*The picture is the closest thing I could find of what I want Anna's tiara (given to her in a box on her birthday in chapter 10*
“Anna!” The twins screech from downstairs. Truth be told I would much rather have my iPod wake me up than their annoying voices. I wince and draw the covers over my head, mumbling curses under my breath.
“Anna!” They repeat. I hear their noisy footsteps running up the stairs and brace myself for their usual greeting. They’ve been doing this to me since… well since I can remember.
Every Christmas Eve morning and Christmas Morning they (including Adrian up until now) have run into my room (since I’m always the last one up out of bed) and jumped on me with all their force. It’s amazing they haven’t killed me by now. Though, the past three years they’ve opted more for ripping the covers off of me and yanking me out of bed—and in one case rolling me down the stairs. Let’s not mention that…
“Wake up!” Alec yells, ripping the covers off of me. I grumble and flinch at the sudden dim lighting. Adam laughs, “Come on, Anna!”
I huff and throw a throw pillow at them. They go running out the door yelling about the food for tonight. I sit up in bed and realize Ben’s sweater is lying there with my other blankets on my bed. I stare at it for a good five seconds before picking the soft material up and holding it close to me. It’s warm. It smells like him and feels like him. It’s not like any of my past boyfriends’ shirts or sweatshirts. It… means something… it means something more than (like Brian) him wanting to show me off wearing his clothes. He genuinely just wanted to comfort me.
My mom suddenly appears in the doorway and I loosen my grip on the sweater. She smiles, almost sentimentally. “I used to do that with your father’s shirts all the time. Sometimes I would sit there for hours just thinking about him…”
Silence. She leans against the doorway and stares. I gaze down at the material in my hands.
“Ben cares about you, Anna. Much more than you think”
I sigh and push off my bed, deciding to put on his sweater. She grins, her blue eyes bright with a joyfulness that only Christmas can bring.
I simply say, “I can at least try to make him feel like my depression isn’t his fault.”
She clears her throat. “The ring…”
I scrunch my eyebrows together. “I’ll be cooking, mom.”
“Well not baking. We did all of that two days ago, remember? So there’s no risk of you getting it ruined. Trust me, sweetie, I wouldn’t let you ruin a two-million-euro ring.”
My heart skips a beat as I remember how expensive that thing is. It’s like wearing a mansion on my finger. I hesitantly reach over and slip it on my left ring finger. It’s nice and snug. My perfect ring size.
I hear my mom chuckling and look up. She lifts her left finger up and says, “Now we match.”
I follow her down the stairs to find Ben and Victor already chilling on my sofa. It doesn’t even phase me anymore… and I thank god I had enough decency and sense to put on a bra.
Ben greets me with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on his face. I plop down on the couch beside him.
“Good Morning,” he says brightly.
“Morning,” I mumble, almost incoherently before yawning.
His father chuckles as the twins fight to see who gets to taste the macaroni my mom is preparing for one of the main trays for tonight.
“They’re such idiots,” I say tiredly.
“Well it must be good macaroni,” Ben says jokingly.
I manage to laugh a little and lean against him as the morning news comes on. It’s the same old news, mostly about America’s down-ward-spiraling economy and job losses. Then, the world news part goes on and on about Iran and Iraq and all of the Middle-Eastern countries before skipping over to Slovakia, Ukraine, Vladesvya and Chirnova.
“Yes, we’ve just received news that riots and protests have been quieting down all around Vladesvya. Even the same can be said for Chirnova. Apparently, rumors that the long-lost-princess might have been found have been circulating, stirring up intense, sudden silence all over the countries. Today also marks the memorial of King Stefan and Queen Evangelina’s passing. There will be a moment of silence at twelve noon today for them, including a special changing of the guard at their graves. However, the memorial gala and concert has yet to happen. King Dmitry says that there is not enough money or organization to make such an event happen.”
The entire house falls silent.
“I can’t believe I forgot,” I mutter in disbelief. I always remember this day--Christmas Eve ironically--as the anniversary of my parents passing. I blame exhaustion.
The news reporter continues as b-roll of the grave sight comes into view. Stuffed animals, roses, flowers and notes and candles are not only stacked by my parents graves, but by another granite stone. I can’t read it though.
The reporter says, “Not only have the Chirnovians pulled together as a country in the hopes of bringing peace. They are coming together for one last final hope for their princess to come home. Teddy Bears, flowers and candles—even letters—are scattered around her memorial.”
