Crowns & Chaos

twelve

Peter was quick to lead me back down the hallways. 

"Soooo... Now what?" I asked, pausing outside the parlour where my mom and Isabelle were still chatting. 

"Give me a few days to issue the official word of courting to the press, then we'll have to go on our first "date". You're welcome to tell your parents whatever you would like."

I nodded. 

"Okay, sounds good. Um... Do you wanna exchange numbers? It might make things a little easier."

He pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and I put my number in with trembling hands, labelling the contact 'Evangeline Windham'.

He took it back and smiled at me.

"I really can't thank you enough for doing this. I know it seems rather absurd and all, but I really believe it's going to be beneficial for both of us."

"You're welcome. It's definitely not the weirdest thing that's happened to me in the past few months."

He laughed a little before catching himself. He brought my hand up to his lips, brushing my knuckles with basically an air kiss. 

"I'll let you know when we can meet again."

"Okay. I'll, uh, see you later then I guess your highness," I stammered out awkwardly, cursing myself for being a blushing mess as I curtsied. 

I stepped back into the parlour room, where both my mom and Queen Isabelle looked up in surprise. 

"Oh, hello, Lady Evangeline! I hope everything with Peter is alright?"

"Everything is fine, your Majesty."

I resumed my seat in the armchair as my mom and Isabelle continued their conversation. I was pleasantly surprised to realize that they actually seemed to be getting along quite well. Only a couple of minutes after my return to the room, a small woman with a tightly wound grey bun at the back of her head opened the door. 

"Lady Stacy and Lady Evangeline, Lord Thomas has requested that I escort you back to your vehicle so you may return home."

"Oh, so soon? Ah well. Lady Stacy, do keep me in the loop about that charity, I'd be more than happy to help you look into the staffing problems."

"Thank you very much, Your Majesty," mom answered, looking surprisingly at ease. 

"I have a feeling we're going to get along just fine. And Evangeline, darling, I hope you have success in your career search, however unorthodox it may be."

"Thank you, your Majesty. It was an honour to meet you."

"The pleasure was ours. I'm not sure where Peter went, but I'm sure he'd like to say goodbye."

"Oh no, it's no trouble. We wouldn't want to bother him."

She looked at me with a knowing look in her eye. 

"Well alright then. If you ladies will follow Petunia here, she'll be more than happy to lead you to the car."

We followed Petunia back towards the front entrance, where we met dad. 

"How are you guys doing?" he asked, giving my mom a quick peck on the cheek.  

"Honestly? That went better than I was anticipating."

He smiled at her as we walked out the doors, the security guards Anders had sent flanking us on either side. 

Once we got in the car, I faced my parents. 

"Listen, before it hits the public, there's something you guys should know."

Dad looked at me apprehensively.

"You didn't break a super expensive vase, did you?"

I laughed a little. 

"No. But um... Peter asked me out. That's sort of a simplified version of what it actually means, but it's like that. And.. well... I said yes. So... There's going to be an official courting document released in the next couple of days."

My parents gaped at me like fish out of water. 

"You barely know him!"

"I know, but we've had some really good conversations, and he seems really nice. I know this sounds insane, but I need you guys to trust me. I have a plan."

"A plan?"

"Just... trust that I know what I'm doing, okay?"

"I mean you are an adult, free to date who you want... Just be careful, honey. We don't want you to get hurt," mom replied. 

"I feel like there's something else to this, but if you tell us to trust you, that's what we're gonna do."

Relieved, I smiled at them and settled back into the seats, just in time for the car to pull up in front of Grandma's house. 

"It's a good thing we got that meeting out of the way, we have to head to Wilton tomorrow night," Dad said as he opened the door. We passed the security guard on the way in, who I was pretty sure was named Michael, but I couldn't always tell them apart, and it was dark out.

"Okay, so another thing I've been thinking about, originally unrelated to Peter, but now becoming a bigger thing... Do you think it would be okay if I stayed here?"

Mom kicked her heels off at the door.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm an adult, with a degree, and I've gotten settled here. Now everything with Peter is starting and I kinda wanna just stay here, in grandma's house."

My parents looked at each other. 

"This is a lot of information to spring on us after we just met the King and Queen, kiddo. Can we maybe talk about this in the morning?" Dad asked, rubbing his face. 

"You're right. Sorry. Of course, we can talk about it tomorrow."

He smiled exhaustedly at me, before giving me a kiss on the forehead and stumbling up to bed. Mom followed suit, leaving me to take off my makeup and put on pyjamas before climbing into bed. 

Even though my body was bone tired, my mind was racing with all the crazy things that had happened today. Almost as if I'd manifested it into existence, my phone buzzed. I picked it up to see an unknown number. 

?: Hello Evangeline, it's Peter. I just wanted to test the phone number.

E: You're a very formal texter. 

P: Thank you. Mother didn't pay for all those etiquette lessons for nothing. 

E: So is everything good on your end? I'm trying to convince my parents to let me stay here instead of going to Wilton with them. 

P: Everything here is fine. It is probably best that you're closer than Wiltshire. Let me know what they say and we'll organize the first public appearance. I've told my parents, and our connections in the paper are ready to get the official release out first thing tomorrow morning.

E: Sounds like a plan.

There was a pause between texts, and I wondered if he'd gone to sleep. Finally, after I'd resettled into bed, the phone buzzed again. 

P: Goodnight, Evangeline.

E: Goodnight, Peter.