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Chapter 9

"...Have you heard about Frank's daughter? It's shocking, isn't it?"

Katherine rolled her eyes at her mother and the gaggle of women as they gossiped over their dainty china teacups, little cakes and pastries decorating the table. It was things like this that gave the upper classes a bad name- the gossiping about those who they did not like over light refreshments. Katherine did not pretend to be a saint, but these women were so fake.

Her sister was sat on the other side, eagerly joining in with the chatter about Grace Harper, daughter of a Tory MP. She had been expelled from her exclusive French boarding school due to a drugs scandal, or something like that- Katherine wasn't really listening. As Frank Harper was a member of the Cabinet, he was quite high up in the Conservative hierarchy. The brunette noted that Frank's wife Cathy had not been invited to today's little get-together. Well, she hadn't come anyway- if she had been invited, she would have declined out of embarrassment.

Frances was the head of the table. In her little social circle, she had always been the Queen Bee, the leader- deciding who was in and out. Considering her daughter was marrying a future King, she would probably forever have that title, as mother of the Queen consort, mother-in-law of the King and grandmother to a future monarch. She still thought that Tatia had a chance with Klaus, so that doubled her odds. Her eyes primly surveyed those present, as if judging them underneath the glare of her dark, cold eyes and wild curls. Frances always seemed like she wouldn't be out of place in a Victorian or Edwardian society, perhaps even going as far back as some kind of Mrs. Bennett, desperate to find her children a good husband.

Next to her was Janet, Baroness Burton. Her title was 'new,' as she had just become a member of the House of Lords. However, Janet came from a wealthy, though not titled, family, so she was 'respectable' in the eyes of the snobby Frances.

Beside Janet was Helen Conroy, a slim woman in her 40's. A notable interior designer, she'd turned her spare room idea into a £800m enterprise- all by herself. Out of all of her mother's friends, she was the one that Katherine liked the most. She had a great head on her shoulders and was kind, unlike the others in the social circle. It was beyond Katherine why Helen, who could do much better, hung out with such horrible people.

Next along the line was the Right Honourable Joan Denton-Murray, an old friend of Frances'. She was a terrible gossip, giggly and in the opinion of Katherine, pretty stupid. Her bark, however was worse than her very annoying bite. Even Frances didn't seem to want her in the friendship group, often shutting down her ideas. Even Katherine felt sorry for her sometimes- she was annoyed by her, but she definitely wasn't vindictive or cruel, at least on purpose.

Lady Alexandria Henry was next. Alexandria was Frances' oldest friend, having known each other since school. Whilst no one could be quite as snooty as Frances, her best friend was pretty damn close. Alexandria was a model as a young woman, and even in her 50s, no one was quite as beautiful or stunning as she was. However, she was redeeming in the fact that she had the most exemplary manners, and was never rude to those who they deemed below them.

Wikolia Godwin was another addition, the daughter of a prominent African politician who worked as a prominent human rights lawyer, often appointed to counsel the government. Wikolia was easily the most intelligent woman of the group and like Katherine, fiercely mouthy. Unfortunately, she shared the others ladies' love of gossip and mean-spirited talk.

Susan French rounded up the group. Susan was a lady of leisure who was probably the most cultured person anyone could even encounter- the opera, the ballet, art galleries- she ADORED it. That culture went from language to just interest. Again, however, she was just as bitchy as the rest of them- where did Frances find these people?

"So Katherine, are you looking forward to bridesmaid dress designing today?" Susan asked, their attentions evidently having turned away from the unfortunate Grace Harper.

"Oh yes," she did her fake smile, "I just can't wait, and neither can Tatia."

That was bullshit, both were dreading it, but it was a deed that had to be done.

"You are so fortunate having such a wonderful sister to be your Maid of Honour," Alexandria remarked, "All I have is brothers, I cannot say the three of them are too involved in wedding plans. I love them dearly, of course, but most men have little interest in weddings, do they? Of course, some do, but not most. I don't think Elijah is heavily invested into it?"

"Well, he is better than most."

"It is the royal wedding, I suppose he has to be."

"Nothing can be more important- you must make sure it is remembered," Joan trilled.