My eyes widen. “Holy shit,” It just kind of slips out. “Sorry,” I quickly correct myself and say, “They really do think I’m dead.”
Her partner at the newsroom asks, “Why are they treating it as one last shot at finding her?”
The reporter out in the field answers, “Well it’s simply because of the long-standing agreement between King Victor and the deceased rulers. The contract for Princess AnnaMaria to marry Prince Benjamin is still an active contract, as we have found out. Therefore, if they cannot manage to find her by the end of this year, as the contract states, King Dmitry will gain permanent control over the country.”
“Sounds simply heart breaking, Anne,” the newsroom correspondent answers sadly.
As they wrap up their session I stare at the TV in shock. My dad turns on Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase (our favorite family Christmas movie—we watch it every year). Corny, I know.
“They seriously think I’m dead,” I repeat.
Victor chuckles a little. “They’ll be in for a big surprise.”
Ben’s arms tighten around me as I lie against him. “They’re going to love you,” he whispers, kissing my head. I smile a little and Victor sees. He grins as my mom calls out my name.
“Sounds like I’m needed,” I say, pushing off of him and heading towards the kitchen. Of course, he follows me.
“Anna, I need your help dicing the vegetables for the soup!” My mom yells. “The boys do a terrible job at that!”
I hear the twins and Adrian shout, “Hey!”
I can’t help but laugh at the scene of my family in the kitchen. We’re a disaster cooking together. They should really just leave it up to me and mom, honestly.
I see the veggies ready for me on the island and get to chopping. Ben says, “I feel useless.”
I laugh—yes, I actually am laughing. “Well do you know how to dice?”
“Yes, actually. My mom taught me for fun when I was younger.” He grabs the nearest knife and reaches for the celery. I watch him perfectly cut the veggie and throw it into the bowl with the rest of the foods I chopped up.
It makes me giggle. “Hm, a guy that knows how to cook.”
“Hey, I said I know how to dice, not cook,” he says in correction. “So, don’t hold that against me one day when I decide to make breakfast.”
I laugh some more and my parents look over. I can feel them staring. Victor has even gotten in on it, stirring the broth. Something tells me that he and Ben take a liking to cooking food (though that doesn’t necessarily mean—as Ben said earlier—that they’re good at it).
As I pour the last of the chopped vegetables into the bowl my mom announces that the water is boiling. Hallelujah.
“And everyone start getting ready,” she warns. “Boys first, and don’t take too long,” she scolds, “Anna and I take a long time!” She winks at me and the boys start calling dibs on showers, running up the stairs. I realize it’s already eleven o’ clock. We have to be at Nona and Papas house by one. Thank god I’m the master of doing my hair in a half hour flat.
“We usually just show up there dressed because we go to church for twelve o clock mass with everyone,” I say to Ben, who looks like he doesn’t care what’s going on.
“Oh, I know,” he says with a smile. “I have my dress shirt and pants with me.”
I grin, “How’d I know that was coming?”
We spend a half hour more helping my mom cut, chop, dice and mix things for the food that Nona assigned us to bring over. Nona is making the main course of five different types of fishes (similar to the Italian tradiation but more Eastern-European in taste). We’re assigned to make the soup and side dishes, while the rest of the family takes care of dessert, snacks, hordevures and bringing drinks (I happen to spot a few bottles of wine sitting in the chair next to Victor).
“I call dibs on the shower next!” I shout as I hear the boys come rumbling down the stairs. They’re fully dressed in dress shirts (with Alec in green, Adam in red and Adrian in blue), black dress pants and matching belts.
Ben whistles, “You boys actually can clean up nicely.”
The twins say, “Hey, we never said we couldn’t. We just said we never felt like it.”
I laugh, shaking my head and rush up the stairs. I take a quick shower and wash my hair. I make sure to shave (due to the amount of dresses I’ll be wearing from now on—mom told me I’ll be another little Kate Middleton for all the fashionistas to pick apart—therefore, all I’ll be wearing is skirts and dresses—oh, joy).
Even though doing my hair is a major project, my makeup comes out flawless for once. I grab the little black dress for the occasion and pull it on. It’s a v-neck wrap dress with a red belt in the name of holiday spirit. I have little, red, three inch heels to go with it and a new black coach clutch. I also plan on wearing the snowflake jewelry set that my brothers got me for Christmas last year.
