Page 36 of Royal Rebel (The Haldonia Monarchy #1)

CHAPTER 35

AMELIA

“You should eat something.” Shannon points to the tray of fruit brought to me almost an hour ago.

“I don’t know that I can.”

My stomach is full of excited butterflies, has been since last night. Sleep didn’t come to me until roughly two hours before I had to wake up.

“Wouldn’t it be something if I puked my way up the aisle?”

Shannon giggles. “Could you imagine the reports? Pregnant before the wedding. The king is shocked!”

I giggle along with her. “We’re doing our best not to draw attention to ourselves.”

“I don’t think you have to try to get attention. Especially in this day and age.”

Figuring she’s got a good point, I reach over, grabbing a few strawberries. They taste so good, but it’s hard to swallow. There’s a boulder lodged in my throat, and I’m worried I won’t be able to get them down.

Shannon sees what’s happening and offers me a glass of champagne. “You have to calm down, Amelia. Everything is going to be fine.”

Glancing at the clock, I see we’re running slightly behind. “Are you sure? I don’t want to be late to my own wedding.”

“The wedding starts when you get there, girl.” Shannon smirks.

“You’ve got a point.” I laugh.

I know I sit in the chair for hours, but it literally feels like minutes as I wait for my hair and makeup to be done. I’m transformed from someone who had minimal sleep the night before to someone who looks like they’ve had the best night of sleep ever. My hair, which had been a wreck, now looks perfect. My makeup is natural yet dramatic at the same time. I don’t look painted on, but just a better version of myself, which is exactly what I wanted.

“It’s time for the dress,” someone says.

My hands shake and my heart pounds. Putting on the dress means it’s official. I am on my way to becoming a royal.

“Are you ready?” Shannon asks, grasping my shaking hands.

“As I’ll ever be.”

She and I walk into a dressing room off from the bed. I take off my robe, revealing the lingerie I’m wearing underneath. She’s the only person I would be comfortable sharing this with besides Tristan.

“Ohhh girl.” She whistles softly, giving me a wink. “I wondered what you’d wear underneath it.”

It’s a lace bodysuit, with an underwire bra, in the same white as my gown, allowing me to show off the small amount of cleavage I have. “Is it too much?” I ask her seriously.

“No.” She shakes her head, “It’s amazing.”

Her gaze goes down to the garters held in place by a white garter belt. “He’ll have so much fun taking that off of you.”

Truth be told, I can’t wait. The moment we come together as man and wife will be worth all of the crap we’ve been through these past six months.

“Should I put my shoes on first?”

“Yes.” She nods at my question. “We’ll put the dress over your head.”

Stepping into my heels feels like a big moment. Like I’m stepping into a whole new personality, or just perhaps a whole new life. Truthfully I am, and this is one of the defining moments.

“Arms up.”

I do as Shannon asks, watching with my eyes lifted to the sky. She’s called in a few helpers and they’re putting the dress over my head. On impulse, I close my eyes, wanting to be able to feel everything about the dress being put on me. The lace softly scraps my skin, the satin makes a noise as the waist of the dress is settled into place. There’s lots of fluffing and people speaking, making sure the material has kept its shape. It’s got slight padding at the hips to make my waist appear smaller. One of the things I didn’t realize was an option.

“Okay, Amelia, time for the tiara.”

This was maybe the hardest part of what I had to do, pick out which tiara to wear. My jewelry was either gifts from my family or Tristan, but the tiara is a gift from the royals. It’s on loan from the people, and I wanted to make sure I picked out the perfect one.

In the end, I picked the same one Tristan’s mother got married in. It’s got over a thousand diamonds and encased in a platinum finish. I know Tristan wanted her to be here, so I hope when he sees this, he knows she’s in my heart as well.

“You’re ready, my queen,” Shannon whispers.

My eyes snap open and I can’t believe the person staring back at me in the mirror. This can’t be real life. She looks poised, elegant, and much more mature than my years. I look at Shannon who smiles.

“I am ready, aren’t I?”

“Yes, yes you are.”

“You look beautiful, Amelia.”

My dad’s voice always calms me in the middle of any storm I’m in. “Thank you, Daddy.” I hug him tightly.

When we pull back, he makes sure my veil doesn’t get stuck.

“We’re proud of you,” he whispers. “Proud of the woman you’ve become, and so happy with the life you’re going to build for yourself. To show you how proud we are, I brought you something.”

“Dad, you didn’t have to.”

“I know, but it’s a tradition in our family that every woman who gets married carries a piece of my great-great-great-grandmother’s dress.” He reaches into his pocket, pulling out a piece of satin and lace.

“Oh my goodness, Dad, this is gorgeous. ”

It’s yellowed slightly with the passage of time, but I hold it closely to me.

“It means a lot to know you’ll have it on you.” He kisses me on the cheek.

“Can you pin it into my dress?” I turn around, feeling him reach in and pin it in the back.

“Okay.” Shannon comes over to us. “I hate to interrupt you, but it’s time to get you in the car and to the venue.”

“He pinned something into the back of my dress. Can you see it?” I turn back around.

“You look amazing, and no one can tell what you have under this dress.”

“How are we going to get her out without people seeing her?” Dad asks.

There’s a group of women holding what looks like a blanket. “We’ll walk her out with this around her. If we can have any luck, no one will be able to completely make out what she’s wearing.”

The plan in place, I wait for everyone to surround me. It’s amazing how they work in tandem, and no one touches my dress. I hold up the train as we walk out to the waiting car.

It’s a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky, and the temperature is just right. The sun warms my body, but not at unpleasant levels. It feels good on my shoulders.

“All right, ladies,” Shannon is directing the group. “A little to the left.”

I can hear the crowds of people who have gathered, it causes goose bumps to appear on my arms. To know there’s that many people waiting to see me. Wanting to see a part of our country’s history happen.

Schools have been closed, and over ninety percent of the country has been let off work. From what I’ve heard, they’ve been lining up for at least the last day. We somehow make our way into the car that’ll be taking me to the chapel.

“Are you comfortable?” Shannon asks after I sit down.

“Yup, I’m good.”

My father gets in on the other side of me, Shannon takes a seat in the front passenger side, and off we go. A Range Rover in front of us, a Range Rover behind us. It’s odd to have no other cars on the street as we navigate our way to Haldonia’s city center.

“Look at all of these people.” I smile brightly, waving to the ones who have lined the streets. I do my best to make eye contact with as many of them as I can, wanting them to know I care. They’ve taken their day off, and they’ve come to be a part of my big day.

“They’re here for you, they’re here for Tristan,” Dad reminds me.

“I just hope we can always make them proud of us.”

The responsibility is tremendous and I silently vow to always keep the people in the forefront of my mind.