Chapter 4: Meeting in the Night

By the time Emma reached her room, there were three young maids waiting for her.

"Your Highness! We were starting to worry you wouldn't show!" One with short brown hair exclaimed, her bottom lip displaying evidence of a nervous habit; namely lip biting.

"Come on, we need to get you ready, Princess!" This time it was the blonde who spoke, gesturing to a chair in front of a vanity.

"Dinner is in twenty minutes, so we need to hurry," a redhead stated.

Emma said nothing as she went to the chair, letting the maids begin their work.

It was awkwardly quiet, so she decided to introduce herself.

"It's lovely to meet you, Princess," the blonde smiled. "I'm Crystal, the redhead is Ruby, and the one with black hair is Opal."

Emma giggled at the coincidence of all their names.

Opal rolled her eyes, "yes, it is ironic, isn't it? So much in fact, that Crystal came up with a name."

"The Gems!" Crystal supplied happily.

Ruby didn't say anything, just continuing her work on finding the perfect dress.

"Don't mind her," Crystal said, "she just gets nervous a lot, always needing everything to be perfect."

"I don't mind," Emma smiled, "I have the same problem, sometimes. Oh, and you can call me 'Emma' if you want."

"But that's improper!" Opal gasped, eyes like blue opals themselves widening.

"It's only improper if you call me by my name without permission," she grinned. "But I am giving you permission, therefore, it is only proper that you call me 'Emma.'"

"If you wish, Emma," Crystal smiled.

"Here is your dress...Emma," Ruby came over and smiled nervously, holding the not-too-formal dress in the air.

"That will be great, thank you Ruby!"

"You're welcome, Your-Emmma," she corrected herself in time, giving her a sheepish grin.

With five minutes to spare, the maids had curled Emma's hair, with some of it held back with a small tiara, and the rest flowed down her back. Emma thanked them, then waited for the escort.

There would only be an escort for the first week, to make sure you know where the dining room is. After that, you are expected to report to dinner/lunch/breakfast yourself. If you didn't show up (without a reasonable excuse) then you would be out of the competition and sent home.

Finally, a knock was heard at the door. Crystal opened it, greeting the young man that came through.

He bowed, "I am Daniel, your escort, Your Highness."

Emma's eyes widened slightly. This man was very attractive, with thick, short brown hair and clear blue eyes. It was a shame he wasn't the prince, because she didn't think a man could look any better than Daniel.

She cleared her throat upon realizing that she was staring, "thank you, Daniel." She rose out of the seat, looped her arm through his, and quietly they exited her room.

Along the way they made small talk, and overall Emma found him to be a likeable person.

"How do you like the castle so far?" he asked.

"It's amazing," she breathed, thinking back to when she first laid eyes on it, "beautiful."

Daniel nodded, "it is. Even though I'm only an escort, I'm so glad to be here. The King treats us all with respect, and we are well taken care of. The beauty is an added bonus," he chuckled, looking at her.

Emma could feel the heat rising to her cheeks, causing her to duck her head to try to hide it.

When they finally reached the door that led to the dining room, Daniel gave another bow, telling her it would be great to see her again. She smiled, thanked him, then opened the door.

Princess Mia had been walking down the hallway, too stubborn to wait for an escort. She was ready now, and she wasn't going to wait. She didn't need anyone to tell her directions, she could find the dining room by herself.

So lost in her thoughts was she that she didn't see the man that she bumped into.

"Ow!" she let out, rubbing her head.

"I'm so sorry!" the man quickly apologized. He bowed, "you're not hurt, are you, Your Highness? I'm so terribly sorry, I should've watched where I was going."

"Yes, you should-" she stopped upon looking at him.

He had light brown hair, ocean blue eyes, and the cutest 'worried face' she'd ever seen. He looked to be in his twenties, yet had a boyish look to him that she rather liked.

"I'm okay, it was my fault," she found herself saying instead. "I was daydreaming, after all."