"Thank you for that insightful observation, Joan- how difficult it must have been for you to come to that conclusion," Frances remarked, again showing her contempt for the obvious nature of her less cruel friend. Katherine may find Joan incredibly annoying, but she at least respected that her heart was kinder.

Wikolia let out a chuckle at that.

"Anyway, I agree Alexandria- Tatia is a wonderful person for Katherine to have with her on her big day- and in such a central role too. Then again, I can't think of anyone else that she would be willing to take her on."

There it was- Frances, always critical. Katherine could never catch a break with her.

"Even so, Katherine has found such great friends in the royals hasn't she?" Helen interjected, throwing the poor girl a smile, "They've become so close, and I just think it's really great that she has formed such close bonds with them- others haven't."

That was a slight jab at Tatia. It wasn't fair, really, but Helen had been one of the only people in her parents' circle of friends to be kind to her over the years, especially over her twin sister. For that, Katherine was grateful. She'd much rather have Helen as a mother than her own. She wasn't so much as a godparent, which was sad- Katherine would rather have her over Alexandria or Joan.

Frances forced a smile before asking Janet about some legislation passing through Lords that was facing some quite strong opposition from all sides.

After a while, Katherine checked her dainty white watch.

"Tatia, we need to go," she nudged her sister.

"Of course," Tatia nodded and they both stood, "This is where we must leave you- always a pleasure seeing my mother's friends. Quite like family, I suppose."

Katherine vomited in her mouth a little at this quite obvious simpering. Tatia didn't like the women, the same as Katherine, but she sure knew how to play to her charming strengths.

She received a glowing smile from all those present in response.

"I will see you ladies later," Katherine continued, "I hope you have a lovely time, I'm sure you will have ever so much to talk about."

"We expect a full report when you get back," Joan told her.

"Oh come, Joan," Wikolia shook her head, "Let us give the girl some element of secrecy."

There was a rousing laugh from the tea-drinking women, which Tatia and Katherine joined in (fake, of course). After that, they quickly made an excuse and dashed out of the room, and down the main hall of their home.

"Like family? Really?" Katherine asked as they power-walked to the door.

"Oh shut up, you know it makes them happy for a bit, those harpies."

The girls then exchanged that signature Pierce smirk.

Though the two absolutely hated each other, there were times when they could call a truce. Sure, there would always be the exchange of barbs, but they could hold it better. Most of the time it was for buying their parents' birthday presents, or to make an appearance together, but there were other times. The two often had the same opinions on people or events, so they would at least have a link there.

Katherine wasn't thrilled about having Tatia as her Maid of Honour. If Helen had been their age, she would have probably asked someone like her, or even Caroline if she'd known her longer than five minutes. Unfortunately, there weren't too many other options. In school, she'd had a few friends but she was ostracised from the other girls as they didn't really understand her. At uni, when it had been co-ed, she'd hung out with the boys. From uni onwards, it was mainly the Mikaelsons and Salvatores who were her friends. Frances had gone into raptures of delight when Katherine has asked Tatia, going all excited about how it was a 'family affair.' It was obvious why Lady Frances had been so excited about that family element-she thought that the Pierces and the Royals were the grandest in the land. Seriously, it was like she had been brought alive from a Victorian novel. Katherine didn't understand how someone could be so obsessed with class and society in this twenty-first century. She felt like everyone else was beneath her, did Frances, which was why she was so glad that Katherine was marrying a royal, and Tatia was 'snagging' another.

As they got into the car, Katherine noticed Tatia's little smile. She knew that Tatia liked having the novelty of guards, even if it was only when she was with her sister or one of the Mikaelsons. Tatia enjoyed the feeling of being important, having guards because she was at risk because of her status. If she married Klaus (that would be never), she would have protection by virtue of being Duchess Whatever Was Made. Katherine also noticed that Tatia didn't say thank you when the door was answered for her, something she always did.

Tatia loved being close the royals, she just loved it. There were so many benefits- entrance into exclusive clubs, getting through traffic if she was with them. She had all of these, and she didn't have their responsibilities. She had the freedom to pursue her own life, come and go without fuss, something the Mikaelsons would never understand. All Tatia wanted was to no longer be Tatia Rose Pierce, but instead HRH Princess Tatia of Wales. Well- she'd also have a title later on, the aforementioned Duchess being the most likely. Katherine had no idea what her new title would be, Mikael told her we would announce it just before their spring wedding. The brunette future Queen didn't think her sister understood what came with being a royal spouse.

