A Royal Internship | Complete

Chapter Forty-One

Between the garden and the town, we had a few minutes to wait, so we went inside for a snack. I was so thankful to not have watchful eyes on me as I stuffed my face with sandwiches and tea.

"A chocolate for the road?" Clarence handed me a small box of chocolates intricately wrapped in gold paper with a forest green bow wrapped around it.

"Is this like royal chocolate?" I asked him, noting the colours.

"Something like that." He smiled as I carefully unwrapped it and pulled out one of the beautifully formed chocolates. It was hard to pick when they were all dusted with gold or painted with deep accent colours.

"Where did you get these?" I asked, popping one into my mouth and savouring the richness as it melted on my tongue.

He stumbled over the beginning of his sentence. "I got them from the kitchens."

"Oh I must steal your cook." I licked my finger. "I know I'm not allowed to do that in public, don't worry."

"You can't steal my cook. He has a very important job here."

"What? Feeding you?" I poked his arm. "But really, do you think he could teach me to make these? I'll miss them when I leave."

Clarence's face dropped slightly and he seemed to be busying himself by fiddling with the wrapper I'd placed on the table. Finally, he looked up at me. "That's how I learned." His eyes plead with me before turning back to the table.

My mouth still stuffed with chocolate, I couldn't help but ask him, "Did you make these?"

He chuckled as soon as he saw me. "You should really have a drink of water before we leave." He pointed to his own mouth, indicating mine was filled with chocolate.

"Yes, I probably should," I said, reaching for my glass of water. "But they are delicious. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

We stood, staring at each other for a moment. I could feel my heart speed up in my chest. No one had ever made me anything before. When did he find the time to make anything? I felt myself take a step towards him and I reached down to hold his hand.

"Genevieve, I-"

I didn't hear the rest of what he told me because Semret and Janet rushed into the room, the doors slamming open with a loud crack.

"Thank goodness we've found you!" Semret frantically grabbed my things and pulled on my hand. "You are both very late."

"If we hurry--" Janet picked up where Semret left off-- "we can just make it in time."

Clarence and I looked at each other, hands still locked together. Janet must have noticed our hesitation because she clapped her hands in front of my face.

"Genevieve, Queen Adele is watching every move you make. And while I'm sure she'd love this one--" Janet gestured to our intertwined hands-- "she will not like it if you are missing from an opportunity she's been setting up forever."

Clarence sighed. "Janet, can we just have one-"

"No!" she yelled, pulling his arm and dragging him out the door. As I was still holding onto him and Semret was still hanging onto me, we all paraded out of the room like an unceremonious train being dragged across the snow.

* * *

The location the queen had chosen in town was outrageously beautiful. It looked to be a very old downtown area. All of the buildings were sandwiched beside each other and wooden pieces adorned their mostly stone facades.

As soon as the uniformed man opened the door for us, the scent of flowers mixed with freshly baked pastries filled the air. I inhaled deeply, sighing in contentment. "Clarence it's amazing!" I turned around to share my excitement and he returned my smile.

"It really is." He climbed out of the car after me. "I love the summer palace and this town more than any other place in the world. Now come with me, I want to show you the clock tower."

I couldn't help but smile as the wind brushed my cheek and Clarence's hand warmed mine while he pulled me down a narrow stone walkway along the side of the street.

"Slow down a bit." I pulled back on his hand with mine. "I want to look at it." I made a point of looking up at the buildings nearby.

"Okay," he said. "But we're still going to the clocktower."

"Okay," I said with the same seriousness he had just used. "But we're still going slow enough for me to enjoy myself. We're here for half an hour no matter what. Might as well enjoy it." I snaked my arm through his and leaned my head onto his shoulder. It's just long enough for the cameras to get their shots, I tried to convince myself, and then I'll go back to normal.

We stopped at a corner to wait for the traffic, and I completely forgot we were being watched. I let myself enjoy the quaint European town and smile at the onlookers as I kept Clarence close to my side.

I inhaled the scent of fresh pastries and bread as we walked, looking into an ice cream shop longingly as we passed. "Clarence, they make their own cones!" I protested, when he shook his head.

"This is an official outing, Genevieve," he reminded me. "We have to stick to the outdoors. So we go to the clock tower."

I pouted and then remembered Janet's comments about my success as long as I didn't pout at the cameras and immediately returned my face to a calculated neutral expression. Or so I hoped.

"I can have someone bring you some back at the palace." Clarence said it like it was nothing, but it was definitely something to have people to bring you whatever you wanted at all hours.

"It's not the same if you don't go inside." I shrugged. "But it's okay. I'll be here all summer, so I'm bound to get a few minutes of free time eventually, right?"

"Eventually," he agreed. "Now come on!" He tugged on my arm just enough to get me to pick up my pace but not enough that I stumbled along behind him, which I would have to thank him for later.

When we rounded the corner, though Clarence pointed, I didn't need anyone to tell me what the clocktower was. It was an imposing structure that must be visible for miles around. The dark grey stone facade was patterned with white stones and topped with a wooden roof structure. The clock face itself must have been at least as large as your average apartment building. The thing was massive and shimmered almost gold in the sunlight.

"Wow!" was all I could muster.

"See? It's pretty great isn't it?"

I heard a camera shutter from behind me and carefully closed my agape mouth. "It's amazing." I absentmindedly walked across the square towards it, feeling the light spray of a nearby fountain on my face. "Thank you."

He picked up my hand and placed a kiss on the back of it, holding his lips there longer than he needed to. When his eyes met mine, I took a steadying breath to calm my nerves. He's just doing it to make sure they get their photos, I decided. Nothing more.