From Silver to Diamonds

Chapter 20

"Wait, what day is today?" I looked around for my school diary. "Shit, I totally forgot. Thanks."

"GG Sophie" he laughed at the other end of the phone.

"Anyways, how did you guess it was my birthday?" I wanted to know because I was sure that people only knew Sophie Keusch's birthday.

"Passport," he replied quickly. "Can you come out? I'm at the airport and I'll wait for you in the

Central Garden in an hour or so don't be late," 

"Wait!" Nicholas hung up before I could give him a definite reply so that I couldn’t refuse.

That guy! How could I possible hate him anymore? But my problem is where is exactly is the Central Garden? Nicholas sure knows his way around Genova. All I need to do now is turn on my maps app and get my bearings but before I go anywhere I remembered that there was something else I had to do today. Well sadly, I didn’t exactly seemed to listen at the night before when I was to busy collecting my devices. Oh well, it'll come back to me when I don't think that hard and when it comes back I'll try doing something about it because right now I have a place to go and a guy to meet.

My whole world was covered with pure white snow as I stepped out the gates of the chateaux. The snow continued falling around me and gently kissing my skin. I shivered. The temperature was way below zero, tree tops were coated with snow and the great drive way that lead up to the chateaux was thick with snow. It was rare to witness snow buried Genova and snow only occur rarely twice every quinquennial. Hot winds from the south tends to blow our way most of the time but maybe because of global warming, it's a marvelous experience to see snow.

The wind whipped between my legs and at my face, threatening to tug off the grey wooly barrette I was wearing. I could've dressed smarter in thick puffy parkas instead if a dark red toggle coat with fur on the inside and mainly on the interior of the hood. My choice of clothing was acceptable, under my jumper and a nice pair of jeans were a layer of thermal underwear enough to keep me warm for the day, even the strappy grey snow boots that Lucie had sneaked into my room while I was asleep was doing its job perfectly. I was set and ready to go but walking on shin high snow was never easy. Pulling a leg after a leg and taking big awkward steps was tiresome. It will take me double the time on a normal day to go down the driveway. 

"Good afternoon Miss Harrison. Going out for a walk?" I flipped my head around and saw the gate keepers shovelling the snow off the drive way.

I wasn't used to the guards and servants of the house addressing as my real family name. It was always my stolen name or miss. But that moment I thought it was Nicholas who calling out for me.

"Ah, good afternoon, is it that late already?" I tilted my head in greetings.

"It is already noon and there's still a long way to remove all the horrid snow off the drive way," the gatekeeper replied.

"If only we had a snow plow then we don't need to worry about not getting it done by the evening," the other gatekeeper complained.

"Excuse me, where is the prince going today during the evening?"

The first gatekeeper who called out to me jammed his shovel forcibly into the snow and propped his hands then head onto the handle.

"Didn't you hear little miss? The whole Genova is stopping for one hour to see the princess be crowned for the next monarch!" He sounded excited.

That then triggers my mind. The crown prince and his daughter’s war had finally settled down, though Sophie haven’t or most likely wouldn’t forgive him. She only accepted the crown for the welfare of child and again for the sake of her poor mother. She’s about twenty five, a young mother whose husband already pasted away and couldn’t bear to leave her child to someone else’s care while she earn her living.