A Princess in Paris

Chapter Four

Claude's POV

I waited for more than fifteen minutes for my sisters and Maria to come downstairs but they didn’t. I waited and waited for more than I had ever waited in my entire life; and soon I couldn’t wait any longer. I was known for being an impatient person, but still, I tried to calm myself down. I didn’t want to scream at them, but I wanted them to come down already. I headed upstairs to my sisters’ room. It was unusually quiet. The door was a little open so I let myself in. Maria, Charlotte, and Georgette were sitting on the couch and Maria was reading to them. Georgette and Charlotte were curled up next to her and they were all into the story. And for a moment, Maria looked like a seven-year-old, too. But they all looked so happy, that I decided that we should postpone the board game. This might seem a little weird coming from me, but I had to admit that seeing them together like that might have been the cutest thing I had ever seen in my entire life.

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Maria's POV

The girls and I were enjoying the book too much that we forgot that we had to meet Claude in the family room downstairs. I was sure he was going to be terribly angry. I looked at the little twins before I headed for the door. They were both yawning and scratching their eyes. They were sleepy. I looked at the clock. It was almost nine o’clock.

“Girls, let me help you take a shower so you can go to bed,” I told them after I knelt down so our eyes could meet.

“But we wanted to play Monop─” Charlotte started but couldn’t finish because she yawned.

“It’s okay. We can play again when Claude and I come back from the field trip. Okay?” I said. They both nodded and they headed for their bathroom. I helped them wash up. We said our prayers and they fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows. I kissed their foreheads and went to talk to Claude. I was sure that he was going to be twice as angry as I expected him to be before. Claude wasn’t in the family room so I decided to check his bedroom. As I reached for the doorknob, the door flung open and it hit me on the head.

It must have seemed like it hurt a lot because the next thing I knew was that Claude was touching my forehead and asking, “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

I looked up to meet his concerned face and replied, “I’m fine.” I took a step into his room and looked at the mirror. There was a tiny red spot in the middle of my forehead. I was sure it was going to disappear by tomorrow so I didn’t worry about it in the least. But Claude seemed to be really worried about my head.

“I’m sorry if it hurt, really,” he kept on repeating.

It wasn’t like Claude to seem so, I don’t know, concerned, so I finally shouted, “I’m fine already. It’s just a tiny spot that will disappear by next morning!” And with that, a shocked and sort of relaxed Claude sat on one of the big arm chairs in the room.

“But aren’t all girls supposed to take extra care of their faces?” He asked after we both calmed down.

“Girls like Daniella, yes. But I have more important things to take extra care of,” I replied confidently. Then I went on, “And I don’t think that a face like mine is worth taking good care of. It isn’t all that woopiedoo.”

“I think that your face is very─” Claude started. I waited, so he went on, “Um, never mind. Your face isn’t that bad. It’s ordinary, so it isn’t very bad.” That was exactly what I was expecting him to say, but for a guy as handsome and attractive as he was, he must have very high standards for a pretty girl. I swallowed hard. I knew I wasn’t pretty, but I didn’t want anyone, especially Claude, to rub that in my face. But I tried to ignore it, anyway. It wasn’t supposed to hurt me because Claude said it. So, I tried to change the subject.