A Royal Internship | Complete

Chapter Twenty-Seven

He looked back at me, holding out his hand. "We're going out onto my private terrace."

"You have a private terrace?" I put my hand in his, feeling his warm fingers wrap around my own.

His gaze was intense as he pulled me through the door and didn't bother to close it behind us, "It's my favourite place in the whole world. And you mustn't tell Madeline or she'll throw a fit about fairness to Mother and I'll have to share it."

"Princess Madeline doesn't have a terrace?" I restated the obvious.

He shook his head. "She does have an entire room for her musical instruments, though. You really must ask her to show you. I'm not even a musician and I'm a little jealous."

"I'll make sure to do that." A smile crept onto my face at the thought of a whole room full of instruments.

Clarence gently tugged on my hand until I was standing in the center of the large terrace, surrounded on all four sides by great grey stone walls covered in ivy and flowering plants. The vines were all strung with small lights, accentuating the light of the moon to provide a soft glow on the stone ground. The sweet smell of flowers filled the air and the bitter cold of night nipped at my skin.

I wrapped my arms around myself to stay warm and breathed in the sheer beauty of the small space as Clarence went back towards the palace.

"You can't leave me here!" I said, feeling the fear bubble up inside me. I have no idea where I am.

"I'm not," he said, holding up his hand as though asking me to wait. "I'm just going to find the water I promised. I'll be right back."

And with that, he disappeared around a corner into the palace. I meandered around the small garden, allowing the vines of the wall to brush against my arm. When I got to the far corner, a statue caught my eye, so I stepped towards it, squinting to get a closer look.

It looked like marble, though it was hard to see in the low light, so I ran my hand along it, hoping that feeling it might give me a better idea of what it was.

I heard Clarence's footsteps against the stone floor as he closed the door to the palace, holding a bottle of water in his free hand. I watched as he walked across the small stone patio that separated us, struggling to make out his exact expression.

"I rescued that." He pointed to the statue I was admiring and handed me the water in his hand. "It's the first king of Montalivet to ever renounce the throne."

"Really?" I turned back towards it and squinted, trying to make out the details.

"Yes. They had that made — it was supposed to be for his coronation — but before he was crowned, he abdicated." Clarence took my hand in his and placed it on top of the statue. The rough marble there clearly contrasted the polished smoothness of the statue's face, which I had been admiring moments before. It was as if the top of his head had been broken off in a fall.

Clarence must have sensed my confusion, because he answered my unasked question. "That's where his crown used to be. It was struck off when he abdicated and this was supposed to be disposed of, but I rescued it."

"If it was struck off when he abdicated, and you rescued it..." I trailed off, making sure I had it right before I asked.

A moment of silence passed between us, the unspoken truth hanging heavy in the air.

"He was my uncle," Clarence spoke barely above a whisper, "And I miss him every day."

I moved my arm to put it around him, stopping myself halfway and awkwardly patting his shoulder instead. "I'm sorry. Do you not get to see him?"

He shook his head. "No. He moved overseas to be with his wife and her family. It's a long, sad story for another night."

Sensing he wanted the topic dropped, I walked away from the statue and back towards the center of the terrace. "You know? I've always wanted to try this," I said. Looking up at the sky, I reached my hands out to the side and spun in circles until I got dizzy, completely unconcerned with who might see me or what they might think. It was oddly freeing.

But when I stopped, I couldn't tell which way was up as the floor wobbled like the ocean. "Oh, that's not as much fun as they make it out to be," I laughed, stumbling over to a nearby bench.

"They?" Clarence stepped towards me as if drawn by an invisible string.

I tipped my head back and closed my eyes, trying to stop everything from spinning. "Yes, they. You know the people who make movies?"

I could feel him getting closer, so I opened my eyes to sneak a peek. Things were still spinning a little bit, but I only saw one of him, so that was a good sign.

He finished his walk across the small terrace and sat down on the other side of the bench, leaving barely six inches between us. I need to talk about something or I'll go mad.

"The stars are beautiful," I said, clearing my throat and looking up at the sky.

"That's why I come here, too," he sighed. When I looked over at him, he was looking at the stars, a content smile pulling at his lips. "I love to look at the sky in a place where no cameras or guards or staff can reach me."

As soon as he said it, I realized it was true. "Is that why I feel so calm here?" The thought I meant to keep secret slipped past my lips and hung in the air like the heavy humidity before a thunderstorm. But it was true. The terrace was the first place I'd been since I arrived where no one was around, waiting to answer my every whim, open doors, or serve me in some way. And no one was there to take my photo.

Clarence turned to face me and smiled. "We have that in common, too, maybe."

"There really isn't any privacy here, is there?" I asked, sitting up a little. "I just thought it through and I don't even know if I'm alone when I sleep."

"You are," he said it with such authority that I believed him. Clarence glanced back over at the doors to the palace. "But there are guards outside your room."

"Really?" I don't know why that surprised me. It is a palace.

"Really." He rested his head against the wall behind us and closed his eyes. "There are always eyes on you."

"I guess there's always some give and take," I offered. "It's nice to live in the palace, but the constant scrutiny is a bit unnerving. I'll grant you that."

He smiled without looking at me. "It's definitely give and take." Clarence took a deep breath and turned to face me, taking my hand in his. "But I'm glad you're here. It's more fun when you get to see people who don't work for you."

"I do work for you," I pointed out.

His eyes tinged with sadness at the words. "Technically, we work together," he reasoned, though I'm not sure which of us he was trying to convince.