Mi Princesa

Part Two - Chapter Six: Christmas Plans

“I can’t believe that it’s nearly Christmas,” Vanessa mused with a shake of her head, it seemed unreal that time was flying by and she was so busy these days; things needed organising and it was now her job.

Fernando had offered to find a Christmas tree for the palace and Vanessa was grateful, she had to do the speech this year which made her nervous enough while Elizabeth was refusing to do anything.

Charlotte nodded her head as she looked at her sister, she was doing her best to help out and with everything that had happened; she wanted things back to normal as quickly as possible.

Bojan babbled happily sat on his aunt’s knee, it was to be his first Christmas and Vanessa was sure that they would make it a special one.

“Nando and I were thinking of maybe doing a Christmas festival at the palace… having a Papá Noel for the children,” Vanessa said looking to Charlotte, she wanted to do a good Christmas since it was the first for so many things for them all.

Vanessa knew that all decisions for royal festivals were left down to her but she wanted some advice and the idea of opening up the old palace gardens for the holidays seemed like a wonderful idea.

“Like we do for the Easter festival,” Charlotte replied nodding her head, they usually did an Easter egg hunt for the children around Easter; she could see it being a nice new tradition and it meant the palace would be in use.

Vanessa and Fernando had decided to stay in their current home and use Bruckstone Palace for the royal part of their lives, they wanted their children to have a sort of normal up-bringing and that couldn’t happen in a palace.

The couple were sure that the house they lived in was big enough for them, they had two beautiful children and they knew that they would like one or two more; they weren’t in any hurry right now to have another baby just yet.

“Is Nora here this Christmas?” Charlotte asked knowing that her niece had spent the last holiday with them, she expected that Olalla would want her oldest daughter back for the approaching holidays.

Nora hadn’t seen much of her mother since her baby sister had been born back in September, Olalla had been so busy with the new baby and her husband that she barely called anymore.

“Olalla’s going to visit her parents with Aaron and Isabel,” Vanessa informed Charlotte with a shake of her head, she was glad that Nora was so excited about a royal Christmas this year; it would be her first and she would get a pretty dress for the day.

Charlotte sighed, she had noticed that Olalla didn’t have much time for Nora and was happy that the little girl had her father and Vanessa for family; she needed them since her mother was a little distracted.

“Fernando’s parents are spending the holidays with his sister… but will be here for a week before,” Vanessa mused smiling, she adored her in-laws and liked having them around even if they did live so far away.

Vanessa and Fernando had extended an invite for Christmas but the couple had declined in favor of spending Christmas with Maria Paz and her family; they had promised to visit before the holidays since they were spending the New Year with Israel.

“It’ll be a busy Christmas,” Charlotte mumbled wondering what they were going to do now, she had come to see her sister for a reason and she hoped that it was okay.

Charlotte was meant to be getting married next year, she wanted to get married but before she needed to clear some things with Vanessa; she had to get clearance since her sister was the leader of their family now.

“So what can I do for you?” Vanessa asked looking at Charlotte, they were home alone with Bojan since Nora was at school and Fernando was at a meeting; he wouldn’t be back until later.

Vanessa brushed her fingers through her hair, she was sure that things would be okay and she had a feeling that she knew what was going on; she had expected Charlotte to come and speak to her about this sooner or later.

“I’ve selected a date for my wedding… 15th of April,” Charlotte murmured a little nervous, she wanted a spring wedding and she hadn’t changed her mind on that fact; she had done a lot of thinking and this was what she wanted.

Henri had been thrilled with the idea and he wanted nothing more than to marry Charlotte, they had talked a lot and they were ready to set about their future; they wanted to get married in a quiet ceremony if possible.

Vanessa nodded her head, she liked the date and it was going to be a busy year next year for the royal family; Charlotte would marry in April and Vanessa’s coronation would be a couple of months later in August.

“We were thinking maybe the St Paul’s church for the wedding,” Charlotte said smiling a little at her sister, it was a small church and she didn’t need a big wedding to marry Henri and Vanessa had Bojan as her heir now; she didn’t have to have a big wedding to show off to the world.

St Paul’s church had a capacity of 200 people and Charlotte was sure that everyone that needed to be there could fit into the church, she was a princess but wanted to keep things as quiet and simple as possible.

“That should be doable,” Vanessa agreed with a nod of her head, her wedding had been a big deal because she had been the heir to the throne; she didn’t see the need for a big mess when it came to Charlotte’s wedding.

Vanessa wanted her sister to be happy and there was going to be a lot of planning needed to make sure that everything was perfect for the impending wedding.

Charlotte smiled a little relieved that Vanessa had agreed, she wanted to make sure that everything was okay and that her wedding could go ahead without any problems.

“I was wondering… do you think Fernando would give me away?” Charlotte asked nervously, she knew that she needed someone to give her away and with her father gone she wanted her brother-in-law to give her away.

Vanessa blinked a little surprised, she didn’t know what she expected but she knew that it was still going to be a while before any of them got used to the fact that George was gone; it was always going to be the little things that caught up to them.

“Yes… you’d have to ask him though,” Vanessa replied feeling a little awkward, she hadn’t even thought about what was going to happen now that their father was gone.

Charlotte smiled, she knew that she always had their younger brother as an option but she didn’t want to put that sort of pressure on Joseph who was a little distracted with his girlfriend for four months.

“Thanks,” Charlotte said nodding her head, she had done a lot of thinking since their father had passed away the month before and she knew what she wanted to do.

Bojan squeaked making the two women look down at him, he would be Charlotte’s ring bearer while Nora would be a flower girl; there was a lot to be done before the wedding in four months and the palace would have to sort out guests.

“It’s going to be strange,” Charlotte murmured cuddling her nephew, she was sure that they would never get used to the fact that their father was gone; she wanted to make him proud in her decisions and couldn’t imagine how Vanessa felt.

Vanessa could only nod her head in agreement, she wanted everything to be perfect for her sister and she wished that there was something that she could do to help.