Starlet

36. Friendly Visitors

I open my eyes, and I'm in bed. I don't know where. I poke my head up and a brain is standing there.

"Egypt resort. You needed a nap."

"I stink."

"You can take a shower."

"Can you bring me underwear, a comb, and a dress?"

"Of course."

I take a shower and get the stink off. Camels do not smell pleasant.

"Where is everyone?"

"Shopping. I can take you to them."

I spend an hour shopping in the village with everyone. Then Dipak says it's almost 5. He sends me, Leo, and Andy through a door into my village house.

My script book is sitting on the coffee table. "Well that was easy to find."

Andy runs out the door. "I have to do something. Tell Bayden I'm running a few minutes late."

Leo nods. "Alright."

We walk out the front door and Leo looks at my hanging chairs. "Those make a lot more sense now."

I smile. "Yep, right out of the kids' clubs."

He grabs a playbook, and we walk into the theater together. Lynn gives me a death stare right away. She is pissed.

I avoid her, and sit in my spot. I glance up and realize she's looking at Leo like that, not me. He walks over to Bayden and talks to him for a minute, then sits with the main actors.

Leo and Ben get up on stage and start going through a scene. I take notes on what Bayden says. Then Andy sneaks in and sits with me. He's freshly showered.

"I couldn't take my stink anymore."

I crack up laughing. Then he laughs. Bayden gives us a dirty look and Ben and Leo look at us. Andy leans in. "Did you ever tell Leo he stinks?"

I shake my head and try to stop laughing.

Andy stands up. "Sorry sir. We were just discussing how bad Leo smells."

I laugh so hard I scream and fall off the chair. I pick myself up and watch Leo smell himself. "Oh s**t I do."

I lose it again.

He looks at us laughing. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Andy nods. "We just did."

I wipe the tears off and try to stop laughing.

Andy walks up to the main actors and sits. "It was the camels. I guess they stink, but we don't breathe, so we don't notice. I had to go take a shower before I came though."

Leo smirks at me. "I would have to if someone told me."

I crack up laughing. I cover my face with my playbook and try to hide. I peek over it, and he's still on the stage smirking and nodding at me. I hide again fast and laugh.

"Ok, nobody breathe today. We're going to continue."

I lay on the seat and laugh so hard.

Andy eventually comes back. "Are you alright?"

"That was so funny."

"Yea it was." He helps me sit up. "Nicole is in the next scene though. Try to calm down, so you can pay attention."

"Ok." I wipe my eyes off and open the book to the page they're on.

I make it to the end of practice and 2 of the king's guard come in. They go up and talk to Leo.

I sneak out happy they weren't there for me. I get halfway home and Leo runs up. "Why did you sneak out like that?"

"I was happy the king's guard didn't want me. I wanted to sneak out before they saw me. What did they want anyway?"

"They summoned me to a meeting at the castle tomorrow. I had some ideas for the ship."

"Tell them to bring in room chefs."

"No kitchens in the rooms, hun. Will you be at the meeting?"

"No. That's above my level. If you were giving dance lessons, then yea, maybe."

"I wouldn't be any good for that." We laugh.

"YOU GET OVER HERE NOW." We turn to Lynn. She seems ready to kill.

"NO. I'M BUSY."

"I need to get back to the castle before they search for me. Enjoy that shower you need." He laughs. "Oh and write down your ideas for the meeting. Being in front of everyone is intimidating."

"I'll keep that in mind. See you tomorrow."

"See you." I walk into the house. He walked me home. I didn't even realize it.

Dipak is in the living room. "Did he kiss you?"

"No. He's got a girlfriend. And he's not Collin."

"Alright, let's..."

Someone knocks on the door. I throw the playbook and fling the door open. I jump and Collin catches me. I wrap around him and hug him. "I missed you."

"I missed you, baby." He gives me a couple kisses. "Will you eat dinner with me?"

"Yes."

He takes me to a quiet dinner. Then he walks me back to the theater. I do my second practice with Tim. Mason sits through it. Then we go to Dipak's office to sort out my servants.

I sit at the very end of the table. Dipak, Marcus, Mason, Tre, and Omar are at the other end. I yawn. Then I lay my head flat on the table. "Bring my servants."

"Yes, ma'am."

I pop my head up 2 seconds later, "I need an office."

"I'll give you 1 on the 3rd floor."

I fling myself back into the chair and slide down as far as I can. I close my eyes and hear the elevator ding. I sit up quickly. My servants seem better.

I sit on the conference table. I need to get out of the chair, or I am going to sleep. "You seem better."

"We feel better, ma'am."

"No more titles. Do not address me with a title at all."

"As you wish."

"What do you want to do from here?"

