Runaway Royal

07

After a few hours, I slowly start to feel comfortable around Tobias again. He's definitely changed, but he still has the same qualities of the young thirteen year old boy. It was fun catching up with him, though I was definitely still very nervous around him.

I thought that my feelings had faded throughout the years, but somehow, they haven't gone away. Stored deep within the recesses of my heart, I didn't want the feelings to resurface.

Tobias brushes his dusty hands on his pants, giving me a rueful smile. "I should've worn better clothing if I had know you were doing construction work."

"Sorry, my mother's been really insistent on revamping the whole place," I reply. I check the time on my phone, turning the brightness up as the day started growing darker. "You can head inside, it's about time to wrap this up anyways."

"You sure?"

I nod. "Do you need help finding your room again?"

Tobias smiles, tucking his hands into his pockets. "I think I'll still remember everything. Though keep an eye on your phone in case I need rescuing."

I roll my eyes, but pat my phone in my pocket. "Okay, I'll see you at dinner," I reply, waving as he walks off. Pulling my clipboard off the wall, I check off all the boxes. All the workers are packing up, and I make sure to lock the front doors despite the security we have.

Alfred catches my attention, waving me over. "Are we done, princess?"

"Yes, I think so," I reply, showing him the checklist. "Did you let the workers know?"

He nodded. "I'll take my leave then."

"Bye, Alfred," I respond, watching him leave into the corridor. I place the clipboard back where it belongs and hang up my jacket next to it.

I walk away to my room, fixing my ponytail as I remember about the dinner tonight. Thankfully, Victoire had already helped me pick out my dress, and advised me on my makeup and hairstyle. The castle is awfully quiet at night, and the only sound I hear are my own footsteps.

Reaching my room, I unlock the door and hurry into the shower, scrubbing off today's worth of dust and sweat. I do my routine quickly then jump out, wrapping my hair in a towel and drying the rest of my body off.

Hurrying out of my room, I sit at my vanity and quickly plug my blow dryer in.

Me: Hey, Anna? Sorry to call you so late, but can you come and do my makeup please?

Anna: Of course, I'll be there in a minute.

I was just finishing up my hair when Anna comes in excitedly, immediately grabbing the hairbrush from my hand and smoothing my hair out.

"Special occasion because of Tobias?" She asks slyly. I catch her expression in the mirror, and there's no mistaking the expression on her face. Anna grew up with me as a child, so she knew about my childhood infatuation with him.

"Maybe," I admit. "I just want to look nice in front of guests."

Anna doesn't pry further and plugs in the hair curler, letting it heat up. She uses the blow dryer and fluffs up my hair, humming idly as she works. I recognize the tune, a classical waltz that is bound to be played at any ball.

"How should I do my makeup?" I ask anxiously, rummaging through my makeup pouch. "Vic said to do light makeup with blush, but I don't know." 

"How does Tobias like your makeup?"

I gasp and turn around to see her smirking at me with a lock of my hair in her hand. "What?" She asks carelessly, shrugging.

"I'm not putting on makeup just for a guy, especially not him, I want to do it for myself. I don't even know if Tobias likes makeup," I ramble on quietly, panicking.