Princess Thief: Stealing Your Heart (5 page)

Juliette
dumped the contents of the blue backpack onto her bed.  True to the plan, the
bag contained her gym clothes and running shoes.

Thank
you, uncle.

She
squeezed the backpack gently and felt the familiar shape of a pair of night
vision goggles sewn into a secret compartment.  She smiled, then shoved the
“empty” backpack
into a drawer.

After
she changed, she went downstairs and found Armand. 
“If anyone asks,
I’m going for a jog.”

Armand
hesitated, so Juliette pressed him. 
“Am I a prisoner or not?”

Armand
relented. 
“No. 
Of course not.”

“Good,”
she smiled.  “I won’t be long.”

The
royal stables were impressive.  The building was painted a bright red with
white trim and covered by a gray shingle roof.  Polished brass fixtures and
hinges reflected the bright afternoon sunlight.  Juliette learned in the days
leading up to the royal ball that the cavernous building could comfortably hold
24 horses — though at the current time, only three were housed there.

The
two cameras mounted on the outside of the building were both aimed towards the
practice track in front of the stables.  The back of the building was unmonitored.

Juliette
jogged behind the stables and came to a stop.  Fran
çois, dressed in
overalls and a blue denim baseball cap, was standing in the shadows.

“What
the hell happened?” François demanded.

“I
got caught,” Juliette shrugged.  “They were waiting for me when I grabbed the
necklace.  They had an entire dossier on me — I’ve never seen anything like
it.  They knew about every single gem I’ve ever grabbed.  I’m going to have to
vary my strategy in the future.”

“We
can talk about that later.  Here,” François held out a bag, “put these on.  You
can hide in the flatbed.  We’ll cover you with straw until we get out of here.”

Juliette
pushed the bag away. 
“I’m
not going.”

“You
can’t be serious!” François erupted.  “That harebrained scheme of theirs will
never work!”

“You
don’t know that.  Besides, think about how much intel I can collect in a year! 
I will be visiting the best houses in Europe.  It’s like they’re
paying
me to canvas
targets.
”

“Intel? 
Canvas?  Juliette, you’re a jewel thief, not a spy.  You can’t pull off
something like this.  One little slip up and it’s over.”

“But
uncle, they’ll pay me in cash-”

“No,
I cannot allow it.  It’s too dangerous.  You don’t realize how treacherous the
transfer of royal power can be, even in this day and age.”

“You’re
overreacting, uncle.  We live under a constitutional government.  Royalty has
no real power.”

“Royalty
has
tremendous
power, child. 
You
’re
too young to understand.  With the wealth they control, the influence they
wield, they can shape the entire nation.  This plan of yours might get you all
killed.”

“Uncle,
if it gets too dangerous, I still have the emergency kit hidden in the castle
ruins.  I can escape at any time.”

Fran
çois wasn’t
listening.  “I should never have let you attempt this in the first place.  I
should have said 'no' at the flower shop straight away.”

“But
uncle-”

“No,
I’ve made up my mind.”  François grabbed her left wrist.  “Come on.  We’re
going.”

“No. 
Uncle, no.” 

Fran
çois began
dragging her towards the truck.

“Uncle! 
Please!“  Juliette begged.  “The orphanage!  Please!  At least let me get the
necklace!”

Juliette
tried to dig in her heels but her uncle was too strong. 

She
began sobbing. 
“Please! 
Uncle!  Don’t do this!”

He
pulled her forward.

"Please!"

Juliette
struggled against him.  She used her other hand to try and pry his fingers open
but his grip was like iron.

Finally,
Fran
çois
relented and released his grip on her arm.  Juliette collapsed to the ground;
François stood over her, catching his breath.  She silently wiped the tears
from her eyes and waited.

“All
right, Juliette, I will give you one more chance.  But I must have your solemn
word on this: you will leave this place before the wedding, necklace or no
necklace.  Is that clear?  Your solemn oath to me.”

When
her uncle spoke like that, when he truly became stern with her, her legs
trembled — they always did.  They trembled when she was a girl of 11, and they
trembled today.  Juliette looked him in the eye and promised,
“I swear,
uncle.  I will return before the wedding, whether I have the necklace or not.”

Fran
çois turned his
back to her and began to walk away, then stopped, and sighed heavily.  “Oh, ma
ch
ère
, why can
’t you see that
you’re far more valuable to me than any necklace could ever be?”

He
left.

"Oh,
uncle." 

Juliette
burst into tears.

She
sat on the grass and bawled.  She cried and cried, the tears flowing like
raindrops, the stress of the last 24 hours pouring down her cheeks.  The
prince, the necklace, her capture, her uncle — all of it.  She held nothing back,
sobbing and sobbing until she ran dry.

After
several minutes, she felt numb.  She was empty, all cried out.  She had no more
tears to give.  She finally stood, sniffed twice, dried her eyes one last time,
and began jogging back towards the house.

When
she rounded the corner of the old castle ruins, she saw a figure in the
distance.  As she approached, she realized that it was her personal maid,
Alicia, looking distressed.

I
wonder what
’s
wrong?

When,
Alicia saw her, she gave a relieved smile and waved.  
“Miss Juliette! 
Over here, please!”

Surprised,
Juliette jogged over to her.

Alicia
rushed up to her and blurted out,
“I’ve been looking for you- oh dear!” 
The maid’s expression changed to concern.  “Are you all right?”

Juliette
realized that she probably still looked like a mess: puffy eyes, red nose,
smeared makeup.  It must be obvious that she had been crying. 
“I-  well-”
Juliette stammered.

Shoot! 
What do I say?

