Royal 2 (Book two in my Selection series)

Chapter 25

After I had gotten dressed in a simple gown fit for tea it was long and silky and even had pockets, which I'd never seen in my life but I was enjoying it.

Will walked with me through the palace and into the guest hallway seeing as we still had barely less than an hour until we had to be downstairs.

I knocked on the door where James and Colton would be getting ready. It only takes a few minutes before James answers with his slicked sideways in a modern fashion with a tux, which I'd rarely seen him wearing.

I'd always thought James looked only than his years and seemed much more mature. Though he still lived with Kathy and Davy, I saw his reasoning on waiting to save up for a house big enough for a family.

"Hi James." I say eventually. "Will, this is James. James this is Will." I wasn't sure of any other way to actually introduce them or start a conversation. They both smile and shake hands without a word so I end up standing there awkwardly. "Is Colton done? I thought maybe we could go on a walk."

"Colton is being pampered by the maids. They love him and I'm sure he'll be a while. Mom is still getting ready also." James says with a shrug.

"Well you can go ahead and come with us then. I'll introduce him to the others later." I say to James and drag him from the room with one arm and Will with the other.

"So how's Ma?" I ask James.

"She's good. I take her on walks every single day myself." I smile as he says it. "Owen even came over the other day to check on her. Stayed nearly an hour and just talked to her the whole time. He told me that he was convinced she could still hear everything around her."

"Who's Owen?" Will asks.

"He was my boss. I started work at fourteen and Owen was kind enough to let me with a normal wage for less hours. Then helped me with promotions until I was one of the highest paid workers there. I was a waitress at an extremely fancy restaurant. I never actually even ate there because it was so expensive." I say

We all stay silent for a minute then James speaks up.

"So how funny is it to watch Autumn transfer her life from our town to the palace?" James asks Will with a glint of amusement. I roll my eyes with a smile and send my elbow into his ribs gently.

"Honestly she's doing far better than a couple of the girls. Their so nervous I feel like I can't even get to know them. And the others I don't think are ready to be away from their home just yet. Though all the other girls are older than Autumn, they're not as mature or prepared for an independent life." Will says with a slight shrug. I felt proud of myself and happy that he had noticed those important qualities inside me.

"I see that." James says reasonably. I get the small feeling that I should let Will talk to James alone. It was starting to get uncomfortable.

"I'm going to go check on Colton and Kathy. You guys keep talking I'll see you all later." I tell them and kiss them both on the cheek before turning and heading toward their rooms. I had first went to Kathy's room and she answered in a flowing creme gown with jeweled and lace adorning it. Her orange hair was formed into curls and allowed to hang over her shoulders in a wave.

"You look beautiful!" She exclaimed and wrapped me in an embrace.

"As do you." I say with a happy smile and squeeze her tightly. Katherine was beautiful and hadn't aged a day since I'd ever remembered her. Her skin was flawlessly smooth and she didn't have a wrinkle to reflect her age.

"Come in and talk with me. Tell me all about him." She says and drags me into the room, shutting the door. Her maids were not in sight so I didn't worry about anyone overbearing me.

"He's been the sweetest since the beginning. Firstly, the day I was meant to meet him I was roaming the palace and ran into him. We talked for nearly half an hour before we had to leave and pretend we'd never seen each other, but he was just so nice the entire time. He's taken me on beautiful dates and everything." I sigh and remember the beautiful places and things we'd seen.

"Is everything all perfect here or has there been bad times too?" She asks. I smile sadly and look down, but somehow her hands found mine and held them tightly.

"Do you remember the funeral they showed clips of on the last Report?" I ask. Kathy nods with a confused look. "The one maid was mine. I'd become very close to all of my maids and the palace was attacked and guns went off and Tina happened to be there."

I was afraid to make eye contact with Kathy. I couldn't start crying now and destroy the face my maids had worked so hard to design.

"Oh darling." She says quietly and squeezes my hands reassuringly. "I'm so sorry."

"It's alright. I'd rather talk about positive things though. You all are only here for so long." I say and smile at her. She nods with a tight smile and I continue. "After her funeral he took me to an island. It had a beautiful beach and beach house and every color was so vibrant."

I sigh when I think of the place. I could've lived there my entire life and still found beauty in every grain of sand. I look up and see Kathy's smile just as wide as my own.

"That's so sweet!" She exclaims.

"Maybe he does it for the other girls too. I don't know. He kissed me the same night and told me he loved me and that not everybody felt that way with each other." I got bubbly and sad all at the same time. I lay down against the pillows on her bed and decide the sadness was overpowering over the happiness. "I'm just worried it's not going to work out." I whisper quietly.

"Honey," Kathy starts and leans beside of me. "Just trust him. Be open with him and make sure he trusts you too. Let yourself fall in love, it's not as scary as you might think and if you fall and he isn't there then we will catch you. I promise."

"Thank you." I say with a small smile.

"Let's go have tea then." She says with a gentle smile that I couldn't help but reflect.