by Maggie Lee
“Sorry to startle you, ma’am. I’m not sure we’ve been properly introduced. I’m Kraus, her fiancé.” It takes Alexis a moment to get over the shock of the term fiancé to return his handshake. I move from the floor to the bed and watch them interact.
“Alexis, sir. I brought soup up since she told me you were staying. I noticed you didn’t attend dinner.” She gives him the bowl in her other hand and then stands there staring at him. Before finally leaving awkwardly.
When the door shuts and he turns around to look at me, I laugh, hard.
“Well, she has seen quite a bit this past two weeks. I kissed Arden in the greenhouse, then father’s punishment and this. Plus all of the other craziness happening around those major plot points.” I pat the bed for Kraus to have a seat with me. I’m glad my first sleepover is with a friend like him. June would have been lucky to have him.
After he finishes eating, we both lay down in our respective spots and sleep. After such an exhausting couple of days, I sleep well knowing I have someone keeping my safe. My muscles are reenergized and my soul feels a little less fractured after such a good night's rest, and I have Kraus to thank for it.
I try to be quiet as to not wake Kraus, but once I’ve slid off of the bed, I actually notice that he’s seated at the table, waiting to eat breakfast with me.
“Good morning, I didn’t want to wake you yet. Alexis brought these earlier before she left on the trip with the grocers.” He motions to the covered plates.
“Thank you. I usually wake when the sun rises anyways. How did you sleep?” I uncover my plate and my mouth waters at the sight of my favorite food.
“Well, the floor is surprisingly softer than I expected.” We both laugh and start eating. I have to be at school in an hour, so I eat quickly then move to prepare myself.
Feeling rebellious, I dress myself in a sweater and pair of jeans. I never get to wear pants out, but who’s going to stop me today? Alexis is gone and father is working in town with the advisors all week on the December Solstice.
Kraus is cleaning up his pallet when I come out, “I like the jeans, and I just saw your car pull up out front to pick you up.”
“Thank you, what are you doing today?” I ask as I pick a jacket out of my closet.
“Strategist meeting, have a good day.” I shake my head and chuckle at our mundane exchange as I head down stairs. My mind is lost in thought before I’m out of the door.
My father said to find a reason to get out of the country, three months is all he gave me. I could maybe test early like my sister, if I could get into a school on such short notice. We would just have to get married or show the fake documents like he mentioned before I finished school. I don’t think Father will let me work on the Education Board of Royals with my uncle, but I could still keep teaching. Anywhere. I could teach anywhere, I don’t have to stay here. It’s not as if I have to stay with Kraus. I can afford my own life off of a teacher’s salary, and I don’t honestly want to stay close to my sister and Arden. Not if I can help it.
I stay in my mind through the day and my lesson plan suffers for it. Luckily Ms. Buss takes over and teaches when she sees me failing.
“One bad day isn’t the end. Don’t let today throw you off. Go home, get some rest and come back tomorrow!” She tells me on her way out at the end of the day.
“Thank you,” I call out as I finish packing up my things.
When all of my stuff is put away, I delay leaving and clean up the room a little. Books get restacked and papers refiled. Time passes quickly as I start reorganizing the desks and I notice it getting darker out. My mind stays set on making the room look perfect, just one thing to be perfect. I’m so focused that I barely hear the phone ring behind me.
I rush towards it, but it silences before I get to there. When it doesn’t immediately ring again, I shrug the whole thing off and resume what I was working on. After a few minutes pass, and I’m entranced again, the phone begins ringing again. This time I make it to the phone before it stops, a little aggravated at the interruption.
“Hello,” I answer warily, unsure who would be calling my classroom at this hour. It’s nearly three to four hours after class has let out and kids have left.
“Damn it. What are you doing?” Arden’s voice is his usual gruff tone, but it relaxes me all the same.
“Cleaning my classroom. We only have three days left. I want it to be ready for break when school ends.” My answer is not the answer he wanted.
