To Love A Princess

Chapter Four

"You're sure you're going to be alright? I sincerely apologize if I made you feel anything earlier," Damen said as he folded the picnic blanket.

The weather was warmer than usual for it to be autumn so Damen had suggested we have lunch outdoors while the weather is still nice. He -well his kitchen staff- had packed cucumber sandwiches, sandwiches that only consisted of jam and an assortment of fruit. I had the people in the kitchen make us some tea with honey and lemon.

"Yes I'll be fine I'll figure out a way to tell her soon. I just need to do it before we walk down the aisle," I responded, placing the rest of his stuff in the basket.

"You're smart. You'll figure it out I know it," he smiled.

I gave him a small smile in return and handed him the basket. He placed a peck on my right cheek as a couple of guards had passed by. We walked to the stables in silence and I watched as he got his horse and placed the basket on the side pouch. That's new.

"I'll see you later on this week for breakfast. Hopefully you'll have something figured out by then."

Damen climbed on his horse and looked down at me.

"I sure hope so. I'll see you soon."

"I love you."

"I love you too my prince."

He pulled on the reins and took off. I sighed and started to walk back into the castle. Guards and workers were chatting about the wedding and how we need to buckle down on preparations for the wedding. The only thing I'm looking forward to is seeing what Olivia would be wearing. That and cake. Okay two things: Olivia and cake. I know the baker will whip up one of the best cakes I've ever tasted because how often is it that someone in the royal family gets married? And come to think of it, if I'm able to tell Olivia how I feel before the wedding, there really won't be a need to call it off. Also, my parents wouldn't have to know. On the other hand, they would be furious if I didn't tell them I wasn't going to marry Damen when they've had our staff working day and night to make sure my day is perfect. I also know Damen's father wouldn't be too ecstatic either. Who would have known being in love would cause so many issues?

"Your majesty there you are!" one of the butlers called.

I looked ahead of me and saw one of our many butlers, Hubert, come walking down the hallway in his black suit. Hubert was one of the oldest butlers here and the only one who refuses to retire. We try to give him limited duties since he's way past the age he can retire. His thinning gray hair and wrinkly skin shows that. But he refuses since he loves working for us and he's been here since my father took the throne.

"Hubert," I greeted. "How may I help you?"

"Your father wants to see you in his study. It sounded pretty urgent I must say."

I nodded. "Thank you. And can you do me a favor?"

"Anything for her royal highness."

"Can you please send a letter out to Olivia Moore from the Aden Kingdom and please let her know that I wish to see her tomorrow afternoon? It's urgent."

He nodded and bowed. "Of course I'll take care of that right away."

"Thank you Hubert. You may go."

I watched as he nodded and bowed once more and disappeared down the hallway he came from. I went the opposite direction and began to think about what my father needs to see me for. Does he know I have feelings for Olivia? That's impossible he can't know. No one else has been around when Damen and I talk about it. This is really getting to me for no reason. I really need to come clean to her as soon as possible. Hopefully I can do that tomorrow. Hopefully I don't back out and say something else that's not relevant to what I've wanted to tell her for such a long time.

Rounding the corner I stopped in front of the door that was separating my father and I. Sucking in a breath, I pushed open the large darkly colored wood door and it made a loud noise as it opened. My father was sitting at his desk reading over some papers when I entered. I stood by the door and looked at him.

"You wanted to see me?" I asked.

"Yes. Please close the door and come in," he responded.

I did as he said and walked over towards him, taking a seat in the black love seat that was placed on the other side of his desk. I can honestly say that I resemble my father more than my mother. I took his eyes and honey colored hair. We both had hooked noses which was the one feature I disliked about myself the most. That and how small my bosom is compared to the other princesses. The one thing I inherited from my mother was my round face and freckles on my cheeks. But you wouldn't even notice since I have a habit of covering them with makeup. My mother says there's nothing wrong with freckles, but I highly disagree with her.

"How are you and Damen doing?" he asked. "I never see you two together."

"We're okay. I was just with him a few minutes ago. We just had lunch together," I responded.

"I'm glad to know the wedding preparations aren't throwing the two of you off. Have you decided who you want your bridesmaids and maid of honor to be? Because if you don't have them in mind I-"

"I was actually going to have Princess Olivia be my maid of honor," I lied.

