I was glad when our conversation finally finished and all of us went our separate ways, but I didn’t quite understand why Martin followed me. I would expect Marcus, but he seemed eager to find a tomato sandwich or something. We walked down the corridors toward the area Margo’s room was in, but in honesty, I was walking and looking for something to do. I wasn’t sure how much longer Margo would be with her dad and the Princes. I did know that walking was nice, so that’s what I did. After a while, I grew tired of Martin following me. I turned around to face him and he froze in his steps and held his hands up in surrender.

“Why are you following me?” I jabbed at him.

He slowly put his hands down and shrugged. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it just as fast. He searched for an answer and he finally decided on, “I don’t know.” He said each word long and slow as if he was in slow motion. His head turned away and his eyes darted away from mine. We stood there for a moment, staring at each other. He rubbed the back of his neck.

“I guess,” he paused and turned his head back towards me, “I’m worried for you?” His words are drawn out as if he is unsure what to say. Is he trying to start a conversation with me? 

“I’m fine.” I retort. I can’t tell why he would be worried, everything is fine and no one else is asking if I’m fine. A part of me appreciated his kindness, but I also disliked it. His kindness felt forced as if he was trying to do something with me.  

We stood there again in silence. We heared the clicking of heels walking down the hall and turn to see the head maid. She froze in her steps and smiled when she saw me.

“Ah, there you are. Margo just got done and is in her room. She might be hungry, didn’t eat at all during the meeting.” She said. Her head turned slightly towards Martin.

“Is it true that Suki grew up here?” Martin asked, his voice loud and sharp. The head maid seemed to stiffen at his question.

“Yes, she did.” Martin does a long nod. The head maid went on, “I was one of the many staff who helped raise her. If it wasn’t for us she would be on the streets. She should be thankful.”

“I am thankful,” I answered. The head maid nodded.

“Good, then get to work. You just had a break as is.” Her words were cold and she continued walking. Martin stared at her and looked over back at me,

“She’s mean,” he said not seeming to care if the head maid heard him. I shrugged. I didn’t care and started to go back walking now heading toward Margo’s room. Martin still followed after me.

“Do you need any help?”

I shook my head, “No. You should check in on Prince Nathan.” Martin scoffed.

“Oh, Nathan’s fine.”

Martin stopped in his tracks, “Are you sure you don’t need any help?”

I nodded, “Yes. I’m sure.”

Martin sighed, “Okay. I’ll leave you be then. Just let me know.” His voice sounded defeated and he looked down towards the ground.

I’m not sure what to think of Martin. He seemed nice but how do I know if he truly is nice? He spent his time following me, which is creepy. He seemed to want to help me but was this help a ploy to get to know me better? I’ve concluded that people are tricky and weird. 

~~~~~

Margo was in her room. She was sitting on her bed and writing in her journal. Her eyes were focused on what she was writing, so much so that she didn’t realize I had entered until I closed the door with a resounding click. She looked over at me and smiled. She jumped out of bed almost immediately.

“I haven’t seen you all day,” she says as she goes up and hugs me. I return the hug. “Dad, wants me to spend more time with Prince William and Prince Nathan today. I was thinking we start with William first,” she goes on. 

I nodded, “That sounds great,” I responded and she let go of our embrace, “What were you thinking of doing?”

Margo sighed, “Dad thinks it would be a good idea to do an ice cream bar or we try to bake a cake.”

I nod, “You can’t bake, so we can do an ice cream bar.”

Margo lets out another sigh, “Dad wants to do the cake. He thinks that the cameras can get some good shots of us.” She started to make her way back to her bed and sat down on it. “I guess any time to learn something new is now,” she added as she picked up her journal and looked at it. Her hand creases the cover. 

“How did the talk with the Princes go?” I asked her.

She sits frozen, her hand no longer moving and she turns to look at me.

“How did your talk go?” she asked.

“Fine,” I answered.

Margo nodded, “It could have gone better for me. None of them feel right.” She shook her head, “I hope eventually one of them will stick, but right now I don’t like any of them. It feels so. Forced. Dad said it won’t eventually, that I will fall in love one day.” She turned away from me and slowly stood up, “Maybe I am not cut out for this love business or maybe they just aren’t my type.” She mumbled it loud enough for only me to hear. I took a step towards her. 

“Love takes time,” I said.

Margo looked over at me and smiled, “Yeah.” She took a moment and looked away from me, “Let’s hope I fall in love with one of the Princes.” She continued. I could only stare at her as she sat on the bed looking away. I truly hope she could.

~~~~~

We decided to spice things up when it came to what Margo wore. White was easy to get messy and stained, so we decided on a green a-line square dress that went down to her calves. The sleeves were puffed and she still wore her rabbit mask. Margo stared in the mirror and spun in a circle with a laugh. She stopped and stared at me. She looked great.

“Okay, let’s not keep Prince William waiting,” I said reaching out for her hand. Margo looked down at my hand and slowly reached for it. She grabbed it with a soft grip and took a few steps toward me. We were face to face if we weren’t wearing. She froze in place as she looked at me. I could hear her light breaths. Her eyes darted to the side and she smirked. She took me with her and we spun in a circle for a moment. Her laughs filled the room and I started to laugh until we fell upon the piled-up teddy bears.

“What do you think would happen if we hide here?” She asked in a whisper.

