Princesses Are Treasures Worth Stealing

So Close

Isabelle's (P.o.v.)

I landed on the floor with a hard thud and before I could get up to tell this person a piece of my mind, I was rendered speechless. "mamá?", I thought to myself, feeling my heart rate increasing, it looked as if she was returning from the village, with the company of the Grand Council. I was so confused, "didn't I just leave her in the dining room? She must have left the table the same time I did", I finally concluded. I remained on the floor trying to remember where in this morning's conversation she mentioned visiting the village today, but I couldn't because she did not mention it. In a split second I remembered who I was, where I was going and what I was doing, forcing myself to get my ass off the pavement. I bowed to the Queen and greeted the grand council in one breath, "Your highness, Grand council, lovely morning, isn't it? my sincerest apologies", I managed to say in the best British accent I could muster up while still trying to cushion my anxiety. Mother looked at me for what felt like forever, using her keen green eyes to pierce into my soul. She finally gave a heartwarming smile before answering " It is indeed a lovely morning my dear, I accept your apology, but you should try to be more careful". " Noted your highness and thank you, I will be on my way now", I bowed once again and said my salutations to leave. "Wait! the accent, you're visiting from England I presume?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. My heart stopped as I turned around slowly thinking about a believable answer. " Ahh good ears, your highness, I am visiting from London" I answered hoping that answer was good enough. I had to leave soon because I had no idea of what she would ask next, and my British accent was fading along with my attempts to stay calm. " Well, that's wonderful and may I ask when will you be returning to London "she asked, now intrigued, " Next week your highness" I replied wanting to run. " Well, that's splendid, you will get a chance to meet the rest of the royal family, especially my daughter Princess Isabelle who will be visiting the village tomorrow, you remind me of her" she finished enthusiastically. " It would be an honor" I replied, feeling the intense stare of the grand council. "Well, I won't keep you waiting, can I have your name before you go?" she asked, smiling as she frequently did, "My uhm, my name is Cia your highness" I replied not knowing whether I was trying to convince myself or the Queen. " Such an American name, is it your first visit, may I ask because I don't believe I'm familiar with that name or is it that I just haven't reacquainted myself with the register since I've returned from Egypt'', she said turning to the grand council for closure, giving me a full view of her dark brown hair and side profile. " It is actually my third, your highness" I lied, "Not to worry my Queen, we will do it first upon returning to the palace" reassured Leo. He was very tall and just as handsome, chiseled jawline, a fit body, jet black hair and devilish hazel eyes. Leo was a trusted member of the Grand council and although he never revealed his age to me, he looked to be about 23. I smiled at Leo and wished everyone a lovely day strutting towards the village," I just did that! I, Princesa Isabelle, just convinced my mother and the freaking grand council that I was from London, that was Crazy" I thought to myself. I prayed that at least five persons in this village had the name Cia or I'd be screwed. "If at least five people have that name, then mother wont think anything of it", I thought to myself. She receives an update every month with the names of everyone in our village whether newborns, migrants or visitors so even if she did not remember a person's face, she would most definitely know the name.

When I entered the village, I was greeted by the delicious scents coming from the bakery. I was still shaken up by what just happened, but I felt my body begin to slowly relax as I walked closer and closer to this God sent building. This place was amazing and to add to my excitement this guy with dark brown silky hair was standing at the entrance of the bakery waiting for me as planned. Brian opened the door smirking as his green eyes met mine. "Hola, you're finally here, what took you so long? I've been waiting for like ten minutes now,' he stated, smiling widely. " Hey Brian, sorry about that, I had to do a lot of chores this morning" I said mentally slapping myself on not being able to think of a better lie. I really respected Brian in spite of the fact that we only met the day before, he had this goofy personality which I thought was adorable and I loved that he was totally himself around me. "So, what are we buying today?", I asked him as we greeted Señor Calum, the baker. He replied saying that we would get croissant and the famous chocolate cupcakes after which we would go to the village garden to have them then we would have to return to the central village to do something. I had stopped listening when the word croissant was mentioned as they were my favorite. We bought two servings of each item, tipped the baker and exited the bakery. We walked by the different local business places and went through the central village greeting the villagers as we went.

