“... We must come together to ensure not a single citizen...” Emma mouthed along with the man stood on the podium. Jade stared in wonder as the shorter girl regurgitated the Crown Prince’s entire speech alongside him. The romance between them was truly blooming if she was helping him write public speeches.

The Royal party, esteemed guests and the press were seated outside the capital office. The road had been cordoned off and a stage set up to introduce the venture. Jade had bought the building as soon as her finances had allowed it and began hiring her staff immediately.

The Crown Prince was presented a pair of golden clippers and the ribbon cutting was punctuated by polite clapping. The Prince’s secretary announced the next speaker and the Prince departed from the stage with another round of applause.

Jade cast her eyes around the packed seating area and felt a wave of pride at the attendances. Many socialites were given the invitation and all of them had obliged. Charity work was considered appropriate engagement for high born women so it should have been expected but Jade felt bolstered by the success of her event.

“I hope I conveyed your message across clearly,” The Crown Prince said as he sat down next to Jade. His day crown was situated perfectly on his dark hair.

“I am honoured you have been so compassionate. Your turn of phrase was very flattering,” Jade’s compliment was genuine.

“Yes, indeed, but I cannot have made any such gestures without help,” The Prince noted with his eyes wandering over to Emma, who sat next to her friend. Jade subtly nudged the shorter girl who flushed red from the praise.

As lunch was served the Prince was surrounded by his usual cohorts. The girls wandered through the crowd with plates in their hands in search of Luke who had promised he would fight for the trifle before it was devoured.

“So, that’s what you have been up to,” Jade grinned at her fair friend.

“He asked for my help. How could I refuse,” Emma shrugged as if the matter was out of her hand. She refused to meet her friend’s eyes.

“He’s deathly scared of making his move. You must be the one to do so if you intend to get married before the turn of the century,” Jade advised. She kept a careful eye out for eavesdroppers..

“Oh, I know,” Emma suddenly flushed from the roots of her hair, “That’s why I kissed him last night.”

Jade nearly inhaled her beverage. Luke patted her in the back as he brought forth the promised treat. Emma laughed at her friend’s predicament.

“T-thank you. You sly minx. I never knew you had it in you!” The tall girl joined in the merriment. Luke offered his arms to the two women with a knowing look. His brother must have confided in him.

“Neither had I,” Emma looked surprised.

“How did he react? When are you going to pick out engagement rings?” The taller girl asked, breathlessly, “Should we bow, now that we know you are the future queen?”

Emma just broke out into a laugh as if it were the funniest thing she had ever heard.

...

Thunder boomed outside, rattling the glass front of Jade’s office. It was only the first day of work and everyone was sat in their respective positions making introductions. There were three women sitting in the back and two out front. Two other men were also appointed for the odd jobs this office would require.

Mrs Peters popped her head through the door opening leading towards the kitchen, “Anyone would like some tea, dearies?”

“I’ve got my mug full, thank you for asking,” Jade brought up the hot cocoa.

A crack of lightning illuminated the outdoors. There was a loud bang of thunder followed by a hiss of falling rainfall.

“There’s someone there,” The youngest woman whispered from her receptionist position.

“I’ll check,” Jade jumped up from her seat and pulled on her canvas coat. After the mindless boredom of sitting in the office space she was itching to move.

“Make Mr Peters have a look. Don’t go alone. It’s far too late at night,” Mrs Peters frowned. She looked agitated at the through of Jade meeting her untimely end so soon after opening shop.

The Duchess had no such qualms about facing danger. She gave her subordinates a cheery wave and opened the shop door with a tinkle of the minute bell.

Jade stepped out carefully, minding the mud. She remained underneath the roof covering to avoid the rain as she searched for a sign of life. Her sharp eyes caught a slight movement.

“You can come out now,” Jade ordered with crossed arms.

A sullen youth peeked from behind the alley way corner. His face was mucky despite being covered in soot and his clothes large and patched. In uncomfortable, damp clothes he clambered forward.

“Its only me,” The boy whispered, “Its a mistake. I shouldn’t be here..”

