I want to thank Kate for pointing out my punctuation issues, I have fixed the previous chapters and this one should be better!
As always, I am so grateful for all of the feedback! Keep letting me know what you think in the comments!
XOXO
The next morning came too soon. I had a hard time sleeping even after my mother gave me willow bark and coriander seeds for my pain, but I pushed myself to get dressed with thoughts of James.
The embarrassing memories of the day before were still fresh in my mind, but I was determined to make up for everything today.
I imagined the two of us strolling through the gardens and having tea in delicate, gold-leafed, bone china.
"Sister!" Hannah exclaimed, jumping on my bed excitedly with Laura close behind her "we're going to the palace today too!"
"Oh?" I asked groggily, "why is that?"
"Mother said Prince James invited us to come to meet his sister Princess Amber!" Laura answered, gaining a sour look from Hannah
"Laura, I was going to tell her!" Hannah pouted, falling back on my pillows in a huff.
We both grabbed the pillows from under Hannah's head and began hitting her playfully.
"Are you excited about your date?" Hannah smirked, wiggling her eyebrows, and my face flushed involuntarily.
"I-it's just a chance for us to get to know each other. It's not as though James is going to court me or anything," I buried my head in the closet to hide my blush.
"Yeah," Hannah smirked.
"Right," Laura finished mimicking her smirk.
"Let me finish getting ready," I demanded, pointing to the door, and they rolled their eyes.
"Fine. But make it quick, sister. We don't want to keep the Prince waiting!" Hannah sighed, twirling out of my room with stars in her eyes
I giggled and decided on a mid-length, soft blue dress that, thankfully, I had remembered to pack alongside my boring tan dresses.
"Sofia, the carriage is here!" Laura squealed, and I quickly brushed my hair.
The carriage was black with the Enchancian flag embossed on each side. The six-team of horses were all the same that James had ridden yesterday, each with the same unearthly glow and white manes and tails.
Our mother, who was already sitting inside, motioned for us to hurry.
The footman opened the door silently, and we piled inside. I was worried about my mother; she was wringing her hands nervously and continuously straightened her brown dress.
"Mother, are you okay?" Laura asked before I had the chance
She nodded, giving us a weak smile.
"This meeting is important. If it goes well, we can go home soon." She explained
Hannah and Laura looked down at their hands, unhappy with her statement. I sighed, annoyed at how much I hated hearing her say that. Of course, we were going home; that had been the plan after all.
The rest of the trip was quiet. I focused on the clip-clop of hooves on the rock path, imagining my conversations with James.
Suddenly I was rudely shaken by Hannah.
"SISTER! LOOK!" She screamed in my ear, which I quickly covered. I gasped when I looked up.
The palace was beautiful.
It threw rainbows from the towers, and the blue haze almost made it seem like the palace was underwater.
I couldn't believe we were spending the day in such a magnificent place, but sure enough, James was there to greet us as we arrived alongside a tall, dark-haired man in a black suit.
"Good afternoon, ladies!" he beamed, waiting for the footman to release us.
"Good afternoon, your majesty!" we rang back in unison, causing my sisters to erupt in a fit of giggles.
He swiftly took my arm in his as I descended the carriage and led us up the golden staircase.
"My father is waiting for you in his study, Lady Miranda. Hannah, Laura, you will be receiving tea in the garden with Princess Amber," he directed us "my steward, Baileywick, will show you all to your locations. Sofia, I will give you a tour of the palace."
"With a chaperone." my mother reminded him.
James nodded slowly "yes, of course. Baileywick, once you deliver our guests to their locations, come back here. We will wait for you."
"Yes, your majesty. Right this way, ladies." Baileywick gestured for my family to follow them.
"Have fun, sister" Hannah and Laura winked at me, and I blushed, shooing them away.
"Are you feeling better today, Sofia?" James asked, gently inspecting my bandaged arm.
"mhm, my mother gave me some herbs for the pain. It's not that bad." I lied, not wanting to ruin the day by complaining.
In all honesty, I felt like sleeping until it healed. My body felt cold as it had the night before.
"You're lying, but I appreciate the sentiment. Why don't we see the royal doctor before we start our date" his gentle smile sent excited shivers down my spine.
The way James kept using 'we' was making me overly happy. Like we were already a couple and were going to get married.
"If it's not too much trouble."
"None at all. Here comes Baileywick," He nodded towards the smiling steward "Baileywick, we need to see the doctor first. Sofia's arm is bothering her"
"Of course, your majesty, Sofia, lead the way," he replied, concern lines emerging on his brow.
We made our way down corridors of portraits. James explained that they were past kings and queens, as well as their children.
I wanted to stop and examine them, but he rushed me to the doctor's office.
"Hello, your majesty, what can I do for you today?" a short, thin man in a white coat bowed respectfully.
"Sofia injured herself yesterday, and I administered stitches. Can you examine them and give her something for her pain?" James pushed me softly towards him.
The doctor looked at me skeptically "of course. Miss Sofia, please follow me," he waved me to a bed behind a curtain "this shouldn't take long."
I swallowed hard; I had never been to a doctor before.
After a series of general questions, he took my temperature and grunted towards the thermometer.
"You have a slight fever," he rummaged through the light wood cabinets "are you allergic to anything?"
I shrugged "not to my knowledge."
The doctor handed me two capsules and gave me a cup of water.
"swallow these and take this bottle with you. Take two every four hours. Now let's see that wrist."
He removed my bandage, and I inhaled sharply.
The area around my stitches was a deep red color, and I almost gagged.
"Infection," he mumbled, reaching into the cabinets once again "your majesty, can you join us please?" He called, gathering fresh bandages and an ointment.
James joined us, and I avoided his gaze. I couldn't believe my luck. Or lack of it anyway. This whole ordeal was a nightmare, and I was ready to wake up.
"The operation site is infected. What do you recommend we do?" He asked in a teacherly tone, "I have already administered a fever reducer for her slight fever."
James inspected my wrist thoughtfully "we need to numb and clean the area before administering antibiotic ointment to the affected area. Then we should cover it in a clean bandage."
"Very good. Please begin" the doctor stood in the corner while James proceeded to take care of me.
I closed my eyes and waited for him to finish.
"Nice work, your majesty. You are free to go now, miss Sofia, but be sure to come back if the infection, pain, or fever persists."
"Thank you, doctor," I forced a smile.
I still hadn't looked at James; I was sure he was going to leave me back at the door to wait for my family.
My mother was right; I caused trouble for everyone.
"Shall we?" James smiled, extending his arm for me once again.
I nodded, sulking.
"What would you like to see next? We have an aviary, stables, library, ballroom..." his voice full of excitement.
I inspected his perfect face but couldn't find any trace of false emotion.
"You still want to spend time with me?" I whispered
"Huh? Why wouldn't I?" he asked, his head cocked in confusion.
"Because I'm a walking disaster." I huffed
James chuckled, his fingers gently caressing my chin.
"well, I can't argue that you are accident-prone, but at least you aren't boring," his emerald green eyes met mine, and his fingers lingered on my face, "I think it's cute."
My mind went foggy, my knees threatened to give out again, and I could feel that annoying goofy grin spreading across my lips.
"Ahem" Baileywick cleared his throat, breaking us out of our intimate trance.
We stood straight, blushes tinting both of our cheeks.
"The l-library," I stammered.
James nodded shyly and held my arm tightly as he led the way.