Lucky Charm (Reverse Fairytales Book 2)(13)
“What’s going on here?” he asked, taking in the strange scene.
“I’m sorry, sir,” said the young girl, her face turning the color of a plum. “I had an accident.”
“No,” I replied quickly. “It was my fault. I scared her. I should have given her warning.”
“Your majesty,” began the man. “It’s not customary, nor is it necessary, for a member of the royal family to be down in the kitchen. If you want something brought up to your room, you only need to pull the bell cord next to your bed, and someone will come to you.”
“I’m sorry. I’ve not seen the bell cord,” I answered truthfully. “I didn’t know.”
“No harm, no foul. What can I get for you? I’m assuming you are hungry.”
“I just came for a drink of water,” I improvised.
“Amanda, can you get her majesty a glass of water. I’ll tidy up this mess.”
He pulled out a wand and flicked it quickly. The broken shards rearranged themselves into full pieces of crockery and piled themselves up neatly on the counter. I was so in awe of the magic, I almost didn’t notice when Amanda handed me the glass.
“Thank you,” I said taking a sip. “I’ll head off now.”
“Be sure to use the bell cord,” shouted the man as I left. “It’s what we are here for.”
“Will do,” I shouted back as I made my way back up the stairs with the glass.
I’d never felt so foolish although I truly didn’t know about the bell cord. It was not an excuse I could use again. Maybe it was for the best. I headed back to my room and placed the glass of water on the bedside cabinet, noting the bed pull hanging above it.
I got back into bed and closed my eyes.
The next morning, I had to be up early for a day of royal engagements. Xavi had left me strict instructions on what to wear for each occasion, but I was still unsure as I pulled a long blue velvet gown over my head. I topped it off with one of the tiaras I’d spilled on the floor the night before. The notes on each one had also scattered, mixing them up, but the tiara I’d picked had a sapphire of the exact same shade of blue as the dress, so I figured it would be ok.
My hair and makeup was another matter entirely. Without Xavi’s crew, I’d have to do it myself. She’d packed me a small case of makeup and hair equipment, but it looked like a rainbow of disaster. I knew if I picked the wrong eyeshadow, I could mess everything up. I settled for some nude lipstick and a hint of mascara. It wasn’t on the same level of makeup expertise I had gotten used to, but, at least, I didn’t look strange. I brushed my hair back into a tight ponytail and twirled it into a bun. Hopefully, the tiara would hide most of it. Looking into the mirror, I found that I didn’t look quite as bad as I thought I might. Xavi would be proud of me. No doubt, she and Jenny were watching every move I made on the TV. Xavi would be critiquing my attire, and Jenny would be doing the same with my manners and the way I held myself. I found Luca in the breakfast room along with the rest of his family. When he saw me, he jumped up and bounded over, pulling me into a hug.
“I don’t remember undressing myself last night,” he whispered in my ear. When he pulled back, he gave his eyebrows a wiggle, which made me laugh.
“You look stunning, by the way. That blue really suits you.” I kissed his cheek and took my place at the table. Even though I tried not to look up at the waiters dotted around the room, I couldn’t help but glance up at them. Cynder wasn’t there. I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or upset. I decided on the former after my decision last night. Seeing him again would only complicate things. Instead, I concentrated on getting to know Luca’s family a bit more. I made small talk as we all ate. Breakfast was a rather hurried affair as we were all expected for photos and interviews.
I thought we would be taken to a room in the palace, so I was rather surprised when I followed the rest of the family down to the courtyard where a carriage awaited us.
“Where are we going?” I asked Luca as he helped me up into the beautiful black carriage with the royal crest on the side.
“The TV studios.”
“You don’t let the cameras into the house?” I asked, thinking back to last year when there seemed to be TV crews in my palace all the time.
“Not if we can help it. The studios have a special room just for royalty. Any time you’ve seen a professional photo of the Thalian Royal Family, it’s been taken there.”
As we headed out of the castle gates, a roar went up. Just as they had in Silverwood, the people came out to see the royals in Thalia. Thousands of people lined the streets, waving both the Thalian flag and the Silverwood flag. It was a pleasure to see and made me feel more confident about my presence here.
The journey itself only lasted about ten minutes. On arrival, there were hundreds of people behind barriers, most of whom held bunches of flowers. I walked down the barriers accepting bouquet after bouquet. Those that could not reach me, who were two or three people deep into the crowd, threw their bunches so the ground around me was littered with flowers. I smiled a genuine smile trying to speak to as many people as I could before I was finally ushered in. Once inside, we were all taken to a huge room filled with lights. A mock-up of a castle room had been made with a painted backdrop, and a long red velvet sofa sat in front of it.