Once Upon A Princess

21: First Bite

The first dinner to welcome Amelia was certainly a sight — or, rather, a cacophony of smells — to behold. The chefs had gone all out for her first meal at the castle, trying to incorporate foods from both Gell and Avenor. Amelia could smell the familiar dishes: slow-cooked pig, roasted potatoes, sugared fruit. But other smells, ones that she did not recognize but also made her mouth water, were there too.

Just as she'd read in all of the Gellish customs books she'd crammed before arriving, as the guest she was seated first and was to wait for the Bellemere family to arrive. As with many things having to do with rules revolving around the royal family, it was different than in Avenor, where all guests arrived in the dining hall at the same time, including the hosts. She remembered walking down to dinner with her dad, and learning to stand and wait for him to sit before taking her own seat.

It was just one thing among many she'd have to learn to do differently. Who knows what things she'd never even read about. She suddenly felt nervous about unforeseen rules broken in polite company, and the consequences to follow. King Talon still made her shiver when she thought of him; she recalled the stories she'd heard about his iron-fisted rule and stern nature.

And she was about to have dinner with him.

She didn't have time to calm her butterflies; the royal family apparently didn't like their guests to wait too long, as they were right on schedule. She stood up from her chair as they came in, wincing as it made a loud groaning noise against the hard floor. If any of them heard, they did not react.

The king, Talon Bellemere, was the first one to enter. He went straight to his seat at the head of the table, in a tall-backed, ornate chair. He greeted Amelia with a nod when he saw her. She dipped her head into a bow, letting her shoulders curl in as well.

His wife, The Queen Mother Morcia, was the next to enter, carrying the little Princess Mia balanced on her hip. Morcia was slender and tall; her skin an olive tone with wild curly hair that hung low past her back. Everything about her was narrow: her nose, hips, mouth, and eyes. She needed very little makeup to look elegant and beautiful, and Amelia was already in awe of her. She greeted Amelia with a small smile. Mia, looking every bit the happy child, was grinning in her mother's arms.

The princes were the last to enter. They came together, side by side. Clumped together, Amelia could believe the comments she'd heard that they looked nearly identical. It was obvious Castiel was taller, and had much shorter hair. Another discernible difference was the notch Theolon had in his eyebrow; a line of bare skin that was missing in Castiel's perfect brows. As if to highlight the rumors, they were even wearing the same thing: blue and gold accented formal wear, looking every bit the royal brothers they were.

But to Amelia, there was just something different about them. It wasn't just the way Castiel held himself as if he was already on the throne; stalwart and sure, a mystery swimming behind his dark eyes. He seemed eons ahead of Theolon, who still walked with carefree nonchalance.

It could have been the dip in the crown prince's lip that was missing in his younger brother, or it could have been the steady pull of his wide set gaze that seemed a direct challenge to the playful spark in Theolon's long, almond shaped eyes. Maybe she was looking into it too closely, but there were just so many things that were not the same about them.

According to tradition, Morcia sat on the king's left hand, Castiel went to sit at the king's right. Theolon sat next to this brother, across from Amelia. Morcia sat Mia next to her, so she was also placed by Amelia. She gave Mia a big smile as they both sat down.

"How's that? You get to sit next to me," she whispered. "I was secretly rooting to sit by you."

Mia said nothing, but she did dribble a little on her chin as she smiled at Amelia. Her booster seat had her at chest length to the table.