“We would get in trouble,” I whisper back.

“In a world where we won’t get in trouble, what would happen?”

I took a moment to think of what would happen. I imagine Margo and me in this dressing room changing and wearing the best outfits we could find. We would laugh at each other when we wore silly outfits and dance together after finding the perfect outfits.

“Not sure,” I answered Margo, “But I know that I don’t want an earful from the head maid.”

“Yeah, that doesn’t sound like a lot of fun,” Margo said with a huff as she let go of my hand and started to make her way toward the door.

The kitchen at Akamore Castle is one of the biggest rooms in the castle. It sits on the first floor and has black and copper tones. Black cabinets and countertops line the wall and have copper cooking ware on top or hanging from the white walls. Prince William was waiting in the kitchen with Marcus. William wore a gray three-piece suit, and Marcus wore a matching two-piece suit. I almost felt underdressed since I was wearing my usual outfit. My eyes darted over to the cameras that were set up and ready to go. I also noticed that everything the two needed was set up and prepared. All they would need to do was follow the recipe. I went to the sidelines with Marcus.

Prince William was jumpy and Margo stood next to them. William was like a walking ball, all curled up in themself. I could see them swallow hard as they turned to face Margo.

“H-hello,” William said bringing a hand out for Margo to take. Margo took it gently.

“Hi,” she said as she took their hand, “Let’s see what the recipe card says. Huh, red velvet?” Margo grabs the recipe card and looks over it. William looks over at Margo, “I like red velvet.” They add. Margo looks at William and nods.

“Really? So do I.” She answered as she reached for a bowl. William let out a breath and took the card, they read it, went toward the stove, and started to pre-heat it.

“I’ve never been a fan of chocolate like I like it, but it can be too much sometimes. Red velvet is chocolate but isn’t too chocolatey,” they said as they walked toward Margo. Margo reaches for the bag of flour.

“Cake is cake, I just like eating cake,” Margo said as she poured some flour into a bowl. William got closer and watched from behind her. Margo turned her head and the two faced each other. Margo took a step back and so did William, both seeming startled by the other.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize I was that close,” William says. Margo shook her head,

“You’re fine… Let’s get back to the cake,” she said as she turned away.

The two of them started the cake, pouring the ingredients into a bowl until the two came upon the cocoa powder. Margo stared at the open container as William handed her the copper tablespoon.

“We just need two tablespoons,” they said as they looked at the recipe card.

“Did you ever want to just eat cocoa powder?” Margo asked as she stared at the cocoa powder, “I just want to eat a spoonful,” Margo added as she looked over at William. She looked back down at the cocoa powder as she started to scoop a tablespoon. William shook their head as they placed the recipe card down.

“I wouldn’t do that,” they said as they turned their head to look at Margo, “It isn’t that.” But it was too late, she already stuffed the tablespoon in her mouth. Her face turned red and she brought a hand up to her face to cover her mouth as she began to cough. Particles of brown dust crept through the creases of her hands. A cloud of brown dust emerged from the hand, she kept a constant cough and even more came out each time.

“Ahh, let me get you some water,” William said in a panic as they ran to the sink and grabbed the nearest glass cup to fill it with water. A camera followed in William’s direction. Margo reached for a paper towel with her free hand as she continued to cough. I took a step forward, only for Marcus to block me with a hand.

“Don’t,” he whispered. It made me freeze, unsure of what to do. Margo needed help and I should help her.

We watched as Margo spit out what she could into the paper towel that was now stained brown. William rushed over with a cup of water and handed it to her, the camera still panned after William. She immediately drank it, chugging it down until there was nothing left. She let out a breath and another cough. William began to pat her on the back. Everything was going to be okay. William...

She didn’t need me.

“Are you okay,” they asked as they stopped patting. Margo looked at them, their faces meeting and eyes meeting each other. 

“I think so,” she said. The two stared at each other for a moment before Margo started to let out a laugh which caused William to start to laugh.

“Why are you laughing at me,” Margo said in between laughs.

“I can’t help it, I laugh when people laugh,” William said.

The two laughed for another moment and then stopped. Both crouched down holding their stomachs from the pain that came from laughing too much.

“Well. I wouldn’t recommend doing that,” Margo said slowly standing up and looking at the mess she made. She looked down at William and held her hand out to them. They looked at her hand and gently took it, their face slightly red from the laughing. She pulled them up. The two stared at each other until William looked away, the red still on their face while Margo’s started to disappear.

“We should get back to the cake,” they said as they looked down at the counter.

“Yeah. We should,” Margo said looking down at the cocoa powder as she started scooping two tablespoons of it into the bowl. A cameraman stepped closer to the two and now blocked my view.

I could hear Marcus let out a sigh beside me, “Do you think they would make it together,” he asked me. I looked at Margo and William as they went bake baking the cake. Margo would look over at William and hold a conversation about how the cocoa powder was a mistake and that it lies about being sweet. Then the two would laugh about it. They acted like good friends and I wasn’t sure if I entirely liked it. I could feel something emerge from my chest, something that I can’t describe. My heart felt like it slowed, trying to warn me that this wasn’t right. Perhaps my heart, or my gut, was trying to warn me. I don’t think anyone will ever meet my expectations for Margo, and I am worried about this. I chose not to respond to Marcus who only let out another sigh.  

“Someone will have to, Suki. Whether you like it or not.”