“Going out?” I opened my eyes. It was still dark outside. “What time is it?”
“The king and queen of Thalia have announced that they are coming over for a royal visit, and as you are dating their son, they have decided to fly over today to spend the day with you. Your mother has asked that you dress in your best clothes for the occasion which means you aren’t going to get away with throwing on the first thing you find in your closet. Your mother and father will be joining you all this evening for a meal in honor of the occasion.”
That spoiled my plans. I was hoping to talk to Luca a bit more about the Magi.
“Where exactly are we going today?” I asked, heaving myself out of bed and rubbing my eyes.
“You are going to give them a guided tour of the city. Your father has ordered a carriage for you all, and the press have been informed, so you have to look nice. They are expecting a lot of crowds.”
As we walked down to the dressing room, I thought about Luca and his parents. He’d told me that Thalia was accepting of Magi which meant his parents would be too. I wondered what they’d make of my parents and the state of our kingdom.
Xavi was in her element today and had already picked out an extremely pale pink gown for the occasion. Alezis did my hair and finished up by putting a pink diamond tiara on top. Louis was noticeably absent and one of the other make-up artists, a girl called Agneta, had taken his place. I was about to inquire where he was when I realized he must have gone in the cull of the Magi.
Agneta, whilst not doing quite as good a job as Louis would, certainly did better than I could ever do, and as I pulled the flowing gown over my head, I had to admit I looked like the princess I was.
I had met King Theron and Queen Sarina of Thalia on one occasion, but it was so many years ago that I barely remembered. I’d have been a young girl at the time. This time, I felt nervous as they were brought into the giant hallway and introduced to me formally.
Luca’s father was a much shorter man than I remembered and much stouter than his lean son. Luca didn’t get his looks from him. His mother, on the other hand, was tall and willowy with a divine beauty. They made quite the odd couple. I curtsied as I shook their hands. Behind me, I could feel Luca’s hand on my back. It felt comforting on a day I needed all the comfort I could get.
After a few formalities, we were ushered into the royal carriage. It was a white carriage, pulled by six stunning white horses. Each had a plume of feathers in its mane. I was seated facing forward with Luca to my right and the queen opposite me upon pink velvet seats. The king sat opposite Luca.
“How are you finding dating my son?” asked the queen as we set off down the driveway. I could already hear the noise of the crowds that had gathered there. I’d never known the royal family to be so popular as it was now and all because of a stupid competition.
“He’s a gentleman.”
“Doesn’t sound like my son,” laughed the king who got a nasty look from his wife.
I could feel Luca tense up beside me. I held my hand out to him. He was finding this weird date with his parents as hard as I was. He took my hand and gave me a grateful smile.
I wanted to ask the queen about the situation with the Magi, but couldn’t think of an opportunity without appearing rude. Luckily, one presented itself as we were leaving the palace grounds.
Among all the people who had come out to wave at us, was a small group with banners. I recognized a couple of them from the house Leo had taken me to the first time we went out. They had banners that had slogans such as “Equal rights for Magi,” and “Magi - not slaves.” As we passed, a group of police closed in on them and began to drag them back through the crowd. I watched the queen’s face to see what she made of it. Luca and the king were looking the other way, but the queen saw everything. I watched her expression change from one of polite interest to mild disgust. However, she kept her plastered-on smile and carried on waving as any good queen should.
“What do you think of the Magi situation Your Majesty?” I asked as sweetly as I could.
“You are free to run your country as you see fit. I have a high regard for your parents.”
Now that was interesting. She didn’t directly answer my question, which in itself did answer my question. She didn’t like what we were doing; she just didn’t want to appear rude.
“That’s very kind of you. Personally, I’d prefer more leniency for the Magi. I believe in equal rights for all. You son tells me you are a much more tolerant nation and indeed, have a Mage in your own family.”
She regarded me with curiosity and a little apprehension.
“We do. My darling daughter-in-law is a Mage, and we couldn’t be without her. We do have troubles in our kingdom; I mean, show me a kingdom that doesn’t, but we do have equal rights. We try to treat all our subjects the same regardless of their magical ability. My daughter-in-law has been a leader in the advancement of Magi. She does some wonderful work. It’s a shame she couldn’t come here today.”
Her voice got quiet then as if she was saying something she shouldn’t. With all the cheering outside the carriage, I could barely hear her.
“Why couldn’t she come?” I asked.
“Because your borders have been closed to all Magi. One way, of course. Many of your Magi are coming into Thalia.”
Our borders were closed and not even royalty could get in? It was worse than I thought.
“I wasn’t aware of that.” My own voice had lowered to match hers. “I hope to change things when I am queen.”
“That is a long way off, and much damage has already been done. I fear it will be too late by then. There have been too many generations of hate against Magi in Silverwood.”
“That’s not true. My grandfather was an advocate for them.”
“In his older years, yes. But that’s only because of the baby. He had to, don’t you think?”
“Baby?”
She finally looked like she had said too much. Her hand rushed to her mouth. “Silverwood is beautiful. Your people look so happy.”
