Royal S.O.B. (A Bad Boy Romance) (14 page)

Before
Cate returned home the following morning, they had yet another chat on the
prince's invitation.

"It
isn't something I can wish away," said Addie.

"I
need to make a decision."

Cate
was quiet. They were seated at the breakfast table, Mrs. Bradford standing at a
discreet distance.

"Well,"
replied Cate, placing her spoon and fork on the plate.

"Why
don't you just go and meet him? Maybe it won't be as bad as you imagine."

Addie
was studying the royal emblem on the corner of her plate.

"After
all, he's the prince, and your stepbrother," Cate continued.

"And
he's invited you twice already. I don't know for how long you can avoid it. He
must be expecting you any day now."

"Cate."
The tone that said something was up.

"Will
you accompany me?"

"What?!
Are you mad?" Cate couldn't believe it.

"You
know I can't do that."

Addie
went back to studying the royal emblem.

"I
mean, I know I'm your best friend and all, but this is strictly your family
member, for heaven's sake. And he's invited just you, not the two of us, so
I've no business being there."

"Must
I go?" Addie looked up, a huge pleading in her eyes.

"What
now – do you want me to say 'no'?"

*****

After
Cate had left, Addie sat down with the calendar. She decided on a date three
days later. Three days – that would give her enough time to prepare for it
mentally.

"Mrs.
Bradford," she called for her governess.

"Yes,
my child."

In
moments, she was by Addie's side. Addie always wondered how she could be so
nimble footed, and how she could walk making no sound.

"Mrs.
Bradford, I've decided to go and meet Prince Kenrick on Thursday."

"Very
well, my dear."

"Will
you tell me how to get to the prince's chambers?"

"Why,
I'll rather come with you."

"You
will?"

"Why
not?" replied Mrs. Bradford.

"That's
why I earn my salary, to be with you and take care of you."

"That
would be fabulous!" Addie cheered, relieved. She was glad that she would
not have to go alone.

"So
by eleven in the morning, let's reach his chambers."

"Very
well. Please write and inform him about it."

Addie's
shoulders drooped.

"Is
there a need for that?"

"Well,
that's the practice."

"Is
it the protocol? Suppose we just drop in unannounced – a kind of
surprise?"

"That's
not covered by protocol," clarified Mrs. Bradford.

"But
you are the princess and you can go anywhere in the palace at any time. It's
your right."

"Whoa,"
Addie was smiling now.

"Let's
exercise that right, then."

*****

Thursday.

At
about ten o'clock, Addie had a map in front of her, sprawled out on her large
desk. It was the map of the palace. She figured out where her own chambers were
and traced the route to the prince's chambers.

"Mrs.
Bradford," she called for her governess, who was next to her in an
instant.

"Are
these not Prince Kenrick's chambers?"

"Yes,"
replied the old lady, peering through her glasses.

"And
this is how to get there, right?"

Addie
ran her index finger along long corridors and staircases.

"Yes,"
answered the old woman.

Addie
looked up from the map.

"Mrs.
Bradford," she suddenly said.

"Is
there a different way to reach there?"

"A
different way?"

The
old woman was confused.

"Yes,"
answered Addie.

"From
the back, or through the workers' quarters… Where, for example,
you
live... I'd like to see how the
common folk live within the palace premises."

"Oh,
all right."

"Is
there a detour through your quarters?"

Mrs.
Bradford hesitated.

"Yes,
there is. But do you really want to do that? Would you like it – it may not be
very spic and span…"

"Mrs.
Bradford," Addie spoke slowly.

"I
was in those kinds of surroundings all my life. In fact, till a few months
ago."

*****

Sharp
at half past ten, both of them set out.

Addie
wore a simple white tee shirt and blue jeans, and covered herself with an
understated gray pashmina shawl. Mrs. Bradford, as usual, was in her formal
suit with a folder in hand.

"Why
do you carry that folder always, Mrs. Bradford?" Addie asked her while
walking.

"It's
mandatory for us, my child," answered the governess.

"It
has reports of various updates about you."

"About
me?" She was surprised.

"Yes
– topics like your health, sleep patterns, food habits and consumption levels,
overall disposition, and so on."

