The Aldean Chronicles: Hidden

The next morning, Grey, Kat and I go shopping at an exclusive store not too far from the castle. We called in advance and a shop attendant is waiting for us when we walk in.

She takes Grey to the men's section and Kat and me to her assistants. We spend the next few hours trying on different clothes. Kat and I find our dresses for tonight, she keeps picking clothes.

"Are you taking all this?" I ask, eyeing the stack of shoeboxes beside her.

"I already know Grey's taking more stuff than me. If I were you, I'll be doing the same." She stares at the gold bracelet on her wrist. "Do you have anything slightly heavier? This doesn't feel right."

One of the shop assistants walks up to me. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I don't know, you're the expert. Can you bring out stuff you think I'll like?" She rushes off to do just that. Before I know it, I'm surrounded by shirts, skirts and shoes. I take a lot and feel guilty about it. After clothes, we move to jewelry, I see one studded piece after another but reject all of them. They all feel too serious and not my taste.

I gasp when I see a necklace in the shape of a butterfly. The wing of the animal is encrusted with diamonds and the body is rose gold. I don't bother asking for the price, I just add it to our tab. They package my bags and I laugh when I see them all stacked together.

I meet Kat and Grey at the car and they clap when they see my bags.

"She's finally shopping like a Harrington," Kat says.

"About time," Grey adds. "I'm ahead of my back to school shopping, it's strange."

I ignore them. "I got the prettiest necklace, I'm wearing it tonight." I get into the car and we drive back to the castle. Our bags were too much so I put some of mine in the black car filled with royal guards, they followed us here and back.

They drop us off at the front of our apartment door and help log our bags in. Aunt Freya sees them as they pass and huffs. "It's nice to see you cleaned out the stores, I might be reducing your allowances."

Grey and Kat ignore her. She uses this threat a lot but never goes through with it. "How was your meeting with Dad today? And how's the dinner preparations coming along?"

"It wasn't a meeting Katya, it was a normal conversation. And also the party is coming along nicely, you're more than welcome to carry on with the planning."

She thinks about it. "Sounds like work, I'm not looking for that this week."

"How kind of you, everything you need to know is in here." She hands her daughter a tablet and walks away.

"Just what I needed." She sighs. "So, how are we doing this?"

"We? That's funny. Aunt Freya gave you the work, not us. Have fun though." Grey marches off.

"I can help." I offer. "Just tell me what you need me to do." Not like I'm doing anything else.

"Thanks, at least one of my cousins isn't unreliable." She shouts this after Grey and scrolls through the tablet. "Okay, just check on the food while I go check on decorations."

We do this till evening, even then Kat doesn't calm down. I change into my dress for tonight, a baby-blue knee-length dress with spaghetti straps and a pleated skirt. My hair is done up in a tight bun, like my aunt's.

The bigger dining room in our residence has been set up and the display looks exquisite. The plates are made of silver with gold etchings and the glasses are clear with gold rims. Following the diagram on the tablet, I place the name cards in front of everybody's seats. Arin is seating at the other end of the table with his family.

My job is to stand at the front door with Grey and welcome guests. Kat would have been here but she's running around making sure everything's set.

"I hate this so much." Grey whispers then smiles at the next guest. "Liege Nadara, welcome to Tarwick."

The man smiles. "Prince Greyson, you look well. Princess Cassandra, nice to meet you."

"Tonight's events will be held at the grand dining room. Thank you so much for coming." I say politely. He smiles and wanders off. "I hate this too."

Our next guests are the Governor and his wife. "Governor, it's so nice to see you. My aunt has been extra eager to meet you tonight."

The governor nods. "As have I. Thank you for such a warm reception." He walks off with his wife.

The Hames are next, here goes nothing. Erica Hames walks in with her husband, Matthew and Arin in tow. "Deputy Governor and Mr. Hames, we are so happy to have you here." I greet.

The woman smiles warmly, I feel comforted by it. "Princess Cassandra, it is so wonderful to meet you. You're even prettier in person."

"Thank you, you too. You look wonderful." Then I turn to him. "Hi, Arin."

"Oh it's true, you two know each other," Matthew says. "You finally have a friend in Dolma, your home state."