She turned back to the open window where she began waving again in earnest.
“Your highness. What baby?”
“Forget I said anything. It is unlike me to speak out of turn, and I believe I have done so. I hope you’ll forgive me. Pray, tell me what that building is over there in the distance. It looks so pretty.”
It was her way of ending the conversation and no matter what I said; I couldn’t get her back on the topic. In the end, I gave her the tour that I was supposed to give, telling her and the king about all the buildings before we had done a full circuit of the city and ended up back at the palace.
Sadie was there with her photographer, and we were all lined up to take some official portraits before heading inside to eat.
Elise was already at the dinner table, but Leo wasn’t by her side. I had so wanted to speak to him, to ask him if he knew about my grandfather fathering a baby other than my own father, but the other bachelors were not invited. Of the three, only Luca was there with his parents. I was seated next to him on one side with my mother at the other side. Elise was two seats away, and so I was unable to ask her if Leo had gotten back yet.
At the end of the meal, King Theron stood and announced a toast.
“To The Princess Charmaine and Prince Luca, and may they have many happy years ahead of them.”
I raised my glass out of politeness. Luca winked at me and clinked his glass against mine.
“Either together or apart,” my father added. “Remember, Charmaine has to pick fairly.”
How he could in good conscience say that was beyond me with what he was doing, but I remained silent. Now was not the time for an argument. King Theron, obviously, didn’t agree.
“Nothing against the other young men,” he replied, “but my son really outshines them all. He is a prince, the only prince your daughter chose.”
“But you can’t always choose who you fall in love with,” my father retaliat
ed.
I seemed to be right in the middle of a battle of toasts. I stood up and raised my glass high.
“To Prince Luca. A wonderful man whom I’ve become very close to and who I know will do amazing things.”
It dispersed the tension that was building up between the two kings. Everyone held their glasses up.
“To Prince Luca!”
Luca beamed. This was probably the first time he’d been the center of attention at a royal occasion.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The Last date
When the meal was over, I managed to get a minute with Elise. She whispered that Leo had returned and wanted to speak to me.
There was no chance of me escaping while the King and Queen of Thalia were still here, so I told her to set up a time to meet him in the library after dark.
Luca and I were not only expected to leave the party, we were practically ushered from it by King Theron who said something along the lines of “You lovebirds need some quality time alone.”
As with most of my other dates, we ended up in the garden.
“Let’s hope that when we kiss again, there will be no one to photograph us.” Luca winked.
I nudged him and pointed at the stage where Sadie and her photographer were still packing up from earlier. As we’d taken a good hour to eat, they must have been hanging around to see if they could get more candid shots. I took Luca’s hand and pulled him away from them to the back of the palace where we wouldn’t be seen.
“I heard that you came to see me when I was ill,” I began. “That was nice of you.”
“You are all about the nice aren’t you?”
“Pardon?”
“I wasn’t being nice; I was worried. I wasn’t doing anything to be nice. I don’t want to be thought of as nice, especially by you. Nice is boring. I want to be...”
“What do you want to be?”
“I don’t know. This whole competition has me messed up. One day I think we are getting on really well, the next I see you in the papers with Leo.”
“You know as well as I do, those photos are for show.”
“I know that, but deep down, I wonder. Do you know how hard it is dating someone who is also dating three other men? I’m not going to lie to you. I’ve never had to compete for another girl’s affections before, and it’s driving me crazy. I don’t know what to do or what to say to make you like me. I feel like I’m going out of my mind, and when you are with those other men, I’m consumed with such jealousy that I don’t know what to do with myself. I miss you when you are not with me. That’s why I came to see you when you were ill. I wasn’t being nice; I was desperate to know if you were ok.”
The August sun beat down on us, and the once green grass was almost completely brown despite the daily use of sprinklers. It was all I could think about as Luca poured his heart out to me.
In two months, I was going to have to walk up an aisle and pledge my love to someone. Would it be so bad if it was Luca? He loved me enough for the both of us.
Luca picked a few daisies that had managed to survive and passed them to me.
It was a sweet gesture. As a princess, I received hundreds of expensive bouquets of flowers a year and even more so since the competition began, but there was something about those daisies that meant a lot more. I kissed Luca’s cheek and began to thread the daisies together to make a chain. When I’d finished, I pulled my diamond tiara from my head and gave myself a crown of daisies instead.
“I think I prefer you like that. You look more carefree. You’ve been so serious lately.”
“I don’t want to make a mistake,” I answered honestly. “It’s not just about me. It’s about my kingdom too. It’s a huge decision to make.”
“I want to be honest with you now. I want to marry you. I came here because I wanted to help rule a country one day and that was all, but as the months have gone by, I’ve fallen in love with you. You really are beautiful although I see an ever-present sadness in you. At first, I put it down to the loss of your sister, and as time went by, I thought it might be the strain you are under. Now, I think it might be something else. I’d like to feel we can be honest with one another. Can you tell me what it is?”
