Chapter 43 – Nevaeh de Montignac
"Alright, people, listen up!" Nevaeh said, clapping her hands three times. It was Monday morning, and she had asked everyone to be here; yes, even Silas had to leave his meeting with the queen earlier, but he didn't seem sorry about it. He was sitting next to his future wife, his arm looped around her.
The chatters in the 'classroom' subsided as everyone focused on her.
"Today is December first, and I have decided to organize a Secret Santa for us all to do this month. Your gift will have to be ready for December 19th."
"Why not December 24th?" Jenissa asked. "I mean. It's supposed to be a Christmas gift, right?"
"Yes, but–"
"I don't believe in Santa," Eve added.
"Secret San-"
"What even is a Secret Santa?" Abigail asked.
"Will you let the lady speak?" Henri said, his voice covering up everyone else's voice. All the mouths clammed shut and silence filled the room.
"Thank you," Nevaeh said, looking at her brother. "As I was saying, we are going to do a Secret Santa gift exchange. Each of you will pick a name in this box and you will offer that person a gift for Christmas. Now, as it says in 'secret Santa', it's a secret so please do not reveal who you will be giving your gift to. At least not until you give it to them. You can reveal yourself in the end if you wish to, but you can stay anonymous, as well." She paused. "Any questions?"
Pallas raised her hand, and Nevaeh gave her permission to talk, as ridiculous as it was: they were not in middle school! "Do we have a budget? Like the gift can't be above fifty dollars for example?"
"Fifty Dollars?" Ashia said. "That's huge!"
"That's a good question Pallas," Nevaeh said. "I think it would be fair to everyone if the gift is worth between thirty and fifty dollars."
"What if we pick our own name?" Nathan asked.
"Then you pick another," Nevaeh replied, trying not to sound too annoyed at that question. She took the black box next to her and walked around the group of people to let them picked one. If they picked their own, they put it back and picked another one.
"Oops, that's my name," Nathan said, laughing, and he took another piece of paper. "Oh. Can I change?" he asked.
"No, you may not." Nevaeh let everyone pick a name until there was only one paper left in the box: she hoped it was not her name. But no, it was someone else… "Excellent!" she said once she had come back to the front of the 'classroom'. "Remember: 19th of December, and with a budget between thirty and fifty dollars. You may all be dismissed for lunch."
The entire group of people hurried out of the room and Nevaeh gathered her things in a neat pile on the corner of her desk.
"What about Sydney and Otis?" Jesse asked her, coming over.
"Oh. Merde. I totally forgot about them," she said, putting a hand over her mouth. "I'll just do something for them." She took her phone and wrote that down so she wouldn't forget a second time.
"Thanks," Jesse said. "They've really been working a lot, too. I can help you find something for them if you want?"
"Sure!" she said, offering Jesse a smile. "I'd like that."
"Oh, also, did you know that December 18th is my birthday?" he said with a mischievous grin. "Just a day before the Secret Santa."
"…I knew that," she replied, though that was totally a lie. She also wrote that down on her phone. "How's that going for you? Having your Birthday so close to Christmas?"
Jesse shrugged. "It almost always ends up in me having only one. 'Oh hey, it's your birthday and Christmas gift, enjoy!'" he said, mocking whoever had said that in his life. "I'd be richer than rich if I had a dollar every time someone said that."
"Nevaeh laughed. "Well then, you might get two this year, with the Secret Santa being your Christmas gift, and not your birthday gift."
Jesse rolled his eyes but chuckled. "Yeah, maybe." He paused. "Why that specific date, though? Why not December 24th?"
"Because they will all be going home for the holidays on December 19th." She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "It's time for them to go spend some time with their families, and for Valerian and Nathan to take a step back from it all, and just breathe, you know?"
Jesse nodded. "I see. And it'll give you some vacation, too! When are they coming back?"
"You know the New Year's Eve Ball The Queen organizes each year?" Jesse nodded so Nevaeh continued. "Well, we're going to invite the girls who want to come back. Maybe some of them will want to drop out, who knows?"
"Sneaky," Jesse said. "So, you're going to be organizing that party? No vacay for you?"
