Once Janet had finished politely informing me of all of my mistakes the day before and handing a list to Semret, she turned her attention fully to Clarence and let Semret show me my schedule and explain my new role to me.

"Is that to your satisfaction?" Semret asked, folding her hands in her lap after demonstrating a bunch of technical features on my phone.

I couldn't even focus on the phone, and stuttered a few times before I managed to get out my question. "This is a packed schedule. Is it all really necessary?""

"Yes, I'm terribly sorry about that. The prince's schedule was made weeks ago, so we didn't know about you or your role yet. We've rescheduled as much as we could, but unfortunately it's just going to be a very busy couple weeks for you two."

I nodded, still unsure how I was supposed to fake being a future princess every waking minute, twelve hours a day, for the next fourteen days.

"You don't have to start your actual internship for a few days, though, so we'll have some time to get you set up before the really busy time begins. And after the first couple weeks, I'm sure you'll settle in." She smiled again. "We've had to get creative to make sure everything could fit in your schedule, but I worked with Janet to make sure you'll be at all the most important events."

"Yeah, okay. Thanks." I tried to smile at Semret, but I couldn't help but notice Janet looking away from Clarence and pulling her eyebrows together as she stared towards me.

"I can try to get you out of a few things," Janet said, looking at me like I was a small child, clearly trying to gauge my reaction to the idea.

That wouldn't be so bad, would it? I took a deep breath, steadied myself, and stood up. "No, thank you, Janet. I'm sure the schedule Semret prepared will be fine." I walked over to the door before turning back to face them both. "I mean, it's only crazy for a couple weeks, right? I'm sure I can handle a couple weeks."

The looks on their faces told me I was wrong, and I could feel the fear closing in on me. It's okay. Just get through one day at a time.

To my surprise, Semret was the one who spoke up. "I'm sorry, Miss Levin, but it's going to be much more than that. The whole summer is quite busy for you both as time with Prince Alexandre is so limited..." She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders before continuing. "I'll be here for you every step of the way and we'll make sure to adjust your schedule as necessary, but I'm sure we can adapt."

The girl has guts, I'll give her that. Probably the kind of person you want hanging around when you're working in a palace. I put on a polite smile again and said, "Yes, thank you. Well, I'll be going then."

The fear was pushing up from my belly and threatening to come out as tears, so I didn't wait for their response or their respectful curtseys. Instead, I just turned and pulled open yet another door with an ornate brass handle. I briefly caught a glance of Clarence looking up from his work when I stepped through the door, but I didn't hear what he said to me. All I could think was I have to get out of here.

Halfway down the hallway, I remembered I had no idea where I was going. I stopped walking and looked around, frantically searching for any clues. There was a strange statue of some kind of bird eating what I hoped was a rodent and a painting of some fruit and an ornate sconce on the wall, but none of that helped me. I'd have to swallow my pride and go back in there. I took a deep breath and turned back towards the room.

I breathed a sigh of relief when Semret came through the door and into the hallway, calling my name. I pulled my shoulders back and waited for her to catch up to me.

"So sorry, Miss." She didn't sound out of breath at all. "But I should show you where my room is and take you back to your office. I'm sure you're aware you have a lesson this afternoon and a gala this evening."

I most certainly am not aware!

I nodded, "I'm sure you've put all the relevant information into the calendar."

She smiled. "Let's just get everything set up so you have some time to settle in before lunch. I'll be there to guide you every step of the way."

We walked together so she could show me her room. It was six doors down from mine and across the hall, right beside a painting of apples. Yeah, like that's a unique feature around here.

"I'm here whenever I'm not with you or on my two nights off. If I'm not here, I'm always on my cell. My job is to be available to you for whatever you need. I do try to get most of my work done during the day, but don't worry about the time."

She was only the twelfth person to tell me she was at my beck and call. I'm not used to a staff, I can go a few hours without having someone at my disposal.

But she hadn't been kidding about that 'being with me every step of the way' thing. She trailed behind me when I went back to my room to work so she could call for Olivia and make sure my outfits for this afternoon and this evening were going to suit the decor of the rooms we would be photographed in.

"Never in my life did I think I would be colour coordinating outfits with walls," I whispered to Marinette as Olivia bustled about presenting Semret with options.

She suppressed her giggle behind a cloth she was using to dust a very large mural of the mountain I could see out my window. Or maybe it was a different mountain. It's very hard to tell mountains apart from each other.

I went into my office and shut the door, blocking out the rest of the world. I walked over to the desk and ran my hand along its smooth surface before opening the brand new laptop sitting there for me to use.

"Might as well take a look at this schedule," I spoke to the air, clicking open the application.

I only emerged from my trance when Marinette knocked on my door.

"Excuse me, Miss," she said, stepping through the door. "I don't mean to interrupt, but the family would like you to eat lunch on the terrace and if you don't leave now, you'll be late."

"Oh, no," I groaned. "I don't want another new dress!"

She snickered, trying to hold the laugh inside. "You don't need a new dress until your charity events, Miss. You're already wearing your day dress."

Had I said something so outrageous to warrant her snicker? What on earth is a day dress? I followed her out into the sitting room and then Olivia offered to escort me to the terrace for lunch.

Thankfully, lunch was a much less formal affair. When I arrived on the terrace, there was a small table set for three where Queen Adele and Clarence greeted me. We sat and talked while we ate some fancy sandwiches and drank some type of sweet, cold drink. I could barely eat from the knots in my stomach, but I tried to smile and engage with Queen Adele.

"So, are you ready for this afternoon, Genevieve?" Queen Adele put down her plate to address me.

"I think so." I resisted the urge to sigh. Everyone has got to stop asking me that! How does their worry help me? "I've looked over the information, but it's a lot to learn. I'm certainly hoping the practice will help me."

Queen Adele smiled at me and held up her hand, turning her attention to the palace, where Janet and Semret were standing in the doorway, identically posed with clipboards, earpieces, and pantsuits. I couldn't help but laugh, and I saw Janet's solemn expression crack into half a smile before she got it together.

"Your Majesty," she said as she curtseyed. "I'm sorry to interrupt. We need to escort Prince Alexandre and Miss Levin to their meeting."

The Queen nodded and Clarence stood up, so I did too. Before I had taken a single step, Queen Adele spoke to me. "I'm sure you will do wonderfully, Genevieve. Everything I've heard about you is positively glowing. I know it's overwhelming, but try to trust yourself and relax a little bit. We're all here for you."

"Thank you, I will do my best." I curtseyed and turned towards the palace, following Semret into the hall and up the stairs to an unused room that had been transformed into my classroom.