As promised, the day was stress free, curse free, and relaxing. Our picnic in the gardens consisted of strawberries, chocolate, lemon tarts, tea, and chocolate cake. Going inside, Evie had turned one of the lounge rooms into a backstage area, with vanities ready for us to use to do make up and hair. On the other side of the room were racks and racks of clothes that seemed to just appear and be in everyones sizes, even my pregnant size!
"E! What on earth did you do?" I exclaim, taking in the room.
"Oh, I just had time to spare so I thought that I'd make the experience more real." She chuckles to herself. "Okay, ladies, we have a show to put on."
The next two hours were spent making each other look amazing...well more amazing than usual, and picking outfit out that matched the theme from our hair and makeup. When we were all done, we looked good. Standing in front of the full length mirror that stretched across half the wall, we stood side-by-side admiring our works of art...us!
"What now?" Lonnie asks, fixing her head piece.
Lonnie was wearing a half-skirt that was short in the front and long in the back, it when from yellow at the top blending into, orange, red and then a maroon brown, matched with a beautiful peplum top that was a shade of brown. She had matched it with a pair of cork wedges, natural make up with a hint of orange and her hair fell down her back in soft waves.
Jane had found a slimming dress, that had a lace design on the torso, which went up and turned into long lace sleeves. There was a slit up the side of her dress that reached just above her knee, giving a view of the stunning white heels that she had found buried at the back of the shoe cupboard. Her make up was pale colour, which would have looked horrible on anyone else, but she managed to pull it off beautifully. I had done her hair in a long fishtail braid to the side, and stuck pins in that had tiny sparkling jewels on the end.
Evie - phenomenal when it comes to fashion as always - had a pair of ripped jeans on that were apple shade of red, with a vibrant green 3/4 sleeve, tight fitting V-neck top that had leaf patterns on it. She had paired the outfit with a pair of shiny red 6-inch heels that made her tower over the rest of us. Her make up was natural with brilliant red lipstick that were the focal point of her face, the front of her hair pulled back with a red headband, Lonnie had teased the rest of her hair so that it puffed up at the back.
Then there was me, the girls had insisted on pampering me, so they chose everything that I wore and how my make up and hair were done. And they had done brilliantly, I was actually shocked at how good I looked. Usually it took me forever to get ready and look this good! I was standing in a white flowing gown, that swirled around my legs when I twirled. It had a sweetheart neckline with thick straps to hold it up, There was a sparkling belt across the top of my baby bump which was very noticeable in this dress, but it made it look more magical. My hair was half up/ half down, in curls with glittering pins similar to Jane's holding it in place. I barely had any make up on, the girls had used light brown shades that seemed to blend in with my skin but also stand out at the same time and my lipstick was a light shade of pink. I had on white 4-inch heels because that was all that I could walk in.
"Now,' Evie started heading towards the door. "We go across the hall and give the fashion show of our lives."
"What?" Jane, Lonnie and I cried together.
"What do you mean give the 'fashion show of our live'?" I asked, what had she planned?
"Oh, I just asked the guys and a few of the palace staff to attend a fashion show that we were putting on." Evie waved the comment off, continuing out the door.
"E!" I yelled after her. Jane, Lonnie and I looked at each other, there was no way that we were going to win this argument against her, so we trudged after her, a little ways down the hall where the doors were open to the ballroom and there were stairs right in the doorway leading up. Wow, she really wasn't kidding when she said that she wanted this to be a real experience.
Music started playing and I peaked out of the curtains, leading down the middle of the ballroom was a runway, and on either side of the runway were the boys, and a larger amount of our closet palace staff than Evie had let on.
"E!" I whispered loudly. "That is more than a few of the palace staff!" I looked out further, and caught a glimpse of a camera crew. "And you invited the media!"
"I figured that the public need to see you guys having fun once in a while, showing that you are still the same person that was crowned their queen under a year ago. And Ben thought it would be good to have something positive about the royals in the media for once." Evie explained.
"Fine." I stomp my foot. "But just so you know, I hate you!"
"No you don't!" She called after me as I went to go tell the other girls what was actually happening.
Suddenly, Evie said that it was time for the show. She lined us up, Jane first, then Evie, then Lonnie and last was me. Apparently, Evie wanted people to focus on me. Giving Jane the signal, she strutted her stuff down the runway, swinging her hips like we had seen so many times on the TV. At the end she posed a few times and the cameras went off, the crowd clapped and cheered at her winter themed outfit.
