Hi! hope you guys like this chapter! If you have any suggestions to add or something please let me know :)
I'd rather have a beast who treats me like a princess, than a prince who doesn't
King Clarkson, Amberly, Maxon and I stood in front of the double doors of the palace waiting for the Royal Family of Italy and Spain to arrive. We watched the driveway, witch was full of beautiful trees with white blossom in it and a big fountain in front of the double doors. I was wearing a blue day dress with flats. My hair was curled and my make up light. Cars arrived and the royal Family's stepped out of the cars, walking the steps up to us.
Nicoletta got sight of me, curtsied to us and pulled me into a tight hug, making me bounce backwards. I put my arms around her.
"Nice to see you too," I said. She pulled back and held me by my shoulders.
"How are you doing?" She asked.
"I'm doing fine, thank you. And how are you doing?"
"Good," she replied.
Her family came after her and curtsied. Noemi and Orabella also pulled me into a hug and all I could do was smile. Queen Adriana and King Ciro from Italy where very nice. Then it was time to meet the Royal Family of Spain; King Izar, Queen Eleadora and their two children. Prince Mareno, the oldest, and princess Rosita. Prince Mareno was Maxon's age and Princess Rosita was mine.
"It's very nice to see you again," Queen Eleadora stated.
"Likewise," Amberly said.
"And it's so nice to finally meet you, Princess America," King Izar said.
"The pleasure is all mine, you're Majesty."
"We're looking forward to get to know you," the queen said.
"Likewise," I said smiling. Maxon rapped an arm around my waist.
"You're maids will lead you to you're rooms. The girls will be expected in the Woman's Room to drink tea with each other and the rest of us will be haunting," King Clarkson said. Maids came fore ward and lead the way to the rooms, leaving the four of us alone again.
Maxon placed a kiss on my cheek. "They really like you," he said. I grinned.
"I suppose."
"Maxon! Are you coming?" The King barked. Because Maxon's back was facing King Clarkson he rolled his eyes and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. I smiled and saw them disappear, leaving Amberly and me alone.
"Are you coming with me?" She asked while she scooped her arm through mine. I nodded.
"So what do I do?" I asked her. I have never had to maintain queens and princesses before now they were here to also speak to me. She smiled and we made our way to the Woman's Room.
"We're just going to catch up, nothing formal. It will not happen until tomorrow."
"I like that. It's nice to catch up with Nicoletta, Noemi and Orabella, and get to know princess Rosita and her mother."
"I agree, I haven't talked to Eleadora in a very long time." We approached the Woman's Room and sat inside at a table.
"Are you and queen Eleadora friends?" I asked her.
"Yes, we known each other for almost twenty years." She said smiling. The door opened and they all came bursting trough the doors. Noemi and Orabella grapped my hands and pulled me over to one of the couches. Nicoletta and Princess Rosita followed us and sat opposite us. Maids offered us some tea and we gladly took it.
"Princess Rosita, nice to meet you," I said.
"No need to be so formal, you can call me Rosita," she said.
"Thank god, I'm not the best at being formal," I mumbled.
"Yeah, we know that," Nicoletta said and they all laughed. I just rolled my eyes at it. I knew they all where very close friends and I liked them very much.
"How is it to be a Princess now?" Rosita asked.
"I don't know, having more responsibility?" I shrugged my shoulders.
"Right, you got shot. Sorry, I forget about that."
"That's alright. It's actually nice that you guys treat me without pity. People are so worried about you these days," I said. That made them laugh. I took some tea.
"When are you going to have kids?" Noemi asked. I almost spit out my tea and looked up at her.
"You aren't pregnant, are you?" Nicoletta asked.
"Nicoletta!" I yelled. That made them all look up at me, even the queens.
"What?" She asked for shrug.
"No, I'm not pregnant and we haven't really talked about having kids, it's still very early." I said. "I just got married a month ago." They all grinned at me.
"What?" I asked. That made them grin even more.
"Can we ask you something?" Orabella asked. I raised an eyebrow.
"Oke," I said, taking another sip from my tea.
"How is it to do it for the first time?" they all looked at me and I almost spit out my tea again.
"Your're really asking me that?!"
Rosita answered that. "Yes, you're the only one of us that's married and we would never ask our parents about it."
"I don't think you want an answer from me though," they looked confused.
"Why not?" Noemi asked.
"Because, I was recovering from shot wounds. My first time will be very different from somebody who wasn't shot, you know." I wasn't scared to tell them this, even though I just met Rosita we seemed to like each other very much. They nodded in understanding.
"Shall we talk about someone else love life? I'm sure you guys have somebody you like," I said. They laughed.
