Her Royal Highness

III

"Thank you so much for coming," I smiled, shaking the hand of the elderly man who entered along side his equally as elderly wife. He regarded me with a warm smile, seemingly tickled that he was 'rubbing shoulders with the Royals'. The moment they passed, my smile dropped, as I reached up to rub my cheeks gently.

"Stop that," my mother hissed, her lips barely moving as she scolded me from her place at my side. Immediately, her smile was replaced, greeting yet another guest at tonight's event.

I took a deep, steadying breath, before replacing my own fake as hell smile, following along with my duty. Smile, shake hands, thank people for their attendance and their money for whatever cause it was that brought us here. It was an easy job, in reality. Out of some of the other things I had to endure, these events weren't all that bad. I loved getting dressed up, having the palace 'glam squad' as I called them fluff and shine me. Wearing beautiful clothes, having lovely meals. It was a perk of the position, I knew. And really, I did like knowing we were helping these charities. Our attendance usually meant that the hosts could charge a little more per plate, raising more funds based solely on the provision that their guests would be able to mingle with the Royals.

But the smiling. My God, it was so unnatural. In what world would a person be required to smile for over an hour straight? It was inhumane treatment, and I was tired and my cheeks burned with the effort of trying to keep my perfect and expensive smile in place.

Releasing the hand of yet another guest as they made their way in to the main dinner hall, I caught Ford's eye from across the corridor. He knew I hated the smile and wave component of my position. Lord knew I complained about it enough. The moment we matched gazes, the corner of his mouth twitched in humor at my expense. He rarely smiled when we were out in public, knowing it was his job to be stern, official and professional. But every once in a while, he would slip, mainly for the benefit of teasing me. His subtle little slip caused me to narrow my eyes at him, before sticking out my tongue.

"Charlotte," my mother scolded yet again. I swore the woman had eyes all around her head that went along with her damn crown. She didn't even need to be looking at me to know I was doing something she deemed inappropriate. "Stop fooling around. We will be done shortly."

Normally I would have some wonderfully sarcastic and scathing remark stored, but considering the setting, I kept my mouth shut. Ford merely smiled warmly at me, before his gaze returned to scanning the crowd.

As the last of the attendants filtered into the hall, we were finally released from 'smile and greet' duty, and allowed to be escorted to our table. My mother and I were the only two of our family in attendance tonight, as my Grandad was still under the weather. As the patriarch of our family, it was usually him who attended this particular benefit. The local hospital held an annual AIDS benefit, and as my Grandmother had been part of the board for many years before her death, this particular cause was one close to my family. Yet another reason I didn't hate this as much as others. If it was important to my Nan, then I could respect her enough to be present.

The dinner was long, dull and drawn out, mainly thanks to the endless string of speeches that broke up every few minutes of the meal. The food was good, as it usually was any time we attended these events, but why the hell did they have to have so many damn people bather during it? Yes, we get it. We're doing a good thing, we're helping kids, finding cures and all that. Just let us eat in peace.

Near the end, however, they brought out a small collection of guests. Children, all dressed up in gowns and little tuxedos, stating that this was an event they had been looking forward to for weeks. A night dedicated to them, where they could forget their worries, dress up like the adults, and feel special. All with various illnesses, all undergoing treatment at the hospital which held the benefit, they seemed impossibly fragile. I felt a little tension in my chest as I looked over the group, all so young, and all dealing with so much more than I did. And yet, a night like this was special to them. It made me feel a little regretful at my own feelings towards my duties, but I quickly pushed the feeling aside.