I met with Mr. Adams after school the next day. Joseph drove me to an etiquette studio downtown. I munched on a chicken wrap on the way there. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much. As long I didn't say the wrong thing, I doubted Alexander's mom would dislike me . . . that much.
"You sure have been keeping busy," Joseph said, stopping at a light.
"I need to step up my game," I told him. "I don't want to be used as a weak point for the royal family."
"No one would dare."
I shrugged. "Maybe but I don't want to risk it."
As I finished the rest of my chicken wrap, I thought about Alexander. Hopefully, one day, I'd be able to stand by his side and help him. This was one of the many obstacles I needed to get through.
The studio was a two story building. As I entered, a cool blast of air greeted me. Looking around, it was a cute period room with furniture right out of one of those period dramas my mom liked to watch so much. A man stood behind a desk, wearing a monocle.
"Good afternoon," I said, approaching. "My name is Rin Borek. I have an appointment with Mr. Adams."
"Yes, one moment."
The man reached under the desk and brought out a large leather book. He flipped a couple of pages before looking up at me again.
"Please take a seat. He'll be with you in a moment."
I didn't have to wait long. Mr. Adams walked from around the corner a few minutes later. He wore a well-fitted suit and his sand-colored hair was groomed to one side. He smiled and bowed.
"Welcome, Miss Borek. Let's talk inside."
Drying my hands on my clothes, I followed him. He led me to a the first door past the reception desk. It was small space with a round table and two chairs. On it, was a tray of sweet and tea.
"Made fresh," he told me. "Please take a seat."
He poured me a cup.
"Thanks."
Mr. Adams poured a cup for himself. "Now, I understand you are meeting the Queen Consort?"
"Yes.
"That doesn't give much time to work with."
"I want to learn how to properly greet her and other mannerisms to know while I'm around other royal members."
Mr. Adams took a sip of his tea. "Though you won't have much time to practice, we can at least start you with the foundations. I suggest we start today."
"Sure, I'll let chauffer know."
I quickly sent a message to Joseph asking him to take a break for a few hours. Mr. Adams took me to one of the wide rooms on the second floor. It reminded me of a dance room or ballet room with mirrors on every wall. The room was small but it was enough to work with.
"To be honest, I didn't know you had an etiquette class," I said.
"It was a business needed, I believe," he replied. "After my time with Prince Rothchester, I believed it was time for a career change. I do offer some private tutoring now and again."
I thought back to last year. Considering how Alexander behaved, I wasn't surprised. Mr. Adams gave me a key to the lockers by the far wall. Once I got everything put away, we began right away. First step was walking in a 'proper' manner.
I felt like a goose to be honest but I was probably walking incorrectly. Considering the timeline, I also had practice greeting the Queen Consort (played by Mr. Adams).
"I'll send you a personnel book with all the lords, ladies, and officials you need to know about," he said as I tried to gracefully dip into a curtsy.
My legs wobbled but I managed not to fall.
"The Queen Consort may be entertaining guests so knowing who they are and how to greet them will be important."
"I'll definitely study that," I said. "But what do I do if someone greets Alexander?"
"Let me elaborate," he said. "After the engagement ceremony, - yes that's what it is - most lords, ladies, and officials will be bowing to you. You'll need to state or indicate for them to rise. Depending on how long you make them do this is telling of your relationship with them.
"However, seeing how the engagement ceremony hasn't occurred, you'll need to do the bowing. Oh, and try not to use Prince Rothchester's name in public. It's only reserved when you're alone or with family."
"Right. I'll keep that in mind from now on."
"Let's continue."
We practiced for two more hours before Mr. Adams's next appointment arrived. I settled the tuition at the front desk. Mom had the black card but with a quick phone call, it was taken care of.
I had Joseph stop by a smoothie place for a snack on the way back. My legs were heavy. Definitely needed to do exercise.
On the way home, my phone rang. I expected a call from Alexander but his was from Lisa.
"Hey," I said. "How are you?"
"Rin, can we talk?" she asked.
I sat up. "Yeah? What's up? Is everything alright?"
"Are you busy?"
I bit my lip. "Where are you?"
"I'm at home. My dad is with my mom."
"Send me the address. I'll be there as soon as I can."
