Marble white walls, king sized beds, with silk linens. Any clue where I could be? Somalia, this tiny little country on the Mediterranean Sea. Very small, but home to the largest palace for the rulers of the country, in the world. I happen to be sitting in that very castle, as I prefer to call it, right now. The people sitting next to and behind me? Her majesty the Queen, or Granny as I call her, and her granddaughter slash my best friend Alexandra Janet Watson. I had no relation except for the fact that I was Alex's best friend and roommate in college. I still called Granny, Granny or Queenie. She loves it though; at least I think so because they let me, Gina Felicity Holmes stay with them every time we go away for breaks, and or vacations. I think that the last trip they took without me was two years ago or my freshman year of college.
You see they let me stay with them because they were afraid I would become clinically depressed if I were to live in my big house all by myself. I published a book when I was fifteen, which is how I bought my house and paid for college tuition. I wrote about my friend who had been beaten to death by her parents the year before. After that I stayed to myself and stopped dancing, until I met Alex. She kinda flipped my life upside down and taught me lessons, which to some people would be impossible, but she did it, somehow. Really writing and dancing are they only two things I'm really good at. I got decent grades in history, geometry, math, ect. basic B's and C's.
Alex is currently second in line for the throne, only after her cousin Carter, who I've yet to meet. Alex though is a classic beauty. Red lips, hourglass figure, long legs, brunette hair that reached her mid back, and bright hazel eyes were this classic beauty's major features. She can be an air head at times, but is grounded most of the time. She's really complex, because she really had no explanations for most of her actions; mostly she does them on an impulse. Her actions, though, mostly turn out for the better. There have been the occasional bad outcomes, like the dorm fire, but that barely ever happens.
Granny happens to be the most kind hearted, welcoming person on the planet. She's like a mother figure to me, ever since I lost my parents during the middle of my freshman year. She raised Alex basically, because her daughter, and Alex's mother, ran off with her husband to Paris, France and has yet to return. So instead of leaving the throne in the hands of her daughter she left it in the hands of her grandson, Carter, because his parents abdicated the throne. She is so loved that she can walk down the streets without body guards and not be threatened in anyway. Alex says that if Carter abdicates the throne she doesn't know what she'll do, because Granny is the perfect queen and she can't fill those shoes. I think she'd do a great job as queen.
So their castle is placed so that the grounds extend to the ocean, to the forest, and straight to the major city that is currently in the process of becoming the capitol. It's made of stone, plaster, and metal, so wind still gets in and freezes the rooms at points because of holes in the stone. I found myself frozen one winter, not willing to touch the marble and laminate floors. That's the winter I kept re-catching the cold.
Currently Alex and I were sitting on the ground in front of the couch, with Granny behind us on the couch. We were watching Love's Labour's Lost, while stuffing our faces full of popcorn. Alex was on edge excited to see her cousin and finally introduce him to me. I could care less if I got around to meeting her whole family; but still, I mean he was to be the future leader of the country. I had seen pictures, but they didn't seem too good, he seemed kind of ugly in them.
"Okay I've read seven of Shakespeare's plays, and I still don't get any of this," Alex complained as the characters went into olden day talk. I rolled my eyes and picked a piece of popcorn off my green sweater.
"He's saying that in a year and one day he will come for her and wishes to marry her," I explained and watched the scene play out before us. "Why can't real live be somewhat like that?" I asked bummed that I had yet to get my first kiss and I was twenty one.
"I don't know, but when I was your age I had the whole thing planned out," Granny said from behind us and reached for some of the liquorish on the table.
"All I know is that I want a prince to come on a white horse, handsome of course," she said before continuing. "intelligent," I almost choked from laughing at her wanting someone intelligent. "What?!" she demanded.
"Sorry, I was just think that opposites attract," I said quickly and ducked an oncoming shower of popcorn.
"Anyways, intelligent," she said and playfully glared at me, before continuing. "funny, outgoing, sensitive, and one day I want him to appear and sweep me off my feet," she said dreamily staring off into space. "Not literally of course," she added quickly coming back down to earth.
"I wanted him to sing his way into my heart," Granny said and this time I did choke on the popcorn and Alex broke out laughing.
"But Gramps can't carry a tune!" Alex said midway through her hysterics.
"I know, but somehow he managed to grow on me, I think the heated debates between me and him brought us together," she said looking like she was having a flashback. I personally couldn't see her as anything other than an old woman still kicking. As she came out of the daydream she glanced at the clock and gasped. "Come along girls we need to get ready for Carter's arrival," she said and stood up knocking the bowl of popcorn from her lap onto Alex and mine head. She gasped before laughing and walking away shaking her head.
"Man, I was going to wear this too," Alex complained as I stood up and pulled her up too. "Can I borrow that pink sweater of yours please?" she asked before I laughed and brushed the popcorn out of her hair.