"The ambassadors son from Russian has an eye on Orabella," Rosita said.
"Yeah, but he's weird and dirty. Not my type if you ask me," she fired back. We laughed. We talked like that for another our until we heard the stomach of Rosita rattle.
"We can sneek out of here and go to the kitchen and grab some food? I know the people quite well there," I said. They nodded and stood up. Together we walked to the door.
"Were are you guys going?" the queen of Spain asked.
"We asked America to show us some places," Rosita said, and with that we quicly walked out of the room.
"Thank you," I said. "I'm not really allowed to go to the kitchens from Amberly." They all laughed and at the end of the hall, I put out my shoes and grabbed them in my hand.
"I hate walking in these things sometimes."
"Me too," they all said together. They also kicked out their shoes and we walked down to the kitchens. Once we were there I was filled with the smell of food and smiled. We walked in the kitchen until I saw the person I needed.
"Hello, Edward," I greeted him. He was one of the chefs and he had a wonderful personality, just like most of the staff. I learned a lot of their names and was proud of myself that I remembered most of them. It was my goal to know them all.
"Hello America. I see you brought guests with you." He said. We walked towards him and once they saw the guests where princesses they all curtsied or bowed.
"You let them call you by you're first name without a title?" Rosita asked.
"Yes, I don't really like the formality, never did. I insist that they all call me that way if there are no formal intentions."
"You made that clear, but, we wouldn't expect anything else from you. Now, since you made that rule, than that same rule applies to us too, when we're here whit you," Nicoletta said.
"What you're looking for is in the big fridge," Edward said.
"Is Mallory by chance here somewhere?" I asked. He smiled and gestured behind me. I turned around and there was Marlee smiling. I smacked a scream of happiness and pulled her into a hug.
"She needs a break, Edward," I said. "I won't keep her to long," and pulled her and the others to the fridge, took what I needed and we sat at a table in the back of the kitchen. I took the food out on the table and started eating.
"What are these?" Noemi asked. My mouth was full and Marlee answered for me.
"Strawberry tarts, America's favorite food since the Selection begun."
"Yeah, we can see that," Orabella said laughing while she gesture to me. I shrugged my shoulders and took another bite.
"Let me introduce myself, since I haven't done that yet," Marlee said. "I'm Mallory."
They all said their names and also took some food.
"I'm sorry if I'm being rude," Nicoletta began. "But you look very familiar to me and I know the meaning of you're hands…"
"Nicoletta," I warned.
"So it is true?" I nodded and Marlee stiffened beside me. "Don't worry, we won't say anything."
"What is it? What do I don't know? Who is she?" Rosita asked . Of course she had no idea what we were talking about.
"Um…" Marlee said nervous.
"I will only tell you if you promise to don't tell anyone, not even you're family."
"I promise," she said with confidence. I know she wouldn't tell anyone. I took Marlee's hand and she nodded.
"During the Selection, there was one girl who got punished because she had a relationship with someone who wasn't the prince. I guess you can do the math. Anyways, they got punished and where thrown out to the streets. Maxon kept them safe and hidden, here in the palace. Nobody knows about their true identity only Maxon, me and some people who work down here. Even the king and queen don't know this and that must be that way or… She is my best friend." I looked up at Marlee and she smiled nervous. Than I turned to the others and they smiled sadly.
"Please, relax, we won't tell anyone. We like you're family, America, but not particulate Clarkson. We know better."
"Thank you," Marlee said. We talked for another fifteen minutes until it was time for Marlee to go back to work. We left the kitchen and I showed them some of my favorite places in the palace. They were thrilled about my music room and that I played a lot of instruments. We had lost track of time and didn't know to get ready for the party until a maid reminded us of it.
Tonight was a party for the two nations that where here and some important people from our country where invited, along with important people who work here at the palace. Mary and Paige made me ready. From the front picks of my hair they made little braids, which lead to a small braid at the back of my head. The rest was loose. My hair was pretty long and stopped just above my but. I wore a beautiful blue dress. It was strapless and had ruffles at the top and from there is was loose to the ground in different shapes of blue. I wore a matching band on my right arm at the height of my chest to match the dress. The dress made my curves come out very well. At the end they put a simple tiara on my head. When I looked into the mirror I felt pretty and like a princess. The dress was absolutely stunning and my favorite. I made sure Mary and Paige knew how much I loved it. When I was done Maxon knocked on the door and opened it.
"You look absolutely stunning, darling," he said while he gave me a kiss.
"Stop that! You're ruining our work!" Mary yelled. Maxon laughed and faced her.
"Sorry Mary. Are you coming Mrs. Schreave?"