I couldn’t tell him. How could I? I was sad for so many different reasons, two of which he’d mentioned, but I was also sad about being away from Cynder. I was sad at how my life was turning out and the lack of control I had over my own future. I was sad how my own father was treating innocent people, and I couldn’t think of a way to stop it.
“I’m sad because I’m overwhelmed by my own responsibilities.” It was the closest thing to the truth I could tell him.
He squeezed my hand. “Then let me share those responsibilities with you. I may not be as good looking as Xavier, or as well loved in Silverwood as Leo, but I know how to be a prince, and I know how to look after a princess. I’d like to look after this princess if she’d let me.” He pointed at my chest, right where my heart was.
“I...”
“You don’t need to say anything. I can see in your eyes that you don’t love me, and that’s ok. Love is something that can grow. We barely know each other, but if you choose me, I’ll work hard every day to make you feel safe enough that you could fall in love with me.”
He kissed me then, and I let him. I let him because he was my only chance at a future. I didn’t know if I’d ever see Cynder again, but Luca was right here beside me. He was the perfect man to take my side to one day rule the kingdom. I’d never love him like I loved Cynder, a love that eclipsed the way I felt about him couldn’t exist. But Luca’s kisses took my breath away which was more than I could wish for. We both ignored the tears streaming down my face. Maybe Luca didn’t even notice, for however practiced his kisses were, they could never beat the innocent embraces I shared with Cynder on the shabby sofa of his apartment.
I gazed up to his window. The curtains hadn’t moved. Something told me that Cynder was back on the run. In my heart of hearts, I knew I’d never see him again.
“I’m going to choose you.”
I looked straight into Luca’s eyes. The grin on his face was unmistakable which only made my heart break a little more. I had to pick someone, and between Xavier and Luca, there really was no choice. If I could ignore his playboy past, and he could ignore the fact I wasn’t in love with him, maybe we’d make a good team.
“I didn’t want to believe you’d choose me. Even though I was the only prince out of the four, I knew I had shortcomings and wasn’t good enough for you. When you kissed me all those weeks ago, I’d hoped it was enough to convince you we should be together, but you still went on dates with the others. The time between our dates was so excruciatingly endless that I found myself wandering the palace in the hope I’d accidentally bump into you. I’ve always considered myself a romantic, but it is only with you that I realize I was nothing but a flirt and a cad. Right from the start, with you, I’ve felt different, like I’ve finally found someone I could make it with, be a partner to. When you spent that week with Daniel, I thought that was it. I was so torn up with jealousy that I couldn’t eat or sleep, but the rules forbade me to interrupt you. I just had to wait it out. When you announced he was leaving, I was overjoyed. I thought maybe my letters had worked.”
“Letters?”
“I wrote you every day. There was nothing in the rules about that. Didn’t your father give them to you?”
I seethed on the inside. “No. My father didn’t. I’m sorry, Luca, I didn’t know.”
“It doesn’t matter now. All that matters is that I’m here with you and that you’ve chosen to stand by my side.”
He cupped my face in his warm hand and kissed me again. My anger faded away as I melted into his kiss.
“I need to tell my father.” I said much later “I don’t know if he’ll want to announce it now, or if I’ll have to go through the elimination with Xavier as planned.”
“And Leo.”
“And Leo.” I’
d forgotten about having to have him officially eliminated too, mainly because he hadn’t been an option for me for quite some time.
I stood up and brushed the grass from my gown. Xavi would die on the spot if she could see the mess I’d made of it. Luca picked up my tiara and handed it back to me.
“Where are you going? Our date has only just begun.”
“I want to tell my father the news. No time like the present.” I may as well get it over with as soon as possible.
“Good idea. I’ll tell my parents too.”
“No! I need to tell my father first. Could you please wait?”
“For you, anything.” He kissed my hand and let me leave.
I walked slowly back to the palace, wondering if I’d made a terrible mistake. This was the second man I’d proposed to this summer. The second man I didn’t love but was the best option available to me. The second man I’d asked to marry me in the hope I’d love him one day. It was a depressing thought. He wasn’t the one for me, but he was the best choice for the kingdom. I remembered his stance on the Magi. One day, we’d make things right again, and on that day, Cynder would understand why I did what I had to do. He’d be free, like all of his kind. I only hoped he’d forgiven me by then because I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to forgive myself.
I found my father having a joke with Queen Sarina. I noticed he was standing as far away as possible from King Theron who was in discussion with Elise and my mother.
“Father, can I have a word in private?”
He excused himself from Queen Sarina and took me to his office. I wasn’t sure exactly how he was going to take my news, but at the end of the day, he really didn’t have any choice in the matter. Yes, he could tell me he wanted Xavier kept in the competition as long as possible, but the final decision had always been mine. Once it was announced to the public, he wouldn’t be able to change it anyway. Part of me thought it might be better to tell the world before my father as I had planned to do with Daniel, but the next elimination was a couple of weeks away, and I was sick of playing the charade.
Charm (A Cinderella reverse fairytale) (Reverse Fairytales Book 1) Page 19