We had packed everything we thought we'd need for a three month stay in a castle. We didn't bring a ton of clothes because my mom said we could always get more. My dad agreed that a royal dress maker would see to it that we had fancy clothes for the balls and that I'd probably have a royal shopper/dresser. But I didn't want that. I wanted to buy my own clothes. He just kept saying when I became queen that wouldn't be possible anymore. Maybe he was right but for now....Okay fine. They could pick out my clothes I would probably just embarrass myself anyways. I knew for certain I had a lot to learn.

We were on a private Jet that my grandparents arranged for us. My skateboard was sitting between my legs so I could keep an eye on it. My mom tried to tell them commercial would be fine. But they wouldn't hear of it. Not for the future queen my grandmother kept saying as if this was already a done deal. My mom said she tried to explain to her it was just a trial run but I guess when you're eighty and tired you hear what you want.

When I wanted to take up the skateboard my mom wasn't sure. She said it was a very tom boy thing to want to do. But then she saw that I liked makeup just as much and that maybe it was okay for me to like both. I had already googled a skate park to make sure they had one. It wasn't a big one or even a good one. It was a little rundown but I would take it. I was going to be doing a lot of boring things and I'd need to be able to clear my head.

We had already been in the jet for way to long. I was glad we were landing. I looked out my window and saw the huge castle. Wow I breathed. That was huge and impressive. "Wait a minute." I said. "What's that dear?" My dad asked. "Who all lives in the castle? I mean I assume grandma and grandpa. But what about when they step down. If I step up. Will they stay there?" I asked. "Oh no dear. They will retire to the summer cottage. It's beautiful and much smaller. It's close by but you'll certainly have your privacy." He said. I breathed a sigh of relief. If I had to marry somebody it would be weird to have all these people around.

 "Although there are the servants quarters." My dad mused. "Servants?" I asked. "Oh yes, they have a cook, a gardener, a maid or two. You'll of course have a lady in waiting. Then they have Charleston the butler..." He kept ticking off all the people who would work or frequent the castle but I had zoned out taking in the beauty of it all.

Once we had fully stopped rolling I realized we weren't at the castle anymore. We had just flown over. We were in a tiny airport and there was a fancy limo ready to take us to the castle. We stepped out of the plane and to the fresh air. The first thing I noticed was amazing. It wasn't 110 degrees and I could breath. There was no humidity to suffocate me. I could get used to this. The driver ran quickly up the stairs taking load after load of our things into the trunk. I had my skateboard clutched to my chest.

"Mac Attack, hey that's pretty clever." The guy said nodding at my board. "I'm guessing you're Mac?" He asked. I nodded. The guy was young maybe a year or two older than me. He had a delicious accent and light blonde hair that was spiked up in the just the middle. "Nice to meet you I'm Shane." He said. "Are you gonna be in town a while?" He asked as he arranged the stuff in the trunk. "Yea for the summer." I said. "Oh cool, maybe you'd like to come see my band play sometimes. I play the drums." He said.

"Oh that sounds fun, but I don't know." I said. He gave me his number on a piece of paper. "In case you change your mind? Just think about it." He said. But I wouldn't, I couldn't. I had to marry somebody royal and going out with him would just hurt me to bad. Because he was cute and seemed fun. But he'd never fit in here. Heck I barley fit in here. We got loaded into the car and he drove us to the castle. He had no idea that one day I'd be his queen. And probably not in the way he wanted. We all stepped out stretching our legs.

"So why are you here for the summer? He gestured at the castle as Charleston had some men unload the stuff and take it to our rooms. "To visit family." I said. "Oh that's cool are you like a duchess or something?" He asked. "Or something." I smiled. "Thanks for the ride." I said waving and heading inside after the others.

I saw my grandparents. I knew at once who they were. They were dressed all proper and I felt under-dressed in my blue jean shorts and tank. My grandmother took in my clothes and raised an eyebrow. "This is the one they want to take our places, good heavens." She said to her husband.

