New Home

~Daciana~

After three days

“Daciana, the car is here!” My mother yelled from the hallway as I reluctantly got out of bed. My mother got married to King Edwin yesterday and I must confess it was the biggest wedding I had ever attended.

I was happy to see my mother happy, but I hated the crowd. I hated that they kept whispering things to themselves everywhere I went. They just wouldn’t stop talking about my failed eighteenth birthday, would they?

As if that isn’t enough frustration, I am about to move into the palace, the house where my enemy, Prince Randall lives.

‘He is yet to apologize for ruining my cake!’ That also made the headlines of gossip on the internet about my birthday.

I grabbed my two bags and headed to the door. Before stepping out, I took a pause and stared at my room one last time. It held so many memories and I was going to miss it a lot.

“Daciana, hurry! We’re keeping the driver waiting!” My mother called out again, this time, from the front of the house.

Hurriedly, I headed out of my room, making my way to the front of the house. A Mercedes Benz was waiting in front, and my mother stood next to it, all set.

The driver ran towards me and grabbed my bags which caught me by surprise. “I can lift them,” I uttered, and he shook his head adamantly.

“You’re my Princess. You shouldn’t carry these.”

I lifted my brows in awe as he said these words. ‘Am I entitled to the princess treatment already?’ I wondered as I followed behind the driver who carried my luggage.

“He called me a Princess,” I uttered in shock to my mother and she chuckled.

“Well, he’s right. You are a Princess.” She answered, making me smile widely. It was the first time since my birthday I had smiled so genuinely.

We all settled in the car and soon, we were on the move.

“Mom?” I called as I turned to look at her.

“Yes, Princess.” She answered teasingly and we both giggled.

“In the palace, Carl can come and visit me, right?”

“Of course, baby. Anyone can visit you in the palace. It’s your new home, not a Prison.” She answered and I nodded in contentment.

I had a feeling that it’d take time for me to adjust to the way things are done at the palace, so I’d need a distraction from it all, and the best distraction ever was my boyfriend, Carl.

Just then, my phone vibrated and when I checked, it was Carl’s message that popped in. I smiled widely as I clicked on his text.

“Baby, where are you now? At the palace already?”

“No, my love but almost.” I texted back, waiting for him to respond, but he didn’t. So I texted him again.

“I just asked my mother if you’d be allowed to visit me at the palace and she said yes! Isn’t that great?”

“Really?” He finally texted back. “That’s great. But what about Prince Randall? You know how much I dislike him. I wouldn’t want to create a scene when I get there.”

“Well, I don’t like him either, but he’s my stepbrother now and I have to live with that. All we have to do is ignore him.”

“Alright then. Ermm… I’ll let you know when I’m free at work so that I can come and visit you. I’ve been very busy lately.”

As I read his response, I felt something that wasn’t happiness or excitement. It felt as if I was starting to get ignored by my boyfriend.

After my birthday, even though I refused to talk to anyone but him, he’s been very busy since then. Even during the weekend, he didn’t come to see me even after how much I ranted to him about how bad I was feeling.

And now he’s coming up with the busy talk again?

‘Maybe he is truly busy and I’m just overthinking things. I mean, he’s the one watching over the company now that his father is out of town. He is busy.’ I said to myself.

“My Queen, we are here.” The driver uttered, causing me to look up. I fixed my gaze on the extravagant building in front of me, staring at it like I was about to make the best and worst decision of my life as soon as I stepped into its doors.

The car door opened and I stepped out. I looked at the door and saw some people in uniform, marching out of the house and towards us.

I looked at my mother who had a large smile on her face like she understood what was going on.

Before getting to where we stood, they stopped and split into two, their heads all bowed. Some of them stood at the right, and some at the left. A young man emerged from the door and walked up to us.

“Welcome, my Queen and Princess, please come in.” He uttered with his head bowed. My mother held my hand as we began to walk towards the door, with the people in uniforms to our right and left.

Stepping into the house, my jaw dropped. I had always tried to picture how the interiors of the palace would look just by studying the exteriors, but seeing it now, it is nothing like I had ever imagined, it was better!

It was so huge, beautiful, colorful, exquisite, and aesthetically appealing. Before I could thoroughly feed my eyes, I heard footsteps approaching. I looked up and saw King Edwin and his guards.

King Edwin had a smile on his face as he stared at us. “Darling.” He opened his arms and embraced my mother so warmly. I giggled softly because I loved seeing them together. They’re so cute!

“Daciana, welcome to your new home. I hope you’ll love it.” King Edwin uttered, looking at me.

“I hope so too,” I answered with a grin.

“Please, show the Princess to her room.” The kind added and the young man that had approached us earlier moved closer to me and showed me the way.

“This way, my Princess.” He uttered, and I nodded, following behind him.

We hit the very long hallway and I kept looking around, enjoying the view. The portraits on the white walls were so captivating that I felt the need to take a moment to digest them.

“My Princess…” he called, and I turned to look at him.

“My name is Daciana. You don’t have to call me Princess all the time.” I responded, and he smiled.

“That would be a crime.”

“What is your name?” I inquired.

“I’m Josh, but you can call me Butler. I’m the King’s butler.” He answered, and I smiled.

“It’s nice to meet you, Josh.”

“Same here, my princess. And here is your room. I hope you like it.” He uttered, and I raised my head to look at the room he pointed at. It was the room on my right-hand side.

There was another right in front of my room, and the door was opened.

“Thank you,” I uttered, as he opened the door. I walked into my room and instantly fell in love with it. It was painted pink, and almost everything including the bedsheets was baby pink.

‘How did the king know I love pink?’ I thought in surprise.

“I’m a call away if you need anything,” Josh uttered, pointing to the telephone next to my bed. I smiled widely and nodded.

“Thank you so much,” I responded and looked at him as he made his way out of my room. I walked to my door and was about to shut it when I looked into the room in front of mine again.

It was painted white, and everywhere seemed arranged and squeaky clean. ‘I wonder who stays here.’ I thought, and out of curiosity, I found myself walking out of my room and slowly walking into this room.

On the bed were neatly laid white and gray sheets. Looking at the ambiance, it seemed like a peaceful and easygoing person lived there.

I spotted a portrait of a woman on the wall and it instantly caught my attention. I moved closer to the portrait to get a better look. The woman looked so beautiful and soft.

‘Who is she?’

Suddenly, I heard a door open and I jumped in fright. I looked back and to my greatest surprise, I saw Prince Randall with a towel wrapped around his waist.

“Haaa!” We both screamed as our eyes locked. He grabbed onto his towel firmly, still staring at me in awe.

“What the hell are you doing in my room?!” He yelled, and I was too stunned to speak.

Water was dripping down his black hair, face, and body. I was somehow lost in his very contoured and chiseled chest and abs. He surprisingly looked hot and edible to me.

“What are you looking at? Get out!” He yelled, and this smacked me back into reality.

“I’m… so… sorry,” I muttered, running out of his room. Without looking back, I entered my room and shut the door behind me.

I rested my back on the door, panting very hard like I had just escaped a war.

“What the hell just happened?!” I muttered, still breathing hard. ‘Was I seriously checking him out?’

‘Oh my…! I hate myself right now!’ I shut my eyes in regret, punching the air.