BECOMING ROYAL by: morningglory11
This is what I think should have happened after Edvard and Paige kiss in her mom and dad's barn.
Chapter 3: Lessons
We walked into my room, and there sat my roommate, Beth. She looked up and smiled the widest smile she could manage.
"I see that the break was nice for you both." she said slyly towards us both eyeing our intertwined fingers. I looked up at Eddie and he gave me a knowing look and sighed.
"Beth, can we come sit with you? We need to tell you something." Eddie asked politely. She looked a little confused, but she moved into one of the chairs and gestured for us to sit on the couch. Eddie took a deep breath and looked at me, signaling it was my turn to talk.
"Well, as you know, Eddie is from Denmark. Eddie's parents are kind of a big deal. Actually, they are the biggest deal in the whole country." She opens her mouth and the most astonishing thing came out.
"Isn't there a king and queen in Denmark and aren't they supposed to be the biggest deal in the country?" she asked. I looked at her and, then at Eddie, and back to Beth.
"Well, the thing is that Eddie a.k.a Prince Edvard is the son of King Haraald and Queen Rosalind." I reply. She sat there in a daze for a few minutes, then a big smile spread across her face as she looked at us. She just stared at us with a huge smile on her face and she looked kind of crazy but I love her like a sister so I don't mind it so much.
"You're telling me that your boyfriend is the prince and future king of a country? Never mind, you are telling me this so I just better get over it. Why didn't you tell me sooner than this? Do I really mean that little to you?" She started to look sad, so Eddie jumped in.
"I just told Paige yesterday. Before then she just thought I was some rich man's son skipping my way through college before I took over for my dad. Now she,her mom and dad, and you are the only people who know who I really am." he said coolly.
"So...why are you telling me this?" Beth asked looking a little confused.
"Well you are the closest thing to a sister that I have," I reply quickly.
"And because I might need your help with a few things. You see in the next few weeks I have to change Paige into a princess." Eddie said only seconds after I finish.
Beth's eyes get even brighter than they were before as she asks, "So when do we get started?"
So here I sit to have my first lesson on becoming a princess. Eddie starts to talk to me about how I must stand and hold my shoulders back as I did so. He then showed me how, according to him, I don't walk but instead I stomp. We then worked on walking and making it look as if I may have been gliding not walking. We talked about the difference between a cheesy princess walk and a regal walk. And his 'homework' to me was to walk like a princess as I did everything, not just when I was practicing. He said that before the end of 2 weeks I will no longer have to think about how I walk, sit, or stand and it was all going to work out for the better. After a hard three hours of work, we all settle in and watch a movie. When it finishes it is a little after 11 and because I had an 8 o'clock class tomorrow I go to bed dreaming of princesses and castles on the coast.
For the next three days I went to classes, did homework, and worked all while standing straight with my shoulders rolled back and down with my neck straight. It was some of the most strenuous work that I have ever done. The good part was that every night after work Eddie would come over to my dorm and rub my shoulders, draw me a bath and read me some of Shakespeare's sonnets. Then I would give him a small kiss and go to my room as he starts the walk back to his and then I would fall into a peaceful oblivion.
This continued for the next four nights. We started to go on walks before my neck rub and we would go to the park and watch the sunset and look at the stars. He would tell me all about himself and his life in Denmark and I would tell him of my life here and of my hopes and dreams. In this week alone, I feel closer to him than I have ever felt to him, even when his body is nowhere close to me.
On Sunday, exactly a week since we came back from my parents' house and a week after our first lesson, Eddie came over to start our next lesson. This lesson was about how a princess was supposed to talk.
"Is there really a proper way to talk? I mean I know that there is a proper way to talk but I don't think..." I trail off at the look he was giving me. "What?" I question
"Well, first of all, you have to slow down when you speak. If you talk too fast, the reporters will not be able to tell what you are saying. Secondly, when you are addressing the press or one of your elders, being my mom, dad, or any one of the people in Parliament, you must speak in proper English. No contractions. No prepositions at the end of your sentences. You need to speak as if you are writing an English paper, even if this means it takes you a moment to think about what you are going to say as an answer to a question. For practice today, I will be asking you some questions that the press might ask you in the future. Are you ready?"
I nod in a silent answer as I take in all that he had just said to me. Well, I think I just got told to think before I talk. Well then. A small smile spread across my face because he is the only person in the world that I would let say that to me.
"Okay. Here we go. It must be a lot to deal with, moving from the United States to a county that you had never ever been in before. Why would you do something like that for a boy that you had just met so recently?", he asked me. It wasn't like it was Eddie asking the question, it really did feel like someone outside of ourselves was asking the question. I took a moment to compose my reply and, once I had it, I answered with the best answer that came to mind.
