Gold Blood

Chapter 8

Acelynn laid on the soft bed, her body sunk into mattress. She sighed while she thought about the palace. It was beautiful, she had never seen anything like it before. Not only that, this bed was comfier than anything she had ever laid on before. She picked her head up at the sound of someone knocking on her door. Slowly she crawled off the bed and shuffled to the door. She gripped the brass door handle and pulled the door open.

    "Hello?" She said coming face to face with Phoenix. His eyes were wide and frantic and his clothes were wrinkled.

    "You need to change! We have to go for supper," he answered walking into her room. He paced the floor in front of her bed and then looked back up at her. "Dinner is in 20 minutes and you need a dress." he stopped pacing for a moment and then he started again.

    "I don't have any dresses!" Acelynn told him from the doorway. Phoenix stopped his pacing again and then ran to the door.

    "I'll be right back!" he shouted running down the hallway. Acelynn chuckled softly and watched as he turned the corner and disappeared from her view. A couple seconds later he came running back with a young girl wearing a servant uniform.

"She needs a dress?" the maid asked looking her up and down. "I'll be right back." she scrambled out of the room and down the hallway. Phoenix looked terrified and he started pacing the room again.

"You're going to ware hole in the floor," Acelynn muttered walking over and sitting on the corner of her bed. Phoenix stopped and gave her an odd look before sitting down on the couch against the wall. "Thank you," Acelynn said with a small smile.

"We can't be late," Phoenix told her anxiously glancing at the clock. Moments later an older lady walked into the room with the young maid. She was carrying a long emerald coloured dress and she had a sewing basket in her other hand.

"Prince leave so she can change. You can come back in after," the older woman said handing the dress over to Acelynn. Phoenix quickly bolted out of the room and shut the door. Acelynn stumbled over to the bathroom and changed into the dress. It was much too long for her and it hung off her body. She walked out and looked at the seamstress and she burst out laughing.

"Please tell me you can fix this?"  Acelynn groaned. She hated wearing dresses and the fact that this one was not her size it all, it made it 10 times worse. The seamstress nodded and motioned for her to come closer.

"You can let the prince back in, I will be 5 minutes," the seamstress told the young maid. The maid nodded and walked towards the door. When she opened it Phoenix walked back into the room looking a lot calmer.

"We have 10 minutes to be down there," he told them flopping onto the chair again. The seamstress worked quickly. Taking in the dress here and there until it fit as good as it could in such little time. "Thank you Miss Lyndy!" Phoenix exclaimed giving the woman a hug.

"Anytime my dear," she replied packing her things back into her basket. "You both better be going, you have 5 minutes." Phoenix quickly grabbed Acelynn's hand and pulls her out of the room.

"I'm so sorry," Phoenix apologized once they were at the stairs. "You look beautiful," he told her stopping at the top of the stairs. Acelynn felt her cheeks flush and she looked down quickly avoiding his stare.

"Thank you," she answered as they descended the stairs together. "You don't look to bad yourself," she complimented him. Phoenix's eyes lit up and his cheeks turned red. He didn't answer her as they made it to the bottom of the staircase.

"Almost there," he whispered pulling her towards the dining room. She followed him quickly and tried to catch her breath. He was going so fast! They entered the dining room and sat down moments before the King and Queen entered together. Nixon was also breathing heavily and he sat across from Phoenix. Phoenix sat on the Kings right and the Queen sat on across from him at one end of the table. Acelynn sat to Phoenix's right and to Queen Isa's left. She crossed her ankles and gingerly placed her hands in her lap. They waited until food was brought and Acelynn watched Phoenix anxiously wondering what she was suppose to do. Phoenix was watching the King and so was Nixon and Queen Isa. King Orion took a large bite from the chicken on his plate and soon everyone followed. Tentatively Acelynn took a bite out of the chicken on her plate and when nobody objected she continued. She ate slowly so she could watch what Phoenix did and not get in any trouble. They ate in silence, nobody daring to make a sound. Breaking the silence the King slid his chair back from the table and stood up. He placed his serviette on his plate and walked out of the room. Everybody's posture relaxed and they started eating faster.

"So Acelynn, what is your favourite food?" Queen Isa asked looking eagerly at Acelynn. Acelynn quickly swallowed what food she had in her mouth and then smiled at the Queen.

"I would have to say strawberries," Acelynn replied thinking of the red juicy fruit. The Queen nodded as if writing this down in her head.

"I would have to say those are my favourite too," Queen Isa smiled. Acelynn smiled back at the Queen and then continued eating.

"I'm sorry again," The Queen whispered. "I know this is not what you wanted and I wish there was something I could do to change the King's mind," Isa's eyes looked sad and she stared down at her plate.

"It's not your fault," Acelynn replied reaching her hand across the table and placing it on the Queen's. Isa gave her a soft smile and Acelynn pulled her hand back to continue eating. They finished their meal in silence.

"I can take you back up to your room if you would like," Phoenix said pushing his chair away from the table. Acelynn nodded her head in agreement and she pushed away from the table. She stood from her chair and went to push it in, before she could Phoenix had his hand on the back of the chair and he gently pushed it back in towards the table.

"Thank you," Acelynn smiled. Phoenix smiled back and offered her his arm to hold as they left the dining room. She graciously accepted it and she waved goodbye to the Queen and Nixon. They waved back with smiles on their faces and it caused Acelynn to smile. Phoenix led her from the dining room and back to the staircase. Slowly they ascended the stairs and walked down the hallway to their rooms. Phoenix opened her door for her and released her arm.

"Have a good night Acelynn, if you need anything just knock on my door," Phoenix told her.

"I will, thank you Phoenix. Good night," she answered walking into her room. Phoenix turned around and walked to his door. Acelynn stood in her doorway and watched as Phoenix entered his room. As his door closed she too closed her own. She breathed out heavily and started pulling her dress off. Acelynn shuffled over to her bathroom and left the dress on the floor. She turned the water on in the bathtub and waited it to fill. It was going to be weird sleeping in a new place without her family with her. She shook her head trying to keep her family out of her thoughts. It would be easier if she didn't think about them. Slowly she climbed into the tub and she relaxed into the steaming water.