Once everything is on me and all is right in the world I head out of my room and downstairs with my shoes and clutch in hand, texting Ash.
So how's his royal highness over there? I can only imagine what it's like to spend Christmas with royalty!
I reply, He's fine lol hanging out with my brothers as usual
Girl, you are soooo lucky you have no idea. I looked at pictures of him on Google and he is fiiiiiine. So, what are you up to on this fine Christmas Eve day?
As I hear my mom yelling about how she already used the downstairs bathroom I reply, Haha I know, I know. Everyone in my family has been saying that… and not much, just getting ready to head over to Nona’s. Hbu?
As I continue the conversation I sit down between Ben and Adrian, who are watching a re-run of a Bruins hockey game against the Sharks. They yell at the screen, the refs and the players like they’re actually there. Victor even joins in for a chance to yell about a penalty called, saying it’s “bullshit”. I—being someone who’d never heard him swear before—was shocked. But I guess even royalty swears when the cameras aren’t on them.
“So how do you expect people at church not to recognize you?” I ask Victor and Ben.
Victor says, “You would be surprised how many people have seen us walking the streets before and not realized it was us. There’s something about seeing a person on TV that’s totally and completely different than seeing them in person.”
“But most of the people in my church are Europeans—Italians, Polish, Vladesvyans and Chirnovians,” I say with a thickening-by-the-moment accent. You see, I go to a Roman Catholic church—strange for an Eastern European, I know. That’s because after the British left us as two independent countries we went back to our catholic ways (they were unsuccessful in converting us to the church of England). We’ve always been a Roman-Catholic dominated society.
“Well if they do,” Ben says, “You’ll be on a plane to Vladesvya before anyone can take pictures. Trust me, we have our ways of secrecy.” He winks as my dad announces…
“Time to leave! It’s going to take me fifteen minutes without traffic, people! Let’s go!”
Victor doesn’t even seem offended by my dad’s strict orders. He simply gets up with Ben and takes his wine, heading out to their Mercedes. I pull on my pea-coat and decide to ride with my parents in the Honda Minivan, while the twins and Adrian carpool in Adrian’s tiny Nissan sedan.
Within minutes we’re off and I get a text from… Ben? How did he get in my phone? I don’t have his number… And how is his name popping up?!
Ben: Nervous?
I scrunch my eyebrows together. Another conversation bubble pops onto the screen. He tells me that he went in my phone yesterday and put his number in. That'll teach me to put a lock code on this thing. I answer him a few times and leave it at that. We'll see each other soon.
We arrive—getting through twenty minutes of traffic (the trip usually only takes us ten minutes since they’re on the town line)—late to Nona and Papa’s house. Everyone’s cars line the street and driveway. No one dares to park on the lawn. There are tons of families of neighbors getting out of their cars, too. At this point I don’t know how Victor and Ben intend to make a stealthy entrance. We have to walk by two neighbor’s houses to get to my grandparent’s house.
Ben grabs hold of my hand and we walk behind the rest of the group with Victor. It’s weird, just the three of us royals walking down the sidewalk together.
Victor chuckles and comments, “Well at least we know you can walk in heels, Anna. It would be a tragedy if you couldn’t.”
I laugh as Ben says, “Yes a true royal disaster—a princess not being able to walk in high heels.”
“I’m glad I’m at least doing one thing right,” I comment.
Ben squeezes my hand. “You’re doing perfectly fine so far, Anna. And the secret isn’t even out yet.”
“I guess,” I say quietly as we reach the front steps. Dad goes first. I can hear the noisy chatter of my loud family. Yes, everyone is in there. I can hear them—Papa’s chuckle, Jessica’s giggle—they’re all there, having a good time.
“Hey everyone!” My dad greets them. I see him turn left and into the large living room.
I walk in behind him and tell Victor and Ben to wait near the doorway. They’re fine with it, so I follow my dad into the living room, where all the family members are scattered, seated in different chairs, on the couch and on the floor. They’re all waiting for dinner to start—even Nona and Grams are taking a break from cooking.
“Everyone! Can I have your attention for a second?!” My dad yells. Everyone’s chatter stops immediately. My dad never does this. They all know something is up.
He clears his throat. “As everyone knows… Anna is adopted… however, it’s time you all know the real truth about her past…”
I can see the nervousness on their faces growing more obvious. They must think I’m a criminal or something.
