Christmas Plans

CHAPTER 2

POV : Clarice

Clarice was sitting in the drawing room with The Prince waiting for her parents to finish tea. She had Tamara in her arms and she was sleeping soundly. James had left an hour before any of them got there, taking the empty jars of herbs with him. The Prince hadn't made any move to sooth her unease at his sudden arrival and her parents flurry trying to ready her for his coming. She sat, stiff as a board, as he scrutinized her. As if trying to discover her secrets. 
"Would your highness like mint in your tea?" Her mother asked. Her voice honey sweet. Clarice fought a grimace at her mother's behavior. Fawning all over The Prince as if she was eligible to be his wife. 
"Yes, please. Thank you all for the hospitality." She bowed and left the room, though Clarice knew they would find a way to eavesdrop. 
"To what do we owe the pleasure of meeting his highness in person?" She asked quiet enough not to wake her baby. 
"Miss Terren,"
"Please call me Clara, or Clarice if you prefer." He cleared his throat before continuing.
"Miss Clara, me and my father would be delighted if you could do the floral arrangements for my birthday ball. You come highly recommended, though I do understand that you have closed shoppe?" She straightened her spine, if that was even possible at that point.
"Temporarily, you highness. But, I would be delighted. When would I need to have this done by?" He looked relieved. 
"It would need to be done by November 13th. That's two weeks. Are you up to the task?" She thought for a moment. 
"Consider it done." He smiled and stood up. 
"Very well then. You can begin tomorrow." She bowed her head as he left. Not wanting to wake Tamara. She heard her parents helping him to the door and out to his awaiting carriage. She smiled and almost squealed with joy. She would have to invite James with her at some point to meet The Prince. She got up slowly and walked to her room to lay Tamara down for the rest of her nap. 

POV : Amelia

Amelia looked up just as Adrian came bounding through the doors. 
"We got her! She will start tomorrow!" She gave a small smile for her friends sake and got back to shelving books. The castle library was open to all. So she had people coming and going constantly. 
"Good for you, A." He frowned. 
"I thought you'd be more excited. Considering how often I would see you going to her shoppe when you went into town." A blush crept across her face but she kept her eyes trained on the shelf. 
"She has a boyfriend. If they aren't married already. I also doubt she likes girls, anyway." He smiled sadly. She knew his heart ached for her. He had always been a compassionate person. She also knew he didn't like girls either. 
"So, how's your witch boy doing?" She asked, trying to pin the attention back on him. He blushed but didn't say anything. "I am assuming you visited him." She looked at him and he had his eyes trained on the ground. "You haven't even talked to him, have you?" He shook his head. She threw her hands up, exasperated. "Do you even have his name?" He sighed. 
"No, I don't" She sighed. 
"Well, you are to be wed this season. If you wish for it to be to him, you better get on it." He nodded and left the library, dragging his feet. His father would reprimand him for such poor etiquette. For the moment, she didn't care. She shelved the rest of the books before retiring behind her desk. She knew that Clara would never like her, but that never stopped her from imagining every possible scenario in which they are together. By the hearth of her library. In a horse drawn sleigh. Meeting her parents. She hoped that it wasn't weird to have these thoughts about someone she had only brief conversations with. People came and went as the day dwindled on. Once the sun had set, bathing the entire room in golden light, she retired from the library and up to her quarters. It was a simple room in the servant's wing. She had an old quilt and a ratty pillow from her old house and a long tapestry given to her by a seamstresses brother. Before Amelia told him she was lesbian. She undressed, which, unlike most women wearing corsets, she could do alone. Without help from servants, if she even had any. She lay down after snacking on a dinner of a slice of cheese and stared at the ceiling, trying not to think about anything. How her crush would be in the castle tomorrow. How her closest friend needed to man up and ask his crush out. Worst of all, how she would stay clear of Clarice altogether. 

POV : James

James was trying to get comfortable in the bed he had made himself, when he heard something fall off a shelf. He crept out of bed, hoping for it not to be a rat. There was no rhyme or reason but he was deathly afraid of rats. He got out a mixing of herbs, some would call it a potion, ready to throw it at the slightest glimse of a rat. He bounded around the corner and was pleasantly surprised to find a small stray cat on the table. The October nights got chilly so he understood when a stray would need to find a place to stay to keep warm. He went to his cellar door and got out some milk he poured it into a bowl before going back to his bed. He had no idea how it got in, but was glad to not be alone anymore. Soon after he fell into a deep slumber.

Thank you for reading this chapter of Christmas Plans. I am soooo sorry i didn't post when I said i would. My computor glitched so I couldn't get it to turn on! I will try to post more regularly starting next week. I should have waited to start writing until after Thanksgiving. But, here we are! I hope you enjoyed and will keep reading!