Freddie's POV
"Valerie, what are you doing here?" I asked again. "I thought you returned to your kingdom years ago?"
"Well, I'm back now and that's all that matters, isn't it?" she avoided my question. "I just want to return to those times when we had fun together and enjoyed each other's company. But I see that you have a new girl by your side now."
"She's my girlfriend," I corrected her. "And her name's Sam."
She smiled at the thought. "To think that I thought we'll be able to be together again once I return from my kingdom. I didn't think you'd break promises so easily."
"I didn't break the promise," I said harshly. "You were trying to use me!"
"I'll admit that I did that and I'm sorry for doing it," she apologized. "But you have to understand that I really like you."
"Well, I don't," I exclaimed. "Ever since I found out your motives for dating me, I had no more feelings left for you. Besides, I have a girlfriend now and I'm happy that she's nothing like you."
She frowned. "How do you know that?"
"What?" I asked.
"How would you know if she's using you or not?" she repeated her question. "You didn't figure it out until Lorence leaked it out."
I looked at her cautiously. "If this is another trick so that you can get me to break up with Sam, it ain't working."
"I'm just concerned, Freddie," she said. "I want you to be safe."
"Like I'm safe with you," I remarked. "You almost had me killed!"
"It was a mistake," she exclaimed. "And it will never happen again. All I want you to know now is that I will always be there for you whenever you need me."
I snickered. "Well, I won't be needing you. I've got everything I need here. What else would I want?"
"Just in case you ever need me," she pulled something out of her sequin-studded purse. "Here's my address. You can always come look for me."
"You live here now?" I asked, reading the words. "What happened to your palace?"
"I'm just living here temporarily. I'm taking part in the upcoming pageant," she exclaimed. "Is your girlfriend taking part in it too?"
I replied. "Yeah."
"Well, wish her luck," she stated. "She's going to need it if she's competing with me."
"I'm confident," I frowned at her comment. "She'll definitely beat you with her hands tied behind her back."
She turned around to look at me, smiling at my statement. Then, she walked away with her guards. What a princess.
I decided to return to the store where Sam would be after the tiring conversation I had with Valerie. I couldn't wait to help my little princess get herself ready for the pageant. Valerie's going down!
"What goes on, people?" I asked. "Where's Princess Puckett?"
"She's changing out of the clothes," Melanie replied. "Who was that, by the way?"
"Who?"
She rolled her eyes. "That girl who called you out just now?"
"Oh, that girl," I said. "Erm, she's... erm..."
"Hey guys," Sam came out from the fitting room. "I'm done. Can we go now? I'm starving! Momma's craving for some meat!"
"Sure," I replied. "Come on, let's go."
Sam stopped in her tracks. I thought she would ask about Valerie, but she just said, "Aren't we going to pay for the dresses first?"
"Oh, we don't have to," I exclaimed. "You see, royals have a special privilege. We get to exit a store with bags of stuff without needing to pay for anything."
"Really?" she asked. "Does that mean that lunch will be free?"
"Yup," I replied. "You can eat as much as you want."
But Melanie mumbled something that I could only decipher as, "If royals can exit a store with bags of stuff without paying for anything, does that mean that girl was a royal too?"
Luckily, no one but me heard her.
"Mmm..." Sam expressed, chewing on her meatloaf. "Quality meat..."
"So, what do you intend to do for the talent component of the pageant?" I asked while slurping on my smoothie. "
"There's a talent component?" she stopped chewing. "But I don't have any talents at all."
Melanie held her hand. "Of course you do. Remember when we were little we used to take dance lessons?"
"I only took those lessons for three days," she replied.
"What happened?" Pete asked.
"I got expelled from the school," she exclaimed.
Pete and I were confused. "Why?"
"She hit the school teacher with an apple," Melanie explained.
"Don't look at me like that," Sam said. "She started touching me all over."
"She was trying to get you to have the right posture," Melanie rolled her eyes.
Sam frowned.
"So, did you learn anything in the three days of lessons?" I asked.
"Well, I did learn this train routine," she replied. "But I forgot most of it."
Melanie smiled. "I'll help you get it right, or we can get Prince Gibson to help us. He's a very good dancer."
"If you insist," she sighed. "But I've got to warn you. I'm no push-over, you know?"
"Of course," Melanie said excitedly.
Just then, Valerie came over to our table. I wonder how she manages to find me.
"Well, who have we here?" she exclaimed. "It's Prince Fredward and his little girlfriend Samantha."
"It's Sam," Sam corrected. "And who are you?"
"I'm Princess Valerie," she introduced. "And I, am Freddie's ex-girlfriend."