As promised… Shannaye's story! I shall say one thing:

Shannaye (pronunciation: shuh-NEIGH) is not mine… Unfortunately.

The brilliant InChrist-Billios is the creator of our heroine. The story line is mine, but nearly every aspect of her is by the original creator.

Anyway, this is a continuation- in a sense- of my other story, Bring What May Come. Do not be alarmed, new readers, this won't need any previous knowledge of that story- nor of the other story incorporated: Days to Fly. Read on!

Shannaye

1

I awoke to somebody shaking me roughly. I yawned and rubbed my face, then squinted against the light and grumbled, "What time is it?"

Kaylla laughed at me. "Time to do your hair." She revealed a pair of scissors in her hand.

My eyes flew open and I jumped from the bed, away from my younger sister. "You're not touching it."

"Yes I am, Shannaye! You'll look positively adorable with it cut, now sit down!" she said, grabbing my wrist and dumping me in a chair set up in the middle of the large bedchamber. I attempted to get away, but she held firm. "Now really, does my hair look so bad with it short?" she asked, putting a towel around my shoulders.

"Your hair is different from mine, Kay," I argued. "It's going to look better on you than me. Besides, do you even know what you're doing?"

She tittered at me. "Of course I do."

I didn't argue. I knew well enough she knew what she was doing. I still doubted the outcome of this, however. Her hair was fashionable no matter what. It was midnight black and would cooperate with whatever you wished it to do. My hair, unfortunately, was absolutely uncontrollable. It would never work with what it was asked to do, thusly I normally had it in a long braid down my back and down to my waist.

Now Kaylla wanted to chop it off, all the way to my chin. I knew at once it would never go over well. It would frizz out and be in the state that exists between wavy and curly, where it is neither of the styles, and also lacks the elegance of both. One factor, however, was good about my hair: the color. It was a dark red, more considered to be an auburn of sorts. I got the color from my father, King Richard, though his was brighter than my own. My mother had gorgeous blonde hair, which baffles everyone, because it seems to be missing from our genes. Nobody is sure of where my brother, Edmund, and Kaylla got their dark hair. It is assumed that the gene stayed dormant- quite inexplicable- when my father was born. Nobody could be for certain, however, since his birth parents are unknown.

Snip! I groaned. Snip, snip! I saw my hair falling to the ground. I shut my eyes and pressed my lips together. I heard more snipping and my head was beginning to feel light, not from shock or dizziness, but from of the lack of hair. I was surprised at the change it made.

There was a long pause suddenly. "Kaylla…," I began.

She hushed me and I felt her tugging at the tips of my hair to check for even sides. Finally she whipped off the towel and said, "Magnifique!" she exclaimed.

I stood and cautiously made my way towards my vanity. I gasped at the product. "Mon Dieu, Kaylla!"

She came up behind me. "It's gorgeous! Stunning!Don't be so silly!"

I wouldn't have gone as far as gorgeous, but it did end up better than I expected. The hair ended up right at my chin, and framed my face well. My round greenish-brown eyes were exaggerated, something Kaylla had been trying to figure out to do. She had managed to exaggerate her own eyes identical to my own, but my hair- again- did not work well as hers did. The contrast of black and green was more stunning than the complimentary colors red and green.

"Your eyes," Kaylla continued, "finally have that mesmerizing kind of gaze to them."

I raised my eyebrows, making me look awfully comical. I quickly frowned, distorting my face even more. "If I wasn't wearing a gown, nobody recognize me for a girl. Nobody will want to marry me." I paused. "Maybe this haircut is a good thing, then!"

"Nonsense, I'm sure it's quite the opposite, actually. You'll get so much attention and so many proposals from the courtiers, you shall have to beat the off with sticks," she assured me. "Then you can finally stop being such a book-hermit."

"I am no book-hermit!" I growled. "Stop acting like you're the older sister. In case you've forgotten, I am. Stop nagging me."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

I huffed. "In any case, you dingbat, I shan't marry at all. It's not like I must marryfor the country to go on. That's Edmund's problem, and not a very big one in his eyes."

Shaking her head she said, "You're a secret romantic, Princess Shannaye Xue Shelley of Pondeira, and you very well know it."

"You're talking of yourself, you goose."

"Alas! I am no secret romantic," she countered.

I rolled my eyes. "Help me get dressed now and you can fix my hair however you wish to, if anything this short can be styled at all." Grinning with delight, Kaylla flew to my wardrobe and pulled out an extremely frivolous gown. I screeched and ran to her, yanking it from her grasp. "One change at a time, Kaylla."

o.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.o

"Oh Shannaye, darling, it's beautiful."

My mother smiled at me as Kaylla and I sat down to breakfast. I sighed and said, "Thank you, Mother. I didn't exactly have a choice, though."

Edmund walked in and stopped short. "Ha, what have we got here? The carrot has gone and cut off her hair."

"Honestly, what is with you and Kaylla torturing me? Aren't I the one that's supposed to be the one teasing you two?" I asked. They both shrugged and Edmund sat down, immediately reaching for the sausage. I frowned. "Why do you always insist on eating like a pig?"

He didn't answer and began to eat. I sighed and put my napkin in my lap.

"Kaylla, yesterday we got a letter from the king of Glenlow. He was hoping you could meet his son," Mother said.

Kaylla finished chewing and said, "That would be lovely."

"There was an invitation included, they are having a ball in about six months. Perhaps you should like to go?"

"Oh! Even more lovely. I should love to, Mother!" was the reply.

Mother smiled and continued, "King Eli also has a daughter and should like you to meet her, Edmund, and travel with Kaylla there for the ball." She glanced at me and smiled. "He also extends an invitation to the rest of us as well."

Kaylla squeaked. "Oh, Shannaye, this is it! The perfect place to show off your new hair in society."

"Must we go?" I asked timidly. "I despise balls."

Mother blinked and laughed. "Of course we must go, Shannaye. It would be rude to decline."

"But…" I stopped and sighed. "Alright."

So? What do you think? I'm not exactly sure where this is going.

Also, if you've got better titles as the story goes on, please tell me. I want to have a clever title, but I'm not sure what yet.

"Shannaye" just doesn't seem clever in the least bit to me as a title for a story.

Review, bitte! (please)