"No. I'll sleep for a whole month when all three brothers will be married."
Jesse's eyes practically bulged out of his face. "But that can take ages!" he said. "Hey, between you and me, do you really think Nathan is going to fall in love and choose a girl?"
The Duchess shook her head and started to head out of the room. "Off the record?"
"Completely off the record."
"I don't know," she said. "He's such a butterfly, I don't know if he'll ever settle for one single flower."
"Wow, that was very poetic," Jesse said. "But… butterflies only live a few days…"
Neveah let out a tiny chuckle. "Yes. Once his butterfly days are over, he might want to settle down. And maybe for once in his life stop moving around and going from one place to another."
Jesse nodded and they arrived in the dining room, where everyone was already seated, waiting for the queen and her husband to show up. At least she and Jesse weren't late.
-o-0-o-
On Wednesday afternoon, just after lunch, Valerian took a break from his studies, as usual, and left Pallas and Eve to their own devices. Nevaeh knew that because she caught him whistling Jingle Bells on the third floor, his hands in his pockets.
"You're in a good mood," Nevaeh said, matching her steps with his, going down the stairs.
Valerian chuckled. "Yeah, I've been listening to Christmas music all morning, but it didn't really help me study, so yeah…" he shrugged. "I'm taking the day off from college, I guess."
Nevaeh laughed. "I see. Everyone's in a Christmas-y mood these days."
"Hey, uhm, do you know when they're putting the giant Christmas tree up?"
"Yes, I think they put it up this morning."
"Oh." Valerian looked disappointed.
"Why?"
He shrugged. "Eeh. I just thought it would make a nice date to decorate the Christmas tree, you know? We never get to do it – it's always the decorators – and it seems so romantic in all those Hallmark Christmas movies when they decorate it and all." His cheeks flushed a pink color and Nevaeh smiled at his cousin's innocence.
"You watch Hallmark Christmas Movies?" Nevaeh said, trying not to sound too judgy.
"Yes." Valerian raised his chin, defying her to laugh at him.
Nevaeh simply nodded. "Okay, well, I don't think they're going to decorate it until tomorrow, so I can see if they can leave it bare for you." She took out her phone to see if she had the chief decorator's number. "When would you like to do that?"
"This afternoon," he said, walking away with a huge smile on his face. Nevaeh watched him as he headed towards one of the girls who was coming out of her room. Oh. It was Odessa. Why wasn't she surprised?
"Hey," he said to the New-Asian girl.
"Hello," she replied softly, a smile on her face and stars in her eyes.
"Were you going somewhere or are you free right now?" he asked.
"Uh, no, I was just going outside for some fresh air," she said, though she was not even wearing a coat. But then again, it was freezing cold in Yukon, so Los Angeles winter wasn't too cold for her. "What did you want to do?" she asked, looking up at the prince.
"Have you ever decorated a five-meters-high Christmas tree?" he said, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Five meters high?" Odessa said, her eyes going as round as saucers. "Never that big, no!"
"Great! Then let's do it!" Val said, laughing. He turned around and looked at Nevaeh. "Can we do that now?"
"One moment," she said, waiting for the chief decorator to answer her call. When she did, she exposed Val's plan for the afternoon, and the decorator was more than happy to let them do it since there were lots of other things to do around the Palace, anyway. Nevaeh gave Val and Essie the go, and she watched them run down the stairs to the main hall, hand in hand.
Nevaeh: Hey, Jesse. you might want to go to the Main Hall to chaperone/third-wheel Val and Essie. They are going to decorate the Christmas tree! [14:02]
Nevaeh: Oooh, and bring your drone: the tree is five meters high… :sparkle: [14:02]
Jesse: :eyes: I will. Thanks for the tip :pink_heart: [14:03]
Nevaeh smiled to herself, glad that her relationship with Jesse was getting better. She had honestly missed him, but she was a stubborn person. Though she had relented first, being the one to send the olive branch first…
-.-
Valerian and Essie arrived in the Main Hall, where the Christmas tree was waiting for them, green and bare.
