The Prince and the Count's Daughter

Chapter 6 - Marie's Idea

Kate

Kira

I angrily stormed through the castle until I came to the courtyard, where I found Kate and Kira waiting.

The courtyard was an open area in the centre of the castle, filled with food stands and various seating arrangements. Occasionally these were cleared out for events. Kate and Kira sat at a rustic metal table on the far side. I was on my way over where I remembered I hadn't gotten a chance to eat breakfast. After buying a hotdog with onions and ketchup I slumped down next to them.

"That bad eh?" Kate asked sympathetically.

After swallowing a large bit of my hotdog I explained what had happened. They were both even angrier than I was. I had to tell them about what happened with Will as well and I actually had to convince them not to say anything to him, they were livid.

After a good half hour of venting Kira excitedly reminded me we had a dress fitting. We made our way back to Marie's and even Kate became very excited when we saw the three dresses hung in front of us.

Mine was ruby red with a corseted top and princess style bottom with glittery netting over the top. Kira's was sapphire blue, a perfect match for her eyes, with a plunging neckline and a less puffy skirt. Kate's was emerald green and in the shape of the dresses Greek Goddesses wear. The dresses clearly weren't finished, they had loose threads and pins sticking out all over the place but we could see they were going to be stunning.

"I love it!" Kira shrieked, rushing over to look at it more closely.

"They're beautiful." I told Marie as she came out from her back room.

"Ladies!" She greeted us in a jolly manner. "Let's get you in the dresses so I can make some adjustments." Without waiting for any other instruction Kira grabbed her dress and headed behind the partition.

When we were all dressed we stood on matching stands so that the dresses didn't drape on the floor, looking into a big mirror as Marie pined the fabric however she saw fit.

"I should tell you about my fantastic idea!" Marie announced with excitement. I got the feeling she had been desperate to say this.

"I tried to find fabric to exactly match the colours of an emerald, sapphire and a ruby because I thought you could get matching necklaces!" She continued, having clearly not thought for a second about how much that would cost.

Because I was forbidden from getting an ordinary job I lived off of an allowance. Ball gowns were fine, I was expected to look my best at official events but I doubt the advisers would allow me to randomly buy ruby necklaces. Kate and Kira had ordinary castle jobs so they would never be able to afford it either.

When we were done we filled out of Marie's and began to head up towards the main castle. It was Saturday, so we had the whole day to spend together.

"Oh I wish we could buy necklaces with fine jewels like Marie said." Kira thought out loud.

"It's not a bad idea, we could see if we can find some fake ones online. Etsy might have some!" Kate said, always practical. We all agreed and headed to mine to start our search.

When we got to my place we lounged out on the sofa, got our phones out and divided websites amongst ourselves. After at least an hour of searching we decided with heavy hearts nothing we found would work. It was then that I remembered a book I had read in the library; jewelry making!

"I love it!" Kira agreed.

"But hang on, where are we going to get the jewels?" Kate said, prompting Kira to lose her glee. Usually I would have agreed that it was impossible but all this talk of rubies had made me remember the biggest ruby I had ever seen and it was still there!

"I know where we can get them. Well borrow them of course, we have to take them back." I told them with a sly smile. I had never told them about the Prince and having a secret suddenly made me giddy. They both gave me dumbfounded looks so I decided to give them a bit more of an explanation.

"There's this room, a bedroom, in the abandoned wing. It's full of gemstones." I continued. "We have to return them after the ball but it's not like anyone is using them."

"Hang on, you're saying there's loads of gemstones in the abandoned wing and no ones nicked them in hundreds of years." Kate said with clear disbelief. Clearly I was going to have to prove it.

"I guess." I said with a shrug. "Come on I'll show you." I stood up briskly.

"Wait the abandoned wing? Aren't we not supposed to go there?" Kira asked, with fear in her eyes.

"We aren't supposed to go to the grounds behind it, he didn't say anything about inside the wing." Kate clarified, getting up to follow me.

"Okay." Kira said though still unsure and trailed after us.