Bonne Appétit

Isabelle tiredly dragged herself in the bathroom to prepare her bath. It had been a really long day and even though she was looking forward to this dinner; she was also dreading it. As she got in the tub, an excited squeal echoed from her room. "Clars", she stated while smiling; Clara was always so enthusiastic about creating the perfect look for these events. Isabelle emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later wrapped in a towel. It was almost 7:00pm which meant that Jumanné would arrive in the next thirty minutes. She was not so excited about dinners, balls and fancy parties but being around Clara when she was like this could make even the grumpiest of persons smile.

"Isa, I know you're dreading the conversation about Authur, but it is one that must be had. So, why not look exquisite & dress your worries away ", she beamed. " Don't even get me started on that ball, Luke's jaws are going to be your red carpet once I'm through", she continued. Isabelle chuckled and walked into the dressing room shaking her head. "Clars, you're something else" she said beginning to feel better already. Clara picked out a sapphire red pumpkin dress with golden gloves, a golden tiara with red Sapphire rocks carved in the shape of diamonds and a red wedge with golden designs.

After ten minutes, Princess Isabelle was dressed, and it was time for phase two of Clara's plan; the hair and makeup phase. Isabelle's hair was snowy white and provided the perfect blend with the colors that Clara had picked out. She threw Isabelle's hair up in a messy bun, leaving two strands at the side. She then started on her make-up while humming. Clara did the finishing touches and placed the tiara on Isabelle's head before taking some steps back to admire her work. The dress was perfect, being without sleeves, it sat comfortable above princess Isabelle's knees. It was the exact mix of beauty, elegance and comfort being topped off with a minimalist makeup look. Clara knew that Isabelle preferred a comfortable & natural look, so she always tried to meet her simple demands.

Isabelle looked at the clock and realized that she had five minutes to go before she was deemed late. She gave Clara a warm hug before exiting her bedroom and heading down the stairs. The Salúve family had just arrive and was still in the greeting process. Isabelle took a deep breath before entering the dining room. She walked in with all attention being turned to her and smiled. She greeted Queen Latifa, King Dejean and Princess Jumanné with the traditional kisses before greeting her own parents and the waitresses. Jumanné was flaunting the hair that was known to Isabelle; her black hair was in an elegant throw back with a few strands being used to create a flower in the back of her head. She was wearing a white skin fitting dress that was replaced by mesh at the waist and reappeared at the hips. This was styled with light purple gloves, silver wedges and a sliver tiara with white diamonds.

Lenora, the expert behind this look was nowhere in sight. She must have gone upstairs to chat with Clars" Isabelle concluded after scanning the room. The appetizer was served, and the conversations begun. The two families were discussing the monthly happenings between the Kingdoms. Jumanné and Isabelle were uninterested in the conversation and asked to be temporarily excused from the table. While walking out they heard their parents' switched languages from English to French which meant that they were discussing one of two things. Business or Security which would lead to the topic of Authur. The only persons that were up to par with the linguistic abilities of the royal families were the members of the grand council. This is due to the fact that every major decision was brought to them for voting.

As expected, the Princesses had to learn all these languages so that communication with the other kingdoms wouldn't be a problem especially in their preparations to become queens. They mounted the stairs flight by flight before entering Isabelle's bedroom where Clara and Lenora were sitting on the sofa. Isabelle hugged Lenora while Jumanné did the same with Clara. After the greeting they all sat on one of the beds ready to talk. They knew that everyone was involved in this mess one way or the other. The problem, however, was that the guards could overhear their conversation. A simple fix, they decided to speak in another language. Isabelle was fluent in French, and she took the time out to tutor Clara. Jumanné and Lenora were more than fluent because they were natives.

Isabelle: Tout d'abord, comment vous êtes-vous organisée pour vous faufiler ?

Lenora: De la même manière que vous avez fait Isa avec l'aide de son styliste de confiance.

Clara: Eh bien, c'est logique, mais depuis combien de temps vous faufilez-vous ?

Jumanné: J'ai commencé il y a quatre jours.

Isabelle: C'est exactement à ce moment-là que j'ai commencé aussi, donc vous connaissez Alejandro depuis quatre jours ? Parce que j'ai rencontré Luke il y a deux jours dans le rôle de la princesse Isabella, puis je l'ai rencontré aujourd'hui dans le rôle de Cia.

Jumanné: Pourquoi est-ce si similaire ? Laissez-moi vous expliquer, il y a trois jours était le jour de la visite mensuelle comme vous le savez. J'ai vu Alejandro debout dans un coin, tout seul, parlant au téléphone sans même m'épargner un regard et j'ai été impressionné. Je lui ai donc demandé son nom, ce à quoi il m'a regardé et a répondu avant de s'excuser et de partir. La prochaine fois que je l'ai vu, c'était aujourd'hui quand je l'ai rencontré en tant que Julia.

Isabelle: Au moins, il a eu la courtoisie de s'excuser. Luke vient de partir et honnêtement, c'est ce qui m'a intéressé à lui. La première fois que j'ai rencontré Alejandro et la première fois que tu as rencontré Luke, c'était dans la forêt quand tu as failli me faire une crise cardiaque.