"No, no. It was my fault," he insisted. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Mia found herself laughing, "yes, I'm perfectly fine. Let's just compromise and say it was our fault, agreed?"

He smiled, accepting that idea.

For awhile they just stared at each other, until Mia remembered the dinner...and the competition.

"I gotta go, dinner will be ready soon!" she said quickly, walking past him.

"Here, I'll escort you there," he called, catching up to her.

"I don't need help," she insisted, "I can find it perfectly fine on my own."

"...it's the other way."

Mia stopped, blushing in embarrasement. "...I knew that."

He grinned, chuckling, holding his arm out. With a sigh, she relented and took it.

"May I ask what your name is?" He asked.

"You kind of already did," she sniggered. "Mia."

"Daniel."

"...and that's Sophie, but she is one of the dumbest girls you will ever meet," Andi whispered to Emma.

"Andi!" she chastised.

"It's the truth," Andi snickered. "Now on Maddie's other side is Katie. All I know is that she seems pretty smart, even though she tries to hide it. I caught her trying to read a book in the sitting room earlier, until she saw Maddie coming over. I guess the three of them are best friends now."

She continued, "that one there is Gigi, so far the only thing I see is that she loves gossip. If you got a secret, she'll find out, and blab to everybody about it. Well, that's pretty much everyone. Any questions?" she grinned.

Emma, holding back a laugh, shook her head 'no.'

Finally, a door at the front of the dining room opened, and in came a young man with dark brown hair that was slightly in his matching eyes.

He had a small, modest enough looking crown atop his head, and his clothing was formal, yet casual at the same time.

He smiled, "I'm Prince Philip, Jax's younger brother. He sent me to tell you that he is sorry he couldn't make it to dinner, but he looks forward to meeting all of you." His eyebrows furrowed by the end, as he muttered something under his breath.

"It's his own dinner and he's not even showing up?!" Maddie exclaimed, "how rude of him!"

The prince shrugged, "that he is. So, I will be having dinner with you, tonight. I hope you will have me."

The princesses, knowing they couldn't turn him down even if they wanted to, nodded their consent.

"Great," he grinned. He sat down in the chair at the head of the table, just as the servants came to serve the food. It was also the time when Mia arrived, wearing a strange smile. Philip welcomed her as she took her own seat.

Andi was strangely quiet during the dinner, and Emma took notice. She barely looked above her plate, keeping her eyes glued to her food.

"Andi, are you okay? You're not sick, are you?" Emma asked.

She shook her head. "I'm fine."

"Why won't you talk or look up from your plate?"

"Because I don't want to, okay?" she snapped, causing Emma to flinch.

Andi sighed, looking at her. "I'm sorry, it's just...I-forget it."

Emma couldn't understand what was wrong. Her friend was perfectly fine until...oh.

She smirked, "it is because we have a new guest in here?"

Andi stayed quiet.

She almost squealed with excitement. It was torture to keep from shouting with said excitement. "You admire Prince Philip, don't you?" she whispered.

"Shh!" Andi commanded with a glare, "be quiet!"

"You do! This is so cute!"

"No it isn't!" Andi hissed.

"Yes it is!"

She rolled her eyes, "let's say that I do like him. I'm not saying I do, mind you, but let's say hypothetically I did-"

Emma giggled quietly.

"there is no way that we can be together. This competition is for Prince Jax, not his brother. I would be sent home if someone found out that I liked him. It can't happen."

"Yes it can!" Emma stressed, "he's a prince, too! He can marry you if he wants."

"He won't!" she snapped a whisper. Her eyes fell as she looked at her plate, tears welling up. "No man will ever like me."

"That's not true," her friend frowned. "You're pretty, fun, and nice. Those are three things that men love."

"I'm also more boyish than girly, sneaky, and an outcast. What man wants that?"

"Maybe Prince Philip does, you don't know," Emma smirked.

