The Felinites

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Abby's POV

Princess Cleo paces her bedroom as a servant tries to prepare her for the ceremony, chasing her around with her arms full of jewelry and a brush clutched in one hand, and I try to calm her. So far, both of our attempts have been useless. Princess Cleo is still a mess of nerves with tangled fur.

"Calm down, Princess Cleo. Everything will go just fine and before you know it you will be ruling Satera," I try to soothe her.

The princess shakes her head, "You cannot know how the day will go. The priest might forget about his duties to perform today," she mumbles.

"He is already here," the servant assures her as she finally manages to urge Princess Cleo to sit still. The servant begins to drag a brush through the princess's knotted blonde fur.

"What about my kingdom's people? They were still upset yesterday. What if I have no guests at my own wedding?" Princess Cleo frets.

"You do. It appears almost everyone is present and waiting for you," I tell her. I checked on the matter approximately twenty minutes ago, worried about the same thing.

Princess Cleo jumps again causing the servant's brush to clatter to the floor. The princess resumes pacing and the servant puts her hands on her hips impatiently. "I do not think I am ready to rule Satera yet," she says.

I pull her back over to the spot she and the servant had been sitting at. I ease her back in a sitting position and take the brush from the flustered servant. As I begin brushing her hair, I tell her, "You will do magnificent. I know you will."

"I am glad that at least one person still has faith in me," Princess Cleo mumbles. I finish brushing her hair and look over at the servant, not sure what else there is to do.

"Everything is ready and in place. You will be expected to walk down the aisle in ten minutes," the servant announces.

I give Princess Cleo a hug. "Do not let your nerves get the best of you. This is your special day," I whisper in her ear.

"I will miss you so much, Abby," she tells me before pulling back.

"I am going to go take my seat," I pause when I reach her bedroom door. "Is Dexter in the wedding or guarding an outside gate?" I ask hoping the answer to be the latter. We have not spoken in two days. I have done everything possible to avoid him after learning he was planning on leaving without even telling me.

Princess Cleo's eyes narrow in suspicion. "I thought he would have told you," she says."We have not really spoken lately," I reply.

"Humph. That is strange. The two of you were inseparable a couple of days ago," she observes.

"Something happened and we have decided we should not spend so much time together," I answer, being as truthful as possible without having to tell her of Dexter's lies. "That is not important though. Where will he be during the ceremony?"

"He will be standing guard near the ship. I wanted him inside at the front in case things got out of hand and someone decided to strike but Prince Cornelius thought that the ship would be a more likely target than I would," Princess Cleo explains.

I sigh in relief at the news just as the servant starts to shoo me out of Princess Cleo's room. "A seat has been reserved for you on the end of the second row, Miss Abby. The ceremony should have begun a couple of minutes ago."

I exit the room and start making my way toward the castle's courtyard, where the wedding will be. All of the halls are silent and empty because every servant and guard is already at the ceremony, ready and on duty. So I do not expect to see anyone in the corridors, especially not somebody meant to be guarding a ship.