Katherine did a lot of charity engagements, functions etc and was criticised no matter how well she did. She missed a few days of engagement? She was work shy. Her dress flared up in the wind? She was a slut. There was a lot of pressure. If she abdicated, or she and Elijah broke up, then she'd still be followed around by paparazzi 24/7. It was just like when she and Elijah started dating, only a lot worse. Now that they were engaged, everyone knew just how serious it was. She knew what people thought of her- she was just some skank who got lucky. They didn't care what she did for family, her interests, what charities she liked working with the most. All they cared about was that Katherine seemed as though she was some spoiled, party-loving rich bitch who was marrying the sensible and adored (he was the nation's favourite Prince- there had been a poll) Elijah. More importantly, she was the future Queen. She'd be holding dinners, hanging out with the First Lady or Gentleman when the PM or President of another country visited, Elijah obviously entertaining the leader as he was the prince.

As they sat in the car, she was vaguely aware of Tatia sniggering at something on her phone.

"What you laughing at?"

"Remember Johnny?"

"The dude you met at Wikolia's party when she got promoted to QC?"

"Uh huh, the very same. Anyway, you know how he's a total idiot? Like, he can't talk to women at all, it's just tragic. The kind of texts he sends me, it's like he's trying to imitate Shakespeare and write me sonnets or something. Kinds of stuff like 'you're like a rose blooming in the spring.' Yeah, I suppose it's better than those idiots who send me sexual crap, but it's still just so, well, embarrassing. Like, he's hard to shut down- it's kind of like he's a puppy, begging me for attention before I give him a scratch. He'll just keep on doing it."

"Nightmare."

"I know right? Ugh," Tatia threw her head back, "Do you reckon Klaus would use his royal thing to get him to leave me alone?"

Katherine was about to say that Klaus would probably encourage him to act like a lovelorn idiot to Tatia in order to annoy her more, but decided upon a different tactic.

"Go for it- ask him about it, see what he can do," Katherine smiled sweetly, "You don't know if you don't ask."

"Very true- very well, I'll give it a whirl, I'm sure Klaus won't be able to resist."

Bingo.

They soon arrived at Dress Incorporated. It was run by an elderly, married couple- Rick and Lisa Stanley, both well into their 80's. They'd been designing dresses for royals since their 1950 wedding, so had obviously been in the game for a very long time, with no plans of stopping. It was pretty incredible that they'd been going with five children, twelve grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, illnesses etc. They were fearsome for two of the sweetest old people you'd ever meet.

Caroline was already sat in the reception area, typing furiously on her phone.

"Hey honey," Katherine greeted.

Caroline beamed and stood, hugging her. The two had become close. Katherine didn't think she wanted a close female friend, but it seemed like she finally had one. She liked Caroline, more so than any other girl- she usually thought they were too bitchy, just like her sister.

Behind her, said sister rolled her eyes.

"Hello Tatia," Caroline smiled stiffly, feeling it would be impolite if she ignored her.

"Hi," came the blunt reply.

The three sat down.

"So you know Klaus? Well seems fond of you," Katherine remarked to her wedding planner, "Ever since your little visit to the apartments. He seems impressed that you stand up to him- he can't stop talking about you, it's actually cute, and that is not an adjective I'd usually use to describe Klaus. All he talks about is his favourite little blonde."

Tatia's ears had perked up upon hearing the name of her favourite prince. She promptly deflated when she heard the rest of the statement.

"Klaus is a good guy, you know," she turned to Caroline, her voice again cold, "He is good about a lot of people. You're nothing special."

The other two exchanged a look.

Conversation was thin until Rebekah arrived. She was chattering away on the telephone, but gave them all a friendly glance and a smile as she entered, polite enough to talk quietly as not to disturb others waiting (not that there were many anyway). Caroline sat awkwardly between the twins, Katherine staring at the walls and Tatia staring at her nails. Rebekah continued to talk to her friend.

