Chapter 16
My first month living in the palace flew by far faster than I had expected. While Oliver settled into his new role as king, I did my best to get used to my temporary home.
The week following the coronation in particular passed in a blur.
I met my new assistant, Vanessa, a kind woman in her early forties who had the distinct ability to reassure me while also brooking no nonsense.
I was unsurprised to learn that she had a fourteen-year-old son; her capacity to shut down any foolishness was certainly a byproduct of raising a teenage boy on her own.
Vanessa was an ambulatory wheelchair user, and while she at first insisted that she could find ways to navigate the narrow doorways of the second-floor corridor that housed the family’s offices, Oliver and I quickly put an end to that argument.
“It’s the twenty-first century,” Oliver declared kindly.
“It is high time we ensure the entire palace is accessible. I don’t know why this particular wing is lagging behind on those updates, but Knox and I have already retained a contractor to widen the office doorways, confirm the elevator is up to code, and perform any additional renovations necessary across the rest of the palace.
While I have no doubt that you are capable of adapting to the current layout, you shouldn’t have to. We can do better.”
For now, Vanessa and I had set up our office on the ground floor, in a rarely used sitting room.
I had been concerned about Vanessa feeling uncomfortable with us having a different office setup from the rest of the staff, but she assured me that she actually liked having a quieter space to work.
If I was being honest, I agreed. I liked having fewer distractions, and working in the same space as Vanessa allowed me to get to know her better.
I was hopeful that I could convince Oliver to keep her on staff after our engagement was over.
Vanessa quickly helped me establish a routine, or as much of one as was possible given Oliver’s and my busy schedules. When he was pulled away into meetings, I was often whisked away for wardrobe fittings and wedding-planning appointments.
After my second fitting, I found myself lamenting to Oliver over a late dinner—we both had commitments go long that afternoon and had encouraged the rest of his family to eat without us. We were settled into a small table in the kitchen, enjoying plates of roast chicken and couscous.
“I don’t know,” I sighed, setting my fork on the edge of my plate as I took a sip of water.
“The stylists are perfectly nice, but I just don’t click with them.
Maybe it’s from so many years of Dash bossing me around when we went shopping together; I’m just so used to him, and he inherently knows what I love. ”
Oliver paused, his fork halfway to his mouth. “Well, that’s an easy solution,” he noted before finishing his bite.
“What is?”
“We’ll hire Dash as your stylist.”
I gaped at him. “We can do that?”
Oliver smiled. “Of course! I mean, assuming he would want to do it. I wouldn’t want to take him away from a job he likes.
But if he is interested, it would be no problem to bring him onto the team.
I know it would make you more comfortable, and I think it would be nice for you to have a friend by your side for all of this.
Sure, you have Birdie here, but you’ve known Dash since we were kids. Do you think he would be game?”
As much as I tried not to speak for my best friend, this was one instance in which I felt comfortable answering for him.
“I will call him first thing in the morning, but I feel pretty certain he will jump at the opportunity.” I swallowed down any guilt that came with the thought that it would unknowingly be a short-term gig by reminding myself that having it on his résumé would allow Dash to get any job he wanted after the engagement ended.
And that was that. With Dash on the team, Vanessa guiding me through my day-to-day, and Birdie just steps away in her new role as the palace’s art curator, I found myself feeling ever more comfortable in my interim role.
I missed teaching and seeing my students, but the knowledge that I was working toward securing the free meal program for them made it well worth it.
I even noticed that I had fallen into a pleasant routine with Oliver.
On evenings when we didn’t have any engagements to attend, we often spent the hours before bedtime playing board games with his family or watching movies with Rosie.
Occasionally Oliver and I would find ourselves chatting companionably in my sitting room, Shadow nestled between us on the settee.
As much as I had initially resisted it, the friendship we had established years ago was returning, and a part of me was glad for it.
Though I wasn’t ready to say it out loud, I really had missed him.
The blacked-out SUV rolled down the mountain road toward the event venue. Oliver sat next to me in the middle row and scrolled on his phone while I watched the snow-covered mountains pass by us.
“Did you get that calendar invite I sent you this morning for next week’s meeting?” Skylar, Oliver’s assistant, asked Vanessa.
“Yes. I accepted it and put in to talk to Tadashi about the specifics,” Vanessa answered.
“Perfect. Thank you,” they replied.
“Okay. While we’re all together and can’t be interrupted, let’s review the itinerary for the next two days,” Vanessa added from the seat behind me.
Oliver and I nodded, turning our attention to her. It was the first week of February and we were on our first coronation tour event, an appearance at the Eros Festival.
Every year, the town of Philia, located on the western border of Wexstone, hosted a two-week festival leading up to Valentine’s Day.
Though the festival was celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year, it had experienced a resurgence in popularity in the last few years after Lord and Lady Thorne began sponsoring the event and their daughter Sabine took ownership of the planning.
It had become quite the spectacle, drawing in visitors from all over Europe.
I had never been, but had seen videos from influencers detailing their favorite parts of the festival.
Every year was themed, with actors playing the role of Greek gods interacting with attendees.
This year’s theme was, coincidentally, the 1980s.
I found this to be hilarious, given Oliver’s penchant for hair bands.
Vanessa continued, “We will arrive just before the festival opens. The rest of this morning and this afternoon are reserved for perusing the grounds and mingling with vendors and attendees as appropriate. Security is already on site and has set up additional screening measures, so we shouldn’t run into any problems.”
“Yeah, we’ve heard that before,” Oliver whispered under his breath and gave me a sly look. I suppressed a grin.
Skylar picked up where Vanessa left off. “This evening’s concert begins at 8:00. Your Majesty, you will be saying a few words before the show begins. Vanessa and I are already in communication with Ms. Thorne to stay apprised of any changes in the schedule and will notify you of such.”
“At some point today, let’s be sure to take a photo of you two with the Thornes. Cordell will have our heads if we miss that photo opportunity,” Vanessa added. I believed her; the palace’s press secretary was nothing if not a bit high strung and took his job very seriously.
Vanessa paused, looking to me. “Adelaide, do you have any questions so far? I know this is your first big appearance since the coronation. Is there anything you need to feel more comfortable?”
I smiled at her, grateful for her kindness. “No. I think I'm good.”
I, in fact, was not good. I was absurdly nervous.
I knew when I agreed to the engagement that I would be expected to make public appearances, but I hadn’t really considered the reality of having so much attention on me.
Despite being beside Oliver throughout the coronation day’s events, most of the attention had been on him, and all our events since then had been smaller, more intimate gatherings.
But this time, the idea of having so many eyes on me made me feel like I was under a microscope.
Not only was I nervous about making a mistake, I was also anxious about embarrassing Oliver.
“You’ve got this,” Oliver reassured me. He reached over and squeezed my hand as the car stopped in front of an expansive conservatory.
Jackson opened Oliver’s door first, who then insisted on taking care of my door while the driver removed Vanessa’s wheelchair from the back of the SUV. As we gathered outside the car, Sabine Thorne came through the conservatory doors to greet us.
“Your Majesty, Adelaide, so wonderful to see you,” she said, dipping into a low curtsy.
“Thank you for having us,” Oliver greeted, taking her hand as she rose and kissing her on the cheek.
I too leaned in to touch cheeks with Sabine. “This place is stunning,” I said, unable to keep eye contact as I took in the glittering glass walls and roof.
“Wait until you see the inside,” Sabine replied with a proud smile.
We followed her through the doors, a pleasant earthy smell hitting my nose as we did. The midmorning sun shone through the ceiling, highlighting a vast array of trees, bushes, and flowers. The temperature was warm and the air was humid, but it was still comfortable.