Disclaimer: Thanks to all for your wonderful reviews, I really appreciate them all. And please do tell if there is something you'd like to happen and I'll see what my magic wand and I can do. NO PROMISES!
I hope you all will enjoy this part. Even though that this is me and just me, so sorry for my bad English. But I can't find it in me to do exploitation of my dear friend Gina, but I will thank her for just being who she is and for her all her helpfulness. Love you sis!
So now on to the story.
Enjoy.
Rings, Rain and Reporters…..
So...now I'm officially Rupert's fiancé and have been for 6 whole days now. It's a weird feeling, I just turned 18 and this announcement of our engagement made me much older, and very sudden. Yes Rupert's prediction was correct 4 days after my 18th birthday we where told by Queen Maud that tomorrow, our engagement would be announced and that we should be ready for the press conference at 12 noon. She looked at me and just her stare told me to just do as she said, both Rupert and I was in kind of a shock stage, when we had moved out of the Queen's office, and when the huge doors closed he turned to me.
"We still have time to elope!" He said with wide open eyes.
"No we don't, she has an eye in every corner of this kingdom, and she's watching our every move." I answered back almost whispering.
"You know, I think you're right my dear. No matter where we are she will always be breathing down our necks until our wedding day is over." He said rather decisive
"Our wedding day?" I tilted my head looking at him.
"Yes our wedding day, not until that day is over, will she rest. She's so afraid that you will run away, why do you think she's assigned two guards to you starting from tomorrow!" He said with a hint of a smile in his eyes.
"TWO! Oh my, what do I need two for? And if I were to run, wouldn't I have done so already?" So many questions ran through my head I couldn't concentrate, when suddenly a thought got into my head I looked up into Rupert's eyes "Will we get a say in our wedding day at all?" I uttered with a frightful look.
Rupert cupped my cheek with one hand and took hold of my hand with the other "I don't think you shall count on that but if you want to be in charge of that or at least want to add some things, I'll be behind you in your every task!" He leaned in and kissed my cheek, letting his lips stay there for just a few seconds, but long enough for me to start to blush. When I finally got the courage to look him in the eyes again, I almost melted, the look he had was one of pure affection, and I think love.
"Thank you Rupert!" I smiled shyly up at him.
After that we had been interrupted by my ladies maids coming to get me and we went our separate ways, but a few hours later, after endless cloth fitting, and the Queen finally had decided what I should wear at the conference, I had gotten a message from Rupert.
Meet me by the lake in an hour! Rupert.
But I didn't know where to find the lake, I hadn't had time to explore the entire garden yet, I had been in the yellow garden, Rupert's favourite part, and the green garden but nowhere else, so I had to ask one of the guards to secretly help me get to the lake. And lucky for me I found one that was willing to help me, and not tell a soul, so and hour later I had meet with Rupert at the lake.
"Hello there, I was starting to think you hadn't gotten my message or that you already had run away!" He said laughing.
"Do you really think I would run away?" I asked a little suspicious.
"I sure hope not, because then I wouldn't be Genovia's proudest man, then I'd be the unluckiest and saddest man!" He said as a matter of factly.
"Rupert I'm suppose to be at a lesson with your mother at the moment, and instead I've sneacked out and meeting with you out here, and my ladies maids are going to tell your mother when she comes asking for me that I'm not feeling well. And here you are questioning that I'm going to stay here and become your wife! I even shared a kiss with you, before we have been engaged; I'm meeting with you here, now, even before we are engaged." I spoke fast and sternly but still with a smile.
He rose from where he sat and walked the few steps over to me and took hold of both my hands "You know you are very attractive, do you not?" He said while lifting my left hand to his lips, not braking eye contact. "Just having you in the room, is enough to drive me crazy!" He kissed my hand again. "I can't wait for tomorrow, when I can tell the world that you are mine!" He smiled and turned my hand over and kissed my palm.
"Uh Rupert, I'm……..I'm……….I'm more than flattered. And I'm looking forward to tomorrow as well. And will you promise me that you will not do anything your mother wont approve of tomorrow?" I said trying to cover up my heated cheeks.
"I will try, I will promise you that!" he said.
He put his arm around my back "Now will you just walk with me?" He softly asked, and I nodded. We walked for about 2 hours just enjoying each others company and sharing silly childhood stories, then I went back to the palace ready for an ear bashing from the Queen.
And I did get that, an ear bashing that could be heard by anyone within 20 miles. Never in my life had someone yell so much and so loud at me, and all I had missed was one little, so-called eating lesson, the Queen didn't approve of my way of sitting at a dinner table so she wanted to correct it. But I can't wait for the yelling lesson; she's really good at that so I bet I'll learn a lot.
And on the day of the press conference, I didn't make our relationship any better, she had come into my room early in the morning, she started hasten me around, and when she asked the maid to redo my hair for the fourth time I rose and told her enough is enough and stormed out of the room and out in the garden and kept running, I could feel the tears pressing to fall, as my mind worked on overtime. This wasn't mine and Rupert's engagement, it was hers. It was the way she wanted it, she had arranged it with my parents, she had taken care of everything her way, she even wrote down what she wanted Rupert to say, but he told me he had thrown them away the minute she had left his office. I had so many thoughts running through my head that I didn't see the young man I bumped into until it was too late and I was sitting on the ground.
