Ophelia Grace Cartwright always knew she was capable of so much more than sweeping the floors of the castle. When she catches the eye of the prince, her life takes a turn for the better or the worse as she's thrust into a spiral of deceit, jealousy...
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"Take a risk," the Prince's soft voice sends shivers down Ophelia's spine. "at least try to-at least try to know me."
"I'm not even allowed to be having a conversation with you, Your Highness." Ophelia felt out of breath; as if she had just run a marathon. It was true, she wasn't allowed to converse with the Royals if it wasn't about work. "I don't even think I should be this close to you."
"I don't care. Nobody has to know just yet. And please just call me Shawn." The prince chews gently on his bottom lip. "We're equals, Ophelia Grace. There's no need for formalities."
Ophelia nods. "Okay."
"Will you give me a try?" Shawn felt as if his heart would beat right out of his chest as he watched Ophelia's expression. "I know I may have said today was the first time I saw you. That was a lie," he spoke, blushing and fiddling with his fingers. "I've seen you many times, Ophelia, and I've heard so many amazing things about you from the other staff. I'm willing to try for you."
This came as a shock to Ophelia. Shawn could tell. Ophelia had never even seen the prince before today and he had already caught sight of her a number of times. She understood that she must have simply not seen him or not known of his presence but the thought still sent a flutter of butterflies in her stomach.
"Alright then," Ophelia's eyes flickered towards the door. She didn't really have the energy to carry the conversation on any longer. "but Your Highness, I really must take my leave now. If I could-"
"Of course," He cuts her off, his eyebrows involuntarily furrowing. "I assume Aaliyah would want you awake before her in the mornings. It's really one of the only time's she would need your direct help."
Ophelia lets out a silent sigh, awkwardly curtsying and leaving the prince's chambers. She ignored the grimace that made its way onto his face as she navigated the short distance to her own quarters. It seemed as if Shawn was the only thing on her mind and she mentally scolded herself for not having handled her situation with him well enough.
As soon as she had stepped into her new chambers, she made a move for her bed. It was nowhere near as warm and soft as the prince's was. Within a matter of seconds, Ophelia was engulfed in a sudden fatigue, falling asleep despite the discomfort of her uniform.
Shawn lay awake in his bed, his mind running wild with the thoughts of the conversation between him and Ophelia. He knew and understood that he only gets one shot at courting her and he didn't want to mess up.
But as much as it hurt him to think about it, his mind soon wandered to the impossibility of their relationship ever lasting. He was stepping on unstable ground by simply talking to her the way he had only minutes ago. Shawn knew his parents would disagree and even more so would the Royal Court.
Prince Shawn Mendes is the heir to the throne. He's going to be a king one day. Imagine the out cry if he was to fall in love with a poor servant girl? Nobody would like the idea of a financially unstable commoner as their next queen-at least not in this day and age. The whole idea of not being able to let himself eventually fall in love with the first girl that he had truly had some sort of feelings for made his heart ache. He was aware that it would be difficult for him and Ophelia to even be friends. But he would do what it takes.
The next morning seemed to arrive quickly. Ophelia felt as if she had only three minutes of sleep despite having slept almost peacefully throughout the whole night. Thankfully, Gauri had known that her daughter would oversleep and had come knocking on her door an hour before the time that the princess would need Ophelia by her side.
"Good morning, Ophelia," The princess smiled, watching as Ophelia set down a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits on the coffee table. "I hope you slept well."
"I did, Your Highness," Ophelia smiled, still awkward in Princess Aliyah's presence. "Thank you for having the room prepared for me."
"I should be thanking you," Princess Aaliyah said, grinning at Ophelia. Her eyes shone with her youth and her smile glimmered with playfulness. It reminded Ophelia that the princess was still only a thirteen-year-old girl. Her heart ached to know that she had been forced to mature beyond her age.
Ophelia shook her head. "There's really no need."
"My brother was uncharacteristically giddy this morning," Aaliyah spoke, cheekily making sideways eye contact with Ophelia. "And I have a strong feeling it was because you two were together last night."
"Princess Aaliyah, I really don't know what you're talking about-"
"Am I that easy to forget, Ophelia Grace?"
Ophelia held back a gasp, biting her tongue and whipping around to see Prince Shawn standing in the doorway of his little sister's chambers. His shoulder was pressed against the doorframe, one leg loosely crossed over the other and his arms folded over his visibly toned chest. Ophelia tried not to stare. Even though he must've just woken up, he was absolutely breathtaking.
"Your Highness," Ophelia curtsied, bowing her head out of duty. Shawn sighed, rolling his eyes.
"Please," he said, gently. "remember what we said about formalities."
Upon hearing this, the princess' eyebrows shot up. She knew her brother better than anyone else and she knew he didn't just let anyone address him informally. It was now that she realised just how at ease Shawn seemed to be around Ophelia. His muscles were relaxed, his eyes shone and he didn't worry about carrying himself like a prince.
Ophelia nodded, awkwardly chewing on her lip as Shawn stepped towards the princess and pulled her into an embrace. It was obvious to anyone that she meant the world to him and that he loved her endlessly. It was also obvious that she felt the same way about her brother as he felt for her.
"Can she take the day off?" Shawn whispered into his sister's ear. She snickered, realising that her mother and aunt would have definitely scolded her for doing so.
"It's her first day, Shawn," she said, shaking her head. "She can't take the day off."
"Worth a try." Shawn chuckled, pulling away from Aaliyah and turning to an oblivious Ophelia. He let out a breath at the slight tint on her cheeks.
"Ophelia," Princess Aaliyah walks around to her wardrobe, glancing at Ophelia as she pulled it open. "I forgot to give you your new uniform. You don't have to wear it today but tomorrow would be good."
Ophelia nodded, taking the clothes that Princess Aaliyah was handing her. She held it by her side as she turned to leave the princess to drink her tea. With a fleeting glance at the prince, she made her way out and into the hallway of the castle.