“You can come in for the night. We have a dry bed and hot tea for you,” Jade urged kindly. Her brown eyes had discern another oddity the running passer-bys had not, “You also don’t need to pretend. You’re safe here in whatever form you choose.”

“Could you not tell them? I’m not even sure I should trust you,” The youth answered. Their eyes were nervous and darted everywhere but at Jade. The tall girl watched the child pull at their hat and long curls tumbled down the girl’s waist.

Jade just smiled at the young. She could see her own desperation in the girl’s eyes although she had been much older, more educated and more resourceful. This girl did not have her advantages and was clearly living in the streets.

“I shall keep your secret if you keep mine. I once dressed up as a boy and infiltrated the Royal palace,” Jade bent down to be eye level with young girl.

“That’s a bit silly, no?” The child’s nose crinkled at the thought.

“I agree. Now, put your hat back on. No one shall know who you are if you don’t wish it,” The duchess warned and took the girl’s hand as she led her inside.

...

Jade streamlined her body as her steed began gliding through the flowering meadow at a gallop. She could hear her horse pant at the exertion and she glanced briefly at the apple grove ahead, the flag fluttering enticingly on a apple branch. She meant to slow down but she spied on a lone rider racing forward on her right. Jade’s lips curled into a smile and she dug her feet into her ride at the challenge.

“Is that the best you can do?” The Prince on the white horse shouted at her. His dark hair was tied up in a leather band but the rush of air threw it into a disarray.

“In your dreams, Prince,” Jade taunted. She urged the horse forward with all her might. She would not allow Luke to defeat her.

They raced with their eyes on the flag, pinned to a tree branch. Jade had laboriously climbed the tree to place it in for practice. She had not anticipated having to fight for it.

“Winner takes all,” Jade roared as she slowed down her speed. She had learnt after various attempts that executing the manoeuvre faster meant it needed to be done slower.

The Prince had no such practice and surged past Jade. His hands predictably came back empty and before he could turn around to retry his luck Jade plucked the flag and waved it in front of Luke.

They grinned at each other and jumped down their horses. There was scattering of apple blossoms on top of their heads as the displaced branch made its displeasure known. Luke gently brushed off the flowers stuck on Jade’s hair.

“I believe I must take my prize,” Jade cocked her head with an impudent smile.

“What do you want? You brought forth a bet but you laid out no terms,” Luke asked with his hands crossed.

“What I want is this,” Jade murmured and closed the distance between them. She grabbed hold of the man’s cotton lapels and dragged him towards her. Effortlessly their lips locked into a sweet, lingering kiss.

“I’ve missed you,” The girl sighed with her cheek resting on the man’s firm chest.

“We met yesterday,” Luke raised a brow, “I was inundated with work but when I heard you were in the Royal grounds I could not contain myself. Have you read the newspaper this morning?”

“No, I headed out before it was thrown into the gates,” Jade replied as his questioning revealed what had happened, “Have they printed about my opening ceremony already?”

“Yes,” Luke nodded and brought out a folded paper from within his jacket. Jade pounced on the newspaper and her brown eyes scanned it frantically.

“That’s not the picture we ordered,” Jade uttered quietly.

The pictures of the event were all there under smaller headlines but the main story contained a picture of Jade and Luke sharing a corn cob after the ceremony had concluded. The image was of poor quality and blurry due to the long exposure and moving subjects but their faces were identifiable.

“I’m sorry, they know everything,” Luke apologized for the dramatic headline, “The Royal palace had to give them confirmation that Jade Durnn is indeed joining the Royal household. Otherwise the scandal would have been far worse.”

“What an epic disaster,” Jade mumbled and let the newspaper flutter to the ground.

“Surely you wished for- for your services to reach far and wide. The entire article will be popular,” Luke asked with sadness lingering in his grey eyes. He clearly wanted to say something else.

“I wanted to create an independent entity that was not associated with the Royal household. Getting your brother involved was only for publicity. Now, everyone’s going to think I’m just trying to get in the public’s good graces with the crown funding everything,” The girl’s face fell further.

