The Prince or the Crown

chapter five

“Do you need all these loose papers?” one of the movers asked me, holding my essay drafts in one hand and a plastic trash bag in the other.

I stared at the papers for a second, contemplating if there were any possible situations where I might need my old academic work. 

“No,” I said finally. “Throw away any paper you find.”

He nodded and shoved it in his plastic bag.

I was about to bubble-wrap one of my ceramic mugs when a familiar voice sounded from the doorway. 

“What in God’s name is going on here?!” Amelie demanded, stepping over a cardboard box to get into our room. 

Her eyes met mine and she glared, pushing past the boxes and suitcases to make it to me. “You couldn’t pack up yourself?!” She scanned the dorm room, noting the multitude of workers who were helping. She frowned. “Why are they packing up your sheets? Don’t you need them for tonight?”

“I didn’t think I’d see you here before sunset,” I said, ignoring her peppering of questions. 

Amelie scoffed arrogantly. “I forgot my wallet. Otherwise, trust me, I would not have risked coming back here.”
I finished wrapping the mug and walked over to the array of cardboard boxes on the couch.

Amelie followed me. “I heard you’re staying at your mom’s house until the baby comes,” she said, laughing softly. “At least someone in your family has some sense. I just wish I could’ve seen your face when she told you that you couldn’t go fight for some foreign prince. You know, you would’ve known you needed parental permission to go if you actually researched anything about Aeqaea. I honestly find it shocking that you were about to just compete to be the queen of a country you know absolutely nothing about.”

I gave her a sickly sweet smile and laughed sarcastically. “Fuck you.”

“How much longer is this going to take? I actually have to study because I have classes tomorrow morning and I’d hate to do so with all this noise.”

I clenched my jaw. “We’re almost done. And then don’t worry, I’ll be out of your hair. Forever.”

“Forever,” Amelie echoed.
“Well, maybe not forever,” I said, smirking as I took a step towards her. “I’ll call you when I’m queen of Aeqaea. But don’t expect a wedding invite.”

“I didn’t peg you for being delusional, Bella,” she replied as I walked past her to tear the last poster off the wall. “Actually, wait- yes I did.”

“You don’t think of all the possibilities, Amelie. And that’s the problem with you. You’re so closed-minded. So simple. Everything only has one answer to you. You give up after the first try. But not me.”

She glared at me as I walked back to her, stuffing the poster into one of my suitcases. “You can’t go without official permission from a parent. And I don’t know if you recall, but your mom said no,” she said, crossing her arms.

I chuckled. “I have two parents, Amelie.”

Her jaw went slack. 

“Ms. Adere? We’re ready to pack up the truck,” one of the movers called from the back of the room. “Do you need a minute?”

I gave him a close-lipped smile. “Nope. We were just saying goodbye.” I slung my duffel bag over my shoulder and grabbed my phone off the kitchen table. 

“I’ll be waiting in the truck.”

Then I walked out of the dorm room door I had been walking through for two and a half wasted years. 

And I didn’t look back.  

—

When I was young, my mom and I never traveled much, but when we did, it was usually within state boundaries. We’d take road trips to visit family in Watertown, but we would never fly. 

But Jesus Christ, I wish we had. 

My father being a billionaire, he bought us two first-class suites on one of the most expensive airways in America. Sure, we had to drive a bit to get to the right airport, but it was worth it for the luxurious, cordoned-off seat that had its own wi-fi, refreshments, and an endless supply of food. 

“I’d like one burger, one large side of fries, one… caviar plate, one chicken curry, one large side of bread, one scoop of vanilla ice cream, and one glass of white wine. Yes, that’ll be all,” I told the flight attendant.  

“You trying to drain my bank accounf?” Richard asked from the seat beside me. 

“Hey, I haven’t eaten at all today,” I argued. “I deserve some good food.”

He laughed. “It’s alright. I have more money than you could spend.”

“How about we test that theory,” I joked, scrolling through Netflix for a good movie. 

“Maybe some other time.”

“Woah,” I said as the plane suddenly started moving. I turned to the window beside me. Unease crawled up my back. “So how safe is this thing?”

“It’s safe,” Richard assured me as we picked up speed. “Plane crashes are very rare.”

“But they still happen?” 

“There’s always a chance,” he said with a shrug.

“That’s reassuring,” I grumbled.

“Okay, assuming we take off on time, we should land in California at about 9:15, give or take. That should be enough time for us to find your luggage, meet the movers, and unpack as much as we can before you need to go to sleep.”

I laughed. “I have a bedtime?”

He grinned from across the fancy little wall. “You have a 6AM session tomorrow.”

—

We drove up to my father’s house at around 10:30, all my luggage safely in the back of his jet-black limousine.

Although I suppose I shouldn’t really call it a house.

I don’t know what I expected from a billionaire, but somehow I had always thought of my father’s place as a creepy, run-down haunted house that had rats in the toilets and boards on the windows. 

I was definitely not expecting the three-story mansion that lay before me.

About a mile after passing through the smooth iron gates, we approached swirling green hedges framing gardens of flowers and trees that I’d never seen before. Showing off among the petals were tall, lavish concrete fountains, framing the build of the mansion like freshly lit torches. Gold statues stood hidden among the poofy green trees, molded into the shapes of mingling woodland creatures and ornate birds. Lights nestled themselves between stems and statues to give the whole garden an ethereal, enchanted forest glow. 

The mansion itself was a whole other creature. With the warm amber lights peeking out of white balconies, archways, and window sills, the building seemed to light up like a decorated house you’d find on a Christmas train set. The forest surrounding it grew just past the second floor, and balconies on the third extended out over the treetops for skyline views of the San Francisco Bay Area. Topped off with dainty terracotta roof tiles, the entire thing looked straight out of a reality TV life I couldn’t afford. 

“You live in this?” I asked as we walked up to the front door. Well, front doors. “It seems like it’d take half an hour just to get from one side to the next.”

Richard chuckled. “You can get your steps in.”

I almost gasped as he unlocked the door and swung it open. The interior was just as beautiful as the exterior, with hanging and potted plants decorating the inside like it was a greenhouse. The same ethereal amber glow from outside illuminated the mansion’s interior, spotlighting the plants and the grand staircase that stood in front of me. I looked up to see a lavish crystal chandelier to top it all off. 

“Welcome to my home.”