I laugh and Arin as usual scowls. He's dressed tonight in a black tuxedo and his hair is slicked back. He glances around the foyer quickly and looks like this is the last place he wants to be. His eyes briefly meet mine and he looks away.

"It's nice to have you here, the dining room is just down the hall." Grey directs.

Arin walks off with his parents. "Watching this is torture. Do you plan the awkward moments, the silence, the looks that make you look like you can't stand each other."

"Hey Grey, how is Mira?" I bite back, his face falls. He turns back to the door looking deflated. "I'm sorry I said that, it was low and I had no right."

"Doesn't matter, it's the truth." He looks far off.

I take his arm and shake him. "Come on Grey. Don't space out on me, please. I'm sorry, snap out of it."

He turns to me and offers a sincere smile. "I'm fine Cass, it was weeks ago."

"Sure about that." I clarify. He nods. "Good, remember to talk to me if anything happens, okay."

"Yeah." He assures, squeezing my hand. "But only if you promise to tell me all the embarrassing details about you and Arin. You don't have to talk about Tristan though, I can do without that."

"You're the worst." I smile. "The absolute worst." Our next guest is coming so we straighten up.

I take my seat at the dinner table beside Kat and opposite Grey. On my other side is one of the council reps for Dolma. I hardly speak during dinner, I let the adults carry on their conversation. My eyes keep flitting to Arin but I never catch him looking at me. It's like he doesn't know who I am.

After we're done eating, I walk up to him. "Hey."

He nods curtly. "Hi, Princess. Beautiful party, gorgeous castle. Really nice seeing you." He walks to the other side of the room. Okay, he is definitely avoiding me.

I find a quiet corner and bring out my phone. There's a strict no-phone policy at these things and I usually follow it but not today. I'm about to text Sara when I see texts from him. 'Act like you don't know me', 'Trust me it's for the best.' And a more recent one from a minute ago, 'is there anywhere quiet we can talk.'

I glance over at him and he's staring at his phone. I text back that he should meet me in the garden. I tell Kat that I'm going to the bathroom and sneak outside the building. As the minutes go by, I doubt that he'll show up.

I smile when I see him wandering in circles around the fountain. "I'm here," I say from behind a tree. "I wasn't sure you were coming."

He smiles. "Yeah, sorry about that." He apologizes. "I didn't want my parents to see us talking. They'll make a big deal out of nothing and find a way to incorporate it into her campaign."

"Oh. It's for the best then. So um, how are you?"

"Back in Dolma, strange. I mean I grew up here, but I've always schooled at the capitol. It's...odd" He looks around the garden. "The castle is lovely, it's nice to be in your little private wing. Seems so old and historic."

"Wait till you see my bedroom, right out of the 1800s." I joke. I think about my words and stammer. "I mean not that you'll see it, I don't know why I said that."

He smiles. "So how's your break, is this place as scenic as the review sites suggest?"

"I don't know, I went shopping today and planned this dinner. Haven't had time to explore." I reveal. "But I will do all that tomorrow, still have five days here."

"Sounds nice, I'm stuck at back-to-back events. This campaign is crazy, I cannot wait till it's over. Or at least till I go back to school."

"Tell me about it, the press, stress, so inconvenient." I clear my throat. "We should go back in."

"Why, kind of wanted to just talk." He declines. "It's nice out here, beautiful night. By the way, you look amazing."

"I have a boyfriend." I blurt out randomly.

"Okay." He says slowly. "Tristan, I know."

"Yeah, we're dating and I don't want to lead you on. I just really hope we can be friends."

He thinks about that for a second. "Friends. Okay, yeah sure."

"I know it'll be hard but it's for the best."

He laughs. "It's not that deep. I'll get over it."

"Are you sure, cause I feel like I broke your heart?"

"I said I'm fine, seriously. Don't worry about it, rejection is all part of life. Besides, how many people can say they were rejected by a princess."

I smile. "Glad to hear that."

He just chuckles and takes a seat on the cool stony fountain. "Now that it's all cleared up, tell me how you've been."

I take a seat on the fountain but keep a considerable distance from him. "I'm alright, you?"

"I'm good, not much has happened since we last talked." He confesses. "Oh, Val and Headon broke up."

"What, no. They seemed so cute."

"They do this all the time, they'll be back together by Monday."

"True love persists." We laugh. It's nice talking to him again.