Adiline

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 :)

The clock in the main entrance of the castle struck 5:00. Adiline was all dressed and ready with an hour to check on the food and make last minute once-overs. Her dress was beautiful, with a long skirt reaching her feet and a one-shoulder neck strap. It was royal purple with gold floral details. She had a pair of elegant shoes to match, strappy 4-inch gold heels. Overall, she was absolutely breathtaking. The King and Queen had similar formal wear, a suit and gown.

Adiline walked to the kitchen to see if the food was about ready. Sure enough, all the chefs were bustling about cooking and cleaning.

"How is it coming?" Adiline asked Mr. Handing nervously.

"Why are you so shaky, dear? Just calm down. The food will be ready in a half hour, then I will keep it hot until the guests arrive," Mr. Handing replied. He didn't know what the big deal was, and neither did Adiline really.

"Good. I guess I'm just nervous. This is the first time I've had mother and father meet a boy." Ugh, did she really have to mention the boy to the chef...

"So, you are nervous because of a garçon? Well you have nothing to worry about, especially in that beautiful dress."

Adiline nodded, showing she understood his french but still it didn't help...

"I come from the city of love, my dear. I know nothing better..well besides food," Mr. Handing was going into the story of when he met his first love. Ali heard it before and loved it so she listened to the man tell it as he cooked.

"We were young, like you, and we were so tired of our parents telling us what to do. When we found each other in Paris we didn't know we were in love, but you could tell in how we looked at each other. That night I went to sleep and I dreamt about her. Her long brown hair, glissening green eyes, how she said 'Bonjour' to me as I passed her. About a week later, we accidently met again in a coffee shop by the Eiffel Tower. She took the seat next to me and when I realized it was her I was, how you say, 'floating on cloud nine'. I asked what her name was. 'Genivere' she said. Ahh, such a beautiful name for a french woman. For the next 2 hours, we talked and drank coffee, then she had to go. She called a taxi and was gone. Three days later, I got a letter in the mail from Italy, but I wondered who because I've never even been to Italy. So I look at the sender's name and read, 'Genivere Allore; Venice, Italy'.

The letter read, 'Jérôme, It was so nice meeting you. I think you are the most exquisite young gentleman I have ever met. But I am sorry, for we can not be together. I live in Venice. I was on a trip to see an old friend before she has a baby. Long-distance relationships never work. You'll find someone truly wonderful to be with. I love you.  ~ Genivere. To this day, I still love her."

After he finished Adiline said, "That is a wonderful story, Mr. Handing."

"I do not see how you think that considering you cry every time I tell it," he said as he put the last seasonings in the soup.

"But why tell me a story of love loss?" Adiline was curious to know why Mr. Handing told her that story rather than one with a happy ending.

"To teach you if you don't act now while you know you can, you might miss your chance and never see him again."

**~**

Adiline left the kitchen to find that Nathaniel and his mother were at the door. She looked at the clock which now read 6:05. Ali was sick to her stomach all of a sudden, and wanted to hide but she couldn't fight the urge to talk to Nathan, so she did.

At first, Ali just stood there, motionless. But she worked up the courage and walked to the door.

"There you are, Adiline. I've been waiting to see you," Nathaniel said, his voice long lost music to her heart, even though it'd only been a couple hours.

"Hello Nathan and Ms. Tanson," Ali greeted her guests, gesturing into the castle.

Nathaniel stepped in with ease, having been here before, but Rorie was hesitant and nervous.

"Anders will be down in a minute. He's still getting ready," Queen Melissa said walking down the staircase. She took Rorie by the arm and led her to the dining room, talking about dress shops.

"May I take your hand?" Nathaniel asked Adiline.

"Why yes, you may." She was now calm. They followed the ladies to the dining room. Ali was suprised to see all 5 of her sisters standing in a line by the table waiting to be introduced.

Stifling a giggle at them, Adiline continued, "These are my sisters: Kristine, Ember, Kendall, Jessie, and Becca," pointing at each one, "And this is Nathaniel."

Adiline began to drag him out of the room, still holding his hand. She didn't want him to get acquainted with any of her sisters. Jealous much?

"Where are we going Princess?" Nathaniel sounded nervous.

"To my room, I want to talk to you. We have a few minutes before dinner is served." She wanted to talk to him about her feelings and if he feels the same.

"Okay but are we almost there?" He was getting restless about the long walk. The castle was quite huge.

Laughing, "We're here." She opened the door to her room. She plopped on the bed, and looked at Nathan, his eyes gleaming in the dim light.

He walked in, examining the room in awe. The walls were a soft lavender with white border. The carpet was a clean beige. Everything was tidy and in mint condition, mainly from Lilly or the other maids. This room was probably twice the size of Nathaniel's, maybe even the size of his house! A queen-sized bed with a lavender duvet lay in the center of the wall to the left. A white canopy of lacy curtains hung around the bed. A furnished wardrobe sat in the corner of the room. A medium-sized desk was across from the bed with a few books and pencil & paper. Straight forward, against the furthest wall, was a set of white French doors leading to the balcony.

"Now what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Nathaniel asked, drawing his attention from the gorgeous room.

Adiline knew what she wanted to say, but the words wouldn't come. How are you supposed to tell someone you love them? What if he doesn't love her back? They only just met, what if he finds her weird and stupid for loving him?

Adiline thought of no other words than, "I love you."

From Nathaniel came.....

Silence.

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Oh you knew it was gonna happen..Don't lie! Oh, you thought he was gonna say "I love you, too"? Well too bad! MWAHAHAHAHA!    >:o  

*evil laugh*