An Everly Tale
Chapter Seven
By A Shot of Amber
Hey all I'm back! Glad to see you here! Please be kind and read and review or send all comments, questions, suggestions, and flames to Saphrians_Water_Reflection@hotmail.com! Thank you!
An Everly Tale Chapter Seven
Serena walked into the apartment and dropped her bag on the floor. She could feel the tension of the day easing out of her jangled nerves. Serena walked across the room to the phone and looked down at the answering machine. The light was blinking which meant that she had a message, or a hundred. With this thought in mind Serena pressed the button.
"You have one hundred and sixty seven unheard messages. First unheard message. '"Serena call me at once, this is Lita and yes I know its early but I need to talk to you."'
She had obviously seen the paper.
"Second unheard message. Serena did you see the paper? I can hardly believe it but Darien is a prince! I should have known better but I never even thought! I mean the pictures of him look nothing like the guy I met a few weeks ago! Call me as soon as you get home, I'll be at the nursery till four and if you don't get this before then I'll be over about five. This is Mina by the way."
So Mina had seen the paper also.
"Third unheard message." Serena pressed the off button and sat back on the couch. She didn't even want to hear the rest of the messages. There would be one from her parents probably asking her what was going on with Darien and of course a ton of messages from the press. Serena sighed and dropped her head into her arms but the sound of the phone woke her back up. She reached over and picked up the white plastic receiver.
"Hello?"
"Is this Miss Tuskino?"
"Yes this is she."
"Miss Tuskino my name is not important and please don't ask it. I want to set up a meeting with you. I saw your picture in the paper and I've been reading your column and I think I can be good to you. What do you say? Maybe we could meet at Ireland's pub and go back to my place for a little fun. Do you like chains? Because I have a ton of them and I can chain you up."
"Forget it!" Serena yelled into the phone and hung up.
"What an ecchi," she muttered looking at the phone. A second later it rang again. Serena almost reached for it but decided against that. She instead sat on the couch staring at the phone. It rang three times before the answering machine picked up.
"Hey minna, I mean everybody, I'm not here right now! Please leave a message with your name and number and I'll call you back later! Ja Ne!"
"Hello Miss Tuskino, may I call you Serena? I'm Patty Albert and I'm a reporter for Royal magazine. I would love to get an exclusive interview with you. It won't be anything major, we can just talk about your relationship with the prince and maybe your future plans and of course about your clothes since the readers want to know! What does a future princess wear? Anyway I'm going to leave my number so please call me ASAP!"
Serena gave out a frustrated sigh and got up from the couch. She pulled the phone plug out of the wall and coiled it around the phone. Inside the bedroom the phone was also ringing so she did the same thing, ripping the cord out of the wall and coiling it into a circle to lie on top of the phone. Then she began to undress, shedding her garments until she was in nothing but her bra and panties. Dressed in only her undergarments she walked into the bathroom to take a hot bath and doze. It wouldn't do to have the phone ringing every second and bothering her.
* * * * * * *
It was what, maybe an hour later when someone started knocking on the door. Serena opened her eyes and looked out the bathroom door but she couldn't see the door at that angle so it was pointless. Thinking it was some reporter who had somehow gotten in she ignored it and closed her eyes again.
The person at the door knocked again then yelled something. It was kind of blurred but Serena could make out the word "friends". Sighing with frustration over the fact that everyone was hounding her, she climbed out of the bath and wrapped a towel around her wet body. Serena walked out of the bathroom dripping water onto the white carpet on the way to the door. A quick peek in the peep hole revealed Mina and Lita standing in front of the door. Lita had her arms crossed and was looking behind her as if to see someone. Mina was trying to look into the peep hole herself. Serena clutched the towel tighter around her and opened the door.
"Quick get in incase a reporter is spying on me!" Serena hissed as she ushered in the two girls and closed the door.
"Relax there's no reporters outside or inside the building. They were all gone when I got home," Mina replied taking a look at Serena's apparel and walking into the kitchen.
"Well it wasn't the same for me," Lita followed Mina into the kitchen. "When I got home I thought they were going to mob me when they found out I lived in the same building as you do. They wanted interviews and everything. It was nuts!" Lita grabbed a glass from Mina who handed her one and walked over to the fridge. "I didn't say anything but I'll probably be on TV tonight anyway for the fact that I'm one of the future princesses friends."
