Mating the Princess(Rated R)

Chapter 19 *Trigger Warning/R rated*

*trigger warning: don't read further if you are easily triggered by death, physical abuse, suicide, or any related topics.*

*Sera Pov*

Malakiy and I had a date after work in another city. It was times like this when I wished Margot could pick my clothes and do my hair and makeup. For the first time, I wore a dress he had already seen me in for a special occasion. It was the green dress that I had purchased in Englebed. His mother had saved it for me all this time.

As for my hair, I washed it early in the morning, and let it air dry all day in a large braid. When I took out the braid, my hair fell down my neck in tight waves. Before I left to meet up with him outside his job, I pinched my cheeks to give them some color, and I put on mascara and lipstick that his mother let me borrow. On my way out of the hospital, Madi asked if she could join me. She was heading to see Hans as well. "You look so breathtaking. Micah is one lucky guy." Every time someone called Malakiy by his fake name, it always stunned me momentarily.

"I'm the lucky one." I said truthfully.

"He must have saved up for this. Dinner and lodging in Plotslav? That should cost him at least one or two month's salary. Is it your birthday?"

"It's our anniversary and we pooled together our money." I told a half truth. We needed to come up with an excuse as to why we were having a romantic date. Gleeden was not poor, but couples hardly had the means to afford to go to dinner. Especially not in Plotslav which was a two-hour run. It was one of the touristy cities, and there were a few restaurants. Normally, visitors from the Capitol would stay there. We would stay there for three days. That would normally cost a fortune but with the gold coins given to Malakiy's family by my father, spending 5 or 6 pieces would not put a dent in our budget. Malakiy and I were actually pooling together our work money for the trip, instead of asking his mother. She didn't mind giving us money, but we liked living independently whenever we could.

"He's going to propose to you. No one would plan a stay to Plotslav and spend all of that money if there was no ulterior motive."

Yeah unless you are rich, I thought to myself.

"Do you plan on living with your future mother-in-law when you get married? Are your parents coming to the wedding?"

"Woah woah woah. He hasn't proposed yet, let's hold off on all the questions." I laughed. We passed by an outdoor fruit and vegetable market. Madi quickly purchased some cabbage she would use to make her famous cabbage soup. While I was checking the price of carrots, Madi flipped through a stand of newspapers to kill time. I suddenly heard her gasp. "Sarah, look at this." She held up a two-week-old newspaper. Suddenly, I was face to face with my own reflection. I was on the newspaper. It was the interview I gave to the journalist about my engagement to Victor. They had sent it out to every town as a PR tool to have people grow more familiar with me.

"You look identical to the princess!" Madi gasped.

I felt my blood run cold. I was at a loss for words but I managed to force myself to laugh."You think so?"

"It's like I'm looking at your twin." She kept looking back and forth  between myself and the newspaper. People started to stare and my face grew red with nervousness.

"I would certainly kill to have the princesses' money." I joked. "How much do you think they would pay me to be her impersonator."

"Easily hundreds of gold coins." She laughed. "Wait till we show the guys."

"I personally don't see it. Is it really worth showing everyone?"

She nodded vigorously. "I know it's an unpopular opinion, but I am actually a big royal fan. My dream is to meet them you know. Hans makes fun of me, but I always read the news to see if they are mentioned. Besides the interview, I haven't seen much news lately. But any day now, I'm expecting to read a headline about the princess's marriage to Victor Borsheka. It should be approaching.