“Anna?” He says, nodding.
I smile slightly and walk back to the doorway, where Ben is fake shivering. I roll my eyes and hold out my hand. He takes it and I lead him, Victor and the guards into the living room.
I hear someone fall to the ground, out of their seat on the couch. It’s Jacob and now he’s on the floor in a heap with Joey. Grams, Nona and Papa gasp loudly, as with the rest of my aunts and uncles. My cousins are simply too shocked to do anything.
Suddenly, Nona and Papa and Grams get up. The bow and curtsy. But their faces tell a whole other story. They’ve known about this too. Therefore, they think of Victor and Ben the same way my parents first did. In other words: they hate Victor. But of course, he is still royalty, so they acknowledge that.
My aunts, uncles and cousins don’t follow suit. They’re still in the first stages of shock.
Papa says to dad, “It cannot be…”
Dad nods. “They’ve known she was here the whole time.”
Ben lets go of my hand and wraps his arm around my back. I lean closer to him to show my grandparents and relatives that they’re nothing to be feared.
“What the hell is going on?” My dad’s brother, Uncle Fred asks. He stands up from his seat on the leather chair.
Victor steps in. “AnnaMaria is Princess AnnaMaria of Chirnova… and my son’s fiancé.”
“WHAT?” The whole room echoes all at once. It’s the first time I’ve heard my family say something all at once like that, and it’s kind of strange.
“She’s the princess that everyone thinks is dead,” my dad says, “When we said we adopted a special little girl from Chirnova we meant very special. We flew all the way back to Vladesvya to see Evangelina, since she was Sophia’s fourth cousin.”
Suddenly I have to interrupt.
“Wait a second,” I say quickly. “So you all are related to me?”
“Just your mother’s side of the family,” my dad corrects himself. “She’s half Chirnovian.”
“So technically she’s my fifth cousin?” I ask curiously.
“No, sixth,” my dad answers. "Er, something like that."
“Oh,” I settle and don’t interrupt anymore. It’s good to know that I’m actually related to some of my family, even if it is just Derek, Damien, Lydia, Felix, and Grams.
“Anyway,” dad starts his story again. “We were already in Chirnova on holiday. When we got to the hospital they were minutes from dying. They mentioned our new house in America and asked us—well actually more like ordered—us to take Anna away. They told us not to tell a soul and that the people that needed to know—like their most trusted advisors—would know that she was sent off somewhere and not dead. Part of their plan was to get her away from her uncle. They lived long enough to know it was him. They told us that it was him before they passed. However, the other reason for their plan was to get her away from that contract…”
“However,” Victor interrupts. “We’ve had someone keeping an eye on her all this time—Lucius Vladescu of the RIA has been our eyes and ears for the past seventeen years. We simply came here to bring her back home, where she belongs.”
The last part scared the shit out of my family.
“You mean you’re taking her away from us?” Auntie Alice—ever the emotional one—asks tearfully.
Victor chuckles. “No, no, no, she will certainly still have contact with you. After all, technically you are all a part of the royal family of Chirnova also.”
“So we’re princes?!” Damien, Derek and Adam and Alec ask in unison.
Ben laughs. “No, guys, just Lords--if your sister decides to crown you, that is.”
“Yeah!” They yell in a guy-ish fashion.
“Well now that that’s cleared up,” my mom says cheerfully, “how about we start the dinner?!”
No one moves.
“They’re staying for dinner?” Auntie Katrina asks in shock. I’ve never seen her eyes wider than they are now.
Dad nods, “Why do you think we told Nona and Papa to have extra chairs ready?”
“We thought one of Anna’s boyfriends or Adrian’s girlfriends were coming over…” Nona says.
Ben corrects her, “It’s fiancé, actually.”
She sighs, “Ah yes, I remember.” She looks… sad. Well… kind of like how I looked for the whole week after that whole ‘sign-the-contract’ incident.
“Alright, let’s get this dinner on the road!” My dad claps his hands together and rushes into the kitchen—ever the eager volunteer to help when it comes to food. Then, he gets yelled at like the rest of us and has to take his shoes off at the door. Nona, Papa, Grams and my aunts follow him while my uncles introduce themselves to Victor. They try calling him ‘your highness’ and ‘your majesty’ but he settles for ‘Victor’.
I lead Ben over to where all my cousins are.
“We told you guys you were in for a surprise!” Adrian laughs and slaps Damien on the arm.