When Jane was halfway back down the runway, Evie walked out next. You could tell that this was the life she was meant to have because she absolutely owned that runway. Striking her poses at the end of the runway, the cameras went off at double time, and I heard one of the boys wolf-whistle, it was probably Doug, I'm sure she knocked him out dead in that outfit. Strutting back, Lonnie followed what Evie did before and walked out, once E was halfway back. As it turned out, all my friends could strut down the runway really well. I noticed that Lonnie incorporated from Chinese fighting stances into her poses, showing her heritage. Cameras went off there were claps and calls, when she was about to get halfway, I got ready to make my way out but Evie's hand stopped me. Shaking her head at me, she brought the microphone to her lips as soon as Lonnie was inside the curtains.
There was dramatic lighting through the split in the curtains, a change ini music and Evie's voice came over the loud speaker.
"Ladies and Gentleman, our next model is that one that you've all been waiting for. She's stunning, she's courageous, she's brave...and she's 6 months pregnant! I give you, Queen Mal!"
With that she gave me a little nod, telling me that I could walk out now. And it was a real experience alright. The lighting was soft, making my dress seem more magical, there was a slight breeze coming from somewhere, making me dress swirl around my legs slightly, and the music was a beautiful melody, with no lyrics. There was gasps from the audience, and everything was silent for a moment as I stood there, letting it them all look at the outfit for a moment. Then they all started clapping, cameras went off and I made my way down the runway, I passed by Ben and he looked absolutely shocked, it was actually similar to the face he made when I walked down the aisle. At the end of the runway, I struck a few poses, making sure to show off my beautiful baby bump.
The audience clapped and cheered more and the cameras went off faster than before, as the other girls joined me on the end of the runway. We posed together for the cameras to take a photo of us all together. Ben came around to the front of the stage and held out his arms to me, lent down and he lifted me off the stage. Swinging me around so that my dress flew out behind me. Slowly, lowering me down, he brought my lips to his, and I saw the cameras go off once more as we kissed.
The lights returned to normal, and the media began to interview us.
"Excuse me, Your Majesty?" It was Macey from 'Royals Now' magazine.
"Macey!" I exclaimed. "It's so good to see you again."
"And you too, Your Highness. So, what brought on this idea of a fashion show?" She asked.
"Well, it was actually Evie's idea. She wanted me to have a relaxing and work free day. So we started out by having a picnic in the gardens earlier, and then I was told that we would be putting on a small fashion show for our friends and a few of the close palace staff. It wasn't until I looked out the curtain before the show that I realised that Evie had planned something a bit bigger than a small fashion show." I chuckled, answering her question.
"Yes, it was a bit bigger than expected." Macey chuckled along with me. "So, Your Majesty, what did you think of your wife on the runway?" She asked Ben.
"I think that she looked absolutely radiant." Ben smiled down at me, we both knew the camera would get the moment but it was good for the kingdom to see that we were still deeply in love with each other despite everything that is going on. "Some people may not have been able to handle the duties of a queen, a curse and being pregnant all at the same time; but my beautiful wife has been able to just that and so much more."
"Thank you, Your Majesties." Macey ended and the camera was shut off. "If you don't mind, I was wondering if I could put the video up on the website and publish an article about your fashion show in the magazine tomorrow?"
"You know, Macey, you are the only reporter to actually ask us permission to publish stuff." I say, making her smile. "Of course, you are allowed to put this show out for the public to see."
"Thank you." And with a curtsy, she was gone.
Looking around I saw that everyone had left, probably to change and go eat dinner because it was starting to get dark outside. I felt Ben staring at me with a loving smile on his face.
"What?" I ask.
"Nothing, you just look absolutely stunning in that dress." He admits, pulling me closer to him. Then gently bringing me in, he kissed me deeply. One of those kisses that make your heart flutter and go weak at the knees.
Ben and I chose to skip dinner with our friends and have our own private meal in the comfort of our room. We changed into pyjamas and ate our meal while we watched a movie on the couch. It was nice to have a peaceful moment with Ben. We hadn't had one is such a long time, that I cherished it, at least I did until I fell asleep half-way through the movie. I felt Ben lift me in his arms and put me to bed. Pulling the covers back on his side, I felt the bed shift as he climbed in and moved closer to wrap his arms around me.
And feeling safe in his arms, I fell asleep, having good dreams.
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Fashion Show! Gee, what I wouldn't give to be able to do one of those!
How was Chapter 12?