Shh.. Secret Princess ;) (Under Major Heavy Re-Construction)

Part 9 - The tiara of Princess Tessa

Woop-dee-doo, it's Friday! Note the sarcasm. I'm dreading this afternoon. My mom told me I had to be there, even though I really don't want to with all the fuss with me and Chancey now. I felt my phone vibrate in my skirt, and I looked at the screen.

"Speak of the devil," I muttered as I headed to my locker, alone.

Sky ditched me earlier, something about looking for someone, and all my other friends had different classes --not including Chancey, Ben and Lee.

I answered my phone and said, "Hello, Mommy! Is something wrong?"

I rolled my eyes but smiled as students gave me weird looks.

"No, honey. I just wanted to make sure that you don't forget to meet us at 3 PM at the hotel," she said, remembering my tardiness last time.

I laughed into the phone.

"Yes, Mom. I won't be late, that was one time."

She laughed, too, as I smiled while taking out my book with one hand and holding my phone to my ear on the other.

"Okay, hon. I won't keep you from class now. Bye! Love you."

"Love you, too, Mom," I said and ended the call while pocketing my phone.

~~~~Chancey's POV~~~~~

I headed out at 3 PM, excused from the rest of the classes. Students gave weird looks as Annie and I escaped the boring classroom at the same time. What did they expect? Her family had a reputation, so she, too, was expected to be present at events. Unlike most of the snotty, ungrateful students here, also heirs to some businesses, Annie does her best to help her dad's company.

As we walked silently to the main entrance of the school, I was pushed roughly towards the wall. I heard her laugh as she looked at my shocked face, then joined in her laughing.

"I hate you," I said and smiled as we continued walking.

"Same here, bud," she said and punched my shoulder.

I winced at the pain and shoved her with little force.

"Aww. C'mon, you're such a baby. That was a very weak punch!" she said and stuck her tongue out.

"Yeah, well, you do notice what your 'weak' punches do to lots of people," I said and scrunched my face up.


I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, and I took it out and saw it was my mother. I saw Annie looking at her phone, too, and wondered if her mom was the one calling. I answered my phone just as we exited the main door, and the sun greeted us with warmth.

"Hi, Mommy!" I said and heard Annie say the same thing I did at the same time on her phone.

We both looked at each other and laughed.

"Oh. Sorry, Mom. Chancey and I just said the same thing."

"Sorry, Mom. Annie and I just said the same thing," I said into the phone and laughed a little.

I heard Mom's laugh and smiled.

"It's okay, dear. I just got off the phone with your Aunt Lis. We both decided to call you two."

"Okay. Hold on a sec, Mom," I said and covered the phone with my hand.

"See you later, Annie," I said as she looked at me and gave me a nod and went back to talking to her mom.

When I went into the limo, I saw Annie getting into her car, phone still in hand. I looked down at my phone, forgetting Mom was still on.

"Mom, you still there?" I asked and heard her muttering things that I didn't catch.

"Yes, dear. Your brother's already here. He insisted on skipping the whole afternoon, though I didn't want to agree. But he promised to behave later if he got the afternoon off."

I smiled as I leaned into the comfy chair; Mom's the least formal when speaking out of all of us. She was born into a rich family, but they didn't show it.

"Oh, okay. I'll make sure he stays true to his promise later."

I closed my eyes and relaxed myself.

"Thank you. I'll see you in a few minutes, right?"

"Right, Mom. Bye!"

"Bye, love you," she said and hung up.

Now that I have no more distractions, my head filled with images of Annie's face if she finds out about Amanda? I think she's going to be at the party tonight, but I'm not sure. I hope her family isn't going to be in attendance. Yeah, right.

2 hours later, I was declared perfectly dressed in my three-piece suit, and we were off to the Empire Hotel. My suit was black with a gold tie made of some smooth fabric. I'm not a girl, okay? I don't know these things.

The party's supposed to start at 5:30, so we still have some time. Mom was wearing a gold evening gown with I-don't-know-what-they're-called things on the dress. Her hair was put up in an elegant kind of bun, I think. The people admire Mom's personal styles and all. My dad was wearing a suit like mine and James'. We were all wearing the same colored tie, on-purpose. Mom just went overboard and wanted all of us to match. Plus, Dad added that it'd let people know how close we are, even though we don't have to show it.

