A Royal Mess

8. Welcome

Every person, dead or alive, is here to receive me.

Okay, that may have been a bit of an exaggeration, but as we descend the plane I am still shocked to see the amount of people standing here to receive me. It seems as though the whole of Celia is here. 

The ground is graced with a beautiful red carpet from where we are standing to where the king and queen are.

There is no mistaking that they are the king and queen. Both of them have gorgeous crowns on their heads and are dressed very elegantly. The queen is wearing a beautiful peach gown while the king is dressed in a blue suit that fits him perfectly. Together they look like a match made in heaven, literally.

They almost seem Royal. Almost. Except for the fact that the queen is bouncing on her heels, if given a few more minutes she will most definitely jump. The king is grinning and waving us over like a child, but at least he seems to remember who he is unlike his companion who has a huge smile on her face even while she has tears in her eyes.

I start walking towards them with Alexius beside me and Sean behind us. I notice several guards trying to contain the public from running all over us. All of them look so excited, like they've known me my whole life. They are throwing flower petals at me and holding banners that say 'Welcome back, princess' or 'Long live the princess'.

To say I am dumbfounded would be an understatement. I am speechless, in awe and surprised out of my wits. Sure, I expected something grand. They are royals after all but the sight around me and everything that follows is beyond anything I could have imagined. I am a firm believer in 'go big or go home' but I don't think even I could have managed such extremities (mostly cause I don't have the same resources they do).

As I reach the king and queen they come forward and hug me enthusiastically.

In that moment I realize two things-

First, even though I have seen these people for the first time, hugging them feels natural and comforting which is a frightening discovery. 

Second, they are supposed to be my mom and dad and I don't even know their names. All of this happened so suddenly that I had no time to prepare at all.

"Oh my dear god! You are lovely. Oh, I have wished every second of my life for the last 16 years for this moment to come and now that it is here it all seems like a dream. A wonderful dream I tell you. I never wanna wake up." The queen squeals, shaking her hands that are folded in a grasp in front of her. Her burgundy hair is swept up in an elegant updo, a few curls hang around her ears. 

Her rare violet eyes are so mesmerizing that I could've stared at them for hours but just then the king says, "Calm down, darling. You are absolutely right. The princess is really beautiful, but I'm sure we wouldn't want to scare her now, would we?" His ginger hair sits messily on the top of his head underneath his crown, the dishevelment makes him look more endearing. He is the epitome of perfect with hazel eyes that have sparkling tints of blue in them, my eyes. 

"No absolutely not, but can you believe it, she's finally here. I had lost all hope of ever seeing her again. Oh, I'm beyond ecstatic. Oh.." The tears she had been holding back make their escape and slowly fall onto her rosy cheeks.

I feel a tug in my heart seeing her cry and am filled with a strong urge to comfort her but I quickly remind myself not to.

"Let's give her some room to process everything OK? We'll talk to her once she is well rested." The king gives me a concerned once over, maybe because I haven't spoken a single word since I got here. Right now I feel like I have permanently lost the ability to talk, that even if I tried I wouldn't be able to. "Would you please escort the princess to her abode, Alexius?" He then adds to his son.