My alarm doesn't go off the next morning. I'm shaken awake by my handmaiden, Sarah. At six in the morning. I swear under my breath and untangle myself from beneath my covers. As my eyes adjust to the golden light coming from my bedroom balcony, an explosion of sound reaches my ears. There are dozens of people walking in and out, while security patrols it all. The curtains covering my balcony doors are hastily covered, in case paparazzi try to sneak a peek.
"Good morning to you all, too" I mutter under my breath and walk by Sarah to my first stop of the day: rejuvenation, hair and makeup.
When I reach the dressing room just off a small lounge, the heavy realization of today hits me: Me. Today. Queen. Illéa. But I don't have a second to be nervous because I see my mother standing over my coronation dress. When she sees me, she hugs me with all the warmth in the world. Queen Valentina, the queen of hearts, of love, and endless support.
"I'm going to check on your father now, but I'll be back before you know it. Your sister is getting her hair done now. When she's done, she'll come here for official photos with you before we all head to the chapel" she says. I nod and smile as she waves to Sarah and leaves the dressing room. Then my eyes finally register the coronation dress before me.
Beautiful gold and white embroidery covers the bodice, while the off-side shoulders look like pearl coloured leaves sticking to my body. The back is covered in the same pearl and gold latticework of leaves and magical swirls, pearl buttons going down my spine. The bottom flows gracefully from the waist and pools on the ground. The traditional purple and gold coronation cloak of Illéa is by another mannequin. Then I see the official crown – the one I will wear for only twenty minutes of my life. Purple velvet is encased a plethora of white gold crystals that meet at the top of the crown. Next to it are the two million bobby pins that will probably have to pierce my scalp to make sure the crown doesn't disrupt my hair when it comes on – which wouldn't really matter because, after the official ceremony, my hair is being redone for the coronation party, for which I will wear another beautiful dress.
It is to the left of the coronation gown. It has a gorgeous sweetheart neckline emblazoned with crystals, from which poor vines of crystals to the bottom of the full-length gown. Tiffany blue shimmers from every angle. The accompanying jewellery is also set on the dress' mannequin. But what my eyes ogle at is the tiara. When my mother told me yesterday that she'd had one in the works for a while, I didn't know what to expect. And I hate to admit it, but she made the right choice. It's a Poltimore tiara, with crystal swirls that run the length of the sides. Small pearls adorn the tips of the tiara's peaks – and complement my dress perfectly.
I sit in in front of a designated chair while a stylist comes behind me and begins...making me. An hour and a half into it, Eleanor comes in with a zip-up hoodie and sweatpants, eyes bleary from having not slept her essential eight hours. She sits in a chair next to me.
"What's up?"
"Hair's up"
"Haha, I see that. Do you want some coffee, Em?" she asks
"And wreck teeth that will be perfectly whitened for photo ops in a few hours? Heaven forbid" I laugh, mimicking grandma Eady. Eleanor's hair looks nice, simple yet exquisite. A twisting up-do capped with a small band of crystals and pearls on her head. She's not eighteen yet, so no tiara of her own until then.
"Just keep me away from the wine tonight. I can't get anything on the pristine white dress I have to wear" she says
"You're not even legal to have alcohol, Eleanor" I reply
"This may sound harsh, but I'm a princess, no less the Heir of Illéa for the next little while. I'm sure if I have a glass of wine no one's going to disown me"
"I'm Queen. I'll disown you" Eleanor looks at me horrified for a moment before I whisper "Jokes!" as I put a reassuring hand on hers.
My stylist is nearly done on my hair when Mom comes in with Elias. He's as handsome as a Prince of Illéa can be: slicked back light brown hair, a sapphire gleam in his Shreave eyes, and impeccable style in his suit and Royal sash.
"I wish I was six years old" I say "That way my hair can only take 10 minutes instead of ten hours"
"Oh, it's not that long" Mom says as she put Eli down and comes over to me. Her hair is nearly done too; carefully placed rollers go all around her head. Eli goes to Eleanor and hugs her, then comes to me. But I see the fatigue in her eyes; dad must have tired her out. Not even endless royal court training could have avoided the look I saw in her eyes.
"Can I have two cookie, Majesty?" he says in his cute little voice. I smile at him as I hug him from my position on the chair. I love my little brother. I can't wait until he's my age and so drop-dead gorgeous from puberty that girls – or guys – faint at the sight of him.
"Only if you promise to brush your teeth right after" I say at his level. He nods as I call Sarah over to take him to get a couple cookies from the kitchenette in my Suite. Another Royal stylist comes and starts dabbing things on my mom's face just as another one says Eleanor's hair is done and sends her off to a makeup chair nearby. My hair takes another hour or so, and when I'm ready to go in for makeup, Sarah comes in with my phone in her hand. I'm tempted not to answer it. But I'm sure my friends wouldn't appreciate if I put my hair before them. So I take the phone.
Two texts from Jess and Tanner wish me good luck and that they'd see me in the chapel, and one text from Mel telling to call Noah and Galen and wake them up before they miss the whole thing. So I do that. Galen curses a string of profanities when he realizes he slept in and forgot to pick up a suit from the dry cleaner's. A phone call to Noah resulted in an unintelligible grumble. Typical. I laugh to myself. Nothing like Noah Kostas to keep things light like that.
When my makeup is halfway done, Mom and Eleanor step out to go get dressed, while I'm left with entertaining Elias, who has returned with cookie crumbs all over his face. I make sure Sarah takes care of that. He tells me I look like a cake with too much frosting. Thanks, little brother. I tell Jessica as much and she replies saying that no one can have enough frosting. A half-hour later, Tanner frantically texts me saying the Selected were announced and making their way to the chapel. When I asked him if there was anyone from Angeles that was Selected, he said he didn't think so, but then again that he didn't know who the lucky guys were. He was too busy getting ready for my big day.
Then it was time to get into the dress. The official crown was taken away to be placed in the chapel while I carefully piled on a few layers of underclothes before stepping into the dress. The purple cloak caressed me as I heard a soft sigh from nearby. When I turned around, my dad was standing there, Mom and Eleanor beside him. Elias ran up to him and my dad lifted him into his arms and kissed him lovingly. When he set him down, he tentatively stepped toward me. I smiled in acknowledgment.
"I have no words" he said as he embraced me, kindly.
"Sure you do" I said "Just tell me when there's a camera around so I can make a silly face" Dad smiled at that as Mom came over and hugged me gently, weary of disrupting anything on the who-knew-how-expensive coronation dress.
Soon, the people dispersed and only Sarah and a half dozen more people remained, directing us. The chapel was on the other side of the Palace, so we'd need to leave now to make it on time. Mom and Dad would go in first, followed by Eleanor, the new Heir, and Elias. Then, finally, when the trumpets sounded, I would enter and try not to trip over the heavy set of earrings weighing me down. I checked my phone one last time before we left. I saw another text message come in but had not time to check who sent it as I was ushered from the room.
