Royals of Illéa

Chapter 9-House Warming

-Josie-

It's been nearly a week since we came to France. Kaden and I have fallen into a routine around his working hours and we recently decided to host a party at our house to get to know our neighbors, who happen to be mostly French aristocrats and some are even Kaden's work colleagues, various ambassadors.

Kaden provided me a list of the people who he wants to invite and I ask the local help to compile a list of our neighbors, around ten of the nearest families. I throw myself into the party preparation with Amarna keeping track of everything for me.

One morning when I was about to head to the city to look at dresses at boutiques, I realized that Amarna was still curtsying and calling me 'your highness' so I immediately put an end to that. I asked her to refer to me by my name.

Everything was perfect on the day of the party. My emerald green dress was beautiful, my hair curled and make up done to perfection. The party hall was all decorated and set for the party. Kaden had arrived home early to play his part as host. He loved my idea of using large flags of Illea as tapestries and all of the dishes being served were also Illean delicacies.

Our neighboring ladies are all gracious and very welcoming as I meet them when they arrive. Some even invite me over for lunch that I agree to, eager to make friends in this new country.

I'm in the foyer double checking things with Amarna when a shrill voice makes my head snap up from the paper I'm holding, "That's cashmere! Be more careful!"

The voice belongs to a woman not much older than me. I quickly hand the paper back to Amarna and move towards her.

"Is there something wrong?" I ask.

"Who are you?" The woman places a hand on her hip as she turns to look at me.

I already don't like her attitude but I clasp my hands in front of me as I politely introduce myself, "Hello. I'm Josephine Schreave."

"Ah! The newcomer." She studies me from head to toe before adding, "I'm Vivienne Clément. I live just down the road with my husband who is an advisor to the Queen of France."

"It's very nice to meet you Vivienne. I hope to see you more often now that we're neighbors." I force myself to smile at her.

"We'll see." She snaps before walking past me towards the hall's doors where she snaps at the butler for being too slow in opening them for her.

I sigh as I ask Amarna if there's anything requiring my urgent attention before joining the party in the hall. I have already been introduced to all the guests so I chat with some ladies and comment on how pretty some of the dresses are. My own dress gets me plenty of complements as I mingle and talk to the guests.

Kaden makes a speech for which I join him at the front. He wraps an arm around my waist as he thanks everyone for joining us and lets them know that we look forward to getting to know each couple more personally.

The party continues well past midnight but mercifully Vivienne is one of the first guests to leave. Kaden and I see off the last few guests and once we hear the last car drive away, he turns to me and holds up a hand for a high five. Despite being tired, I laugh and clap his hand with mine.

"Congratulations, the party was amazing." He kisses my cheek.

"Thank you very much." I smile at him.

Kaden sits down in one of the armchairs in the living room and I sit down on the sofa across from him. I ask a butler for some tea with honey as Kaden and I talk about the guests.

"Was it just me or was that one lady really not nice?" He asks me and I immediately know who he's talking about.

"Her name is Vivienne. She was rude to the butlers too. Definitely didn't seem to be friendly." I sigh as the butler returns with the tea tray and sets it on the table in front of me.