From Normal to Royal

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

We ate dinner at the palace that night. Dad brought me a dress from home, and I was getting ready in the guest room with the maids cleaning behind me.

"Congratulations, Maria." Said Elaine; a short blonde maid.

I turned around from looking in the mirror and smiled. "Thank you!"

"Can't wait to be making your bed." She sighed. "And all the guests' beds on wedding night."

Caleb suddenly entered the room.

"Caleb!" I squealed. "Don't you know how to knock?!"

Caleb smirked. "I've come to talk to you."

I sat down on the bed. "What's up?"

"Listen," he began. "I was talking to my mom, and we came across a temporary solution for your problem."

I was listening.

"We agreed to give you the choice to wear your ring on you ring finger."

It was required by law for the the royal bride to wear the ring for at least thirty days before she gets married.

"You can wear it on the other hand, so no one will know you're engaged. If anyone asks for the time being, you can just say it's a replica."

I pondered that. "You're clever." I said afterwards. I planted a kiss on his cheek and he blushed.

"And that's why you love me." He said.

There was another knock at the door.

"See Caleb, knocking is so easy." I said, throwing a light punch at his side. "Come in!" I yelled.

Queen Amelia came in. "Hello, Maria." She said.

"Good evening, m'am."

Queen Amelia waved me off. "From now on, call me Amelia."

I smiled.

"Did Caleb tell you about the ring?"

"Yes." I said. "That seems like a great idea."

Amelia smiled. "I'll have to take it up with Caleb's dad, but I know he'll let anything pass just as long as we keep you in our family."

"Alright, mom." Caleb said, grabbing my hand. "Let's go celebrate our engagement."

Dinner couldn't have been more awkward. I'm serious.

Caleb and I were sitting next to each other, with him looking dashing in his suit, and I trying to cool my mouth of the scorching soup.

Queen Amelia, King John, my mom, dad, and fifteen year old sister sister Katie were all gathered around at the small family dining table. The storerooms were only used for banquets.

King John tapped his cup with his spoon, then stood up. "I would like to congratulate our son and your daughter's engagement, let this be a remembered moment of time."

Suddenly, Caleb' s twelve year old cousin came running in to the dinner room.

"Caleb!" he screeched. "I need you now!"

Caleb cast a smile...which is what he's been trained to do when something goes wrong.

"What's up, Phillip?" he churned. He stood up, acknowledged me by bowing, (and I reciprocated with the usual head tilt) then followed Phillip to another room.

Crap, now it's just me and the fam.

"So, Maria," began my dad. "You're going to have your wedding when?"

"Dad!" I began. He knew full well that I wasn't ready for all this to happen.

Dad chuckled.

"This year, at least." said King John. "The boy's already eighteen and a half." It was March, and Caleb was turning 19 in September.

"Well, better hope she graduates, or else he'll be married to a high school girl!" laughed King John. He and Dad cracked up, and I furrowed my eyebrows as his belly started jiggling like Jello. Good thing Caleb didn't inherit his dad's waist size.

"Guys!" Came Caleb' s deep voice. Everyone turned his attention to him and Phillip, making their way down the hall. "The paparazzi are here."

"Geez, who called them up?!" King John moaned. He stood up, bowed to Queen Amelia, and walked with Phillip to the entrance of the palace.

"Are we done here?" Asked Katie. She was a black haired, blue eyed teenage girl who was into punk things. However much that freaked me out, she was still a nice, friendly person.

"Katie, we're here to celebrate your sister's engaging, so stop whining, we'll be here for a while." said mom.

Katie sighed, and started texting at about five hundred miles an hour.

"Let me see your ring." said Dad.

I held up my left hand, and showed him the ring.

"Wow." said my dad, " gorgeous."

"Ok, so here's the deal." said King John, returning with Phillip. "Somehow, the have heard rumors of the engagement, so I've come clean."

I stood up. "What?!"

"Honey, sit down." said mom, grabbing my wrist and pulling me back down.

"Don't worry." said King John. "I just agreed that Caleb was engaged, I never said who he was engaged to."

I could already tell in my mind that tomorrow was going to be a hard day for me.