Once upon a time in a land far away there lived a princess named Cecelia…

Princess Cecelia was the daughter of the King and Queen of the Kingdom of Rosalinda. She lived in a giant castle made of stone and jewels. There were jewels of sapphire built into the ceiling; jewels of emerald built into the King’s throne and jewels of ruby built into the Queen’s throne. Princess Cecelia even had her own throne with jewels of amethyst built into it. All of the jewels shone bright and beautiful when the light hit them, for the maid servants cleaned them every day.

Though Princess Cecelia was in fact a princess, she never actually enjoyed being a princess. From as young as she could remember, she always wanted to be a ‘normal’ girl. She didn’t enjoy being the centre of attention — with her mother and father showing her off to all of their ‘friends’ — at every gala. Princess Cecelia always wondered whether her parent’s friends would still be their friends if they weren’t royalty or rich and she feared making friends
for that same reason. What if somebody only likes me because I’m royalty and they want to spend time in a castle and treated as royalty themselves rather than actually be my friend? she wondered. Thus, Princess Cecelia chose to live a quiet life in her gigantic castle she called home.

She chose to keep to herself, even when attending big gala parties, sneaking off to find the best hiding place, a nice and quiet place to be alone with a book, for Princess Cecelia always had a book with her. She enjoyed living different lives — through the eyes of the characters. With a book in her hands, she could be anyone she wanted to be. She could be a pilot, a train conductor, a ballet dancer, a detective, or even just a normal girl, as many of the stories she read were about girls having friends and going to school.

Princess Cecelia didn’t go to school. Instead she was home-schooled by a private teacher who came every day to do lessons with her. Her name was Mrs. Archembald. She was never happy or kind to Princess Cecelia, but rather held a permanently sour face. She never smiled and certainly never laughed. Princess Cecelia wondered if Mrs. Archembald even knew how to smile or laugh. She felt sorry for her teacher and hoped she would find joy again one
day…
Aside from keeping to herself and doing her schooling with Mrs. Archembald, Princess Cecelia had weekly tea parties with Miss Bonnie. Miss Bonnie was the head chef for the castle and the only person that Princess Cecelia enjoyed spending time with, aside from her parents.

Their tea parties were held every Tuesday for Tuesday was the slowest day of the week in the castle.

“Hello Miss Cecelia,” said Miss Bonnie, “You’re looking exquisite today. I love your dress.” This made Princess Cecelia stand taller and hold her shoulders back proudly, for she was dressed in her favourite purple dress. It had frilly short sleeves and was long, falling all the way down to her ankles.

“Thank you, Miss Bonnie.” The princess smiled. “Would you like some help in preparing the tea today?”

“That’s quite alright, my dear,” Miss Bonnie said, “I will bring it out when it’s ready. Would you like english breakfast or perhaps an herbal blend today?”

“English breakfast, please. Thank you, Miss Bonnie.” English breakfast was Princess Cecelia’s favourite tea. She could drink it every day. But she knew she wasn’t allowed, so she saved it especially for her tea parties.

Princess Cecelia went up to her room to collect her toys for the tea party. She made sure to grab Mr. Thomas the turtle, Ms. Octavia the octopus, Ms. Ella the elephant, Ms. Honey Bear, and her favourite dolls: Emelia, Catherine, Jennifer and Liliana (the four sisters). Sure, they were all stuffed animals and dolls, but Princess Cecelia very much enjoyed their company; much more than humans, especially those her age.

As was said before, Princess Cecelia was always scared to make friends, fearful that they would only be her friends because of her royalty and riches. But it wasn’t only that reason that she didn’t make friends. It was also the fact that she always felt out of place around people her age, as if she was thinking too much or perhaps, they were
thinking too little.

