A Princess Named Harry: Book 2

Chapter 16

They arrived at the party. It was set up in the backyard by a lake. There were plenty of young men and women already there. As they trudged down the hill, Harry was glad she had learned how to walk in heels in various places.

When they made it to the lake, they were immediately greeted by the hostess. Poised, pretty, thin, dawned in a pink feather dress with pink feather hair pieces, the lady with curly golden-brown hair bowed to them.

"Welcome, Your Royal Highness and- " she glanced up from Lianne to Varian with pale blue eyes.

"Varian," Harry told her. "He's the little duke in our kingdom."

The hostess bowed again. "Then I greet Your Grace as well."

Harry knew that she didn't have to bow to the girl. "Nice to make your acquaintance, Lady- "

"Julie Alphonse," replied the girl.

"Lady Julie Alphonse," Harry finished.

"Now now," laughed Julie. "That's quite enough with the greetings! Go! Go on and enjoy yourselves. I know I will." She gave Harry a mischievous wink when she said that. Harry watched the girl make her way over to the group of young boys standing off to the side and chatting with one another.

Harry wondered where they should go. Just as she was about to ask, Lianne suddenly announced that she was going to go sit down and walked away from the two.

Harry looked over at Varian and asked, "Um . . . are you hungry?"

"Not really," he answered.

"I'm not either."

Harry stood beside Varian, a boy of few words, and wondered what to do. If she didn't want to eat, then she would force herself to. That would at least help her make conversation with someone. She looked at him and pointed at the tables filled with food. "I think I might eat something after all."

"Okay," he answered.

Just when she was about to take a step forward, a sea of people suddenly swarmed around her.

"You're the one who became the new princess of the Cardiaire Kingdom, right?" asked a girl.

"She came with Her Highness, so she must be!" exclaimed another.

"Wow, who knew the princess would come here!" gasped a boy.

"Your Highness, how do you like our kingdom?"

"Your Highness, what do you think of our crown princess?"

"Your Highness, is Crown Prince Kahil just as handsome as the rumors say?"

Harry laughed very tensely, "Um . . . um . . ." It was no use; she didn't know what to say.

"Ahem," Varian coughed. "While I did say that I wasn't very hungry, I never said I wasn't thirsty."

The noble's talking stopped all at once. They slowly turned their attention towards Varian.

"Who's this cute boy, Your Highness?" asked the same girl who had started the hoard of questions.

Harry replied hesitantly, "Varian. He's my personal kni-" she suddenly remembered that he wasn't there as her personal knight. "This is Varian Alchester. He is the son of a duke in our kingdom."

And just like that, the attention was now on the both of them. However, unlike Harry, Varian was unaffected by them. He took Harry's hand, and the two moved through the giant crowd that surrounded them.

A little while later, after everything had settled down, Harry became comfortable with the other noble kids and began talking to them as if everyone was an old friend or relative of hers. She could understand their curiosity about her home, so she decided to answer everyone's questions while getting some of her own answered as well.

She found out that a few of the kids had been to the Cardiaire Kingdom once or twice with their parents for diplomatic reasons. They were all getting along well. Nobody was rude or disrespectful to her. The girls kept complimenting her on how pretty she looked. Everything was going so well for her; she was glad, but she couldn't stop worrying about how Lianne was fairing.

"Your Highness," called the noble named Alicia. "Can we call you comfortably?"

Harry smiled and agreed; she didn't want to let everyone down.

"Oh, that reminds me," spoke a boy named Tristan. "We haven't learned your name."

Harry was confused. How could they not know her name? Especially if they knew she was Cardiaire's second princess. "Oh . . . umm . . . my name is Harry."

The nobles, who had been singing her praise, stopped and turned to each other. They looked at her with judging eyes.

"Harry?" asked Alicia disgustedly.

"That's such a weird name for a princess," laughed a girl named Valerie.

"Yeah," chuckled Tristan. "Why were you given such a masculine name?"

Harry became uncomfortable. She wouldn't be able to get along with these people anymore. She smiled and politely excused herself, using any excuse she could to get away. She hurried off to find Lianne. It took her a while, but she finally found her. Lianne had sat down at a table with no one there, but now it was crowded with many other guests.

Lianne sat indifferently while everyone else all sat smiling and laughing. Harry grinned at the view. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but at least Lianne was having better luck than she was. Harry decided to join in with her cousin. It was as she was getting closer that she heard what they were saying.

Everyone was being openly hostile towards Lianne. Some of their insults were more direct than others. Harry froze and watched Lianne silently. She was enduring the same things she had. Harry didn't understand it since, unlike herself, Lianne was born with royal blood. Was this really only because of her dark hair? If that was the case, why didn't anyone say anything about her equally dark hair?

Harry didn't exactly fit in with the royal family herself. She wanted to stand up for Lianne, but what could she do? She couldn't even stand up for herself. How could she possibly stand up for someone else when she couldn't do it for herself?

She headed to the food tables where Varian was currently at. He had a plate stacked with food on it. He would have been eating it had it not been for another noble boy talking to him. He'd had a look of utter disdain on his face, that was until he saw Harry, almost instantly, his face lit up.

"Harry," he called as he put the plate down.

She smiled, but her eyes weren't on him, they were on the talkative boy beside him.

"Hey," she said to the boy. "Can I ask you something?" She was so focused on the boy that she didn't notice how shocked Varian was after being bypassed by her. She could talk to Varian later. For now, she wanted to learn more about Lianne.

"Hell-hello, Your Royal Highness," replied the boy timidly. "Can . . . can I do something for you?"

Harry nodded and said assertively, "Yes, you can. I would like you to tell me the reason why the crown princess of this kingdom is regarded so lowly here." It was about time she figured out what happened to make Lianne known as a monster.