Jumanné: ouais c'est à peu près correct.

Clara: Je ne veux pas détruire ton moment avec tes amoureux, les garçons ou quoi que ce soit, mais n'est-ce pas bizarre de voir comment ils se connaissent pour un. Deuxièmement, vous les avez rencontrés exactement le même jour et troisièmement, ils vous ont amenés tous les deux au même endroit, je veux dire que cela semble presque planifié.

Lenora: C'est ce que je disais, mais cela pourrait être une coïncidence après tout. Alejandro ne connaissait pas Cia et Luke ne connaissait pas Julia. Ce qui était déroutant, c'était le fait que Julia et Cia n'avaient aucune idée de l'endroit où ils allaient, ils ont juste suivi aveuglément Alejandro et Luke dans la forêt.

Isabelle: Je comprends ce que vous dites. Jumanné, le matin où j'ai reçu la note, il y avait une personne sur mon balcon.

Lenora: Cela lui est arrivé aussi !

Isabelle: Eh bien, c'est beaucoup à traiter. Qu'a fait votre père en termes de sécurité ?

Jumanné: À ce sujet, mon père a parlé avec notre technicien. La dernière fois que j'ai vérifié, ils dessinaient le plan d'une sorte de gadget et allaient fusionner avec votre royaume pour le développer et le créer. Une sorte de bracelet, je n'ai pas le droit d'avoir ce type d'information, mais il y a de fortes chances qu'ils en discutent maintenant et qu'il ait également renforcé la sécurité dans le royaume.

Isabelle: Une dernière chose, qu'avez-vous dit à Luke et Alejandro?

Jumanné: oh, que votre père est membre du grand conseil et qu'il vient de rentrer de Londres. Je leur ai dit qu'il était allé là-bas pour s'occuper de quelques affaires concernant le bal à venir, le meilleur mensonge que j'ai pu trouver.

Isabelle nodded in approval: C'est mieux que ce que je dirais.

Translation

Isabelle: Firstly, how did you even arrange sneaking out?

Lennora: The same way that you did Isa, with the help of her trusted designer. (Flashes her hair while talking)

Clara: Well, that made sense but how long have you been sneaking out? (Looking puzzled)

Jumanné: I started four days ago.

Isabelle: That's the exact time that I started too, so you have known Alejandro for four days. Because I met Luke two days ago as Isabelle then I met him today as Cia.

Jumanné: Why is it so similar? Let me explain, three days ago was the day of the monthly visit as you know. I saw Alejandro standing in a corner, all alone, talking on the phone without even sparing a glance and I was impressed. So, I asked him his name, to which he looked at me and replied before apologizing and leaving. The next time I saw him was today when I met him as Julia.

Isabelle: At least he had the courtesy to apologize. Luke just left and honestly, that's what got me interested in him. The first time I met Alejandro and the first time you met Luke was in the forest when you almost gave me a heart attack.

Jumanné: Yes, that's pretty much correct. (Nodding her head)

Clara: (looked puzzled) I don't want to destroy your moment with your lover boys or anything but isn't it weird how they know each other for one. Secondly, you met with them on the exact same day and thirdly, they brought you both to the same place, I mean it seems almost planned.

Lenora: That's what I was saying, but it could be a coincidence after all. Alejandro didn't know Cia and Luke didn't know Julia. What was confusing was the fact that Julia and Cia had no idea where they were going, they just blindly followed Alejandro and Luke into the forest.

Isabelle: I understand what you are saying. Jumanné, the morning I received the note, there was a person on my balcony.

Lenora: It happened to her too (looks serious)

Isabelle: Well, that's a lot to process, (has an intrigued expression) what did your father do in terms of security?

Jumanné: He spoke with our technician about this. The last time I checked, they were drawing the blueprint for some kind of gadget and were going to merge with your kingdom to develop and create it. Some kind of bracelet, I'm not allowed to have this kind of information, but chances are they're discussing it now and he's also increased security in the kingdom.

Isabelle: (Nods interestingly) One last thing, what did you tell Luke and Alejandro?

Jumanné: (realization hits) oooh, that your father is a member of the grand council and he just returned from London. I told them he went there to deal with some business regarding the upcoming ball; the best lie I could come up with.

Isabelle: (Nods approvingly) that's better than what I'd say.

" Well ladies our time is up, you two better head back to dinner before you are considered rude" stated Clara. " I agree, this is enough for one night" said Lenora looking on the balcony to make sure the guard was still there. Isabelle and Jumanné hugged Clara and Lenora before heading back downstairs. When they re-entered the dining room their parents were speaking in English once again which was a relief.

They sat down to have dessert while Isabelle told the Saluvé family about her trip to Egypt. The rest of the night was a blur as they talked on and on about the perks of being royalty. The beautiful sceneries, visiting different countries, their kingdoms, the wonderful people, attending royal events and of course the topic was brought up of the princesses as future Queens of Roséno and Loudefé. The last thing Princess Isabelle remembered was entering her dressing room to change in her night gown and sitting on the couch with Clara.