Surprisingly Royal

👸Chapter 8 : Evening Dinner with the McCains

☆☆☆☆

Sunlight hits my face, waking me up instantly. I stretch, get out of bed, and open the one window in my room to let in some fresh air.

The sky's super blue today, which lifts my mood a little especially since I usually wake up grumpy. But somehow, a cup of tea with extra milk always turns my morning around.

I glance at the clock. It's already 8:45? Wow, time's flying.

By now, Mum's definitely left for the palace. That reminds me tgat there's only two days left till the royal festival. And I still don't have a decent outfit for the ball. Hopefully Mum has something nice in her closet that I can borrow.

I head to the kitchen to make my usual tea. As soon as I walk in, I spot a note from Mum sitting on the table. Same reminders as always, don't mess the house, lock all doors, and absolutely no stepping outside.

I chuckle, put the note back, and go ahead with my tea. Once I'm done drinking, I take a bath, then eat the pudding Mum left behind.

Since the neighbours are coming over later, I figure I should clean up a bit. It'd be embarrassing for them to see our place messy. I dust, mop, tidy every corner... and by the end of it, I'm both hungry and completely wiped out.

I whip up something simple to eat and, after finishing up, check the time. Just a few minutes left till Mum gets home.

I decide to squeeze in a quick nap to recharge for dinner prep. An hour later, I wake up to the sound of Mum making a racket in the kitchen. I step out of my room and find her searching through the cabinets.

"Good evening, Mum," I greet.

"Hey, sweetheart," she says with a warm smile. "Thanks for cleaning up. You've no idea how relieved I was to come home to a spotless house. If I had to deal with cleaning on top of cooking, I would've lost my mind."

I laugh. "It's nothing, really. I just wanted to help out especially with how hard you work for us every day."

"You're so thoughtful," she says, beaming. "If you keep this up, maybe I'll lift the grounding and let you go out tomorrow. Just promise me no more slip ups."

"Thank you, Mum!" I say excitedly, peppering her cheek with kisses.

"Alright, alright, enough with the cheesiness," she says, chuckling. "Help me find those pretty plates, the ones my friend from Pengvia gifted us. I want to use them tonight."

"Oh, the fancy ones? I think you kept them in the last cabinet to your right. I'll go check."

I was right!they're there, but dirty. I wash them and dry them off carefully.

Then we get to cooking. I help Mum with grilling the chicken while she handles the chips and her famous sauce. Once the main dishes are ready, she decides to make a fruit milkshake.

We shift the dining table closer to the sitting area to create more space since our kitchen is way too small for a dinner crowd.

Mum goes to her room and comes back with a gorgeous flower vase and a tablecloth I've never seen before. Honestly, I'm not shocked , I mean, we never decorate like this, so there's a lot I probably haven't noticed.

I still don't fully get why Mum invited the new neighbours. She says it's just to be nice, but I'm a bit skeptical. Still, I keep that to myself.

We finish setting up the table, and Mum tells me to go freshen up since our guests are arriving in twenty minutes.

As soon as I get to my room, I spot the red strapless dress on my bed. My favourite. It's knee-length, has a cute bow at the back, and just gives this grown-up, elegant vibe. I've always wondered who gifted it to me for my birthday. Mum only ever says "a close relative" and leaves it at that.