Not long later, a young woman with caramel hair entered, holding the hand of a girl of no more than five. Caroline knew the child to be Lacey Turner, and the woman to be Victoria- the paternal cousin of the Pierce women. Lacey was absolutely adorable- there was no doubt about that, with chubby cheeks and bouncing soft brunette curls that fell to her shoulder.

"Hi you guys," Victoria smiled, "Say hi to Katherine and Tatia, Lacey."

Lacey ducked behind her mother.

"She's a little shy today. C'mon kid, you get to try some pretty dresses today."

"Pretty like Elsa?" Lacey asked.

Victoria nodded, earnestly.

"Ok, mummy."

The mother dropped to her knees in front of her daughter, "Ok sweetheart, you'll be a couple of hours. All these people here are friends with Tatia and Katherine- they won't be strangers, they'll introduce you, ok? Be nice- no tantrums, and remember that Cousin Katherine is choosing the dress- she is going to be Queen. Just like Elsa is Queen? Mummy will come pick you up, ok? Just be good for the girls. Promise me, sweetheart?"

Lacy nodded.

"I've got to go now, honey. Hug for mummy?"

The little brunette hugged her, waving goodbye to Victoria.

Tatia and Katherine looked awkwardly at each other, so Caroline decided to take action. Stepping out from her seat, she dropped down in front of the little girl.

"Hi Lacey, my name is Caroline. I'm helping plan the wedding- and this is Rebekah, she's a real life princess- just like Cinderella or Aurora."

Lacey held out a chubby little hand, and Caroline took it, impressed that a girl of that age would know what to do.

"Why don't we sit down, sweetie?" she offered the seat next to her. Lacey nodded quietly and sat neatly besides the blonde. Both Tatia and Katherine looked impressed.

"What? I like kids."

"Good job someone does, I don't know what to do with them," Tatia remarked.

The door opened, and in arrived the two girls that were Amelia Huwick and Rosabel Owens-Chapman. Amelia was no more than seven or eight- tanned with strawberry blonde hair and the darkest green eyes that Caroline had ever seen.

Rosabel couldn't look more like a china doll if she tried. Tall, with porcelain skin and ruby red lips, her hair was a soft blonde which fell to her dress. Blue eyes sparkled. She was definitely a pretty pre-teen, and would be a society beauty when she was grown. It wouldn't surprise anyone if she already received male attention from the boys in her classes.

Amelia's father was Timothy Huwick, a doctor who had started a charity for children with mobility issues- motor neurone, cerebral palsy etc. He'd started it when her older sister, Annabel, was diagnosed with the latter disease.

Rosabel's family practically owned half of Fleet Street- making them incredibly wealthy. Her mother had been a famous model in her twenties, and still had the looks nowadays, making her the favourite for a lot of magazine covers back in the day. Harriet's daughter had definitely inherited her fair looks.

"Hello ladies," Katherine greeted.

They both gave a greeting back, before being introduced to Caroline. Both had met Rebekah before due to their connections. Rosabel seemed a little more reserved, whilst Amelia was definitely more friendly and outgoing. Both followed the others and sat down.

"How long is it going to be?" Rosabel asked in her cut glass voice.

"Probs not long, Rose," Katherine shrugged, "Oh, look- here they are."

Rick Stanley went ahead, with Lisa hot on his heels.

"Good afternoon, ma'am," Rick took her hand and did a small bow, with Lisa doing the same with a curtsey, "Thank you so much for coming."

"Ah, pleasure's all mine- you're a popular couple."

"Glad to be of service," Lisa smiled, "This is such an honour."

"I agree with my beautiful wife," Rick nodded, "Why don't you introduce us to your lovely entourage?"

Each girl was introduced with a smile and a greeting. Only Tatia looked uninterested- but of course she did, she thought that this was beneath her. Lacey seemed to get the best out of it, as Rick did a magic trick that made it look as though he'd bought a sweet from behind her ear. She giggled happily as she sucked on the treat. That brought the shy little girl out of her shell.

"Shall we go, ladies?" Lisa suggested, and they all upped and followed her.

