Chapter Ten

Emma

''I think it's too tight,'' I mutter as the stylist continues to pull harder onto my corset. My body feels like I can just explode due to the pressure I'm feeling on my abdomen; bringing me discomfort.

''No, no. It's never too tight.'' She replies.

My eyes widen as she pulls one more time, causing me to immediately press my hand against the wall, ''But I can't breathe, at all.'' I say, glancing towards the queen.

Within seconds, the queen—Emery's mother, starts to stand up before walking towards me. She eyes my dress cautiously; leaving me like a statue at my spot. Then, she shakes her head, ''We want her to look beautiful, not like she's suffocating. Loosen it up a little bit. Let her breathe, Margaret.'' She says.

Margaret—the stylist nods her head before loosening my corset; earning a breath of relief from me. Once, everything is adjusted perfectly, I turn to look at myself in the mirror. A woman with brown eyes and brown hair looking back at me as she stands, pale yet there's a slight glow appearing on her skin.

''She's already beautiful, Your Majesty. She doesn't require much work.'' Margaret says, softly. Even though her voice may be low but I still manage to hear the words yet I pretended I didn't.

I make my way towards the clothing racks, looking for a different clothing that I can change into. I've been trying on different dresses for the past two hours and trust me, it doesn't sound much like a fairytale. My eyebrows furrow in confusion before taking a pair of jeans out but within seconds, I am immediately surprised to see Emery appearing out from behind the rack.

He laughs loudly at my reaction.

My heart stops beating immediately, causing me to trip but as I was about to hit onto the ground, I feel both of his hands on my waist—preventing me from falling

My heart stops beating immediately, causing me to trip but as I was about to hit onto the ground, I feel both of his hands on my waist—preventing me from falling. I can't help but look directly into his eyes, seeing that he's smiling down at me; letting me some sort of rush all over my body.

It confuses me. Somehow.

What am I feeling? I thought.

Emery glances down at my lips for a few seconds before slowly lifting my body up yet we're still close to each other. Both of his hands not even slightly looking his grip on my waist and due to that, I can still sense fireworks in the background; making me forget everything.

We both turn to look at the queen, seeing that she is staring at us with a surprised look on her face. As for Margaret, both of her eyes are wide—not expecting Emery to appear out of nowhere and cause a scene. Then, I feel Emery loosening his grip on my waist before completely letting go of me.

Once we're quite far from each other, I can finally breathe.

''Good morning, mother.'' He says, heading towards her direction with a smile on his face. I stay still at my spot, not really understanding what just happened.

''You're not supposed to be here,'' Genevieve says.

Emery smiles, ''Why not?''

Then, they both glance up towards my direction as I stand here awkwardly. The queen smiles, ''Go change, dear. We'll be heading out—once you're done.'' She says and I make my way behind the curtains, Margaret closing them for me while I change into a pair of clothing that I'm more comfortable in.

''How was your father?'' I hear her ask.

They both keep quiet for a few seconds before I hear Emery responding as he clears his throat, ''He's not so well but he says that he's alright. You should see him, he needs you—other than my support, he wants to see your face. He wants to know that you're still there for him,'' He replies, causing me to furrow my eyebrows in confusion.

''It's hard for me,''

''It's hard for me too but how hard can it be?''

Once I don't hear them talking anymore, I quickly make my way out, seeing that Emery immediately looks up at me as he soothingly rubs onto his mother's back. The queen let out a deep sigh before standing up, giving me a small smile as she makes her way out.

''I know you heard everything,'' He says, making his way towards me.

''It would be impossible for me not to hear but I'm sorry, I should've closed my ears or something.'' I reply, looking down onto the ground.

As I peek up through my eyelashes, I see him looking down at me, ''Sooner or later, you would've known, anyway. You're going to be a part of the family till death do us apart, you'll know everything that a royal family has to hide.'' He says, sighing.

''I'm sorry, Emery.'' I mutter.

''It's not your fault, Emma. He's ill. It's God's will. It's not your fault.'' He replies, running his hand on the back of his neck before looking up for a few seconds, ''I don't understand why he's suffering so much, I don't like to see him that way. It hurts me too just like how it hurts him,'' He adds.

My heart skips a beat at the sound of his voice, very heartbreaking.

''I just wanted her to be here too. She knows him better than me and she even understands him more than I do. She should be here, she should see him—since mother has a hard time to go and enter his room, just for the sake of his soul, I guess having her would be enough.'' He says, earning a confused look from me.

''Her?'' I ask.

''Emery?'' We both turn to look at the queen, standing near the door. Emery clears his throat, gesturing for me to walk first and we start to walk side by side, heading downstairs.

Once we're downstairs, I am surprised to see the amount of people entering the castle. Not guests but more like servants—walking around in a fast pace as they hold something. My eyebrows furrow in confusion before turning towards Emery, seeing that he has a confused look on his face too.

''Excuse me, Your Highness!'' One of the servants say as she quickly disappear towards the back.

The three of us stands in the middle, watching most of the servants making their way towards the back before appearing once more, somehow preparing for someone important or special. Emery stands beside me, eyeing the scene without uttering a single word.

''I don't understand,'' I breathe out.

We all turn to look at the back once we hear something break, seeing that one of the servants are quickly picking up the broken glass on the floor—clearing any mess that they can see. I watch the look on their faces, they are in a hurry that they can't seem to realise that we are standing here in confusion as we watch them.

''What is going on here?'' I hear the queen ask.

''Your Grace, forgive me but we are expecting a guest. Uh, not quite a guest. A royal guest. She's arriving in less than five minutes—we have to hurry. My apologies for the inconvenience, my queen.'' She replies before quickly running towards the front, standing at her spot as she waits for others.

Once I see a glimpse of a black car, I notice that all of the servants are quickly standing behind each other as they fix up they clothing and hair—trying to look their best. I can't help but make my way towards them, focusing more onto the black car that is currently entering and stopping at the entrance.

Emery stands beside me.

''She's here,'' He says.

I remain quiet until the car stops at the front, causing everyone to stand still, waiting for the exact person to come out of the car. My eyes widen slightly as soon as my eyes land onto a woman who has a smile on her face but I can't seem to fully see her features.

Within seconds, she is already walking towards Emery and I. Once she's close enough, she takes off her sunglasses, only for me to come face to face with her blue eyes—seeing that she's currently looking at Emery with a smile on her face; somehow satisfied at how she is greeted.

The way she stands show how she's somehow a part of the royalty. The way she is.

All of a sudden, her eyes land on me, eyeing from the bottom to the top before smiling once more. I only manage to keep quiet, not really bothered to utter a single word—afraid if I might say something wrong. Then, she tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, effortlessly making herself looking more presentable.

''We meet again, little brother.'' She says.