"I'm so sorry miss, I didn't see you coming!" The young man apologised
"Oh no I'm the one who's sorry I should have been looking where I was going. I didn't hurt you did I?" I asked worried
"No not at all, but are you alright?" He asked me back
"Yes, as fine as I can be." I looked down, but was almost forced to look at him again when he reached out his hand to me, to help me on my feet again.
"Thank you!" I said and smiled.
"You are welcome miss!" He smiled back
I had started raining the minute I took of for the garden, but now it was really pouring, and I could feel I was soaked to the skin. He looked at his watch.
"Can I follow you somewhere miss? Because I need to leave in a minute or I'll be late for my first job here!" He said a little nervous.
"No thank you, I'll be fine and good luck!" I smiled at him and I put my arms around myself.
"Are you sure miss, you look awful cold?" He asked concerned.
"Yes I'm sure!"
"Very well miss…? Oh what's your name?" He asked looking curiously at me.
I didn't want him to know that I was me, so I just told him my middle name so that he couldn't go back to the palace telling them where I was.
"Elizabeth, just Elizabeth." I said.
"Ok Elizabeth, I'm of duty around 9 this evening then maybe we could meet and talk some more because I better leave now or I'll be late." He was looking at me with a lot of hope in his eyes but I hate it when people are pushy like that.
"No I don't think so, I will be busy for a very long time, but if I at some point get a spare minute I'll make sure to find you!" I turned my back to him and walked over to some trees and I heard him say something and then he left me alone. And that was exactly what I wanted, to be alone, right here and now, I knew that if I went into that conference my life as Lady Clarisse Gerard would be over for sure, there would be no chance of return. And I had to admit that thought was scary.
I had been sitting under a tree for an hour, when suddenly what seemed like an army of guards came to me and asked me tons and tons of questions from are you cold to did anyone hurt you, but I was too confused to answer any of them. I got a warm blanket around me and was then lead back to the palace where I had not showed up at the planned conference, and I was meet by the Queen, not the woman I wanted to see at that moment but none the less she had, sent out the entire royal guard squad to search for me, and she didn't seem happy when they returned with me, with my cloths all drenched and hair clinging to my face. She didn't say one word to me, but then again her look was more than enough. But this humoured Rupert a great deal, and after I had been put into dry clothing and my hair had been done, we held the press conference.
The doors to the throne room were opened, the photographers flashes went of, and we entered arms entwined and sat down at the chairs put out for us, and the flashes went crazy. But Rupert looked so at ease with all this commotion that I started to relax, he then looked at me and winked.
"Ladies and gentlemen, honoured members of the press, I am proud to present to you, Lady Clarisse Elizabeth Gerard, my fiancée. We look forward to together rule and help this fantastic country that we both love so much." Rupert told the press people, and I just sat beside him smiling and freezing.
The journalists asked us so many questions and much to the Queens disapproval I answered many of them, when we told them that we would answer one more question before we retire to privacy, a fast photographer said "Could we get just one little kiss?" and Rupert turned to me and looked at me.
"Is it ok with you?" he asked
"Well I don't really know, I mean they'll probably get lots of it later on why not leave them wanting more?" I said quietly.
"That's just what I thought, and I guess we have done enough my mother will not approve of!" He laughed.
So I looked at the photographer "No you cannot, you will have to wait for that at the wedding!" I smiled at him.
And immediately they all started begging and Rupert interrupted them "I give you a kiss on the hand, and you'll have to be satisfied with that for now and then get the kiss-kiss in June next year!" He said to the reporters and raised my hand, which he had been holding and fiddling with the entire time, to his lips and looked at me when they made contact, again the flashes went nuts and I smiled at him. We then rose from our seats and left the room hand in hand.
One good thing has come out of my running, I haven't had to attend lessons with the Queen, actually she hasn't spoken to me since the day before the engagement, and I have to admit I like that, and hopefully I won't have to attend them ever again, but with my luck I don't aim after that.
But I am enjoying being officially engaged to Rupert, we can walk, talk, touch, whisper anything freely, without having to look around and make sure nobody sees us, except for our security. We have at all time inside the palace one man each following us and when we walk outside in the royal garden we each have two, four men monitoring our every move, but I guess I just have to get use to that to, Rupert seems very at ease with it, it's like he doesn't see them, but I bet he does. I try to make it easier having them around by talking with them when we are alone, but I keep mixing them up, I can't remember who like what and who's the oldest and so on, but Joseph just laughs at my forgetfulness and says that it will come in time, and Jacob seems scared at correcting my faults but looks weird when I ask him something wrong, but I'll learn eventually. Then again who decided that my two guards should have names so like each other, that don't make it easier. But I can't decide if I like them or not, they are a weird kind of people. But as long as I don't have to argue with any of them it'll go ok. Uh oh, Joseph was the one I ran into out in the rain the day of the press conference, he apologised for his flirting the minute we were alone the first time, but apparently, none of the staff here knows how I look until they meet me, funny and I thought everybody would know who I am, but I guess it's a good thing, at least something I should carries as long as I can. Because it can't last forever.
Oh Rupert and I stayed up late last night talking about everything, what was going to happen over the next 8 months, before the wedding, what was going to happen after the wedding, where we wanted to honeymoon and how many children we want. It was nice feeling like a normal person again, even though Rupert makes just as huge and effort as I am to make this engagement as "normal" as possible, every morning we meet for breakfast and every morning he brings me a flower, and always a new one and it is always one he's been out getting himself. I think that if we let it happen we will fall in love, at least that is what I hope for.
To be continued…….