Maid For You 3

Chapter 66

I didn't talk to Luke or Coleman the next couple of days as the royal family and I made preparations to leave for Durmanhein. The party consisted of King Collin, Queen Klara, Mister Arthur, Missus Alexandria, Coleman, Calista, and Luke and I. Sherry could have come as my servant if I wanted her to, but she wanted to spend Christmas at home with family. Besides, I didn't really need her to go to Durmanhein with me anyways. The same went for Helen, Calista's maid. As for Prince Duarte, he was headed back to Roana for a while, but he did stop by to say goodbye before he left.

The day of our departure, the lot of us all made our way onto the planes, which were not the Southwest airlines type service I was used to, but private jets with lush, fancy seats and its own set of servants. However, we were broken into two groups—the King and Queen and their servants took one jet, and the rest of us took another plane. Apparently, it was in case of some sort of terrorist attack so that all the royals would not be in one plane. When we got onto our plane, I saw that it had four seats in the front, each one next to its own window, four seats in the middle around a dinner table, and a couch in the back.

"This is the nicest plane I've ever seen in my entire life!" I gaped as I walked around the private jet and tested the couch.

"You get used to it," Princess Calista shrugged, plopping onto one of the four seats up front.

"I could just take a nap on this couch," I said as I laid down to test its comfort. I was wearing dress pants, so I didn't have to worry about any sort of skirts.

"You can't do that, Cassie," Coleman said, who had just entered on the plane. "We all have to take one of these seats up here for takeoff. You can nap there afterwards."

I smiled sheepishly and sat up. "Right," I said, turning to look at Coleman, but my eye caught on Luke walking in behind him, and I felt a sad little pang in my chest.

I still felt hurt about everything that happened, and I was sure he felt sad too. He caught my eye, and despite the murky waters we were in, I smiled lightly at him. He returned one. I was hoping that sometime during our trip in Durmanhein that we would have a chance to talk things out. The royal family would be busy catching up with their extended family, so we'd certainly have an opportunity to talk. Our private jet soon took off, and I spent most of the plane ride playing card games with Calista and Coleman while they informed me more about their family and their Christmas . Apparently, they spent most of the holiday at their grandpa's palace and spent most of Christmas Eve with their aunts, uncles, and cousins, but left late Christmas Eve to go to their grandma's house to spend Christmas day. They usually left their servants at the King's palace on Christmas before we would rejoin the family at their Grandma's house on the 26th. I was glad that things weren't too weird between Coleman and I, that the unexpected events of Calista's debutante ball had not had a big effect on our cordial relationship.

Finally, we arrived in Durmanhein at King Deiter's palace, and I quickly realized that Durmanhein did not slack when it came to Christmas. All of the many evergreen trees placed outside of the palace were decked out in Christmas lights, as well as the palace itself as the lights lined the roof, the doors, the corners, and every single window, which each held a lighted wreath. Of course, the snow on the ground and the flakes in the air helped add to the Christmas aesthetic. When we entered into the palace, the inside was not shabbily done either, with lights and garland and trees all around the beautiful entry hall.

"Ihr seid hier!" King Dieter cried, who had been waiting for us to arrive. "You are all here at last!" He came up and gave all the royal family a hug, including King Collin, and they all exchanged warm greetings. "You all must be tired."

"We're alright," Queen Klara said.

"Are you up to dinner tonight?" Dieter asked.

"I certainly am," King Collin said.

"Ah!" Deiter beamed. "What a good son I have!"

King Dieter's attitude towards his child-in-law certainly differed from Grandma's Marjorie deCourcy's, I thought. She had been at Princess Calista's debutante ball, but fortunately I had been able to avoid her. Then, the German King's eye caught on me.

"Ah, Cassie. I am glad to see you could come," he said kindly.

I rose my eyebrows, surprised that he remembered me. "Thank you, your majesty!" I said.

He smiled, and looked at Luke. "Lucas," he nodded, then went down the line. "Arthur, Alexandria. Of course, it is a pleasure to see you all again as well."

Wow, I thought. Klara wasn't kidding when she said he was good with names.

He then had servants come to show us to our rooms, and while Lucas, Alexandria, and Arthur were taken one way, I was led with the rest of the royal family up the stairs before we all branched off to our own halls. The servant girl leading me was named Gretchen, and she told me that she was one of the few servants who could speak English.

"I will be your servant while you are here," she said in her thick accent. "If you need anything, just ask me for help. I can also act as a translator if you need one."

"Thanks Gretchen," I said.

"I was told that you would be joining everyone for dinner."

"I am?" I asked a little nervously.

"Yes," Gretchen said. "I will help you get ready." She made quick work of unpacking my suitcase once we arrived in my room, which was a pretty room with dark wood flooring and of course Christmas lights and decorations. The whole palace had a more rustic look than the Areganan one—it wasn't a bad thing, but it employed more wood than marble and in my opinion felt a bit homier, though not quite as ornate. According to my class studies, Durmanhein had the third best economy in the collegiate after Nikoto and Aregano.

I fell back onto my bed and smiled. With all the recent chaos, I felt like I hadn't even enjoyed the Christmas season, but here, maybe I could enjoy some festivities.

Gretchen helped me get ready for dinner by lacing me up into a long green dress, and soon she was showing me the way to the dining hall. I quickly realized that there were a lot more people than just me and the royal family. Already, dozens of people were seated at the long table, all speaking in—you guessed it—German. There were people of many different ages, the age ranging from what I guessed was fifties down to the age of four. Each seat at the huge table had a nametag, and I soon found a seat with the name Fräulein Cassandra Carmichael with the nametag of merely 'Coleman' on my right.