Andi stayed silent, willing the subject to drop. Emma reluctantly took the hint, smirking as she took a sip of her soup.

A particular loud thunder clap woke Emma up in the night. The princess gasped as her body nervously jumped. Her eyes looked to the window, the lightning lit up the room as rain pelted down on the glass.

Emma always hated storms; the loud noises and lightning scared her. Knowing she couldn't sleep until it was over, as blood was now furiously pumping in her veins at the shock of the storm, she wrapped her silk pink robe around her and left the room.

Her main goal was to find the library, a good book would help her to calm down. As she wandered the halls, she came to one that had portraits on each side of various people. She didn't know who any of them were, but they looked to be important. She guessed they were royals of the past for this kingdom.

Finally, she came to the last one. It was a bit difficult to see without lighting-a loud clap of thunder shook her as a bolt of lightning lit the hallway for a split second allowing her to see-and that split second was all it took to make her gasp.

The man in the painting was gorgeous. That was the first word that came to her mind. He had hair as black as night, and deep brown eyes. His lips were curved slightly, allowing the smallest smirk. He was dressed as a prince should, with a navy blue top with gold epaulettes on his shoulders trimmed with red. Golden buttons started from his neck and kept going down over his chest, giving him a regal look.

There was no name on it, so she had no idea who it was. A small spark ignited in her at the thought that this could be Prince Jax, however, she willed it to extinguish. She doubted it was him, there was no way it could be.

Across from the mystery man's painting was Philip's. Emma smiled, remembering his kind ways at dinner. Her smile grew when she remembered how Andi instantly liked him.

She kept walking down the hallway. Where was the library? If she didn't find it soon then she'd never find her way back.

Emma came to the end, now she had to decide on whether to go right or left.

Isn't it always 'right?' She wondered, it's never left. It never works out to be left. Then again, maybe it is...

This time, a thunder clap so loud that it surpassed the others sounded, making Emma shriek in surprise.

"Afraid of storms, are you?"

She let out another small scream, whirling around to face the source of the voice.

Emma couldn't believe it.

It was the man from the painting.

Andi couldn't sleep either. So, she put on her silken green robe, lit a candle, and snuck out of her room. The princesses weren't supposed to be out during the night. She mentally rolled her eyes at the reason, for safety.

She supposed she could go talk with Emma. The princess proved to be a good person so far, she was nice and innocent, yet devious at times. Andi pictured herself and Emma to remain friends for awhile, maybe for the rest of their lives.

It was true what she said to Emma at dinner, that she was an outcast. No one wanted to be around a princess that knew how to fight, occasionally stole food from the kitchens, and overall was the total opposite of what a princess should be.

She put up a front pretending that she didn't care, but deep, deep down she did. She hoped that this Emma would be a great first friend.

Andi knocked lightly on the door, "Emma?" she whispered as quietly as she could, trying not to wake anyone else.

Nothing.

"Are you sleeping?" She knocked quietly again.

No answer.

Andi sighed with defeat. Her stomach rumbled, elicting a grin.

Time for a late night snack.

Andi ran as fast as she could without letting the candle go out down the multiple hallways, her bare feet padding silently on the floor. She reached the staircase which led to the kitchens. She raced down them, stopping at the door.

With a grin she opened it, letting the candle to it's job of lighting the room.

She stifled a gasp.

Prince Philip stepped out of the shadows, a smirk curving his lips.

"So you're the kitchen thief, huh?"

A/N: Sorry guys, I've been busy these last few days. I hope this chapter was worth the wait! Thank you for the support, by the way. I'm happy she took down the story :)

alli211: Thanks!

Under The Starry Night Sky: Omg I love Daredevil! One of the best shows I've ever seen!

multishipper123: Thank you!

TrinityBliss: Panthera X'D I'll take it into consideration! Thank you so much :)

Danielle: Thank you, I think she'd act like this too XD And Sophie is a princess...uh oh...