Chapter 28: Brelyn's Princess Debut

                                    

                                          
Brelyn paced back and forth in the large room. She was taken to the castle to get ready for her big debut. Today was the day she would be presenting herself as princess and the next heir to the throne of all of Auradon. There were many things that could go wrong, and every single one of them flooded her mind.
                          
Brelyn was joined with her three best friends. Each one was wearing a very fancy dress for the occasion; of course, each one was designed and made by Evie. Brelyn's dress was lavender that had many layers, Elaina had a royal blue dress that was just above her knees, Jacey wore a short, maroon dress, and Cayla wore a red dress with a black layer underneath.
                          
"Calm down," Elaina told her. "Everything's going to be fine."
                          
"How do you know that?" Brelyn stated. "There are a million possibilities of things that could go wrong today. It'll all be my fault."
                          
"What's with you people and believing everything that goes wrong is your fault?" Cayla asked. 
                          
"I'm sorry," Brelyn began. "I'm just nervous. Just a couple of months ago, I was an orphan girl with big hopes and dreams. Now, I'm a princess and next in line to a throne. It's a lot of pressure."
                          
"Like I said," Elaina said, "everything's going to be fine. We'll be there for you and so will your parents."
                          
"I'm pretty sure our parents will be there for you too," Jacey mentioned.
                          
Suddenly, Jacey received a text. "The boys are downstairs," Jacey said. Elaina and Cayla were both asked to the presentation by boys from school. They do admit that they probably wouldn't date them, but they would become good friends. Cayla was going with Jackson, the son of Jordan and grandson of Genie, and Elaina was going with Aaron, son of Anthony Tremaine, who had been saved from the Isle, and the grandson of Anastasia Tremaine. 
                          
"Okay," Brelyn said. "See you guys later."
                          
The girls nodded as they left. Brelyn sort of wished she had asked someone to be her date, but she figured she would be fine without one. Brelyn let out a sigh as the door opened. Brelyn turned around to find herself facing her mother. "How are you doing?" Mal asked.
                          
"Nervous," Brelyn replied.
                          
"Don't be, everything's going to be fine."
                          
"That's what everyone keeps telling me. I just keep thinking of all the ways things could go wrong today. What if my magic starts going crazy? What if I say something the kingdom doesn't like? WHAT IF I FALL GOING UP THE STAIRS?"
                          
"I highly doubt any of that will happen," Mal said. "Just do what your father told you. Think of something to take your mind of whatever you are freaking out about."
                          
"But what if-" Mal put her finger on Brelyn's lips.
                          
"No more what-ifs. You can't predict everything that's going to happen. You can't stop anything from happening either. Things happen for a reason. Just go with the flow. I promise everything will be fine."
                          
Brelyn nodded slowly. Suddenly, Ben entered the room. "Wow," he said looking at his wife and daughter. In his eyes, both were stunning. "Are we ready to go?"
                          
Mal looked down at Brelyn with her hand out. Brelyn promptly joined hands with her mother. "Yeah. We're ready."
                          


                          
The royal family was escorted to the location of the presentation. There was a large crowd of people. Brelyn could feel her nerves taking hold of her. "Think of something else," she reminded herself. One of the castle guards held her hand as she exited the carriage. Brelyn bowed letting him know she was thanking him. He nodded with a smile in response. Brelyn took a deep breath before entering the hall. She took deep and controlled breaths as she walked further in. She approached a closed door. She was to wait for her signal before entering. "Stop freaking out," she told herself. "You just rehearsed here the other day."
                          
On the other side, Fairy Godmother approached the podium. With her on the podium was Ben, Mal, Belle, and Beast. She looked over to Ben and Mal; both of them looked just as nervous as Brelyn. "She's going to be fine," she told them.
                          
"We know," Ben said.
                          
"Hey," Beast began. "If she's anything like her father, she'll have everything she needs, and she'll be fine."
                          
"Shall we begin?" Belle asked. They all looked at each other and nodded with smiles.
                          
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Fairy Godmother began. The hall became very quiet. "It is my honor and my joy to present Auradon's next heir." The horn players at the back of the hall got ready. "Here she is: Princess Brelyn."
                          
The doors opened to reveal the young princess. Brelyn took another deep breath before walking down the aisle. As she walked down the aisle, the crowd bowed as she passed them. Brelyn could feel beads of sweat on her forehead. "Find something to focus on," she thought to herself. 
                          
She looked to her left and spotted Aria and her family. Aria looked up and gave her a smile. "You're doing great," she whispered. Brelyn couldn't help but smile back. She looked to her right and saw Mallory with her family. Mallory looked up and gave her a wink and a smile.
                          
It wasn't long before Brelyn passed Elaina, Cayla, Jacey, and their families. It was then she found it. The thing to take her mind off of everything she was stressed out about. Elaina, Cayla, and Jacey all gave her a warm smile. Brelyn looked up to their parents; they too were giving her warm smiles. 
                          
These four girls have spent their entire lives with each other. Whenever she needed it, these girls were always there for Brelyn. For all her life, Brelyn always felt that there was something missing. She obviously found it, but looking back at it, she had already found something to fill the missing space before finding her parents. Elaina, Jacey, and Cayla were always there. Brelyn began to think about what her life would be like if she and her friends didn't get invited to Auradon Prep. She knew one thing for sure: their friendship would be no different. They would always have each other. No matter where they went, they could always find each other in the space between.
                          
Brelyn walked up the two steps that met her up with Fairy Godmother, her parents and grandparents. She looked over at her parents. Both of them looked at her with proud eyes. Mal had tears in her eyes. The child she had given up fourteen years ago was now presenting herself to the kingdom. Brelyn then looked at Beast and Belle. Both gave her a nod and warm smiles. She nodded her head in response. Brelyn then brought her attention to Fairy Godmother.
                          
"You ready?" Fairy Godmother asked. Brelyn nodded. In Fairy Godmother's hands, she held a small tiara. It was silver and had small purple and green gemstones on it. "Ladies and gentlemen!" Fairy Godmother pronounced. "Princess Brelyn," she said as she placed the tiara on Brelyn's head. "Heir to the throne and future queen of Auradon."
                          
Brelyn faced the crowd and the crowd cheered and clapped. She looked over to her friends. They were hugging and had tears in their eyes. Brelyn began to giggle at her friends. "We're so proud of you," Brelyn saw Elaina mouth.
                          
"See," Mal said. "They like you just the way you are."
                          
Brelyn smiled. She had the keys, and the kingdom was hers. These people would become her people. All her doubts she had that morning had suddenly disappeared.
                          
Mal, Ben, and Brelyn joined the others in the crowd. Elaina, Cayla, and Jacey didn't even think before running up and hugging the purple-haired princess. 
                          
The eight adults watched as their daughter exchanged their happiness. None of them could really explain it, but there was a certain vibe the girls set off. They could feel it, and it made them happier every moment they felt it. "What?" Brelyn asked, knowing the adults were watching.
                          
All of them suddenly jerked as they all came back to reality. "Um, nothing," Mal said.
                          
"Admit it," Cayla said. "You guys are just way too happy to have us back."
                          
"Yeah, that's basically it," Carlos said blatantly.
                          
The girls looked at each other and laughed. Their laughs made the adults laugh. Pretty soon, everybody was laughing in a circle. It was then the girls grabbed everyone and pulled them into a hug.
                          
Nobody wanted to let go. They had made a promise to protect each other: they were one, big, happy family.