"Congratulations, Prince Seth. I'm proud of you!" Princess Meredith cheered as she hugged her grandson. Seth grinned. "Thank you, grandma," he said kindly and Rose smiled. She had never actually had seen Seth be kind to someone.
It looked like he and Princess Meredith were quite close. Meredith then gave Rose a warm smile. "You looked different today, Princess Rose, very beautiful," she mused. Rose chuckled and felt slightly awkward when she called her princess; her new title. "Thank you, my lady," she thanked and bowed down.
"Call me grandma. You are my granddaughter now,” Meredith instructed and held her shoulder. Rose looked down and nodded. Alex then showed up from behind them, holding two glasses containing wine. "Seth, congratulations, buddy," he congratulated Seth and handed him a glass.
Seth took it from his hand. "Thanks, Alex," he smiled. Alex raised his glass. "To Prince Seth and Rose," he cheered and the whole Hall raised their glasses and drank it. Jace just smiled, but Rose could tell that he wasn't feeling like celebrating this marriage; so did Rose.
Rose raised a hand. "Can I ask a question?" She said awkwardly. Meredith nodded and waited. "Err-so we're married. Does this mean that I have to-" she tried to search for the right word. "have to share a room with him?" she blurted shyly and looked up at Seth.
He shook his head; embarrassed. Meredith let out a small laugh. "Sweetheart, don't you worry. We understood that you are still young so we've decided that both of you should sleep in different rooms. Until the time comes," she explained, and Rose was relieved.
Seth leaned down to her ear. "Thank God," he whispered and smiled. Rose was annoyed and elbowed his waist. "Ouch," Seth moaned.
Meredith laughed. "You make a cute couple. The late King knew what he was planning," she said in awe, sounded a little sad the moment she mentioned about her late husband. Alex nodded in agreement.
"Cute couple? Yeah, right," Seth snorted slowly. He glimpsed at his new wife and had to admit she was very beautiful; almost the same as how she looked on their engagement day.
The orchestra started to play a slow music. Meredith listened to it. "Why don't you take your bride for a dance, Seth," she suggested. Rose gulped as she had never danced with anyone before. She always danced alone in ballet.
Seth hesitated for a second before taking her hand and gesturing her to the centre of the hall. Rose shuffled her feet nervously, her palms sweating. Seth took both her hands into his, and led them over his hips, just above his buttocks.
"You're a ballerina Rose. Why'd you look so scared?" He asked, weirdly, as he realised that she was freaking out. He pulled himself closer towards her ,and placed his hand on her back. They danced. "If you noticed, a ballerina danced all by herself, Seth," she mimicked as they were moving slowly, organically, to the music.
Seth nodded as he swayed from side to side. "That explains it. What ever it is, you're not the worst dancer in the world," he praised playfully. "Thank you," Rose said mischievously.
"Why'd you agree? On this marriage?" Rose asked curiously. She had wanted to ask the question ever since they first meet.
Seth sighed and looked away. "I thought you knew. That it was my grandfather last wish," he answered. "And?" Rose demanded as she felt that he was hiding something.
Seth turned his eyes to her and their gaze met. "Just that," he assured. The orchestra stopped playing the music and King Edward motioned to the front hall. Everyone went silent instantly.
"Its time for the cake," he declared and the oak doors opened. A chef entered the hall and was pushing a trolley. On it was a six-layer cake, with pink cream on top of it. The biggest cake that she had ever seen. Seth grabbed her arm and looped it through his, they walked to his father.
The cake arrived in front of them and Seth took the knife. He leaned to her ear. "Cut the cake with me," he whispered and Rose held the knife with him. They both sliced the cake, together.
The ceremony ended at midnight, and Rose was exhausted. She never thought that her wedding day would be this tiring. The new husband and wife walked toward another building in the palace, escorted by their family behind them.
Rose and Seth finally reached a one storey tall building with two chambers. The building was more modern compared to the other old ones. Probably because it was still fairly new.
The walls were covered with light brown and white wallpaper. A green coffee table, and two two-seater blue couches was placed in the middle; between the two chambers. One room on the left and one on the right. In front, there was a small garden; with plants, bushes and flowers and a bench. Everything was perfect.
"As you can see, there are two chambers in this building. Seth, you'll be sleeping in the right, while Rose, you in the left. All your belongings have been brought here," King Edward told his son and daughter-in-law.
"If you two want to hang out together, you can just sit in here," he pointed at the couches. "Or you can hang around in the garden," he explained. Rose nodded and was delighted as she didn't have to share a bed with Seth.
Meredith shook her head. "If it was up to me, I would let you both share a chamber," she protested. "You're old enough," Rose and Seth's eyes widened. "No!" They shouted simultaneously, hands up in the air. They both stared at each other; realising that they had finally found something in common. Everyone stared at them.
