The Accidental Princess

1. Brown Eyes

    Castle Darkam sat in the middle of Nalae, the capital city of Arvendon. A sleek black car had picked me up from the airport. The driver- Gannon- had greeted me with a warm smile. He opened the door for me and addressed me as “Miss Underwood.” The car had black leather seats and the latest technology. It had to have cost more than my parents’ house and café combined.

    As we pulled up to the castle gates, my stomach dropped. This was not a place where I belonged, and I knew it well. The palace that loomed ahead was not inviting. It was not warm. It was cold and emotionless, just like Jacob had been the first night we met. The exterior was gray, and the trim was white. The windows were all dark, and the castle didn’t seem to have any touch of life to it. This now seemed less like a job opportunity and more like a death sentence.

       “King Alvin will want to see you immediately,” Gannon said, looking in the rearview mirror at me. “Settle in and then see the king. Best not keep him waiting.”

       At the palace’s front doors, two young servants helped me to my room. The room was small. A twin-sized bed sat in the middle of the left wall. A small desk was next to the window on the back wall. A large, wooden box wardrobe sat across from the workspace. It made the room feel smaller. I sighed and sat my bags down on the floor next to the bed.

    The two servants showed me down to the throne room. It was on the other side of the castle.  The girls chatted away ahead of me. I looked around as I followed them. The walls of the castle were bare. This was apparently a family who didn’t have a taste for history or memories. Or happiness, for that matter. There was a desk in front of the throne room where a balding man sat. The girls dropped me off there and then headed back down the hallway.

      “Did you have an appointment with the king?” The man asked, not looking up.

      “I’m Brianna Underwood, reporting for duty,” I answered.

      He glanced up at me and then scanned his paper. “Excellent. You’re five minutes early. The king will be most pleased to hear that. He does have a tight schedule and appreciates people who are on time. He and Jacob are quite alike in that sense.”

    Five minutes early? Was he tracking all of my movements? How could he have expected me to be there at a specific time? I scratched my head for a moment. This family didn’t make sense already.

    “Jacob? None of his other children share that trait?” I furrowed my brows.

     The man laughed. “Oh no. His other children are not as strict about time or anything, really. Drives the king mad.” He shook his head. “Oh, look. Five minutes are up. The king will see you now.” He got up and opened the door for me. “Do try to be respectful.”

      I nodded. “Thank you.”

      I walked into the room. The king stood up to greet me. I quickly bowed to him. He smiled.

      “Brianna, was it?” He asked.

      I nodded. “Yes, sir.” I prayed that my voice didn’t shake. “Thank you for inviting me into your home.”

     His smile grew, but there was hardly any light in his face. “It is a pleasure. You are quite talented.” He moved to sit back on his throne. “We have needed a personal designer for quite some time. But, you are here now, and we can get down to business. I have a contract for you. Before you can start working for my family and me, you need to know the rules. Arvendon and my family pride ourselves on tradition and obeying the rules and laws. So, read through them carefully and then sign when you think the terms are acceptable.” He grabbed a packet of paper and handed it to me. “I will give you a few days to look over the contract. That is all.”

       I bowed to the king, turned on my heels, and walked out. Outside the room, I finally looked down at the contract. It had to be ten pages long. I sighed and walked back to my bedroom.

    The contract was a list of rules. Nine pages precisely of crisply typed regulations on perfect white paper. It even listed the personality traits of the members of the royal family. But the most interesting was that the rules mentioned that there was no real heir to the throne. Instead, the first child to marry was named the heir. From what I knew of royalty- and, admittedly, was very little- this was not the norm.

      No relationships. Curfews. The Fitzcharles family had no shortage of rules and regulations. The royal family and their personal servants- including the designer- had to eat every meal together. I hadn’t seen Jacob since arriving at the castle. If he didn’t know I was here already, I’m sure he wasn’t going to be very happy when he found out.

      Two days later, I returned to the desk in front of the throne room. The man at the old counter looked up at me and smiled. Then, he sat down his quill and stood up.

     “Good morning, Miss Underwood. Are you here to see the king?” His voice was soft and pleasant, almost as if he was happy to see me.

    I smiled. “I just came by to drop off my contract.”

     “Perfect. The king will be pleased. I will take it from you.” He said.

     I nodded. “Thank you.”

     He took the contract from me. “You will be called upon once the king has a task for you. Until then, enjoy a little relaxation.”

    “Thank you,” I said. “Have a good day.”

     I turned and started down the hallway. But, but as I was making my turn, a tall figure appeared in my path. I looked up at wide brown eyes that were shocked to see me. Once again, I was stunned for a moment by how handsome he was. There was no blemish to his pale skin. He had to be over a foot taller than me, a distance I didn't mind for some reason. Like every time I had seen him before, he wore a tailored black suit that made him look taller and lean. The boy’s face quickly settled into an angry look. I knew he wouldn’t have been happy. I quickly bowed to him.

      “Your Highness,” I whispered.

      I tried to make an escape while he was distracted, but he caught my arm as I attempted to go around him. He pulled me back, glaring at me.

       “What are you doing here?” Jacob demanded.

    Any effect Jacob might have had on me before was gone. He was handsome until he opened his mouth. No amount of good looks could cover up his prickly personality, something I learned the very first time I had met him. Of all the seven princes I had met working for my previous designer agency, he was the one I couldn’t stand the most.

       I pulled my arm free. “I am the new designer for the royal family.”

       He shook his head. “Unacceptable. You will not be designing my clothes.”

       Heat rose to my face. I clenched my fists. “If you don’t like it, take it up with the king. Good day.”

       I marched to my room before he could say anything else. Once inside, I slammed the door a little harder than I had meant to. I took a deep breath and sank to the floor.