The Royal Romance 2

Chapter 2

In the late morning, Riley opened the door to find a surprise visitor.

"Riley!" exclaimed Hana, rushing over to Riley and hugging her. "I've missed you!"

"Hana! I've missed you too," Riley responded, wrapping her arms around Hana.

Inside Riley's room, they sat at the foot of the bed.

"I thought you weren't coming back..."

"To be honest, neither did I."

"Do your parents know you're here?"

"I'm actually here with their blessing. My father received a call from Countess Madeleine officially inviting me to stay in Cordonia as part of her entourage. She promised the court would find me a match worthy of the family name."

"That's great!"

"It is... but... Cordonia wouldn't have been the same without you. I delayed my arrival just thinking about it. Then I heard you'd returned, and I couldn't come here fast enough. You're the real reason I want to be here. What made you decide to come back?"

"I've returned to clear my name. The whole scheme was set up by someone looking to discredit me. If I can find Tariq, I can have him issue a statement that proves I was framed, and maybe I can also figure out who's plotting against me."

"I want to help. I hate the idea of anyone scheming against you. Anyway, have you seen Drake yet? He wouldn't stop going on about how we need to take action and find out who set you up."

"Not yet." Riley turned their head to the floor, thinking about him and how they left things.

There was a knock at the door. Riley opened it to reveal Maxwell. "Rise and -- Hana!"

"Hey, Maxwell!" Hana said, smiling as Maxwell hugged her.

"And Bertrand said we'd never see you again!"

"It's good to see you too."

Riley closed the door and walked over to them. "I assume you're here because it's time to get ready?"

"That's exactly right! If you'll please follow me to the boutique, it's time to make yourself flawless for the engagement party."

"Oh... Rile, mind if I accompany you? For old time's sake?"

"Changing hasn't been quite the same without you!"

Maxwell led them to the boutique, which was filled with unique gowns on one side and trendy outfits on the other.

"Here we are," he said.

"I can take it from here, Maxwell," Hana said, raising her hand. She took Riley's hand with the other, leading her toward a rack to browse.

"You two enjoy yourselves. I'll be prepping with Bertrand," Maxwell said before leaving them in the boutique.

As they continued searching the racks, Hana asked, "You've been here a day already... how have things been?"

"It's... enjoyable, actually," Riley replied.

"I thought you'd be more... upset," Hana admitted.

"It's not great, but throwing a fit won't help me clear my name," Riley said.

"You're really strong. I'm not sure I'd be able to remain so calm in a situation like this," Hana said.

"I think you could! Now, what do you wear to an event where your rival is engaged to the prince you were supposed to marry?" Riley asked.

"I think you wear something pink..." Hana said, pulling a dress from a rack and handing it to Riley. "You know you'd turn heads at the party with this dress... maybe even show up Madeleine in her own home."