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"You're mad, Mabel, absolutely mad. Do you have any idea what you're asking of me? I could get into so much trouble. Mother and father will..." Just as quickly as the scolding began, it seized, "ah who am I kidding, I don't bloody care."
With Gwen seeing Jay in secret for more than a year now, I figured coming to her to sneak me out was the next best option to Niall and Charlotte. She knows the inner workings of this place, just like Niall, but she had more connections to the outside world and enough dirt on her personal guards to make them do whatever she wants. Now, I don't condone blackmail, but Gwen apparently does. I'd come up with a basic plan of attack, hoping Gwen could fill in the gaps where necessary.
"Great, here's what I got..."
This time instead of disappearing during nightfall I decided to carry this plan out during the day; it'd be less expected and with Gwen on my hip my father wouldn't have much arguing to do. Gwen and I, and her personal guards, would leave the palace for a day of shopping. Now usually I could care less about shopping, but with the excuse of a abroad trip to Thailand (for a brief meeting with political heads and the King of Thailand) I could use some new clothes. Thankfully for me, there wouldn't be much shopping on my end.
"I think I can get Liam and Alex to turn the other cheek and distract the other guards whilst you have your rendezvous with Harry. It won't be easy to convince them after what happened with Niall, but I'll see what I can do." Gwen looks deep in thought as she sits at her vanity, brushing her long locks out after a hard day. "What are you going to do about your appearance?"
"I've been brushing the wig out since I last took it for a spin and the glasses are in impeccable shape still. I'll just wear a pantsuit and blazer and pretend I got out early from work to come see him."
"What does he think you do?" Oh right, I haven't told her all the details of my back story.
"He thinks I'm a solicitor." The look on Gwen's face says it all. She thinks I'm crazy, no doubt about it.
"You've officially gone mad. You don't know the first thing about law."
"I've been studying up in case any questions are to arise and I choose a solicitor because they don't have to appear in court." I've always been one for studying, as sad as that sounds. School and lessons came naturally to me as a child, thus why I chose to actually go to university. Okay, I didn't actually physically go to university, but I got my diploma in International Business and Affairs from Oxford. Being a royal does come in handy from time to time.
"I always thought you were a goody-goody, Mabel. I'm glad you're breaking those barriers and finally doing something exciting with your life. We've never been closer, the two of us." Gwen continues to brush her silky hair and hum a tune whilst she thinks. I don't bother her much, just wait patiently until she tells me her plans or kicks me from her room.
Our rooms mirror each other's, but even with the layout being the same our rooms couldn't look more different. As I've gone for the classier, modern elegant look, Gwen's gone for a chic art-deco vibe. Black and white photographs line bold navy walls with white crown-molding. Her furniture is sleek dark wood with bold curves, and geometric patterns for it's finishing touches. Her room is dark, mine is very light.
"I've got it!" Gwen exclaims, setting her brush down on the surface of her vanity. She spins around in her seat to face me, a wide grin on her lips. "I met this wonderful man by the name of Pierre Boudreaux at a party a few years ago. He owns a boutique in Mayfair and he's also a bit of a designer. You dress for the day as if we're really going shopping, but you bring along a garment bag full of your disguise. The guards, who aren't clued in, will think you just want Pierre to tailor something for you."
"You really think that'll work?"
"Positive." Gwen stands from her seat and walks over to me as I stand with my arms crossed in the middle of her bedroom. "I'll give Pierre a ring to let him know we're coming. He's a very trustworthy man, with a lot of top clients, so he's very keen on discretion. I need you to go back to your room, prepare your things for tomorrow and have Charlotte send a fax of your schedule tomorrow to mother and father's secretaries, that way they know not to bother us. I'll have Megan do the same with mine." Even with her immense confidence, I can't help but feel a little nervous for tomorrow, especially after what happened last time. "Don't fret, Mabel. I've got this and so have you. Don't worry about father, he believes you can't get into any trouble with me around." If only he knew, "Just trust me."
"I trust you."
"Good, now do as I said and go to bed. I'll see you first thing tomorrow morning. We'll leave after breakfast."
Flash forward to the next morning, which leads us to where we are currently: sitting in the back of an expensive town car with a escort leading us through London and another car following behind. Everything has run smoothly until now.
