No Chance, No Way

The sun bore through the open windows in Regent Rousseau’s office, beating down on my crossed arms. I had been sitting across from the Regent’s desk for nearly an hour, according to my new sidekick. Bringing my arms forward, I rested them on the edge of his mahogany desk and dropped my head down on top of them. If I had gotten up at 7 AM just to wait for another hour, I might as well get some more sleep.

“Good morning, Emilie.”

Or not. I straightened instantly, readjusting myself in the armchair. An emerald green cup and saucer was set down in front of me, with a teabag already steeping in the steaming water. The little paper tag attached to the bag by a flimsy, wet string read Irish Breakfast.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” said Regent Nick Rousseau, sitting swiftly in his desk chair and opening one of the desk drawers. It took him only seconds to pull out a sleek binder, which he then handed to me. The binder was only an inch thick, but I could tell from the amount of pages within it that it was much thicker than the size of the handmade notebook Sam had made for me. An insert placed in the front cover of the binder featured a large crest in the center of a pale gold-colored page.

“La Historia de la Monarquía Monticello,” I read the title, the Spanish rolling off my tongue before I took a sip of my tea. “What is this?”

The sound of clicking heels interrupted the Regent’s response. Sadie suddenly appeared in a fashionable skirt suit, placing a stack of papers in a tray on Nick’s desk. She offered me a small smile before making her way out of the office.

“Isn’t it obvious?” asked Nick, grabbing for the first paper in the stack. He glanced it over quickly before signing the line at the bottom and moving on to the next one. “It is a short chronicle about your family line and heritage, all in relation to Reyland and its history.”

So obvious.

“You have a tendency of thinking out loud, did you know that?”

Damnit. “Yes, sorry.”

“I am one of the few members of our ruling government who will find your sense of humor– rather, your snark– charming. You would do best to remember that,” he said, shooting me a pointed look.

“Will do. But what am I supposed to do with this? Study? Will there be quizzes?”

He let loose a hearty laugh. “Heavens no, no quizzes. But do you really want to ignorant of the country you are ruling? Of the family you represent?”

I skimmed and flipped through the pages, mentally taking notes of the different subjects and page counts in each category. I gathered that this was going to be a lot of dry reading. Thank goodness the rest of it was in English.

“You’re meant simply to read it and familiarize yourself with Reyland.”

“Okay, I can do that,” I said with a smile, letting the binder rest on my lap. History was one of my best subjects back at school. This binder would be just like any other textbook that I had been forced to read. The only difference is that this information would actually be relevant. If I was lucky, a lot of the information in the binder would have already been relayed to me by Sam.

“Good.”

We sat in silence for a few minutes. He continued with the stack of papers in the tray while I worked on drinking the tea in the emerald mug. Before long, he paged for Sadie. By the time she arrived, he had finished checking over the final packet of papers. She made to exchange the papers for a package that she had brought with her, which he stood to take from her hands.

“Today, Emilie, you will tour the rest of the grounds. After lunch, you will begin to expand your wardrobe with Sadie’s help and guidance. Dinner with the king will be at 5:30, be dressed and ready in the foyer by 5:15.”

I nodded in understanding and followed Sadie out of his office. We made a short stop in her office so she could relieve herself of the official paperwork, and then we were on our way to tour the castle.
Although I had the opportunity to explore the mansion as soon as I arrived, I ended up passing out on my daybed right after freaking out about meeting my childhood love. In a way, I was glad I didn’t roam the halls of the mansion by myself. Knowing me, I probably would have gotten lost.

Sadie and I started our tour by standing in the middle of the foyer, where she explained to me which staircase led to which wing of the castle. We stayed on the ground floor and took the back left hallway, ending up by the indoor pool and sauna.

“Wow,” I said, under my breath. The pool was the biggest one I have ever seen, especially for being an indoor installation. It was shaped like one of those wiggly amoeba depictions in my old biology textbook, only the pool had more symmetry. Stone columns rose up along the length of both sides of the pool, connecting and creating arches along the sides. This particular wing jutted out from the rest of the mansion, allowing a vaulted sun roof to spill light over the pool.