“All publicity is good,” Luke spoke with thinned out lips.

“I don’t want to hide you Luke. I want the world to know about us. You don’t have to worry about that,” Jade placed her hand on his smooth cheek trying alleviate his fears.

“You’re invited to the Royal palace for lunch tomorrow,” Luke suddenly beamed, “I’m here to personally let you.”

“Oh, bollocks, the torture begins now!” Jade exclaimed.

...

Jade sat in a voluminous green dress borrowed from her esteemed former landlord. The Queen had given her a look of approval when she had been announced by herald.

“You must tell us immediately,” An important Lady’s words broke through Jade’s mental haze.

“I apologize but I did not follow,” Jade uttered, feeling like she was being punished for something.

“We were talking about where you met our charming Prince Luke,” The Lady smiled much too widely to be friendly. The other ten women were following the conversation with flinty eyes.

“Here and there,” Jade uttered and wished her tongue was more refined when struck with a bout of nerves, “I mean we met at many events hosted at the summer palace.”

“I see you’re wearing glass slippers,” Another Lady whose name Jade failed to recall said tartly. The younger girl immediately draped her dress over her feet.

“Yes I am,” Jade nodded, not giving anything away. Perhaps they had conjured up stories in their minds of how she was the girl Luke had been besotted with.

“He did not mind your scar. It is very unusual,” A third Lady interrogated. Jade just agreed having nothing to say about her physical flaws.

“It was a mountain lion or was it a tiger? I don’t quite remember what Luke said about it,” The Queen had a very mischievous twinkle on her face. Instead of satiating the other courtier wives she was flaming the coals and enjoying Jade burning quite thoroughly. She could have easily said it was horse riding accident and squashed the interrogation.

“Oh, my,” The Lady with a blue feather cap gasped as if the Queen had admitted to cannibalism.

“It’s a long and tedious story. Perhaps I shall share when we have the time,” Jade made excuses as she could not fathom a reasonable answer why she encountered a wild beast.

“We have a few more hours of leisure. I’m sure we would love to hear it,” The Queen’s painted lips widened. She was testing whether Jade could take the pressure of being a Prince’s wife.

“I’m afraid she does not!” Luke barged into the room with his great coat flying behind him, “Her pet tiger has escaped.”

“It has?!” Jade stared at the man and wondered whether the madness was inherited.

“You must contain it immediately. The entire neighbourhood is in danger. Ambrose nearly lost his arm just now,” The Prince took Jade long fingers in his own and pulled her towards him. Her frilly dress danced behind her gracefully.

“You may leave, Duchess Durnn. We cannot have a massacre in our good kingdom,” The Queen took her future daughter in law’s hand and gave it a fond pat. Her son had bested her for now and saved his beautiful fiancé from further torment at his mother’s hand.

Jade giggled as the pair escaped from the confines of the Palace. Luke brought her towards the refurbished vehicle but instead of taking the driving seat he ushered Jade into it.

“Am I to drive,” The brown haired girl looked at the contraption nervously.

“Of courses. I promised I would teach you. It’s no more complicated then driving a carriage,” Luke motioned for her to put her hands on the levers.

“This dress is a distraction,” Jade huffed as it took up more place them humanly possible.

“I agree,” The Prince gave her smouldering stare. Jade rolled her eyes and began moving the levers as she had seen done many times before.

“What do I need to press. I know we need to pull this lever and then this,” She muttered to herself.

“You’re doing it perfectly,” The man’s dimpled smile was encouraging.

Jade felt an overwhelming wave of affection at her fiance and said, “I love you.”

“I had an inkling...” The Prince jested. He grabbed hold of the front of body as the vehicle lurched forward.

“Is that what you want to say?” Jade’s indignant voice boomed loudly over the wind and the city traffic.

“I love you too,” Luke declared solemnly and held onto Jade’s hand as she discovered the worst traffic blockade of the week on the way back to her home.

The End

I will post an epilogue in a couple of hours.

Please forgive me if you hate the ending. I don't love it and I'm worried no one else will either.