Erika (ON HOLD)

Chapter Twelve

We all sat in silence at the dinner table. All you could hear was the noise of forks scratching at plates. I kept my eyes on my food, avoiding anyone's gaze. After the conversation I overheard, I couldn't bare to look at anyone. It was obvious that people here didn't think I belong.

I felt someone kick my foot. I looked up from my plate and saw Christian trying to get my attention. He looked concerned. "Are you alright?" He mouthed so no one else could see. I nodded my head then looked back down at my plate.

After everyone was finished eating, we were dismissed to do as we liked. I was on my way to go back to my room when I heard someone call for me. "Erika, someone wants to meet with us in the library." said Christian. I nodded my head and began to walk toward the library with him. I didn't stay anything.

About halfway to the library Christian stopped me and pulled me into an empty hallway. "What's wrong?" He asked. "Nothing." I replied. He raised an eyebrow at me. "You know you can tell me anything, right?" He said. I let out a sigh.

"I just don't feel like I fit in." I said. "Well you don't." He replied. I looked at him with a shocked expression on my face. That was not the answer I was expecting. "But that's what makes you so great. I'm tired of being around people who do everything 'the right way'. Sometimes I just want to eat messy foods, wear comfortable clothing, and be able to have a normal conversation without having talk like a programmed robot." He said.

I guess I never thought about it like that. My whole life I've dreamed of being royal and rich. I thought that my life would be perfect if I had big fancy dresses with exquisite, expensive jewelry. I always dreamed of living in a big palace with silk sheets on the beds. I always wanted to have people do my chores for me. While I've spent my whole life wishing I was special, Christian wished he could be ordinary.

Maybe being ordinary isn't so bad after all. Fancy dresses are nice, yes, but that are the most uncomfortable things ever. Don't even get me started on corsets. I never had to wear one before I came to the palace. And while the jewelry is exquisite, it's also really heavy. A necklace made out of 100% real diamonds really puts a strain on your neck. In theory, living in a big palace would be nice, but what's the pint if you can't find your way around it? Maybe the life I had before this wasn't so bad after all.

Christian and I made it to the library. When we walked in, someone was sitting at a table with two empty chairs on the opposite side. Christian pulled out a chair and signaled for me to sit with his hand. I sat down, then Christian sat in the seat next to me.

"Christian, Erika, my name is Mildred
Scottsdale. I will be your wedding planner." She said. So far, she seemed nice, much nicer than Madame Ellie. She actually smiled, which is something I don't think I have ever seen Madame Ellie do.

"Alright, first thing we need to decide on is a date. I will need at least six months to prepare so I was thinking we could have a nice spring wedding in either March or April. Thoughts?" She asked. "What about April 15th?" Christian asked, looking at me. I was sort of caught of guard. Was it really that easy to come up with a date? I've never been a part of planning a wedding before. I've never even been to a wedding before. I guess I always assumed that finding a date would be a lot more work.

"April 15th sounds good." I said looking at Christian. He gave me a smile. Mildred wrote setting down on a piece of paper. "Alrighty then, April 15th it is." Said Mildred giving us a smile. "Now I want to take you to the ballroom so we can get idea of how we want it to look for the wedding." She said then got up from her seat. Christian and I did the same and followed her into the ballroom.

Once we got to the ballroom, Mildred started blabbing away about what we could do for decoration. "I was thinking that we could add a bunch of smaller chandeliers with candle light. That will make it really romantic. We could put rose pedals on the stairs. ooohh we could put rose pedals on all of the tables. How cool would that be? We could also..."

"So about this morning, you know when you said you felt like you didn't fit in, I thought maybe you would want to come with me to the country festival." Christian whispered to me while Mildred continued to blab all of her plans. I looked at him with curiosity. "What's that?" I asked.

"It's a festival they have in the kingdom Mouvelon. They live a very country life style there, and I thought it would be more your scene. It would also give me a chance to get away from all this madness."

"Isn't Mouvelon across the sea?" I asked.

"Yes, but it's only a two day trip so it wouldn't be that bad."

"Alright, I'll go."

He smiled. "Great. I'll ask my mother about it tonight." He said. Then we went back to listening to Mildred's blabbering.

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It was dinner time. Christian and I had just finished with Mildred. That girl can talk. We agreed to everything she said (mostly because it was tough to get our own opinions said). Everyone was already seated when we walked in. Christian pulled out my chair for me, then sat in the seat across from me.

The room was filled with the sound of silverware scraping plates. There wasn't any conversation. "So mother, I was thinking..." Christian said, breaking the silence. "And I thought that it would be a good idea for Erika and I to go to Mouvelon for the country festival. We would only be there about a week, and it would be a good opportunity for us to spend time together before the wedding." He said. I felt my face begin to blush. I didn't realize he was going to ask in front of everyone.

Queen Annalise put down her fork and looked at Christian. "Well, I don't see why not. What do you think Madame Ellie?" She asked looking to the other side of the table where Madame Ellie was seated. "I'm not so sure that's a good idea. Erika still has a lot to learn." She said. "Of course, but there is still plenty of time before the wedding and her coronation, and they would only be gone a week." Queen Annalise said. I could see Madame Ellie ponder on the thought. Was she actually thinking about allowing it? I had to try my best not to look shocked.

"You're willing to let them go alone? Sure, they may be getting married, but they are still children. They need some supervision." Said Queen Josephine. I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying something rude. I know that she is trying to keep me away from Christian as much as possible. She doesn't want us to get married.

"Scarlett can go with them." Madame Ellie suggested. "Please say no, please say no" I whispered under my breath so no one else could hear. "I would be delighted to join them." She said with a big (obviously fake) grin on her face. "Perfect. The three of you will leave on our ship on Friday." Said Queen Annalise looking at me with a smile. I smiled back even though I felt like screaming.

This was supposed to be a chance for Christian and I to get away from all of this. To be by ourselves and get to know each other before the wedding. If it weren't for Josephine and Scarlett staying here, we could have probably gotten away with it.

I just hope this doesn't turn out to be a disaster.

Authors Note:
I FINALLY UPDATED!!!! Sorry it's been so long. I had a bad case of writers block and didn't know what I wanted to do with this story, but I finally figured something out! Hopefully I will be able to update more often now. Let me know what you think. Don't forget to vote and comment😊