"I moved across an ocean to live in a country that I had never seen before because of one simple fact, I love Prince Edvard with all of my heart. I know a lot of people might think that I am only with him for the money and power that comes from being a Princess and Future heir to the throne, but, when I first met Edvard, I had no idea who he was, let alone that he was royalty. I truly fell in love with him because he was so charming, he helped me with my Shakespeare homework, and he put up with my brothers for a weekend. I moved here to be with Edvard, because I would not want to be anywhere else." When I finished, I saw a small smile grace Eddie's face. In that second, I knew that the answer I had given was a good answer.
"What do you plan to do first as the new Princess of Denmark?" he asked me.
"I don't know what I plan to do first but I do know I will be standing at Edvard's side for whatever is coming our way." I reply.
"Lastly, when you become Queen what do you want to be remembered for?" he asked. For this question I had to think a little bit harder. After another 30 seconds I gave my answer to Eddie.
"I cannot tell you what I want to accomplish as Queen nor what I want to be remembered for other than I want the people of your country, of my country, to see me as a person who will do all that I can to protect them and our country. Because it is not your country anymore but it is also my country. I will do what is in the best interests of the country and what I can to protect them, as if they are my own blood." I answer simply.
Over the next few days I practiced all that I could. When I would answer a teacher's question in class or answer a question that Stu, my boss, asks me, I answered them in the way I am to speak to the press. As the days pass, I realized that I continued to walk the correct way and I am starting to speak the correct way. Also, Eddie has started to teach me the history and the ways of the Danish government. The more I learn about the country and the culture the more I realize that I might actually be able to become a, at least decent, queen.
Before I know it a week has passed and it is time for my next lesson. When I walk into my dorm room that night the table is fully set and the lights are dimmed, but the light from hundreds of candles illuminate the room. Eddie turns around and walks up to me. After giving me a small peck he began his lesson in his 'teacher voice', as I started to call it last week.
"When you sit as a Princess, you may have on dress slacks from a meeting or you might have on a full ballroom gown. The key is to always sit on the front half of the chair with your back straight. You only ever cross your legs at the ankle and not the knee. In most formal place settings, from left to right it is arranged like," he then leads me to sit in one of the places at the table, "this. On the far left you have the napkin, then the salad fork and the closest fork to the plate is the dinner fork. Above that is your bread plate with your bread knife set on that plate. Next to the forks, are the service plate with the salad plate on top of that. Above the plates, is the cake fork. Above that is the dessert spoon and the place card is above that. On the right side of the plates, you have the dinner knife, which is closest to the plates, and the sharp edge is always facing the the plates. Next to that, is your teaspoon and, next to that, is your soup spoon. On the furthest right, is your cup and saucer. You also have two wine glasses and a water glass. The water glass is just to the right of the dessert spoon. Next to and below that, is your wine glass for red wine. Below and just to the right, is your wine glass for your white wine." After explaining to me where everything was on the table and what they are used for, we set out to have a nice meal. The food was perfectly cooked and it was a lot easier to learn this than I thought it was going to be. It felt like the longest dinner of my life, but that was okay because it was a few hours of Eddie and me just being ourselves. Sometimes he would interrupted our everyday talk to correct my posture while we practiced my table manners. All in all it was a very romantic lesson/date.
After cleaning up my room, Eddie and I put a movie in a DVD and started to watch some movie I had never even heard of before. I must have dozed off because the next thing I know, I am being dragged into my room by a very tired looking Eddie. He gave me a soft kiss on the lips before he left to return to his own room. In a blind stumble, I pull on a pair of pj's and let myself drift back to oblivion.
The next day I wake up from a pounding on my door. When I finally pull myself out of bed to go to my door, it was Beth that had come to wake me up at... uaahhgggg... 7:30 in the morning. Too early, but the instant I see what see is wearing I know this is going to be a good Sunday morning. See, Beth has this theory that you have to wear something easy to get in and out of when you go shopping because you have to try everything on. So every time we go shopping she wears the same blue and white print v-neck maxi dress. It looks good on her but if I try to wear it, the dress and I look horrible. A devilish smile spreads across my face as I see which, or rather, whose credit card is in her hand.
"God, I love your boyfriend." Beth says to me for the fourth time as we exit the last shop. Eddie had given us a list of all the things I would need before we left for Denmark in a week, the credit card, and he gave me all of the freedom I could ever ask for.
When we got to the first shop, we got a shock when a man by the name of James said he was to be our personal shopper for the day. He had helped the queen shop here in the states before so he knew what was appropriate to buy. A whole wardrobe later and we were on our way back to the dorm to get packing.
When we got to the door to our room, I see a 5 piece luggage set on our doorstep. There was a note on it that read, 'I know that this would be the last thing you would think of buying for yourself so I got you some'. He knows me so well.
Thanks to those of you who reviewed my story so fare and I just want to say thanks for them. They make my day bright by just knowing someone enjoys it. Please, please, please, review if you have not and if you have, and you know who you are, keep it up. I hoped you liked this new chapter and I will have the next one up as soon as I can.
~morningglory11
P.S. To see the place setting that Eddie used, visit my profile!