Maid For You 2

Chapter 41

Silence.

Of course, the first person I saw was Prince Coleman, with his eyes wide as could be and his nostrils flared and his lips parted. In that moment I truly felt such a triumph at my accomplishment to shock him beyond words that I was positive that I had made the right choice for my Prince. It was the ultimate 'screw you' I could have given. My eyes then drifted past the sea of shocked faces to my Prince for the day. Prince Nikolas's eyebrows nearly cleared his forehead they were so high and his mouth swung slightly ajar.

Suddenly my triumph twisted into panic.

Oh gosh.

I just chose prim and proper Prince Nikolas to be my Prince for the day. I asked him to hang around a lowly servant like me for the day. What if he was angry with me or upset? But then, Prince Nikolas locked eyes with me, and his shocked expression transformed into a conspiratorial smile that once again made me feel victorious.

I then turned my head to look at Queen Klara, who looked as though she had lost most of the color from her cheeks. She stood eerily still, her eyes wide and her jaw tense.

Oh crap. I thought. Her Calista-Nikolas ship! I hoped she knew that I wasn't trying to derail her plans. I just wanted to annoy your stupid son! I thought.

The Queen blinked several times, and then silently took the microphone from my hands.

"Prince Nikolas," she sounded somewhat hoarse. "Congratulations."

The first set of hands clapping came from behind me, and I turned to see King Collin with a funny sort of expression on his face—the slight smile on his face seemed to be containing a bigger one behind his front. The next person to clap was Lord Mercucio, and soon most everybody was clapping very halfheartedly. Prince Coleman, notably, did not move a muscle to congratulate Prince Nikolas and I.

"If you would please make your way to the stage, Prince Nikolas," the Queen said, clearly lacking her normal vigor. With a clear and somewhat haughty smile, Prince Nikolas strutted across the lawn and made his way up the steps of the small stage.

He stopped right by me and whispered into my ear, "You are a treasure." I felt my face become engulfed in flames as I turned my head to stare into his bright blue eyes.

What the whaty what?

A servant I did not know, but recognized, made his way up the stage with a red velvet pillow in his hands that held a handsome silver crown. Queen Klara shoved the microphone into its stand and took the pillow from the servant.

"Miss Carmichael," she said away from the microphone, her small smile clearly fake. "Please take this crown and place it on Nikolas's head."

"Okay," I said. I picked up the pretty crown and turned to face Prince Nikolas.

He looked a little confused, and said quietly to Queen Klara, "Do I kneel down? I cannot remember what Coleman did in the past."

"Yes, you kneel down," Queen Klara told him quietly, keeping her voice away from the microphone. 

Prince Nikolas lowered himself down onto one knee, the move lacking his normal confidence. His clumsiness made me giggle a tiny bit.

"Are you laughing at me?" He asked with a smile.

"No," I lied. "Now, here is your crown." I carefully placed the silver crown snugly on his head, taking extra care to brush his hair and adjust the crown so that his blonde locks did not look flattened.

Or perhaps it was so that Prince Coleman had to watch me touch Prince Nikolas's hair.

One of the two.

I couldn't help but glance at Prince Coleman—while most of the men looked confused, he looked furious with his arms crossed and his gaze fiery.

"Now, Nikolas," Queen Klara said to him, her voice void of joy. "You shall take her hand and kiss it."

Again, he looked a little surprised, but it quickly turned into a mischievous smile. He took my right hand in his cold, paler hand. His fingers were long and nimble, and he bent down to kiss the back of my hand. I suddenly remembered when Prince Coleman kissed my hand last night, but I didn't care about him anyways. That stupid guy.

Prince Nikolas then got himself to his feet and smiled at me kind of awkwardly.

Queen Klara took the mic once more. "Congratulations to our Queen Maiden and her prince, and I sincerely thank you all for attending this banquet." She clicked off the microphone and whirled around to face us. My stomach dropped. Is she angry?

"Alright, then. Shall we head inside?" The Queen asked. I noticed a faint accent that was not usually there—a slight German accent on top of her polished Areganan one.

"Um, sounds good to me," I said, my heart starting to pound as I stared at Queen Klara's lifeless smile. To my right, King Collin stood from his chair, and I wondered if he was going to reprimand me for choosing the Nikotan trash who also was lowkey engaged to his daughter. Instead, he outstretched his hand for me to shake; I nervously peeked at his hand, and tentatively took it. I gripped his hand like normal while his grip in response was firm but not bone-crushing.

"Excellent choice, Miss Carmichael," he said. "I commend you on your unusual pick."

"O-oh. Um, I thank you, sir. Your majesty," I fumbled. I just wanted to piss of your son, I thought.

"Okay, we ought to head inside now," Queen Klara said, her voice slightly clipped.

Prince Nikolas stepped up next to me with his elbow outstretched, and just like I had done with Prince Coleman the night before, I took his arm in my own.

"Why thank you!" I said a little louder than I needed to. A certain obnoxious Prince had not yet left the yard as others were doing.

"It is my pleasure," Prince Nikolas said, also speaking a little more loudly than perhaps he needed to.

I looked up at him and beamed as brightly as I could, and Prince Nikolas smiled right back, though it was not a light and happy innocent smile. What a pair we made! Just two unlikely sort-of-friends, coming together in a symphony of revenge.

They say revenge is a dish best served cold, but I happen to think that a hot and steamy revenge can be even more destructive.