"I am not the future princess!" Serena cried letting go of her towel with one hand then quickly grabbing it as it fell down slightly. "I'm just his girlfriend."
"Your also the media's newest celebrity," Lita replied pouring herself some orange juice.
"I wonder if your famous in America? Wouldn't that be cool?" Mina asked grabbing the carton of juice from Lita.
"America?" Serena whispered a stunned look on her face. "Do you think it could spread all the way to America?" She asked in a louder tone.
Mina shrugged and walked out of the kitchen. "It could, I mean you are now famous in Basalt and though, yes, it is a small country that doesn't mean its royal family isn't known."
"What have I gotten myself into?"
"Absolutely nothing." Lita walked over and put her arm around Serena's shoulders. "You went on some dates with a nice normal guy who turned out to be a prince. Don't break up with him because of that. Look at Princess Diana of England. She dated a prince, married him, and became the most loved symbol of her country and the world."
"Yes but her marriage did end in divorce and she was killed in that car accident in Paris, don't forget that," Mina pointed out.
"I was trying to make a positive point here Mina. Thank you for ruining it."
"No problem," Mina replied taking another sip of her juice.
"You know minna I'm not going to marry Darien. We just had three dates, that's all and who knows it may end on its own before it gets really serious."
"That's true but what if it doesn't? What if it gets really serious and you two do get married. You could be like Princess Grace of Monaco and become a symbol of royalty," Lita replied.
"Princess Grace was a blond just like you are Serena," Mina added.
Serena just shook her head and laughed softly. "I am not going to be a symbol of a nation. I am not going to be a princess. I have to meet the queen mother on Thursday so who knows, she may hate me so much that she'll tell Darien to break up with me and this whole silly thing will be over."
"And what if she likes you?" Lita asked.
"Then I guess Darien and I can keep on seeing each other, but that doesn't matter until I get the queen's approval."
"So your meeting the queen? This means you'll need a dress," Mina replied her eyes glowing brightly at the prospect of fashion.
"Yea but I have till Thursday to pick out a dress and who knows I may have something to wear right in my closet."
"No you don't." Mina stood up and set her glass down on the coffee table. "I've been through your wardrobe and though you are a fashion columnist you are sadly behind in what is fashionable for royalty. You'll need a nice dress, something like a fancy suit with pearls and the whole bit, maybe even a hat."
"I'm not wearing a hat!" Serena replied shaking her head in protest.
"Why not?"
"Because I look horrible in hats. I'll do the pearls and the nice suit/dress but I am not wearing any hats."
"Alright no hat but we have to get you a dress. Go and change out of your towel and we'll go shopping. We can try the mall or maybe window shop in the downtown. I'm sure they'll have something," Mina amended.
"You need some time out," Lita added patting her shoulders before letting go. "We can go incognito so no one recognizes you and since its dinnertime I doubt many people will be out and anyway the picture was taken of you with your hair up in the pigtails. If you wear your hair down I'm sure no one will recognize you."
"Are you sure?" Serena asked turning her eyes to Lita.
"Yes I am. Now go and change so we can leave." Lita gently nudged her and Serena begin to walk towards her bed room.
"I hope your right about this," she called over her shoulder.
"Don't worry!" Lita replied as the bedroom door closed then turned to Mina.
"What's the chance of us not being caught by the media?" She asked.
"One in a billion. The paparazzi is everywhere. They track you like dogs. Look at Princess Diana," Mina replied.
* * * * * * *
Thursday came around faster then she could have ever expected. Through out the week she had dealt with reporters hounding her every time she walked out of her building or out of work. Darien's driver had taken to picking her up in the morning and in the afternoon. He also drove her to the market to buy food and to do any other chores she needed to do which included mailing a very long letter to her parents in Japan explaining everything to them.
