The Princess Swap

7.

Wilhelmina and the other girls she called to make me ‘a bit more perfect,’ stood back to admire their work. Maybe now the Princess’ mother would approve of my look. I looked fit to sit with the queen, smile and appear as someone who never had unruly hair.

.Again, the style made my head ache. I wore my dirty brown hair in a loose style. The few times any of the other girls had no chores, I could persuade them to braid my hair. But having nothing to do only happened once in a blue moon. If I didn’t wear my hair down, tucked behind my ears, then I would fasten it behind me with a scarf.

Selene wasn’t the princess. I had to stop comparing our lives. We were as different as night from day. While I had unkempt dirty brown hair, the Princess had blonde hair. The girls braided the front before putting it in a low bun. The only strand out of place curled at my temples. Hair that had been dead now shone. No one would imagine it had been a disaster hours ago.

The girls, two omegas, complimented my hair before bowing out of the room. Wilhelmina made to follow after them but I placed a hand on her elbow, stopping her.

“Will you walk me to the dining area? I feel dizzy and wouldn’t want to collapse with no one around,” I muttered. I had been practising those words in my head for the hours it had taken to wash and style my hair. I even practised the tone of voice to use. My first day as a princess had to go hitch-free.

“Okay, Princess.” Wilhelmina led the way.

For the first time since getting here, I took in my surroundings. While the Princess’ room was nothing more than a child’s room, uncaringly redesigned to fit an adult, every other part of the palace had a milky hue, contrasted with sharp gold. Impossibly high ceilings shaped like rectangles, adorned with gigantic chandeliers with yellow lights made the place an enthralling gold. Walls were lined with drawings of important men and imposing, snarling wolves, each canvas larger than life and enclosed in golden frames. Thick round pillars with shimmery designs and thick red rugs were to be seen everywhere.

I couldn’t have fainted without anyone knowing. The palace seemed to be alive even if every Alpha, Beta and Omega passing only spoke in hushed voices. People of status marched forward with their regal heads held high and Omegas hustled about with trays bearing breakfast.

“Enjoy your breakfast, Princess,” Wilhelmina said before turning away. We had come down one of two sets of spiralling stairs, walked past a dozen doors, all similar, to stand before another with similar double doors.

Taking a breath to calm my haywire nerves, I pushed open the doors. The entire room turned to look at the newcomer. My legs threatened to give out under the gaze of so many people.

A long, oval table sat in the middle of the room, covered in white linen. It extended from a few feet away from me to a few feet away from the end of the room. There had to be at least twenty chairs on each side of the table, excluding the king’s seat that was thankfully still empty.

At least thirty people sat and they had their eyes on me. My eyes gravitated to a familiar one. The Princess’ mother. Today, she wore a deep velvet dress with big sleeves, a high collar and a smile on her face.

My heart calmed. If such a judgemental woman found nothing wrong with my appearance, I had to be glowing.

“Princess Ariana.” I recognised the man from Beta Moses' inn. The Alpha who called Prince Zion by his given name; the man who wanted to take away the Beta’s source of livelihood.

My heart plummeted to my stomach upon recognizing him. It soared to my throat when he stood. Then a smug calmness washed away my anxiety.

His eyes did not pass over me like they did the attendants standing inconspicuously at corners of the room. They fell on me and lit up as he stood and strode to me.

“You look ravishing today.” He kissed my cheeks despite my pursed lips. He wore something oud that irritated my nose. “Allow me to walk you to your seat.” He took my elbow and led me forward as a father would their daughter on her wedding.

“You can sit beside me.” I recognized the pretty girl with the mismatched eyes, Raven. There was a vacant seat to her left, between a chubby man, and to her right, a girl with a beaming smile that didn’t reach her eyes sat with a stiff back.

“Come now, Ariana. There is a seat right beside me,” The Princess’ mother said, eyes commanding me to obey.

I ended up in a seat farthest from all of them. I didn’t want to spend the whole of breakfast listening to the woman nag about my table manners or whatever thing she would decide to nag on. One never knows with this woman. Perhaps I would not chew as gracefully as the queen.

The doors opened as soon as I sank into the plush dining seats. The king strode in, a broad-chested man of over six feet, with tan skin and crow feet around his eyes. Queen Gwendolyn walked beside him, keeping up pace despite his long strides.

We all stood to greet the Alpha King, seating only when he had tucked in his Queen and sat himself.

Attendants dressed in white uniforms with a red sash hurried out from their corners as we sat, opening dishes. My stomach growled then, the sound lost in the clattering of cutleries.