Princess Cecelia put all of her toys into her purple travelling bag that was much like a suitcase and made her way downstairs and into the backyard. Princess Cecelia stepped outside and took a deep breath of fresh air. Walking by the garden beds that lined the walkway to the courtyard, she stopped at her favourite flower — a lily of the valley — and touched it’s leaves and petals, admiring the beautiful creation.
The backyard truly was just as beautiful as the castle, with it’s lush green grass, bountiful garden beds bursting with an array of flowers, and a water fountain that reached to the Heavens right in the centre of it all. Princess Cecelia’s eyes always twinkled with the water as she walked by to get to her gazebo. Well, I suppose it wasn’t her gazebo, but it was the one she always hosted her tea parties in.

Once Princess Cecelia was inside of the gazebo, she pulled her toys out of her bag and sat them at the table. As she placed her last toy, Miss Bonnie entered
the gazebo with a big tray filled with ten tea cups and two tea pots with freshly brewed english breakfast tea. Princess Cecelia and Miss Bonnie’s weekly tea parties began on a day long ago, when Princess Cecelia was feeling
especially alone — and not in a way she enjoyed. Her mother and father had been out of town on official royal business where she was uninvited, which left the princess feeling truly alone, for she now had nobody to spend time with even if she wanted to.
On the Tuesday following her parents departure, Princess Cecelia had wandered into the kitchen to get her tea set so she could have a tea party with her toys. But when she had gone in there, Miss Bonnie was making her famous chocolate chip cookies and Princess Cecelia’s senses heightened, drawing her closer to the cookies and making her forget all about her tea set.
Princess Cecelia floated towards the cookies that sat on the counter cooling and looked around the kitchen. Miss
Bonnie was looking in the fridge, so the princess quickly snuck a cookie into her mouth! But she wasn’t sneaky enough, for Miss Bonnie heard the ruffling of the paper under the cookie. Miss Bonnie turned around with her hand on her hip and scolded Princess Cecelia. The little princess scrunched her shoulders up to her ears, and hung her head in shame. But as Princess Cecelia looked back up at Miss Bonnie, the older woman saw the depth of sadness
that sat within the princess’s eyes. She softened her face, sighing, offering Princess Cecelia another cookie and the rest is history… For after that, Princess Cecelia became Miss Bonnie’s little helper in the kitchen when she made her cookies and Miss Bonnie became Princess Cecelia’s helper when she had tea parties. And every tea party the princess held after that, she invited Miss Bonnie to join, for she really did enjoy the older woman’s company.

“Shhhh, everyone,” Princess Cecelia said. “Bow your heads and clasp your hands together. Thank You, Lord, for this time to be together enjoying each
other’s company. Thank You for Miss Bonnie for making our tea. May You bless our tea party, filling our hearts with Your love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Miss Bonnie is the one who introduced Princess Cecelia to the Lord on that fateful day many years ago. When Miss Bonnie had spoken of the Lord, Princess Cecelia had clung to every word, for Miss Bonnie shared how the Lord was always with her, and especially so on the days she felt most alone. Princess Cecelia had felt the most alone that day, and so, thinking she had a Heavenly Father there with her all the time, was a wonderful thing for her to hear about. Thus, she clung to that belief and never let go. She began praying more and reading a Bible that Miss Bonnie had gifted her, and ever since then, Princess Cecelia felt much less alone, no matter where she was or whether or not her parents were around or gone.

Princess Cecelia reached for the tea pot to pour her own tea, but Miss Bonnie beat her to it. Never could a princess pour her own tea, not with Miss Bonnie around.

“Let me get that for you, Miss Cecelia.”

“Why thank you, Miss Bonnie.” Princess Cecelia smiled up at her with big round eyes. Such an innocent, sweet little girl with a heart so big, yet so fragile. Miss Bonnie knew that Princess Cecelia enjoyed being alone so she took it as no joking matter that the little princess seemed to enjoy her company, thus Miss Bonnie made sure to treasure each tea party they had together. Miss Bonnie poured a cup of tea for each of Princess Cecelia’s toys and then lastly, one for herself.

“Miss Bonnie, could you tell us a story from the Bible?” Princess Cecelia asked, gesturing to herself and her toys.

“Why of course, Miss Cecelia. I thought of the perfect story to share as I was preparing the tea. How would you like to hear about a Queen who saves her entire race of people?”