On Monday she and Mina and Lita had gone shopping with Serena wearing her long blond hair in a braid tied with a pink ribbon. At first no one had recognized her when all the public had was some blurred pictures of a blond girl with pigtails. It was all good until they saw the evening edition of the newspaper. Serena had been walking past a newspaper stand on her way out of the store where they had bought her a new dress. Serena was in a good mood and was laughing and chatting about clothes with Mina when she by chance saw the paper and stopped dead in her tracks.
"The Future Princess? Look Inside her Private Life?"
"What did you say?" Mina asked stopping a few steps ahead and turning back.
"I'm in the papers again!" Serena cried picking up a paper from the stand. She stared at the picture on the front page. It was a studio portrait that had been taken right before she had left for Basalt. In the picture she was sitting with one leg trust out and the other bent at the knee wearing a white off the shoulder sweater and blue jeans. It was a nice picture but that didn't matter as much, what mattered though was how the newspapers got this picture.
"Wow that's a really good looking picture of you Serena!" Mina said looking over her shoulder at the picture.
"They obviously struck again," Lita added paying the man for the newspaper then turning to look over Serena's over shoulder. "That's the same paper that wrote that other article."
"Looks like there is more." Mina turned around and picked up two other papers. "You're in the entertainment section of The Daily Times and in the Esquire also."
"That will be one euro miss," the newspaper operator said holding out his hand.
"Oh yes, of course," Mina replied handing the man a euro and turned back to Serena who was now reading the article.
"I'm a striking blond who graduated from a high school in Tokyo and was one of the most popular students? They even have quotes from my teachers! How could my teachers remember me? I barely ever answered any questions and I never did my homework! I was a terrible student yet in here they talk about how bright I was!"
"They are saying the same thing in The Daily Times also." Mina replied flipping through the pages of the paper.
"Oh Kami," Serena moaned lowering the paper and looking up at the sky.
"Excuse me miss."
Serena looked down from the skies to see a girl dressed in a catholic school uniform standing in front of her. She looked to be about sixteen years old and was looking at Serena with an excited expression.
"Are you Serena Tuskino?"
"Yes I am..." Serena replied tentively.
"Ooo! Can I have your autograph!?" The girl held out the newspaper she was holding in her hands along with a pen.
"Oh I don't know," Serena begin but was stopped by Mina.
"Do it Serena."
Serena looked at Mina who nodded her head. She then looked at Lita who did the same thing then took the paper and signed it using florid characters that were slightly shaky.
"Here you go," Serena said in a slightly dry voice as she handed the girl her paper.
The girl smiled and giggled happily. "Thank you! I just have to say you and the prince make such a cute couple. You must be the luckiest girl in the world. I wish you a lot of luck!" With that she walked off to meet up with a group of girls standing just a few feet from the newspaper stand.
"Come on we better go," Mina prompted taking Serena's arm and started to lead her away from the newspaper stand back in the direction of their apartments. Lita took the papers and folded them up neatly and tucked them under her arm.
"We can read these when we get home. If we stay out here to much longer we might attract a crowd," Mina said as she led them through the groups of people who were out walking around.
When they got back to Serena's apartment the first thing Mina did was to fix Serena a cup of tea and a piece of cake.
"Here eat these, right now you need the sugar." Mina set the cake and the tea on the coffee table in front of Serena who was sitting on the couch reading the newspapers.
"Most of this stuff is nothing but lies," she sighed throwing down one paper and picking up another. "I am not a striking beauty and I sure am not a good student! I was lucky that I actually passed high school!"
"Then how did you become a journalist?" Lita asked from her position on the floor where she was reading the discarded newspapers.
"I had a friend named Ami who was really smart. She tutored me through out high school then helped me get a job on a local paper in Tokyo. Soon I moved up till I got a job on a major paper as a columnist before I moved here to Basalt." Serena threw down her paper and picked up the cake. "This is nuts! How do celebrities deal with this?"
"They don't. Some people go crazy and revert to drugs," Mina replied sitting next to Serena.
"Well that's not going to happen to me. My parents would kill me if that happened." Serena took a bite of her cake and chewed thoughtfully.
"I say you should relax and take it easy. Just go with the flow." Lita looked up from the floor and smiled. "That dress we bought you looked really hot. It'll be perfect for a tea party."
"Yea I just hope its not a tea party where the queen will invite me to meet all her royal friends and I'll end up embarrassing myself to the high heavens in front of them."
