Once upon a time, long ago and very far away, there was a little girl who wanted to marry a prince. She was not a princess, technically. She could not be due to the fact that she had been born in the “new world”. Though she her ability to speak more than one fine language came naturally, and through the education given to her by ladies of her direct lineage, being her great-grandmother, her aunt, her grandmother, and mother she had always shined like a star. She always thought that it was a shame that the names of her female ancestors had not been passed down to her as they were the only people who had anything much to do with who she had become.

Even in modern age, the old tradition of the fathers passing down their names from generation to generation was the only one respected. But, her mother had been married seven times due the disrespect of her husbands. These exact reasons were those which supported her desire to be married to a prince. Her ideas of a prince were someone who had charm, a good set of teeth and thick hair, nobility of manner, gentleness and thoughtfulness, good English skills (including speaking, writing and grammar), physical strength and agility, imagination, and wealth of spirit, means, and inspiration. Though her choices had grown less because of her late age in finding a husband, her spirit had not yet given up hope. In fact “Hope” was her middle name.