As I went out of the limo, cameras started snapping, and I just noticed that the side-walks were filled with people. Everyone was held back, but they still bowed their heads, so I waited for my parents and brother to get out. When they did, we let the photographer take our picture and headed inside, where we were escorted to the function room. We greeted people we passed with them bowing at us as we were on our way; security personnels just far enough not to make us feel cramped but close enough to make sure nothing goes wrong.

When we entered the function room, there were a lot of people already present.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. May I present, His Majesty King Jameson Nathe Simonth, and Her Majesty Queen Cherileen Rose Simonth with their two sons: His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Chanceon Nathaniel Simonth and His Highness Prince James Lake Simonth," some guy in a suit said in the microphone at the sounds booth.

I rolled my eyes internally and put on my best smile as everyone bowed  their heads, well, not everyone; Annie stuck her tongue out at me before bowing her head. When everyone straightened themselves, I laughed a little.

"Chance darling, we're going to converse with a few people before we sit, but you can look around or something," Mom said before Dad just nodded and lead her away.

I raised an eyebrow at my brother as he was-- not even trying to hide it-- staring at Annie. I nudged him on the shoulder and steered him to our table, which a butler was escorting us to. A few people came up to us as we walked, but we only greeted them and went on our way. Our table was right in front of the stage, with the Capriones. Annie was wearing a simple but elegant mint green evening gown without --any--- make-up on. She's such a... I don't know anymore. Jace --as always-- overdid her make-up a little and wore --why am I not surprised?-- a baby pink evening gown. It had ruffles and flowers, people. Auntie was wearing an evening gown in a darker shade of pink while Uncle wore a tux with a tie matching Auntie's dress color. I know? How descriptive am I? I am a guy, give me a break.

"Good evening, Your Highnesses," Uncle said, slightly bowing, as they all took a seat.

Aunt Lis smiled at us and nodded, but Annie had laughter in her eyes. Jace just nodded, too. I made my brother sit at the chair beside Jace, a seat away from Annie, but he frowned and made a move to stand up.

"Bro, just sit there. I can't let you stare stalkerishly at Annie the whole night, okay?" I whispered, so only he could hear.

He grudgingly nodded, and I sat down beside him, across from Annie. Aunt Lis and Uncle sat next to Annie, so Mom and Dad would be sitting beside me.

Annie coughed and said, "Highneeses," and coughed again.

I smirked and raised an eyebrow, but I let her see the amusement in my eyes. Jace giggled, and Auntie looked at Annie disapprovingly. I looked at my brother and nudged him as he looked about ready to drool. He glared at me but studiously stared at the flowery centerpiece thing on the table. Before the start of the program, Mom and Dad were already seated beside me. There was a slightly awkward silence at our table, all of us knowing what we wanted to talk to each other about, but all of them weren't topics to be discussed in public, though it was kinda private here.

I felt my phone ring in my pocket, and I excused myself from the table and headed to the hall near the bathroom. I saw it was from Jonathan, my private sec., and answered it.

"Good evening, Your Highness. I'm sorry to disturb you, but someone called for you," he said, sounding a little irritated.

I think I know who called already.

"It's not a problem, Jonathan. Who was it?" I asked as I leaned on the wall and watched people go in and out of the bathroom doors. When they saw me, they continued their business and looked away, not knowing if speaking to me was okay.

"Umm. It was a Miss Gilligan, sir," he said.

I knew it, which meant she most likely wasn't here now.

"What did she want?"

"She asked for you number, but of course, I told her I can't. She said to have you call her though."

I sighed and almost ran a hand through my hair, almost forgetting my mom's warnings.

"Thanks, Jonathan. If anything else comes up, don't hesitate to call. Goodbye."

"Yes, sir," he said, and I ended the call.

I debated whether I should call or not. But I have to, if I don't, she'll annoy the heck out of poor Jonathan. I sifted through my contact list and dialled her number and put my phone against my ear. Surprise, surprise, she answered on the first ring.

"Hey, babe! I had to call your assistant. Why can't you just tell me your number?" she asked.

"Privacy. I can't talk much right now, I'm at an event. I'll just call you later, kay?"

"Sure, boo. But it should be right after the event, alright? Love you! Bye bye!"

I ended the call and groaned internally; how am I supposed to explain all of this if Annie finds out? I went back to our table before I can raise suspicions. Annie was telepathecally asking me who that was. I just know her question, okay? We can't really send messages in our brains, but we can sort of read each other's minds.

"I'm sorry, everyone. Someone called for me."

