Chapter 1
"Mac, you got something in the mail!!" My mom hollered. I sprung off my purple bedspread in a hurry to the kitchen. There was a college envelope sitting with my name on it. I snatched it up. "I can't wait to see if i got in!!" I said holding up the envelope. It looked thick. "Thick is good right? I mean if i hadn't gotten in they'd only need one sheet of paper to say, no thanks. Right??" I asked. My mom smiled. "Yes, that's generally true, but listen while we're on the subject of college...your father and i wanted to talk to you. "What? What?" I asked panic rising in my voice.
She put her hand up. "Don't worry it isn't a bad thing, well i don't think so. We it depends on how you take it." She frowned. "If it's we won the lottery then i'm taking it well." I said. She furrowed her brow. "We haven't bought any tickets, sorry to disappoint. Let me finish up dinner and when your father gets home we can talk." "Woah hold the phone, you're not having a baby are you?" I asked. My mom laughed so hard i thought she was going to choke.
"Honey are you feeling okay?" She asked. I shrugged. "Good as always." I said. "Good, how about you stop coming up with theories and open that." She said pointing the spoon at my envelope. "Because i'm trying to stall here and i think i'm doing a good job." I faltered setting the envelope onto the table and flattening it out. "yes and driving me crazy." "But if i don't get in, this is me delaying that..." I started humming the theme song to the fresh prince of bel air.
I had just graduated high school and i had intended to go to college. I don't really know why, it wasn't as if i wanted to go to college per say it was just what you did in my small town of Honey Grove. You didn't have a lot of options as far as work, unless you went to the local factory. And i was not doing that. It's not that i had anything against making lamp shades i just felt, i don't know maybe i should be doing something more. But i guess everybody felt like that at some time or another. And unfortunately more meant working at the local grocery store. Also nothing wrong with that i just felt it would be so mundane.
Now as far as what i'd do when i got to college was still a mystery to me. Why couldn't i be more like my best friends. Cam and Sadie. They knew without a doubt what they were going to do. Cam was going to be a nurse she was all about saving lives. And Sadie wanted to be a teacher. She liked kids and wanted to give them a brighter future. I mean such noble jobs, does any body else ever feel like this much of a looser? The jobs suited them perfectly! What was i ever good at? Besides bossing people around that is. Maybe i could go to college for that? Oh yea the envelope.
With that i ripped open the envelope pulling out it's contents. I quickly read the first few lines of the top piece of paper ."I got in!" I said excitedly. "Honey, I'm so proud of you!!" My mom said coming over and wrapping me in a tight hug squeezing my neck. She almost hit me in the head with her spoon. She pulled back. "Good for you dear." She said brushing her blonde hair from her forehead. The front door opened and my dad walked in.
"Dad!! I got in!!" I squealed waving the paper in the air like a maniac. He looked over at my mom and gave her a look. She just shrugged, smiled and kept on stirring the chili. "Honey bee I'm so proud of you!" My dad said patting my shoulder. But something was off. Oh yea, whatever it was he and my mom were keeping from me. I pushed my long blonde hair over my shoulder and narrowed my green eyes at the two of them. They gave away nothing.
I huffed. "Okay i can't take this anymore, will one of you just tell me whatever it is you're hiding?" I asked placing my elbows on the table. "Mackenzie..." My dad never called me that. No one did, i was Mac...to everybody. Something was definitely up. "I'm dying aren't i? And you just don't want to tell me." "Honey if you were dying i think you'd know about it." My mom said. "Well...some people don't!" I know that was a dumb comeback but they were seriously weirding me out. "Dear, you know that i love you right." My dad said. "Of course." I said giving my dad a look.
"Well okay then i need you to not get mad at me for what I'm about to tell you. Gosh i went over how i would tell you this so many times in my head. Some days i thought i was doing the right thing and some days i knew i should've told you sooner and the more time that went by that i didn't tell you the easier it was. I just wanted you to be a child. And not a child like i was. With rules and lessons and balls." My dad looked like he was about to cry. "Dad what are you trying to tell me?" I asked. "That i was a prince. Your grandmother and grandfather are queen and king." He said, so seriously that i almost believed him. But as i started to laugh neither he or my mother did.
"What you're serious? I'm a princess?" I asked just to be sure. My dad nodded. "Why didn't you tell me this before?" I asked almost angry. "Because, i was trying to protect you. My life as a kid was anything but fun. There was so much structure but you got to play and be a kid. I still feel like i did the right thing at times." My dad said. "I have so many questions." "I understand that i really do but can i please just stress this. I don't know that i could've done the right thing. Maybe if i had taken you over the summers you could've gotten some training but my fear was always that you would resent it like i did." He said. "I thought you'd feel all this pressure like i did. As a kid it almost controlled me." He said.