"Yeah come on, I think it's hanging up," I said and walked down the hall with Alex on my heels trying to get a glimpse of her back side to see if she had popcorn on it, which she did of course. I pushed open my bedroom door before turning left five feet into the room. The closet was small compared to Alex's, but I didn't own as many clothes as she did, so it suited me just fine. "Pink sweater back wall, somewhere in the middle,' I said taking a guess as to where her maids had placed it. I on the other hand went to my dresser and pulled out a pair of skinny jeans and my black lace trimmed undershirt and white with gray striped crop top short sleeved hoodie. "If you would," I said and motioned for her to go, so I could change.
"Why of course, meet me in the foyer in fifteen minutes," she said before dashing out to get to her room. I stripped off my popcorn covered clothes and tossed them into the clothes hamper after being shaken clean of the kernels. I threw on the new clothes before pulling on my black peep toe heels, with bows, and starting for the foyer. On my way there I tied my wavy, long, same length as Alex, blonde hair into a ponytail. As I came to a stop in the foyer I saw that no one was there, so I just plopped down on one of the chairs and kicked my legs up onto the coffee table.
I glanced at my watch before getting up and walking around the entirely too big foyer. It was at least twenty feet by twenty feet. Chairs, coffee tables, statues, and other novelty items sat on the random pieces of furniture.
"That's from Sweden," a voice from behind me said as I was running my hand along and old statue. The voice scared me enough that I knocked the statue off the table and his hand caught it before it could crash into a million little pieces. If the man who was standing in front of me was Carter, than none of his pictures did him any justice. He was at least five ten, with shaggyish brunette hair, mesmerizing bright blue eyes, tan skin, and a smile that would break any woman's heart.
"How 'bout we not break it though," he suggest and I laughed nervously and embarrassed. "Carter," he said and stuck out his hand. I took it and introduced myself.
"Gina," I said and let go of his nice warm hand. I glanced at the ground as Alex came hurrying into the room before hurling herself at her cousin and attacking him with a hug.
"Carter!" she yelled as she was spun around.
"Alex!" Carter yelled mocking his cousin as he placed her on the ground.
"Right," Alex said glancing at me. "Carter this is the girl I've told you about. Gina Felicity Holmes. My best friend and partner in crime," she said proudly. "Sherlock or Gina, my cousin Carter that I've told you so much about," she said obviously suspecting that we didn't just have this little conversation.
"We just met before you came running in," I explained motioning to the both of us.
"Oh okay," she said and glanced her Carter's hands, which still held the statue. "Why do you have Granny's statue from Sweden?" she asked glancing between the two of us.
"Um…well you know how much I love Sweden," he said trying to come up with something so not to embarrassed me, which I was grateful for.
"He wanted to make sure that it was from Sweden and not some knock off from China," I said finishing his sentence calmly and confidently.
"Oh, I guess that makes sense, maybe," Alex said as Granny came bustling into the room. She surrounded her grandson with a giant hug.
"Carter how are you?" she asked as she let go and stepped back.
"Good, I just met Gina here, she seems nice," he answered and I smiled a little as I looked at my shoes. "Alex seems fine, but how are you dear grandmother?" he said and surprised me. This was the first time I ever her anyone call Granny grandmother.
"Splendid, come in and get settled, don't forget about the ball tonight girls your appointments start in fifteen minutes," she said and I cut in.
"Actually I really appreciate it, but I decided to do my own hair and make up, I'll be fine without the appointments," I said slightly happy I didn't have to sit in a chair for the next four hours.
"Okay dear, I'll tell Philip," she said and walked off with a wave.
"I'll see you two at the ball later," Alex said and took off. I was left standing awkwardly in the foyer with Carter shuffling my feet.
"Um…I'm just gonna go…yeah," I said stumbling for the words, before taking off towards my room. I had changed for three minutes of short conversations in the foyer. It seemed ridiculous, but I still went along with it. Back inside my room I changed into capri sweat pants and took off the hoodie before heading for the ballroom.
A stereo system played the song Run, Don't Walk by Hey Monday through out the ballroom as I danced around working out some sort of choreography to it. So far it was lyrical, but if I put in a couple steps it would become hip hop completely. See I didn't like hip hop completely. Lyrical was my forte, it has hip hop moves, but ballet, which was my real passion. I had taken ballet since I was five, and I had grown attached to it. So far I had gotten it the part where it slows down, and that's pretty far into the song.
There were no mirrors in the room so it felt a little odd to dance just straight forward. Plus if you had mirrors, if someone came in you could just stop when they enter, so that you know no one will criticize your work. That's exactly what happens here, every time I dance someone interrupts and I suddenly feel self conscious. Alex says that she's seen me dance and that I needn't hide it, because I'm amazing, but I can't trust her she's my best friend and required to say that.
I heard foot steps behind me and whipped around to see Carter leaning against the arch way. He waved and came closer with a smirk. "Someone loves to dance," he commented stopping a few feet away from me.
"Well yeah, why do you think I room with your cousin?" I asked like it should be obvious.
"Well I think you're pretty good," he complimented before waving and leaving the room. He went through the kitchen door and I rolled my eyes. That was the first time I met him and it was a pretty good impression.