Rags to Riches, Marie Justicius

       In the last post, I introduced Marie Justicius, protagonist of my latest WIP, I Slapped My Prince Charming. Today, she’s joined us for a little interview.

Q: Hello, Marie, and thank you for joining us. I know that, now that you’re here in the palace, your time is valuable, so I will not take up too much of it. Please tell us, what did you do for fun back in your home, in Aucum?

The most exciting times of my life happened after darkness fell, when the stars glistened up in the sky. During the summer, Jolie or Terrell and I would run outside, barefoot, and throw ourselves along the grass. We would try to count the stars, just like Jolie and her father always had when he yet lived. In the springtime, I would sneak alone into Lord Gaston's garden to smell the roses. I was never caught. But the best times came during the winter, when Papa and I cuddled down before the fire in our little cottage. If he was particularly talkative, he would tell me stories. Sometimes he told me stories of my mother—before I knew she was Queen Tansy. The connection I used to feel for her vanished not long after actually meeting her in person.

Q: (No spoilers, Marie!) Before coming here to the palace, had you ever traveled outside of Aucum?

No, I had never left the outskirts of the village.

Q: What is your least favorite thing about living in the palace?

The eternal shadows, night and day. Most people know them as bodyguards. I understand the need for them, in principle, yet surely they know I can take care of myself!

Q: What is your favorite thing about living in the palace?

My favorite thing about living in the palace has little to do with the palace itself. I love that our moving to the palace gave me, in a way, a close relationship with my sister, Iris, and with Constant. There was always something in me that wanted a family, and now I had it.

Q: Would you have been happier to have grown up with Constant instead of being an only child?

Who can say? I say now that I would have been happier, but if I had grown up with Constant, I would also have grown up with Tansy. Would that mean that I would be just like her? I already inherited so much from her-- her mannerisms, her stubborness (although that could come from Papa as well). Living in the same palace with her could have made me an exact replica of her, which is something I could never want to be.

Q:  If you had grown up with him, what would you two have done for fun together?

I know that if Constant grew up here in Delmar, the two of us would have taken field trips to Aucum, just as we did right before the time of Danielle's passing. The two of us probably would have sneaked out of lessons and spent much time on horseback. Though none of that is something I would admit to Lord Algernon or, God forbid, to Farran.

Q: What is your faith like?

Ever since I was a little girl, I never doubted there was a higher power, something or someone that created the universe. All those nights lying on the grass, looking up into the stars told me that. The beauty of stars is not something crafted by a human's hand. I don't even know when I began to call that higher power God. Was it something I heard in the manor, a word used in strong emotion? I know not.

Thank you Marie for joining us, and thanks to Annie Pavese for the questions!