"It'll be...... inconvenient" Rose gave an excuse and waved her hands to her new family. "Seth and I just knew each other so I'm not ready," her cheeks turned cherry-red and she nimble with her fingers.
"She's right!" Seth agreed in a second. "Plus, we're still school so we'll have homework!" He supported. Rose crinkled her nose. "What a stupid idea!" She thought. Meredith sighed. If it was up to her, she wanted a great-grandchildren as soon as possible. "Fine, if you say so," she gave in. Queen Carla cleared her throat.
"Before you go to sleep, may I speak to you for a while, Princess Rose," she asked. Rose nodded and followed her to the garden. They sat on the bench in the garden. "It must be hard for you, to cope with all this," she started.
"But you've made your choice, Rose so you'll have to live with it," she put her hands on her thigh and pulled a deep breath. "Honestly, I've always wanted Seth to marry a royalty and not a commoner."
Rose looked down and felt slightly offended. "But the King passed away and he left his last wish to us. He said that it was time for a royalty to marry a commoner, to strengthen the bond between the ruler and its people," Carla continued.
"I understand," Rose drawled. "I don't want this to happen either but I didn't have a choice,"
Queen Carla beamed at her daughter-in-law. "I see. But nothing could change now that you're married to Seth. I'm just hoping that you'll take care of him, and treat him well," she smiled gently. Rose nodded but didn't promise anything. She just couldn't. Rose suddenly yawned.
"You're tired. You must go to bed," Carla got up to her feet. Rose nodded and they walked toward Seth and the others. "Goodnight," King Edward wished them before he and his wife went away from the building. Meredith kissed both Seth and Rose on the cheek and followed them out from the building.
Seth stretched his body. "I'm so tired!" he loosened up his tie. Rose nodded and sighed. She walked towards her chamber and turned the doorknob.
"Hey," she heard Seth called for her so she turned back. "What?" she asked and covered her mouth using her hand as she yawned.
"Thanks for.. you know this," he blurted out. "My grandfather would be happy now," Rose smiled and shook her head.
"Nah, thank you, now my parents house is saved," she thanked him and he grinned. She turned the doorknob and entered her room. "Goodnight," he wished her. "Night," she wished back and she shut the door.
Her mouth fell open as she entered the room. It was her dream room. The wallpapers were in pink and her bed sheet too most of the furniture’s were in pink. Except that her huge wardrobe, which was in white. She skated to the bathroom, and it was huge.
A huge bathtub; and a hot tub were placed in the bathroom. Rose jumped around the bedroom and danced. This was the only thing that had made her happy today.
Rose got into the bathroom and changed into her sleeping gown. She brushed her teeth and face and motioned towards the king size bed. She crawled onto it and pulled the comforter to her chin. She closed her eyes, trying to get a beautiful sleep. "Goodnight, Princess Rose Larston," she said to herself and fell asleep.
~~
Rose felt someone rocking her body. She opened her eyes slowly, and saw Madam Hartford, sitting on her bed, next to her. "Princess, its time to get up," she said kindly. Rose shrugged and refused to get up.
She slept at three yesterday, why can't they let her sleep more? "My Lady, you'll be late for the meet," Madam Hartford tried again.
"I'm tired," Rose whined and covered her face using the pillow like she always did. "Five minutes... No, half an hour..." Madam Hartford shook her head and pulled the comforter from her. "You have to get up now or you'll be late, my Lady."
Rose sighed and opened her eyes. She climbed off from the bed and headed for the bathroom. She rubbed her eyes, trying to stay awake. "Princess, the bathroom is over here," Madam Hartford corrected her and Rose blinked her eyes. She was heading to the wrong way. Rose then turned back and walked to the bathroom; fast, as she was embarrassed.
After she was done with her bath, she motioned toward her wardrobe. She slid open the door and her eyes widened. They were not her clothes. She ruffled the wardrobe, in search for any of her clothes. Instead, she only found fancy skirts and tops and dresses in it. "Where are my clothes?" she asked Madam Hartford, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry, Princess. I've forgot to inform you that all your clothes were thrown away," she explained. Rose's mouth fell open. "You threw my clothes away?" She ranted. Madam Hartford nodded. "Yes. The Queen herself had chosen your new garments in the wardrobe. Its more suitable for you as the Crown Prince's wife."
Rose sighed. She yielded to her orders and turned herself back to her new clothes in the wardrobe. "And Princess?" Madam Hartford called for her. "I'll be choosing your daily clothes and for today, you'll be wearing these." She told her and pointed at two servants.
They were holding a pair of light blue high heels, a white plain tank top and a floral colourful short skirt. Great. She will be wearing a skirt. Things just got better.
When she'd done, she went from her chamber and found her husband; sitting on the couch with a newspaper in his hands, and a coffee on the table. She walked towards him and sat on the couch opposite to his. "Morning," she greeted him, trying to be nice.
