𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑 𝐏𝐔𝐑𝐏𝐋𝐄 || 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗛𝗼𝗼𝗸

𝟐.𝟏𝟑 - 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥

╔══ஓ๑☼๑ஓ══╗
— 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝟐 | 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟏𝟑 —
╚══ஓ๑☼๑ஓ══╝

(Third Person POV)

First things first, Ruby wanted to give Harry a tour. She knew they wouldn't be able to tour the whole castle in just two hours before they had to be down for dinner but she at least wanted to show him something.

"Okay, there are quite a few floors but I'll try to show you the most basic areas you'll be in the most. We do have all summer to see everything after all." Ruby said and gave Harry a small smile as she led him to the first room.

"How much is a few?" he chuckled, a hint of surprise in his tone.

"Uhhh, no comment." The girl laughed after wincing playfully and opened the huge doors to the first area, letting him walk in.

"Wow." he whistled and put his hands on his hips. She could see his mouth fall open a little while craning his neck to look at the large open space. The room was mostly white with gold accents and embellishments that trimmed the crown mounding, the couches, and even the floor-to-ceiling windows. Little accents of lilac were thrown in like narrow panels on the walls and pillows on the couch. A gold chandelier hung over the center of the room with un-lit candles and hundreds of dangling jewels.

"This is the grand sitting room, this is where mom, and sometimes my dad, entertain guests. That's all it's used for really, other than that most of the time it's just a useless empty room." She said while watching as Harry got a real look around. The girl frowned as her hand slid across the top of one of the couches as she walked inside further "She hates this room..." The boy turned around at this and tilted his head before walking back to her.

"Why is that love?" He asked and took her hand that was on the couch into his. She sighed and shook her head, forcing herself to grin up at him.

"The facade of it all I guess. But that's not important, let's keep touring." Ruby pulled him out of the shiny, perfect room and went to the next room of the castle. As they walked Harry couldn't help but admire the decor that littered the halls and the captivating paintings that hung every few feet on the walls. The more he saw the more he felt like he was dreaming. Though he's not sure he'd even have the imagination to dream of something as grand as the castle. "This is the dining room." The princess said as she opened the door just enough to peek their heads in "This is where we'll be joining everyone for our homecoming dinner later." Harry stuck his head inside with her and watched as multiple castle maids bustled around while getting everything ready for later.

"How many people work here?" He whispered. Ruby thought for a moment and hummed.

"I'm not sure the exact number but about a few hundred, less than half actually live in the castle though." She said and glanced at him "Come, let's not bother them." She said and pulled him away, closing the door gently. "We like to keep a smaller, more personal staff. Although you'll find in kingdoms like Aurora and Cinderella's castles are far far more crowded with staff." The two made their way up two floors and towards another wing of the castle where Ruby opened up a pair of doors that were much closer to normal size than the ones he's seen so far. "Here we have our family's personal living room, much better than the stuffy sitting room downstairs I'd say." Her smile was warmer as they walked in and right away the space felt much homier to Harry. The room was full of color, more so greens and browns, and was full of greenery. From the windows to the tabletops were assortments of flowers and plants that made each drawing of air in his nose delightful. "Sorry to disturb you, grandfather," she said softly and leaned down to where King Fredrick sat on one of the armchairs by the window, giving him a gentle kiss on the cheek with her hand on his shoulder. Harry had just now noticed him and admired the small interaction, watching as the grey-haired man just smiled while continuing to read and pat his grandaughter's hand. Ruby sighed happily and strode past Harry, catching his hand in the process and making him jerk back with a laugh as he forced his feet to catch up with her.