The Ice Princess

Chapter 8

"Hello, Princess." Marie-Hale grinned at me with malice in her eyes.

She beckoned to someone in the hallway. A tall, stocky man with graying hair appeared. He grinned. I instantly liked the king. He looked...nice. Kind. Fatherly.

"Princess Isabelle," The King thrust his hand out and I shook it. "Pleasure to meet you."

I smiled. "King Dartley. The pleasure's all mine."

He nodded.

"The king just got back from a trip from another kingdom," Marie-Hale turned to King Dartley. "So is 'he' coming?"

Who he? What he?

"Oh, he will be here a week from tomorrow. His mother is sick so they had to postpone the trip ."

WHO HE?! WHAT HE?!

"Sorry to interrupt," I burst out. "But who he? What he?"

They ignored me and walked out into the hallway again, murmuring.

I shut the door and turned back to Alex. She grinned at the confused look on my face. I started to say, "WHO HE?!"

She then joined me, "WHAT HE?!"

She laughed. I didn't. "Relax, Belle. It's probably just a visitor."

I threw my arms up in exasperation. "You know that's not true! In every fairytale I've read, a 'visitor' is probably a prince from another kingdom set up to marry the princess in the other kingdom!"

I started to rant. "And then the prince is probably a thirty year old pervert! You know I like Carter but what if I'm arranged for marriage already? I'm not ready to go marry a man who's twice my age and what if -"

Alex was laughing. "What's so funny?!"

"A thirty year old pervert?" She managed to say between laughs.

I raised my eyebrows and she wiped tears from her eyes. "Listen, Belle, this isn't a fairytale. This is real life. It's not written down. It's happening." I tried to calm down.

"Thanks. I needed that," I hugged her.

"No worries. You're a princess. Now, I gotta go. See you later, Belle."

*

That night, I laid in bed, thinking about who the king and queen were talking about.

The picture was wiped away from my mind when I relived the memory of mine and Carter's date. I grinned to myself and looked at the rose beside my bed.

I slept with a smile on my face.

**

The next morning, I showered and dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt, a white flowing miniskirt, and polka-dot stockings. I gazed at the vast collection of shoes, and I settled on rainbow-striped flats.

I picked out a plain sliver band as my bracelet, with a matching silver necklace.

I just brushed my hair and let it air dry.

I walked out into the dining room where I saw the king and queen.

"Good morning," I bowed.

The queen coldly nodded her head in greeting while the king gave me a kind smile and a "Morning".

I sat down on a chair and ate in silence.

"So, Princess Isabelle," King Dartley stroke up a conversation. "What school did you go to?"

"I went to this very prestigious school-"

The queen interrupted me. "How prestigious?"

"Only 30 people per batch. The only girls accepted were dancers, singers, and artists."