"So wait, how come you're not a prince?" I asked. Because if he was a prince we wouldn't be here in Georgia, where i have lived all of my life. No we'd be there in some castle while my dad, i don't know ruled until he became king. And maybe i wouldn't even be here. "Because, when i was old enough. I left. I went out to see the world. And while i was there i met your mother and we fell madly in love. The rules are that you can't marry somebody not from a royal family. So i gave it up for her. Your grandparents had me when they were forty. Which means they're now in there eighties and not so young anymore. They need you come and transition into being queen."
"Wait, first i was going to be a princess and now I'm going to be a queen. This is ludicrous.." I said. "I know that honey, but you'll need time to learn the ways. And find a suitable husband. So you'll start your training and we'll do grand balls on the weekends and you'll find a nice boy and you'll get married." My dad was rambling. "So once you get this queen thing down, they'll coronate you and then the transition to queen will begin..." My dad stopped when he saw the look in my eyes. "Hold on a minute. Thirty minutes ago i was going to college, now all of a sudden I'm going to become queen of some stupid country AND get married. What you want me to have babies next week too!? Let me just pencil that in!!" I shrieked as the weight of his words hit me. This was easy for my dad to say, he grew up in the life. He's lived it it's all new to me. My mom put her hand on my dad's arm.
"You're scaring her Scott, let's just take this one step at a time." She turned to me. "Honey, nobody expects you to do all of that. Here's all i expect. We got visit this place. Check it out, finally meet your grandparents and see some sights. At best it's a summer long vacation. If you decide you totally hate it then you come back here and you go to college just like you had planned and we all agree it was a good time." She said. "Well i can at least agree to that." I said. "So if i don't become queen then who will?" I asked. My dad shrugged. "Ya know I'm not exactly sure, but I'd recon a cousin or something? A douches...i don't know. Your grandparents know though and we will throw you a big ball to meet everyone." "You don't have any siblings?" I asked my dad. Dumb thing to ask but I'd never met my grandparents so who knew for sure.
"No my parents had trouble conceiving that's why i was born so late in life." My dad said. "Oh i see." "What else?" My dad asked. I slapped my face. "Duh, where is this place were going?" "Levoux. It's near France." My dad said. "Huh, well okay. When are we leaving?" I asked. My mom was a principle at a local elementary school so she would be off work for the summer. But what if this worked out. Would i be there alone? And what about my parents?
"I'd like us to pack up so we can leave next week. We'll leave everything here. If you decide this is what you want to do then we'll have everything shipped over. I may need to fly back for a few meetings though." My dad mused. "What if i decide to stay. What about you guys?" I asked. My mom smiled sadly. "Then of course we would move to. You don't think were gonna miss out on those grand-babies you're going to give me next week are you?" My mom smiled putting chili into bowls and setting in on the table.
My dad started to fill glasses with sweet tea and set them down next to the bowls. "Ha ha." I said sarcastically. "Well good then. I think this is still a lot to take in." I said. "Oh and it will be even when you're there. You're going to be training and doing balls and it is going to be a lot. But if you decide to be queen just know this is going to be the most rewarding thing you'll ever do." My dad said. "Then why didn't you stay?" I asked.
"I wanted to i really did. I knew i could make a difference. But at the same time i loved your mother so. And i know what we are asking of you is a lot." My dad said. "Yes, so don't you dare be afraid to say no somebody else can and will take your place." My mom said. Somebody who had more training than i did. Whoever it was would be more than fit for the job. Maybe i should just let them have it?
My mom sat a pack of crackers and some spoons on the table. "What's that look?" My mom asked. "What if i blow this big time?" I asked taking a seat at the table. "What if I'm all wrong for the job?" I asked. "Well the great thing about this job is you don't have to apply. It's already yours." She said. "No that's the bad part. I could be a terrible queen but because of my blood i still get the job." I frowned.
My dad chuckled. "You haven't even tried yet and you're already counting yourself out. You always do that." He said. "Tell me, did you really want to go to college?" My dad asked. I frowned. "I thought I did." I said. "Why? Because Sadie and Cam are going?" My mom asked. "Maybe, but I don't wanna go to the factory with Aunt Bernese and Uncle Dale." I said picking at a string on my shorts. "Then don't. This might be the perfect job for you. You are smart and quick on your feet. You are caring and compassionate. I can't think of another job you'd be better at!" My dad said. And maybe he was right. But i guess i wouldn't know until we got there. "Besides you're great at bossing people around." My mom pointed out. I grinned. Wells he was right about that.
"Now eat up." My mom said. We dug into the chili. When we finished eating my dad looked at me. "Do you want to ask me some more questions?" I shook my head. "No, not at the moment. You've told me what you could i need to go talk to Cam and Sadie." I said.
He nodded giving me my space. I knew I would have more questions but not yet. I texted them to meet me in the tree house in my backyard. That was always our meeting place, since we were kids. I told them I had something important to tell them.
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