A Life Unexpected: Holly Nather Book One (Holly Nather Series) (18 page)

We wake up the next morning entangled in the sheets, and all wrapped up together. I kiss him on his cheek and get out of bed to go to the bathroom.

I hear the bathroom door open and Luke says, “I bet all the clothes are still in the room you stayed in. Want me to go get some things for you?” I don’t answer; I just stare at the wall.

“Holly?”

“Huh?” What’s wrong with me? I was so confident about all of this, about us, last night. Now I’m having doubts again.

“Are you alright?”

“I will be,” I say with a fake smile. I am a tad overwhelmed right now. Okay, I am
very
overwhelmed right now.

“What is wrong?”

“Just a little overwhelmed, that’s all. I’ve got to go see my parents; they are probably so worried.”

“Get dressed, and let’s get something to eat. Then we will go, okay?” He leaves the room to get me some clothes.

He walks back in with his arms full. “I got your makeup, hair dryer, curling iron, and some clothes.”

“Looks like there are a lot of dresses and heels,” I say while scrunching up my nose.

“Holly, you are a princess. You can wear jeans and comfy things around here, but when we have meetings and we go out, you are required to wear dresses. I know it sucks, but it is part of the title.” Having a dress code does not excite me. I sigh and roll my eyes. I’m about to argue about the dresses some more, but a knock at the door saves Luke from an ear full. “Just a minute!” Luke yells. He kisses me on the cheek and then walks out of the room.

“Where is Holly?” I hear his mother say.

“She is in the bathroom getting ready.”

“We have a lot on the agenda today. With what happened yesterday, there are a lot of questions. We need to announce the peace prophecy. It will shock many. Some will be okay with it and some won’t. There are a lot who are against bringing the worlds together. We will have to meet with the authorities. Holly needs to be on her best behavior. I know she is not used to the way things go around here, but we have no time for mistakes. See you in the dining room for breakfast. Make sure she is dressed appropriately.”

“Mother, I love her. Just give her time. She will do just fine.”

I hear his mom laugh. “Son, love can make you do stupid things.” Did she just say him marrying me was stupid? If I understood her right, that is
exactly
what she meant!

I put on a stupid dress that I would actually think is pretty if I wasn’t so mad right now. I have on black heels that make me want to curse with every step I take. I pull my hair in a side pony tail and quickly curl my hair. I walk out of the bathroom and Luke smiles as he looks at me.

“I am pretty damn lucky,” He says as he kisses me. I quickly pull away and stare at the wall. With a concerned look, Luke asks, “You heard my mother didn’t you?” I nod and walk over to the window. More like wobble to the window.
Stupid heels.
I take the heels off and throw them on the bed.

“I will try to take you home tomorrow. We have a lot to do today,” Luke says while putting his hand on my lower back.

“Is it always going to be like this?” I ask while looking out the window.

“Holly, we will be busy. A lot. It is part of being who we are in Terre. It will become routine. You will get used to it. Let’s go down for breakfast.”

“That wasn’t what I meant. I know it’ll be busy. Can I just have a minute, please? I can’t say I’m too happy about having to eat breakfast with your mom. She hates me, Luke.”

“Give her time. She will love you. She just doesn’t know what to think about all of this. It was all so sudden.” He is trying to make me feel better about all of this, but it isn’t working.

“Yes it was.” I cross my arms over my chest and turn to look at him.

“Was what?”

“Sudden.”

He nods and then smiles. “I love you, and it is all going to be alright. Me and you—that is all that matters. If it becomes too much for you, we will go somewhere and take a break.” I give him a half smile and nod. He kisses me on the cheek. “See you at breakfast. If you get lost, you can ask a maid.” I nod and turn around to look out the window again.

He leaves the room, and I sit down on a large, oversized chair by the window. I put my head in my hands and start to cry. All of these rules, dress codes, and responsibilities have me overwhelmed on top of everything else. Back on Earth, before I met Luke, I didn’t even know what I wanted to get a degree in. I start to imagine my parents and what they are doing. I miss Max, my nerdy little brother. I open my eyes when I feel a difference in temperature. I am now in my kitchen back on earth with three pairs of eyes staring at me in complete shock.

My mom drops a plate that she is drying, and it shatters as it hits the floor. My dad is pouring coffee all over the place—totally missing his cup. Max has his headphones on, listening to music with his mouth gaped wide open.

“Um…Hey,” I say, waving my hand at them.

“Wha-….Hol-….How? How did you do that? What is going on?” My mom stutters in pure shock.

“Um….It’s a long story, but here it goes. I met a guy at college. He ended up being a prince in his world, and they all have magic there. I got a spell put on me and when they broke it, I got magic. I am married. I’m a princess in Terre, and somehow our marriage is going to create peace and open a gateway between Earth and Terre.” They all start laughing. They think I’m lying! Didn’t they just see me suddenly appear in the kitchen?

I look at the broken plate in the floor and make it whole again. “Ta-da!”

