SWNOVELS Chapter 11
I hesitated. "I... I don't know."
She sighed with an impatient shake of her head. "That doesn't give me anything to work with. I suppose I have no choice but to trust His Highness and make do." Without wasting another moment, she shuffled me into a conservative, yet comfortable-looking bedroom, draped with neutral colors and muted blues. Everything was immaculate and organized to perfection, which led me to believe this was her private quarters.
After a quick inspection of the dresser, she pulled out a simple, deep blue dress. "Let's have you try this on, yes?" Shyly, I nodded. "I'll wear anything you can give me."
I guess that wasn't the response she had expected because one of her eyebrows raised in surprise and her mouth fell slightly open as if to say something, but she was quick to compose herself. With her assistance, I removed my ruined dress, setting it aside to be thrown out later, and put on the blue dress she provided.
Maggie observed as I modeled in front of the standing mirror. "Is it to your liking?"
It really was a simple dress, but there was an elegance to it. The lantern sleeves fit loosely around my thin arms and the knee-length skirt flowed with grace as I swirled for the mirror, giving the dress a very romantic feel. And with its empire waistline, it perfectly hid my small baby bump from prying eyes, which made me heave a sigh of relief.
One aspect of the dress I was absolutely stunned by, however, was the color. I'd only ever worn old clothes of muted beige, black, or gray at home -any other colors were meant for pure Alphas, according to Sarah-but I found that this deep blue looked... rather nice against my pale skin.
For the first time, I actually dared to feel a little pretty.
"It's lovely." I smiled. "Thank you."
"Nonsense. I was merely following orders."
As she further tidied up my appearance, smoothing out the dress skirt and adjusting the loose neckline, curiosity bloomed within me. "Maggie," I started after some hesitation, "how long have you been with Prince Xaden?"
"I have served His Highness since his young adolescent years," Maggie said with a lift of her chin, tall with pride. “Besides our beloved Luna Queen, I was personally in charge of his royal upbringing."
"Oh!" Her answer was a pleasant surprise. "Would you tell me what he was like...?"
I saw this as my chance to learn about Xaden from someone who knew him well before he became the renowned Alpha Prince everyone knew him as. After all, she sounded like the closest thing to a second mother figure for him. He was the father of my baby, and I yearned to know more about his own childhood.
She eyed me, looking quite stern. "That's something for the prince to divulge, himself, Miss Maeve. I shan't speak a word about him until I know who you are."
Disappointment flooded me, but admittedly, it had been a long shot.
I was still a stranger, after all.
"If there are no more questions, let's begin the tour," she suggested, beckoning me to follow as she opened the door.
Some time into Maggie's tour of the mansion, we had to pass through what looked like the main hall. I was in awe of the beautiful decorations and how they all seemed to nicely reflect the mansion's architecture. All of the paintings, the carpets with intricate design work, the crystal chandeliers-this was, without a doubt, a style befitting of a prince.
As we walked on, a pair of dainty, hurried footsteps suddenly caught our attention. "Hello?" a light, airy voice called out to us. "Could one of you tell me where I can find the guest room?"
My stomach sank with dread. I knew that voice and it was one I'd never thought I'd hear on palace grounds. Bella-my sister's so-called "bestie" and a fellow Alpha's daughter who took cruel pleasure in bullying me alongside Sarah. This was not going to go well.