"You know it could be worst. It could be just the queen and you. Now how would that feel? Just you and the queen of an entire country? I would probably die!" Mina replied raising her eye brows to the sky.
"Both sound terrible to me. I'll probably blunder up horrible and spill tea on myself or worse the queen and look like a blithering fool." Serena sighed.
"Then whatever you do, don't be clumsy! We know you Serena! We're sure you're going to do fine," Lita said patting her knee reassuringly.
And so here she was dressed in a soft pink dress with a crème colored bodice. The dress went down to just pass her knees in a soft pink skirt while the top was done in an empire style of crème colored cloth with soft pink, blue, and green flowers and leaves curling over it. There was two straps that tied behind her neck giving it a nice halter look. Mina had picked out the dress after turning down Serena's idea on a nice suit. Mina had seen enough old movies to know what a proper tea dress was. She had firmly told Serena her ideas and then picked out the dress which all three girls had to say was lovely. Afterwards Serena had picked out the shoes, a simple pair of white sandals with straps that tied around her ankles in the style of ballet shoes.
Her normal style of pig tails was disregarded by Mina who did her hair and instead it was twisted up into a french knot and secured with a hair clip made of white plastic. After Mina had put on her makeup she was allowed to see herself in the mirror. It was a beautiful and stately womyn who stared back from the silver glass. If Darien could see her now he would say she was breathtaking. Serena could almost hear him say that which made her smile and thank Mina with a big hug.
James had come by along with Eric who escorted her to the limo despite the fact that there was no reporters around. Inside the limo Serena poured herself a glass of the sparkling cider that had been put in there especially from Darien who also sent her a note of love and caring. Surprisingly the ride was short and before Serena could finish her drink they were driving through the gates of the palace into the main courtyard. Instead of stopping right in front of the palace like Serena was hoping they would they drove to a smaller entrance under a hooded entranceway. Serena gulped down the last of her cider as the car stopped and set the glass back on the bar. Eric had gotten out of the car and was holding the door open for her. Serena climbed out and smoothed her skirt as she looked around her. They were standing under an overpass with ionic columns holding up the roof to the side of the car. Around them flowers and bushes were growing in abundance all obviously taken care of by a team of gardeners.
"Miss Tuskino please follow me." James was talking to her, breaking through her thoughts and beckoning for her to follow him towards the large oak door that led inside.
Serena smoothed her skirt again and followed James inside. Inside James handed her over to a womyn wearing a black dress. She gestured for Serena to follow her down the hall. As they walked Serena looked around her into the rooms on either side of the hall. If she was hoping for the grand splendor and crystal ceilings with golden chairs and huge rooms, she was hugely disappointed. The entrance hallway was made up with a shiny wooden floor with crème colored walls and a red carpet leading down the hall. The rooms on either side of her as they walked down the hall were simple in décor. One had powder blue walls and crème colored furniture. Another revealed a simple dining room painted in hunter green. If this was the palace then it was all very simple. Nothing like the palaces people talked about in books where the rooms were paneled in gold and silver.
"The queen wants to meet you in her private sitting room. She thought you would feel more comfortable in the back of the house then in the front where its very opulent."
"Oh yes of course!" Serena replied turning back to face the womyn in front of her.
"There is few simple rules to follow while you're here. Don't ask the queen any personal questions. Don't touch anything and always stand up when she does. Oh yes," the lady turned around and faced Serena. "Don't speak to her unless she speaks to you first."
"Alright," Serena whispered feeling kind of panic stricken. This was going to be harder then she thought.
The lady in black turned back around and begin to walk down the hall at a brisk pace with Serena following her. Soon they came to a pair of wooden double doors. The lady in black stopped in front of them and faced Serena. "When you see the queen make sure to curtsy to her and remember everything I told you."
Serena nodded dumbly. She felt like she was going to throw up. She was going to meet the queen!
The lady in black gave her one last look then opened the doors and stepped into the room.
Cliffhanger! If you want to know what happens then come back next time when I have a new chapter out. I promise to have it out soon. In the meantime please remember to read and review or send all comments, questions, and suggestions to Saphrians_Water_Reflection@hotmail.com. Thank you!