All three of them are looking at me like I’m crazy. I laugh. “I hate to just leave again, but Luke is going to freak when he sees that I’m gone. I need to get back, but I’ll be back soon. I promise!” I give my motionless mom, dad and brother a quick hug.

I imagine that I’m back in mine and Luke’s room. When I open my eyes, I’m back in the chair again. I have no clue how the hell I just transported myself there and back. I doubt I’ll be able to do it again. I must’ve gotten lucky.

I sigh heavily. I hated to just leave my parents like that, but I have a responsibility to Terre now. I could whine all day about not being ready for this life, but I am the one who chose it. I’m their princess and future queen. I need to gain their trust. Time to put on my big girl panties, suck it up and get on with my new life. Breakfast with the in-laws….I can’t wait. Hear my sarcasm?

I BET EVERYONE
in this castle can hear my steps as I make my way to breakfast. My high heels are clicking and clanking loudly on the marble floors. Surely no one will mind if I slip them off.

Walking with my heels in my hands, I round the corner and see Luke and his parents sitting down to eat breakfast. They haven’t started eating yet, probably waiting on me. Luke’s mom looks in my direction. Her eyes meet briefly with mine before finally resting upon the shoes in my hand.
Oops
. By the look on her face, this is not acceptable behavior. I slip them back on as covertly as I can at this point and walk to my place at the table next to Luke. His mom sits up straighter than she already was, an angry expression plastered on her face.

I am preoccupied, being overwhelmed by all the different kinds of silverware when Luke grabs my hand under the table. I love how his touch always makes my heart skip a beat. I look at him and smile unsurely. Who needs all of this to eat eggs?

Whispering in my ear, Luke says, “Don’t worry about getting it right. There is a lot for you to learn, and they know that. By the way, you look beautiful this morning.” I roll my eyes and give him a half-smile.

I really don’t know how to not worry about getting everything right. Doing everything wrong is only going to make his mom hate me more. I sigh out loud, place my elbow on the table, and rest my head on my hand.

Apparently, I’m not supposed to do this either. I’m making this assumption based off the disgusted look on the Queen’s face. I quickly sit up straight and place my hands in my lap. Did you know that if you re-arrange the letters in
‘mother-in-law’
you can create the phrase
‘woman Hitler’
? Just an interesting thought.

“Do mortals not have manners?” Queen Estella asks with a disgusted expression.

Hello?? Am I not in the room? Am I nothing more than a piece of dirt on the floor you would like someone to sweep away? Yeah, I am sure that would please you.

“Mother, her name is Holly. She is my wife and the princess of our world now… And, yes, she has manners. This is all new to her. She will have to learn our ways here.”

Luke grabs a slice of toast and offers me a piece. I take it, although, I’m really not in the mood to eat right now. I do know what I would like to do with my plate of food, however. I smile inwardly as I envision throwing it at the queen. At least that awful expression she always wore in my presence would be temporarily hidden. Revitalized by the scenario my imagination had just constructed, I cheerfully go to stick a fork in my sausage. It is at this time that I realize my plate is not sitting in front of me. It is in the Queen’s face.

Once, when I was a child, my mother told me I couldn’t touch anything in a store that we were going into. It was a store with very expensive things in it. I tried my best to obey her request, but I couldn’t help it. I was five, and things were shiny. I picked up a really pretty glass jar and ended up dropping it. I barely remember it shattering in the floor because my mom swiftly grabbed me up and scolded me all the way to the car. I found out later that one single cup cost over $100.00. You bet my mom was mad. The look in her eyes could have burned holes into any object that had the misfortune of meeting her fiery gaze.

The anger the queen is displaying at this moment is nothing compared to that of my mom’s. It is much,
much
worse.

Luke is on the verge of laughing but is smart enough not to let the sound escape his mouth. The king is handing his wife napkins and saying soothing things to try to calm her down. I, on the other hand, am steadily sinking lower into my chair, wishing that I was anywhere but here.

“What were you thinking?” Luke whispers.

I shrug my shoulders and try not to laugh. “I have no idea how that happened. I was just thinking I would like my plate to be in her face… I didn’t know it would actually happen!” I cover my face with my hands. This all is extremely embarrassing.

“We really need to get your magic under control. Until you gain control, you have to be careful with your thoughts.” Luke really wants to laugh, but instead he runs his hands through his hair and stands up. “Mother, she just needs to learn control. It was an accident.”

Maybe I should apologize… What if I’m
not
truly sorry, though? She is the one who should apologize to me. This is all new to me; does she not realize that? I’m sure she does. She, obviously, simply does not care.

The topic is dropped rather quickly. Nothing else is said, and everyone starts eating again.
Thank God.
I don’t bother fixing myself another plate. Instead, I just watch everyone else eat. I’m not in the mood to eat. I’m too embarrassed. To further ‘help’ matters, I have clearly been labeled the worst thing to happen to Terre.