They nodded their understandings, but Annie was still questioning me who it was, with the look in her eyes. I pretended to ignore her as the program started. After all the presentations, dinner and other boring stuff, the last part of the event was about to begin. This is the part that I look forward to at events like this, the auction. Things are being auctioned, and the proceeds go to different charities. You can always find amazing stuff at these types of auctions.

A lot of things were already sold like: paintings, antiques, designer bags, sculptures, some jewelry and other stuff. Jace even got her dad to  buy her a one-of-a-kind designer bag made for this event only from something in the lines of Tuchi or Shanel; the speaker had a weird way of speaking, so I couldn't understand him well.

"Our last item up for auction today is the once lost tiara called the Tiara of Peace and love of the late Princess Tessa Wellis, daughter of the late Duke George Wellis and the late Duchess Therese Wellis of Fillione, sister of the late King Reanne Simonth. The tiara has been lost for over 50 decades, through illegal trading, theft and being buried, hidden from the world. It was only discovered 4 years ago, at an excavation site in northern Shaleeria. The present Duke and Duchess of Fillione happily donated the tiara to the cause for children in orphanages. The tiara was specially made for the princess from her loving father. It was made with pure gold and decorated with zero cut diamonds, estimated to be a hundred carats in all, of which 50 carats are fancy red diamonds, since red was their daughter's favorite color. The current Duke and Duchess of Fillione were unable to attend this event, for complicated schedules, but they do wish an appreciative person takes it."

I looked at the tiara that sat on a red cushion on top of a table. My parents were also looking at it, probably wondering why they'd donate the tiara. The red diamonds were put in the middle of the tiara while the colorless ones were more on the side. It gleamed in the lighting, and I heard a lot of gasps in the room.

"We are starting the biddings at a million dollars," the guy on stage said.

Lots of paddles were held up, and I saw Annie frown while looking at the tiara.

"Let's raise the biddings to 2 million."

Paddles didn't waver and a man at the back said,"5 million."

"5 million dollars, are there anymore takers?" the man on stage said.

"8 million dollars," another guy said.

"10 million dollars," a different man said.

Wow, I know these people are really rich, but, seriously? I stopped listening to the bids and wondered why they'd just give a tiara with so much history to charity.

I looked at Jace as she looked longingly at the tiara. I also noticed Uncle's clear disapproval in Jace's fascination.

"12 million!" some crazy dude screamed.

Wait a minute.. I looked at my brother, and, sure enough, he was raising his paddle. All of us at the table stared at him, shocked. I heard murmurs in the crowd, and I just stared at my brother in disbelief.

"What are you doing, bro?" I asked angrily and then hissed.

He just shrugged me off.

"12 million from His Highness himself, Prince James. Anyone want to bid higher?"

"12.5 million dollars," some random guy said.

I looked at my brother, and he raised his paddle again. "13 million dollars."

Mom nudged me in the ribs and whispered, "What is your brother doing? Tell him this isn't funny."

Dad was giving me an encouraging nod. Auntie, Uncle and Jace were staring at my brother, unsure of what to say or do.

"13.25 million dollars," another person said.

"13.5 million dollars!" my brother shouted before I could stop him.

"Why are you doing this!?" I asked, half-shouting, half-whispering.

"Anna wants it, bro. This might be my only chance."

I know Annie was looking at it but still. She'd be furious if he spent that on her. Seriously!? 13.5 million!? Is he crazy!?

"13.5 million dollars from His Royal Highness, Prince James, going once, going twice.."

"14 million dollars!" some psychotic person shouted. Wait a minute! I looked around me and noticed I was standing and my mouth was slightly agape. I mentally slapped myself. My eyes went wide as I realized what I did, and I composed myself. Everyone was staring at me, and I sat back down slowly. My brother was glaring at me, not sure why I did that. Everyone at the table gave me weird looks, but I ignored them.

"Wow! It seems that His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Chanceon has his eyes on the tiara. 14 million going once, going twice..."

I looked at my brother, but he was only glaring.

"Sold to His Royal Highness Prince Chanceon! Wow! I don;t know if you knew, but this would be the most expensive tiara in records."

I nearly fell off my seat as I realized my stupidity. People clapped, and after the closing remarks, I signed the papers for the tiara. I'd get it tomorrow actually, not today. I didn't know what came over me! Seriously!?