“Zion?” The king muttered. At that point, I noticed how close to him I sat, compared to the others.

“The Prince has not come down,” The server closest to him answered.

“We must wait for him.” I watched some faces drop and others contort. Waiting for the king must have been hard but waiting for his Prince with so many delicacies opened before us, felt like torture.

Everyone but Raven and the girl I assumed to be Jordyn sat in silence. The Princess' mother kept sneaking concealed glares at me from where she sat, three seats away.

After about five minutes of looking from the door to the food on the table, the door finally opened and the prince strolled in. He didn’t look like he just rolled out of bed so I knew he had been awake for a while. But for whatever reason, he had failed to dress for breakfast.

He stuck his hands in his pocket, ignored the greetings offered as he passed and walked up to greet his father. He placed a kiss on his mother’s cheeks before falling into the seat beside me. My skin prickled at his proximity.

The attendants took their cue to serve. Zion downed his goblet as soon as it was filled. I’m sure I let out a gasp at that. Not only did he not offer any apology for being late and keeping us waiting, but it was also insubordinate to start eating before the head of the table.

Without turning, he said in a low voice. “Close your mouth, Princess.” I snapped my mouth shut. The rest of us waited for the king to break bread first, but the prince already prepared to take his first bite.

“We were waiting for you,” I hissed in surprise. He paused with chopsticks lifted to his mouth.

“Did I ask you to?” He asked, turning to me with raised eyebrows that made him look angry. I marvelled at his insolence and disregard for his father. No, he did not ask us to. I had never taken any etiquette classes, but my mother taught me to be polite at least.

“The least you could do is apologize for making everyone wait for you,” I answered. He ignored me to focus on his food. “No courtesy and no respect,” I noted under my breath.

“I’m sorry, Father. I was just so thirsty. I hope I haven’t offended you,” He said to his father after a second.

I raised my eyes to the king to see him smiling, uncaring about his rude son. The Princess’ mother glared at me as though I should be faulted for the prince’s late coming. He didn’t even have the decency to dress appropriately. But I had been made to sit through torture for something as simple as breakfast.

“No matter, son.” The king said, after swallowing of course. We all dove into our meals and chatter started up. “It’s a nice weather to go fishing,” The king said. A murmur of agreement rang out around the table. No one ever spoke at our breakfast table.

That pushed the princess to the forefront of my thoughts. Would the alpha look for me? No doubt Alpha Brian hated me but would he be worried a little? Would he be anxious for my whereabouts or would he just sit, furious, waiting for me to arrive so he could give me a hundred lashing of his belt? The most I ever got was twenty five, after I fell asleep cooking dinner, almost burning down our pack house. But Ryker had gotten a hundred lashing. I hadn’t joined the pack then but he told me how he went unconscious for two days. He had a scar on his left side, a growth from where the Alpha’s belt had caught him and pulled his skin.

Heavy eyes on me pulled me back to the events around me. Everyone made plans to go fishing. But the Princess' mother glared at me. If fury had a face, it would be similar to the one she wore then.

I looked down to see the reason for her fury. Again, I had fallen short of perfection.

My table manners stretched as far as waiting for my alpha before eating and forcing myself not to inhale my food. I didn’t know how to use a fork much less a chopstick as the others were doing. The fork and knife I had opted for had been used in disseminating my food while my mind drifted away.

She didn’t know it but if the Princess could not attain perfection, there was no hope for me. I had half the mind to try, to fit the image we all expected of the Princess. But my focus lay on enjoying this experience.

“You’ve made a mess.” A voice said in my ear. Indeed, I had made a mess. I tried to mimic the grace with which the Queen held her cutleries but I found my hands quivering. Her grace awed me. She caught me staring at her when she raised her head. She smiled, that perfect, gracious, soft smile. She smiled and I got more awestruck.

“Stop making her uncomfortable,” He snapped in my ears.

I managed to hold a bite on my fork without spilling any as I raised it to my mouth. I sighed at the heavenly taste that exploded on my tongue. The meat was tender and juicy. The taste seemed to make my taste buds come alive. It made me aware of an intense hunger.

“Amazing isn’t it?” The Prince said. I pretended not to hear, ignoring the glare I was still getting. I felt sure he was up to something with the odd calm in his voice. Usually, he made sure to growl at me with every word he spoke. I became more suspicious when he raised his sticks to me. “Try mine.”

Someone on the table cooed. They did so too early.

Against my better judgement, I opened my mouth. The meat never did make it in. I winced as red sauce stained my cream dress.

“Oops.”

Not even up to a day but I already hated this man almost as much as I hated Xavier.