He lets out a long sigh before speaking, “Why are you doing this now? Are you avoiding Kraus?”
“No!” I answer quickly. I honestly hadn’t thought about Kraus, I just didn’t want to go home yet.
“Then what's going on?” I hate how much I love that he cares.
“Nothing. Just wanted some time to myself. This is the only place everything is still...” I’m not sure what to say next, or how to continue. This is my safe place. Everything has changed all around me, here I’m still Ms. Mackenzie.
“Kenz, I’m sorry.” His apology is defeated and I understand. This isn’t what he wanted either.
“It is our reality, welcome to the royal family. Where everyone thinks we have our shit together, but really we’re just marionette puppets. Our strings have pulled us apart.”
“Not if I have anything to do with it.” I hear some shuffling outside of my classroom door and I let out a little gasp. I don’t have security on me here since the school usual has it. I’m on my own if this is someone who wants to hurt me. “What was that? What’s wrong?”
“Someone is outside,” I whisper into the phone.
“Are you expecting anyone? Where is the school’s security? I’m sending my men up there right now, get in a closet and keep the phone with you.” He starts shouting orders to other people that must be around him in person. I stay frozen, wouldn’t they look in the closet? What if I prepared to fight?
“I’ve got to go, Arden, Thank you.” I hang up without saying goodbye. That would be too final.
My breath hitches when the doorknob starts to turn and I hear Arden yelling as I set the phone down on the receiver. Thinking quickly, I run to my desk and grab a pair of scissors and a container of glitter. As the doorknob fiddles more, I get closer and lean against the wall out of view, so I can surprise them when they open the door.
I hear the lock click open and the door swings. I take a deep breath and prepare to throw the glitter in their face as a distraction. Thankfully my reaction time is slow and I realize Kraus steps through the door before I have a chance to blind him.
“What in the hell are you doing here?” I ask dropping the art supplies to run and hug him.
“I was bringing you dinner, since you apparently aren’t coming to the palace to eat.” He laughs and hugs me back before finding a desk to put food on.
“Oh my God, I thought you were someone here to kill me.” I tell him, still reeling in the relief. “Shit! I need to call Arden back!”
“You were talking to Arden?” Kraus jerks his head to the side and looks at me confused.
“He just called. You didn’t tell him I didn’t come home?” I’m not sure why, I just assumed he kept Arden in the loop.
“No. I haven’t talked to him in quite some time. We barely even spoke to each other during the parade. We haven’t been on the best of terms as of late.” He starts opening food containers and I recognize Alexis’s cooking. She made us something special.
“Wait, then who has been telling him things? He’s just known stuff all along and I assumed it was you.”
“I don’t know, but call him before he sends the troops. Because for you, he will.” He walks over to the phone and dials a number in before holding it up for me to take. His face is scrunched and I can tell anything to do with Arden right now annoys him. I can understand that, just the thought of June gets to me.
“Hello? Kenz, are you there?” I hear genuine panic in his voice and in a twisted sick way, it pleases me.
“I’m here, it was just Kraus. He brought dinner. I’m sorry I scared you. You can call off your men or whatever.” I try to sound more assured than I feel, but I’m ridiculously thrilled that he was worried.
“Fucking...” Some words get mumbled, but it sounds like he’s thankful. “Tell him to call ahead next time he wants to visit. I could have had him killed. Go eat. I’ll see you in three days.” The line goes dead and I shake my head at this whole thing. Ridiculous.
“Thank you for bringing dinner, I’ll ride home with you after.” I take a seat across from Kraus and dig into my plate. My foods gone before I know it, I didn’t realize my hunger. We sit and talk, but after a while, Kraus gets distracted flipping through some of the books sitting on my desk shelf.
“I really appreciate you bringing dinner, and not being an intruder.”
“I needed a chance to formally ask you to be my wife anyways. So when your driver said he was still waiting for you here, I figured in your classroom would be a great place.”
