So This is Love (Disney Twisted Tales) - Elizabeth Lim Page 0,30
a servant he’d never seen. She wore a lavender sash, with a wig slightly too large for her head. Her eyes were the clearest shade of blue he’d ever seen.
He stopped to greet her—he always made an effort to welcome the newer staff, but his words were hasty and rushed; he didn’t want to keep Aunt Genevieve waiting.
Yet as soon as he continued on his way, he regretted not having spoken longer to the new girl.
There was something about her . . . the blueness of her eyes had arrested him in his place. A hint of sadness had touched them when he’d spoken, and he wondered why. Part of him wished he could go back to her and make her smile.
A mad possibility entered his mind. It made no sense at all, yet he couldn’t get it out of his head. She’d looked so familiar. . . .
No, it couldn’t be her.
It had to be the sash, he reasoned. He hadn’t seen any of the servants wear lavender, his aunt’s color, in a long time. Yes, that was it.
His mind made up, he made for the hidden panel in the wall where the servants entered and exited the royal dining room. The first person he encountered was just the one he was looking for.
“Madame Irmina, I was hoping you could help me with something.”
“But of course, Your Highness.” She beamed.
“Thank you.” Charles cleared his throat. “The new girl serving my aunt,” he began, not at all sure what he was trying to get out of the conversation but unable to stop himself from asking. “What’s her name?”
“The new girl?” Madame Irmina tilted her head. “I do not know who you mean, Your Highness.”
“She . . . she reminds me of someone.” The prince shook his head. “Never mind, it’s—”
“Oh, you must mean Louisa’s street urchin. Yes, she was assigned to your aunt this morning.”
“Ah.” Hearing his voice brighten, he cleared his throat self-consciously. “I believe so. But what do you mean, street urchin?”
Madame Irmina’s composure wavered, and she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “A slip of the tongue, Your Highness. My niece brought the girl in this morning. She had nowhere else to go.”
“This morning,” Charles repeated. “So she only just arrived.”
“Yes. Just. Sounds like she’s an orphan, poor thing.”
He sighed. An orphan with nowhere else to go. His father and the duke were convinced his mystery maiden was of noble birth, but her guilelessness and the earnest way she’d spoken to him weren’t anything like the ladies at court he’d met. Still, common sense dictated that no penniless orphan could be the young lady he’d danced with, a girl with glass slippers and a pale blue gown that shone like moonlight.
But those eyes . . . he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d seen them somewhere before.
“Thank you for your help.”
Madame Irmina curtsied. “It is my pleasure, Your Highness. I haven’t had a chance to tell you this personally until now, but everyone in the household is so happy to have you home from your studies.”
“And I have looked forward to returning,” replied Charles. He gave a slight, grateful bow of his head. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
It wasn’t a lie, not entirely. He had been looking forward to returning to the palace and seeing his father. But was he happy to be back? Of that, he wasn’t quite so sure.
Four years at the Royal University of Aurelais had changed him. He’d lived in a dormitory instead of a palace, and his professors had called him by his name instead of his title. His classmates whispered behind his back, turning up their noses at him for sending away his valet and for staying in the university dormitory instead of at one of his father’s nearby estates, but he’d never minded. He relished not being reminded of his royal status at every turn.
The girl at the ball was the first person he had ever met who seemed to want to get to know him for him, not because he was the crown prince of Aurelais. She’d had no idea he was the prince, and Charles could not forget how refreshing that was, how wonderful it’d been to simply talk to her.
She hadn’t cared about his title, and he wouldn’t care about hers. Whatever—whoever she was, he was utterly smitten all the same.
But she had vanished, and with each passing day, Charles despaired that he would never see her again.