??? THE FALL OF A DRAMA QUEEN?
?episode_3???
? Emerald’s POV?
Harry and I arrived in the royal palace, the primary residence of the British monarch. It was also where the state ceremonies, official banquets and other state functions took place.
I was overwhelmed how hvge and beautiful the palace was. Outside, there were flower gardens, fountains, statues and monuments in the park. When we approached inside, two butlers opened the door at the Grand Entrance. I g@sped at its beauty. It was breathtakingly elegant and luxurious, everything victorian with sparkling chandeliers, very shiny marble floors and bright red carpet leading to the grand staircase. There were too many different rooms, the State Dining Room, Drawing room, Music room, Throne room, Cross Gallery, and many more. Harry said that there were a thousand rooms all in all in the palace.
We were standing below the grand staircase. It was late and it was time to say goodnight. Harry c@m£ close, looking down at me intensely.
“I’m occu-pied the whole day tomorrow but I’ll be with you in your meeting with the king. That will be late afternoon.” He suggested.
I looked up at him and met his hypnotic eyes. I felt intoxicated with his nearness. “Sure.” I stepped backward, trying to compose myself. What is wrong with me. I’m like a lovesick kid again. “I’m looking forward to discuss the design with him, so I can get started.”
“He’ll show you the crown.”
“Wonderful.” I smiled briefly at him.
“Then after dinner, I’ll show you the whole palace.”
“Oh, that would be lovely.” I was actually excited. The palace was more beautiful than those featured in the movies.
“Goodnight, Emerald. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight, Harry.”
A household staff who introduced herself as Flor, accompanied me to my room. I fell in love with it instantly. The furnitures, ornaments, curtains and walls in gold, gray and white. Chandeliers hanging in the center, queen be-d covered with satin, vases and lamps on the tables. Everything so grand, elegant and luxurious.
I was right. It took me awhile to sleep that night. My mind kept on drifting to Harry’s distracting smile.
___
The following morning, I was awakened by the smell of food. Flor brou-ght my breakfast in the room. Freshly baked croissant, sausages, eggs, vegetable salads, as-sorted fruits, orange jui-ce and tea. I forgot to tell Flor that I don’t eat heavy breakfast. But the food are so tempting… what the heck. I’m hungry!
After I showered, I put on a simple dress, flat open sandals and minimal makeup – saving my outfit later when I’d meet the king. I went outside my room and decided to explore the palace.
There were many tourists inside the Palace, so I decided to join them. I went to the shop looking at the exclusive gifts and souvenirs. Books, stuff toys, mugs, jewelries, mini crowns, bags, homewares and others. Then I followed the other tourists to see the park and the gardens, enjoying the smell of fresh air and flowers. I was enjoying being alone, till I went to a tea shop and ordered a matcha green tea and red velvet cake. I ate a piece of cake, hmmm… this is heaven.
I was pas-sing the hallway on my way back to my room when suddenly…
“Ooops!” I yelped when my face hit the wall of a man’s che-st.
Strong firm hands immediately held my arms to steady my feet. “Sorry miss… my fault. I was not watching where I was going.”
I re-moved my hands immediately from his che-st and stepped backward. My eyes grew bigger as I stared at him. I could not believe who I saw. Even without the dark shades and hat, I was certain he was
Prince Phili-p.
Oh my God! I was starstruck like seeing a celebrity. He was tall and handsome, a well-built man in a black suit.
“It’s okay. My fault too.” I tried to answer him without stammering.
“You’re a tourist, right?” He asked.
“Um… actually, I’m here to see the…” I was speaking to him when he looked at someone behind me.
“Excuse me. I have to go. Again, I apologized.” He made a half bow and left immediately. I turned around to see where he was going. He was heading to the east wing of the palace.
I looked down and saw a gold tie cl!pon the floor.
Oh gosh! I picked it up and went after him. I st©pped when two blond young women, probably near my age, were walking towards me. They glared at me and as-sessed me from head to toe.
“What are you doing here?” One blond girl, wearing a pink dress with matching pink hairband said accusingly. Her hands immediately went to her w@!st.
“This area is prohibit from tourists. This is for the royal family only.” The other blond girl in lavender dress and a hat informed me.
“I’m sorry. Err… Her royal highness… princesses.” I did not know how to address these two women. Should I curtsy to them? I was not oriented by Harry. Darn it! “I’m going to give this tie cl!pto Prince Phili-p.”
The two girls looked at each other, then backed at me.
“You know Prince Phili-p?” The girl in pink dress frowned at me.
“Um… not really.”
She snatched the tie cl!pfrom my hand, putting it in her dress pocket. “I’ll give this to him later.”
“Next time, stay away from this wing. A commoner is not allowed here.” The other girl said before they walked away.
I was speechless. They were such a snob. I walked back to my room and la-id down on the be-d, thinking.
I felt so belittled.
??
