Caught in a Lie ~ h.s.

♕ XIII ♕

When ordinary people are met with a member of royalty for the first time, there tends to be some extravagant reactions. Most of the time the people I meet with are calm, nervous but calm. They speak quickly, have hands engulfed in sweat, and tend to ramble a bit, but they don't scream, grab at me, or freak out externally. Children are usually pretty laid back as well, not quite grasping the concept of royalty and why we should be treated differently. I, too, agree with their outlook on the situation. Paparazzi, and obsessed fans, on the other hand are a different story entirely. Like film and music stars, we too get hounded by paps trying to get the inside scoop on our lives and gossip surrounding us. Thankfully we're not as big as the main English royal family so our paps tend to be fewer and farther in between. As for crazed fans, we've a few.

"Prepare to enter the primary school." Niall speaks into his secret-service-like radio device to the other guards as I take one last deep breath. There are quite a few paps and fans waiting outside the steps to the primary school. They scream upon my arrival, their voices carrying through the bullet-proof windows of the town car. "On my signal, the princess is exiting the vehicle." With a brief squeeze of my hand against Niall's bicep, one of my guards is throwing the town car door open.

Niall slides out of the vehicle first, standing by as I gracefully exit the vehicle, head bowed down to avoid camera flashes to the eyes. Charlotte follows us both, her hands clasping the portfolio full of notes in her hands. The noise is enhanced once we're out in the open, paps yelling my name like they're my best mates whilst fans squeal in shock that they're this close to meeting royalty. I send them all a polite smile though my head is bowed, following Niall up the steps of the primary school to escape the loud noises.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't enjoy crowds too much.

When we enter the primary school, a few staff members stand lined up in the front corridor, wide grins on their mouths as they wait for me to approach. One thing that is pretty much an unspoken rule is that you don't approach a royal, they approach you; unless I speak to one of them first they cannot greet me. I think it's a pretty stupid "rule", but I go along with it to avoid conflict.

"Hello." I say to the first person, smiling kindly at them before outreaching my hand to shake theirs. I receive a brief courtesy from the older woman with frizzy greying hair and bright eyes, before she extends her hand out to me.

"Hello, your highness." She greets, smiling to me. There appears to be a bit of shaking in her voice, probably from nerves, but she's sweet.

"This is Belinda Johnson, the headmistress of the school." Charlotte introduces for me. I'd be nowhere without Charlotte by my side. She knows everyone's names, titles, and background information. She's a true blessing that woman.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Johnson. Thank you for welcoming me into your school."

"It's an honour, your highness." Miss Johnson begins to run us through how the reading programme at their school and how well the children are responding to it. She says test scores in literature have increased significantly since they took in the programme last year. She proceeds to show us around the school a bit before leading us towards the gymnasium where I'll be reading to the children and their parents. "We've got quite the crowd today on your behalf and the children are so very excited."

"I am excited as well. I love coming into the community and doing work with schools, it fills me with great happiness." Niall walks ahead of us, clearing on edge with the layout of the building, but when is he not on edge? A few of our guards are ahead of him, leading the way, whilst the rest hang behind us, following along.

"Here we are. Whenever you are ready, we can introduce you." Miss Johnson bids us a brief adiux before entering the gymnasium to address a situation that she needed to. Niall, Charlotte, and I gaze into the gymnasium through the small windows in the double doors, looking at all the children sitting around waiting. Parents are standing behind them, chatting with other parents and teachers all whilst keeping an eye on their own children.