Derek and Damien practically dive off of the couch when Ben and I walk over. I take a seat next to Adrian with Ben on my other side.
“Hey,” I say, trying to ease the awkwardness. “So… um… this is Ben, everyone.”
They stare. Then Jenna, of course, bursts out with, “Why didn’t you tell me!?”
Everyone laughs and I say, “I didn’t even know until just two weeks ago.”
“So you’re a Princess?” Jessica asks in awe.
I nod.
“Holy shit,” Damien says as Derek whistles.
I hold the ring out to Jessica and Jenna. Their jaws drop. Jess takes my hand and inspects it like it’s a Mercedes sitting on my ring finger.
“Oh my god it’s gorgeous!” She exclaims.
Ben grins. “That was the reaction I was hoping for.”
“Well you’re certainly going to get that reaction, buddy,” Alec comments. “It’s like she’s wearing a yacht on her finger.”
Ben laughs, “And she’s worth every penny.”
Jess and Jen take the moment to ‘aw’ and coo and swoon. I try desperately to hold back the blush growing in my cheeks and spreading across my entire face. I can feel it turning a light shade of pink already.
“Come on! The appetizers are out!” Auntie Katrina—the loudest one in the family—shouts.
Within minutes everyone is at the table. We say grace and continue on with stuffing our faces. After about a half an hour everyone realizes that they don’t have to act any different just because Victor and Ben are here. In fact, Victor encourages them to act normal, and even says, “Screw the royal formalities. We’re family now.”
I honestly never knew he could be such a cool, laid-back guy. But he really is. He’s nothing like I thought he’d be. I mean sure, at first he seemed cocky, arrogant and cold. But now… he seems more like my dad. He’s certainly no old-fashioned royal. We even exchanged numbers, so that he could text my daily schedules to me, and quick ‘princess reminders’.
Don’t even ask me what he meant by that... I think it means he’ll remind me to smile and wave.... Yeah, that’s my best guess.
_____________________________________________
“Dessert is ready!”
We all walk into the kitchen and I see a home-made chocolate cake with Happy Birthday Anna! written in yellow—my favorite color—frosting in Gram’s beautiful cursive hand-writing. I take a picture and post it to Twitter and Instagram.
@Anna_Noff: I have the cutest grandparents ever :)
I give them both hugs. “Thank you, Grams; Nona.” I kiss them each on the cheek as everyone breaks out into ‘Happy Brithday’. Ben’s arms wrap around me from behind as I prepare to blow the candles out. He sings along and I blow my candles out, wishing for—of all things that popped into my head—nothing. I really can’t wish for anything. I have it all. I have my family, my friends. Now I have Ben, Victor and the royal family. I get to see my birthplace. The only thing missing is love. I don’t love Ben yet.
“What did you wish for?!” Jess asks excitedly.
Jen slaps her arm. “She can’t tell you or it won’t come true!”
I laugh. Just laugh and say, “I really didn’t wish for anything.”
They stare at me like I’m crazy.
“What?” Alec and Adam ask as mom and dad chuckle.
I shrug as Ben squeezes my waist and put my hands on his arms. “I couldn’t think of anything.”
My dad chuckles. “Only you, Anna."
@Anna_Noff: Went to blow out my candles on my Birthday cake and realized… I don’t need to wish for anything :) I have everything I want and everyone I love with me
We totally devour my cake. It’s delicious, and I’m a sucker for chocolate… plus I’m on my period, so chocolate is the first thing I’m craving… that and Midol.
By the time we all finish off the cake it's 9:00. We get to rest for about two hours before we have to leave for the church.
Victor prepares everyone. “Now,” he begins, “I know that all this is shocking and maybe a little exciting. But it is very important that none of you tell anyone else about this, even if the people at this church recognize us. It is purely for Anna’s safety. We also want to try and keep it a secret until the New Year’s Eve ball to surprise our people. So, it would be greatly appreciated if you all kept this our little secret for now.”
As he talks with my uncles, aunts and parents I look up at Ben and ask, “Just how do you plan on fitting in with the rest of the congregation?”
He shrugs. “I figure since people always see me in either my royal military uniform or leisurely polo shirts they’ll just assume I’m someone who looks like me.”
I laugh because of how weird it sounded.
“What?” He asks with a chuckle. “It’s a hope.”
