To Love A Princess

Chapter Eighteen

I knew it was only a matter of time until Isabelle would tell me that she doesn’t care about what other people would think about our relationship. That it didn’t matter and she’d do anything to be with me. 

“Like that will ever happen,” I mumbled to myself. 

“What was that?” one of my handmaids asked, as she sewed my gown together. 

Somehow, someway I managed to tear the bottom of it. I don’t know if it got caught in a branch and I just didn’t notice until I tried to put it on today. It was one of the dresses that made you trip over it but I have been practicing how to walk in dresses like these since I was seven. I’ve always been over the top. 

“Oh uh nothing. I was just saying that you are doing an amazing job,” I lied.

She thanked me and gave me a small smile, then got back to work. Looking in the mirror, my own reflection couldn’t convince me that I didn’t want Isabelle. There were just too many days where I wished she were with me in my arms, holding me close. Whispering sweet nothings in my ear as we watched the sunset. She has been on my mind a lot more than usual lately. Isabelle is all I can think about, but it doesn’t show. There’s no telling how this will end, but I hope it ends with her in my arms, as our friends and family clap and cheer to celebrate our marriage. One day, someday, we could be. One day we could be something great. We can defy all odds and break the social norm. But for right now, I’ll have to settle with being the best friend. The person who comes in second. The person who has to sit back and watch their lover get married to someone she doesn’t love. I know she cares about Damen. But she doesn’t love him like she loves me. He’s like the older brother she wished she had. The older brother she apparently has to marry. 

A heavy knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts, my head darted towards it to see who was about to enter. 

“Come in!” I called. 

One of the butlers came in holding a letter on a silver tray. He walked-more like waddled because of how big he was- over to me, bowing and then handing me the platter. 

“A letter from Princess Isabelle,” the butler told. 

“Thank you Gerald,” I said, picking up the white envelope. 

He bowed and I carefully tore open the letter. Her messy handwriting filled the page as I easily made out what she was saying. 

“Come to the palace today, it’s very urgent. 

-Isabelle”

Urgent news must mean something bad has happened. I hope everything is okay. Looking down, my handmaid was finishing up the last bit and cut the extra string. She fanned out the piece to make sure that it wouldn’t rip again and then stood up. 

“Thank you,” I said politely. 

She did nothing but nod. I watched as she grabbed her materials and left the room. I stepped down from the stool, careful not to rip it again and pulled a turquoise dress out of my closet. Slowly removing the dress I previously wore, I slipped into the new one, spinning around to watch the bottom fan out and spin with me. It was extremely form fitting I must say. It hugged my body in all the right places. The sleeves were hugging my arms but I still had room to move around. I left my hair up in the bun and slipped my feet into a pair of white flats. Hurrying out the bedroom and rushing to the doors, I saw that my carriage was making its way to the front door. My mother must have been gone this entire time. Skipping down the steps, one of the guards had opened the door and my mother exited the carriage. She gave me a confused look, almost as if I weren’t allowed to leave or something. 

“Where are you going?” she asked. 

“Princess Isabelle needs to see me. She says it’s urgent,” I responded showing her the letter. 

She gave me an “mhm” followed by a dismissive wave, telling me to get out of her sight before she changes her mind. I stepped into the carriage and the door closed. The driver let out a “heyah” and we took off. I just hope everything is okay. 

*******

As we drove down the path, my mind began racing as to what could be so urgent that she needed to see me right away. I hope it has nothing to do with her mother. I know she’s been sick for awhile and I can’t do anything but pray she will be okay. Or what if something happened between Isabelle and her father? I know they haven’t always been on the same page, and it seems to get worse whenever they talk about Queen Abbey’s condition. I just hope it’s nothing too serious, or serious at all. Or at least potentially life threatening. When I arrived Isabelle was waiting for me at the doors. She looked beautiful as ever in her gown. The purple really stood out against her skin tone. The mesh sleeves added a nice flair to it. One of her guards opened the door and I climbed out, walking up the steps. I earned a bow from her and I followed her actions. She said nothing as she led me inside. We started in the direction that leads to her bedroom. If she wanted to see me for this, then this is definitely urgent news. Why am I like this? I shouldn’t be having these thoughts around her. I’m so glad humans can’t read minds. If she could read my mind, she’d either be flustered, annoyed, or she’d have the same feeling I have every time I see her. 