Sadie chuckled. “The King likes to keep active. I don’t think you’ll find yourself bored while you’re living here.”

“I just flew halfway across the world because I found out that I’m a princess,” I said, glancing sideways at Sadie. Most of my attention was still focused on taking in my surroundings. “I don’t think ‘boring’ is a word I’ll be using for a while.”

That earned me another small smile from Sadie.

The sauna was a simple, small wooden room at the other end of the pool. The most special thing about it was merely the fact that it existed in the first place. Right by the sauna door was another; it led us to the backyard.

By backyard, I mean acres and acres of land that lay behind the mansion and were part of the royal family grounds. On the left, three small tennis courts lay in a minor diagonal. On the right, gardens, walking paths, and fountains were placed strategically in a labyrinth that would have been perfect for first dates and picnics.

“What is that?” I asked, pointing at the red shelter behind the farthest tennis court.

Sadie leaned against the balcony railing and followed the path of my finger. “That’s where I live, along with the housekeepers of the mansion. The contracted workers such as the gardeners and maintenance men live off grounds, but since the ladies and I are constantly here, the King figured it’d be easier on us if we were nearer.”

“Well that was nice of him.”

“Yes,” Sadie agreed. “Your grandfather is a very generous man.”

I smiled as my heart swelled with pride. “That’s good to know.”

We continued inside through the other wings of the house, with Sadie emphasizing out special points of interest in between anecdotes about her personal life. By the end of the tour, I felt like I knew what type of woman she was pretty well. We ended the tour in the dining room. A modest spread of lunch foods were set out on the table. As soon as we entered, a house maiden exited with a silver platter filled with a balanced meal.

“The King takes lunch in his study most days,” Sadie explained, grabbing a plate and handing it to me. Then, she grabbed one for herself.

“Of course.”

I tried my best to hide the disappointment in my voice, but I really was looking forward to finally meeting my grandfather. At this point, I came to realize, it was as if he were avoiding me. I would think a family reunion would be a joyous occasion, especially if the family were long lost and recently found.

“You’ll meet him tonight,” Sadie said, reassuring me. “I’ll help you get ready too, if you’d like.”

The spoon that was carrying pasta salad from the serving bowl to my plate paused in mid air, halted by the freezing of my hand. I looked at Sadie. Was she serious?

“Completely serious.”

I laughed. “That would be amazing, thank you!”

**********************

“We’ve allocated just over 800 euros for your new wardrobe,” Sadie said, pulling open my closet and inspecting the clothes I brought from New York.

I didn’t have much to begin with, but what I did bring were the least rattiest things I had. My leather jacket, my plain t-shirts, band shirts that I hadn’t worn much, an old shirt of Sam’s for comfort… none of which were really princess material. I could tell from the look of concern on Sadie’s face.

“I suggest we invest in some good basics,” Sadie smiled, pushing a button in my closet. The press of the button caused a buzz to emit from my closet. Soon after, the closet spoke.

“Yes, Princess Emilie?"

“Margrethe, it’s Sadie. Could you please bring my laptop to the Princess’s suite, and the magazines on the coffee table in our house? This takes priority. Thank you!"

Minutes later, a short woman came in and handed Sadie a MacBook Air. She wore a simple gray work skirt suit, which looked an awful lot like it was made of the same material as medical scrubs. The only distinguishing factor was a light blue trim along the hem of the short sleeves and skirt. She set the magazines down on an ottoman, curtsied at me, then took her leave.

“I suggest you familiarize yourself with the trends and fashion statements circulating. You're bound to find some outfits in these magazines that will complement your style. Then, surf the web, open new tabs on items you would like to buy, and in two hours, I will come back and approve your selection for purchase. I saw nothing suitable to wear for meeting the king hanging in your closet, so you can borrow some of my clothes for tonight. I’ll bring an outfit of your taste when I come back. Sound good?"

Sadie’s inflection on certain words highlighted her european accent, which made me like her even more. Or maybe I liked her particularly at this moment because she was giving me reign to shop online freely.

“Sounds great."