"If only Scott had stayed the course we set for him." He said shaking his head. Okay so I'd need to change my clothes. I could do that. I had allowed one of the servants to take my skateboard upstairs if he promised to be careful. Now I'm glad I had.  "Do we shake hands?" I whispered to my dad. "No honey you bow." He said. "Good afternoon your majesties." I said bowing to both of them. My grandmother gave half a smirk impressed but not letting it show.

"Scott it's good to see you again." Said my grandmother. "And Anna, you as well." Said grandmother. But I could tell she didn't mean it. She didn't like my mom. But I guess I could kind of understand why. She had taken my dad away from his duties here. Would she hate me too if I left? I'm not saying she's right. My dad followed his heart and I respect him greatly for it. Could I do the same if I was placed in a similar situation?

"I hope you had a good flight." My grandfather said. "Indeed it was very smooth." My mother said. He gave her a hug. He liked her well enough it seemed. Or maybe he had just made peace with his sons decision. I didn't know what I was supposed to call them so I supposed grandmother and grandfather would do. "We will be meeting for lunch in the dining hall in an hour. After you had a chance to clean up and change that is. " My grandmother said eyeing my clothes disdainfully. "Oh of course." I said. "Charleston here will take you to your room." She said. 

And just like that he appeared. He led us up a long and beautiful stair case. Once we had reached the top the hall split in either direction. The carpets were thick and a beautiful burgundy with gold accents.  "Here is your room." Charleston said to my parents. "I hope everything is to your liking if you need anything at all please don't hesitate to call for me." He said bowing politely as he left.

Then he turned and went down the other hallway. "Here is your room your highness." He said. Oh right, princess. Well that would take some getting used to. He pushed the door open and I saw my luggage sitting at the end of a huge and comfortable looking bed. He rang a bell attached next to the door and a lady walked in.

"Hi your highness, my name is Marina and I'll be your lady in waiting." Said a young girl about my age with black hair pulled into a bun. She wore a white hat and the cutest outfit. "Oh." I said. "Don't worry, we'll get through this together. I'll be like your right hand lady." She said. "Do you need anything else from me?" Charleston asked. "No sir, thank you." I said. "You're welcome your highness." He bowed and left the room.

"Okay so my grandmother said I was supposed to get changed for lunch. How fancy are we talking about here?" My brashness took her off guard. I guess it would, this proper thing was going to take some getting used to.

"Don't you worry your highness we'll get you all taken care of." She said opening the wardrobe. "Your mother sent over your sizes and the royal shopper was able to pick up a few things that should please the Queen." She pulled a beautiful dress. It wasn't anything super fancy. It came to the middle of my elbows and went down to the middle of my thighs it was emerald green and wrapped and tied around the side. Then she handed me a pair of short tan heels. "This should suffice your highness." She said.

"Thank you, and what am I supposed to do after lunch?" I questioned. I wasn't sure what was supposed to happen. "Oh well, the royal dress maker will need to come in and measure you then he'll work with you to design your ball gown for the ball this Saturday. You will get to meet everybody who's anybody. Then you'll spend a good part of the day going over rules. I know that sounds dreadfully boring but you need to understand the ways." She didn't say it mean, or like I was uncouth. It just was. "Thank you Marina." "You're welcome your Majesty if you need me all you have to do is ring your bell I'll be in the hall across the room. When you are done I'll come back and have you all unpacked. 

"Oh you don't have to do that." I told her. "It's no trouble it's my job your highness." She said. "Well okay thank you." She bowed and left. Once I was dressed and reapplied my makeup I ran my fingers through my curls to untangle them. I slipped into my shoes and headed down the stairs. I had time until we were going to eat so I stepped out the back door. There was huge garden. It had a fountain that lit up and beautiful flowers all around. I let out a huge yawn. I could take a nap right now. But something caught my eye. I saw a guy lifting up fertilizer. He was wearing a plaid shirt unbuttoned. His abs glistened in the sunlight. A thin trail of sweat rolled over his muscles. He had shaggy brown hair,  boyish good looks and dimples to match.