Hey all I'm back! Glad to see you here! Please be kind and read and review or send all comments, questions, suggestions, and flames to Saphrians_Water_Reflection@hotmail.com! Thank you!
An Everly Tale Chapter Seven
Serena walked into the apartment and dropped her bag on the floor. She could feel the tension of the day easing out of her jangled nerves. Serena walked across the room to the phone and looked down at the answering machine. The light was blinking which meant that she had a message, or a hundred. With this thought in mind Serena pressed the button.
"You have one hundred and sixty seven unheard messages. First unheard message. '"Serena call me at once, this is Lita and yes I know its early but I need to talk to you."'
She had obviously seen the paper.
"Second unheard message. Serena did you see the paper? I can hardly believe it but Darien is a prince! I should have known better but I never even thought! I mean the pictures of him look nothing like the guy I met a few weeks ago! Call me as soon as you get home, I'll be at the nursery till four and if you don't get this before then I'll be over about five. This is Mina by the way."
So Mina had seen the paper also.
"Third unheard message." Serena pressed the off button and sat back on the couch. She didn't even want to hear the rest of the messages. There would be one from her parents probably asking her what was going on with Darien and of course a ton of messages from the press. Serena sighed and dropped her head into her arms but the sound of the phone woke her back up. She reached over and picked up the white plastic receiver.
"Hello?"
"Is this Miss Tuskino?"
"Yes this is she."
"Miss Tuskino my name is not important and please don't ask it. I want to set up a meeting with you. I saw your picture in the paper and I've been reading your column and I think I can be good to you. What do you say? Maybe we could meet at Ireland's pub and go back to my place for a little fun. Do you like chains? Because I have a ton of them and I can chain you up."
"Forget it!" Serena yelled into the phone and hung up.
"What an ecchi," she muttered looking at the phone. A second later it rang again. Serena almost reached for it but decided against that. She instead sat on the couch staring at the phone. It rang three times before the answering machine picked up.
"Hey minna, I mean everybody, I'm not here right now! Please leave a message with your name and number and I'll call you back later! Ja Ne!"
"Hello Miss Tuskino, may I call you Serena? I'm Patty Albert and I'm a reporter for Royal magazine. I would love to get an exclusive interview with you. It won't be anything major, we can just talk about your relationship with the prince and maybe your future plans and of course about your clothes since the readers want to know! What does a future princess wear? Anyway I'm going to leave my number so please call me ASAP!"
Serena gave out a frustrated sigh and got up from the couch. She pulled the phone plug out of the wall and coiled it around the phone. Inside the bedroom the phone was also ringing so she did the same thing, ripping the cord out of the wall and coiling it into a circle to lie on top of the phone. Then she began to undress, shedding her garments until she was in nothing but her bra and panties. Dressed in only her undergarments she walked into the bathroom to take a hot bath and doze. It wouldn't do to have the phone ringing every second and bothering her.
* * * * * * *
It was what, maybe an hour later when someone started knocking on the door. Serena opened her eyes and looked out the bathroom door but she couldn't see the door at that angle so it was pointless. Thinking it was some reporter who had somehow gotten in she ignored it and closed her eyes again.
The person at the door knocked again then yelled something. It was kind of blurred but Serena could make out the word "friends". Sighing with frustration over the fact that everyone was hounding her, she climbed out of the bath and wrapped a towel around her wet body. Serena walked out of the bathroom dripping water onto the white carpet on the way to the door. A quick peek in the peep hole revealed Mina and Lita standing in front of the door. Lita had her arms crossed and was looking behind her as if to see someone. Mina was trying to look into the peep hole herself. Serena clutched the towel tighter around her and opened the door.
"Quick get in incase a reporter is spying on me!" Serena hissed as she ushered in the two girls and closed the door.
"Relax there's no reporters outside or inside the building. They were all gone when I got home," Mina replied taking a look at Serena's apparel and walking into the kitchen.
"Well it wasn't the same for me," Lita followed Mina into the kitchen. "When I got home I thought they were going to mob me when they found out I lived in the same building as you do. They wanted interviews and everything. It was nuts!" Lita grabbed a glass from Mina who handed her one and walked over to the fridge. "I didn't say anything but I'll probably be on TV tonight anyway for the fact that I'm one of the future princesses friends."
