The False Princess And The Beast

~003~ The switch

“You’re joking, right?”

Cornelia desperately hoped she was joking, but the princess looked as calm as ever, as if it were an everyday thing for her. “You’re a bloody princess?” She couldn’t help the curse word that burst from her mouth, it was the only thing that managed to relay her shock.

She began to shake her head. “No, no, no, absolutely not.”

Vienna remained calm as Cornelia panicked. She had fully expected Cornelia’s reaction. “You already agreed.”

“That was before I knew you were a bloody princess. I can’t do it.”

Cornelia backed away searching for an exit. They were bloody insane if they expected her to impersonate a princess. Cornelia, who had no sophisticated bone in her body, would absolutely fail, and when the truth was revealed, they would take her head.

“I can’t let you leave.” Vienna said, blocking Corneli’s path.

“Are you insane?” Cornelia shouted, not caring that it was a crime to talk to the princess like that. “I cannot pretend to be you. You’re the princess of this kingdom. Impersonating you would mean lying to the king. I would die if I got caught.”

“You have nothing to worry about in that regard, he will barely notice a thing.” Be 'he' Vienna meant the king of Crytalis. Cornelia was shocked by how casually Vienna spoke about the king, but he was her father. “We barely meet, and when we do, we don’t talk, so you don’t have to worry about him finding out you’re not me.”

But the whole kingdom buzzed about how much the king loved his daughter and how inseparable they were, but it seemed it was all lies. Cornelia had more questions, but Vienna spoke up, her voice firm, leaving no room for discussion. “You just have to pretend to be me for three days. In that duration, you will be meeting people I have never met so you don’t have to worry about them noticing anything.”

Cornelia tried once again to change the princess’s mind, but she wouldn’t budge. Finally, she nodded despite every instinct warning her against it.

“Good.” Vienna nodded, and just as Cornelia thought things couldn’t get worse, they did. “A convoy will be arriving in a week’s time to ask for my hand in marriage. All you have to do is pretend to be me for the three days they will be here.”

Cornelia nodded correctly. It seemed simple enough, she would meet the strangers, pretend to be as docile and obedient as she could, and when the time came, they would switch back. “So, all I have to do is to accept the proposal, right?”

Vienna’s eyes shined with mischief. “On the contrary, your job is to do everything possible to make them withdraw their proposal.”

Cornelia threw her hands up in frustration. How the hell was she supposed to do that?

***

Over the next week, Cornelia learned everything about Vienna, the kind of food she ate, the dresses she wore, who was her friend and who was not, and how she liked her hair styled, and it soon overwhelmed her. How could she possibly learn everything about a person in just one week?

It didn't take long for her to feel more like the princess than she felt herself. The only issue they had was Cornelia couldn’t play the piano to save her life, and the princess was well known around the world for her piano skills. But Vienna had assured her that she wouldn’t be required to.

Cornelia, who still thought it was a terrible idea, questioned, “What if they ask me to play? What do I do then?”

Vienna looked annoyed by her question. "You're the princess, no one can tell you what to do.”

Cornelia kept quiet but wasn’t convinced. Soon the first day she would be impersonating the princess came, and in the early hours of the morning when others were still fast asleep, Cornelia and Vienna switched places.

“Don’t forget everything I told you.” Cornelia nodded even though she was nervous.

“What about you? Where will you be?”

“Do not worry about me.” With that, Vienna disappeared, leaving Cornelia to replace her. Clarisse guided Cornelia to the massive bed and positioned her exactly how Vienna would. She thought it was excessive but said nothing, waiting for the knock on the door that would signal the start of the day.

She didn’t have to wait long as Clarisse knocked on the door at the exact time she would wake the princess.

"Princess Vienna, may we come in?”

Just as Vienna taught her, she counted to 3, 1...2...3, and said in a monotone voice she had practiced before. “Come in.”

The convoy was expected to arrive in a few hours, so all Cornelia had to do was follow the princess’s schedule, which was a bath, breakfast, a walk in the garden, and piano practice, for which she already prepared an excuse.

Step one commenced with her striping naked and stepping into the massive tub filled with hot water and rose petals. Luckily the princess didn’t have any distinguishing marks, and their figures were similar enough. She felt uncomfortable with others washing her but swallowed her discomfort and tried making conversation to ease the awkwardness.

“So how did you all sleep?” No sooner had the words left her lips than Clarisse shot a glare. Cornelia snapped her mouth shut, apparently the princess did not make idle talk. The rest of the bath went smoothly in complete silence, and no one noticed the difference. She sighed in relief, mentally preparing herself for breakfast, having already memorized all the princess’s favorite food and drinks, how long it usually took her to finish eating, and even the number of bites she took to finish a bagel.

As soon as she finished dressing, they were the same size, so they had no concerns there, a knock on her door startled her. Vienna hadn’t informed her about this, Cornelia thought and turned to Clarisse, who looked just as confused.

No one moved to open the door, looking at her as if waiting for something. She realized they wouldn’t open the door until she permitted it. Stumbling over her words but covering it with a cough, she ordered. “Come in.”

The door opened and someone spoke the last words Cornelia wanted to hear, “Good morning, Princess. Your father requests your presence in the breakfast hall.”

As someone who grew up fatherless, she had never heard those words in her life, and they sounded strange to her. But then it occurred to her, she was impersonating the princess whose father was none other than the Ruler of Crystalis, King Cyril Arlindor.