Princess Iris
CHAPTER 42

"Oh, will you look at that, the day is already coming to an end, we need to head over to the dining room, you must be famished after that whole journey?" Queen Fiona asks. "Yes, Your Majesty, I am famished," I say.

She leads me down the stairs and becomes suddenly quiet. I turn to her and watch her for a while.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?" I ask.

"Oh yes, I am. Don't mind my sudden change of behavior. I promised my husband I won't act this way but even he knows it's not possible, especially when I am excited about something. You see I have always wanted a girl. When I was pregnant with Jeffery, I had some complications. Three years after his birth I tried getting pregnant again but I just couldn't," Queen Fiona says.

I could feel her pain as she continues.

"The physicians said my body hasn't healed from the trauma it went through when I was pregnant with Jeffery, and it probably won't, so it was best I didn't get pregnant again if not I won't survive it. Archer couldn't bear the thought of losing me and my boys needed me so we had to stop trying for another child and I accepted my fate. So, you can understand why I am so drawn to you and probably the reason why I invited you over without telling Mariah. I know she won't let it go that easily," Queen Fiona says.

"Yeah, she is plotting on how to get you back for that," I say laughing.

"Oh, she has always been like that. I know just what to do to calm her," Queen Fiona says chuckling.

I tighten my arm around her and we smile at each other. We finally make it to the dining room and everyone seems to be waiting for us.

"I thought I will have to send the guards after you," King Archer says.

"I had to show Iris the castle," Queen Fiona says.

"I hope mother didn't bore you Iris," King Frederick asks.

"No, she didn't, I enjoyed the tour," I say.

Queen Fiona smiles at me, she touches my cheek and leaves me as a servant escort me to the table. Across from me is King Fredrick and his fiancé Princess Catherine who is sitting next to him. Just then Prince Jeffery walks to the seat beside me and sits down. We both look at each other and smile. In no time dinner is served.

"How are you enjoying your food?" Prince Jeffery asks

"It's delicious. I would always turn down pork whenever it was on the menu. Mother and I always argued because of that but your chef did a wonderful job with the pork," I say. "That is the many wonders of our royal chef," Prince Jeffery says.

"Growing up, the sight of spinach will always make me throw up but one day I gave it a try and I loved it," King Frederick says.

"Chef Austin can make you love a meal in a matter of seconds," Prince Jeffery says.

"That's lovely to know. Chef Oscar does a wonderful job too and he is always up for a challenge. I bet if I tell him I tried pork he will want to visit your chef to know his secret," I say. "Chef Austin will always welcome a challenge when it comes to cooking," Prince Jeffery says.

After we were done with dinner King Archer and Queen Fiona left leaving us behind.

I turn to Princess Catherine and she seems to be avoiding my eyes. I noticed her when I entered the dining room, it looked like she was going to say something when she saw but she opted out and curtsey instead. Catherine has always been a shy one, even while growing up. It always took an effort of a few to get her involved in activities. She will rather stay lost in the crowd than be the center of attention.

Just then she looks from her plate and looks at me, when she catches my eyes, she quickly returns her eyes to her plate.

I smile at her. I turn to Prince Frederick and he is looking at me. She turns to Princess Catherine who is playing with the cutlery on her plate. He leans in and whispers something to her. I watch them as they talk. Princess Catherine finally looks up from her plate and this time she holds eye contact with me.

"Your, Majesty, I did a little inquiry about you and Prince Jeffery told me you love the forest," Princess Catherine says.

"That is correct," I say.

She smiles and looks at Prince Jeffery who nods at her.

"There are a lot of squirrels at the peak of the forests. I love feeding them during the cool afternoons. I was wondering if you would love...

"Yes," I shout startling Princess Catherine.

I look around the table realizing what I have done and everyone is looking at me surprised. I clear my throat and quickly collect myself.

"I would love to join you. Since I got busy handling the pirate problem, I have not had the time to see the forest. So, I would love to join you," I say to Queen Catherine.

"What animals do you love"? Prince Frederick asks.

"Oh, I can answer that in my sleep. Rabbits, pandas...

"Pandas?" Princess Catherine exclaims

"Mountain pandas to be precise," I say. "Wolves, foxes, horses, moose..." I stop half when I notice the way everyone is looking at me.

Just then King Frederick starts laughing. I turn to Prince Jeffery and he is smiling.

"I have to say, hearing you talk about pandas and rabbits took me back to when we were little. You made Williams wet himself when you made that bear growl at him," King Frederick says.

"Williams vowed to never get on your bad side," Prince Jeffery says.

We all laugh remembering the old days.

"Iris, I believe mother already told you we are having a ball in your honor. But that will be in the next one week so you that can settle in nicely," Prince Jeffery says.

"Yes, she made sure mother told me about it and mother made sure I came prepared too," I say.

"The royal decorators will be here starting tomorrow. They may need your help in putting your preferences into the ball," Prince Jeffery says.

"Of course, I will love to help in whichever way I can and I will be honored to attend," I say.

I turn to King Frederick

"Thank you so much, Your Majesty," I say.

He smiles and nods at me.

"Emm, I will love to help you in whichever way I can. In case you need anything, I will be glad to attend to it," Princess Catherine says.

I smile at Princess Catherine.

"I look forward to it," I say.

"You look tired," Prince Jeffery says.

"You noticed?" I ask.

"Of course, I did. I always know when you are tired," Prince Jeffery says.

I smile at him.

"I am exhausted," I say.

He stands and takes me from my seat. King Frederick and Princess Catherine both stand and I thank them for the food and their hospitality and say my goodnight to both of them. Prince Jeffery leads me out of the dining room and we make our way up the stairs to the royal chambers. We talk about the little things and he shows the forest from a distance. We make it to the royal chambers and the two guards at the door bow as we pass through. I notice there are three large halls. "It's the middle one," Prince Jeffery says.

"Three halls?" I ask.

"Mother and father stay in the one on the right, the one on the left belongs to Frederick and the middle one belongs to me," Prince Jeffery says.

"Each hall has.."

"20 rooms," Prince Jeffery says.

"That's a lot of rooms," I say.

"The hall downstairs has 30 to them. You should see Williams's when he found out about them," Prince Jeffery says.

"Did he just say 30? Well, you need to see my face," I say to myself.

He walks me to my room door and stops.

"I guess this is it," I say.

"You will forgive me, Iris..."

"What for?" I ask.

"I had your room changed. I asked my mother to put your room in my hall. If you don't approve, I can have it changed by tomorrow. It won't be too much bother. I was thinking you wouldn't be free to meet mother for everything and it would be easy for you to talk to me if you needed anything," Prince Jeffery says.

"It's fine Jeffery, I do not mind at all," I say.

"The maids will be here soon to help you get ready for bed," Prince Jeffery adds.

"That won't be necessary at all. My head maids will be arriving soon, so I can manage for the night," I say.

"Ok if you say so. My room is the middle one by the left," Prince Jeffery says.

I go for the handle of my room door

"Thank you so much for everything," I say.

"Good night Your Majesty," Prince Jeffery says.

I smile at him

"Goodnight Your Highness."