"And the bridesmaids?" he questioned.

"Inelda, Jessamine and Loryn. My ladies in waiting," I responded.

"Wonderful," he smiled.

"I was actually going to ask Olivia tomorrow. I had asked Hubert to send a request for her to come tomorrow," I told him.

Part of my response was true. She is coming over tomorrow but I wasn't even going to ask her to be my maid of honor. Truth to be told, I didn't even plan to have any because I strongly feel as if having a maid of honor is showing favoritism to one person. Your maid of honor gets to wear a dress completely different from the others and gets special treatment during the ceremony. She-and the staff- is the one who's liable for everything so if anything were to go wrong, all eyes are on her.

"That's wonderful. I hope she accepts the position. Have you and Damen decided what kind of cake you guys want? I don't want anything to be done last minute."

You wouldn't even know this is my wedding the way my father acts. But I know he just wants the best for his daughter. His only daughter at that. After I was born my mother became sick from conceiving and carrying me for eight months. Once I was born, she was told that it's not recommended she have any more children. If she has any more children, it'll probably kill her. No doctor in all the kingdoms could figure out what was wrong with her. She's still pretty sick and everyone is surprised she's held on for this long. She's bedridden now but she should have enough energy to attend my wedding. If there even is one.

"Um no. Damen and I will do a cake testing the next time we see each other I'll be sure of it."

"Excellent. I'll have the staff start baking small cakes once I know when he's coming. You two are really the most beloved couple in the kingdom. Far better than your mother and I. How do you do it?"

"Must be true love after all."

Seeing my father like this... just happy, happy at the idea of me getting married brings a smile to my face. My father rarely smiles in general and to see him smile makes me happy. Like I've completed some sort of life mission or something.

"You're dismissed."

I nodded and swiftly walked out of the room, closing the door behind me. Leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the door, I let out a breath of relief and began to panic on the inside. There's no way that I'll be able to tell Olivia the whole truth when now I have to ask her to be my maid of honor. This is going to be a disaster, I can already see it.

*****

When it was finally time for me to have dinner with my parents, well more so my father, I had come up with a way to tell Olivia how I truly feel. I could only hope that this wouldn't be a failure and that we'd have just enough time to devise a plan to still be able to take the crown and rule together when the time comes. But if our families don't want us together, we'd have to run away and start over. Hopefully it doesn't come to that.

I walked down the long chilly hallway wishing I had brought a cover up of some type with me. The castle always seems to be colder at night and I never understood why. But that's just the way it is I assume. Rounding the corner I came head to head with someone carrying a handful of dishes, which fell to the floor. Glass was shattered everywhere and I winced in pain from the fall.

"Ow," I whispered to myself, placing my hand on my back.

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry!" a high pitched voice apologized.

"It's okay," I responded calmly, even though it wasn't okay.

"No it's okay. My sincerest apologies. Is it obvious that I'm new?" she asked.

I stood up and dusted off my dress from lunch. I didn't bother changing my outfit since I'd been coming up with ways to tell Olivia how I really feel. Looking at the girl whom I crashed into, she wasn't kidding when she asked if it was obvious if she was new. All the current maids are already trained to balance a pile of dishes and be able to see where they're walking. The girl looked at me and gasped.

"I- Your highness I-I'm so sorry I should've been watching where I was going. Are you hurt?" she asked, clearly worried about what I'd do to her. Even though I'd do nothing to hurt her.

"Hey I'm okay. No blood no foul," I smiled.

"I promise that I'll get better at this, don't worry," she reassured me.

"What's your name?" I asked curiously.

"P-Paula," she stammered.

"Well Paula, here's a tip I've heard from the other maids that seem to make things easier. Just take your time, breath and don't rush. It's not something you need to master in one day. Just take your time with it," I told her.

She gave me a small smile, and her two front teeth were longer than the others. Kind of like a beaver but it suited her. A few other maids who were passing by saw the mess we caused and immediately came over to Paula's rescue. The three of them apologized for her clumsiness and made sure that I was alright, before ushering me out of their way so they can clean up the glass. I continued to be on my way to the dining room and felt as if tomorrow would be the day I finally tell her how I feel. Only one can hope that I don't say the wrong thing.