The Nerd

Chapter 5

I packed my bags, I threw around my clothes, searching for the right dress for the first day and for the last day. I grabbed outfits I didn't even knew I owned that would dim me down to looking like a normal girl and not the heir to the Illean throne. My back up maid came around the corner, looking at my bags of essentials. "You know, no matter what you do you'll always look like a princess." She grabbed my jeans, looking at the fine fabric. "These are the nicest pair of jeans that I have ever seen, people will question you, Your Highness." I looked at my jeans and all of my "normal" people outfits. "These dresses may not have been made in the palace but you asked us to keep tags on them so you can add how much it cost. You told me once when we only bought two dresses, a pair of pants, and a blouse that it cost five thousand dollars."

"Normal people would probably be able to buy fifty outfits for that price." She nodded. "Why am I so spoiled?" I asked her.

"You aren't spoiled, you're a princess, you were raised to rule so you want to look nice. You forget sometimes that I'm your mother's age." I looked at her, I knew she was Mom's head maid whenever she was my age but I didn't know how close she was to Mom. "Your mother was the same way, she seemed like a spoiled brat but underneath she had feelings and deeply cared for everyone. That's why she treats you the way she does. She doesn't want you to be like her."

"So I'm not a spoiled brat?" She shook her head.

"Not one bit, now if you excuse me I need to go check on my children."

"Wait, miss." She turned around. "I'm sorry, what's your name?" She kept her name a secret from me since day one and I wanted to know.

"Eloise, Your Highness. I wish my daughter was as caring as you." I nodded and she walked out, how I wished my mother was there for me as my assistant maid was there for me. Once I was sure she wasn't going to come back I started back to packing. About ten minutes into packing my books I got another knock on the door.

"Who is it?" I yelled.

"Your parents." I got up, shoving stuff in my bag as I got up.

"Coming." Dad was holding Mom's hand and I let them come in. "So, what do you guys want?" Dad looked at Mom, telling her that he wanted her to tell me.

"We came here to tell you we are going to miss you for the next two months. I'm going to certainly miss your singing flooding the halls." I looked at my mother, I didn't realize her wrinkles before but now that she is standing right in front of me I can. Mom's hair had gray streaks that she managed to work with, her once dark brown hair was turning gray and I hated watching her grow old. Her eyes had laughing lines surrounding them, not noticeable unless you looked closely but they were there.

"I'm going to miss you too, Mom." I embraced her, she wasn't just my mother, she was my friend and I appreciated that. "Daddy?" I noticed he was crying, he only ever cried whenever Lia and I did something that was an once in a lifetime opportunity, and even though I already had participated in this competition once, he already started crying.

"I'm just going to miss you, Kerttu, you're all grown up. It's hard watching my babies grow up." He grabbed a tissue and started dabbing away tears. "I love you, darling." At that I fell into my Dad's arms and cried. I wasn't as close to my father as Hilja was but I certainly loved him more than I loved most people.

"I love you, too, Daddy. And I love you, Mom." She grabbed my hand, a simple but loving gesture. And there we were, the three of us, like it was for five years before Hilja was born. Daddy, Mama, and me. They stared at me, smiling, proud for me but sad at the same time.

"It's hard to believe it's been eighteen years since we had you and twenty three years since I met  your father. Look at us, we're a mess." She gestured to me and Dad.

"We're each other's mess." Dad remarked.

"Very true, indeed." Mom stood up, straightening her dress and then straightening her bun. "I love you, Kerttu. More than you'll ever know." She kissed my forehead and left. Dad gave me one last squeeze and exited as well. I knew my cousins would come soon to say goodbye but for now I had to work. I called for my maid to bring my CD collection and started working on my notes for whenever I got back from the competition, I knew I had to speak as soon as I got back so I figured I had to get a head start.

"We're here!" My cousins said as they came in. Amberly was the first one to come in and I ran to her. "Stay safe, don't fall in love with any guys." She said quietly. "Love you, Kerttu."

"I love you, too, Amberly." She squeezed my hand and patted me on the back. Hope was next, she ran to me and squeezed my leg. "Oh, Hope, it's okay. You'll see me in three months. Isn't that exciting?" She nodded, tearing up as she stepped back.

"Am I your favorite?" She asked softly.

"You're my favorite princess named Hope." I assured her.

"YAY!" She screamed and jumped up and down.

Clarissa came up to me a little while after and gave me a smile. "You're going to do well, you know." I nodded, she was a year younger than Amberly but ten years older than Hope.

"Stay out of trouble, Clare." I gave her the nick name whenever she was younger because Uncle Ahren and Aunt Camille said, 'Clare-issa', and I was confused so I gave her the nickname 'Clare'.

"You haven't called me that in forever." She said and walked away. I waited for the next cousin after her.

Steven and Brentley came in at the same time and I jumped up, happy to see them. Steven and Brentley were the same age right now, but not twins, Uncle Ahren and Aunt Camille had Steven first and then a week later Aunt Camille found out she was pregnant with Brentley, so nine months later I got another cousin. I helped name him, and I was so proud, now he was proud of me. "How are my two favorite boys?" They gave me a squeeze.

"Kerttu, call us when you win." Steven said.

"Yeah, call us when you win." Brentley agreed with his brother.

"I will, call me when you get back to France, I need to know if my mother's twin got back safe."

"We will, as always. We love you, Kerttu." I hugged my cousins and they left, probably getting ready to pack to leave.

My other cousins didn't come up but I knew they were going to say goodbye to me when I left. I didn't mind, I just wasn't ready to get used to only having seven kids in the house compared to the twelve. I loved my cousins that lived in France more than I loved the others at times. I looked in my mirror and studied my reflection, what would I have looked like in the old palace? Would I have dressed different, would I have had different maids? Would Dad and Mom still be in love? Probably, but I studied myself, I only lived in the old palace for eight years and it took me awhile to get used to the new one. The old palace is where the grandparents lived. Sometimes we would go there to have a party if we had too many people in the Koskinen Palace, but in the Schreave Palace there was more room for a party, the Koskinen Palace was where Mom's siblings lived along with us.

Even the Parliament resided in the Schreave Palace, so we went there for Parliament meetings weekly, we stayed there for Christmas, sometimes, but mainly it was for emergency purposes. Sir Kile designed this palace and I remembered coming here when he built it, Miss Alice helped with electrical work but stopped when they had Julianna. I loved this palace but it wasn't where Mom and Dad fell in love.

I walked over to my dresser where the pictures of the old palace were, I pulled out my favorite, when I jumped into Sir Kile's arms when he said this palace was ready. Hilja was four at the time so naturally she was crying, she loved the old palace. Miss Alice held Julianna's hand, Liam was in her arms, looking at his mother. Mom was smiling happily, Dad was holding a backpack, probably filled with a bag of books and toys for us that weren't here, but my grandparents were the ones that were the happiest. Grandpa was in the middle of jumping up and down and Grandma was cheering. Miss Marlee was way too happy, all smiles. I smiled, knowing that we had the best extended family. "Those are my favorites." Mom said.

I turned around not knowing she was there. "Yeah, they are." She grabbed my shoulder and we stayed like that, looking at the memories and appreciating them.