Oh My, I Messed Up the Story

It turned out I was more tired than I thought. My nap lasted until the ball was almost over and someone frantically burst into the room looking for us so we could stand and look regal while the king gave a speech about how our union would benefit Annalaias.

I brushed the powder off Al's jacket as best I could—it was unbelievable that it all came from my face—and he quickly straightened a few loose pins in my hair before we headed back out.

The inevitable chewing out came the next morning at breakfast but I think we actually got off easy.

A few snide remarks from the queen and Rosenia were the extent of our punishment. It probably would have been a lot worse if we hadn't been found in time for the closing ceremony.

Bridal lessons were over so aside from more dress fittings and having a hairstylist testing different hairdos for the day of the wedding, my schedule was nearly as free as Al's.

Edmund came over nearly every day to spend time with me. Al won him over by pulling the 52 Pick-Up trick on him. My brother thought it was hilarious and declared that he was 'alright for a prince.' Al wisely chose not to reveal that I was the one who taught him that.

With more than two people, my card game options grew and I somehow managed to gloss over where I learned them in front of Edmund, who knew that his sister had never left the earldom before coming to the capital for her debut. I think he was having too much fun to care.

It was nice playing games I thought I might never play again but at the same time I was panicking.

The wedding was a week away and with Edmund visiting we hadn't seen Marcy at all. I hadn't seen Mariela outside of meals either but that was because neither of us was willing to budge on our stances. She was less of a priority though. I needed to get this wedding called off somehow!

"Al, we should show Edmund the kitchens. He never got to have any treats from Carmine's Bakery before their star baker left. I'm sure Marcy would be happy to see us," I hinted towards the end of a rather long card game that I was losing terribly.

"I could go for a doughnut right now," he said while stretching. "I'm not good at this game anyway."

"What's a do—" I frantically waved my hands in front of me to indicate that Edmund needed to shut up NOW while Al wasn't looking because I had told him doughnuts were from home.

If my brother didn't know what they were, the lie fell apart.

Edmund swept the board with us and we headed off to the kitchens without further ado.

Al told him a bit about various parts of the castle we passed, reminding me of my first day here when he gave me a tour. Had it really only been five weeks? It seemed like years ago. Like sitting through a boring lecture at school, time goes slower when there's not much to do.

"Marcy!" I called from the entrance of the kitchen, waving so she could see us.

She looked around for the source of her name before spotting us and smiling adorably.

"Come on over!" she hollered from clear on the other side of the massive kitchen.

Edmund scanned the room with interest, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells. "This is the biggest kitchen I have ever seen."

"It does feed a lot of people," I said dryly.

"Good to see you as always, Your Highnesses," Marcy said with a curtsy.

"And here I thought you were finally calling me by my name," I complained.

She still called Al 'Prince Alpheus' but she'd been calling me Katie for some time now. Was it Edmund?

Ah. She didn't know who he was or his rank. The thought of Edmund of all people being intimidating nearly gave me an aneurysm from holding in my laughter.

"Marcy, this is my brother Edmund, the second son of the earl of du Pont. He's a pretty casual person too."

"Good old Percy is more than stuffy enough for the both of us, thank you very much," Edmund said cheerfully. "Nice to meet you!"

Marcy beamed at him, responding naturally to his bright attitude. "Nice to meet you too! Any friend of Katie's is a friend of mine. She's my number one customer, you know."

"I can only imagine. Katie's sweet tooth is known for miles back in the countryside."

"Eddie!" I protested crossly.

There was no way that was true. I had barely lived there for half a year. Unless he was referring to the original Catherine.

Did she like sweets too? If so, she would have loved coming to the capital for her debut and trying pastries from Carmine's Bakery. Suddenly I was a little sad for her loss.

"Why does that not surprise me?" Al grinned. "Honestly, Katie, you're hopeless."

I wasn't hopeless! I considered myself lucky since Catherine du Pont's metabolism was far better than mine. I don't think I'd gained an ounce since being in her body.

I stuck my tongue out at him. He wasn't even surprised by it anymore, continuing to grin for all he was worth. I had more than enough comments at my expense so I changed the subject.

"What are you making today?"

"Actually, I was going to come looking for you anyway so your timing is uncanny. Today I'm testing wedding cake flavors since the big day is so close now," Marcy said. "I've already made about five but if you have any special requests be sure to let me know. In order to feed everyone the cake is going to be eight tiers high."

"Eight?!" I exclaimed, staggering backwards right into Edmund in shock.

Abby had made me watch a few baking shows back in the day. Weren't most wedding cakes 3-4 tiers at most? One of my coworkers had only had two and was perfectly fine!

How many people would it take to eat eight entire tiers of cake?! Had I even met that many people in my entire life? Royals sure did know how to do things to the max.

"I was wondering if you wanted different flavors for different tiers," Marcy said thoughtfully, ignoring my panic. "It would make the most sense to do two tiers per flavor but theoretically you could have up to eight different flavors."

"Eight flavors," I said faintly. "That's…so much cake. Where are the extra samples going?"

"They'll be sent off as today's tea time sweets, don't worry. It would be a crime to let that much cake go to waste."

"You picked the best day to bring me to the kitchens," Edmund said fervently as his mouth watered. "It's been ages since I've had cake. Calabaster doesn't have much in the way of sweets."

"Oh, you're a student? I've heard of Calabaster Academy. Is it nice there?" Marcy asked conversationally as she began pulling out different tiny plates of cake.

"For the most part. Some of the professors are a bit stuffy but it's not too bad."

I frowned. Maybe bringing Edmund here was a mistake. He was being too chatty. Al was supposed to talk to Marcy, not him!

My frown was wiped away by the first bite of cake though. It was fantastic! I had never tasted anything like it before.

"What is this? It's amazing!" I mumbled with my mouth full.

Marcy double checked my plate before answering with a smile as she fiddled with a strand of hair that had come loose from her bun.

"Lavender cake with blackberry filling. I'm glad you like it."

Rather than getting a plate of his own, Al grabbed a fork and stole a bite off mine. "You're right, this is good. I assume you'll be wanting this one then?"

I scowled at him for stealing some of my cake away before remembering there was more cake to test and I would get sick if I ate it all. "Yes."

The lemon cake with raspberry frosting was also an immediate yes but so was the almond cake with cherries, the chocolate cake filled with chocolate mousse, and the cake inspired by strawberry shortcake.

It was absolutely unfair to put so many delicious choices in front of a cake lover and try to make her choose between them.

"Marcy, these are all too good, there is no way I could ever pick," I moaned. I tried limiting myself but the cake was scrumptious and I ate way too much.

"I liked the lemon cake best," Al piped up. "Maybe we could use all the flavors but do two of those?"

"But that still leaves two tiers! I'm useless—Eddie, what was your favorite?" I asked desperately.

His face was still somewhat covered in frosting but he spoke as seriously as he could despite that.

"Personally, I liked the chocolate." He turned to Marcy. "Since my darling sister is useless, what is your favorite?"

She turned a bit pink at the attention. "Me? Oh no, I'm not fit to pick a flavor for such an important cake."

"There's no one better than you; you're the one making it! Go on, then," Edmund encouraged.

"I suppose…if I had to choose, the lavender cake is my favorite."

"So it's decided," he said with a happy clap of his hands. "Great teamwork, everyone!"