "Mommy and Daddy hate each other." Was the only thing her little sister, Samantha, could say about the screaming and yelling.
         "No, they just share a difference of opinions."  Jen said, not even sure if that was the truth.
         "Why?" The five year old asked.
         "No idea." Jen said.  She knew all right, they did hate each other. She was eighteen years old and she couldn't wait to get out of the house.  The screaming she had gotten used to, but not the crying of her sister.  She didn't know what to do with her, and her parents certainly didn't seem to care what happend to either one of them.
         They were a respectable family up in New York.  Her father was a business man and her mother was a teacher, they made a good living and seemed to live a wonderful life, but appearances didn't mean anything, they were just appearances.  As the saying goes... the grass is always greener on the other side...