PRICELESS EXCHANGE

THE SCARLET PRINCESS

must you girls always be late! Andrew snapped as we walked out of the house that morning.

sorry, but we need to look good right Tonia? I asked twisting my waist as I walked sexily towards him.

yeah yeah.. Tonia said excitedly

look good for the palace guards or? Andrew asked

oh damn.. you're so unbelievable! I exclaimed as I walked past him into the car.

We will be visiting the old palace of Methosa today and I was more than excited. Tonia and I wore pinafore jeans and Chelsea boots while Andrew wore a black hood under a pair of jean trousers.

In a short time, we got to the kingdom of Methosa and I couldn't believe my eyes as I saw a lot of antediluvian buildings which were built in proximate manners.

wow the buildings looks so old and crappy, I said

yeah, this is the ancient part of the kingdom. A lot of modern buildings can be found close to the new king's palace. Trust me, they're sights to behold, Andrew said

The road to the palace was quite rough and dusty. Soon we pulled up in front of a mansion where a lot of people gathered around the front. They were mostly dressed as tourists and it seems they came for a tour like us too.

seems like a lot of people tour the old palace often, I said

yes it's a tourist site for many, Tonia said

Pass please? a middle aged man asked as we drove to the gate of the mansion. Andrew brought out three tickets from his pocket and handed it over to the man. He wrote something on them and handed them back.

Have a nice tour.. he said with a smile

We pulled up at a garage filled with cars of different kinds. As we walked out of the car, I couldn't help but exclaim,

Oh my gosh! I said looking around the palace

The buildings were old but magnificent. The floors were made with marbles and the walls of each building were painted White. A lot of trees and flowers surrounded the whole place with different kind of sculptures too.

A fountain of water could also be seen with three sculptured horses all spilling out waters from their mouths. The green fields also added to the beauty of the palace.

But then I remembered the book grandma showed me, it had something to do with this palace no doubt. And a new feeling stirred inside of me as I walked around the palace. My eyes fell on a sculpture of a lady playing the violin. No doubt I've seen this sculpture before, I said to myself trying to go down memory lane.

come on let's snap a pic, Tonia urged as she jolted me out of my thoughts

oh yeah, Andrew can give us a shot, I said excitedly. We took pictures together and it was really fun.

Where do we go from here? I asked

should we get a tour guide? Tonia asked

oh no, I'll guide the way, I frequent this place a lot, Andrew said ardently.

ok, lead the way then, Tonia motioned to him.

We'll head to the princess's quarters where the first musical school was formed, Andrew announced

wow!! that would be great! I exclaimed.

He led the way as we all walked to the other side of the building. We stopped in front of a magnificent building which was also painted white. A sculpture of four ladies glued together was seen at the entrance of the building. A lot of people were snapping around the sculpture.

I've seen some of these sculptures at Queens, I said walking towards the sculpture.

yeah, these are the quadruplets of Methosa, Tonia said

really?!!! I've met them with my real eyes o my gosh! I exclaimed as I ran towards the sculpture. My eyes fell on the lady with the violin again. Her looks were so familiar that I began to see myself through her eyes. I was so glued to that particular sculpture and soon became lost in my own world.

Sophie!! Tonia exclaimed as she shook me vehemently

oh... ouch!! I exclaimed as I jolted out of my revelry and turned to look at Tonia

are you alright? Andrew asked

oh.. yeah..I'm fine, I replied

you looked like someone in a trance, Tonia said

oh really? come on, let's go in, I said

We took a few pictures around the sculptures before walking into the building.

On setting my foot into the building, I felt a new kind of spirit within me. I saw myself dressed in a ballerina dress and I was singing so beautifully before a crowd of people.

My... head!! I cried at once

Sophie!! Tonia exclaimed with Andrew and they both rushed towards me.

Are you sure you're ok Sophie? Andrew asked in panic

yeah..um.. I'm fine, I replied again.

I looked around the old building and no doubt, this was the place grandma showed me in that book. A lot of musical instruments were engraved on the walls of the building, different sculptures too were found inside the building. A dried fountain of water was also found in the middle of the building

Hey why is the water dried up? I asked touching the fountain.

History has it that, the water dried up after the separation of the princesses. Andrew said

They separated? I asked with wide eager eyes

yeah they did. An argument broke out amongst the four leading to their separation, a boy behind us said. We turned to look at him and he turned back to the book he was holding.

What argument? I asked looking at Andrew and Tonia

um....

Two of the princesses wanted the the school to be used as a source of revenue but the others refuted, the boy chipped in cutting Andrew short. We all turned to look at him again and Andrew fumed.