Alicia
smiled gently,
“Never
mind.  It’s all right.  Let’s get you cleaned up.  Follow me, please, miss.” 

Relieved
at not having to make up yet another lie, Juliette followed Alicia towards the
rear of the castle.

“Everyone’s
waiting in the drawing room for you,” Alicia said over her shoulder.  “You have
to choose your new tiara.”

“My
tiara!  I completely forgot!”

“Well,
the men are just going to have to wait until the lady is ready to make her
appearance.  I know a place where you can get ready without a lot of prying
eyes on you.”

Juliette
followed Alicia around the back of the building and through the employee
’s entrance. 
Boxes of supplies were stacked along one wall; a dirty white apron hung from a
hook near the door.   At the end of a short hallway, Alicia turned right and
pushed open a door marked “Women.”

Inside
was the women
’s
employee locker room; a simple wooden bench was situated in front of a row of
pink lockers.  Beyond that, a shower stall with frosted glass.  To the left, a
long vanity with space enough for three to sit side by side.  “You can freshen
up here, miss.  No one will see you.  It will be our little secret.”

“Alicia,”
Juliette touched the maid’s forearm.  “Thank you.”

“It’s
no problem, miss.  I can only imagine how overwhelming this must be.”  Alicia
patted Juliette’s hand.  “Please, get cleaned up.  There are fresh towels in
the corner.  And you’ll find every manner of conditioner and shampoo in the
shower.  I’ll fetch you a change of clothes.”

 
Alicia left Juliette alone.  Juliette quickly got undressed and hopped in the
shower.  She turned the knob to hot and stood beneath the spray, letting the
water wash all of the dirt away.  She felt as if the water refilled her,
cleansed her spirit as well as her body.

She
located a bottle of shampoo that was very close to her own brand.  As she
washed her hair, she closed her eyes; somewhere in the back of her mind,
Juliette realized the absurdity of being fitted for a tiara before being fitted
for clothes, but she no longer had the energy to muster up any sort of outrage
or annoyance.  It
’s
Palais d’Or and that’s all.

“I’ve
brought you some clean underwear.”

Alicia
’s voice snapped
her back to reality.

“I
had to borrow from Emilia.  It won’t be perfect but you two are so close to the
same size, I hope you’ll be fine.  I also took the liberty of retrieving your
ball gown from last evening,” Alicia said.  “I’ll just hang it here.”

Juliette
laughed. 
“But
of course!  What else would you wear to get a tiara fitted?”  Both ladies
giggled.

Juliette
stepped out the shower, dried, and got dressed.  As she was patting her hair
with a towel, Alicia poked her head into the room. 
“Can I come in?”

“Please,”
Juliette responded.

“I
hope you don’t mind me saying so but you have absolutely lovely hair.  Might I
help you with it?”

“Yes,
of course.”

Juliette
sat in front of the vanity mirror as Alicia got to work.  First, she finished
patting down her hair with a towel, then began brushing with long flowing
strokes.  She then flipped on the hair dryer and began brushing and blow-drying
at the same time.  Juliette began to feel drowsy and closed her eyes.

“There. 
I think that will do,” Alicia announced.

Juliette
opened her eyes. 
“Oh,
yes, Alicia, that’s just the way I like it.  You did an excellent job.”

“Thank
you, miss,” Alicia beamed.  “Now, let me see…”  She rummaged around in a drawer
for a moment, then produced a plastic makeup case.  “Here you go.  This one is
unopened.  The manufacturers send samples like this to the castle all the
time.”

“Oh!”
Juliette said.  “I’ve always wanted to try that brand!”

Juliette
spent the next five minutes on her makeup, wishing she had fifty more to
experiment with all of the new palettes.

“Now,
that looks like a princess,” Alicia smiled.  “All right.  Let’s get you to the
drawing room.  The men will be going mad with anticipation.”

As
Alicia led the way through the castle, Juliette noticed the strangest reactions
from the people they passed.  First, they would stop talking.  Then, their
faces would freeze in surprise.  Then they would bow slightly to her.  It all
made Juliette blush.

“Alicia,”
Juliette whispered.  “Did they just bow to me?”

“And
why not?” Alicia responded.  “You are the prince’s fiancée after all.”

Alicia
stopped at the doorway to the drawing room and motioned for Juliette to wait. 
Juliette could hear the prince speaking on the other side of the door. 
“Where is she,
Armand?”  The obvious aggravation in his voice made Juliette smile.

Alicia
threw open the double doors and announced,
“Your highness, gentlemen: Miss Juliette
Thierry.”

Juliette
smiled shyly and stepped into the room.  In the center was a large, full length
mirror.  To the right stood Prince Guillermo and Armand.  To the left were two
men she didn
’t
recognize, both thin, one young, one old, and both wearing powdered wigs and
black tails.  The young man blushed when he saw her, his mouth agape.

Armand
stepped forward, smiling. 
“You look lovely, my dear.  Doesn’t she, sir?”

Guillermo
cleared his throat,
“Yes,
well, let’s get this show on the road.”

Armand
led her into the room and introduced her to the two men wearing wigs. 
“This gentleman
is the royal jeweler, Señor Lorenzo Rohner, and this is his apprentice, Señor
Cristobal Tous.”

“It’s
a pleasure, miss,” Señor Rohner bowed.

“H-h-how
do you do?” Señor Tous stammered.

Juliette
giggled. 
“It’s
a pleasure to meet you both.”

Se
ñor Rohner spoke,
“If you would step in front of the mirror, miss, so we can get started?”

“Yes,
of course.  Is here OK?”