A Royal Internship | Complete

Chapter Eighteen

Getting ready for dinner turned out to be a much more involved process than I thought. There was hair and makeup and, of course, the gown and shoes. But there were also requirements for my jewelry and nail polish and probably a hundred other things I was certain I would never learn.

"Do I really need the bracelet?" I questioned Olivia while she was putting the finishing touches on my hair.

"Yes, you really do," she said and stepped back from me so I could look at myself in the mirror.

I have to admit, I definitely look like a real princess.

Marinette smiled at me while she secured a large necklace around my neck from behind me. "If you don't mind me saying so, Miss, I think you might be the most beautiful person I've ever seen."

Olivia fought to keep her laugh to only a snicker, but I didn't bother holding it in.

"Oh, Marinette, we're going to get along wonderfully!" I laughed.

Marinette joined in our laughter until a sharp knock at the door reminded us of why we were there.

"I'll get it, Miss." Marinette curtseyed and left the room to answer the door.

I allowed Olivia to tuck another pin into my hair. It was struggling to stay into any of Olivia's usual styles, so she had vowed to learn something new. I couldn't tell it was something new from looking at it, though.

When she stepped back, I stood up from the chair and walked out of the room towards the door to the hallway where Clarence stood waiting for me. He was wearing a suit with several colourful medals attached, but I had no idea what they were for. He'd also had his hair cut since we arrived. The shorter look went well with his formal attire.

"You ready?" He offered me his arm. Is that going to be your catch phrase now, or something? Of course I'm not ready!

"Yes." I nodded.

As I closed the few steps between us, I could see his eyes wandering across my outfit and back up to my eyes. When our eyes met, he smiled at me and offered his arm. I closed the few steps between us and slid my arm through his.

A guard opened the door, and we stepped into the hallway, now dimly lit without the sun streaming through the skylights. Turning towards the grand staircase, or at least I think that's the way we turned, I heard the guard close the door to my room.

With the door closed, we were allowed the privacy of the hallway. Or at least as much privacy as there was in a palace. I looked around. "Clarence? Is it just me or is this palace extremely empty?"

He pointed ahead where a guard was stationed motionless near an entrance. "It's not completely empty, but it slows down a lot around supper time. Most people are at dinner now or will go soon and then most of the staff have evenings off to do what they please. So it can seem a bit spooky at night."

"I'll say," I whispered under my breath, unsure if he could hear me.

He guided me around a corner and to the grand staircase from earlier and then stepped around me so I could use the handrail with one hand and hold his arm with the other. He must have had some idea how confining this silvery ball gown was, and how unsteady I felt in these excessively high heels.

"Thank you." I took hold of his arm as we began our descent. "So what are we going to discuss tonight? I'm not really sure how to handle this whole thing. Do I tell them about my real self or do I invent answers?"

He looked down at the steps and continued to hold my arm while he answered me, "I think it's best to keep everything as close to the truth as we can without alerting anyone to the status of our relationship." He whispered the last part and looked around to see who might have heard.

"So your dad doesn't know anything?" I asked.

"No one does." He slid my arm through his as we stepped onto the shining marble of the entry hall. "Which is why we must be a couple at every moment we could be seen by staff." He looked into my eyes again and shrugged before adding, "It's not so bad."

It was so hard to place his attitude. Did he know what Janet had done, and he was toying with me? Or had Janet excluded both of us from her little ploy? With how little I knew him, there was no way to figure it out. Sometimes he seemed like a really nice, genuine person, like right now. And other times, he seemed like the player bad boy prince the media thought he was, like when I had first met him.

We walked in silence down a long hallway with a red rug periodically held down with golden brackets. My heels made only a dull thump instead of the click from the marble. Finally, a small group of people became visible at the end of the hall.

"Time to put on my game face?" I whispered to Clarence.

He nodded. "Yes, I do believe it is." He adjusted the way my fingers were resting on his arm and covered my hand with his own as we approached his family.

We stopped a few feet from them, and he bowed while I curtseyed.

"You look beautiful, Genevieve." Queen Adele kissed my cheek. "I'm so glad you could join us."

I looked at Clarence, who urged me to answer, so I turned my head back to Adele and smiled. "Thank you for inviting me. I'm delighted to spend time with you all." I turned to Clarence for confirmation and he smiled back at me. That had to mean I didn't do too poorly, right?

"Let's go in, then." Adele smiled and swept her hand toward the door where Clarence's younger sister, whose name I had already forgotten, was standing. She might be five years younger than us, and at least a foot shorter, but she carried herself just as you'd expect a princess to — tall and poised.

I pulled my shoulders back to match her posture as Clarence and I walked up to stand behind her. Once the king and queen had taken their places immediately behind us, King Richard spoke to the two men standing on either side of the door. "We are ready."

I gripped Clarence's arm as the white and gold doors swung open to reveal a room large enough to host a ball. I could feel my palms beginning to sweat and my chest starting to tighten, so I focused on the table in the middle of the room and on keeping my pace in step with Clarence.

His sister walked in first, and Clarence seemed to keep a consistent distance between us and her as we walked. I made a note to ask Marinette about that later.

When his sister turned, I made to follow her, but Clarence pulled on my arm with his, urging me to follow him to the other side of the table. I stumbled only a little and was quickly able to regain my composure, walking around the table to stand a few feet behind one of the chairs.

Clarence let go of my arm and stepped to the right until he was also behind a chair. I stood across from the princess, while Clarence stood across from his mother. The king, of course, was standing at the head of the table.

Once we had all stopped moving, as if by magic, five attendants arrived in full uniform to pull out our chairs for us. I followed the princess's lead and stepped in front of my chair and then followed her gaze to her father. When he sat down, I felt a chair gently bump the back of my knees, so I bent them and sat down myself. Clarence was the last to sit, which seemed odd as he was next in line to the throne. Another thing to ask Marinette.