“How romantic of you.” We both laugh and toast to that. Kraus has become such a good friend, I’m honored to have him through all of this.
We laugh like kids on the ride home making jokes at my expense for hoping to stop an intruder with art supplies. But, I honestly was just working with what I had. I’m tired of being a damsel in distress, I want to solve my own problems.
We both crash quickly and the next few days follow a pattern. We leave in the morning then come back and have dinner together somewhere public on the property. Father knows of our engagement, and has sent maidens up to pack my room on my last night here. I let them box everything but two dresses Alexis made me choose from to wear the next day for the December Solstice. The last day of school blows by and I say a tearful goodbye to each of my students as they continue on their journey. Soon they will be finished with the first block of education and then splitting off into a personalized education for their trade. It saddens me to think that they will be on their own paths and barely remember the year I helped educate them.
I look around my empty room and wonder how a lifetime in here can suddenly be absent. Tonight will be the last time I get ready in here and then I’ll go home to my new life. Whatever that may be.
“Good evening, miss. Are you ready to bathe yet?” Alexis asks and for the first time it clicks to me that I’m leaving her behind.
“Alexis! Oh my!” I start sobbing as I throw myself around her. Is it possible that I already miss her?
“Miss-” she starts to say.
“No! Call me by my name. We’re just friends getting ready together tonight, go back to your chambers while I shower and get your stuff. We’re going to get ready together Lex. Lex, is that name alright?” I pull back from my forced hug and hold her at an arm's length.
“Yes, mi- Mackenzie. Let’s get your bath started and I’ll come back up here to shower.” She's gone quickly and I take my time enjoying my soak before the evening starts. Father plans to announce our engagements tonight, how funny we are being tied with the one our sibling loves. What a sad, sick and twisted life we live that our father plays games with us like this.
Alexis comes in and showers while I dry off, and then we’re both in silk robes doing each other’s hair and makeup. It should have been like this all along. I got so caught up in how the palace ran and I should have treated her and everyone else better. She’s been a friend all along and I never treated her as such.
“Alexis, I hope we can stay friends after this. I look forward to having more fun nights with you,” I tell her when I finish blow drying my hair out.
“Of course, I look forward to seeing you again. Without you here, I think my job may change though. So, I’m not sure what my new schedule will look like.” She starts curling my hair into soft waves, but I pull away to face her. My leaving affecting her job hadn’t crossed my mind either.
“I wonder what they will have you do. Do you want to work elsewhere? I could ask around.” She laughs at me and turns me back around to work on my hair.
“Kraus has already offered me a position at your manor if need be. Thank you though.” How can he and Arden both do things like that, always think ahead and know what to do before it even happens?
We finish getting ready and chat about boys, our pasts and our hopes for the future. She catches me off guard and I’m a little shocked that Alexis has never been on a formal date. I make a mental note to make sure to have Kraus pick one of his friends to escort her tonight.
Once our hair and makeup are complete, I pull out both dresses I had left out and let Alexis choose which she wants first. Both are polar opposites from each other, and I couldn’t be more thrilled with which she chooses.
Alexis picks the light pink dress that makes her platinum hair pop. With the A-line style of the dress she looks like prettiest doll I’ve ever seen. If I didn’t know better I would think she was the princess tonight.
We both stand in front of my full sized mirror and I can’t help but laugh at the complete contrast between us. My dress is a dark red and hugs my every curve before hitting the thigh high slits that show off my legs. The tulle gives a false feeling of being covered, but with the incredibly low cut top that has precariously placed openings over my rib cage, I’m practically naked. It’s the perfect last ‘fuck you’ to my father. This dress has hung in my closet since I had Alexis make it when I was feeling rebellious a few months ago. If there is ever a time to wear it, today is it.
A light knock on my door makes us finally break away from the mirror. I beat Alexis to the door, and then shoo her back when she moves to open it around me. She isn’t going to do any service tonight if I can help it.
