Princess Calista walked in.
"Brother, what are you still doing in bed? It's already 9:30!" She scolded.
"What are you doing in my room, Cali?" Prince Coleman threw down his fork down and glared at her.
"Oh, stop fussing so." The Princess waved her hand. "I'm not here for you."
"Then why are you here, Calista? Come to swoon over Lucas?" He smirked.
"N-no!" sputtered Princess Calista. "That's—that's absolutely—utterly—urgh!"
An smile toyed at my lips, her distress quite amusing.
The Princess's green eyes shot toward me, and narrowed sharply. "You are still here?"
"Obviously she is, you dimwit," interjected Coleman, and a soft laugh escaped my mouth.
"Oh, so you find my brother funny, do you?" Princess Calista snapped.
"No." I gave her a relaxed smile. "I find you funny."
I suppose she didn't appreciate my comment very much, what with the tight clenching of her fists and the furious fire in her eyes. "You little—"
"Princess Calista." Luke calm voice entered like a gentle wave of water, washing the fiery atmosphere. Her eyes and face softened and she turned to him. "You have yet to tell us why you have come to visit." His soft smile dissolved the last of Calista's inflamed temperament.
I was simultaneously charmed by Luke and irritated that Princess Calista was given such a gentle smile from him.
Oh gosh, I'm jealous of some tween brat. Oh how far I have fallen.
"Oh, right." Princess Calista's voice had transformed into that of a stunningly sweet Disney princess. "Well, I came to say that I am having a small party with some dear friends of mine tomorrow afternoon. Lucas, would you like to come?"
"Um..." Luke's eyes widened.
"As a—as a servant," she broke in. "Of course...of course. You are a very fine servant to my brother, and as you know, good help is hard to find. Ha ha." She looked down at the ground and a blush rose on her face.
It was almost cute to see her blaringly obvious crush on Luke. Almost.
Luke scratched the back of his neck, and looked at Coleman expectantly.
"Cali, can't you find someone else? Lucas is my butler."
"Well...he did such a good job with your birthday last year. I thought he would be a great help at my party!" the Princess explained.
"Last time I checked, it's not your birthday." He rose an eyebrow.
"That's beside the point," she snapped. "It's still a party. And—and it's not your decision anyway, Coleman!"
"Actually it is my decision." Coleman grinned, and her nostrils flared. The Prince tapped his chin. "Hmm...what to do?"
"I could really use his help!" Calista argued.
"Well...fine. He's all yours tomorrow." Coleman shrugged. Luke's eyes bulged and a terrified expression slipped from his face.
"Thank you, Coleman!" His little sister beamed, then turned to Luke, who had mostly composed himself once more. "I look forward to seeing you, Lucas!"
"Princess..." Luke started, placing on an uneasy smile. "I couldn't possibly be the best person to help you. I mean, I did do a lot of planning for your brother's birthday party, but I had weeks to prepare for that. And...and I..."
"You undersell yourself, Lucas," the Princess interrupted. "You did a marvelous job. I know you kept the whole thing running smoothly, ordering servants about and whatnot. Don't worry, you'll be great." Satisfied, the Princess headed for the door, when Coleman's deep voice stopped her.
"Wait, one more thing, Calista."
"What, Coleman?"
"Take Miss Cassie tomorrow too. I'm sure she'd love to help you out."
I wrinkled my nose.
No way, no how.
"No!" Princess Calista took the words right out of my mouth. "I'll be quite alright with just Lucas from you, I can't deprive you of both your servants."
"Oh, nonsense! Unlike with you, all the maids here love me. I'm sure I'll be able to find a willing girl to cover for Cassie." He smiled mischievously.
"But she is your personal maid, brother. I'd hate for you to be left without her."
"What she says is true, Prince Coleman," I added. "My position is here."
Luke's desperate eyes caught mine, and he shook his head vigorously before mouthing, "I need you!"
"I'll manage," Prince Coleman shrugged. "Besides, without Lucas here, who knows what uncouth mischief Cassie will get up to."
"Hey!" I grimaced.
"Coleman, I don't want her there at my party." Princess Calista crossed her arms. "I tried to be civil about it, but apparently you can't take a hint. I don't like her. Your maid is not welcome."
Coleman's eyes glinted. "Well then, neither is Lucas."
Heated silence, until finally...
"Fine," she growled. "Miss Cassie can serve at my party." She turned around and stormed out of the room.
"Why do I have to go?" I whined as soon as Princess Calista was gone.
"Stop your blubbering, little maid. Besides, Lucas is the real victim here."
"At least she likes Lucas," I argued.
"A little too much," mumbled Luke.
Prince Coleman guffawed. "Ha! I think that's the funniest thing you've ever said, Lucas! I'm sorry you're dragged into this, but she'd be so annoying if I didn't let you go to her party."
"Of course." Luke's smile was strained.
"Why don't you run along after her, Lucas? I'm sure she'd love some help planning everything."
"U-um, I don't know if I'm the best person for that, your highness." He began wringing his hands.
"Just for a few minutes. Ask her the general plan for her party. Cali will eat that crap up, I assure you," Prince Coleman said.
"Okay." I could see a bead a sweat form on Luke's forehead as he headed outside the door.
"You're cruel, Prince Coleman." I folded my arms.
"I know, but I could really use some entertainment, don't you know?"
"I don't understand how this is entertainment."
"Don't you see, little maid?" He laughed. "She's going to be fawning all over Lucas at her party. Unfortunately, I already knew that she wouldn't let me be a witness to that debacle, which is why I'm sending you."
"Me?" I rose an eyebrow.
"I want you to tell me everything that happens."
"Now why ask me? Your sister is not exactly in the Cassie Carmichael fan club. Why not have Lucas tell you what happens?"
"The simple fact of the matter is that you're meaner than he is," Prince Coleman stated.
I grimaced. "What the heck does that have to do with anything, my Prince."
He chuckled. "Quite frankly, you'll tell me the story of Princess Calista's party without dancing around the juicy parts of the story, clouding the story with niceties and polite nonsense."
Now I laughed. "Alright, I guess that makes sense."
"Of course, maybe by working with Calista you'll gain a new appreciation for serving me."
I clicked my tongue. "I should have seen that coming."
"I think you'll jump into my arms by the time you return."
"Oh, so it's a plan to make me fall in love with you? And here I thought you were desperately trying to avoid being stuck alone with me."
Prince Coleman blinked several times.
"Well, lucky you gets to spend some quality time with any maid of your pick. Hint...all of them like you for some reason..." I rolled my eyes. "So you really can't go wrong."
"Yeah." He looked grumpy. "I'm a genius."