Royal Pain in the Ass (9 page)

Cassandra nodded and her face grew solemn.
  “
I see.
”

“
This is Juliet,
”
James pulled me forward.

“It
’
s a pleasure, your highness
”
I curtsied to her.
 

Cassandra let out a laugh that rang like bells.
  “
Juliet is it?
 
I am your aunt, you do not have to be so formal
. 
You may call me Aunt Cassie if you like.
”

I smiled.
  “
That works for me, Aunt Cassie.
  I
’
ve got to be honest, I was really worried about meeting you.
  I
’
ve never met a politician let alone a queen.
”

“You
’
ll do fine, child.
 
Is this why you asked me to bring Ian and Christine along?
”

James nodded.
  “
I thought they might teach her a little about our world.
  She
’
s been in America for the past twenty-one years.
”

“
Speaking of, why didn
’
t you tell me about her before?
” 
Aunt Cassie
’
s eyes narrowed.

“
I didn
’
t know.
”

Cassie slapped him across the back of the head.
  “
You should have been smarter back then.
” 
She turned to me.
  “I
’
m glad my baby brother was an idiot.
  You
’
re a lovely young lady, I
’
m sorry he wasn
’
t more responsible.
  I
’
d like you to meet two of my children.
  Ian
?
Christine? 
Where are you two?
”

Four people strolled in.
 
There was only one boy, I could only imagine he was Ian.
 
He was tall, lean muscled and had gorgeous blue eyes.
 
I noticed he had the same brown hair as Cassie.
 
One of the girls had the same blue eyes as Ian, and other than her hair and eyes was the spitting image of Cassie, that had to be Christine.

“
Here they are, Cassie,
”
smiled an official woman in a business skirt suit.

“Thank you Patricia.” 
Cassie turned to me.
  “
Juliet, this is Ian, my son, Christine, my daughter, their advisor, Lana, and my advisor, Patricia.
 
Everyone, this is Juliet, my newest niece.
”

Lana was slender with mocha skin, and dark hair but what really caught my attention was her hazel eyes.
 
They looked foreign in her face, but made her look all the more beautiful.

“It
’
s a pleasure,
”
I smiled, feeling awkward.

“
Children, the adults need to speak.
 
Lana would you take Juliet into the city with Ian and Christine?
 
I believe some shopping was promised to her.
”

Lana paled slightly.
  “
Of course,
”
Lana looked to Ian and Christine.
  “
And we
’
re all going to behave ourselves?
”

“
I believe the latest negative tabloid of us featured me carrying you out of a club, drunk.
”
Ian replied with a simple shrug.
 

Lana
’
s cheeks flushed.
  “
I thought we agreed not to talk about this again.
”
She huffed.

“
Sounds like you guys know how to have a good time.
”
I smirked.
  “
If we
’
re going out, can I change?
”

Everyone looked taken aback.
  “
I suppose so,
”
Lana nodded.
  “
But please hurry,
”

“I
’
m coming,
” Christine smiled. 

I shrugged,
“
Sure, if you want to.
”

Christine followed me to my room and I started to pick out an outfit only for her to interrupt.

“
No, I think this top suits your figure much better.
”
She smiled handing me a baby blue halter top.
  “
Oooh, with these!
”
she handed me a pair of black denim leggings.
  “
Oh, and wear those!
”
she pointed to my heels. I let out a nervous laugh.
 

“Um, okay.”

I changed quickly and Christine gasped.

“
What?
”

“
You have a tattoo!
”

“
Yeah, I know.
”
I laughed.

“
That
’
s cool.
”

“
Thanks.
” 
I looked over my shoulder at it.
  “
I like it.
”

Christine eyed me for a long moment.
  “
Does your dad know?
”

I shook my head.
  “
I don’
t think so.
”

“
Maybe you should change one more time.
”

“
Why?
”

“
Tattoos are . . . frowned upon.
” 
Christine started rummaging through my suitcase and pulled out a yellow and black babydoll top and handed it to me.
  “
This way you don
’
t shock them too much.
”

I nodded and put it on.
  “
What
’
s the big deal.
 
They
’
re just a couple of tattoos?
”
I called from the bathroom.

“
A couple?
”
she asked barging in.
  “
Where?
”

I showed her the one of my shoulder clearly now.
  “
I got this one for my mom, about two weeks after she died,
”
I felt a sad smile on my face.
 

Christine looked at me with a strange look.
  It
’
s wasn
’
t pity, but it wasn
’
t far off.
  “I can
’
t imagine my life without my Mum.
  I
’
m sorry you lost yours.
”

I shrugged.
  “
You learn to live with it.
 
I guess it
’
s kind of cool to have found my father.
”

Christine sighed.
  “Let
’
s go, they
’
ll wonder if we
’
re gone too long.
” 
Christine grabbed me by my hand and pulled me back to where everyone was waiting.
  “We
’
re ready.
”
She beamed.

I followed them out to a limo. Two advisors, two royal children, and me in a limo.

Chapter VI
I

“
So, you guys are the Prince and Princess?
”
I asked.

“Yes,”
Ian looked at me like I was an idiot, and that look made me feel like I was.

“Hey, I
’
m new to the idea that I have a father let alone that I
’
m related to anyone important, let alone a queen.
” 
I looked around.
  “
My cousins are the prince and princess
  . . .”
I let that settle for a moment and sighed.
  “
Nope, it still sounds weird even if I say it out loud.
” 

Christine let out a bubbly laugh.
  “Relax.”
She smiled.
  “We
’
re just like any other family.
”
She assured me as we walked down to the limo.

“
Except that my aunt and uncle rule a country, yeah,
”
I shook my head.

“It
’
s only a big deal if you make it one.
”
Ian chided.
 
For some reason,
 
I felt like a toddler around him.
 
I didn
’
t like it.

 “Let
’
s go!”
Christine grabbed my hand.
  “
Lana, are you coming?
  Let
’
s go! 
I need some new shoes anyway!
”

“
Wait, Christine, these shoes aren
’
t meant to run in!
”
Lana gasped, breathless.

“
Why did I have to come?
” Ian groaned.

“
Because I can
’
t leave you alone,
”
Lana started,
“
especially with that Amelia,
”
she continued under her breath.
 
I don’
t think Ian heard, but I did.
 
We got into the limo and I sat next to Lana.

I nudged her side.
  “
Who
’
s Amelia?”

“
What?
”
Lana asked surprised.

“
Who
’
s Amelia?”

Ian looked at me.
  “
My girlfriend.
”

“
Oh, is she nice?
”

Ian looked around.
  “
I think so.
”

Christine made a face.
  “
When she isn
’
t being a brat,
”
Christine offered with a smile.

“She
’
s meeting us there,
”
Ian grumbled hitting Christine across the back of the head.

“
Cool,
”
I replied looking around.
 
I wasn
’
t sure how I was supposed to react.
 
These were the royal children.
 
But . . . they were also my cousins?
 
I figured, if nothing else I could ask.
  “So, I
’
m kind of new at this . . . what do I do?
”

Lana looked at me confused.
  “
What do you mean?
”

“
How am I supposed to act? I
’
m kind of used to just saying and doing whatever I feel like.
 
I get the funny feeling that
’
s a bad idea.”

“
That would be because it is,
”
Lana replied looking at me like I was an idiot.
 
I couldn
’
t argue with her response.
  “
You must be new at this,
”
she offered with a small laugh.
  “
Just play it cool in the beginning.
  You don
’
t have to change yourself but . . . you can be more discreet.
 
And hold back a little bit.
”