Usually, in designer places like this, there were several rooms where 'representatives' held office, using their skill as the owner's assistant to design whatever the person wanted. It was logistics really-these places were usually very busy, and they wouldn't go through as many people if it was only one at a time. However, it seemed that Dress Incorporated had a different kind of place. The doors didn't seem to be leading to designing rooms, maybe toilets or stockrooms, Caroline didn't know. Her suspicions were confirmed when they arrived at a door with 'The Design Room' written in gold letters on it. The definitive of 'the' made her sure that this was the only design room in the place. Well, at least Katherine would get the quality care she wanted. Made sense, considering how much she was paying for it.

The room was pretty large- a huge square table dominated it, with various sheets and other art items scattered all over the place. Mannequins decorated the side, with a number of designs and clothing types. In Caroline's experiences, most workspaces shown to the clients were neat, but it didn't look like Rick and Lisa cared.

"We have drinks here," Lisa nodded, "We usually do champagne, but obviously we have young ones, so it's just orange."

She handed them out to thanks before going to sit back down.

"So, ma'am, what are you thinking?" Stanley asked as Lisa picked up a pencil and a new sheet of paper.

"Please call me Katherine- and I'm not too sure. That's why I've come to you."

"Well- is there a colour scheme?"

"Whatever the inside of the palace of Buckingham Palace is. But I've been sort of told there are certain colours to avoid- it needs to be soft, 'kind' colours, nothing dark or anything like red."

Lisa bit her lip, whilst Rick nodded understandingly.

"How about we just decide upon designs?" the woman eventually suggested, "Come to colours later- designs will take longer."

Katherine shrugged, "I guess. I'm not the expert here."

"Are you doing different dresses?"

"Maybe the same dress for Tatia, Rebekah and Rosabel, then something for different for Amelia and Lacey. I'd like maybe the same colours, maybe slightly different styles, but nothing completely different? I want it all to look part of a set, if that makes sense. The older girls can have a more mature style."

"Yes, we want to make sure that all the ladies look their age," Rick agreed as he produced a large piece of paper, sliding it over to Katherine, "Here we have a drawing of each of the necklines that you might like to see. Not everyone is comfortable with strapless, and I don't know how appropriate it would be in your celebration..."

No one had explicitly told Katherine that strapless wasn't allowed, but it would be held in one of the largest, most important places of worship in the country, and out of respect for her surroundings, strapless probably wouldn't be appropriate.

"I've always liked v-necks, they look nice."

Lisa nodded as she started sketching the top.

"How do you feel about length, ma'am?"

"I've always preferred long dresses on bridesmaids," Katherine shrugged, "Not too fussy about it, but I just like longer."

"Waistline?"

"Erm, I guess I like it when it's right on the hips- not empire, but no dropped, if those are the right terms?" Katherine told them, mentally thanking Caroline for the stack of bridal magazines that she'd shoved on her at one point. She'd been put off by the sheer size of them all, but had soon been thankful as Katherine knew pretty much nothing about weddings (she didn't usually watch bridal programmes, she liked Next Top Model or serial killer documentaries).

"Fabulous," Lisa beamed as she flicked her pencil with a flourish, "Is it a prominent waistline or do you just want it to match with the dress?"

"Match with the dress, totally natural."

"Natural waistlines tend to be for petite women, as you are here," Rick nodded to all of the assembled women, "We like drops for hourglass shapes, our lovely curvy girls."

"Flowy?"

Katherine nodded again.

"Ok, I think I have a preliminary then," Lisa pushed the sketch back towards Katherine, "Obviously that won't be the absolute final thing but this is the kind of thing we're looking at. Do you like it so far, ma'am?"

"Yeah, I do."

Lisa then pushed the design towards Tatia, Rebekah and Rosabel, "Ladies?"

Each nodded.

"It's very pretty, I like it," Rosabel noted, making the other two nod.

Lisa made sure the others got a look in. Caroline liked it- it wasn't nearly as pretty and elaborate as the wedding dress, but these wouldn't be as expensive or as important, considering that the bridesmaids were not the main event. She could see why people liked this organisation so much- Lisa had managed to capture the beauty and elegance of the perceived gown in only a simple sketch, a sketch that told so many words.

"Ok, so have the older ladies sorted, now for our little misses," Rick gave the younger two a charming grin, "What are you thinking, ma'am?"

"I like the ones that a lot of people do- the white bit at the top, then a silk middle and then a dress that is the same colour as the older maids."

Lisa was already drawing it.

