July 2014

My name is Vanessa Williams Carter

The name's Vanessa Williams Carter

I am Vanessa Carter

I am Vanessa Carter

I am Vanessa Carter

I've been practicing and chanting how to introduce myself to other people in my head for the past five hours. Still, I felt nervous just saying a simple lie. I don't know if it's because it's not so simple, or I'm just not a very good liar.

I still can't believe I did this.

After all those years behind palace walls, I finally made it out without a hitch.

Sort of

When I say palace walls, I mean it.

I'm a princess.

You can add the word runaway before that title

I can only get out of the country to work some business for my family, greet the public, attend meetings, attend parties, and/or speak in front of the people. And when I go out, I must be guarded 24/7.

The Royal Family needs protection.

Every member must have at least 6 bodyguards when going in public places.

Every member must have 20 bodyguards when going out of the country.

I am the heir and future of my family, so I should be protected.

As if I don't have two hormonal brothers

Those are three of the many more rules I must abide as a princess.

But now, I broke all those rules.

Four more hours.

Sure, I only have two bodyguards during my years in Cambridge but that is the closest to freedom I ever tasted. And besides, I was studying. I wasn't exactly doing something different.

Just four more hours, and I could finally be sure that I am safe. It's been five hours since I boarded.

I'm a different person now. The moment I set foot on the concrete floor outside the palace, I became another person.

I managed to reach the airport without alarming the palace guards. I also managed to ward off the people who recognized my uncanny similarities with the princess.

Jessica told me so much about New York. She's my best friend since we were five, even when her family moved to California, we still kept in touch. Now, she has her own place, and landed herself a job in the Big City. I envy her so much for the freedom she has. I have to change my whole identity in order to escape my family. I just couldn't take it anymore. Why can't I be normal like any other people? Living a normal life, and just being free to do, and say whatever I want.

I'm tired of being treated like a princess, even though I really am. I'm tired of all the attention from the palace, the public, as well as the other "nobles". I'm tired of their pretentious smiles, laughter, as well as the look of envy that most women would give me.

Those women and their husbands, and spoiled children are the main reason why she preferred having only her family in celebrating her graduation.

So, when an opportunity was announced last year, I had to grab it immediately.

I remember my father announcing that he and my mother will be gone for an entire year in the middle of 2014 to 2015. I heard him still saying a few words before he made a toast for my academic achievement but them going out of the country for a year was the only thing that had registered in my mind before I zoned out.

Apparently, they'll be travelling all over the world to find new clients, check out some of our buildings as well as expand our business empire. The moment my father made a toast to my success in college was also the same moment an idea was formulated in my mind.

That idea was quite hard to realize. I have to involve my conniving brothers in order to be successful in my plans. With their skills in hacking security cameras as well as creating non-existent identities with a complete background story, they managed to create an identity that will be in my form for as long as fate allows.

When the day that our parents took off from the country, I was left to planning my "great escape", as my brothers poetically called it, and making sure that they can, and will handle the business and the country in my absence.

After months of planning, I finally made it out.

Or rather, hardly and almost failed to make it out

When my brothers tested their hacking skill for the first time, they clicked a wrong key in their keyboard and unfortunately, it created a commotion around the palace. They alerted every personnel that someone may have hacked their system and probably planning to storm the place.

Of course, to not raise some suspicion, we acted like we weren't the ones accountable for that. My brothers and I are great actors, so acting perplexed and tensed during the said commotion was not a big deal.

I still give it to them though. Because, considering that they were the ones responsible for all the troubles, they managed to make it look like the hacking did not came within the perimeter of the palace.

Unfortunately, because of that, Julius decided to personally be my bodyguard for the whole week, therefore, postponing our plans.

We waited until after everything cooled down around the palace. Julius and the whole security body made sure that everything is "safe" and we are "not under attack".

Much to the amusement of my brothers.

We practiced our lines. In case someone from the palace asks where I am, my brothers will lie for a whole week that I am in my suite and doesn't want to be disturbed. After that, they will tell them that I secretly went to whatever country comes in their mind, and that I have a bodyguard with me. And of course, if someone ask me if I'm the princess, all I have to do is deny as if my life depends on it.

Now, I'm safely tucked in a plane going to "The Big Apple City".

I went to the lavatory. Somehow seeing my face still surprised me. Brown curls instead of blonde, brown eyes instead of green, and tanned skin instead of its natural creamy complexion. The contact lenses are still annoying. I don't understand why I even decided to put them on in the first place. I can't even touch my eyes because it might move or something. I resigned to remove these contacts once I got myself out of this flight.

Four more hours, and I am so out

Four more hours and I'm safe from being found out immediately

I went back to my seat. Noticing that everyone had decided to just doze off, I felt myself sigh. Unfortunately, I can't do the same because of my freaking contact lenses.

This is probably the longest plane ride I will ever have

My hands are clammy again, and that only happens when I'm feeling anxious.

I need to divert my attention from being caught.

I pulled out my headphones and started listening to Fall Out Boy as I got tired of Alicia Keys' and Jay Z's "Empire State of Mind".

Having that song on repeat for two hours mad me memorize every word.

I rummaged through my handbag to make sure that everything I need is ready. I just got a few cash, and my fake ID with me.

Since I'll be Vanessa Carter and I still have many hours before we land, I decided to review myself of the vital details of my life.

Ahem. My new (fake) life.

Carolina Ysabelle-Aurora Radieux Winzenried became Vanessa Williams Carter.

They are both 21 years old.

Born on February 14, 1993.

Similar in stature, different in skin and hair color. The current color of my eyes in my ID is brown. But since, I resolved myself to removing the contact lenses, and having my natural green ones instead, I'm going to have to ask my brothers to send me a new one.

What else changed?

Ah, yes. I am now an American citizen who was born and raised in North Carolina who just happened to come back to the country after vacationing in Switzerland.

I graduated college in NYU instead of Cambridge.

I am fluent only in the English language.

I've learned a few French and Spanish words, but not really fluent.

Thank God for my amazing skills in mimicking accents. I had to watch so many American TV Shows to make sure that no other accent would slip from my tongue.

I don't know that Switzerland has kings, queens and all that sort.

Please remember that that statement will only come out once they tell you about the royalty in Switzerland.

What else?

What else?

Parents?

I think the rest of my story will be in the folder Luca and Cedric tucked in my luggage.

Deep breaths

I am no longer a princess.

I left Princess Laura in Switzerland.

For now, Vanessa Carter will take over.