Oh Diamond's are a girl's best friends…
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She rushed me to the streets, and no one dared giving me a second glance, knowing better than to gawk at the Royal.
Thank God.
Gramma and I rushed to the coachman's place, demanding that he drive the Crown Princess.
He took one look at me and nodded quickly, helping myself and Gramma into the carriage, knowing better than to question the antics of the Royal.
The man drove us to the Gingerbread Grove, and said rather rudely that he required no payment, and that it was enough to drive the Crown Princess.
I took quickly looked down at myself, and ripped two diamonds off the sash of my dress, thrusting them into his hand.
"You tell no one that you drove us here, understand?" I said, and he nodded, looking down at his palm.
We waited until he drove away to go inside Gramma's house.
I slumped down at her table, laughing weakly.
"I can't believe that I've escaped the Palace again! Thank God!" I said, but Gramma shook her head, silencing me.
She took a seat across from me and made a steeple with her fingers.
"Genny, you aren't out of the woods yet…the guard will bet that this is the place that you would go back to, and this'll be the first place that they search." she said, and I said 'oh' softly.
We were silent for a moment, and I finally broke the silence with "What am I supposed to do, then?"
She pursed her lips and furrowed her brows, thinking hard.
"Well…you can't stay here, and we can't have you hiding out in any one else's home…" she paused, as though she would rather not say what she was thinking, but went on anyway "But we could hide you in that old barn down the way…I believe that the Mints keep their hay there…"
I nodded, and she paused again.
"But we can't exactly have you going and hiding there by yourself…and a little old lady such as me couldn't…" she was interrupted by a knock on the door.
I paled, my limbs freezing for one panicked moment before I bolted for the closet, the closest spot to hide.
Gramma stood up, her face not quite as white as mine, but paled all the same, and crossed the parlor and threw open the door right as I shut the closet, the door crushing my skirt.
"God Almighty, Jack! You gave me a fright!" I heard Gramma say, and I felt my stomach start to churn, remembering what Jack had said.
"Why's that?" he asked, and I knew that she had let him in.
"Oh, I've decided to be refuge for blushing brides." she laughed, and pulled open the door.
I had been leaning against the door, trying to not be crushed by the coats, and fell out onto Jack.
My cheeks burned deeper than I could have ever remembered them turning as Jack righted me.
Oh God I wished that I could just disappear…anywhere but here…or the Palace…
"Sorry…" I said, but it came out more of a whisper.
Jack and I took a step back from one another, and Gramma was quiet, expecting us to go off like before, but neither of us spoke.
"Well…how about we all have a seat then." she said, gestured to the table.
I stiffly took a seat across from Jack, and waited for Gramma to speak again.
"Jack, we were just talking about you before you showed up…we need a place to hide away Genny here, and we thought that old barn your family uses would do just fine."
I kept my eyes trained on the scrubbed wood table that matched the auburn of my hair, and waited for Jack to answer, but he must have nodded his head because Gramma went on without a reply.
"Well we had been discussing about who should stay with her, and I elected you."
I jerked my head up, looking at her as though she were crazy.
Which of course, she was.
"Me?" he asked, looking from myself to Gramma.
"Yes, after all, it is technically your property after all." she said smoothly, "Besides; who else can we trust not to turn her in."
Um…no one, but it's not like we can really trust Jack; he hates me, remember?
But she had left him with no other choice than to accept, which he did…reluctantly.
"Splendid!" she said, smiling, "Now Genny, I expect you'll be wanting to change out of that thing, so you'll be finding your clothes are where you left them."
I nodded and stood, resisting the urge to stop by Jack and tell him that it wasn't my fault Gramma had chosen him, but he wasn't looking too happy, so I kept my silence.
The door shut easily behind me, and I sank back against it, inhaling all of the good memories I'd had, but my mind drifted to my old dreams, and I snapped my eyes open, trying to shake off the feeling of his kisses on my skin.
I flung off the veil, then the dress after a few minutes struggling.
In the mirror I caught sight of myself in my underclothes and shuddered. If that fire hadn't happened I could possibly be under Licorice's gaze as I undressed.