"I am not the future princess!" Serena cried letting go of her towel with one hand then quickly grabbing it as it fell down slightly. "I'm just his girlfriend."
"Your also the media's newest celebrity," Lita replied pouring herself some orange juice.
"I wonder if your famous in America? Wouldn't that be cool?" Mina asked grabbing the carton of juice from Lita.
"America?" Serena whispered a stunned look on her face. "Do you think it could spread all the way to America?" She asked in a louder tone.
Mina shrugged and walked out of the kitchen. "It could, I mean you are now famous in Basalt and though, yes, it is a small country that doesn't mean its royal family isn't known."
"What have I gotten myself into?"
"Absolutely nothing." Lita walked over and put her arm around Serena's shoulders. "You went on some dates with a nice normal guy who turned out to be a prince. Don't break up with him because of that. Look at Princess Diana of England. She dated a prince, married him, and became the most loved symbol of her country and the world."
"Yes but her marriage did end in divorce and she was killed in that car accident in Paris, don't forget that," Mina pointed out.
"I was trying to make a positive point here Mina. Thank you for ruining it."
"No problem," Mina replied taking another sip of her juice.
"You know minna I'm not going to marry Darien. We just had three dates, that's all and who knows it may end on its own before it gets really serious."
"That's true but what if it doesn't? What if it gets really serious and you two do get married. You could be like Princess Grace of Monaco and become a symbol of royalty," Lita replied.
"Princess Grace was a blond just like you are Serena," Mina added.
Serena just shook her head and laughed softly. "I am not going to be a symbol of a nation. I am not going to be a princess. I have to meet the queen mother on Thursday so who knows, she may hate me so much that she'll tell Darien to break up with me and this whole silly thing will be over."
"And what if she likes you?" Lita asked.
"Then I guess Darien and I can keep on seeing each other, but that doesn't matter until I get the queen's approval."
"So your meeting the queen? This means you'll need a dress," Mina replied her eyes glowing brightly at the prospect of fashion.
"Yea but I have till Thursday to pick out a dress and who knows I may have something to wear right in my closet."
"No you don't." Mina stood up and set her glass down on the coffee table. "I've been through your wardrobe and though you are a fashion columnist you are sadly behind in what is fashionable for royalty. You'll need a nice dress, something like a fancy suit with pearls and the whole bit, maybe even a hat."
"I'm not wearing a hat!" Serena replied shaking her head in protest.
"Why not?"
"Because I look horrible in hats. I'll do the pearls and the nice suit/dress but I am not wearing any hats."
"Alright no hat but we have to get you a dress. Go and change out of your towel and we'll go shopping. We can try the mall or maybe window shop in the downtown. I'm sure they'll have something," Mina amended.
"You need some time out," Lita added patting her shoulders before letting go. "We can go incognito so no one recognizes you and since its dinnertime I doubt many people will be out and anyway the picture was taken of you with your hair up in the pigtails. If you wear your hair down I'm sure no one will recognize you."
"Are you sure?" Serena asked turning her eyes to Lita.
"Yes I am. Now go and change so we can leave." Lita gently nudged her and Serena begin to walk towards her bed room.
"I hope your right about this," she called over her shoulder.
"Don't worry!" Lita replied as the bedroom door closed then turned to Mina.
"What's the chance of us not being caught by the media?" She asked.
"One in a billion. The paparazzi is everywhere. They track you like dogs. Look at Princess Diana," Mina replied.
* * * * * * *
Thursday came around faster then she could have ever expected. Through out the week she had dealt with reporters hounding her every time she walked out of her building or out of work. Darien's driver had taken to picking her up in the morning and in the afternoon. He also drove her to the market to buy food and to do any other chores she needed to do which included mailing a very long letter to her parents in Japan explaining everything to them.
On Monday she and Mina and Lita had gone shopping with Serena wearing her long blond hair in a braid tied with a pink ribbon. At first no one had recognized her when all the public had was some blurred pictures of a blond girl with pigtails. It was all good until they saw the evening edition of the newspaper. Serena had been walking past a newspaper stand on her way out of the store where they had bought her a new dress. Serena was in a good mood and was laughing and chatting about clothes with Mina when she by chance saw the paper and stopped dead in her tracks.
