The Reluctant Princess

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

"Ok, thirty seconds until we're live, twenty-nine, twenty-eight..." Beside me, Theo squeezed my hand. I had been groomed within an inch of my life, and I now stood in the wings of a small television studio, looking and feeling quite unlike myself. I smiled up at him, trying not to let him know that I was beside myself with nerves. There were cameramen all around me, and the programme's host was bouncing around on the set. I knew she wasn't going to make me feel any more comfortable, because everything about her was plastic and pink, even down to the toenails on her doll like feet. I just knew that she would smell like overly sweet flowers if sniffed her. Not that I had any intention of doing that.

"Ten seconds people!" Oh god, I'm going to be sick. Theo obviously knew that, because he bent down and whispered in my ear. 
"You'll be fine! Just remember everything Grandmama told you, you won't have any problems." 
"Yeah, well, that's the problem, isn't it? I can't remember anything your Grandmama told me!" He just chuckled, as if he had nothing to worry about. Well, of course he didn't! He was the Prince of this country, for god's sake! They'd love him even he started ranting about the rise in the price of bread!

“And we’re live!” The producer hissed. He was an uptight guy, I known that from the minute I’d met him. And I’d also known that if I messed up, he’d be the first to mention it. 
“Welcome!” The Barbie Doll chirped, outside on the set. “Welcome to a very, very special edition of The Morning Show on NCT!” The audience clapped and cheered in accordance with the notecards being waved in their faces. I gulped. Oh god. 
“This morning,” Barbie continued, “Our special guests are none other than Prince Theodore, and his new fiancée!” The audience ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’ in all the appropriate plates. I even heard a wolf whistle. Not helping, dude.

“Now, the prince and his lovely lady have a very romantic tale to tell, ladies and gents. They met in the city of London, while they were both studying in the same college, and instantly fell in love.” The audience ‘awhed’, and I rolled my eyes at the fabricated story. How I was going to keep a straight face throughout the duration of the interview, I don’t know. I shuffled from one foot to the other; these heels were pinching my feet, and I didn’t like it. 
"But how about we hear it from the loved up couple themselves? Please welcome, Prince Theodore, and Molly King!" The audience clapped and cheered as Theo guided (more like dragged) me out onto the set. The bright lights blinded me, and I could feel my face heating up. Give it five minutes, and this makeup will have melted. 
We walked over to a pink sofa, laden with pink and purple striped cushions. How else would Barbie like it? Speaking of Barbie, whose actual name was Felicity, was jumping around squealing excitedly. I had never seen anyone so happy to see me before, but then again, this was a big thing. She clapped her tiny hands together, and we sat down. 

"So," she chirped, focusing more on Theo instead of me, "We're all dying to know, so put us out of our misery. How did you two meet?" 
"Well," Theo began, and I heard a few girls giggle. "We were both attending the same college, and we both joined the poetry society." I remembered Sandra telling me that we supposedly met at the poetry society. Hope Barbie didn't ask me who my favourite poet was, I didn't have an answer to that question. "And we started chatting, and it went from there." Theo smiled down at me, and I smiled back, as rehearsed. I also got butterflies in my stomach, not rehearsed. Ooops. The audience 'awhed', and no doubt the people at home would too. Nice and cheesy, just as planned. 

"And so Molly," Barbie leaned forward to look at me. She had an expression on her face similar to that of a tiger, about to make it's kill, "Did Theo propose very romantically?" Caught like a deer in the headlights, I racked my brains for an answer. 
"Well, yes, actually. He hired out a yacht for the evening, and proposed over a candlelit dinner." Barbie squealed, and Theo gave me a look of admiration, and I had to say, I felt rather proud of myself. That was a good lie.
"Oh, how romantic! Now, tell us about the wedding..."

