We finished the rest of the night without talking about politics, our new titles, or school. Once Dad was asked about his gardening hobby, plants were all he could talk about. I was surprised. The King didn't make him the royal gardener right there and then.
Mom and Violet broke off into their own conversation about period dramas. It was more of Mom fact-checking than anything else.
Alexander and I stuffed our faces with the sweets Diana left. Alexander took a bite of a macaroon and winced.
"You okay?" I asked.
"Yeah," he said. "My teeth are a little sore lately."
"Do you need to go to a dentist?" I paused. "This might sound strange, but do you even have to go to a dentist?"
Alexander shook his head. "Fair question and yes, we do. Our fangs can come in twisted or crooked so, we have to go to a dentist to make corrections."
"But yours have grown in."
"Could be stress," he admitted. "I've found myself grinding my teeth when I sleep."
I squeezed his hand. "Might be your answer."
"Yeah."
It was half-past ten when we finally decided to go home. Dianna wrapped up the remaining sweets. There were many handshakes and hugs.
"They were so nice," Mom said on the drive back. "We should do this more often. Maybe they can come over to our house."
"They're probably busy," I quickly said. "We'll have to work around their busy schedule."
"Yeah, let's wait," Dad was quick to agree.
As soon as we got home, I showered and crawled into bed. I sent a message to Alexander and snuggled into my pillow. My eyes wouldn't stay open. To be honest, I hadn't done much but the mental strain on the other hand had eaten up all of my energy.
I'm sure there were a million things I had to do for school but right now, I wanted to sleep.
There was no rest after that day. Mom had already ordered my school supplies and would arrive in a day but she insisted I'd get a wardrobe update.
Dad was on board with this so he dropped us off at the mall and left. Mom knew exactly where she wanted to go. I didn't get a say in the matter. At least I wore comfortable shoes.
Mom walked around the first store grabbing skirts and dresses, new blouses, and jeans. I tried to get a few words in but she kept walking around and handing me clothes. The shoppers around us gave us second glances.
"Mom?" I asked, as we finally went to check out. "Can - are we allowed to get this much? Won't Dad get mad?"
Mom placed the mountain of clothes on the counter.
"Don't worry about it," she said, reaching into her purse.
"Are you using the credit card?" I asked.
"Rin, don't worry."
"But-"
"It's fine."
It was only after Mom took out a black card that I knew something was wrong.
"What is that?" I asked.
"Hmm?" Mom said.
She watched the cashier slowly fold the clothes and put them in paper bags.
"Is that ours?" I whispered.
Mom gave me a look. "It is now."
I stared at her for the longest time. I was even tempted to walk out of the store. Instead, I stood beside her, waiting. I winced at the amount. Mom paid like it was nothing and we left with the bags in tow.
Outside, Mom placed the bags on a bench next to the kids' area.
"Is was a gift," she began.
"From the royal family," I finished.
Mom blushed.
"How can you accept it?" I asked.
"It came in the mail this morning. Violet wrote a letter and said we can use it since this comes from having titles."
"We can return it."
"It's not unlimited," Mom said.
I crossed my arms. "Knowing Alexander, it probably is."
"Rin, I called the main house as soon as I read the letter. As I said, we're representatives, we have to look presentable. We can't allow anyone to mock us or the royal family."
As much as I didn't like to admit it, she had a point. I'd feel worse if people made fun of Alexander because I wrote the wrong dress or something.
"Did we really need to spend that much?" I asked.
"You'll need clothes for your internship," she reminded me. "Not to mention school. We still need to get you some new shoes. You can't wear sneakers all the time."
"There's still more?"
"Rin, I'm sure you don't Prince Rothchester to get attacked because his girlfriend wore the wrong pair of shoes."
I looked away. How could she almost read my mind like that? "So, shoes and that's it?"
"Your dad and I need better suits," Mom said. "Plus, I couldn't find any casual skirts for you either. We can take a look around."
I looked at the bags. "We're going to need a locker."
"I'll let you handle that. I'll meet you at the shoe area."
With a small wave, she walked away. Sighing, I picked up the bags and headed to the locker area. Luckily, it wasn't that far away. I kept thinking I should send Alexander a message but I didn't want to nag him. I did send him a good morning text and we talked for a few before he stopped answering. It was another busy day at the office.
It's was going to be a long and busy day for me too.
When I found Mom again, she had already bought a few pairs of shoes. She handed me the large bags and sent me back to the lockers.
This was how the whole day went. She'd go to the store and buy everything before I even got there. I didn't even take that long either.
We took a lunch break in the food court and, this time, Mom paid with her own money. I devoured my burger and slurped down my orange soda. I got an extra ten minute break while Mom went window shopping. A text later ruined my break. I had to return to ferrying shopping bags to the lockers.
By the time Dad picked us up, my arms were ready to fall and every step was painful. Dad helped me carry the bags into the car and we played Tetris with them to try to get everything to fit. He didn't say a word about the amount.
"Let's not doing this again," I told Mom on the way home.
"We'll see."
I slept the rest of the way home. I vaguely remember getting home, showering, and eating dinner. I was awake for an hour after that before finally falling asleep.
Alexander might have visited that night but I was oblivious to everything.