Royal Mess

Chapter Twenty

April 2221 

As much as I was glad to have been able to spend some time with my family, I was relieved to be able to return to the palace. It gave me a chance to catch up with my friend Amelie, too. 

"Hey, so...should I start bowing to you soon?" she asked me. 

I smirked. 

"Nah. You seriously don't have to change the way you treat me," I told her. 

Amelie simply nodded in response. 

"I'm hardly royalty yet," I added. 

No sooner than Amelie could reply, her father came to join the two of us as we sat outside in the palace's garden. 

It was nice to see that the sky was clearing up ahead. 

I had missed the warm spring weather. It had been raining for literal weeks on end, but then there was that lovely unpredictable English weather, I supposed. 

"Hello girls," Roberto said politely. 

He was glad to have me back at the palace, too, because I would socialise him wherever possible, and it gave him an opportunity to be away from his wife, Madame Vivienne, who was a strange character. 

Well, sort of. 

Not particularly strange, but more stern. 

I just knew I really didn't want to get on her bad side. 

"Amelie, your mother wished to see you," Roberto informed her then. 

Amelie's eyes seemed to flash with a glint of fear, then, but she simply nodded and hastily headed away. 

I moved my sock a little, as my foot was uncomfortably swelling in my shoe. This, I believed, was a side effect of the pregnancy. And it sucked. 

Roberto noticed the tattoo on my ankle. It was of a lily, which was said to represent hope. I knew well-enough that I needed to have all the hope that I could muster up if I was going to survive the rest of this pregnancy. Seriously, I had thought that I was prepared, but then a new month would bring with it a new symptom and I would have to reevaluate the whole thing all over again. 

"Nice tattoo," he commented, before returning his gaze to meet my own. 

"Thank you, Roberto," I replied, with an appreciative expression. 

"How have you been doing, Trixie?" he asked then. 

"I mean...as well as one could hope," I said. 

Apparently, my time spent around the queen had meant new additions to my vocabulary, such as 'one', 'silver platter' and 'caviar'. The latter of which tasted disgusting, and although it was expensive, I really couldn't recommend it. 

"Husband!" came the voice of Madame Vivienne, and I stifled a chuckle as Roberto looked considerably tired, for a moment. 

"Yes honey?" he called back, as she rushed over to us. 

Madame Vivienne was far taller than the both of us. It always took me a little by surprise. 

"I can't convince Amelie to go to the royal ball," she said. 

"I have to be honest with you, love. Don't you think at times you are just ever-so slightly controlling?" Roberto replied. 

Madame Vivienne shrugged. 

"Not at all," she said. 

Well, I supposed she was controlling, not so much self-aware. 

Her gaze darkened as she appeared to disagree.