I looped my arm through his and answered. "Of course, Mr. Schreave."
"You look pretty handsome yourself, my Royal Husbandness," I said. He wore a blue suit, matching my dress and also had his crown on.
"Thank you."
"How was you're day?" I asked. He smiled.
"Good, haunting was quit relaxing for me. It was nice to catch up with Mareno. King Ciro and Izar were also nice to me but they were talking to my father most of the time. But I didn't mind. How was you're day?"
"Fun. It was nice to catch up with Nicoletta, Orabella and Noemi. Rosita is lovely. We laughed all day and I showed them some of my favorite places," I said smiling.
"Including the kitchen?" He raised an eyebrow. I blushed. "Relax, darling. I won't tell my mother."
"Thank you," I said, gaming him a kiss on the cheek.
We walked through the dubbed doors where the party was held. The room was absolutely gorgeous. There was a dance floor, a stage where musicians played, tables full of food and the room was decorated whit flowers and tons of other things. There where also cameras and interviewers. The room was full of all the people that are here, but it made me smile. This is the first time I am acting in public as Princess, if you don't count the wedding too.
We talked to people and ate some food. Not short after we came through the doors Maxon was pulled away. I was just finishing a conversation with Noemi when I saw Aspen and Lucy. They where also invited because Aspen is head of security and pretty important. I was happy to see them and walked over to them. When I stood in front of them they bowed and curtsied because we are in public. I pulled Lucy in a hug though.
"I missed you," I said to her. "You need to visit me more often, okay?" She smiled.
"I missed you too."
"How are you guys doing?" I asked them.
"Good, where very happy together and thank you for inviting us," Aspen said while he and Lucy looked at each other. "How are you doing?" He asked a bit concerned.
"Good, I'm not in pain or anything like that anymore if you want to know and I'm glad you guys could make it to here."
"Always here for our Princess," Aspen teased.
"Sure." I said smiling.
The DJ took the microphone. "Your Majesty's King Clarkson and Queen Amberly will open up the dance floor for us with the first dance," he said. We watched King Clarkson and Amberly dance on the dance floor when I was met with hands on my waist. I knew it was Maxon so I leaned back at him and watched the dance come to an and. He gave me a kiss on the cheek.
"Can I have this dance with you, Princess America?"
"Absolutely," he held out his arm and I hooked through it while he led us to the dance floor. He put an arm on my lower back and with the other he held my hand.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" He asked.
"Very much, do you?"
"Now I do." I smiled. Somehow I was thinking about the conversation I had this afternoon with Nicoletta.
"What are you thinking?"
"Well, if you must know. Nicoletta asked when we decided to have kids. Then she thought I was already pregnant." He held his breath. "No, I'm not pregnant." I added. He let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank god. I really want kids with you, and you know that, but I'm not ready to share you with anyone else just yet."
"I feel the same. I think I want it to be just you and me for the time being and we can start trying after a few months."
"You get the words out of my mouth, dear." he said and gave me a kiss on the forehead.
"Are you sure you can do that in public?" I asked him
"You're my wife. I can kiss you whenever I want," he said smiling. Dancing with Maxon always gave me such a beautiful feeling, like we where the only one in the room. There were no duties, no royalty's, we were not prince and princess, just him and me. A happily married couple.
The dance came to an end and we bowed and curtsied to each other. Noemi and Orabella came to us demanding a dance from Maxon. Laughing I walked away until Prince Mareno said hello to me. I curtsied to him and he bowed to me.
"Can I have this dance with you, Princess America?" he asked as he held out his hand.
"Of course," I replied as I took his hand.
"Nice to meet you again," he said.
"Likewise."
"How does it feel to be in Illea?" I asked. He smiled.
"Good. We don't visit often so it was nice to see them all again, catch up, and meet you. I heard many great things about you from Maxon. I was looking forward to get to know you," I blushed lightly. I didn't know that they talked about me.
"What did you heard about me then?" I asked curious.
"'The moment you guys met, how you yelled at him that very first time, that you're the most beautiful, wonderful, intelligent, amazing and sweetest person in the world are according to Maxon. I can go on like that for another hour."
I laughed at that. "Wow, that was a mouthful of words," I said.
"I just answered you're question."
"True. How about you? Tell me something about you." I asked.
"Well, I'm the crown prince of Spain. My mother and Queen Amberly are really good friends so of course Maxon and I got to know each other and we become good friends. I have a sister as you know. I am engaged to Catherine. I met her one day when I was in a small town back home. She didn't know that I was a prince. When we had fallen in love she told me she wanted to be with me forever, and I wanted that too. So I told her I was a prince and she was stunned. Now we are engaged and she doesn't treat me like a prince or something, that's really nice. That was it I guess."
