Page 25

Ava

O ne week later…

The moment my eyes popped open that morning, I needed to puke like crazy.

I sprang out of bed, my stomach flip-flopping, tying and untying itself into knots. The bedroom spun around me, rain pattering down onto the big, arched windows.

“OK, OK.” I held myself steady as I moved, chatting as if I could talk myself out of throwing up. “Let’s keep everything in my stomach, where it needs to be.”

I felt terrible; my stomach was churning and my head was pounding. Thankfully, I managed to make it to the bathroom. Once there, I knelt in front of the toilet and prepared to get sick, but after a minute or two the nausea faded until it was completely gone. I gave myself another moment, trying to figure out what on earth had caused it. After I was sure that the feeling had passed, I stepped in front of the sink and splashed my face with cool water.

My headache was still there, my temples throbbing, though not as bad as it had been when I first woke up. With careful steps, I made my way back into my room and sat on the edge of the bed, letting time tick away as I listened to the soft patter of rain on the window, the low rumble of thunder sounding out every now and then in the distance. The sky was thick with gray, and nothing about the outside world seemed inviting in the slightest.

As I sat, a soft knock sounded from the bedroom door.

“Yes?” I called out. “Who is it?”

“Hey!” The voice on the other side of the door was chipper and familiar. “It’s Kinley! We had a quick dress fitting this morning, remember?”

I scrunched my forehead, realizing how disoriented I was. I reached over to the nightstand next to the bed, grabbing my phone to see that it was a couple of minutes after nine and I’d slept in.

“Hold on!” I threw on a robe and stepped into some slippers before going to the door and opening it. Sure enough, Kinley was there, her dress rack next to her, an expression of concern on her face that suggested she knew something was wrong.

“Everything alright in here?” she asked.

“Yeah. I think. Come on in.”

With concern still on her face, she wheeled the rack into the room and pushed it to the side.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you seem a little under the weather.”

Part of me wanted to lie, to tell her that I was fine. Instead, I felt the urge to come clean with it all.

“I woke up feeling crappy,” I said, running my hand through my hair. “Kind of sick, but then it went away. And my head’s pounding.”

“Oh no! Do you think you might be coming down with something?”

“I’ve been feeling kind of off over the last few days.”

Kinley shut the door before taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “ Off how?”

“Like sick, but not in a way I’ve ever been sick before. Headaches, nausea, but not nearly as bad as this morning.”

Kinley smiled, as if she’d just thought of the answer. “I bet I know what it is… stress! You’re going through so much right now, you know? What, with the ball and naming ceremony approaching, and everything happening with your father—you ask me, it’s remarkable that you’ve held it together so well.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I don’t think that’s it.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’ve been having other symptoms. Like, these cramps that are letting me know my period’s starting, but it hasn’t yet.”

“That is strange.” She placed her fingertip on her chin, cocking her head to the side as she thought it all over. “You know, it sounds like what was going on with Eliza on the cleaning staff.”

“Really? Like recently? A bug going around or something?”

She shook her head. “She was having nausea and headaches and strange cravings, you know, time of the month stuff.”

“And what did it end up being?”

Kinley smiled. “You’ll never guess—she was pregnant! Turns out that she’d been having liaisons with Marcus, one of the king’s drivers. He quit his job, of course, and they’re a month away from a little girl. So, any possibility that you could be…”

She stopped, realizing what she was about to say. My mouth was hanging open, my eyes wide as I processed what Kinley was telling me.

“No, it couldn’t be that” she said. “It could be that you’re, you know, simply sick. Yes, that’s most likely it.” She cleared her throat and stiffened her back, as if she could just put the matter back into the bottle.

I was too stunned to speak.

“Besides!” she plopped her hands onto her lap. “How could you even be pregnant without being involved with anyone?”

“Shit,” I said, the realization hitting me.

“What is it?” Kinley almost looked afraid of the answer.

“Well, do you remember when I brought up Luc a little while ago?”

“Yes…” Her eyes flashed as she put it all together. “No! I don’t believe it!” Then, as if in spite of herself, she smiled and leaned in. “The two of you have been together?”

“We’ve most definitely been together .”

“Well, I can’t say I blame you. Even though he’s quite stuffy, Luc is a very good-looking man.”