I giggle—I actually giggle (mostly because his deep voice is right next to my ear). His breath tickles my neck. I say, “Yeah, it’s a big hope.”
By the time ten forty five rolls around I’m almost unconscious on the couch with Ben and the twins. However, we manage to get up, make ourselves look decent again and head off to church.
My mom says, “Honey, Victor said that if anyone asks about them to just say that they are family friends. No details, okay?”
I roll my eyes slightly from the backseat and say, “Oh yeah, mom I’m just going to go around the church explaining to everyone how I’m the long lost princess of Chirnova and I’ve been engaged to Prince Ben since I was like, one…”
“Anna,” she says, chiding my sarcasm. I just sigh and stare out the window at the snow that continues to fall. It hasn’t really stopped since yesterday, as far as I remember. Apparently it’s going to keep on snowing for quite some time. But then again, it’s Maine. It’s snowing in October up here. So, this comes as no shock… just the timing is quite shocking for me and my family, as said before.
Arriving at the church, we find cars already there and people scurrying into the basement of the church. The lights are all on and there’s blinking decorations in the lower windows of the big, Roman Catholic Church—Our Lady of Mercy.
Everyone parks in the same general area and we pile out into the cold night. Ben is glued to my side in seconds. It’s becoming apparent that he’s getting very attached.
No one stares as we quietly make our way down into the church hall. I break away from Ben for a second to go give our pastor the butter braid we promised him. He doesn’t even give Victor and Ben a second look… well, he might have noticed the four body guards…
As we mingle I notice that absolutely no one has even taken a second look at Ben or Victor (or their four bodyguards) since we walked in. Maybe Ben was right…
I follow my mom to go say hi to the little old ladies that knitted me a shawl when I was in the hospital for my eye surgery. Ben’s hand is still glued to mine as we greet them.
“Oh hello, Sophia!” The nun, Sister Katherine says cheerfully. I swear, I’ve never seen a happier nun in my entire life. She’s one of those little, sweet nuns that just go around telling everyone how wonderful they are. I mean, seriously. You could be a drug addict with six malnourished kids and a drunk husband… and she would still call you a good person. She’s that happy. All the time.
“Hi, sister,” My mom and I say with a smile.
“Oh and who might this handsome young man be? A friend of Anna’s,” she winks and giggles.
My mom saves me, saying, “Yes, actually this is her boyfriend, Ben. Ben this is Sister Katherine.”
Ben, holding back chuckles, extends his hand and shakes with Sister. He says, “Hi; Pleasure to meet you.”
I swear I think she blushes. Yes, blushes. But then again, Ben does have that affect on women. It seems like since the moment I walked in I’ve become the envy of every girl, woman and elderly lady in the hall. I’ve caught at least fifteen females full-on staring blatantly at him. Two of them happen to be my least favorite people—two of the cheerleading captains, Taylor Phillips and Cassidy Cromwell. I can feel their glares of hatred from across the gigantic hall.
After my mom and Sister Katherine talk about the new paint on the church and the newly paved parking lots, Sister says, “You know, you look so familiar…” She stares up at Ben, tilting her head in a confused way. “Ah, maybe it’s just my old brain. I think I remember people that I haven’t even met!” She laughs and we join in, glancing nervously at one another.
A few minutes later we re-group as a family and head upstairs to the church. It looks beautiful, with poinsettias everywhere and lights and wreaths. There’s a big Christmas tree on one side of the altar with red ribbons as the ornaments.
“Father Longobardi has done a marvelous job, once again,” Nona says cheerfully in a whisper. “So beautiful and elaborate.”
And for once I join them in kneeling and praying (I've never been one to do that, I just never feel the need)—so does Ben actually. Victor even kneels down and puts his face in his hands quietly. I wonder what they’re praying for. I know I’m praying more for help in these next few weeks more than anything else.
However, I don’t really think I need to. I mean, I have Ben and Victor. I have mom and dad, Adrian and the twins. I have support. It’s just… I guess what I’ve never had the courage to say is… I just want my real parents. I just wish that I could have had a few years at least, with them; to experience their personalities, ask them what they thought of Ben and let my mother help me be a proper princess. But I know that can’t happen. So, if there’s some god out there somewhere, listening to me, he can forget about my needs. My hopes will never happen… like falling in love with Ben. There’s just no possible way he’ll be anything more than means of comfort… right? When I saw him in the store I thought I fell in love—but now, I’m not so sure… I don’t even know anymore. My heart and brain hurt, they’re so confused lately.