Wow, tell me more.. I'm interested, I said walking towards him

he doesn't know anything ok!! I'm the guide Here!! Andrew screamed with his cheeks burning red. The boy smirked and turned to look at me.

Come on, I'll show you around, he said and I nodded excitedly. I turned and saw Andrew's face burning red with anger. Tonia tried to hold back her laughter as she followed me behind.

I'm Drew, and my grandfather once worked here as a palace guard, The boy said smiling.

wow really?!! Tonia and I exclaimed. Meaning you know a lot about this place, I said excitedly and he nodded.

He took us upstairs and we stopped in a passageway which contained different artworks of people. I was amazed at the artworks we saw.

These are the princesses of Methosa, when they were kids, he said pointing to an artwork containing four little girls all dressed in same attires.

wow, they look pretty, Tonia said

yeah, this other picture was taken when they were five years old. This was their first time of singing before the king and his cabinet. That was when they began to realize their talents, He said pointing to the other artwork on the wall. I was amazed as I saw the four girls performing in front of a small crowd. The king was seated on his throne applauding them.

The other artwork here, contains the princesses when they were 16 years of age. This was the time they celebrated their sixteenth birthday. He said pointing to another art on the wall.

So beautiful, please can you differentiate the princesses for us? Tonia asked excitedly

of course. The blonde princess here is princess Tovina, she is the eldest of them all. Followed by princess Torina the one with the icy blue eyes. The one with the scarlet hair is Princess Serena...

hold it there! Andrew snapped. We all turned to look at him in surprise

princess Serena doesn't have scarlet hair ok? she has gold grey hair stop misleading the girls.. Andrew said and Drew kept silent

yeah.. Princess Serena also known as the Queen doesn't have scarlet hair.. Tonia added

who's the one with the scarlet hair? I asked in curiosity as I looked at the princess with the scarlet hair

she's....

she's scarlet by name.. she was named after her hair, She's the only one with a scarlet hair in the whole kingdom of Methosa. She plays the violin so well too, Andrew chipped in cutting Drew short.

she's the violin princess.. I muttered to myself as I stared at her scarlet bouncy hairs. I went down memory lane to a picture where I've seen the scarlet princess... everything here is becoming too familiar to me I thought

Sophie... Tonia called again.

um.. so where is the scarlet princess? I asked

she ran away from the kingdom after the argument broke out amongst the princesses, Drew said

You see, when the first musical school was formed, it brought back life to the kingdom which was once in a doom. The music school was used as a means to train everyone who cared to attend on how to use their musical talent as a means of helping the community. It was free and people from different parts of the world began to troop into the school as music became the number one practice in the world at then.

But then as civilization occurred, Princess Tovina and Torina sought ways in which they could modernize the school and generate income from it, but the other two princesses objected, Andrew related.

And so what happened next? I asked curiously

well, the two senior princesses had a great influence on their father and he couldn't see reason why the other princesses objected to the idea, Drew continued

why did princess scarlet and Serena object in the first place? Tonia asked

Their claims were that, if the school was modernized and used as a source of income, the root of music and it's value would be lost and people would want to use the school as a means of achieving selfish aims.. Andrew related

and of course they were right, cause right now Queens is a place filled mostly with selfish people and we don't even do good music anymore, Tonia said

yeah the root of the school had been lost and now Queens is losing it's original root of music and a lot of civilization had taken over the school, Andrew said

Those princesses were truly altruistic.. I muttered

Though princess Serena is trying to keep the school in order and trying to restore back it's original root, I don't think it's ever going to be the same again.. Tonia said

But princess Scarlet could have stayed back and try to fix things .. I said

she had to run away from her two sisters who grew so clumsy and tried to harm her. Ever since then, no news about her have been heard, Drew said

The kingdom needs her back, the school needs her back! I said ardently

But she's gone and maybe dead like the others. Andrew said

Princess Serena is the only surviving princess? I asked

yeah, and she later became the Queen of Methosa. She and her husband ruled the kingdom for quite a number of years before they were succeeded by their son the now king of Methosa, Drew said

I kept silent trying to think about everything they've said. I looked at the artwork on the wall again and my eyes fell on the scarlet princess. It feels like she was staring at me and I became lost in another world again.

This time around, I saw myself dressed as the scarlet princess and I was singing beautifully before a crowd. The songs continued to play in my head over and over again.

ouch!!... I exclaimed again as I held my head

Sophie!! Andrew and Tonia screamed and rushed towards me. Before they could get to me, I passed out on the floor.