Royalty Exposed

Chapter 23

About twenty minutes after Carter and I had come into the playroom, where the television's volume was low and we were doing more talking than watching, a couple maids came into the room. They set up a table and then let us know that dinner would be coming in just under ten minutes. Carter told them thank you before the maids disappeared once the table had been set. I watched as Carter stood up and then held out his hand.

After taking his hand, Carter helped me up and then led me over to the table. He let go of my hand when we reached one of the chairs, which were across from one another and tucked underneath a small square table. I had never thought that the royal family had extra tables stored somewhere in their palace, but maybe they didn't always use the grand dining room that I had yet to see.

"Thank you," I said to Carter as he pulled my chair out and then let me sit down before helping me push in my chair. He went over to the second chair, pulled it out, and then sat down in it as he said, "Of course."

"Are your siblings' rooms nearby yours?" I asked him. He nodded his head as he took the napkin off of the table and then spread it over his lap. I did the same as he replied, "Their rooms aren't right next to mine, which is nice because sometimes they can be loud, but they're close enough that I don't have to go too far to find them."

"How old are they again? One of them is five, right?" I asked. If I were Emma, then I would know for sure, but since I wasn't, I couldn't exactly remember how old Carter's siblings were. I just knew that they were younger than him and that they weren't close in age.

"Yes, Amanda is the one who is five and Brian is ten. I'm sure you can relate to your younger sister more than I can, but I know we both can't relate to our younger brothers. I think they would like each other though. Brian's not one to get into too much mischief, that's my parents doing, but I'm sure two ten year old boys could find something in common," Carter said smiling at me.

I gave him a smile back and then said, "Sometimes I can relate to Jade and then there are other times I can't. Twenty and sixteen are two different ages, but I definitely can't relate to my younger brother. He's not interested in anything I'm interested in. Logan gets along with any kid that's around his age though. He seems to always find something in common with them."

"Did I get his age right?" Carter asked me. I shook my head and then said, "Logan's twelve, but he could still be ten in some people's eyes."

The maids came back just then, but there were more than just two of them this time. Both Carter and I fell silent as we watched them bring in dinner. All the dishes that they sat down on the table were covered with silver lids. And those lids didn't come off until the maids had sat everything in their place. It was obvious that the maids had done this many times before. None of them got in the way of any of the others. And they were quick.

That was probably the queen's doing. She didn't want to be in the same room as anyone who was below her so the servants came in and did what they needed to do unless the queen actually wanted them to stay in the room, like the one servant who had served us tea.

"If you need anything your highness, then please don't hesitate to ask," a maid, who I was guessing was the oldest, said to Carter. Her hair was slightly graying and she was rounder than the others. She gave off a motherly kind of vibe as I watched her.

It didn't seem like any of the other maids resented that she was older nor did it seem like the older maid resented the younger ones. From the short time they were in the room, I noticed they had smiled at one another and seemed to work well with one another without even needing to say a word.

"Thank you. We'll let you know if we need anything," Carter said smiling and giving the woman a nod. She turned her head towards the others, gave them a nod before all of the maids grabbed two lids with their two hands and then disappeared out of the room.