To Be A Princess (ON HIATUS)

CHAPTER 11 - Pff, No, I Didn't Stand Up the Queen and Her Invitation for Tea

THE NEXT MORNING I was awoken by the sound of girlish giggles and high-pitched squeals outside my door. I tried burying my head under my pillow to block the noise to no avail. Finally, I gave a huge sigh of defeat before getting up and getting dressed. I hoped that Xavier had come up with a good excuse to get me out of today's activity.

I quickly changed into a turquoise day dress with a gold belt and ran a brush through my hair. I looked in the mirror and decided to braid my hair over my shoulder. When I was satisfied with my appearance, I left the room in search of Xavier.

I searched everywhere I could think of, but Xavier was nowhere to be found. Finally, I ended up in the library because excuse or no excuse, I still wasn't going to tea with the other debutantes.

I had just sat down at a table and opened The Aucelonian Horticultural Encyclopedia when someone sat down across from me.

"You better have a good reason why I couldn't find you earlier," I said scornfully without looking up from my book.

"Hello to you too," Xavier said cheerfully, completely ignoring my biting tone.

"Did you convince your mother to let me skip today?" I asked, lowering my book so I could look at him.

"Unfortunately, no," he replied. "But I figured that wouldn't stop you so..."

"Well, at least you got that right," I said. "So, are we going to go?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Also, someone delivered the table you chose yesterday and I carried it out there earlier this morning. That thing is a lot heavier than you would think."

"Oh, boo hoo, poor little Xavier couldn't carry a table," I teased playfully.

"Shut up, Skylar," he grumbled.

We left the library and headed out to the gardens. Unfortunately, Queen Lilian and the other debutantes were already out in the pavilion. My eyes widened in surprise as Xavier tackled me into a nearby bush.

"What do you think you're doing?" I hissed angrily.

"You don't want to be caught, do you?" he asked quietly.

"Well, I also didn't want to be pushed into a bush," I retorted. "Can you even imagine the scandal it would cause if someone found us like this?" My cheeks had turned red and I hoped the shadows hid it from Xavier's view.

"Like you would care," he scoffed.

"Actually I would," I snapped. "I have feelings you know."

"Of course, I know you have feelings," he replied, an offended look on his face. "I'm not stupid."

"Then why do you think I wouldn't care? I can brush off a few insignificant insults, but being shunned by my peers is more than I can handle," I sighed. "I'm pretty sure it would be unbearable for almost anyone."

"I guess you're right, I'm sorry," he said. I was almost surprised at the genuineness of his words. Of course, I had to go ruin that with my sarcasm.

"Xavier Fairchild is apologizing? To me?" I asked sarcastically. "It must be the end of the world. I—"

"What are you doing in a bush?" the voice of my brother cut me off. Xavier and I hastily scrambled to our feet. I quickly brushed the leaves from my dress and hair and grinned at Darren.