"It does look a bit naked without all the ornaments," Odessa said, looking the tree up and down.
"Yeah, it does," Val said, chuckling. The tree was a perfect cone-like shape and the branches were so full it almost looked fluffy and soft.
"Is it a real tree?" Odessa asked, taking a step closer to touch it. "Ow. Yes, it's real," she giggled.
Just then, Jesse arrived with Sydney and Otis, their arms full of cameras, cables, and drones. "Oh, don't mind us," Jesse said. "We won't be recording any sound, just images."
Val and Essie shared a look. "I honestly can't wait to be done with the Selection. Having these three follow us and film us all the time is getting old, you know?" Val said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Yes, well… we all signed up for this. Besides, there's only four of us left…" Essie trailed off, slipping her hand in Val's. "You're almost done." She offered him the softest smile and Val felt warm in his belly.
He smiled back. "Yeah…" He took a deep breath and looked around. Jesse and his assistants were still putting up the cameras and lights and everything, and it was turning out to be a much less romantic setting than in the Christmas movies… oh, well. "So, how do we decorate this tree?" he asked. "There aren't any, uhm… ornaments?"
"Here, Your Highness," someone said, coming over with a train of maids and footmen behind her, all carrying boxes and ladders and shiny things. "You've got everything you need to decorate the tree," the woman said. Odessa already knew her, since she had helped her with the Halloween decorations. "There are two ladders to get up there," she continued, looking at the top of the tree, "and this year's color-theme is red, gold, and white."
Odessa's eyes were still huge. "You have this amount of ornament for each color-theme?"
"Yes," the woman said. "Each year it's different, but we come back to a color scheme after a few years, though."
"Oh, that's good," Odessa said.
The chief decorator nodded and was on her way, but then she stopped and came back. "Oh, and be careful with the ornaments: most of them are made of glass…"
Valerian and Odessa looked at each other and laughed before going to the first box. "So, what do we put up first?" Val asked. "The star at the top?"
"No! That goes last!" Essie said, horrified. "Have you ever decorated a Christmas tree before?"
"Not really, no," Val said. "I mean, when I was a kid, my mom used to make us decorate the tree. And by that, I mean we each put up at least one ornament before losing interest in it and running away. So she decided to let the decorators do it after a few years like that." He paused. "So, you're the expert today."
"I see," she said, a soft smiled blooming on her lips. "Well, first, we put the tinsels and garlands," she started, going to a box filled with golden tinsels. She pulled the end out and after it came the whole garland. "Oh, my God it's so loooong!" she said, running away from the box, laughing, and still pulling out the golden tinsel.
Valerian also laughed and they decided to start from the top and go down the tree in circles. It took them at least half an hour to get that up, but it was totally worth it. They put up a second one – white, this time – the other way around so it crisscrossed with the golden one. By that time, some of the other girls came out to see what that noise and laughter was all about, but they stayed to the side of the Main Hall, not wanting to photobomb Jesse's attempts at making the video recap. But they soon got bored – or jealous? – and walked away.
The next step was to put on the string lights and it took them a good twenty minutes to untangle the 100-meters long string… But once it was done and up on the tree, it was perfect.
"This is such a beautiful tree," Odessa said, taking a few steps back to get a good look at it. "We only have to put the ornaments and the star and it'll be done! Come on!" she said, going for the ornament boxes: big, shiny, round bulbs in red, gold, and white. She took a white one out and burst out laughing.
"What is it?" Val asked, coming over.
"It's like a mirror, but I have a huge nose!" she said, giggling. Val came closer, looking over her shoulder, and laughed too.
"Wait, wait, wait," Jesse said. "That's going to make a really cool photo!" he came over and took a picture of their reflection in the ornament before they put it up on the tree.
Once they had covered the bottom part of the tree as high as Val could reach – which was only about two and a half meters up – they had to use a ladder to finish decorating the top half of it. Valerian climbed on the ladder with some ornaments attached to his arms – what a sight he was and Jesse sure didn't miss that photo – while Odessa was giving instructions from the ground so she had a better view of the tree.