My prayers go out to Ben. I hope he understands that I’ll be miserable for quite some time, even with his… love? Affection? I don’t even know what to call it. Does he really care about me that much? Is it just because he feels he has to?
Not only that, but now I’ll have serious issues to deal with. It hit me a few days ago, that now I can actually do something to help. I can be like the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge or the Prince and Princess of Denmark. They were just on the news for helping the relief efforts in Africa. It would be such an amazing thing to be just like them.
I hope I can convey the same thing to my people… and everyone around the world as a matter of fact.
Sitting up on the cushioned pew bench again, I feel Ben shift on my right side and grab my hand. He holds it gently. I look up at him and manage a smile. But, then I make the mistake of glancing down at my left hand. The glittering emerald is staring me right in the face.
“You know I always thought you’d get married in this church, Annie,” my mom whispers into my left ear. “But, then again, you’ve always had bigger things in store.” She laughs to herself a little, touching my arm comfortingly for a moment.
It doesn’t help. And though Ben’s hand is warm and soft and soothing… I can’t help but feel more forced than ever to seem happy.
As mass ends we go to get up and leave and suddenly we’re swarmed with family friends all asking the same question: who are the two dashing characters sitting next to Anna?
And you know, come to think of it now, Victor is still pretty attractive. After all, he does have all his hair still. It may be a little thinner but I’ve never seen a bald spot. It’s a few shades darker brown than Ben’s, almost black actually. He has grays that make it look peppered. But it looks good on him. And he has the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. Ben must have his mother’s eyes then, because his are so much darker than his father’s. But, they do share the same facial features. A mildly strong jawbone—with slight stubble on it that I’d never noticed before—decent cheekbones and a non-obnoxious nose.
Of course, I don’t have to try and explain why everyone is swooning over Ben. I have a sexy fiancé, I must say.
“Um… maybe we should go,” I suggest as my parents and grandparents and relatives are preoccupied with answering questions and gossiping. Victor and Ben nod and I let my mom know they’re bringing me home. I don’t want to risk anyone catching on or asking more daring questions.
As we’re walking out to the Mercedes with their four body guards swiftly surrounding us, I can’t help but say, “It seems like I have the hottest fiancé and father-in-law this church has ever seen.”
Ben and Victor both laugh... and for the first time in a long time even I can't help but burst out laughing--genuinely.
“Correction: that the world has ever seen,” Ben laughs. “Right, dad?” I’m kind of shocked that Ben called Victor ‘dad’ instead of… I don’t know, ‘father’ or something…
Victor nods and chuckles, “Most definitely.”
“And I have the most beautiful fiancé the world has ever seen,” Ben says.
I giggle lightly and smile, once again feeling my face flush. We get into the Mercedes and the two guards drive and sit up front. The other two drive a range rover behind us. We look like a small caravan going out of the church parking lot and onto the deserted main road. Which reminds me… I wonder what it will actually be like, traveling around in caravans with all those guards surrounding me…
“So are we leaving Monday?” I ask. Today is Saturday—Christmas Eve. I figured we would leave on a weekday anyway. “Oh and um… what about my passport? I think it’s kind of expired,” I mention.
Victor chuckles. “Yes, we’ll be leaving Monday night around nine o clock. And your passport has been renewed. Even though you don’t really need it. We’ll be taking our private jet and landing in a private airport.”
“Oh,” I settle for that answer. It's kind of weird but I think I may be warming up to him more.
“Your family is wonderful, by the way,” Victor says suddenly. “Certainly entertaining and very welcoming.”
I grin. “I know… thank you.”
We arrive at the house and Ben walks me to the door. I take my key out of my clutch and he follows me inside.
“So I guess I’ll be seeing you tomorrow…” His accent seems lighter than normal… but maybe that’s because I’m gaining mine back. It’s harder to notice an accent when you have the same one.
I nod and he shuts the door. He leans towards me as I’m putting my coat away and kisses me on the lips softly and sweetly.
“Goodnight, miláčik ,” he says, before finally pulling all the way away from my face.
“Night,” I say with a tiny smile. He called me the same thing the first time we met.
He leaves and I go straight up to my room. By the time I’m done with a hot shower my family still isn’t home. Though, it’s only been twenty minutes. My mom and aunts can talk for hours if you let them.
