Following Hearts

An Imperfect Ever After

"Today's the day!" Portia bustled into the room, a pile of shimmering fabric in her arms. She hastily dropped the cloth on the bed and hurried into the bathroom. Sounds of cabinets opening and closing filled the room while she continued to speak. "Are you nervous? God, of course you're nervous. How silly of me to even ask such a thing?"

Portia emerged, still rambling while Amelia watched the busy maid and grinned.

"Everything's all in order." She paused for a moment to lay out a handful of supplies she had fetched from the bathroom onto the bed. "King Ramses is up in his room getting all ready, Princess Rose has prepared your steed for the occasion, Balthazar and Ferdinand came in last night from their honeymoon, and so far Princess Valentine hasn't gotten into any trouble, so that's a relief."

Amelia opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off when Portia remembered something.

"Oh! And I almost forgot, Ambrose has prepared the royal guard for their role in the ceremony so you don't have to worry about that." Amelia nodded, waiting to see if Portia was done yet. She was not. "And the whole Nevani royal family is coming out too. Which is... a bit of a touchy subject since they haven't spoken to Prince Balthazar since the wedding, but I still think it's a nice gesture that they're making the trip to see you."

Amelia glared at Portia.

"Are you sure you're not nervous dear? You look nervous." In response, Amelia slowly blinked a few times.

"Are you sure you're not nervous Portia?" She teased, her eyebrow querking upwards.

"No, of course not." Portia shrugged off Amelia's comment. "Why would you think that?"

"You ramble when you're nervous," The redheaded Princess pointed out.

"I'm not-" Portia stopped herself. "Am I rambling?"

"Yes, yes you are." Amelia chuckled and took the old maid's hands, pulling her down to sit on the bed. "And you have nothing to be worried about. Nothing's going to change. Just because I'll be crowned Queen today doesn't mean the world's going to turn upside down."

Portia nodded, but her eyes were still uneasy.

"Dad's been preparing me for this for years now. Little by little, he's given me more and more responsibilities to prepare me, and at this point, the whole Coronation is just a frivolity. Essentially, I'm already ruling the kingdom; I just need to be officially crowned. So really, there's nothing to worry about."

"You're right." Portia breathed. "I just can't believe today's the day. You're all grown up."

"You're going to make me cry, Portia." Amelia hugged the plump old woman.

"Now, now," Portia pulled back and cupped the sides of Amelia's face. "A Queen never cries."

Amelia blinked back tears and fanned her eyes. Portia was right. She shouldn't be crying, especially not on the most important day of her life.

"What's this?" Amelia gestured to the pile of cloth lying on the bed.

"Your Coronation gown," Portia answered, standing up from the bed to pick up the dress. "Finished it yesterday afternoon."

"Didn't you start working on it months ago?" Amelia asked.

"Well... yes. But it's a very ornate gown."

"How so?" Amelia's eyes gleamed, eager to see Portia's latest creation.

Portia unfurled the dress and Amelia watched in awe as the long skirts brushed the floor. It was beautiful. The gown was constructed out of opulent gold fabric that shimmered at any small movement. A structured bodice, cap sleeves, and a sheer high neck made up the top portion of the dress. The bodice and its gold and crystal embellishments melted into a poofy, flowing skirt with designs running down to the floor.