"Morning," he replied full of boredom, his eyes still on the papers. Rose frowned and started to regret being nice on him. He didn't deserve it. "You know what we'll be doing today?" He asked suddenly. Rose shook her head and kept wincing on the couch.
"Breakfast and then off for a photo shoot. Then we have a lunch date with Duke of Burbanos and his wife. In the evening, we have an interview session with the press. Then we'll be going to a tea party in somewhere near Lexine," he explained and took his coffee.
"So, we're not going to school?"
"Welcome to my world, darling," he said, sipping his coffee. "Now, school will only be your hobby and it's not even necessary anymore," he put back his coffee on the table. "You ready?" He asked, getting up on his feet. Rose sighed. Now she wouldn’t have any time for ballet too; she should have known. "Never will be," she said and rose to her feet.
Like Seth said, their schedule was tight. She already felt exhausted and lost all her energy, even though it was only noon. It was even more tiring than three hours of non-stop ballet. The worst thing was, everyone was chasing her around, and she had to be protected by the bodyguards. Just like Seth. Everyone kept asking her for her autograph, and hunted her for her photos.
"Princess Rose!"
"Princess, smile to the camera!"
"You're looking great, Princess!"
Rose climbed into the limo right after Seth. She pulled her hair back and tied a ponytail. She wasn't suppose to do that - Madam Hartford had warned her but it was too hot. She glanced at Seth and surprisingly he looked calm. Or one could say, lifeless. He already had his Ipod in his ears.
Rose sighed and leered at her pink wristwatch. It was 4 o'clock in the evening; she could still go to school to take her disc of ballet songs and her ballet suit. Maybe she could actually do some ballet in the castle. She tied to muster up the words but they seemed to be lost, when she looked at Seth's scary and evil face.
"What?" Seth asked, puzzled when he realised that Rose was staring at him, with her mouth open-like, she was going to say something. Rose faked a smile. "Can we stop by the school for a few minutes?" She asked, with hope that Seth would agree.
"For what?" Seth asked without looking at her and kept flicking the magazine. "Missing school already?" Sarcasm hitting every word. Rose shook her head. "I left something in school. Its important," she said, eyes downcast. She decided that it would be best if Seth didn't know that she wanted to take her ballet things.
Seth didn't say a word. Rose knew that he didn't agree, so she sulked. Seth glanced at his wife and felt a little sorry for her. It probably was really important. Plus, she looked cute when she was sulking. He pressed a button on his left arm. "Take us to school," he instructed the driver. "Yes, Sire," the driver responded.
Rose couldn't help but smile brightly. She never thought that he would agree with her. "Thanks," she said, smiling. Seth was silent, and continued flicking his magazine with his headphones in his ears.
Several minutes later, they arrived at the school. It was almost empty as it was the evening. The bodyguard opened the door for her, and she stepped out from the limo. But she was surprised when she saw Seth get out from the limo too. "Where are you going?" She asked, bewildered.
"I'm going with you," he said, straightening his blue vest. "I want to see that thing, which is so important to you," he walked into the school building. Rose stunned. If he knew that she was going to fetch her ballet things, would he be mad? Probably. He’d call her stupid because she wanted to do ballet in the palace. Seth turned back. "Are you coming?" He asked.
Rose frowned but followed him into the building. She led Seth to the Entertainment and Art Building, to her studio, where she always trained. She took the key from her handbag and opened the studio. "Wow, you have the studio's key?" Seth snorted. Rose nodded. "My coach gave it to me last summer. Told me to practice everyday, with or without her," she explained and pushed the door open.
The studio was quite big. The floor was smooth, walls were covered with mirrors and pink wallpapers, a few bears were placed here and there, a piano in the corner of the room and there was a locker room. Seth was amazed, as he had never stepped into a dance studio before. He circled around the studio. "Nice," he mused.
"Yeah. My second house,” Rose smiled, hands on her hips. "You're the first guy that's been here," she chortled. Seth turned toward her. "Seriously?" He asked.
"Yup," Rose assured, and head to the locker room. She opened her locker and glimpsed at Seth. He was busy observing the piano. Slowly, she stuffed her ballet suit and few discs, making sure that Seth wasn't looking. She didn't want him to laugh at her. Then, she shut the door and went out from the room.
"So, we're here. Why don't you show me your dancing skills?" Seth suggested, opening his arms and sat on the bench at the piano. "I can play this piano and you dance."
Rose shook her head and let out a small laugh. "I'm not wearing my suit," she prattled. "Besides, I won't do any private show, especially to you," she bragged. Seth chuckled and got up to his feet. "Afraid, huh? I promise that I won't laugh," he lied.
"Maybe next time," Rose rejected and turned the doorknob. "Come on, school will be closing within minutes," she said. Seth shrugged and swept pass through her, out from the studio. Rose shut the door close and locked it.
"I thought you were taking something?" Seth asked and looked at Rose. She wasn't holding anything, just her handbag. Rose tapped her handbag. "Got it here," she said and walked to the limo.