So, I lie down on my bed and turn on the TV. Ben’s sweater is on my pillow, having been lazily tossed across it as I got dressed this morning. I pick it up and set it down in my lap. I can smell his cologne.
@Anna_Noff: Merry Christmas, everyone! :)
After I tweet, I also find numerous texts, starting from 12:00 midnight going all the way up until now. Almost everyone in my contacts list has texted me saying, Merry Christmas!!!
I delete all but the ones from Ashlyn, Avery, Melody and Sámi, Ben and my cousin, Jenna.
I stare at my laptop across the room on my tiny desk, wondering if I should check Facebook. It’s so much easier on the computer since my app is so slow. But I barely have the motivation to pick up my phone, let alone get up and start my laptop.
So, instead I humor myself and Google: Princess AnnaMaria of Chirnova
Over one hundred million hits.
The only pictures, though, are of my parents holding me in a white blanket on the balcony of what’s probably my palace. My mom and dad are absolutely beaming with happiness. Sometimes the pictures show them smiling down at me. Sometimes they’re waving to the crowd. Another picture is of my first photo shoot—being cradled in my mother’s arms.
I was more known when I was barely a day old!
There’s even a Wikipedia site about me! A Wikipedia site. About me. THAT’S INSANE.
It reads: Crown Princess AnnaMaria Evangelina Catalina of Chirnova – is the first and only daughter of King Stefan and Queen Evangelina of Chirnova. She is the only grandchild of the late King Edmund and Queen Marie-Ann. She is first in line to succession of the throne.
EARLY LIFE: Princess AnnaMaria was born on December 23rd 1993 at 10:27 p.m. at Queen Adrianna Memorial Hospital in Chirnova's capitol, Seraphim. She was born prematurely by five weeks due to a placenta complication. She was born by caesarian section. She weighed four pounds, one ounce. She was transferred to an ICU Neonatal Unit, and pronounced stable. She inherited her father’s black hair and cornflower blue eyes. Okay since when did I have black hair? Mine is almost blonde now!
Her Parents said she was “a bubbly little girl” with “big, sparkling cornflower blue eyes” and “tufts of black hair”.
THE DISSAPEARANCE: The Princess disappeared completely from world view after December of 1995. Shortly after her parents were mysteriously found dead in their palace bedroom she was ‘lost track of’. Nothing has been heard of her since and authorities have seemed to give up on the case. Authorities also have yet to crack down on the case of her parents’ homicide, which was declared homicide due to her parent’s last dying words in 1994, but has yet to have any suspects. It is not known if the Princess is dead or alive.
For the picture it’s my official birthday picture: me being cradled in my mother’s arms while my father holds my mom in his arms.
I look up Ben and find a page as long as any other monarchs’. It lists where he went to school and little insignificant things like: He played piano from the time he was five years old until he was seventeen. He played at one of Princess Diana’s memorial concerts and several venues for his country. His father says, “he’s no prodigy, but when he finds a piece of music he loves he’ll play it perfectly. Just don’t hand him Beethoven.” I smile and giggle to myself. It’s funny, the things Wikipedia mentions.
Then there’s a title: THE DEATH OF QUEEN NATALIA
Oh… I forgot his mother died.
Prince Benjamin’s mother died when he was sixteen. Some say this was the cause of him stopping piano lessons. They, reportedly, reminded him too much of her. She was the one that started him on lessons.
The Prince was strong throughout the time. Her death was inevitable due to her previous heart problems. She’d suffered a mild heart attack right before delivering the Prince, due to stress on her cardiovascular system. Reports say she had chronic heart disease. She was a great activist for women with the disease, wearing a red ribbon with every outfit she wore.
Prince Benjamin was reportedly by her bedside, along with the royal family and her family. She was an open supporter of the joining of Vladesvya and Chirnova and also was very outspoken about the engagement her son was supposedly in with the lost Princess of Chirnova. She encouraged Ben that one day the Princess would return. She then gave him her engagement ring to give to Princess AnnaMaria if the marriage was to ever occur.
I had no idea it went down like that. I mean, I was twelve around the time she died. I saw it on the news. It was as big as Princess Diana’s death since Britain and Vladesvya are such good alliances. Everyone was awe-struck because of how well she’d been doing. But I never knew all that. Maybe I should look on Victor’s Wiki page some time… god only knows what I’ll find…
So much to take in all at once.
I need sleep.
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