Page 49 of His Dragon Princess

The woman chuckled but didn’t look up from her task. “At least they were happy tears.”

Hmm.... true.

After the fitting, I had breakfast in my room, my mom and other servants bringing me various wedding-related things to make decision about. Flower arrangements. Colored fabrics. Food choices. She had me tasting soups, desserts, meats.

I laughed as my mother shoved yet another plate of food at me. This time, it was a platter of roast vegetables. “This is like my birthday, but ten times as lavish.”

“Well, I’m trying to shove three months’ worth of organization into one day, sweetheart.”

I picked up the fork and readied myself to taste. “You’re not mad though, are you Mom?”

She shook her head. “Oh no. We probably would have killed each other if we’d had three months to fight over table settings. Imagine it! This way, we haven’t fought at all. We don’t have time!”

I tasted two of the potatoes and pointed. “That one’s better.”

She nodded and took the plate away to replace it with pumpkins.

I looked up at her. “You really think we would have killed each other?”

She laughed. “Probably not sweetheart, but you got your forthright manner from me, and when there’s a tight deadline, we both shine. So today is going to be amazing!”

She was right. I gave her my sunniest smile before digging into the roast pumpkin, then my doors burst open.

“Dragon daughter!” Vanya came marching into the room with her sister. “I can’t believe you’re Iain’s mate! We all practically fell over when we heard.”

I jumped up and ran to the girls I’d always looked up to. I launched at them, hugging them tight. “I doubt you were as shocked as me, but there is one amazing bonus to becoming Iain’s wife.”

“What’s that?” Vanya asked.

I beamed at them. “I finally get to have you both as sisters!”

Everyone squealed and another tray was wheeled in, this time full of cocktails and wines.

Mom walked over to the trays and grabbed a drink. “Come and join the party, ladies. Time to get ready!”

The next few hours were bliss, surrounded by the powerful women in my life. My mom, Marienne and Lucy, my aunts and all their offspring. We laughed, told stories and had too many cocktails including some I’d learned to mix while nannying in Greece.

When the maids came to do my hair and makeup, my beautiful family left me alone to get ready themselves. The only one who stayed, other than the maids, was Marienne.

She sat back and watched as one of the maids curled my hair and another applied makeup to my face. “Does everything look okay?” I asked the Queen of the Black Mountains. This sort of thing was so out of my comfort zone.

“Oh yes,” Marienne said, her purple eyes soft as she smiled at me. “As you know, I don’t have a daughter, and on my son’s wedding days, I stayed with them rather than joining in with the women. Today has been lovely.”

“I’m so glad you could join us,” I said, sounding far too much like my mother with the political and polite response.

I frowned, then shook myself.

Marienne laughed. “Yes, Veronica. You are a queen, in your heart and in your blood. Never doubt that.”

And with those words, she stood up, kissed me on the forehead, and left the room.

I watched her go, then looked into the mirror, staring at the reflection of a woman who looked nothing like the girl I’d been yesterday. “That... I... thank you.” I lifted my hand to touch my hair, amazed at how great a job they’d done.

“Now, let’s get you into your dress, Princess.”

The maids stood me up, pulled my dress on and did up the buttons. When I finally walked over to look at the mirror again, even I was impressed with what had been pulled together in a day.

A knock at the door and a male clearing of the throat told me my father was here. “Come in, Dad!”

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