Princesses Are Treasures Worth Stealing

So Close

Isabelle's (P.o.v.)

I landed on the floor with a hard thud and before I could get up to apologize, I was rendered speechless. "Mamá?", I thought to myself, feeling my heart rate increasing. It seemed as if she was returning from the village with the company of the Grand Council. Confused was an understatement, "wasn't she just in the dining room? She must have left the table the same time I did", I finally concluded. I remained on the floor trying to remember where in this morning's conversation she mentioned visiting the village today; but I couldn't because SHE DID NOT MENTION IT. In a split second I remembered who I was, where I was going and what I was doing. I got up quickly, bowed to the Queen and greeted the grand council in one breath. "Your highness, Grand council, my sincerest apologies, lovely morning isn't it?", I managed to say in the best British accent I could muster up while still trying to cushion my anxiety.

Mother stared at me for what felt like forever, using her keen green eyes to pierce into my soul. She finally gave a heartwarming smile. " It is indeed a lovely morning my dear, apology accepted, however, try to be more careful". " Noted your highness and thank you, I will be on my way now", I bowed once again to leave. "Wait! the accent, you're visiting from England I presume?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. My heart stopped as I turned around slowly, thinking about a believable answer. "Ahh good ears, your highness, I am visiting from London" I answered hoping that answer was good enough. I had to leave soon because I had no idea of what she would ask next, and my British accent was quickly fading along with my attempts to stay calm. " Well, that's wonderful and may I ask when will you be returning to London "she questioned, now intrigued. " Next week your highness" I replied wanting to run. " Well, that's splendid, you will get a chance to meet the royal family. My daughter Princess Isabelle will be visiting the village tomorrow" she finished enthusiastically. " It would be an honor" I replied, feeling the intense stare of the grand council.

"Well, I won't keep you waiting, and your name?" she asked, smiling as she frequently did. "My uhm, my name is Cia your highness" I replied not knowing whether I was trying to convince myself or the Queen. " Such an American name, is it your first time visiting?, I don't believe I'm familiar with that name or is it that I just haven't reacquainted myself with the register?'', she stated turning to the grand council for closure. Her dark brown hair was pinned to one side allowing me a full view of her beautiful side profile. " It is actually my third, your highness" I lied, "Not to worry my Queen, we will do it first thing, upon returning to the palace" reassured Leo. He was undeniably tall and just as handsome with devilish hazel eyes. Leo was a trusted member of the Grand council and although he never revealed his age to me, he looked to be in his early twenties. I smiled at Leo and wished everyone a lovely day before strutting towards the village. " I just did that! I, Princesa Isabelle, just convinced my mom and the grand council that I was from London!" I thought to myself.

I prayed that at least five persons in this village had the name Cia or I'd be finished. "Cia ? of all the names I could have thought of", I sighed smiling sheepishly. I entered the village and was immediately greeted by the delicious aromas escaping from the bakery. I was still shaken up by what just happened, but I felt my body beginning to slowly relax as I walked closer to the cozy building. This guy with dark brown curly hair was standing at the entrance of the bakery waiting for me as planned. Brian opened the door smiling as his eyes met mine. "You're finally here, what took you so long? I've been waiting for like ten minutes now,' he stated pretending to be annoyed. "Sorry about that, I had to do a few chores this morning" I said mentally slapping myself on not being able to think of a better lie. "So... what are we buying today?", I asked him as we greeted Señor Calum, the baker.

"The almond croissant and strawberry cupcakes, we can have them in the village garden but we'll have to return to the central village shortly afterwards ", he went on to explain . I stopped listening when the word croissant was mentioned. We bought two servings of each item, tipped the baker and exited the bakery. The villagers were up and about handling their businesses, warmly greeting us as we went.

We finally arrived at the village garden and it was everything I dreamt of. There were exotic plants and flowers at every turn and thanks to the professional gardeners everything was well kept. This was the second time that I had been here, but I couldn't help but marvel at the creativity of the people. The benches were decorated with a variety of flowers, with each one having a small table directly in front with floral arrangement. The walkway was majestic with different varieties of flowers on each side and there was a fountain with a younger version of myself as the center of attraction. We sat down on one of the garden benches, ready to dig in when I remembered Brian saying something about the central village and that was when it hit me. There was only one reason that I could think of for anyone to go to that specific place; the village would be getting a visit from the ROYAL FAMILY. Immediately, I started to panic, "This had to be a joke, this was not happening, not today, not after what happened with mom", I screamed internally.

"She would definitely suspect something now and I couldn't refuse to go with Brian. What would I use as an excuse? ", I asked myself lost in thoughts. I was snapped back to reality by Brian's voice, "Rosa, have you met Princesa Isabelle ", he asked curiously. " Actualmente soy la princesa", I laughed to myself as the thought crossed my mind. "No, never met her", I replied, I was dreading the visit to the central village. "Why did you ask, are you interested in her?", I teased trying to lower my anxiety. "Definitely not! I'm not interested in helpless women", he answered a little too disgusted for my taste. If I am being completely honest, his comment did not phase Rosa but deep down it hurt me, Princess Isabelle. " Oh, I see", I replied, eating the last of my croissant, we then exited the lovely garden and started out for the central village. "That explained everything, that's why I saw mom, she was going to come here" I mumbled to myself.

" I didn't catch that", Brian stated, " ohh, I said I uhm, I really like your shirt today", I lied. He smiled at me before replying "So you didn't like the one I wore yesterday ", I rolled my eyes and we both chuckled. " Come on", he stated as he grabbed my hand and started running towards the huge crowd at the center of the village.We pushed our way through the crowd and were soon at THE FRONT. Stupendous idea since I was trying to maintain a low profile, I turned to Brian who was looking around keenly. "Guess your bride got cold feet", I teased thinking it would annoy him, but to my surprise he started laughing. I looked around to see the grand council and my mother, but I almost choked when I saw my father staring at me. "YOU THERE!, come here! what is your name?", he asked in a stern voice. "Uhm, uh Cia your highness", I stuttered bowing, before he could ask any more questions my mother started to explain who I was or who she thought I was. I looked over to see a confused Brian, "Cia?", he repeated. "She is the niece of Mrs. Bentley, One of the fashion experts in the village dear, she's visiting". Everything else was a blur, my heart was racing, I looked at Brian and excused myself from the king without him noticing.

I quickly pushed through the crowd and as soon as it was only me and the wind I took off. I ran back to the palace gates, took off my wig and headband, placed them in my side bag and loosen my hair in one breath. I was exhausted to the point where I couldn't even climb the gates. Luckily Clara saw my arrival and came to my rescue by letting me in without the guards noticing. When she saw my tired expression, she just understood what had happened, that was why I loved her, communication without words. I quickly entered the palace and ran up to my room where I changed into the velvet gown I had on before. I sat on my bed and thought about what just happened, I almost got caught and in front of everyone too. I left without explaining anything to Brian, My Mother thought I was Cia visiting from London while Brian thought I was Rosa who just moved to the village. Rosa was done for, Cia had an identity crisis and Isabelle was barely managing. It's funny to think that all this happened because I was tired of being a princess. Clara entered my room and walked over to sit on my bed. I started to explain exactly what happened to her. She scooted closer to comfort me and it was then I realized that I was crying.