Mabel's Secret {On Hold}

Chapter 6

A week passed and I still hadn't heard from Chris, nor had I seen him. I went to the rock shelf every night, but he never showed. And then a month passed, and still, there was no word of him. I kept my mind busy by telling myself his sister had probably had her baby (she was due any day, afterall), or maybe he was busy farming, or maybe he had to travel somewhere and left before he could tell me. No matter what, I wouldn't let myself thing anything negative. Yet more days passed, which turned into more weeks. 

About 4 weeks after Prince Luke had arrived, he was completely settled into our palace. Most of his belongings were sent over from his land, along with some of his own maids and butlers.  His favorite horses were sent over, his two great danes and his large assortment of tropical fish. He even had special meats sent over so when he ate his meals he would feel more at home. Of course mother was extrememely pleased with all of this, but it just made me more and more uncomfortable. It had hardly been a month and Luke thought he owned everything. 

One morning after about another month had passed, we were all seated in the dining room having a lovely breakfast meal of warm pastries, fresh fruit and duck eggs. All of a sudden mother looked up, directly at me and announced, "The royal dress maker is to arrive today to start fitting you for wedding gowns." 

I choked on a pastry. Luke patted my back. I swatted him away. 

"What?" Mother asked innocently. "Prince Luke is here for a reason." 

I looked up at Luke who looked pleased, then back at my mother who also looked pleased. I had to excuse myself, for I no longer had any appetite. I walked briskly to my room, shut the door quietly and curled up on my bed. But no tears came. I just laid there until finally, I fell alseep. 

***

"So you must be the beautfiul princess, eh?" The royal dress maker was.. interesting. His hair was shaved closely to his head, and what you could see of it was died purple. He had no eyebrows, and a golden ring pierced through his right nostril. He had a strong accent, but it sounded fake. Overall, he was kind of scary. He was kind and gentle, though, so I got over his looks and enjoyed his strange company. 

"Yes, that would be me." I replied, barely smiling. He tilted his head to the left and looked me up and down.

"You can call me Benny." He said. Then he turned on the polished heel of his black boots and walked away. "Follow me!" He called. So I followed him to the ball room. When the doors opened, my jaw dropped. 

The whole entire room had been turned into a giant fitting room. Rows and rows of white gowns lined the walls. In one corner, there was a small pedestal with three, huge mirrors in front of it. About five women dressed in black waited by the pedestal. They all had on belts, similar to tool belts, which held pin cusions, sections of beads, ribbons, dress clips and thread. 

They stood me up on the pedestal after the had me take off my dress. Yes, I was standing there in my undergarments. And no, I was not enjoying it. They soon had me in some poofy dress that I immediately turned down. Then, I was in some dress that was so tight I started choking because I couldn't breathe. After about 30 some dresses, I started crying hysterically. So they called in my mother who callmed me down and coaxed me into the next dress.

Dress number 31 was so beautiful, I actually smiled for the first time that day. It had a plain, A-line skirt, but beautiful flower accents under the bust, on the shoulders and all around the open back. 

"Wow," Benny said in his strange accent. Even the women who were dressing me stopped to admire it. 

"Wow is right," My mother agreed, smiling and tearing up a little. 

"Oh, mother, please don't cry." I said. I wanted to tell her there would be no wedding. I wanted to tell everyone that I wanted to run away with a commoner. But then again, I had not heard from Chris in over  two months. I shook my head of the thoughts. He would come back, I knew he would. 

I told Benny I couldn't handle any more fittings, so they undressed me for the last time and put me back into my own dress. I didn't join Mother and Luke for dinner, but went straight to my room, threw on my dark cloak and snuck out to the rock shelf.

I ran through the trees, tripping over some branches on the way. Once I could see the shelf, I could also see a figure standing in front of it. Hope rose in my chest and I almost called out to Chris. But then the figure turned around to face me. I stopped running.

It wasn't Chris at all.

***

Hey everyone! 

So, how did you like chapter 6? Let me know in the comments below!! :) Don't forget to vote either! Thank you! 

Also, thank you to LovelyOwls for the awesome cover!! :)