"A little to the left– no, my left– your right! The other right! Up, up, up, no! Down, yes, perfect!"
The tree was alight with Christmas lights and shining with big ornaments and tinsels. But it wasn't quite done yet. Valerian opened the last box with the huge star that would go on the top of the tree and handed it to Odessa. "You do the honors, Essie," he said, smiling.
Essie took the heavy star from his hands and stood on her toes, her eyes glued to his, and placed a tiny kiss on his cheek. Jesse didn't miss that photo either. Odessa climbed the huge ladder and Val gave her the star when she was half-way up. She noticed the drone flying at her height but ignored it: she really didn't want to fall now.
With all the concentration she had, she slipped the star on the point of the tree and whooped. She quickly climbed down the ladder and Valerian grabbed her as she missed the last step. They both giggled and when Odessa was again standing on her own two feet, Valerian leaned in and kissed her, giddy with Christmas happiness and lights. He wrapped a hand around her thin waist, bending her slightly backward, while she looped her arms around his neck. They giggled softly while kissing, and Valerian wanted to stop time: Christmas was his favorite time of the year, and this was becoming his favorite Christmas of all time.
-o-0-o-
After eating her fill with lunch, Nevaeh felt like rolling herself to her room. She definitely needed to take off her pants before the button burst and she would find herself without any bottoms. She hurried to her room and unbuttoned it, looking for a much more comfortable outfit, something that didn't cinch her at the waist and with which she could actually breathe normally.
She chose a grey turtleneck sweater dress she had bought on the internet a few weeks ago, something that looked comfy and snuggly, especially done for the winter months when you wanted to curl up on the couch with a mug of tea and a book.
Also, there was no way she was admitting to Hanna that she was having food babies more and more often, these days… But to be honest, Nevaeh always found it hard to work out during the winter months, especially when it was cold and damp, outside, and when the gyms filled up with sweaty people – at least those who had not abandoned their January resolutions, that was.
She put her hand on her belly and just stood there in the middle of her room. She was about to say something when a familiar knock sounded on her door before Hanna walked in. She whirled around, feeling somewhat guilty. "Hanna!"
"Yes," Hanna said, looking around, frowning. "Is something wrong?"
"No! no, everything's fine. I- I just felt like changing my outfit," she said. "I made a stain on it during lunch," she lied.
"Oh." Hanna nodded: one more outfit to bring to the washers. "Uhm, actually, My Lady, Miss Coleman – your grandmother's lady's maid – asks if you'd come to talk with her and the doctor…" she said. Nevaeh had told her about her worries concerning her grandmother, and Hanna really liked the old queen.
"Oh. Now?"
"Yes, they're waiting for you in the medical wing."
Nevaeh rolled her eyes. "I am not someone to be summoned whenever they want," she grumbled under her breath. "Can't they give me some time to get ready?" She went to her shoe closet and picked a pair of grey heels to go with her new grey outfit and quickly checked her hair and makeup in the mirror before going downstairs. She pushed the door open to the infirmary and saw Miss Coleman, Marmee, the usual doctor, and another woman, chatting and drinking some tea while waiting for her.
"Good afternoon," she said, coming in. Victoria Coleman and the two doctors curtsied and bowed to her as she walked in.
"Your Grace," they said in unison.
Nevaeh sat on one of the chairs and squeezed her grandmother's hand. Then she heard heels clicking on the floor and she turned around to see the queen walking in: she looked tired but much better dressed than Nevaeh. Oh, well.
"Good afternoon," the queen said as the others curtsied or bowed to her – not Marmee, though – before she sat on the last chair. She nodded to the doctor to start.
"Thank you all for coming on such short notice," he started. "First, may I present to you Doctor Elise Jones, a dear friend of mine and specialist in her field."
The short redhead woman thanked the palace doctor. "I don't know exactly how much you know about the queen mother's condition," she started, "but a few months ago, the queen started forgetting things, and getting lost, and zoning out from conversations. Miss Coleman was here to help the Queen, and she put that on the queen getting older, which could, of course, have been the case." She paused and looked at the four women in front of her. "The Duchess found the queen mother, a few weeks ago, lost in the palace and urged Miss Coleman to have her do some tests with the doctor," she continued, motioning at the familiar doctor who had been working for the palace for a good 20 years.