“Thank you for coming on such short notice,” she smiled. "I honestly didn't expect this. Everything just happened so sudden and I didn't know if I'd be able to see you. But I'm glad you were able to come."

"You don't have to thank me, you're my best friend. I hope you know I'm always going to be here for you," I smiled in response. 

She opened the door to her room and I walked in first, taking a seat on the edge of her bed. My hands folded in my lap, and watched as she closed the door, practically getting caught in her own dress. It made me a smile a little bit and reminded me why I’m in love with her. Sometimes the embarrassing things she does is just plain adorable. 

"So I wanted to ask you something," she told me as she bit her lip. 

That lip bite. That damn lip bite really does something to me. How can something as simple as that make me want to lay her down and rip her dress off, and make love to her until she’s practically screaming my name? Sometimes I really wonder what’s wrong with me. I quickly zoned back in, praying she didn’t notice I had zoned out. 

"It must be really important if you wanted to see me in person. What is it?" I asked curiously.

"Will you be the maid of honor for my wedding?"

I hesitated for a moment. Not even a moment. More like half of a second before brushing it off and jumping off the bed, squealing in excitement. I grabbed both of her hands and jumped for joy. 

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

"I was waiting for you to ask me. I was thinking I'd just have outdress the guests and make it known I'm the maid of honor. How long do I have to prepare?" I asked

.

"Not long. Less than a week probably. I would've asked you sooner but I've been trying to avoid the wedding preparations. The doctor came by yesterday and said my mother's condition seems to be getting worse, and if I want her at my wedding I'd need to push it up," she explained.

My face fell. "How long does she have?"

Her voice began to crack. "A week at most but I don't want to believe that. She's a fighter and I know she'll get past this. She just has to."

I saw the tears roll down her cheek and I instantly pulled her into a tight hug, wrapping my arms around her waist. She rested her head on my shoulder for a brief moment, before I positioned her in a way where she was looking at me, my hands on her shoulders. 

"We're going to get through this," I whispered loud enough for her to hear. "As your best friend it's my job to be here for you in times of need. If you need anything just let me know and I'll do my best to do whatever it is you need me to do."

She sniffled and gave me a weak smile. My heart really fell for her. I wasn’t sure how I could help besides being there whenever she needs me. I can’t stand to see her like this. I wish there was more I could do to help. If I could take away her mother’s illness, I would. Not even just to make Isabelle happy. Queen Abbey has been more of a mother than my own mother has. 

"Can I ask you something?"

I nodded. "What's going on?"

"So I have this... friend who has a major crush on his friend and he doesn't know how to tell her. What do you think he should do?"

Oh you've got to be kidding me. She did not just refer to herself as a friend. And a male one at that. I looked at her in confusion but then fixed my face so it could return to my normal resting face. But then it turned into a smile moments later. I have to play stupid. If she’s not ready to tell me the truth, I won’t force her to. I believe she’ll tell me once she’s ready. She will. I just know she will. 

"I think I know who you're talking about," I responded.

"You do?"

"I believe so yes," I nodded.

She let out a sigh of relief, releasing a breath. "Oh thank God because I didn't know-"

"Prince Damen likes someone else and he doesn't know how to tell her."

"Wait what?"

"Come on it's not that hard to figure out. Your marriage is arranged and you don't like him. And the only reason why he doesn't know how to tell her is because you two are getting married and there's not a chance he'd be able to get out of this marriage with you to be with her."

"Er.. um yeah," she stammered. "He does indeed have feelings for someone else."

I can't believe I’m going with this. What in the world am I doing? I already started the lie, and I don’t want to make her more nervous than she already is. I don’t want to force her to do anything she doesn’t want to do. That’s just not in me. 

"Tell him that he just needs to be honest with her. Explain the situation between the two of you, assure her that it's only for business and that you two have no feelings for each other at all. And if she can't get past it, then she's the one missing out."

"Yeah.. I'll be sure to tell him that."

I rested a hand on her shoulder which caused her to look into my brown eyes. My heart began to feel as if it was going to flutter once I made contact with her. 

"Your mother will be fine," I reassured her with a nod.

She simply nodded and laid her head on my shoulder. Oh Isabelle, if I could take your pain away I would. I don’t want to see you sad. I want to see that pretty smile on your face when I’m around.