***

Much, much later, I walked back into my room, Theo on my heels. Sandra rushed over to greet us; the poor woman had probably been standing there for hours, waiting. We'd finally escaped from the studio after I'd managed to convince Felicity, AKA Barbie, that I didn't know Niall Horan. Seriously, how small did she think Ireland was?
"How did it go?" Sandra asked eagerly.
"It was bloody awful Sandra, did you not watch it?" She looked down at the floor.
"Can I get you anything? Iced tea? Water? Fruit salad?" 
"Do you know what I'd love Sandra?" She looked at me expectantly. "A mug of tea. And none of this china tea cup business, a proper mug, stewed for a few minutes, dash of milk, no sugar. AND NO LEMON SLICES, ok?" She nodded, and trotted off out the door. I kicked off the damn heels, and flopped on the couch. 
"Oh my god!" Theo sat down next to me, and chuckled. 
"It wasn't that bad Mol, really." I gave him 'a look'. 
"Theo, she asked who was making my wedding dress, and I said 'Uh, a dressmaker, I suppose'."
Theo laughed, and shook his head.
"Well, she didn’t tell you that she was looking for the name of a specific designer, did she?" I rolled my eyes. Theo grabbed my chin, and turned me around to face him.
“Molly, stop being so hard on yourself, ok? You’re doing great.” I smiled.
“Sorry. I’ll try to laugh at myself more often.” Theo chuckled, his fingers brushed my chin. I continued to stare straight into his blue eyes, and he into my boring brown ones.
“You have the prettiest eyes Mol, do you know that?” I smiled. Again.
“I was just describing them as boring in my head, but thanks.” He shook his head slightly.
“I despair of you Molly.” I started to pull away, but his grip was firm. I gulped at how near he was, and wondered why I was nervous. I’d kissed Theo loads of times, why should this be any different? But just as he leaned in, the door opened, and he jumped about a mile of the couch.
Sandra entered, carrying a mug, and looking sheepish, as if she knew she has interrupted something. Well, she had, and I had been looking forward to it.
Theo stood up, and coughed awkwardly.
“Sandra, can you tell Grandmama to schedule the wedding planner for tomorrow afternoon, I want to show Molly the grounds tomorrow morning. Evening ladies.” And with that, he strode out quickly, leaving me confused, and Sandra nodding. She turned back to me, and offered the mug she was holding. It was a white one, with the words ‘Kiss My Tiara!’ written in black.
“It’s the only one they could find.” She said apologetically. I sighed.
“Thanks Sandra.”

***
Theo’s abrupt departure the night before left me somewhat reluctant to go exploring with him, but I’d been itching to see the grounds. There wasn’t a whole lot of greenery in London, and being a lover of fresh air, stunning palace grounds sounded like heaven. But Sandra wasn’t about to let me walk out in my tracksuit.
“Oh my goodness gracious no!” She gasped at the sight of my comfy bottoms.
“What?” I asked, looking down. “What’s wrong with them?” She looked a little green.
“I’m afraid Miss King, that you cannot wear those, those things ANYWHERE in the palace.” She must have seen my face fall, but she looked sympathetic. “Have you got any jeans?”

Which is how I ended up walking around the palace’s rose garden in a pair of Levi’s and a knitted sweater with Theo, Sandra, and his bodyguard. Talk about privacy.
“I’m sorry about this,” Theo muttered, “It’s procedure.” I just nodded. He sighed.
“I’m sorry I was so out of order last night Mol, I got a bit carried away, and then we were interrupted, and let’s be honest, that was a compromising position to be in, and-“ I held up my hand.
“Theo. Really, it’s fine.” He breathed a sigh of relief.
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah.” He put a casual arm around my shoulder. That’s the way it was here, very casual; there was no obvious affection or intimacy. If we carried on like this, we’d never have kids. The reality of that thought dawned on me, and I pushed it away. Too soon.

“Molly?” We were headed along a path, and around a lake. Swans drifted idly along the glassy surface, passing the time away.
“Yeah?”
“Have you ever  been in love?” I stiffened slightly. Was this a trick question?
“Eh…” I said hesitantly, “I had a bad experience with a very controlling and demanding guy a few years ago, and I think I thought I was in love. But I wasn’t really. It was a pretty horrible time.”
He nodded, and I stretched my neck to see his face.
“What about you Theo, were you in love?” A part of me didn’t want to know the answer. He sighed.
“There was a girl,” My heart missed a beat, “Who I thought was the one. I was going to propose, but the day before, she eloped to Las Vegas to marry my best friend in a wedding drive thru.” I raised my eyebrows.
“Classy.” He chuckled.
“Yeah. I think I was more in love with the idea of being in love than in love itself, you know?” I poked his rib.
“Bit of a Romeo, are we?” He nodded, still smiling. He hugged me a bit tighter, and a feeling of warmth spread through me. Did I love Theo? I didn’t know the answer to that question. Did he love me? I couldn’t even begin to guess.

***

                                                                 Comment - Vote - Share