A Royal Internship | Complete

Chapter Thirty-Three

The door swung open and Clarence appeared in the hallway, so I instinctively stood to curtsey to him. He stepped into the room and bowed to us both.

"Sit down," Queen Adele said without greeting her son. "Both of you," she looked at me and pointed at the chair I had just vacated.

I nodded and sat down, wishing I was allowed to pull my feet up onto the chair and hug my knees for comfort right now.

Queen Adele walked around her desk and sat in her throne-like chair, folding her hands in her lap. Her gaze alternated between myself and Clarence until she spoke, "Do either of you want to tell me what we're doing here right now?"

I looked at Clarence to see him looking at the floor. No longer the fearsome king I'd seen in my room, but once again the timid child, afraid of his parents' scolding. A brief glance back at Queen Adele told me she wasn't going to let this go, so I turned to face her and folded my hands in my lap, too.

"This morning's outburst and last night's errors, perhaps," I tried to look polite but not smile too big and I'm pretty sure I ended up looking a bit like a wild animal. "I am sorry for making things more difficult," I started, "it was never my intention to-"

Queen Adele held up her hand to stop me, shaking her head. "No, that's not what I'm referring to. Though we'll get to that in a minute." She turned to face Clarence. "Is there anything you want to tell me?"

He lifted his eyes to meet hers and shook his head slightly, shrugging his shoulders. "No idea."

"Would it surprise you to know that I've spoken to Genevieve's mother?" Queen Adele watched both of us closely as realization must have dawned on our faces. I never told her about the dating, which means. . .

"And would it also surprise you to know that she's never heard of any internship with a palace until less than a month ago and wasn't aware her daughter was dating a prince?" Adele's gaze sharpened and she stood up, towering over us now. "You can imagine her surprise when I reached out to invite her to our ball at the end of the summer."

I winced, imagining what my mother must have felt in that moment. I wanted nothing more than to run from the room and call her immediately, apologizing until she'd let me come home again.

"I didn't tell her anything about dating Clarence," I admitted, hoping not to give away more than she knew.

She raised her eyebrow. "Come now, dear. We all know it's more than that."

I looked at Clarence, who was now studying his hands in his lap.

The queen looked at me, arms crossed as she waited for my response, but I couldn't bring myself to speak.

"Well, no matter." She uncrossed her arms and walked around the desk to stand right in front of me. "I think we all know there's more to this than meets the eye." She swung her hand between me and Clarence, confirming my worst fear. She's onto us.

I joined Clarence in looking down at my lap and twisting my hands together.

"First-" Queen Adele put her hand over mine- "I'm going to need you both to stop doing that. It isn't very regal."

I folded my hands in my lap and resisted the urge to bounce my leg.

"And you." She turned to Clarence. "You are going to do your job, keep your nose clean, and not make this any harder for us. Any funny business - and I do mean any - and I will take this straight to your father."

"You mean you aren't going to tell him?" I slapped my hand over my mouth, regretting the words as soon as they were spoken.

"Not if you both do as I ask." She smiled at me, but it was unnerving given what she knew.

When Clarence and I remained silent, Queen Adele continued, "And that means acting like a proper couple within the walls of this palace and everywhere else." She narrowed her eyes. She knows. "Which starts with a discussion and an apology."

"Sorry," Clarence mumbled.

"No." Queen Adele shook her head. "A real discussion, and a real apology."

Clarence returned to looking at his lap and Queen Adele turned to me. "And for you, it means meeting me tomorrow morning to join me in a royal engagement. I trust a day is enough time to sort out your etiquette and make sure you are presented correctly."

Yeah, sure. Who can't learn to be a princess in a day?

"Am I understood?" She crossed her arms and took a step back so she could look at both of us at once. I couldn't quite identify the expression on her face, but it reminded me of my own mother.

"Yes, ma'am." I nodded once.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Clarence lift his head and look at me before answering.

"Yes, Mother."

"Good." Queen Adele nodded and pressed a button on the phone on her desk. "I will leave you two to sort this all out then." She strode towards the doors, opening no doubt by some combination of the button she had pressed and the guards standing outside. "I expect not to hear anything but adoring gossip from the staff," she said with a smile. "And Genevieve, I'll send Olivia to you for some lessons this evening. Shall we say seven?"

I didn't have any time to think, but it didn't matter, because the doors had already closed behind Queen Adele, leaving me alone in the room with Clarence.

"Yeah," I said aloud, "I'll be in my room."

One look at Clarence and it was clear this wasn't going to be a fun conversation. He was back to looking at his hands in his lap. I took a deep breath and steeled myself for the conversation to come. Remember, it's just a job. You can do this.