Liam and Alex agreed to the plan, with thanks to Gwen, and are sitting facing us in the back of the town car. They were put in charge of our security for the day but were most definitely not the only guards put in place to watch us. There are two more in the car in front of us and three more in the care behind. Mother didn't seem to care of our plans for the day when we saw her at breakfast. She urged us to have fun, not to get into any trouble, and be back before dinner. Pierre had agreed to help me as well, claiming he'd love to be apart of an exciting runaway princess escapade. Everything seems like it will go through without a hitch, or so I hope.
"Give us ten minutes to distract the other guards before you sneak out the back and meet with Niall." I had informed Niall of my crazy plan last night and he was keen to help. Apparently sitting at home for a week and a half doing absolutely nothing was driving him bonkers. I figured he'd be hesitant to help me after him being placed on leave, but it was quite the opposite actually. "Once you leave the boutique, you'll have until five-thirty, on the dot, to return or else we'll have to send the calvary after you, which I don't think you want."
"Yes, and don't worry," Gwen pipes up, interrupting Liam, "I once spent an entire day in a boutique before so the other guards won't think anything of our time at Pierre's." She was right, I was a bit worried about the length we'd "stay" at the boutique. Is it even possible to spend such time in a place? Apparently it is.
"Alex and I, along with two other guards, will go in with you ladies, the rest of the men will wait out front in the cars. From what Gwen has told us, Pierre's boutique has a front and back to it. The other guards will wait in the front area whilst we all go to the back. From there you'll have easy access to the back exit and Gwen -"
"Will have access to all of Pierre's luxury limited edition collection items. Only because we're royalty do we even have access to the back, common people can't afford the items he sells, with the exception of something in the store front, maybe."
"And what about other people coming in?"
"Pierre's closed the boutique for the day, just for us." Gwen reaches over the grabs my slightly shaking hand.
For some reason I'm more nervous this time around. Perhaps it's because I know of the consequences that could arise or maybe I'm simply nervous to see Harry again. I didn't tell him I was coming by, so hopefully he can skip out on work to see me. Can people do that; skip out on work so easily or do they need a pretty bulletproof excuse?
I should have told him I was coming.
"What's wrong now?" Gwen notices my discomfort all of a sudden. My eyes can to Liam and Alex, who turn their attention towards the windows of the car, as if that will keep them from hearing our conversation.
"I didn't exactly tell Harry I was coming."
"Why the hęll wouldn't you tell him you were coming?"
"I don't know, what if he decided he didn't want to see me anymore." Gwent gives me a look as if to say you're the stupidest smart person I know before giving my hand a squeeze.
"I really don't think that's possible. You've been talking to him every night for the past week and a half. You're on the phone sometimes until three in the morning talking and laughing about random shįt. He's totally into you and there's no way he would just change his mind like that." She snaps her perfectly manicured fingers for emphasis all the whilst giving me a comforting smile. "I suggest you give him a heads up; do it or I will."
"Okay, Talia." She thought it was the funniest thing in the world when I told her how I renamed her Talia. She absolutely hates that name, because her riding instructor's name was Talia and the woman was a right bįtch.
"Alright, Mary." She also gave me a lot of crap for my "name". Apparently she thinks Mary is too close to Mabel and she doesn't know how I couldn't come up with anything better in the amount of time I had been planning my first escape.
I decide to do as Gwen said and give Harry a tiny heads up that I may be popping in to say hello. His contact is the first to pop up when I open messenger, a smile appearing on my lips as I briefly see how we ended our conversation last night. He sent me a goodnight message long after I fell victim to sleep: goodnight. sweet dreams pretty girl xx. I push the nervousness aside, the goodnight message giving me comfort as I type away.
M: So, I may or may not be waltzing into London as we speak. And I may or may not be planning on stopping by a certain someone's place of work. Hope you don't mind xx
"That's cute. God you two are sickeningly cute."
"Ladies, we're approaching the shop." Liam announces to us, my gaze immediately falling out of the car to see an extravagant storefront coming into view. Pierre spared no expense when it came to the storefront, apparently. Expensive gowns lined the window, and the inside looks just as luxurious as the outside, and marble pillars frame the window.