I pulled off the white corset and pulled on the old familiar pink one, pulling the strings to their accustomed length and tied them off.
As I brought my hands around I saw something glint off my fingers in the mirror, and I looked down at my hand, and saw the ring…
Small rubies and sapphires embedded on the fine gold band, with a big princess cut diamond in center.
It was only years of tradition that kept me from yanking it off my finger and flinging it out the window, and instead I sat down on the bed heavily, still staring at the ring.
Oh God…I was married…I was married and there wasn't anything I could do about it.
A feeling of hopelessness washed over me, and I felt like boulders were resting on my shoulders.
I shouldn't have run…even if I wasn't within the City walls I couldn't pretend that I wasn't taken…even if I hid the ring and went around proclaiming my freedom I was still bound by God and a court of law.
My hands covered my face as I let out a muffled sob.
Why didn't I just stay at the Palace and keep my own burden to myself? Instead I have to come back here and torture everyone else into trying to smuggle me so that I wouldn't have to grow up and deal with my own messes.
I lay down and hugged my pillow close, wishing that it wasn't a load of fluff I was holding, but instead Jack.
The door opened softly behind me, and I felt the bedsprings compress as Gramma sat down.
"What's wrong, Genny?" she asked, and I let out another cry of anguish at the mention of my former alias.
"Sweet, please tell me." she pleaded, and I twisted my neck to show her my red face.
"I shouldn't have come here…" I said, and she shook her head.
"Of course you should have! Otherwise you'd be having to share a bed with Licorice right now."
"No…I've brought myself onto you like the plague…God'll be coming for us all now…"
"What makes you say that?" Gramma asked skeptically, and I nodded.
"It's my sin that'll be the death of us all, it will…I'm a taken woman now…with a Kingdom to run. Jack was right…I've only been running away from responsibility and I have to step up to face it like a woman." I said, showing my ring finger.
She looked at me with a stunned expression, and then looked back at the door as though it was the one that was making me cry.
"He said what?" she asked, and I shook my head, burying it back in the pillow saying only "he was right…"
I felt her weight release off the bed, and then her hand on my shoulder, gently pulling me up.
"You did no wrong coming back home…now you get up and get ready to go to that barn before it gets any darker." she said, and walked out the door.
I lay there for a moment longer, and decided to not thwart Gramma.
I threw open the wardrobe door and grabbed the first dress I saw, a cream and pink flowered cotton, and pulled it on over the corset.
My hair was far too elegantly done to not cause suspicion, and I yanked out pins and flowers, ruffling it with my fingertips until my red locks curled about my shoulders.
The old pin box was still on the brick fireplace, and I grabbed it, rooting through for some pins, then pulled it back into the familiar knot at the nape of my neck, and eased grabbed a carpet bag, stuffing the wedding gown and veil into it, hastily clasping it.
I grabbed a coat out of the closet and slung it over my arm. I moved to open the door, but heard my name through the thick panel of the door, and stopped, my hand clutched around the knob with my ear pressed against the crack.
"You said what to her?" Gramma asked, her voice carrying from the parlor.
"I only said the truth…" Jack said, and I could imagine him with his arms folded across his chest, leaning against the fireplace mantle.
"Did you hear her in there?" she demanded, and I pressed my ear harder against the crack, trying to hear his response.
"What do you mean?" he asked, his tone suspicious.
"You imagine saying something so cruel and expect her to be alright? When she came here in the first place you don't think that we discussed that very matter? You should be ashamed that you could think of that vile insult." She spat, and there was a long silence.
The knob under my hand moved, and I jumped back surprised.
"Are you dressed yet, dear?" Gramma asked, opening the door.
I had jumped back to look like I was just folding the dress, but it probably only looked like I was lingering next to the bed, messing with the carpet bag.
"Oh…yes…" I said, and picked up the carpet bag, blushing as though she knew I was listening behind doors.
"Well hurry up, then…we're wasting daylight…dusk light" she chided, pulling me through the door.
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Again only spell-check….
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