Excuses, Excuses

Chloe was satisfied. Lily was like a second daughter to her. She would've been able to rest easy knowing Lily was with her daughter at ZALE. After all, she'd only be there for a few months. It wouldn't be too long.

The funny part in all this was that Prince Adam was told a made-up excuse that Emma was off sick, so she couldn't work. It was the orders from the King and Queen that neither Prince Adam or Michael was told about Emma being a royal.

Prince Adam on the other hand didn't take a hint. He was told that Emma had been ill, getting infected by her mother's previous illness. But what he assumed, was that she was faking it because she didn't want to or refused to work for him.

He stormed through the palace doors, having one destination in mind. The maid's quarters.

As he had already figured out what to say to Emma, he had already arrived at the maid's quarters, where instead, he found Lily.

He narrowed his eyes.

"I'm looking for Emma Grey. Where is she hiding?" He asked rudely.

Lily fought back the urge to roll her eyes. She knew being rude to him would only make everything worse. She also knew she wasn't allowed to disclose any information about Emma being a royal to either one of the princes, so she had to make up a believable excuse on the dot.

She curtsied, speaking in the fakest of tones.

"Your highness, Ms Grey is not to be disturbed. She is..." she trailed off, not knowing what to say.

She then spoke the first thing that came to mind.

"Ill with an infectious illness," she blurted out, hoping the Prince would fall for such an excuse.

The King's and Queen's orders weren't specific enough. They had told the royal help not to inform the princes of what was going on, but they didn't tell them how.

She crossed her fingers behind her back, as the Prince raised his eyebrow.

He knew better than to interfere, and he secretly didn't want to get infected with whatever sickness he thought Emma had.

"Very well. I'll return when she's feeling better," he stated, lifting his chin in the air as he returned to his quarters, radiating a powerful but arrogant aura.

He passed his brother's room, noticing that his brother's door was open.

Speaking of Michael, he had been thinking about the special girl he had gone on a rendezvous with all day. Something about her made her different from all the other girls he had met.

Maybe it was because she wasn't afraid to share her opinion at the right times, or maybe it was because she was intelligent and witty, even if she hadn't gotten proper education in her earlier years. Not to mention her beauty and all-around personality being enjoyable and pleasant.

While other girls swooned over him, Emma was more interested in the palace gardens than she was with him. For Michael, it was nice to finally have a conversation with a girl that didn't include her flirting with him, making him uncomfortable; talking about why she'd make the perfect soulmate for him and why they were meant to be.

They talked about things they had in common, they talked about the historical context about the garden, and how he had grown up spending most of his time there. Emma talked about her time when she worked in the palace, giving Michael an all-around new point of view he had never heard about before. He found this sudden but new change refreshing.

Michael had always craved to be loved for who he was on the inside, not because of his royal status. Unlike most others, he didn't want to be royal. What he wanted deep down, was to settle down with a family and be with the woman who he truly loved. He didn't want to be stuck in an arranged marriage of sorts. He wanted to be free, together alongside the woman who understood him, and had the same thoughts and inhibitions as life with him. It was a simple wish, but that was also what made it noble.

His royal duties were a burden for him. Having to meet other royals or just as important people, it was boring, and was far away from his meaning of settling down and having fun. If being a royal meant having a luxurious lifestyle where you didn't have to worry about money, but constantly have to meet with the kings and queens of other kingdoms, give speeches, carry out engagements and do many other royal duties, he'd rather be a commoner. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life doing such non-frivolous things.

But back to Prince Adam, who couldn't understand why someone like Emma didn't like him. Girls always swooned for him. But why Emma didn't was a mystery, well, a mystery for him at least.

He knew he was the most handsome out of all men, so he deserved the most beautiful woman of them all. Fortunately, or unfortunately for Emma's case, he chose her as his target.

Meanwhile, Emma had no idea how to tell Lily about the news. She couldn't have just walked up to her best friend and told her that she chose her as her lady-in-waiting, so she had to pack everything up to go with her to ZALE.

She wanted to give Lily the choice. If she wanted to go with her, she'd be more than happy. If she didn't and chose to stay at the palace and continue working as a maid, Emma would be fine, but that would make waste of such a perfect opportunity.

Emma took a deep breath as she headed down to the maid's quarters, trying to calm herself down before she told her best friend the news.

But once she had headed down, she got surrounded by a bunch of the hired help and bombarded with questions.

"Emma, is it true? Are you a royal?"

"Emma, why did you move out?"

"Could you get some of us promoted? Speak to the King and Queen about how we're your friends?"

"Are you no longer a maid?"

The butlers and maids asked as they crowded around her, distracting her from her original goal.

When suddenly, just as she was about to defend herself and deflect the questions, "EMMA IS NOT CURRENTLY ANSWERING ANY QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW. IT'S BEST YOU JUST GO BACK TO WORK!" Someone roared before a hand grabbed her and yanked her apart from the crowd.

Emma sighed in relief when she saw who it was. Lily had come and protected her best friend from the many questions of the paparazzi-like colleagues of theirs.

"Lily, thank goodness. Thanks for the help. I need to talk to you about something important," Emma told her best friend, getting slightly nervous.

Lily furrowed her brows.

"You've got that look whenever you're nervous. So, what's up? Any boy trouble?" She asked.

Emma went a dark crimson. That was not what she intended to speak about.

"WHAT?! No, Lily! Of course not!" She exclaimed, trying to ramble her way out of an interrogation.

Lily laughed.

"Girl, I'm just teasing you. What is it you wanted to talk about?" She asked, seriously this time.

Emma nodded.

"Yes, well, my mother told me that the King and Queen wanted to send me to the Zenovia Academy of Learning Etiquette. I'm being forced to attend the academy and learn all about social graces and prepare for my 'entry to society'," Emma started, getting ready to inform Lily of the big news.

She continued, "Another catch about this is that I get to choose someone as my lady-in-waiting."

She stopped, wondering if Lily had gotten the hint.

A look of understanding was now plastered on her face as she now knew what Emma had come for. Emma was asking her to be her lady-in-waiting and come to ZALE with her. This was huge.