Chapter Eleven: When doing fashion... call in the expert!
"We get to go to a ball!?" King Henry wondered vaguely if he should have waited until after supper before telling his two eldest granddaughters that they were both old enough to attend the upcoming debutante ball. The high pitch, excited, screams were murder to his eardrums.
"Yes..." He warily eyed the two girls, worried about the screaming again.
While high pitched squealing issued out of Barbie's mouth, Skipper had started to shove food down her throat at a surprisingly fast speed, Kelly turned to face him, spaghetti sauce dribbling down her chin. "What's so special about a debate ball? Does that mean the ball argues with whoever throws it?"
King Henry made a mental note not to mention debutante balls, or any balls for that matter, without first figuring out how to word it in a way that the small child could understand in the future. "It's not an actual ball. It's a big party for older teens and grownups. There won't be anything there for you to do."
"Okay." She went back to her plate of spaghetti, shoveling a rather large bite into her mouth.
"We're gonna need new dresses... I don't own any ball gowns." Barbie declared as she scooped a small bit of her mashed potatoes up onto her spoon.
King Henry waved his fork absentmindedly through the air. "There is a very popular designer in Paris. I will ask her to come down and make your dresses for the both of you."
"Actually I was thinking about calling our aunt..." Barbie started to suggest another option.
"No no. Only the best for you two."
Barbie and Skipper glanced at each other, worry creasing their brows. Their aunt was a well respected French designer.
"Ah! Millicent Rawlins! So good to see that you were able to come so quickly!" King Henry greeted the fashion designer as she removed her faux fur coat.
"King Henry... where are these two granddaughters of yours that I will be designing for?" Millicent managed to keep her voice flat and neutral, not pleased with this situation at all. Her little sister's father-in-law had swooped in and taken her nieces and nephew and now she had no idea where any of them where at. And on top of that, King Henry apparently finally found a clue on where his runaway son had disappeared to... which included a reveal that he was now a grandfather. Totally unfair in her opinion!
"Right this way." King Henry gestured for her to follow him, not making a single comment on whether or not she appeared colder than usual towards him.
Millicent strode past him, eyes latching onto the sitting room door that she suspected the two teens were waiting for her in. Pushing the door open, she opened her mouth to tell the girls that the best get a move on so as to get this over with as quickly as possible... only to freeze upon seeing to very familiar girls lurching to their feet at her entrance. "Barbie! Skipper!" Millicent beamed as she moved forward, quickly hugging her two nieces.
"Aunt Millie!" Relief flashed through them as they hugged her back, grins crossing their features. Barbie took a step back, squeezing Millincent's hand tightly with her own. "I tried to explain to Grandfather that you are our aunt but he wouldn't exactly listen to me..."
"Well then! I don't think I have much work to do here. I know what you both like as well as your measurements. I can whip twenty gowns each for you in my sleep." Millicent plopped down on one of the overly stuffed armchairs, gesturing for them to sit, before turning to a bewildered looking king and his personal guard. "I would dearly love some time to catch up with my nieces and nephew. Would you be a dear and fetch them for me? Oh... and perhaps some cupcakes for the little ones. Chelsea and Kelly do still love cupcakes, correct Barbie?"
"Very much Aunt Millie." Barbie grinned as she sank back down on the sofa. "Though you might wanna update Todd and down's measurements. There has been a few growth spurts."
"I would be concern if there hadn't been any." Millicent waved off her eldest niece's concern.
"You...know each other already?" King Henry blinked slowly, confusion clouding his features.
"Of course!" Millicent was already sketching out a design for one of the girls. "Their mother happens to be my baby sister, Margaret."
Barbie gave him a flat look, disbelief flashing through her. "I know told you that I have an aunt that lives in Paris. And I did try to tell you yesterday that our aunt is a fashion designer... but you cut me off."
"Oh..." King Henry frowned at that, suddenly wondering if this was why his son left in the first place. He had never listened to him either. "Excuse me... I shall have a servant send for the others." The king quickly left the room, not wanting to stay a moment longer even as they began to speak excitedly to each other in French...
"J'aimerais pouvoir vivre avec toi..."
King Henry took in a sharp breath, that translation piercing him through the soul. I wish I could live with you... His own granddaughter didn't want to be here with him.
Queen Cecelia was thrilled to have Millicent back for a visit, and since she was apparently her daughter-in-law's older sister... that meant she had a good excuse to visit her more often! "Ooh! I knew I liked you! What was my daughter-in-law like?"
Millicent smiled as she sipped at the cool glass of lemonade, sorrow for days past flickering in her eyes. "She was amazing... very talented. I might have been the fashionista in the family, but she was the tech wiz. She opened up her own company. You might have heard of it? Rawlins Incorporated? They sell the best in technological security."
"Ooh... yes! We have definitely heard of it!" Queen Cecelia was definitely pleased to hear that the company that they bought most of their security cameras, as well as other security features, was property to her daughter in law. "We have quite a few products of theirs that our security team uses."
Millicent smiled at that, a chuckle escaping her. "You know... knowing your relation to George certainly explains is reaction the first time your security team placed an order." She paused, suddenly very hesitant. "He might have said something about protecting the queen was a must, but he rather they find the king's security elsewhere. The way he spoke made us both suspect he had some sort of personal history with the two of you."
"He... never got along with his father. I tried to do what I could to help them but Henry was simply too stubborn."
A/N: Done! Okay, the scene at the end, pretend it takes place hours after the rest of the siblings got to hang out with their aunt Millicent, was more because I was short for what I like to write for a chapter. Also, I am so sorry about how long its been! I have been really really struggling with writer's block. I finally figured that Barbie and co needed to learn about the debutante ball. Since you know... its coming up. And that is a good way to bring in Millicent!
Reviews:
Angel Talon: No one else is asking what a debutante ball is, so I'm not really going to explain it to them. Sorry.
Review!
SkyTalon
