The great thing about having fun with people who don't know you is that you can reinvent yourself. You can be anyone you want to be. They didn't know you and would probably never see you again, as long as your disguise is in place. It causes a daredevil mentality and you might do uninhibited things. Like kissing a stranger or starting a bar fight. However, the one exception is when the person you're with knows everyone.
Upstairs, Malcolm was the man. Down here was no different. We had a great time. My buzz was strong, adrenalin was rushing, and I had a fresh sheen of sweat coating my body. I had danced non-stop for ten songs. Sometimes alone and sometimes with someone else. It was great and well needed. For the first time in months, I felt like myself. I didn't know how much time had elapsed, but I figured I was a good hour in.
Stepping from the crowd, I spotted Malcolm. He was leaned in close to a woman. I would have let him seal the deal, but he spotted me immediately. He waved me over, the whole time still talking to the lady. Malcolm was a lady's man. More than a few times, I had seen him dancing with a very willing lady. If I had a brother, I imagine he would be a lot like Malcolm. I couldn't help the surge of brotherly love I had for him, or the protectiveness I felt for him. Maybe it was because he was the first person I had met in LaCresha to who I could relate, and he didn't make me feel like a princess.
I smiled as I got closer. I yelled, "It's time to go." The woman pouted and moved closer to Malcolm. "Get her number and y'all can meet up later. I have to get back or there will be an APB put out on me."
"What's an ABP?" The woman asked.
"She's American," Malcolm said, and the woman nodded as if that explained everything.
Rolling my eyes, I turned my back to them and waited while they said goodbye. I surveyed the crowd, wishing I had more time to be here. The energy was everything. Through the crowd of bodies, I noticed one guy walking towards us with purpose. His eyes were clear on Malcolm, and the look on his face was pissed. Behind him were two other guys, looking just as menacing.
Before I could say anything, the guy in front marched past me and lurched at Malcolm. He pulled back his arm and hit him so hard, Malcolm hit the ground. I felt different adrenalin as Malcolm stood, wiping blood from his mouth. His mask was gone, and he had that look again. The same one I'd seen earlier when he was mad at Cornell.
"You wanna do this right here, Tyler?" Malcolm said lowly.
"I don't fucking care where it happens," The man yelled, "but this is going to happen. You don't get to fuck my sister, get her pregnant, and then act like you don't know her."
"It isn't mine," Malcolm said calmly, removing his jacket. "Your sister was well broken in by the time I met her."
"I'm going to kill you." The man growled.
"Come on, pretty boy."
That was how I got into the first fight in LaCresha. Malcolm hit him, he hit Malcolm. One of the other guys tried to help his friend, and I hit him. Yes, me Princess of LaCresha, knocked him right on his ass. Someone pushed me from behind and the next thing I knew, I was sitting in the back of a cop car. All I could think about was how dead I was going to be the next time I saw granny B. Were executions done at dawn or were they done at night? If it was dawn, I didn't have long to live.
*****
"Of all the degenerate, restive, and exposing things you could do. Victoria, you get arrested. Never mind, you sneaking out of the palace. What if something had happened to you. What if you were kidnapped! You could be dead now, and all you can think about is living your best life."
I almost laughed at that one. I watched my grandmother pace the length of her office, which was quickly becoming the 'chew Vicki out room'. There were no pearls or jewels today. No smart business suit. She wore no make-up. Queen Beatrice was living her best life as well. She wore silk pajamas and a silk bathrobe, with fuzzy slippers. She had a scarf on her head, also silk, and she looked years older today. She looked like she had just crawled out of bed. A wave of guilt flowed through me as I watched her panic. She was right on this one. I had no ammo to shoot back with.
Cornell was there, and so was Stella, the chief media correspondent. Cornell was dressed in a military uniform. It was red and gold, and he looked like he had been up all day. He looked as fresh as the day I had met him. Except he wouldn't spare a glance my way. He stared at a painting on the far wall of the office. His jaw was tight as if he wanted to say something but was holding it in. I didn't need to know him well to know that he was angry.
He still looked like edible cookies and a cream bar. When I had first been brought in to see him waiting, I felt a mix of emotions. The main one was embarrassed. My fiance was going to see me get chewed out again, although I doubted he would help me out of this one. Still, I couldn't help but admire how good he looked in his uniform or how dominant he looked today. Was it possible that he could look better angry? He looked lethal, like a tight spring waiting to snap.
