The Royal Love Triangle

10: Meeting The Family

Callie's POV

As I walked down the long stair case, I can feel a bunch of eyes on me. Everyone was watching my every move. I took in a deep breath and held it for a few seconds while gathering the courage to reach the end. I tried my best to keep my head up, a smile on my face and look confident. It was a lot harder than it sounds. It’s not every day that someone finally gets to meet their family, let alone them being a king and queen. When I reached the last step, Chandler appeared at my side offering me his arm to escort me to meet my parents in the next room.

“Allow me your highness. It would be an honor to escort you to meet your mother and father. Your brother should be joining us shortly.”

Chandler gave me an encouraging smile and I nodded. I rested my hand around his forearm, and he led me into the next room. As we turned the corner, the king and queen turned to me. “Your highnesses, please allow to me introduce you to your daughter and princess of New Biblica, Princess Callie Marie Bohon.”

Chandler bowed and took a few steps from me. I held my breath trying to gain the courage to look them both in the eye. When I look up, Queen Melissa, I mean… Mom, was wiping tears away from her eyes. Dad looks absolutely flabbergasted, almost like he felt like this was surreal too.

I curtsied to both of them while maintaining eye contact. I smiled and couldn’t contain myself anymore and ran up to both of them and gathered them into a group hug. They both gasped then let out a laugh. Mom was still crying.

“Callie, you’re so beautiful. You have no idea how excited we are to finally have you home with us.” She looked me up and down, nodding in approval. “You look just like a princess. Your grandfather was right, that tiara looks amazing on you. Not too flashy to take away from your face, but elegant enough to remind everyone that you are indeed a princess.” Dad nodded in agreement. I could already tell that he was a man of few words.

“I didn’t know how I was going to feel being here. Everything up until now has seemed like a dream. Everything was almost too good to be true. But, now that I’m here, I almost feel like I belong.” I smiled.

It was true. I haven’t felt out of place since we arrived here. I looked behind me and saw Tessie watching me with a huge smile on her face. She looked beautiful. I smiled back at her and bit my lip before running over to her dragging her back with me.

“Mom, Dad, this is my best friend, Tessa. She has been there for me through absolutely everything. I wouldn’t be here without her.” I smiled at them then glanced over at Tessa and winked at her. Her face was a bright shade of red. I grabbed her hand and gave her an encouraging squeeze. She looked up at me and smiled.

“Your majesties.” She said in a small voice before dipping into a curtsey.

Just then, someone walked into the dining room and announced that dinner was to be served. I grabbed Tessa’s hand and laced my fingers with hers. I looked up at her and smiled shyly before biting my lower lip. She smiled at me, but I could see the fear in her eyes. She squeezes my hand and I instantly release my lip and blush. We made our way into the dining room. I couldn’t help but feel that things were so right, being here with Tessa.

Just as I was about to sit down, I heard a young man’s voice, “Please, allow me.” He pulled out my chair for me. I took my seat and quickly looked up. The young man couldn’t have been much younger than me. He looked to be maybe 20 years old. He had black hair and blue eyes, just like me! “Callie? Is it really you?” He sounded like he was in a state of disbelief and excitement. He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me tightly. “Oh right… Callie, I’m your younger brother, Marcus.” He smiled at me and I smiled. I couldn’t believe I had a younger brother! We made some small talk for a few moments. When dinner was finally coming out of the kitchen, Marcus took his seat across from me. He flashed me a smile and I instantly felt like I belonged here.

Dinner was over in a flash. Everything felt so surreal, but I haven’t laughed or felt so content and comfortable in a long time. We were all sitting around the table talking and laughing. I looked around the table just trying to take everything in. Mom was sitting at one end of the table. Her smile showed true confidence and happiness. Her laugh was absolutely contagious. Marcus was sitting to her right. He was funny and really knew how to make me feel welcome and important. I was honestly afraid that he would feel like I was invading his space. Dad was sitting on the opposite end of Mom. His face presented seriousness and strength, but he was cracking jokes and telling stories about Marcus when he was a kid. Then there was Tessa. She was so beautiful, and she looked absolutely stunning in that dress. Her hair was in loose curls, her smile and laugh were so comforting. I couldn’t believe that this is my life now.

After we had all left the table, we went back into the living room for some drinks. It was so nice to be able to just talk and get to know everyone. Marcus and I spent a lot of time together that evening. Our parents left a little while after to give us some time together.

“What’s your favorite color, Callie?”

Marcus and I were sitting on opposite ends of the couch. We took turns asking each other questions. With my past experience, I never thought that having a brother could be anything like this. My other brother and I never really talked since he was so much older than I was. But this, this was different! This was everything I needed without knowing that I wanted it.

“Purple! What’s your favorite animal?”

“Penguins. What’s your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?” Marcus shot questions back at me quicker than I could keep up.

I was just about to answer Marcus when Clara showed up in the door way. She had her arms crossed over her chest. She looked frustrated.

“Princess, you need to get to bed. You have a long and important day ahead of you. You will need to get a decent night’s sleep in order to be properly prepared.”

I looked at Marcus and we both rolled our eyes. I stood up and walked over to Marcus. He stood up and gave me a big hug. I hugged him back tightly. I honestly felt like we were going to get along really well.

It was my first night in the castle and I had a million thoughts running though my head. Tomorrow was going to be an extremely overwhelming day. I was going to be introduced to the country as their princess. Most importantly, I was going to be meeting the man I’m supposed to be marrying, and so is Tessa. I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t nervous.

Don’t think too much about it, Callie. You can do this. I just kept repeating this in my mind as I got myself ready for bed. I walked into the bathroom to see PJ’s set out for me. I smiled in relief. I was so tired and mentally drained that the last thing I wanted to do was worry about something as simple as picking out clothes. I quickly took a shower, brushed my teeth and changed into my pajamas. I crawled happily into my bed. I heard my phone ding, just as I was getting comfortable. I sighed and grabbed it off of the end table next to my bed.

Text from Tessa at 10:20 PM: “Hey princess. Are you up for some company? I’m not used to sleeping in a room by myself. Besides, I miss your beautiful face! ;)”

I smiled down at my phone and shot a quick reply before setting my phone back down. There was a quiet knock on my door before it opened, and Tessa walked in. She quietly shut the door then ran over and jumped on the huge bed next to me.

“So, I was thinking princess, we should make a fort. We always used to do that when we were little whenever something big happened or we just needed the world to feel small again. What do you say?” She smiled at me and I let out a squeal of excitement.

I swear she always knew how to make me smile. Together, we quickly built a fort from the blankets that were on my bed. When we had finished, we crawled in and laid down. We were both giggling. I don’t think many princesses make forts. Once we calmed down, we settled in and started to relax.

“You know Cals, you’re amazing. I don’t think many people would do what you did and step up to all of this. You took this head on and never looked back. You never cease to amaze me.”

She propped herself up on her arm, so she was looking at me. I turned my head towards her and smiled. She took her free hand and tucked a stray piece of my hair behind my ear. Her fingers lingered on my cheek. She leaned in and kissed me.