Acting Royal #Wattys2017

15

JENNY

She only saw the back of him to begin with, but she could tell. The broad shoulders, the hair and way he walked, she knew it was the prince. And the two bodyguards following close behind him were a dead giveaway. She could also feel it was him. Every cell in her body told her so. Every fiber and every nerve was screaming out for him. As if sensing this, he suddenly turned. His piercing greens eyes found hers immediately and locked onto her.

He smiled, a smile that made her knees weak and her body ache for him. He strode towards her with wide fast strides and she braced herself for the collision. When he reached her, he didn't say a word, instead he walked right up to her and planted a kiss on her forehead, as if she was his.

"Good morning." He pulled away and stood opposite her smiling. Jenny looked down at the Victoria Secret parcel he was carrying. He hadn't been joking about buying her lingerie.

Rana glanced down at the parcel too. "You guys." She teased playfully. Her eyes drifted to the other parcels he was holding, "Going on a shopping spree brother?"

"Something like that." Zayn winked at Jenny, a gesture that didn't go unseen by Rana who smiled at them.

"You guys." She said again in a sweet sing-song voice.

"And you two? Also shopping I see."

"What can I say, it's what we women do best." Rana teased her brother. "Besides, I need a new dress for someone's birthday." Rana started glugging her coffee down in a very un-princess-like fashion. Jenny liked that about her, despite the royal title, she seemed very down-to earth. If you can call someone who's mode of transport is a helicopter, down-to-earth.

"So does Jenny." Zayn quickly said, sliding an arm around her and pulling her close. It felt great to have his arm around her. No, it felt better than that.

"It's okay. I have plenty to wear." Jenny said.

"But what about for my birthday," Zayn leant forward and kissed her on the neck, reminding her about the necklace he'd asked her to wear. "Sister, make sure she gets the perfect dress."

"But I..." Jenny tried to protest, but before she could, Zayn slid a shiny credit card into Rana's hand.

"I couldn't." Jenny said. "I already have so much."

Zayn cut her off. "Oh yes you could. And you will." His tone was low and husky and it made her heart pound a little faster than usual. "I have to get going, I have a luncheon to plan." Zayn pulled Jenny even closer and planted a quick kiss on her lips. It wasn't a passionate kiss, but rather a loving kiss. The kind that married couples gave each other. She liked it. She liked it far too much. And then he was off. She turned to watch him disappear across the street and back into the building that they'd just come from.

"It's so strange to see him this way. But nice. Really nice. " Rana said.

"What way?"

"So in love." She smiled at her now. "You've completely changed my brother. He's a changed man, I can see it."

In love? Impossible. She didn't believe it. How could anyone fall in love that fast? Jenny followed Rana back out of the coffee shop and into the heat once more as her head churned this information around over and over again. But her obsessive thinking was cut short when they stepped into a boutique. And before Jenny could get her bearings, she was surrounded by store assistants who were thrusting dresses at her- as if they knew exactly what she was there for.

She glanced around at the chaos, Rana stood in the center of the room now pointing furiously at things as shop attendants jumped in all directions. Like conducting an orchestra of people. Shoes here, a scarf there, more shoes, dresses, handbags, shoes again, it looked like this was something she did every day, she probably did.

"That one." She pointed at a long pale pink dress. . "You would look great in that. My brother will love it."

"What?" Jenny opened her mouth to protest once more about the – in her opinion- very unnecessary purchase, but she was shut up as Rana pushed her into a change room and handed it to her. Jenny felt completely overwhelmed once more and she couldn't get Rana's words out of her head.

"In love."

She hardly noticed that two assistants were busy unzipping her and helping her into the dress. She turned to look at herself and stopped. She gasped at the sight of herself in the dress. It was beautiful and it did look good against her pale skin. It was just the right amount of tight, hugging her curves in a subtle way. The neckline was low, but not too low, perfect for the necklace, she thought.

Jenny stepped out of the change room and Rana smiled. "You look amazing". Something pricked Jenny under the arm and she reached for it. She pulled it off and her mouth fell open in absolute shock when she looked at the thing in her hand. The price! It was insane; this dress cost more than everything she owned in the entire world, and more. She couldn't buy this.

Rana jumped up, pulled the label out of her hands and tossed it away. "It will be worth the look on my brothers face when he sees you in it, trust me."

Jenny nodded, although all she could really think about was how many homeless children it could feed. She was from Africa, this kind of wealth was like nothing she'd ever seen. And a part of her felt very uncomfortable with it.

Then it was Rana's turn to try things on. She chose a long red dress that was a little more modest and conservative looking than hers. Jenny sat and waited for her, but a small gap in the change room caught Jenny's eye and she was immediately drawn to something.

There, all the way down Rana's back were the most horrific scars. They twisted and contorted her skin into a mass of red lines and dents. They looked like burn marks and they must have been very painful. Jenny quickly averted her eyes before Rana saw she was staring.