Call It A Royal Cliché

TIS THE SEASON OF LOSING THY MINDS

CHAPTER 19

"Your Highness," I knock at the door of study, "the queen has requested your presence to put your ornament on the tree."

She looks up from the papers lying in front her. She stands up from her chair compiling all her papers and gives me a small smile. I have seen her go paler through the week

"Darn it!" Her soft voice echoes through the study. I see that the bunch of papers slipped through her hands and they are everywhere now. "I should not be using it." She says immediately and I press my lips trying not to laugh.

"You are allowed to use those words. Not just in public." I walk towards her and give her a hand to help her pick up the papers. She looks at me wide eyed. I smile at her and tell, "Your highness, you are a human too and I guess we all can get angry sometimes words can slip out. Just try not to use them when you are meeting with people, or else it sounds like unpolished behavior" and I laugh as I say it.

She laughs too. We used to fight a lot when we were together for the silliest things in the world, but what are siblings for? But today when I say this that I really missed her it means I missed our fights. Kidding. I missed her a lot. I hand her the papers and ask her if she was prepared for the presentation at Parliament tomorrow but she goes silent.

"What is wrong?"

"I know that this is a small thing but I just cannot seem to speak confidently in front of the parliament. I feel that I lack the qualities that my sister did."

I didn't know how to reply to this. I had different ways to get things done than her but it doesn't mean she lacks qualities. She has always been hard working, a great pianist, always at the top of the class, she might be a little scared to talk at first but once she starts speaking she has excellent speaking skills too and she is kind, above all. I remember after every fight she would bring me a cake as a peace offering and we would watch crappy movies together. It has always been us.

"I don't think you lack any qualities of a good princess. Why do you feel so?" I am not sure if I did right by asking her this but I need to let this out of her system that she is in any manner not enough to become the princess of this kingdom.

She stacks the papers on the desk and fidgets with the paper weight as she answers me, "You know my sister, she was this whole package and I don't mean just by the looks but she was everything a kingdom would want in her princess."

"Like what? Headstrong, arguementive and stubborn?" She looks at me surprised when I use the words she used for me when we fought. But I forget that I am not a royal anymore and badmouthing a royal in front of her sister I correct myself immediately. "No, I didn't mean to offend your sister but it's just what I have heard from Max. She could be a little difficult." I avert my eyes from her face and look at the blue walls of the room.

But she says laughingly, "Surprisingly I thought of her the same way too. But after she left..."her voice falls "... my opinion of her changed. Yes she was still headstrong and stubborn but she was confident of what she was saying. She knew the right and wrong and people loved her for that."

Currently, I don't know what is right and what's wrong. Heck I don't even know if I am confident of my words or actions anymore.

"People love you too."

"How do you know?"

"I saw them at the parade. The way they were looking at you, all they had for you was admiration and respect." She nods at me still unconvinced so I try a different way.

"You know your sister must be sitting somewhere in the world and thinking that Grace must be smashing at the parliament sessions answering their every shitty questions," she laughs, "...and shut their mouths." Grace is the kind of person who needs someone to push her. Make her feel confident and appreciated.