I nodded. “Yes, a very good-looking man who happens to be the right hand of my father, the king. He’s going to kill us both, isn’t he? I asked, feeling ill all over again. Kinley raised her palms. “First thing’s first— we need to figure out if you’re actually pregnant. Lucky for you, there are a few tests here in the palace.”

With that, Kinley sprang up and hurried out of the room. I couldn’t believe what was happening, couldn’t believe that there was even a chance that I was pregnant.

What if I was? What if my father were to find out? What would happen to Luc?

Thankfully, Kinley didn’t keep me waiting long. She hurried into the room with a small bag of cardboard boxes.

“These are the fancy ones,” she said, handing the bag over. “Supposed to have results in seconds.”

“Thanks, Kinley,” I said as I took the bag. “I mean it.”

She smiled, and I hurried to the bathroom and shut the door. With shaking hands, I took out one of the boxes and opened it, reading the instructions, which were simple enough—pee on a certain spot and then wait thirty seconds.

My stomach tense with anxiety, I did the deed. Once it was taken care of, I set the test on the counter and watched. The readout was electronic, and I tensed up even more as a word slowly formed on the little screen.

Positive.

I was pregnant.

I took a few deep breaths, trying to give myself a chance to not totally freak out. There were more tests, however, and I felt like I needed to be completely sure. Time for round two. I opened another test and repeated the process. My heart going thud-thud-thud, my blood running fast, I watched as the screen brought up the same word.

Positive .

There was one more test, but I didn’t need it. Instead, in a daze, I made my way out to the bedroom.

“Well?” Kinley asked with eager eyes. “What did it say?”

I placed my hand on my stomach. “Looks like I’ve got a little prince or princess growing in here.”

Kinley let out a squeal as she hurried over to give me a hug. I hugged her back, but in that moment, I wasn’t exactly in a celebratory mood. Kinley stayed with me for a little while, calming me down. A text from Hailey came during our conversation, and Kinley left in order to both give me a chance to talk to my sister and to let Giselle and Oscar know that I was going to be running behind for our lessons.

“Yo!” Hailey said. “What’s up, sis?”

“Um, not much. What about you?” It took all the restraint I had to stay cool and calm.

“Oh, just finally finishing up after a night working the truck downtown. Business was killer… hold on. ‘Hey! Do not pour the oil there! Are you kidding me?’ Sheesh! OK, sorry—some issues with the newbies.”

I smiled. Hearing about the truck, even from thousands of miles away and over the phone, was enough to make me happy.

“Anyway, as I said, we are just cleaning and getting ready to close up shop for the night after we prep for tomorrow. How are things in Disneyland?” I opened my mouth to speak. Before I could get a single word out, my lips began to tremble.

I couldn’t help it. I started crying right then and there.

“Woah!” Hailey called out. “Hold on.” She yelled out something to the staff before shutting a door, the background noise on her end vanishing. “Now, what’s going on?”

I filled her in. I told her all about Luc, told her about life at the palace. And when she had all of the basic info, I hit her with the news I’d just learned.

“Pregnant? What?”

“Pregnant. That’s what.” I leaned back against the nearest wall, slumping down into a heap. “I… I don’t know what to do. I mean, how the hell is it even fair to find out that I’m a princess and pregnant all in the span of a single freaking month?”

“Alright listen, first of all, everything is going to be OK.”

“How can it be OK? The dad is the king’s best friend and right-hand man, and I’m already on the verge of getting thrown out on my royal ass for not being able to walk down a flight of steps with the proper level of grace.”

“How could you even get pregnant, anyway? I mean, aren’t you on the pill?”

“I guess I got so caught up in everything happening here that I forgot it enough times.”

Hailey whistled. “Some people have all the luck, you know? Virgin into your mid-twenties, and when you finally, uh, break the seal, you get knocked up.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all.

“That’s one way to look at it.”

“And here’s another… you’re going to be fine . Take deep breaths and remember that you don’t have to make any decisions right now about anything. And no matter what, I’m here for you. Princess or not, pregnant or not, I’m in your corner.”

Warmth ran through me, a feeling reminding me that I was loved.

Still, the pregnancy was one thing too many. I made a split-second decision.

“I want to come home.”