"Congratulations!"
"Thank you."
"I know how you feel though. I have never treated Maxon as a prince, even though I had to and he is happy with that, it makes him feel normal he says."
"I agree with him."
"So when is the wedding?"
"In October. I make sure to invite you and the rest of the Royal Family."
I smiled. "That would be nice." The dance ended and we bowed and curtsied to one another. I said I was going to grab some food. I took something small and saw Amberly ending a conversation. She looked up and waved me over to come.
"You look amazing!" she said once I was standing in front of her. She ran a hand over my dress. "Thank you. You look beautiful as well." and she did. She wore a beautiful green dress that was tight fitting until her waist, from there it was loose until the ground. The halter went to her neck and from there it went in a bow over her shoulders to her back. The dress made her green eyes pop. Her hair was pinned up to a bun with her crown on top. "Thank you," she replied. "Are you enjoying the party?" she asked.
"Yes, do you?"
"Yes," she said and took a glass of champagne. I saw the journalists approaching us behind her back and Amberly turned around. They bowed to us.
"Hello you're Majesty's, do you mind if we ask you a few questions?" a girl asked.
"Not at all," Amberly replied. I smiled.
"First of all, you are both looking beautiful," the girl said with a warm smile. "Thank you," I said smiling to the girl. The camera's clicked on loose.
"Princess America, we haven't seen you drinking all night. Would you like to tell us the reason perhaps?" she asked a little shy. I guess she doesn't know if she is allowed to ask a question like that. She is lucky that King Clarkson isn't with us.
"Yes. I'm not allowed to drink any alcohol from the doctor because it isn't good for my stomach. But I don't mind, I don't drink often so I'm not missing it."
"We heard you are going to set up programs to help the people here in Illea. Can you enlighten us?"
"I can. As you may heard I'm going to start a school program with Kriss Ambers, she came up with the idea during the Selection. I'm going to start a program for people who are homeless. In this program we are going to help them get back on track with work and help them find a home," I looked up at Amberly, who was looking proud. I looked back at the girl. "And together we are going to try to keep the food programs open for as long as possible. I will enlighten more information soon, " I finished.
"I look forward to see it," the girl said and she looked at Amberly. "What do you think of this?"
"I'm very proud of her and what she already has accomplished to do as a Princess."
She asked a few other questions and then walked away. Amberly said she was proud at me and how I asked the questions. Then Maxon came and took me for another dance.
"What was that all about?" he asked.
"they just wanted to know a few things. Nothing special." we danced a bit and he spun me around causing that my dress made itself very big. Be both laughed. We danced song after song and at one song he picked me up at my hips, causing that I looked down into his eyes and he turned us around. I held him by his neck and laughed. He smiled at me and put me down.
"Why did you do that? Everybody is looking at us." I said and I saw that almost everybody was looking at us. "Let the people stare at us. I can do whatever I want you know."
"Sure you can," I replied and shook my head. The rest of the evening went by in a blur and I couldn't be happier. The day after the party we went to work with the two nations that where staying with us, although it was a Sunday. Because we had a free day off on Saturday we needed to work on Sunday.
On Monday we where all sitting in the Dining Room eating breakfast. We were talking to each other and eating our meal. "Princess America?" King Ciro asked. I looked up at him.
"You may want to hear this, so does the rest of you're family," he said. I had a look of confusion on my face and didn't know what to expect. Maxon took my right hand and we listened to what he was about to say. I saw he was holding a newspaper.
"Saturday night there was a ball at the palace in honor of the Royal Family of Spain and Italy. We were able to visit the ball and interview some people, including Queen Amberly and Princess America. Most of the interview we talked to the Princess. We asked about her health and to enlighten us about the programs she is going to start. She said she was doing fine and told us she is starting a school program along with a program to help the people who are homeless and keeping the food programs open as long as possible. She would enlighten more information soon. Although she is not our Princess for a long time, she has already taken care of good changes in the country. We hope she will keep going that way. Queen Amberly told us that she is very proud of Princess America. The Princess told us that she is glad she can help the people in Illea and she couldn't be happier with her marriage. I think I can speak on behalf of all people that we couldn't agree more with her. You can see the happiness on the faces of our Prince and Princess when they are together. They surely lighten up you're mood. We took some pictures of the happy couple and added this in the paper so you can see for yourself. On behalf of whole Illea we wish you both the best luck with everything."
I was stunned. I didn't expect any of this. Everybody in the room applauded and Maxon kissed my cheek. I smiled at myself. Happy the people thought of me that way. Nothing could ruin this.
So what do you think of this? Please let me know in a review :)