Page 60 of Royal Rebel

“The wedding starts when you get there, girl.” Shannon smirks.

“You’ve got a point.” I laugh.

I know I sit in the chair for hours, but it literally feels like minutes as I wait for my hair and makeup to be done. I’m transformed from someone who had minimal sleep the night before to someone who looks like they’ve had the best night of sleep ever. My hair, which had been a wreck, now looks perfect. My makeup is natural yet dramatic at the same time. I don’t look painted on, but just a better version of myself, which is exactly what I wanted.

“It’s time for the dress,” someone says.

My hands shake and my heart pounds. Putting on the dress means it’s official. I am on my way to becoming a royal.

“Are you ready?” Shannon asks, grasping my shaking hands.

“As I’ll ever be.”

She and I walk into a dressing room off from the bed. I take off my robe, revealing the lingerie I’m wearing underneath. She’s the only person I would be comfortable sharing this with besides Tristan.

“Ohhh girl.” She whistles softly, giving me a wink. “I wondered what you’d wear underneath it.”

It’s a lace bodysuit, with an underwire bra, in the samewhite as my gown, allowing me to show off the small amount of cleavage I have. “Is it too much?” I ask her seriously.

“No.” She shakes her head, “It’s amazing.”

Her gaze goes down to the garters held in place by a white garter belt. “He’ll have so much fun taking that off of you.”

Truth be told, I can’t wait. The moment we come together as man and wife will be worth all of the crap we’ve been through these past six months.

“Should I put my shoes on first?”

“Yes.” She nods at my question. “We’ll put the dress over your head.”

Stepping into my heels feels like a big moment. Like I’m stepping into a whole new personality, or just perhaps a whole new life. Truthfully I am, and this is one of the defining moments.

“Arms up.”

I do as Shannon asks, watching with my eyes lifted to the sky. She’s called in a few helpers and they’re putting the dress over my head. On impulse, I close my eyes, wanting to be able to feel everything about the dress being put on me. The lace softly scraps my skin, the satin makes a noise as the waist of the dress is settled into place. There’s lots of fluffing and people speaking, making sure the material has kept its shape. It’s got slight padding at the hips to make my waist appear smaller. One of the things I didn’t realize was an option.

“Okay, Amelia, time for the tiara.”

This was maybe the hardest part of what I had to do, pick out which tiara to wear. My jewelry was either gifts from my family or Tristan, but the tiara is a gift from theroyals. It’s on loan from the people, and I wanted to make sure I picked out the perfect one.

In the end, I picked the same one Tristan’s mother got married in. It’s got over a thousand diamonds and encased in a platinum finish. I know Tristan wanted her to be here, so I hope when he sees this, he knows she’s in my heart as well.

“You’re ready, my queen,” Shannon whispers.

My eyes snap open and I can’t believe the person staring back at me in the mirror. This can’t be real life. She looks poised, elegant, and much more mature than my years. I look at Shannon who smiles.

“I am ready, aren’t I?”

“Yes, yes you are.”

“You look beautiful, Amelia.”

My dad’s voice always calms me in the middle of any storm I’m in. “Thank you, Daddy.” I hug him tightly.

When we pull back, he makes sure my veil doesn’t get stuck.

“We’re proud of you,” he whispers. “Proud of the woman you’ve become, and so happy with the life you’re going to build for yourself. To show you how proud we are, I brought you something.”

“Dad, you didn’t have to.”

---