We finally arrived at the village garden after a tiring walk, but it was totally worth it, standing at the grand entrance gave us a full view of this masterpiece, it was beautiful. There were exotic plants and flowers at every turn and thanks to the professional gardeners everything was well kept. This was the second time that I had been here, but I couldn't help but marvel at the creativity of the people. The benches were decorated with a variety of flowers, with each one having a small table directly in front with floral arrangement. The walkway was majestic with different varieties of flowers on each side and there was a fountain with a younger version of myself as the center of attraction. We sat down on one of the garden benches, ready to dig in when I remembered Brian saying something about the central village and that was when it hit me. There was only one reason that I could think of for anyone to go to that specific place; the village would be getting a visit from the Royal family. Immediately, I started to panic, "This had to be a joke, this was not happening, not today, not after what happened with my mother", I thought to myself. "They would definitely suspect something now and it was not like I could refuse to go with Brian because it would seem weird", I sat there lost in my thoughts. I was snapped back to reality by Brian's voice, "Cia, have you met Princesa Isabelle since you have been here", he asked curiously. "Well, actually I am the princess", I laughed to myself as the thought crossed my mind, "nope, never met her", I replied. I was dreading the visit to the central village, trying my best to ignore my heart pounding in my throat. I trusted Brian but not enough to let him know who I really was. "Why did you ask, do you have a thing for her?", I teased him trying to lower my anxiety. " Definitely not! I don't like helpless women, I was just curious", he answered a little too disgusted for my taste. To be honest his comment did not phase Cia but deep down it hurt me, Princess Isabelle. " Oh, I see", I replied, eating the last of my croissant, we then left the garden making our way to the center of the village where they usually meet the Royalties. "That explained everything, that's why I saw mom, she was going to come here" I mumbled to myself, " I didn't catch that", Brian stated confused, " ohh, I said I love your shirt", I lied. He smiled at me before replying "Can't say the same", I shoved his shoulder and we both chuckled. " Come on", he stated as he grabbed my hand and started running, we exited the garden and ran towards the huge crowd at the center of the village.

We pushed our way through the crowd and were soon at THE FRONT. stupendous idea since I was trying to maintain a low profile, I turned to Brian to tease him. "Guess your bride got cold feet", I said knowing it would annoy him, but to my surprise he started laughing. I looked around to see the grand council and my mother, but I almost choked when I saw my father staring at me curiously. "YOU! there, come here! what is your name?", he asked in a stern voice. "Uhm, uh Cia your highness", I stuttered bowing, before he could ask any more questions my mother started to explain who I was or who she thought I was. I only heard her say "she is the niece of Mrs. Bentley, One of the fashion experts in the village dear, she's visiting", then everything else was a blur, my heart was racing, I looked at Brian and excused myself from the king without him noticing. I quickly pushed through the crowd and as soon as it was only me and the wind I took off. With my heart pounding in my chest, I ran back to the palace gates, took off my wig and cap, placed them in my side bag and loosen my hair in one breath. I was exhausted to the point where I couldn't even climb the gates, but luckily Clara saw my arrival and came to my rescue by letting me in without the guards noticing. When she saw my tired expression, she just understood what happened, that was why I loved her, communication without words. I quickly entered the palace and ran up to my room where I changed into the velvet gown I had on before. I sat on my bed and thought about what just happened, I almost got caught and in front of everyone too. I left without saying anything to Brian, My Mother thought I was from London while Brian thought I just moved to the village. Cia had an identity crisis and Isabelle was barely managing, it's funny to think that all this happened because I was sick and tired of being a boring princess. Clara entered my room and walked over to sit on my bed, she started to comfort me and it was then I realized a tear slipping from my left eye.