I ended the call. A few moments later, Lisa sent me her address. As Joseph drove, I sent a message to Alexander. Though we had seen each other some time ago, I wanted to make sure we had some decent communication.
'Doing okay until we had a development. And not the good kind.'
As soon as I read his text, I already knew what had happened. No wonder Lisa wanted to talk. I was the only who had experience with a vampire turning into a human.
'Can I see you tonight?' I asked.
Alexander hadn't replied by the time Joseph stopped outside of Lisa's house.
"I'm not sure how long it will take," I told him. "Can you get me some things in case I sleep over?"
"Sure thing," he said. "Leave it to me."
After he dropped me off, I walked up the house and rang the doorbell. A few moments later, Lisa opened the door. Her face was red and her hair didn't like it been washed recently. Wordlessly, she invited me in. Her house was luxurious. On the outside, it looked like just any other house on the block.
I followed Lisa into the living room. There was a blanket and pillows on the couch. Lisa sat down and I joined her. I took my hand in hers and squeezed it.
"My mom's human," she told me. "Happened this morning. Dad sent me home almost immediately."
I thought back to Alexander's accident and the time it took for him to become human.
"Seems like they improved the formula," I muttered.
She looked at me, her chin trembled. I bit my lip. I considered Lisa my friend but I didn't think I should tell her everything. At the same time, she had signed a non-disclosure agreement so she couldn't tell anyone else.
"Alexander turned human only recently," I explained. "For the other officials, it was days as opposed to months. We think Alexander was a trial, if you will. We don't know what the Extremists are planning."
"How long will it last?"
"We don't know. Dr. Daniels is working on an antidote. Unfortunately, he has a lot of samples to work with."
Lisa stayed quiet.
To be honest, I should be trying to comfort her but there was nothing I could say to make this situation less terrible. After some prompting, I found that Lisa hadn't taken care of herself. I ordered her and myself food.
As we waited, I convinced Lisa to shower while I went around and tried to clean a little. I was sure they had a maid come but it didn't seem like they had provided any service lately. I made a mental note to ask Lisa about it. As she showered, I ran whatever laundry I could. Most of the outfits needed to be dry cleaned.
By the time Lisa was done, dinner was here. I thanked the delivery guy and set the food in the living room. As we ate in silence, I sent a message to my parents. I asked them if I could stay over only if Lisa needed some company. Surprisingly, they agreed.
"Thanks for the meal," Lisa said, sipping her drink. "We've been staying near Mom a lot so we haven't been home."
"No need to apologize," I said. "Are you staying here alone tonight?"
She hesitated. "Dad wants me to get some rest. I don't think I can."
"I can stay with you tonight," I offered. "Only if you're okay with it."
"You'd do that?"
"Yeah. We're friends, right?"
She smiled gratefully. "Thanks."
After dinner, Lisa volunteered to clean first. As I worked on the kitchen, I send another message to Alexander.
'Will be sleeping over with Lisa. Sorry. Let's talk tomorrow. She's not taking the news very well.'
I also message Joseph. He had everything ready for me and he dropped a duffle bag off at the front door.
"Having a chauffeur is really handy," Lisa said, attempting a smile.
"Yeah," I said. "There are perks."
Most of the evening, we caught up on homework while soothing music played in the background. It was a useful way to keep us distracted. That night, we camped out in the living room. Lisa rested before I fell asleep.
In the darkness of the room, I thought about the randomness of the Extremists. Not only did they try to 'assassinate' Alexander, they had stayed quiet for months and all of a sudden they revealed themselves. They turned vampires officials humans and then released a video about it to the public. Why?
What did they hope to gain? This was a message but to who? The Mafia didn't seem to know either so that meant the Extremists were backed by someone or a group of people more powerful than the Mafia.
There were only a handful of people that fit that list. It was a little worrisome. King Lionel and Violet were a few of them. Alexander fit the bill, any official (but it didn't make sense why they would do that to themselves), and lastly, the King's wives.
Of course there was no evidence but it was the only thing that made sense. This line of process also included the Queen Consort, my future mother-in-law. It didn't make sense for it to be her, right? Alexander already Crown Prince and King Lionel didn't seem like someone to change his mind so easily.
Sighing, I rolled over to my side. Before I started jumping to conclusions, I needed better information. To do that, I needed sleep.