He caught me staring and smiled. He set the fertilizer down and walked over dusting his hands on his jeans. "Ello, I've not seen you round here before." He said. "Oh, no I'm uh ahem Mac. I'm just visiting for the summer. Maybe longer." I said. "Oh, okay. I'm Rhett I'm a gardener I work with my dad." He said. "It's nice to meet you." He said. "You too, but I should really go." I said. "Already? You just got here." He smirked. "I know that, but you are so off limits." I said eyeing his chest once more.

He chuckled. "That so?" He asked grinning. "Yes, I should go." "Wait let me at least give you the tour." He said. There wasn't a tour to give. I knew that. You could see most of the garden from here so unless he was going to start pointing out names of the flowers. He led me around and he did in fact point out some of the flowers but I didn't mind. These heels were murder on the cobblestone path though.

As we rounded the garden and headed back to the top of the stairs my heels caught the cobblestone and down I went straight for the fountain. Rhett put his hands out and caught me just in time. He stared down at me a look in his eyes. "Oh! Thank you!" I said as he leaned me back up from my near death fall. I bumped into his chest. I reached out to steady myself and caught his abs. Oh jeez. I bit my lip. "Are you okay?" He asked his voice getting husky. 

"Yes." No I'm not okay. I want to kiss you. And I can't one I don't really know you but two because I'm supposed to be queen and if I fall for you then we'll both end up hurt. "So you can't kiss me?" He asked laughing. "No, I have to marry somebody royal that's why I have to go." I said.

His face fell. "Oh, I didn't know that." He said. "Well I'm not exactly broadcasting that and if I stay here any longer I'll kiss you okay?" I said. He perked up at that. "I'm so okay with that though." He said. I laughed bitterly "Why? This can't go anywhere." I said. "I know that but I might help you too relax you are very tense. I noticed it the second you walked out here." He said. 

"I don't think that's a good idea." I said. He caressed my cheek. "Are you sure?" He asked leaning in and biting his lip his dimples popping out. "Y-Yes.." I said. "you don't sound so sure." He said pulling me to him and gripping my waist. Before I could tell him I was sure he crashed his beautiful lips to mine. Before I knew what was happening we were full on making out in the garden.  

It took me a minute to realize that I couldn't do this. I couldn't lead him on. And let's be real it's not him it's me. I'm the one who would get hurt. Guys bounce back but us girls we tend to feel much more and this was not a good idea. But his abs were incredible and my hands just fit on them so well. I finally pulled my hands from his sides and pulled back straightening my dress. He grinned. "Wow, if you ever need to blow off steam again...here's my number." He said walking to a clip board sitting on a metal rolling cart. He pulled a piece of paper off and wrote his number handing it to me. "Or if you just want to talk. This can't be easy for you." He said.

"Definitely not." I said. "But hey, you look so chill now." He said. I giggled. "Well I guess I do, I should get inside for lunch." I said. "See you around Mac." He said. I was grateful that he didn't call me princess or your highness. I had learned a lesson here today. That any boys who weren't Royal were off limits.

I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture when he wasn't looking. "Day one and I already suck at being royal. I might've made out with the hot gardener." I said sending the picture to Cam and Sadie. "I'd say that was well worth it." Said Cam. "Glad you made it there safely. How are your grandparents?" Asked Sadie. "Forget that I want to know more about mister hottie. Was he a good kisser?" Asked Cam. I giggled. They were making me feel so much better already about having to be here.

"My grandparents are stiff and aren't sure about me yet. But that's a given. And Rhett, is an amazing kisser. He had these abs...let me tell you." I said. "I'm so jealous that you are getting to have an adventure while I'm stuck  here taking phlebotomy classes and working at the walk in clinic. Heck even Sadie's job at the summer camp sounds more fun. At least she can meet a cute counselor." Said Cam. "Hey you just look for you a cute doctor and you can make out with him in the supply closet." I said. "See this is why I'm going to miss you this summer you can make anything look better." Said Cam. "I try." I said. 

"Got to go get fancy lunch will talk to you guys soon." I said. "Okay about to head to sleep." Said Sadie. Oh the time change, of course. "Good night I'll video chat Ya'll in the morning." I said. It took me a minute but I finally found the dining room. It was huge! The table was long and was seriously the longest table I'd ever seen. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I fixed my smudged lipstick and refluffed my curls.