"The Future Princess? Look Inside her Private Life?"
"What did you say?" Mina asked stopping a few steps ahead and turning back.
"I'm in the papers again!" Serena cried picking up a paper from the stand. She stared at the picture on the front page. It was a studio portrait that had been taken right before she had left for Basalt. In the picture she was sitting with one leg trust out and the other bent at the knee wearing a white off the shoulder sweater and blue jeans. It was a nice picture but that didn't matter as much, what mattered though was how the newspapers got this picture.
"Wow that's a really good looking picture of you Serena!" Mina said looking over her shoulder at the picture.
"They obviously struck again," Lita added paying the man for the newspaper then turning to look over Serena's over shoulder. "That's the same paper that wrote that other article."
"Looks like there is more." Mina turned around and picked up two other papers. "You're in the entertainment section of The Daily Times and in the Esquire also."
"That will be one euro miss," the newspaper operator said holding out his hand.
"Oh yes, of course," Mina replied handing the man a euro and turned back to Serena who was now reading the article.
"I'm a striking blond who graduated from a high school in Tokyo and was one of the most popular students? They even have quotes from my teachers! How could my teachers remember me? I barely ever answered any questions and I never did my homework! I was a terrible student yet in here they talk about how bright I was!"
"They are saying the same thing in The Daily Times also." Mina replied flipping through the pages of the paper.
"Oh Kami," Serena moaned lowering the paper and looking up at the sky.
"Excuse me miss."
Serena looked down from the skies to see a girl dressed in a catholic school uniform standing in front of her. She looked to be about sixteen years old and was looking at Serena with an excited expression.
"Are you Serena Tuskino?"
"Yes I am..." Serena replied tentively.
"Ooo! Can I have your autograph!?" The girl held out the newspaper she was holding in her hands along with a pen.
"Oh I don't know," Serena begin but was stopped by Mina.
"Do it Serena."
Serena looked at Mina who nodded her head. She then looked at Lita who did the same thing then took the paper and signed it using florid characters that were slightly shaky.
"Here you go," Serena said in a slightly dry voice as she handed the girl her paper.
The girl smiled and giggled happily. "Thank you! I just have to say you and the prince make such a cute couple. You must be the luckiest girl in the world. I wish you a lot of luck!" With that she walked off to meet up with a group of girls standing just a few feet from the newspaper stand.
"Come on we better go," Mina prompted taking Serena's arm and started to lead her away from the newspaper stand back in the direction of their apartments. Lita took the papers and folded them up neatly and tucked them under her arm.
"We can read these when we get home. If we stay out here to much longer we might attract a crowd," Mina said as she led them through the groups of people who were out walking around.
When they got back to Serena's apartment the first thing Mina did was to fix Serena a cup of tea and a piece of cake.
"Here eat these, right now you need the sugar." Mina set the cake and the tea on the coffee table in front of Serena who was sitting on the couch reading the newspapers.
"Most of this stuff is nothing but lies," she sighed throwing down one paper and picking up another. "I am not a striking beauty and I sure am not a good student! I was lucky that I actually passed high school!"
"Then how did you become a journalist?" Lita asked from her position on the floor where she was reading the discarded newspapers.
"I had a friend named Ami who was really smart. She tutored me through out high school then helped me get a job on a local paper in Tokyo. Soon I moved up till I got a job on a major paper as a columnist before I moved here to Basalt." Serena threw down her paper and picked up the cake. "This is nuts! How do celebrities deal with this?"
"They don't. Some people go crazy and revert to drugs," Mina replied sitting next to Serena.
"Well that's not going to happen to me. My parents would kill me if that happened." Serena took a bite of her cake and chewed thoughtfully.
"I say you should relax and take it easy. Just go with the flow." Lita looked up from the floor and smiled. "That dress we bought you looked really hot. It'll be perfect for a tea party."
"Yea I just hope its not a tea party where the queen will invite me to meet all her royal friends and I'll end up embarrassing myself to the high heavens in front of them."
