How To Do It Like A Princess

How To Do It Like A Princess-Chapter 8

Chapter 8-Isaac

I frowned again, staring after my to-be wife as she walked down the hall and upstairs. She had been ignoring me for the week and a bit since her cousin Rose had arrived. Well, after I told her how protective I was of her. So I couldn’t help but wonder if that was the reason. But surely it couldn’t be? Because she had been the one to confront me about my behaviour and to tell me that she wanted this marriage and that...I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to get my thoughts to stop zooming around my brain. No luck.

I had been an idiot. Why is it that those words are the ones all guys use when they realise they’ve lost something incredibly special? I shouldn’t have been so nasty and moody swing-y. Arranged marriages could turn out well. They could. Ours would. As long as I had her.

Running  hand through my hair, I stepped out of the house and walked to the car.

Blair’s right, I should really start taking public transport. But I can’t because I’m a prince and...

I stopped in my tracks for a moment, realising what I had just thought and what it meant. It meant I was changing. I was changing because of Blair and now she didn’t want me. She didn’t seem like she wanted anyone. The only person she was talking to was Kiran and even then, not so much. She and Rose avoided each other completely. Rose had been...strange. She had come to London to pursue her career on the big stage and though she had a pretty good voice, it didn’t seem like that was all she wanted.

Maybe my head had just expanded as my hair grew (maybe it wasn’t all hair at all, just my ego) but I could have sworn she liked me. There were lingering touches and lingering looks, all of which I would have welcomed before I met Blair. Blair, who scrunched up her nose every time she saw her cousin’s outfits and always bit her lip without thinking.

I’m going crazy. I’m really going crazy. And it’s all because of this damn marriage.

We changed cars everyday so that I wouldn’t be followed and somehow had managed to keep the paparazzi at bay. Making deals with local newspapers and, more importantly, the Times, the newspaper that Blair’s father ran, had meant that I had a pretty private life for a prince. The car came to a halt outside the Academy and I got out before my driver, Rob, could open it for me. He looked a bit surprised but nevertheless said, ‘Have a good day, Your Majesty,’ before handing me my bag from the boot.

Bolton, Mikey and Jude were waiting by the gate with worried looks on their faces. Seeing me, they called me over.

‘Man, what’s up with Blair? She’s been ignoring us and hardly even talks to Kiran. She spends all her time in the library at school,’ Bolton started at me,

‘Which is why we wanted to ask you what she does at home,’ Mikey finished for him, ‘we know you two haven’t been that close for whatever reasons or differences you two had but surely you noticed something was up?’

‘She does ballet. There’s a studio near my house and that’s where she goes. My parents aren’t staying with us, they’re at the Palace, so they don’t know anything about it. It’s weird cos...Cos we kinda had a talk and we sorted stuff out and then she just...’ I trailed off, knowing that the marriage was supposed to be a secret.

‘Oh my lord. Oh my lord! OH MY LORD!’ Jude exclaimed giving me a massive bear hug, ‘No way! I don’t believe this but...You really like her, don’t you? I’m so proud of...of finally realising it myself,’ he said, a satisfied smile on his face. I returned it, thankful for my oldest friend. The rest of the boys gave each other weird looks before grinning.

Mikey studied my face, ‘Oh wow. Yeah, you’ve got it pretty bad,’ he folded his arms, looking me up and down.

‘Damn! She’s so fine! Whatever, as long as she stays in the group, yeah?’ Bolton patted me on the back and pushed me towards the school doors, ‘You gotta do something to show her how much you like her and to get her to open up to you with whatever is going on,’

‘Get her to open up in other ways too!’ Brady Sampson shouted from across the hall.

Oh great. Really? Brady has to know how I like her? Brady?!

I sighed before sending him a death glare. I was a prince. It had its perks in that no one ever wanted to get on my bad side. Thought I might banish them to the dungeons or something.

We were sitting in the dining hall, after PE, and whilst everyone else was munching on their crisps and chocolate, Mikey and I were scheming.

‘Okay, Mikey, you go on the bus with her. I was thinking I could make her a picnic on the Palace grounds, cos they’re so beautiful and then be like ‘They may be beautiful but-‘

‘They’re not as beautiful as you? Please, mate, all these suggestions, sweet as they are, are so cheesy. And I can tell you really like her,’ he paused for a minute, looking deep in thought, ‘Maybe the picnic idea’s not so bad. Make it romantic. Have candles or something and find out her favourite songs,’

I grinned. Blair and I, before we sorted things out, had had our intimate moments, like when she sneaked up on me and I picked her up and swung her around. And that time I had walked in on her dancing, but she was singing too, and we had gone through most of her iPod. She was a sucker for the candle-lit dinners, walks on the beach by moonlight, flowers at home sort of thing. And those kind of songs.

‘I got it! I’m going to sing to her...’ I had jumped up the moment the idea hit me, so I had to lean down to whisper it in his ear. I watched a smile etch its way onto Mikey’s face as he stood up too and we did our little happy dance, which mainly consisted of grabbing each other’s hands and jumping up and down in a circle. It was weird for me, but the bubble of happiness spreading inside of me just couldn’t be contained.

We sat back down with embarrassed looks on our faces and I wrote a note in my neatest handwriting, ‘Give this to her next time you see her. At least she partially responds to you. It’s all monosyllables with me.’  The bell rang again and I had to try and suppress the butterflies floating around in my tummy.

If I had to say so myself, it looked great. It was spring, so all of London was cast in a dim, dewy light. It all felt very light and blue and grey and swirly. The picnic blanket was laid out without any creases, the bread artfully sticking out just-so of the basket. Peanut butter and jam, butter, antique teapots and a pair of speakers for my performance. Kiran had come with me to help set it all up, scolding me whenever I did something wrong, which, apparently, was most of the time. The moment she found out about how I liked Blair, she cooed and pinched my cheeks, acting like a proud big sister. Kiran always had kinda been that to me.

I looked down at my watch. 19:05.

Not so bad. Calm down. Traffic. She forgot something at school. Lots of homework. There are so many reasons that she’s late. It’s fine.

The next time I looked down at my watch it read 19:27. That was when my phone beeped.

1 new message-Bolton

I frowned and opened it, ready to vent in my reply.

Isaac I’m sorry man. I just went to the dance studio to pick up my sister and Blair’s there. She don’t look like she’s gonna be leaving anytime soon. Maybe you wanna come here and talk to her? I’m so sorry I’ll see ya tomorrow

The instant that it dawned on me that Blair had stood me up, I could feel a growing lump in my throat. It wasn’t like you read in books; I could actually feel something closing up my throat. So what, I hadn’t known her for that long. So what, I had been a dick to her. So what, she stood me up. It still felt a bit like my heart was breaking.