"Very simple, really," she mused as she sketched, "It's a good look for the younger ladies- pretty, shows their age, but isn't too childish, mature enough to look at in a wedding. A slightly puffier skirt or one that goes a little more down?"

"A little puffy, but only marginally so."

Lisa nodded again, before showing the design.

Again, Caroline was easily captured by how Lisa had made a dress spring to life from paper. She could easily imagine little Lacey and young Amelia wearing it.

"Do you guys like it?" she turned to the aforementioned two, feeling like she may be the most child-friendly person in the bridal entourage.

Amelia let out an enthusiastic 'yes,' but Lacey only nodded shyly.

"Is it princess-like enough?" she considered.

"Very," Lacey muttered quietly, "Pretty."

"Good," Rick beamed, "We wouldn't have it any other way."

After a bit more consultation, which Caroline noted down in her pad, Lisa leaned back on her chair and grabbed another large sample board, this time with various types of dress material, before going back for one that was exclusively chosen to pick out colours.

"Ok, ma'am- shall we start with fabrics? Have a go, ladies if you'd like to do the same- we need to decide what you'll all be most comfortable in."

The girls did as asked. After all had felt each of the materials at considerable length, the Stanley's turned back to Katherine.

"Are there any you like more than others?"

"Yeah, that one," Katherine pointed to one right in the middle, then at the one in the top right, "And that one."

"Ok, so the one in the middle is jersey- very soft, lots of swing- very good for dancing. The other one you pointed out is chiffon. Lightweight and flowing, very pretty. I'll get you some examples."

Lisa went over to the far corner of the room and pulled two dresses from the rack, placing them over her elbows before splaying them out on the table for all to see.

"The blue is jersey, the grey is chiffon. See, I'll hold them up."

She did so, moving them about to get that swish factor so that Katherine could see what it was like when the girls moved around in it.

"The chiffon, I like the chiffon," the future Queen declared confidently, "Ladies? Chiffon or jersey, which one do you like more?"

"Chiffon," Rebekah started first.

"Agreed."

"Yes, chiffon," Rosabel nodded.

"Caroline- what do you think?"

"Chiffon, definitely," Caroline didn't miss a beat- in all her years of wedding planning, chiffon had been a firm favourite of hers. It was just so girly, so light and pretty. It obviously wasn't for winter weddings due to its thin material, but to her, it just always had that extra finished. When she hopefully wed in the future, it would be chiffon for her girls.

"Fantastic," Rick clapped his hands as Lisa went to put back the dresses.

"Colours now," she smiled, pushing the other sample towards them, "Ok- so you have plenty to choose from, we have so many shades. These are our most popular ones, we tend to leave unpopular bridesmaid colours such as black and grey out, but we can still do them if you want them."

Katherine cast her eyes over to them before turning back to Caroline, "Caroline- you know all about the colour scheme and things, what do you think I should go for?"

"Well, there are lots of reds and gold in the ceremony and reception areas, so maybe that would match it? Or maybe you would like to contrast it? Perhaps a very nice purple."

"I like the deep purple, I must agree," she nodded at her wedding planner, "It's easily the nicest, and it looks the best with every look we have going."

"Purple is the colour of royalty," Lisa pointed out.

Rick nodded enthusiastically in agreement with his wife.

"Which one," he eventually asked.

"That one," Katherine pointed to one smack bang in the middle.

"Ah, eggplant- good choice," Lisa beamed, "That is going to look so regal. Do you perhaps want a softer shade on our little ones?"

She nodded, "Yes, maybe the one next to it. Not too light."

As Katherine continued to plan her wedding, Caroline sat beside her, quickly writing in her book. Everything seemed to be going smoothly in this appointment- even Tatia seemed to be keeping her mouth shut, but then again, this affected her in that she would have to be wearing this. Rebekah had been with her when they'd planned the Maid of Honour speech, thank God.

Maybe she wouldn't be too bad...

That is Chapter 9 done. I'm not as fond of this chapter as others; it's more of a filler to see the actual wedding planning as opposed to the usual bits.

Next time: it's Christmas with Caroline and family. We meet her highly outspoken, very Royalist grandmother who is more than keen to see her with someone.

Thanks for reading and I hope to see you again soon x