Page 2 of A Fierce Princess

“Oh, come on!” I whine.

“Are you trying to get me killed?” she asks.

I pout and she laughs. “You suck!” she says.

When Sonya learned that Kolvin, the boy she had been coveting for two years, was on a dating app, she may have sort of talked me into rigging the system, so they were a perfect match. And my price may have been her promising to cover for me, so I can go out for one night of fun sometime soon. What are besties for after all?

“Suzy Q, where are you?” I hear Christian’s voice in the hallway and groan.

“I gotta go. Later,” I say to her and end the chat.

A minute later my door bursts open. “Ever try knocking, Lion?” I ask him.

“Ever try locking your door?” he retorts.

“Whatever. What do you want?” I ask him. “I’m sort of busy.”

“Oh?” he asks. Fortunately, I had quickly switched the screen back to a lecture video from my grad program.

“Just finishing re-watching this lecture,” I say with a yawn.

“Nice try. What are you really up to?” he asks.

My brothers both know that I like to hack things for fun, but they don’t know my endgame. They have never known my endgame. Even Sonya doesn’t know everything. I admit spending most of my free time with the world’s demons and outcasts is not a hobby becoming of a princess, but it’s my secret world where I can be whoever I want to be. Online, I am Knight2E4. It’s an homage to my favorite book and my favorite game.

“Just messing around on a dating site for Sonya,” I admit with a shrug.

“You know, you really need to stop fucking around online. One, if you get caught…let’s not even go there, and two, you need to start acting like a princess instead of a pirate,” he adds.

He gets up and starts to leave my room. “Oh, and by the way, Dad wants to see you,” he says.

I groan and toss myself on my bed. I just as quickly get back up, remove the black eyeliner I’m wearing, brush my hair, and change into an acceptable attire. I grumble to myself as I make my way through the palace to my father’s office.

If Chris came to tell me, then it’s ninety-nine percent likely that he had just been here before me. I take a deep breath and knock on the door. Harriet, my father’s receptionist, opens it. She ushers me to the large wooden double doors of my father’s office and knocks on them before opening and saying, “Princess Susanna, Your Majesty.”

“Enter,” my father says. I walk into the room and take a seat across from his desk.

“Susanna,” he starts, “what are your plans?”

“My plans?” I ask. I find myself straightening in the chair and crossing my legs.

“This is your last semester of graduate school. What do you plan to do next?” he inquires, looking up at me over a stack of papers on his desk. He’s wearing his reading glasses and has his head tilted down so that his view of me is not obstructed by them.

“Well, I…I’m not sure,” I stammer.

“You do know you are obligated to take over your mother’s charity work full-time if you plan on remaining a paid royal,” he reminds me.

I sigh. My mother had spent her time creating about a half dozen charities. Most of them centered around underprivileged youths and children with terminal illnesses. I have been volunteering with them since I was old enough to carry items. In fact, the few strong memories I have of my mother mostly center around helping her at various charity events. And I’m well aware that there are two types of royals: paid and unpaid.

I majored in international politics with a minor in computer programming because it was acceptable. And my graduate degree is in international business relations with a focus in e-commerce. What my family doesn’t know, is that I am one of the best hackers in the world. I could have taught all my computer classes. The jobs I would love to have, however, would not be suitable for a princess.

After my mother’s death, Chris sank into sports to mask his sorrows, and Auggie spent all his time playing video games. I was left to study on my computer most days. And I learned everything I could about that computer, and all the ones I had after it. By the time I was fourteen, I had made my own server, my own computer, and I had my own secured Wi-Fi. I could hack any of my father’s computer files. By the time I was sixteen, I could hack all our government ministries’ websites. And by the time I finally went off to university, I could pretty much hack anything.

But I didn’t do it just for fun. At first, I did it to learn more about my mother, her accident, and what really happened. I was young and curious. Then, it became an obsession. And lately, I’ve been feeling like I’m so close to solving a mystery that I can practically taste victory.

“Susanna?” my father says. My mind snaps back to him. I have no idea what he just said.

He sighs. “Susanna, I’ve indulged this behavior long enough. You need to step up and take on the responsibilities of your title,” he says as he runs a hand through his hair. I look at him, really look at him. He’s looking older, there are many gray hairs at his temples. Fine lines run across his forehead like a highway map of anguish. He’s still quite handsome, distinguished looking, but he also looks tired and stressed. There are dark circles under his eyes and lines around his mouth from frowning when he thinks no one is paying attention.

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