Runaway Royal

05

"Change this color," my mother commands, a manicured nail pointing at my screen.

I bite the inside of my cheek and nod while wincing internally. What was the point of making me plan everything if she was going to nitpick at all my choices?

"What about champagne?" I offer, clicking on the color choice.

My mother only wrinkles her eyebrow slightly, the only indication that she's not yet satisfied. I sigh and browse through the colors again, feeling that they all look the exact same. I show her a different color, only slightly paler, and she nods in approval this time.

They're just napkins, but they have to be perfect too. My mother is going all out because apparently it shows our power to the world. It'll also be an open event, as she's opening the palace doors to everyone.

While I didn't mind the socialization, it feels like I'm an animal at the zoo being stared at or a prized possession only brought out to show off. Still, I guess that it would be nice to meet new people, even though I wasn't sure how many I would see.

"Adelyn?" My mother prods me in the back, which I straighten automatically.

"Sorry," I mutter, trying to hide the fact that I wasn't paying attention. Of course, nothing is lost by my mother, and she narrows her eyes at me.

"Pay attention. This is all for the most important day of your life, after all," she reasons.

This may be the first time I've agreed with her today, because it will be for the most important day of my life, as well as the worst day.

I only smile sweetly at my mother and nod. "Then we can go with the blush color."

The queen only gives me a nod. "I'll leave you to the rest. It looks good." Standing up, my mother gathers all her heavy skirts and breathes out the slightest sigh. "Don't disappoint me." With that note, she strides out of my room.

I click the color blush on the website, place my order, and shut down my laptop, pushing it away from me. My mother isn't a whirlwind of energy, but rather a hurricane of commanding force. And I'm always caught up in the hurricane. 

Feeling drained, I check my calendar of events and sigh in relief when I realize there is nothing planned for tonight. 

I turn on my phone and call Victoire, but she doesn't pick up. Firing off a quick text telling her to call me, I turn to social media to keep myself occupied. I have to keep my public account active, especially since my mother is pretty insistent on that.

Commands flood my notifications, thousands upon thousands piled up. Wow, the garden is so pretty. You're so beautiful. Please notice me!

The last time I posted was a week ago, and I knew that it was time to post again, and to publicize what I'm currently doing. 

"Hey, what are you doing?"

I glance up from my phone and grin when I see Anna coming in. "I'm just looking through Instagram," I reply, shrugging.

Her eyes light up. "Is it time to post again?"

My mother gave strict instructions to not post often and show that I'm obsessed with my phone, but also enough times to show that I'm doing well and having fun updating them with my personal life. Usually, I wait a few days or a week or so, which makes today a perfect day to post again.

"Yeah," I say, showing her my phone. "Maybe I can do a selfie."

"The royal princess resorting to a selfie?" Anna asks, teasing. She snatches my phone out of my outstretched hands. "Not going to happen. I'll take a picture of you in your gorgeous new dress."

I smile, smoothing over the folds in my dress. It truly was a pretty dress, and I really liked the tulle layers. "You're a life saver, Anna."

"I know I am," she replies, raising an eyebrow at me. "We can take it in the garden."

I gape at her. "Is this post that serious?" 

Usually, I cared about what I posted on my social media accounts, but sometimes, I wanted to post something silly and random to show that I wasn't as stuck up as my posts showed. That my life wasn't all picture perfect.

"It's almost your ball. You need to look as perfect as you can," Anna reminds me. She sounds just like my mother, but much kinder. I know she means well, so I concede.

"You'll join my ball too, right?" I ask as we head down the stairs.

Anna shakes her head. "The queen-"

"Don't worry about her. You really aren't coming?" 

She glances out the large windows, hiding her face. "Your mother wants you to have proper ladies-in-waiting," Anna replies softly. 

"I don't want ladies-in-waiting," I reply, almost snorting at my mother's ridiculous plans. "Why is that still a thing? What is this, the sixteenth century?"

Anna shrugs. "She didn't tell me much more, just said that I wasn't going to be able to come and accompany you." We reach the end of the staircase, and turn left towards the gate that'll lead us to the garden. "I think I'll be cleaning or doing behind the scenes work."

I immediately shake my head. "I don't care if she's the queen, you absolutely have to be with me," I declare. We've been talking about this eighteenth birthday ball since I was extremely young, and the plan was to always have Anna and Victoire by my side throughout the party.

"I can be your lady-"

"No, definitely not," I reply. I don't know what my mother is trying to do, but I'd rather not have any of them. "You will be there as my friend," I say firmly.

Anna smiles gratefully at me as she pushes past the door leading into the west garden. The warm air immediately hits us as the sun shines down heavily. "I'll be there if you manage to persuade your mom."

"I will," I promise. I can't imagine suffering through a ball without Anna. "I hope you aren't offended-"

"Of course not," she replies, pointing at a bench I should sit on. "I know it's your mom, not you."

I sigh in relief and sit on the bench, rearranging my skirts to drape over the edge. There's a plum tree by the bench, shadowing me with sweet smelling blossoms. 

"Smile!" 

I school my features into a wide smile, tilting my head and grinning into the camera. The shutter goes off, clicking as Anna tries different angles. 

Anna finally stops, staring at the pictures she just took. I get up and look over her shoulder. The pictures are really pretty. "You really have an eye for photography," I comment.

"You think so?" Anna asks, smiling. She slings the camera over the neck.

"Of course," I reply. I've complimented Anna on her photography work, but she never accepts the praise and brushes it off. She's definitely talented, but she's stuck here with me in the palace. In a way, we are both trapped.

Anna shrugs. "Let's go inside and we can pick the best one."

"Wait, what if I take a picture for you?" I offer, stopping her in her tracks. 

She immediately shakes her head, smiling ruefully at my suggestion. "No thanks. I like to be the one behind the camera, not the one in front of it."

I frown, remembering all the other times she's declined. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I just don't like having pictures taken of me."

I nod, understanding her feeling. While the press doesn't bother me that much anymore, paparazzi could definitely be annoying when they take unwanted photographs of me. I drop the subject and we head inside, locking the garden door behind us.

Flopping onto my chair, Anna tosses me the camera. I scroll through the gallery, admiring Anna's talent in the photos. It's not me that make the photos beautiful, it's Anna's eye for photography. I show Anna my favorite pictures, and she agrees that I should post them.

I bang out a quick post for my social media and hope it satisfies my mother.