"You know it could be worst. It could be just the queen and you. Now how would that feel? Just you and the queen of an entire country? I would probably die!" Mina replied raising her eye brows to the sky.
"Both sound terrible to me. I'll probably blunder up horrible and spill tea on myself or worse the queen and look like a blithering fool." Serena sighed.
"Then whatever you do, don't be clumsy! We know you Serena! We're sure you're going to do fine," Lita said patting her knee reassuringly.
And so here she was dressed in a soft pink dress with a crème colored bodice. The dress went down to just pass her knees in a soft pink skirt while the top was done in an empire style of crème colored cloth with soft pink, blue, and green flowers and leaves curling over it. There was two straps that tied behind her neck giving it a nice halter look. Mina had picked out the dress after turning down Serena's idea on a nice suit. Mina had seen enough old movies to know what a proper tea dress was. She had firmly told Serena her ideas and then picked out the dress which all three girls had to say was lovely. Afterwards Serena had picked out the shoes, a simple pair of white sandals with straps that tied around her ankles in the style of ballet shoes.
Her normal style of pig tails was disregarded by Mina who did her hair and instead it was twisted up into a french knot and secured with a hair clip made of white plastic. After Mina had put on her makeup she was allowed to see herself in the mirror. It was a beautiful and stately womyn who stared back from the silver glass. If Darien could see her now he would say she was breathtaking. Serena could almost hear him say that which made her smile and thank Mina with a big hug.
James had come by along with Eric who escorted her to the limo despite the fact that there was no reporters around. Inside the limo Serena poured herself a glass of the sparkling cider that had been put in there especially from Darien who also sent her a note of love and caring. Surprisingly the ride was short and before Serena could finish her drink they were driving through the gates of the palace into the main courtyard. Instead of stopping right in front of the palace like Serena was hoping they would they drove to a smaller entrance under a hooded entranceway. Serena gulped down the last of her cider as the car stopped and set the glass back on the bar. Eric had gotten out of the car and was holding the door open for her. Serena climbed out and smoothed her skirt as she looked around her. They were standing under an overpass with ionic columns holding up the roof to the side of the car. Around them flowers and bushes were growing in abundance all obviously taken care of by a team of gardeners.
"Miss Tuskino please follow me." James was talking to her, breaking through her thoughts and beckoning for her to follow him towards the large oak door that led inside.
Serena smoothed her skirt again and followed James inside. Inside James handed her over to a womyn wearing a black dress. She gestured for Serena to follow her down the hall. As they walked Serena looked around her into the rooms on either side of the hall. If she was hoping for the grand splendor and crystal ceilings with golden chairs and huge rooms, she was hugely disappointed. The entrance hallway was made up with a shiny wooden floor with crème colored walls and a red carpet leading down the hall. The rooms on either side of her as they walked down the hall were simple in décor. One had powder blue walls and crème colored furniture. Another revealed a simple dining room painted in hunter green. If this was the palace then it was all very simple. Nothing like the palaces people talked about in books where the rooms were paneled in gold and silver.
"The queen wants to meet you in her private sitting room. She thought you would feel more comfortable in the back of the house then in the front where its very opulent."
"Oh yes of course!" Serena replied turning back to face the womyn in front of her.
"There is few simple rules to follow while you're here. Don't ask the queen any personal questions. Don't touch anything and always stand up when she does. Oh yes," the lady turned around and faced Serena. "Don't speak to her unless she speaks to you first."
"Alright," Serena whispered feeling kind of panic stricken. This was going to be harder then she thought.
The lady in black turned back around and begin to walk down the hall at a brisk pace with Serena following her. Soon they came to a pair of wooden double doors. The lady in black stopped in front of them and faced Serena. "When you see the queen make sure to curtsy to her and remember everything I told you."
Serena nodded dumbly. She felt like she was going to throw up. She was going to meet the queen!
The lady in black gave her one last look then opened the doors and stepped into the room.
Cliffhanger! If you want to know what happens then come back next time when I have a new chapter out. I promise to have it out soon. In the meantime please remember to read and review or send all comments, questions, and suggestions to Saphrians_Water_Reflection@hotmail.com. Thank you!