"We want to help you. It's all we've ever wanted to do for your family. We took vows. Your parents treated us like family. We loved them and you kids. We were devastated when the castle fell. There was no warning. They scheduled a visit and came right into the office as friendly visitors. No one suspected a thing. It was so fast and you were gone. They never took command. They left with you and that was it."

"Were any of you in the room?"

"I was."

"Can you tell us what you saw?" Omar is getting paper ready.

The servant looks at me. I nod. I knew it was going to come out at some point. I stare at the floor.

"King Brackley came in for his scheduled visit. There were 3 other dragons with him. The queen, Jareth, and 1 other female. They were negotiating a deal for wine. Then Star came in. She gave her father a hug. The queen told her she was precious and asked her age. She was 322. She then said something about mates. Her dad grabbed his chest and made a joke. It's too early to be thinking about that. Then the king stood up and said Star was soulmates with their prince. Her dad said maybe in 80 years, but not yet. The king hit him with a sword between his eyes. He fell so fast. Star was screaming. Mike ran in. Jareth cut his head off and threw it at Star. Asked her if she wanted a souvenir. She was screaming and trying to get to them. Jareth hit her face with a rock and knocked her out. The boys' bodies were burned. Then he carried her out."

Another nods. "Our queen fell when the mate bond broke. She did not survive it."

I wipe the tears off my face.

"Their prince being?"

"Jareth, sir."

Omar stands up and sits down 3 times. Then, he shakes his head. "Dipak."

Dipak leans back. "Well..."

A couple of minutes later, a servant looks around. "What happened then?"

"They did something to my dragon. She was gone. I woke up chained to a dungeon wall. I couldn't get away. I tried. Then Marcus killed him and I was out."

"Marcus killed your mate?"

I nod and stare at the floor. The tears pour out of me.

One of the servants wraps her arms around me. "I'm so sorry. You don't deserve this. You didn't deserve any of it. You were such a good kid. Always loving and kind to everyone."

Another servant runs over and pushes her off. "The evil rat bastard is dead. Thank you, Marcus. We're moving on now. Think of it this way, you'll get to pick your own mate. Not everyone gets to do that."

I shake my head. "I'm not so sure if I want to do the mate thing anymore."

"Well, we can be single. That's fine too."

One of them sit beside me. "Yea, men are only around for the heavy lifting anyway. We'll hire movers if we need to. Where are we going to live though? Does the castle still... castle?"

I chuckle. "The castle does still castle. But it's castling in more of a rubble state now. Not livable."

"You're staying here." Dipak is staring at me. "You're still a teenager, and you have a lot of growing up to do. You're not ready to be on your own."

"I've been on my own for 70 years."

Marcus shakes his head. "Too young."

I roll my eyes. "He says that for everything."

"You can each take a servant's room in the servants' area. There's a dresser and a bed in it. You can keep your personal items there. Feel free to use any of the servants' area. You'll each get a meal card, so you can eat in the cafeteria. That'll take care of sleeping, bathing, and eating." Dipak shrugs his shoulders.

"My room is 404 in the castle. You can keep that clean. Dipak said I'm getting an office. You can go there too. I have a house in the village. You can come visit but don't clean it. I have a housekeeper for that. You can visit though."

"Well, that sounds fun."

"Dipak, do you have rooms in your resort for 11 for a few days?"

He blinks at me.

"They need a vacation too."

Omar shakes his head. "They are hers. We have no say."

"Yes, I have 4 family rooms available. There are 3 beds in each room. They're available until Friday at 2."

"I'll take those. Give them each an advanced meal plan. Full spa access. Hair, finger, and toenail vouchers. 10k each to spend at the resort. You can buy whatever you want with it, as long as it's at the resort. Make sure to get some clothes and shoes with that. You don't have any. Oh underwear... You have to pack some. He doesn't have any for sale, and he gets mad if you don't wear any. We have already discussed that." They try not to laugh. "What else? ... Oh, you will not address me with a title. We already did that. There is no official outfit for you. I want you to try to blend in wherever you are. You will not dress as servants. Dress in what is common for the area. You are not required to have your hair pulled back. You will also not wear my colors. Which is not a difficult order because I do not have colors. I want you to blend in and appear like everyone else in the area. In the event of my death, you are released from all the vows you have taken to the Cole family or crown. If, at any time, you wish to be released from your servitude, you only have to ask. I will not now, nor will I ever, hold someone against their will. Do you understand and agree?"

"Yes."

Then the elevator dings. "Why do you need so much girls' underwear, Dipak? This is getting weird."

"Thank you, Mary. You can each take a pack." He stands up. "I'm sending you... I'm going to take you. You'll probably be so damn confused if I don't."

The rest of the boys stand up and go to the door with him.

I raise my hand. "Can I go to bed?"

"Yes, good night."

I lay down on the table.

Mary pulls me up. "Bed not table." She pushes me all the way to my apartment.