"Your rebellious streak is going to put me in an early grave. You're going to kill me." The queen yelled. "And on the night of the ball. This will be in every newspaper this morning that has ink and everyone at the ball will be talking about you. Nothing in your medical records showed you were touched. Are you touched, child? What is wrong with you."
I didn't answer. I couldn't answer. There was no reason for what I had done, besides the fact that I wanted to get away from here for a while. Was I going to tell her that, though? Hell to the no. She was already on ten. Everyone in this room was on ten. Yet she has not sentenced me to death, so I was going to sit here and keep quiet. Maybe this will all pass.
"Your Highness," Stella said cautiously, "I have had the story pulled from all major news stations and papers. Yes, it will be the talk of the ball tonight, but it will blow over. Princess Royal Victoria will be fine."
I lifted an eyebrow, wondering why she was trying so desperately to help me. Was she worried about the queen? Granny B did look rather faint. I held my head down once again, feeling the weight of my choices. Somehow, in all my planning to escape, I had missed the worst-case scenario and now we were living it. Now she doubted my common sense and, well, damn it hurt. It hurt to know that I had hurt her. It was a feeling I only got when my mother was mad at me. The realization that somehow I had put Granny B on that pedestal, hit me like a ton of rocks. I cared about the old bat.
Just then, Sadie walked into the already open door, holding a newspaper in her hands. She gave me an apologetic look before approaching the queen. She bowed and handed the paper to Stella, and backed out of the room. The queen took one look at that small piece of paper and made the most unladylike sound I had ever heard. She growled.
"Look," I finally said, finally finding my voice through my haze of despair and regret. "This will never happen again. I screwed up and I'm sorry."
"You are so correct in thinking that this will never happen again." Queen Beatrice said through tight lips. "I am doubling your security detail and after tonight's ball, you are interned to your apartments."
I frowned and voiced my thoughts, even as relief came with knowing I would not be killed or thrown in a tower. "What does interned mean exactly?"
"You're grounded," she replied, eyebrow raised.
Dumbfounded, I gasped for air, my voice once again gone. The fuck was a grounded? I hadn't been on punishment... because that is what we called it since I was fourteen. She couldn't be serious. "What?"
The queen stood, and so did everyone else, except for me. She stared at me with open disdain. She stared until I began to twitch and slowly I stood as well. I hated to do it, it was like a weight was on my shoulders, begging me to disobey. Yet the weight of that stare was way more powerful than the weight on my shoulders.
"Leave us," she breathed, and I watched as everyone left.
"It would seem that you have not taken this seriously. For that, I blame myself. I am clearing my calendar for the next month and I will get you together. We will be going to one of our properties in the country and there I will teach you everything you need to know. You will learn or I will extend the vacation. When we return, you will shadow me, for at least a month. This title is not a joke. It is serious. The things you do now mean the difference between life and death sometimes. Your actions have power and you have to be careful with that. You could start a war or deeply offend someone, and then what will you do?"
"You would screw up a line of strong leaders. When I met you, you had so much potential. You are so smart and so rebellious. I am having second thoughts about this, Victoria. I can't have you embarrassing the family, embarrassing me. You must do everything right for the sake of everyone."
"I have been trying," I defended. "I have been trying to do everything right. It's just hard. I'm not perfect and I'm bored. I didn't think it would be so strict and so stiff. Excuse me for not knowing any princesses. Since I've been here, I have learned the rules by breaking them. If there is a book on this, I'd love to read it. I'm fine with you teaching me. I would appreciate it. I don't want to start any wars. Lord knows I can't run an army. Show me how to master this and please, for the love of God, do not intern me. I'll do what you want, and I am sorry, Grandma. I didn't mean to hurt you."
Her beautiful face softened. "That is certainly a step in the right direction. However, there is much to be done to atone for this mistake. You will also apologize to the young men you hit, the police department that you inconvenienced and forced to arrest their princess, and you will apologize to Prince Cornell. Just so you know, he inquired about ways to break the agreement. Unfortunately, there are none. A royal decree is a law. The only way for him to denounce this marriage is to do so on your wedding day. How embarrassing will that be Victoria, a princess left at the altar."