“Good evening,” I tell Kraus as I open the door for him to enter. Last we talked this morning, his plan was to help the service move my stuff and then he was going to get ready for tonight.
“Hello ladies. You both look lovely, will I be escorting you both?” he asks as he comes in.
“I was hoping so, unless you know a lovely gentleman that would like to take Alexis to the ball tonight?” I try to put hint in my voice, and thankfully he catches it.
“I know many men who would love to take Alexis out tonight. You look lovely dear.” He takes her hand and kisses it before lifting it up and twirling her around. A big blush takes over her cheeks and she nervously giggles.
“Quit it, you flirt. We’re already late, let’s go?” I smack him on the chest lightly before finding my matching clutch.
“One final thing before we go!” He stops us as we’re almost out of the door. “I picked this up today. I thought it would be a good gesture.”
My eyes go wide as he pulls out a simple gold band with a pearl on it. My heart starts to pound realizing this is going to be it, our engagement band. Obvious and shiny for the world to see. He steps towards me to give me the band, but I stay frozen in my spot.
“Alexis, can we have just a moment before we join you down stairs at the car?” Kraus asks her, sensing my panic.
“Yes sir.” Alexis answers on her way out. I should address the sir thing, but I can’t slow my mind long enough to acknowledge it.
“Don’t freak out. It’s just a ring, I didn’t want you to have to explain why you didn’t have one on to everyone.” He holds the ring out and I finally let out the breath I was holding.
“I know. I’m sorry. I’m just...” He laughs at me and I shake it off.
The ring fits well enough and is subtle on my hand. I don’t know how to feel about it though. My heart wavers on emotions for a minute before I decide to accept this as my future.
“Just wear it tonight and then you can take it off. I won’t be offended.” He tells me, taking my arm to lead me out.
“Thank you. Can I ask a question?” I release him as we descend the stairs. I need a little space.
“Of course.” He sounds mildly curious, so let’s hope my question doesn’t offend him.
“This isn’t the ring you would have gotten my sis
ter, is it?” A bolstering laugh sounds from him.
“No, of course not. I have a silver banded princess cut diamond for her. It’s like the size of a marble too. She has a thing for sparkles.” The sadness in his voice makes me ache for him. I could imagine a hand forged ring from Arden on my hand so easily.
“I’m sorry I asked. Let’s have a good night.” I reach over and give his hand a squeeze before we climb in the back of the town car with Alexis.
Chapter 21.
The short ride to the Monarchs Hall is quiet and peaceful as we all sit stewing in our own thoughts. Alexis doesn’t show any signs of being uncomfortable with us thankfully.
Kraus climbs out first and helps me out, giving me a kiss on the cheek for public display. I step back and Kraus helps Alexis out, and kisses her hand before escorting us both inside. The red carpet reminds me of the old movies I’ve seen with celebrities walking on them. Luckily, at this kind of event there are far less paparazzi’s and reporters. Only the royal newsletter and the cities journal are allowed in.
“Good evening, Johnston. How is your family?” I ask the journal’s reporter. I taught his twin daughters last year and seriously miss my time with them. Super sweet girls.
“The girls had a great last day at school, but are hoping you'll be teaching a higher grade that they can get into. How are you? Who are you with tonight?” He transitions flawlessly from loving dad to reporter.
I let out a calculated laugh and introduce them, “This is Alexis Costner, a great friend of mine and this is my escort Kraus Kreen. If you’ll excuse us, we are already late.”
He gives me a smile as he writes down the names I gave him and we disappear through the large wooden front doors. The lights are dimmed low, giving the room an ambience. The mood is romantic and sophisticated with the up lighting and shimmering centerpieces throughout the room. Everything has a sparkle to it like the moonlight on freshly fallen winter snow.
“You could have told him fiancé out there.” Alexis’s voice surprises me. Kraus and I both turn to her, a little confused by her question. Although, she must be so confused with us.