"I saw the queen," he continued the story, "and had some questions about her symptoms. That's why I asked Dr. Jones to help me."
"Oh, for Christ's sake," Marmee said. "Please just get on with it. What is wrong with me?"
Nevaeh took her grandmother's hand in her as they all waited for the verdict to fall. On her right, Auntie Lena seemed shocked. Was this really the first time she was hearing about this? Why was Marmee's other daughter not present? Well, okay, that was maybe Nevaeh's fault: she had asked Miss Coleman and the doctor not to tell the Queen too soon so as not to burden her with unnecessary information. Though it was becoming serious, now.
"Right," Dr. Jones said. "So, as I said before, we haven't really been able to detect the symptoms sooner." She paused. "But you are already on stage 4 of Alzheimer's Disease."
The room around them was very silent and they could have heard a pin drop. Nevaeh knew this was coming, she had seen the signs, but it was still a shock to hear it from a specialist. She had hoped she'd been wrong, that it was just her getting old.
"I see," Beatrice said. "And how fast am I declining?" she asked, her head high and her voice strong. Though from the squeeze of her hand, Nevaeh knew that she was terrified.
"We cannot say yet," Dr. Jones said, tucking a loose strand of red hair behind her ear that had fallen from her bun. "But we will be keeping a close eye on you. I will send two of my best specialized nurses to tend to you and report to me any changes that may occur." She paused. "If that's alright with you, of course," she said, looking at the patient, and the Queen.
Queen Helena nodded. "Yes, do that," she said. "I'm sorry, I just–" She stood and left the room, probably needing some air and some time to digest what had just been saying about her mother.
"I have here a small booklet that you can read," Dr. Jones continued, giving out the books to the three remaining women in the infirmary. "It might help you understand better what the queen mother is going through, and what you can do to help."
"Thank you," Nevaeh said, she leafed through the booklet while the two doctors excused themselves to give the queen mother some privacy. "Are you alright, Marmee?" Nevaeh asked, looking at her grandmother.
"Yes," she said. "No– I'm not really sure," she admitted. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "It just made me think of my mother… she was also diagnosed with this, and I'm scared that I'm also passing it down the line. Either to Helena or your mother."
Nevaeh nodded. "We will figure this out, okay? Do you want me to walk you back to your rooms?"
Beatrice nodded and they left the medical wing, Victoria Coleman following behind. Just outside in the hall were Helena and Sybil, talking in hushed tones, but quickly stopping when they saw their mother. They gathered around her, one on each side, pushing Nevaeh away from them, and walked her back to the third floor. Nevaeh was left alone in the hall as she watched them walk away.
She walked down the hall towards the center of the palace to get to the main staircase and trying not to cry. The shock of the news was finally getting to her, and a sob escaped her. She quickly held on to the railing and sat on the second stair-step, her face in her hands. She didn't care if someone saw her. She didn't always have to be strong. Right?
She didn't even hear steps coming her way, but she felt the strong and familiar arms around her petite frame. And the smell of his cologne as well: It was Silas, though she had never had a real hug from him. Nevaeh leaned against him and silently cried against his shirt.
"What's wrong?" he asked softly once her sobs had subsided.
"Where's Ximena?" Nevaeh asked, looking around and wiping her cheeks with her sleeve.
"I don't know," he replied. "I was about to go look for her. Nevaeh, what's going on?" he asked again.
Nevaeh took a deep breath and explained Marmee's situation and condition to him. He was her grandson, he would understand, too...
hi, hello! yeah sorry, that was a roller coaster of emotions... but there are going to be Secret Santas! yay! And the Christmas tree decoration! what did you think of that date? and then we got Marmee's condition... poor Nev and everyone else...
I'll post some aesthetics on Instagram, too! so check that out ;)
anyhow... tune in on Friday for the second part of the Sisters' prologue! :eyes: I'm so excited for you to meet the Second Prince!
see you on Saturday for the next chapter ;)
