Chapter 49

The preparations for the ceremony were underway immediately. I was swept into meeting after meeting and lesson after lesson. I was taught ways that a crowned princess should speak and act and walk. I was taught the things I was allowed to say in public and the things that I wasn’t.

It was as frustrating as it was exhausting and every night I climbed into bed hoping it would be my last lesson but they just seemed to keep going on. Audrey didn’t really understand what was going on, all she knew was that there was going to be a large party and that I was unusually busy.

Christine helped me with her a lot especially when I had a lesson running late or a last minute meeting but I knew she still wanted to spend time with me which is why I requested that both our dress fittings be done together and on the same day. Once again, Audrey didn’t understand the magnitude of the situation, she was just excited and ski pping over the prospect of pretty dresses.

When I arrived in the room that would be used for dress fittings, the women all bowed immediately. Audrey was so shocked by them that she rushed behind me and buried her face into the skirts of my dress. “They’re not going to hurt you,” I whispered as I bent down to her level, “They bow because that is how they greet us.”

She poked her head out from behind me, “Do you pinky promise?” “Yes, I pinky promise,” I h ooked my finger with her tiny one and she finally came out of her hiding spot but kept her hands intertwined with. mine.

The coronation has three main events that I need to be dressed for. The first is the official introduction to the various Alphas; it is a dinner that will be held in the grand hall where I get to be seen for the first time. The second is the actual ceremony where I am crowned princess in front of everyone and the third and final is the after party where I have to mingle with everyone and get to know them for myself so I can have a good guess on who are our allies and who are enemies.

There isn’t a dress scheme for the first or third events but for the second, it is tradition that whatever color I choose has to stand out and no other person would be allowed to use that color. It will most times serve as the color that I am known for. Take my mother for example, on her coronation, she wore a dress that looked like it was dyed in fresh blood

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and people nicknamed her the Red Queen. I haven’t chosen my color yet and I was dreading it.

“Mummy look at all the pretty dresses,” Audrey got over her initial fright and ran over to the many rows of clothes, “That one is pink, can I have the pink mummy?”

“You can have whatever you want,” I assured her, “But you need to try it on first to see if it’ll fit.”

Unlike me, Audrey only has to attend one event- the coronation. A part of me doesn’t want her there but I know there is little to nothing I can do about it. While she was gushing over the many dresses, I tried on a few ideas for the first and third events.

Prior to this, I had given them an idea of what I wanted so it wasn’t difficult to choose something. For the meeting, I chose a simple off the shoulder silver dress. It had an A line skirt and it flowed down to my ankles where it pooled out into a small train. It wasn’t too much but it was enough to draw attention.

For the after party, I chose a dress made from the softest fabric that looked like a cross between grey, silver and blue.copy right hot novel pub