My grandparents came in and took their seats at the head of the table then my parents sat on either side. I took the seat next to my mother. The staff brought out our first course. Which would take some getting used to. It was a delicious soup. Some sort of tomato perhaps. There wasn't much in the bowl but I supposed we'd have another course. Two in fact but the third was more of a dessert so I don't know if that counted. Once we finished the soup they brought out rolls and salad then roast beef and an assortment of vegetables. My mom was a good cook let me tell you. But these fancy trained chefs did something amazing to the food. Even my mom was impressed.

We didn't talk during dinner. That was a no-no. There was a lot I was going to have to learn I realized. I mean I knew there would be a lot but this was more than I could've imagined. Once we finished the food I was sitting on my bed waiting for the dress maker. He was an older guy all fancy like. "Ello my beautiful darling!" He said kissing me on both cheeks. "I'm so glad to have a new canvas!" He said.

"Well if you can make me look good then hat's off to you." I said. "Please I am Robere I can make anybody look fantastic!" He said whisking his tape measure out of the front pocket of his shirt. "Now let's talk about color." He said taking notes in his tiny notebook of my measurements. "I like all of them. But maybe go with a deep purple." I said. "Shiny fabric, sweetheart neckline?" He asked. "Oh that'd be beautiful." I said. "Okay we not go to big for event just something this big." He said showing with his hands. "I trust you." I said. "Okay then your highness I'm going to get started on this I'll come back sometime this week and we can do a fitting." He said leaving the room after a prompt bow.

Then another lady came in one I hadn't met yet. "Hello your highness, my name is Cathryn I'm going to be meeting with you for a while to help you learn how to become royal." She said. "Great, I can use all the help I can get." I said taking a seat on the bed to get comfortable. "Okay number one. More of a duty than a rule. You will go out and about in the town and do various speaking engagements. People are going to fawn all over you. If offered a gift you graciously accept. You may take photo's but you are not to sign any autographs." She said. "I'm sorry? That one seems a bit odd." I said.  

"Perhaps so, but we can't allow someone to forge your signature. You hold to much power." She said. Oh that makes sense, I nodded. "When you are engaging with your people you mustn't spend more than a minute with each person. You will spend much to long engaging otherwise." She said. "Okay I can do that." She then gave me a list of things that would be okay to talk about and things I shouldn't say. And how conversations should go so that I appeared polite and charming. That took an hour right there.

"Now, your mother mentioned to me that you were looking to take college classes but I'm afraid that you will be much to busy. Your day to day will consist of visiting charity dinners, schools, and hospital openings. Just be a beacon of light among your country!" She said. She explained some more of the things I would be doing. I asked questions now were up to hour two and I had already had enough my head was hurting and if I had to hear anymore I'd hardly be able to retain anymore information. I think she could tell I was getting bored.

"Why don't I let you think on those things and I'll get back with you tomorrow." she said. "That would be great, thank you." "Enjoy the rest of your evening." She said gracefully stepping out. There was a knock on my door moments later. I sighed. "Come in." I said. My mom popped her in my room. "You look tired, are you okay?" My mother asked. "It's Jet lag, it's the royal training it's everything." I said. My mom patted my leg. "I don't want you to hate this, it's why your father never told you. Why don't you take your board and go for a ride it always clears your head." She said.

"It's okay to do that a lot?" I asked. "With in reason of course. I don't want you to tire yourself out to the point you hate this okay?" She said. "Of course, thank you. I'm gonna put my shorts and tank back on if that's okay."  I said. "Better to keep you under the radar anyways." She said. "Nobody knows who I am." I said. "Not yet, but they will. News media has been circulating that a mystery girl will take the throne. We just need to be careful." She said. "Well don't worry I know not to sign my autograph." I said.

She chuckled. "I'm glad to see your training is going well." She said. She kissed the top of my head then left. I got changed back into my clothes. Grabbed my board and finally left the palace. I had a driver take me close to the park so I could walk with clear instructions to call him when I was done.