Princeps

2. Butterflies and Death Stares

"I present to you, King William Of England and his family." Jacques, the head of the household introduced as two guards opened the front doors.

I took another deep breath and shook out my nerves. The King came through with the Queen, but I didn't see their sons. I felt myself slightly deflate. I was hoping he'd be here. To hide my disappointment, I slipped on a fake smile and stood tall.

"William! It's great to see you, my old friend." Papa said, grinning. William chuckled and hugged Papa.

"Easy on the old, Robert. I'd be saying the same thing about you." William joked. He moved to stand in front of Joan. She batted her eyelashes and William quickly pecked her knuckles then moved to wrap his arm around his wife, Marie, who was giving Joan a smile that seemed way too big to be genuine.

William had brown hair that was combed to the side with light green eyes. His hair had a few grey streaks in it, kind of like Papa's. He was wearing traveling clothes with the colors of his country. Red, white, and blue. He was a very well built man that resembled a general. He was the same height as my father, coming in at 6'2.

"My my my. Look how grown up these gentlemen have gotten! Last time I saw you two, you were climbing up in the trees!" Marie, the king's wife, exclaimed, coming up to the boys. Even though I'm the oldest, I tend to be the one that's ignored.

The Queen was a shorter woman with dark brown hair, that was back in a difficult braided bun, and fair skin. Her eyes were a bright blue, the same color as the ocean. She was wearing traveling clothes also, and they were navy blue. She was wearing black shoes, and she had diamond earrings hanging from her ears.

"Thank you, your majesty. But who says we don't climb trees anymore?" John said, taking the Queen's hand and placing a kiss on her knuckles.

The Queen chuckled. "And Nathaniel! You must be in your twenties by now!" She said, amazed.

"Only fifteen, your majesty. But thank you for the compliment." He said, copying my brother. Marie went to stand by her husband, accidentally forgetting me.

"Good afternoon, your Majesty's." I began, curtsying. "I'm glad that you made it here safely. I hope your journey was enjoyable?" Nathaniel and Johnathon smirked.

"Don't be an attention freak, dear." Joan said, shooting me a smile that meant, 'I'll kill you later'. I bit my tongue and looked back to our royal guests.

"Our trip was decent, thank you for asking, Angelica. You've grown into a fine young woman." King William said, kissing my knuckles.

"Thank you, your majesty. You don't look a day over thirty." I replied, putting on my best smile. William chuckled and my brothers smiled.

"I apologize I couldn't have said this sooner, but I'm sorry for your loss of Queen Elizabeth. I'm so sorry that we couldn't attend the funeral." Marie said, her husband coming back to her side, a few feet away from us. My smile disappeared and I looked at my brothers. Both of their smiles had faded, just like mine.

"Thank you for your concern, Marie. Where are your sons?" Joan asked. It was a struggle to not roll my eyes.

"They were right behind us—" Marie was cut off by the front doors opening to reveal the two princes. The brothers walked in, and my heart started doing a tap dance. "Oh! Here they are! Thomas, Alexander! Come greet our hosts!" Marie gestured towards my family.

Thomas came up first. He was the spitting image of his father, except he was 5'9. He was wearing a grey dress shirt with pants and boots. His hair was combed back into a ponytail and his body was thin under his shirt. Very unlike my brothers who were both tall and muscled.