Royal Obligations

chapter 49: 150 Dresses

The moment Queen Hero stood up on stage and made the public announcement about me and Forrest's engagement, and how we were going to be married in one week, nothing about my life was relaxing anymore. I was silly to think that marriage was just a simple thing to bind love. For Illéa, it was more of a finale to a hit television show. Maybe I could change that. It's weird to think that I have the ability to do such a thing. That I will be queen one day.

Every time I went to sit down, Taylor would be rushing into my room with Victoria, demanding I go to another dress fitting or that I choose the table settings or something I thought was completely ridiculous. I didn't care about any of those things. All I wanted to do was marry Forrest, I didn't care about the music or the food. Well, that's not entirely true. Eating samples of about hundreds of different cakes was a highlight for both me and Forrest.

"Lila! Wake your little ass up! We have to go choose a dress!"

I groan loudly and shift in my cozy little spot on the chair I managed to find refuge in. "We don't have to do anything."

I'm suddenly whacked with a hard pillow by Taylor as I scramble out of my only source of comfort.

"What the hell?" I glare at her angrily.

Taylor rolls her eyes. "Your dresses came in today. Time for you to choose one. What were you even doing?"

"What was I thinking!" I say dramatically. "I cannot sleep during a time like this! Who needs to be well rested and relaxed during times like these- certainly not me."

"Exactly." Taylor flips her brown hair over her shoulder.

"That was sarcasm." I say annoyingly.

Taylor rolls her eyes. "I know it was, I just chose to ignore it."

"Why do you care so much anyway?" I sigh. "Why haven't you gone home yet?"

Taylor stiffens. "You may have forgotten over all the excitement of your upcoming wedding, but this is the safest place for me to be right now. For me and my family. If I go home, what is stopping them from tracking me? What if while coming after me they go after my family?"

I frown. "I'm sorry."

Taylor lets out a long breath. "Don't apologize. You have nothing to apologize for. Let's just... Go."

I rub my eyes, hoping that will wake me up just a little. "How long will this take?"

Taylor shrugs. "Depends on how many dresses you try on. All one hundred and fifty of them were tailored just to fit you."

"One hundred and fifty!?" I shout, surprised Taylor says this like it's a normal thing. "What happens to the other hundred and forty nine of them?"

"I'm not sure, actually. They probably rip them apart to reuse the fabric or re-sell the fabric."

"Why couldn't I just try on dresses like a normal person then get them tailored later?"

"Because first of all, you are not a normal person you are a princess. And second, that takes a shit ton of time, Lila. You only have a few more days."

Just the thought of getting married in such a sort amount of time makes my hands shake with anxiety. "And creating one hundred and fifty fucking dresses doesn't take a shit load of time?"

"Hey," Taylor scolds. "Watch your mouth. Like I said, you're going to become a princess soon."

"Taylor is absolutely right." Princess Nadia saunters over to us while Taylor and I were walking down the hall to wherever the hell I was trying on all these dresses. "Half of those dresses are options you may choose for your coronation ceremony."