Queen Adele left nothing out on her tour of the palace, so we didn't get through very much of it before Clarence decided to cut it short.

"I think Genevieve would like some time to freshen up in her room," Clarence interrupted his mother's discussion on statues in the guest wing of the palace. "I'm sure she'd also like to dress for dinner and have a moment with her staff to get situated."

Adele's face dropped, so I cut in. "I'd love to continue the tour another time, though, if we can fit that in. You have quite the history here."

She smiled and gently placed her hand on my shoulder. "Of course, my dear. We will see you at dinner. I'm sure Clarence or Olivia can help you out."

I smiled and waved at her as Clarence guided me down a long hallway I didn't remember seeing before.

"Who's Olivia?" I asked when my brain caught up with me. "She said you or Olivia could help me, but I don't remember which person is which!"

I could feel myself starting to breathe too fast, so I made a conscious effort to slow it down. It's not like you're alone, I reminded myself, Clarence is still here to help you.

"Olivia is one of your lady's maids." Clarence shook his head. "And you don't remember her because you haven't met her before."

He looked at me and then added, "Will you calm down? It's just a palace. And a palace is just a big old fancy home with a lot of drafts. Nothing's going to hurt you."

Just a palace. Imagine ever thinking that phrase.

"I'm just nervous." I adjusted the sleeve on my dress. "I have no idea what I'm supposed to wear for dinner and I need to talk to Janet and it's just a lot." The words spill out my mouth all at once.

I finally take a deep breath and look at him. "I'm worried I'll upset your parents. And my parents. And..." I trailed off. What was I doing spewing my soul to a man I'd never see again? I just needed to get through the summer and make enough money for law school. I pulled myself up tall and pushed my shoulders down and back. I followed Clarence down the hall until we reached my room.

"This is it." He pointed to a door with two young women standing on either side of it, a palace guard beside each of them.

"I kinda guessed that." I stared at him. "But thank you. I think I should be able to take it from here, then."

"I'll come back to escort you to dinner." He smiled and winked. "We wouldn't want it to look bad for my parents, would we?"

Does he mean what I think he means? I'm going to have to operate on the assumption that the king and queen are not aware of this arrangement. I know that makes no sense, but until I can find Janet to confirm it, I can't risk blowing my cover. I need this job.

I took a deep breath and watched Clarence's back as he walked down the hallway. When he rounded the corner and was out of sight, I turned to the two women outside my door.

"Hello." I smiled. "I'm Genevieve."

"Yes, Miss," the small blonde one giggled as she spoke. "We know."

Of course you do.

"We're happy to help," the taller brunette continued. "I'm Olivia, and this is Marinette."

I repeated their names over and over in my head until I felt I had them. I will have to keep running them through my head all day until I get the chance to write them down. Forgetting someone you were introduced to once is bad enough! But forgetting the name of your lady's maids seems exceptionally rude.

"I'd love to go inside, if you don't mind." I pointed to the door. "I'm exhausted after a long day and I have a feeling it's only going to get longer."

"Of course, Miss." Olivia opened the door. "All of your things have been brought up. If you don't mind, we'll unpack it all for you."

When the door opened fully, it became clear my suite was much larger than I had imagined. All I could see when the door opened was a sitting room with such ornate furniture it looked like it belonged in a museum.

"Wow," I gasped, stepping through the door. "This is huge." I caught Olivia and Marinette snickering, but said nothing about it.

"This is your sitting room, Miss." Marinette stepped in front of me to show me the various doors. "Here, you have a library and an office. They're connected by a bookcase door and it's very cool."

I giggled at her sudden shift into friendliness, but when Olivia gave her a stern look, she stopped gushing and cleared her throat. "And on this side of the room we have your bathroom and bedroom which privately lock from the inside, obviously."

I was still struggling with where to look. That had been happening a lot on this whole adventure. I wonder if it will ever become normal. I'd really like my head to stop spinning.

"So, if you don't mind-" Olivia pointed to the door that was supposed to go to my bedroom- "we'd like to unpack your things for you."

I followed them into my bedroom, running my hand along the textured wall coverings and looking at all the ornately carved furniture. It had to be at least a hundred years old, but was polished up just like new. Between that and the fact that the room was at least the size of my mom's entire apartment, I couldn't help but giggle.

"Is it all right, Miss?" Marinette looked back over her shoulder.

"Oh, yes, it's fine." I waved my hand to dismiss them. "And I'm fine with unpacking my things, but I need someone to find Janet for me first."

"Janet?" Marinette looked at Olivia and then back to me. "Who is Janet?"

"Prince Clarence's Personal Assistant?" I offered it as a question, though I'm not sure why.

"Miss DuBois." Olivia spoke at the same time as me.

"Oh, yes. Right away, Miss." Marinette curtseyed before setting off to find Janet. Olivia also curtseyed before turning to unpack more of my clothes.

"Are all of those mine?" I pointed at the clothes in the closet Olivia had opened.

"Of course, Miss." She looked back at me, "Why would I put someone else's clothes in your closet?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "I guess that's a good question. I just didn't know I was getting a whole new wardrobe when I came here." It seems like Janet left out quite a few important details.

"Oh, yes, Her Majesty set it all up for you." Olivia turned back to her work as she continued, "I'm sure she just wants you to be comfortable and not have to worry about what you're wearing each day. We must make sure to get everything tailored, so it fits you just right."

She turned back to face me, "A lot to learn in acting like a princess, I'm sure, but we're here to help you. I usually work for Her Majesty but I'm on loan for you so I can train Marinette and make sure your summer goes smoothly."

"Thank you," I said the first thing that came to mind. "That means a lot."

She smiled. "It's my job, Miss."

"But you're good at it and you're willing to help me." I shrugged. "Two days ago I was you, so I'm still grateful you're willing to help."

She turned back to her work. "Thank you," she whispered into the clothes.

I didn't think that needed a response, so I unpacked my smaller luggage and put my personal items onto the desk so I would know where they were later. I didn't really want the picture of my family or my favourite headband ending up somewhere I would never find them.