The Coronation of the Queen

"Back to hair and makeup we go," Eric said as he led Katherine back around the media room.

"Are you kidding?" she asked exasperatedly.

"I do not kid," he said as he threw a glance back at her. "We wanted you to look innocent with minimal makeup and your hair pulled back for the announcement to encourage sympathy from the people, but we want you to look fierce and powerful during your coronation."

Katherine sat back down in the chair and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Eric stood behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders as he made eye contact with her through their reflections.

"You did a great job, Your Majesty. I've known your parents for a long time, and I know they would be proud of their daughter. This is obviously not how you imagined becoming Queen, but this is your moment to shine. Be the strong, independent young woman we know you to be," Eric told her.

"Thank you Eric," she said to him. She knew that he probably thought of her as the ignorant child he got stuck training on how to rule a country, so she truly appreciated his words at that moment.

He let go of her shoulders and nodded to the two hair and makeup people for them to begin working on her transformation.

"First we need you to change out of that knee length dress. Go change into this," the young woman told Katherine.

Katherine reached out and grabbed the black dress that the woman was holding, and her face twisted in confusion. "Doesn't the Queen usually wear white on her coronation day? This dress is black."

The makeup people looked between each other before the woman turned back to Katherine and said, "Eric requested this, Your Majesty, to show your strength and to remind everyone what caused you to be Queen at such a young age."

"I see," was all Katherine responded as her eyes remained on the dress. Eric wanted to send a message to the people that the new Queen was not someone to be messed with or deceived; he knew that Katherine could not appear innocent or naive.

She got up out of her chair and went into the bathroom that was in the corner of the room so that she could have some privacy while she changed.

The dress, she noticed as she looked at herself in the mirror after she put it on, was a floor length, A-line dress with a long train. It was jet black, covered in lace, and had a high collar that covered all of Katherine's neck.

Katherine felt like a Victorian woman from the old America's, and she thought that she looked ethereal like a ghost.

The dress forced her to carry her head high because trying to look down made the collar of the dress squeeze her throat. She knew that this design must have been in Eric's mind when he chose the dress because he of all people knows how often Katherine looks down to avoid people's gazes.

After she felt ready, she walked back to the makeup chair and sat down without saying a word. She could feel the hair and makeup people's eyes on her, but she did her best to ignore them.

Once they saw her in the dress, the two of them took a couple of steps away so that they could discuss strategy on how to have her hair and makeup complement the unusual dress.

While they did that, Jasper took the opportunity to check in with Katherine. "You look quite intimidating in that dress, I must say," he whispered towards her after taking a few steps in her direction.

"Oh," she said as she tried to look at herself in the mirror. "Do I?" she asked as she turned her attention towards Jasper.

His lips pulled into a smirk and he nodded his head. "Still the most beautiful woman I've ever seen though."

Katherine could see the intensity in his eyes, and it made her throat dry. She could tell how badly he wanted her at that moment; and God knows she always wanted him.

"Well maybe you can help me take this dress off later so I'm not so scary," she seductively whispered to him.

His smirk turned into a mischievous smile, but before he could respond, the two people in charge of Katherine's hair and makeup returned.

Jasper ran his hand through his blond hair and returned to his spot against the wall as he tried, unsuccessfully, to wipe the smile off of his face.

Seeing him get flustered gave Katherine butterflies. He had been so serious the last year that it seemed like his playful side with her was gone, but this showed that at least it could maybe make an occasional appearance.

She missed how close they used to be, and even though she wanted to focus more on finding her mom, she craved the comfort she received from Jasper. She needed it more than ever.

Her view of him was quickly obstructed as the man who was doing her makeup leaned in front of Katherine and started contouring her face.

The woman pulled her hair back down and added product to it to make her dark curls appear more wild and uncontrolled.

When they were finished, Katherine looked in the mirror and saw dark eyeshadow that brought out the bright green in her eyes and the maroon lipstick that stood out against her pale skin. She looked even more menacing than she had just a few minutes ago.

The two artists took a second to take in their creation, and the woman shook her head side to side as she said, "I wouldn't want to be on your bad side. You look like an untouchable woman."

Katherine turned away from her reflection and stood up so that she could look at them. "Thank you for your help today," she told them before she started to walk back towards Eric who appeared to be aggressively speaking at the poor woman with the clipboard from earlier.

She felt lightheaded as she walked and remembered that she had eaten literally nothing all day. Apart from the water Charles had her drink in the limo and the whiskey she drank with Jasper, she had had nothing else.

"Let's get this over with so I can finally eat something," she snapped at Eric when she reached him. She had reached her people limit for the day, and on top of the hunger, she was cranky.

"Not the happy-go-lucky princess any more, are we?" he sassed her back as he took in her appearance.

"Please, I was never the peppy little princess that everyone loved. You nailed it with this outfit, I think. This is exactly how I look on the inside," she sassed him right back.

Eric laughed and shook his head. "You're kinder than most. I understand why you would have that tough exterior though. You need it for this job."

He was right. Katherine didn't think there was a way to be a kind-hearted ruler with how viscous her people were.

He turned and started walking, and Katherine knew to follow. She also could sense that Jasper was just a few steps behind.

"Coronations typically take place in the cathedral, but people have started to gather despite you saying that it would be a private ceremony. The priest is on his way and we are going to do the coronation in the ballroom," Eric said as the three of them power walked through the castle.

When they arrived at the ballroom, a purple carpet had been rolled out to the stage which was at the other end of the room. The floor was lined with white lilies that framed a standing area for a few people such as Eric and Jasper to view the coronation.

As Katherine was taking it all in, she felt a heavy fabric start to weigh her shoulders down and turned around to see Eric attempting to attach her purple cape that indicated that she was royalty. He fastened it around her neck, and the feeling of the high collar paired with the heavy velvet on her shoulders made her recall her unsettling dream from the other night where someone tried to drown her in a bathtub filled with blood.

"Can I get some water please? I don't feel good," she said as she felt bile fill her throat.

Eric snapped his fingers at a servant who was nearby, and the older man quickly left and brought back a drink for her. She drank it all in nearly one gulp and gave the glass back to the servant.

"Now that your hands are free, hold these," Eric said as he handed her the official orb and scepter that someone had run over to him while she was drinking her water.

"The priest is here," Jasper noted as his eyes went up to the elevated stage area.

"Good because we go live in two minutes," Eric said as he gave Katherine a glance over. "You remember how this works right?" he made sure to ask her.

"I've watched my parent's coronation video over and over again for years. I could do this in my sleep," she said nonchalantly.

"Then let's do this," Eric said before he left her and Jasper on their own.

"Good luck, Katie," Jasper said with a wink before he walked over to the viewing area. Katherine's eyes followed him and saw that a couple of guards, some of her staff and servants, and Charles were all there, ready to watch.

Katherine took a deep breath and listened as a cameraman counted down from five. When the music began, she walked down the purple carpet, scepter and orb in hand, with her head held high.