While waiting for my appointment with the king, I did too many things to keep me occu-pied. First, I called my mom. We alre-ady talked last night but not too long. I told her how beautiful the royal palace was. The flower gardens, park, monuments, my room and especially the gift shop. I s£nt her pictures of the exclusive gift souvenirs I took yesterday, which I knew she would like, and made her choose.
“I like the teapot and cu-ps, I want all designs, hmm… i love all of the housewares. They’re all beautiful!” My mom, Jade Petrakis exclaimed with excitement. “Crystal will love that doggie stuff toy and little crown. What else… mugs for your dad’s coffee, okay? Get all the designs. And oops, get towels and linens for Zion and Claire. They will love it.”
“Sure, mom. I’ll just ask the shop to sh!pthe items to you.”
“You should. I can’t wait to see it.” Mom sounded very cheerful. “Have you seen the king yet?
“Nope. My appointment is this afternoon. Harry will be with me.”
“Great! I love Harry for being so kind that he recommended you to the king.”
“Yeah, and I’m very grateful to him.”
My mom was silent for a while, then her voice shifted to being so serious. “Make sure that you do. I know you don’t like him, Emmie, but plea-se be nice to him. He’d given you a big break in your business.”
“I know what I’m doing mom. I’m being nice to him.”
“Okay, if you say so. I have to go. Your grandma is here.” Mom said before she hung up.
I called my personal as-sistant, Cathy for instructions then answered some emails. After that, I posted my pictures on Instagram and checked the likes that I got in my previous posts.
I fell asleep when Harry called.
“Hey.”
“Hi….” I answered. I was suddenly wi-de awake hearing his silky de-ep voice.
“How’s your day? Did you get to roam around the palace?”
“Yeah. I was at the gift shop earlier. Then I went to gr-ab some tea and cake.”
“That’s great. Anyways, I’ll pick you up at five.”
“Okay, I’ll be re-ady.”
At three o’clock, I started dressing up. Oh, darn it!
All my c0cktail dresses were in the other luggages. All I had were summer dresses, business suits and p@n-ts. I gro-an ed aloud and decided to settle on a white long dress and a red blazer, then a vintage mink fur scarf on my shoulder.
I stared at the foundation, concealer, blus-h-on and redl-ipstick I la-id on the vanity table. It was the only makeup I got. The canister of my translucent loose powder for baking my face was empty. It was too bad.
Harry arrived at five sharp. He stood tall, straight and devastatingly handsome in dark suit and royal blue tie. He carried himself with commanding air of confidence and power – like a real prince.
I felt bad all of a sudden. I was not confident with what I was wearing. I felt un-derdress and ba-re without much makeup.
“Wow. You look so beautiful. I like how you look tonight.” Was the first thing that Harry said to me when I opened the door. His face showed genuine appreciation. I did not remember being complimented by him since we met again. And it made me feel so flattered.
“Thank you. And you look very handsome.”
Arresting… very distracting.
Hisl-ips p@rted in a smile, displa-ying his straight, white teeth.
“Shall we? The king is waiting for us.”
My imagination of my meeting with the king was kinda odd. The king seated on his throne and I was standing in front of him waiting for his instructions. But when we entered a room, he was sitting on an armchair and drinking tea.
The King was old and fragile. His hair was color gray and his eyes were milky and watery. But despite that, his eyes were very curious, like he could see everything.
“Good afternoon, your majesty.” I made a small curtsy.
“Good afternoon, Miss Petrakis. Sit down.” The king pointed the chair beside him.
I sat down and Harry did the same at the other side of the King.
“How’s your flight yesterday, Miss Petrakis… or shall I call you Emerald?” He smiled at me, then looked at Harry.
“Yes you may, your highness.” I answered, trying to be careful what to say. I was very nervous that my hands were trembling, but I was trying my best not to show it. I wanted to appear smart and confident to him. I c@m£ here to make the queen’s crown and I’d prove to him that our company was very capable of ma-king the crown he requested.
The King showed me the crown. It was so beautiful, made of different gems – Diamond, Sapphire, ru-by and Amethyst.
“I want to preserve this crown and put it in the museum when I’m gone. It’s my memory of my wife. That’s why I want a new crown for the next queen.” He leaned back on his seat and continued. “Everyday, I get weaker and soon, I will die. I’ll be happy to be with Cornelia. My grandson, Prince Phil!pwill be the next king. His future wife will be wearing the crown.”
I was silent as I continued listening to him, telling stories about his love for his wife. I sympathized with his sadness. I felt his loss.
I looked at Harry who was just listening to us. There was no reaction from him, like he’d heard the story too many times.
Later, when his mood was lively, I asked him. “Do you have a p@rticular design for the crown, your highness?”
“I want you to make the design of the crown. I want it elegant and modern that fit in your generation. You’re an expert on this field, so I trust you. You can roam around the palace, get inspiration from the things you see here. Then we can sit again in a week or two to finalize the design. Can you do that, Emerald?”
“I will, your highness.”
????
?Story_Continues