Crowns & Chaos

nine

Theodore looked at me with an impassive expression. My father pushed past him and pulled me into a hug before going over to kiss my mom. 

"You really enjoy being a harbinger of chaos, don't you?"

I sighed. 

"I didn't realize someone was gonna be taking pictures."

"Someone is always taking pictures."

"Okay, but we were gonna have to meet them at some point, right?"

He sighed. 

"Yes. You've actually probably done a good job."

My mom ruffled my hair from behind me. 

"Of course she did."

"But you should know that you'll be moving into Wilton as soon as all this business is dealt with."

I saluted him. 

"Aye aye, captain. Oooooh, does Wilton have any really long hallways?"

He gave me a strange look. 

"Um, yes."

I turned to my mom.

"We can get old dresses from Goodwill and do the dramatic barefoot ballgown run."

Her eyes sparkled. 

"You are so my daughter."

"You could also use the abundance of gowns your grandmother left you."

I gasped. 

"Dad that's even better."

Theodore looked at the three of us incredulously. 

"You really are a strange family. But enough of that. I have to go talk to Anders about security to and from the palace. We'll arrange for a car.  Meanwhile, figure out what you're going to wear, please. We have to leave at 5 and it's already noon."

After stalling for a few hours by going back and forth between watching New Girl and panicking, I walked back up to my room, where the contents of my suitcase were strewn about. I was already pretty sure there wasn't anything appropriate for meeting royalty in my clearance bin clothes, but I sifted through them anyway. 

I walked into my grandma's room, the one that had sat vacant since our arrival. I hadn't been able to bring myself to move into it, even though it was a lot nicer than the tiny guest bedroom I'd been using for the past couple weeks. 

I found a deep purple dress at the back of the closet. It was around floor length with a leg slit on the left side and long sleeves. It looked fancy enough to be fancy, but it didn't look like a prom dress, which was more than I could say for some of these. 

I pulled it on, adjusting it. It had solid contrast with my fiery hair but luckily wasn't clashing too much. 

I pulled on a matching pair of heels. Grandma really was out here being a style icon. She had matching shoes for almost every one of her dresses or skirt sets, which was far more than I could say. 

"Mom! Can you help me do my hair?"

She came into the room, wearing a long silver dress that I remembered from some of her and Dad's really fancy fundraiser party things. 

"Oh, Evie. You look gorgeous!"

"Thanks. Is it too much?"

"Babe, we're meeting actual royalty tonight. You look perfect."

She brought me into the bathroom, where she pinned part of my hair away from my face, styling the rest into loose curls. We tucked shiny hairpin found in Grandma's jewellery box into the side. 

"I feel like a princess," I joked. 

"You look like a princess," she smiled. 

She did her hair while I brushed on some makeup. Finally, at 4:30, we were ready to leave. 

"This feels like a really fancy outfit for a conference meeting."

"Sweetie, we're also having dinner with them."

My mouth dropped into an 'O'. Thank god for those online etiquette lessons that Theodore had made us all do in the time before we came back to London. I just hoped I remembered everything. 

My dad came down the stairs not long after, fidgeting nervously with his suit. I had never seen it before, so I could only assume he had borrowed it from someone at Wilton.

"You ladies look beautiful," he smiled at us, looking properly petrified. 

"Thanks, Dad."

"This is certainly not something I imagined would be happening at this point in my life, and yet here we are," Mom joked. 

Theodore appeared in the doorway, three boxes in hand.

"Oh good, you all look presentable."

I rolled my eyes. 

"Oh no Theodore, please don't be so overly flattering."

He grimaced at me. 

"Apologies, Lady Evangeline," he sneered, reminding me of my title, and thus of my manners. 

He brought over the boxes, handing each of us one. I pulled the box off to reveal a delicate gold signet ring with the Pembroke crest on it. 

"Oh... Theodore, it's beautiful."

My mother and father each had one.

"I know that all of you guys are new to this. But you are the rightful heirs to Pembroke, and nobody can take that away from you."

I slipped it onto my left pinkie, getting used to the weight. My eyes felt a little misty. As old, grumpy and sarcastic Theodore was, I knew he only wanted what was best for us. 

"Thank you... For everything, Theodore," my dad said, expressing everything that my mom and I couldn't.

Theodore cleared his throat. He seemed a little choked up, but shrugged the thanks off. 

"Of course, my lord."

I snorted. It was still weird to hear my dad addressed as he was technically supposed to be. My mom looked at me and bit her lip. 

"Of course, my lord," I said in a passable impression of Lucius Malfoy from Harry Potter. 

Mom choked on a laugh. 

"Avada Kedavra," she whispered. 

Theodore threw his hands up in surrender, rolling his eyes. 

"I'll go alert Anders that we're ready to leave."

My dad gave us a withering glare, but there was a twinkle in his eyes. 

"You two are going to be the death of him."

I burst into giggles, leaning on my mom for support.

"I want to say that I'm sorry, but I just wouldn't mean it."

My mother failed miserably at maintaining her composure and started laughing too. 

"I thought you were better than this, Stacy."

She swatted his arm. 

"Oh shut up, Lord Tommy. You know who you married."

My dad finally cracked a smile, and I realized for the first time the toll that all this stress must be taking on him. 

"Hey, it's gonna be fine. We're gonna do well tonight."

He smiled at me gratefully. His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he glanced at the screen. 

"Car's ready to go."

I checked my reflection one last time. With that, all three of us walked out to the car.