'"Oh."
Addie found it interesting.

"But
why do you have to carry it wherever you go?"

"Our
orders are that we must have it on our person. Ready for inspection or review
anytime."

"This
goes for everyone in the royal family?"

"Yes;
for kids, even toddlers."

"And
what purpose does it serve?"

"We
immediately know what to do in an emergency. When action is taken in seconds,
lives can be saved."

"Oh."

"Your
lives – the lives of all the royals – are so precious…" Mrs. Bradford
petered off.

"And
the lives of commoners?" Addie could not stop herself from asking.

"Well,"
responded the old lady.

"Every
life is valuable…"

"But
that of the royalty even more so."

"Precisely."

She
paused.

"The
royal blood is special."

"Because
it's blue in color?" Addie asked, fake innocence writ large on her face.

"Yes,"
said the missus, and at once realized that she was trapped.

They
walked for a few minutes in silence, ascending a staircase to take the back
route to the prince's chambers.

"My
child," commented Mrs. Bradford.

"You're
too simple for these complications."

Addie
just smiled.
This life was indeed
complicated
, she thought to herself.

Back
in her middle class neighborhood, life was lived as it happened. If an illness
struck, it was taken care of with one of several home remedies, or
grandmother's treatments. For this, you could go to any family nearby and your
medicine would be administered. And it got cured sooner rather than later. Only
when it got too bad would you think of visiting the local physician.

They
passed through the area that had the workers' quarters. Addie looked around. It
looked so familiar to her; clothes hanging on lines, little kids playing, a
tiny tot swinging in a tire hanging from a tree, women going in and out of
their homes, some women talking to their neighbors across the fence. Something
inside made her happy.
These were the
sights and sounds she had been missing.
This was life!

Then
she noticed something. The moment they approached, everyone fell silent. They
all curtseyed at her – to which she nodded in acknowledgment and smiled back –
and promptly ran inside their homes. The kids, too, stopped playing when they
saw her and fell into their automatic curtsey routine.

Was this true respect
or mere programming
,
Adelaide wondered.

There
was another reason, figured out Addie. She was just like them, a commoner
barely a few months ago. So envy had to be the first emotion; then came
revulsion; and then, the doctored respect.

Mrs.
Bradford noticed the change of color on Addie's face.

"It's
because they've never seen a royal personage in these parts," she offered.

"Oh,
okay," replied Addie.

"I
get it."

They
walked in silence again.

"But
these royals," Addie started, then corrected herself.

"I
mean, the royal family – they have nothing to do with the servants?"

Even
as she asked the question, it sounded so naïve to Addie. And she already knew
the answer.

"Well,
no," answered her governess.

"But
not to blame them too much. This is how it's been happening for generations and
centuries… In fact, from the beginning of royalty itself, back from the time of
the Magna Carta. And these things have a way of seeping inside your veins, my
child, and no one can ever change habits – on either side."

"That
means," mused Addie, trying to lighten the moment.

"Only
a blood transfusion can change things around here."

Mrs.
Bradford was silent.

"Where's
your quarters, Miss?" Addie asked after a pause.

"It's
in this lane, right at the end," replied the old woman, pointing to an
alley they'd just crossed.

"Can
I come visit your place one day?"

This
unexpected question from Addie stumped the old woman.

"Such
things are unheard of, my child." Mrs. Bradford kept it short.

"Let's
rather live out our lives without rocking the boat too much."

Addie
took it as a piece of advice as much as an admonition. There was a way for
things here, a lay of the land, and anyone trying to bring about a change in
them would only end up changing themselves.

They
turned a bend, and there were a few rooms as part of a long shed.

"What
are these, Ma'am?" Addie asked.

"These
are rest rooms for the workers. To have lunch, or to relax in between
work–"

Suddenly
a door opened, and a man's rude voice hit them.

"Get
this shit out of here!"

It
was Prince Kenrick. And inside, they could see, were two naked women with their
clothes thrown at them just that instant.

"Worthless
bitches!"

The
prince saw them and stood there transfixed.

"Well,
you were wrong, Mrs. Bradford," Addie found the presence of mind to
whisper in the old woman's ear.