The Inside Story

Chapter Nine

I sat in my bedroom on Christmas Eve, in my full outfit, hair, and makeup. I hadn't seen a member of the royal family today, and Prince Henry was supposed to come and get me to escort me to the ball.

I played with the little wisps of hair that had been purposefully left out of the bun as I waited. I had done my hair and makeup quickly, eager to put on the dress and tiara. I went against Ari's wishes and wore old black converse underneath my dress. I grabbed my phone and got on Instagram until Prince Henry came and got me.

"Miss Charlotte," He said with a bow when I opened the door. I laughed.

"Prince Henry," I said with a curtsy. He held out his arm, which I took, and we began walking to the ballroom.

"You know my brother really likes you, right?" Prince Henry asked. I felt uncomfortable hearing that, since we weren't actually dating.

"That's nice to hear," I muttered. We got to the grand staircase, and Prince Henry gave me a wink. He walked down the stairs, and I could hear the people clapping for him. I was next. I stepped forward, and looked out into the crowd. I saw the King and Queen, and Madame Louise, and eventually my eyes fell on Alex. He had on a tux, and his hair was gelled back. As I walked down the stairs, people clapped. I smiled, knowing there were people taking pictures of me, and knowing they would be all over the internet tomorrow. When I was at the bottom of the stairs, I walked straight over to the royal family.

"You look beautiful, Charlotte," Queen Margaret said, pulling me into a hug.

"Thank You," I said. I then felt a tug at my dress. I turned around to see children from the orphanage. I was shocked to see all the children at this high class event.

"You're a princess!" Cherilyn shouted. I laughed.

"I guess you could say that," I said to the little girl. They all smiled. When John and Marie came over. "You look beautiful, Marie," I said. She had on a white dress, and her short brown hair was curled.

"Thank you, so do you Stella," she said, giving me a hug. John and Marie took all the children away right as the quartet began playing.

"Excuse me," someone said. I turned to see King Joseph. "May I have this dance?"

"Of course," I said as I curtsied. We went into position, when he began talking.

"I'm so sorry I haven't gotten a chance to meet you yet, Charlotte," King Joseph said.

"Oh, it's okay," I said. "You probably have much more things to do then talk to me." He nodded, then went silent. After a while, he started talking again.

"Has Alexander talked to you, about being king? And the disagreement we're having?" King Joseph asked. I nodded my head.

"He mentioned it briefly, and I've talked to the queen about it," I said.

"Then I'd like to ask your opinion. What do you think Margaret and I should do?" he asked. I thought for a moment.

"I think you shouldn't make him be King if he doesn't want to. He should be able to do what he wants whole-heartedly, instead of being forced to do something in a uninspired way," I said. The King nodded, and began to say something, but then the song ended and everyone started clapping.

"You better go dance with my son, he looks depressed," The king said, looking behind me. I turned around to see him staring at us with a dull expression, until he realized we were staring at him. I nodded in agreement to the King, and then walked off to join Alex.

"You clean up nice," I said. He rolled his eyes and smiled.

"I could say the same to you," He said, looking down at me. The quartet started another song, and I watched as all the couples danced.

"Stella, may I have this dance?" He asked. I looked at him.

"Why did you call me Stella?" I asked.

"Well, that's what you go by," He said. I shook my head.

"I have to go by my real name now. You and your family ruined it for me," I said with a laugh. "I'm gonna be an old grandma for life," I said. He laughed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Okay then, Lottie, would you like to dance?" He asked. I smiled.

"I'd love to," I said. He held out his hand, which I took with a smirk. He kept the hand intertwined with mine, but he placed the other hand on my waist. I placed my hand on my shoulder, and we began dancing. We didn't talk, we just stared into each other's eyes. After we had been dancing for several songs, he took his hand off my waste and grabbed my other hand.
   "Will you go on a walk with me?" He asked. I nodded, and he smiled. He led me outside to the gardens, and he kept one hand interlocked with mine.
   "You look beautiful, by the way. Red is a great color on you," Alex said.
   "Thanks," I said. He led me over to a pond, and I saw a large lit up orb in the middle of it.
   "Can we go out there?" I asked. He shrugged his shoulders.
"We could, there are stones to step on to get there, but you would get your dress wet," he said. I looked down at my dress, then lifted it up as high as it could go without making me look unpresentable.
  "Let's go," I said, heading towards the pond. Alex chuckled, but he followed me.