Skin as Smooth as Snakes

Skin as Smooth as Snakes Prologue I ran through the forest with my dagger clenched in my hand, knowing the only way out was about seventeen miles west. And I was heading East. I was going to meet Mila and Amelia in the Forgotten, but I would have to be able to stay alive to climb a mountain. So many thoughts and feelings were rushing through my head; How Mila may be dead now, the sound of the many groups of people trying to capture me- or kill me, my intense hatred for John, and my… Feelings for my mom. She had poisoned my dad to be able to take control of the crown- and might I add, me. She wanted to marry me off to some i***t from Spain so the ties between the two countries would be secure. But, I guess I have to be thankful for that, because that is how I met Mila, who is that i***t's sister. I am sure I will marry her once I get out of this dreadful forest. Amelia has been my best friend since, well, forever. We met when my mother found her and her sister sitting in the forest trying to start a fire when Amelia was 8, and my mom took her in as a maid and we met and became friends instantly. About two years ago, Amelia got pregnant, and was sent to the Forgotten- our country's Exile, where she gave birth to her son Skyler, the prince of the Forgotten, making Amelia the Queen. Oops, I forgot to tell you my name. I’m Kiera, and I am the eighteen year old princess of Estonia, heir to a throne that I do not even want- or like for that matter. There is something about me that you can tell from the moment you set your eyes on me, and I will tell you the story right now. I was born a normal girl- healthy and adorable, until my grandmother heard about my birth and cursed me because she knew my mom did not love my dad, and that she was going to poison him that very day, and thought if her precious little girl was cursed, she would forget all about my father. But she was wrong. All my mom did was change our country's flag from two bluebirds sitting on a branch with our palace in the background, to a slick green viper encircling a branch. So, yeah, I am a snake girl, or should I say a beautiful girl with unfortunate features, such as a thin forked tongue and yellow eyes. I have learned to love myself, to love the beauty and elegance in my slightly scaled and greenish skin, the sharpness in my slit-like yellow eyes, and how intimidating my fangs are. Now I know that anyone who calls me a witch or the devil’s child is just ugly themselves.