"It's a boutique, Liam, not a shop." Gwen corrects him, a teasing smile upon her red painted lips. Liam returns the grin with a playful eye roll. Her and Liam's relationship mirror mine and Niall's in likeliness. We've known Liam and Niall for years now, so of course we're close. They're our friends, not just out protectors.
"Alright, princess."
"You know if I weren't a raging lesbian I think you and I would get on quite nicely." She teases, earning a chuckle from Alex and a shake of my head.
"I'm sure my wife would appreciate you saying that." Liam says as the car comes to a complete stop and he gets out, holding the door open for us. I slide out of the car first, hands grasping the garment bag with a death grip.
"Send my love to Anna, will you." Gwen receives a glare from Liam as he lends her a hand to get out of the town car. I laugh at the their exchange, appreciating the fact that they have such a close bond. If Gwen wasn't close with at least one of her staff members I'd be worried about her. She needs someone in her life to keep her in check and, of course, someone to talk to.
"Gwendolyn, darling!" A flamboyant man with long blonde hair flings the door of the boutique open and greets Gwen with a hug and a kiss upon each cheek. His sky-high figure towers over Gwen, the both wearing incredibly tall heels making me feel like a child compared to them. Gwen is naturally an inch taller than I, but when she wears heels higher than mine she's a bloody giant. You'd think she's the older one of the two of us.
"Oh Pierre, it's so good to see you. How have you been?"
The two engage in small chatter as I weasile my way into the boutique, eyeing all the beautiful garments hanging from the shelves. Each item of clothing is equally spaced apart, the aesthetic very pleasing to the eye. The colours range as does the style, no two items are even remotely similar.
"Ah, you must be Mabel." I spin around, as if I've been caught viewing something I shouldn't and look over towards the chattering pair. Pierre walks up to me with open arms, greeting me much like he did Gwen. " I've heard so much about you, darling. Must I say you are ravishingly gorgeous."
"Oh, why thank you Mr. Boudreaux."
"Please, call me Pierre. I can't stand formalities like that. Shall we see what item you have for me to work with?" He motions behind him towards an open doorway, sending me a discrete wink as he lifts the garment bag from my hands.
The five of us, including Liam and Alex, follow Pierre into the back of the boutique, which is just as elegant as the front. There are less items than there are in the front, but each one looks more luxurious than the next. I can see why Gwen is so taken with Pierre as a designer and friend. We're lead to a seating area but Liam and Alex stay behind at the closed door, their backs to the door as if protecting anyone from coming or going.
"Now, let's get you changed." Pierre hands me my garment bag and just as I'm about to step behind the curtain in the fitting room he stops me. "I know your plan was to waltz in like you just got off work, but I can't let you go in some ridiculous pantsuit."
"But it's Calvin Klein."
"And so drab. You want to impress this man, don't you?" I nod my head wearily as Pierre grabs a dress from the rack to his left. "Then you'll wear this."
A gasp immenants from my lips as I see the piece he's holding out for me to take. It's a marvelous, near sheer, white dress that looks like it ends just below the knee but with a centre slit towards the mid-thigh. The sleeves are long but light in the heaviness of the fabric, which is great for this warm weather we've been having. The neckline dips down to a column of buttons, which allows me to determine the amount of cleavage I want to show off. There fabric cinches the waist a bit and in Pierre's other hands he's holding a pair of gold Louboutins.
"I'm no shoe designer, darling, so I hope you don't mind these beauties." I open my mouth to thank him, but I'm in utter shock. "Don't thank me just yet, go put it on."
Five minutes later I'm standing in awe on a pedestal in front of a wall of mirrors, everyone standing behind me admiring the dress. It's absolutely gorgeous, hugging all the right curves. Whilst I'm usually hesitant on wearing white I can't seem to find any complaints about this piece.
"It's beautiful, thank you, Pierre."
"No need to thank me, dear. If Harry doesn't rip it off, I just might." A chorus of laughter rings throughout the room as Liam clears his throat. He gives me a nod of his head, signalling that it's time I go. "Go get that man of yours; don't worry about your sister, she'll be safe with me."
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