"What does an appeal for judicial reform mean to the monarchy?" King Richard asked.

Yes, that was how he began a conversation with his son. No 'hello', no 'how are you?'.

Didn't he even wonder where Nick had been all this time? He didn't seem to care. A lousy hug seemed enough for him and apparently Nick as well, because he too got right into answering the question.

"A challenge to its authority" Nick's voice was calm and collected. All three of them seemed to think this was normal.

Naturally, I just sat quietly waiting to be addressed as you would when in private audience with a monarch.

"And how would you handle this challenge?"

Without wasting a breath, Nick answered, "By rounding up their secretaries and councilors. They would have received the appeals and reviewed them. They are responsible".

The king nodded. He seemed pleased.

"The intricacies of government always came easy to you, my son. I always wished your brother was like you in that regard. Isn't that right, my queen?"

She nodded gracefully. Her range of motion was so limited you would have expected her to break if she exerted herself any further.

"I have a task for you" The king spoke again.

I listened carefully. I briefly wondered which came first, the commanding voice he possessed or kingship? Nick didn't have it. Neither did Theodore.

"Focus on publicizing your relationship. Be seen together, clear all suspicions. When there is no shadow of a doubt about you, we will discuss the next steps."

"Yes father" Nick answered obediently.

"I will have Percival schedule both of you for a tour of the capital. Be affectionate with each other. I expect that will not be a problem."

"No, father".

Nick who never missed an opportunity to let his thoughts known was being so obedient. It was kind of off-putting.

"Good, and you..."

When I realised the King was speaking to me, my heart skipped a beat.

"Yes sir" I answered as though I was addressing a commanding officer. I didn't even know where that had come from.

He seemed amused.

"It's 'Your Majesty'" Nick whispered to me.

"Your Majesty" I corrected.

"You will receive your contract in the morning. Sign it and begin your duties"

He paused.

"Yes your majesty" I filled the silence.

"Your role here is crucial. Usually I wouldn't leave such an important task to someone like you" he sighed "... but you are uniquely suited for this, so I'll allow it."

I stayed silent while keeping my gaze locked on him.

"Son.." Queen Arabella spoke again "Your father and I understand you believe this to be your nature but still you must prepare to marry... a real woman"

"Yes Mother"

"What we do is for the good of the kingdom." The king added "We will allow this arrangement for now but eventually the games will have to end".

He was looking at me when he said that. There would be no argument from me. The last thing I wanted was to do this forever anyway. No, I was here only to make enough money to never work again. That was it.

I had my contract to look forward to.

=^..^=

Eventually I'd been dismissed and was now being led by a guard through the castle. Nick had been asked to stay back so I hoped they were finally giving him that much needed welcome but somehow I doubted that.

The guard hadn't said any more words to me after requesting I follow so I stayed quiet and just admired what was easily the most jaw dropping scenery you've ever seen.

Every room or hallway I passed through managed to amaze me just as much as the last. After climbing several flights of stairs and even more halls, the guard finally announced that we had arrived.

I wondered how I would ever learn to navigate this castle that felt much like a maze.

When he opened the door for me, I was greeted by a beautiful large bedroom covered in welcoming pastel colours.

Inside stood two girls who were probably around my age wearing relatively simple black dresses. Upon closer inspection, I noticed one of the girls' dresses had subtle golden trimmings.

"Hello" I said softly as I walked through the door. I did a small turn to get a better look at the whole room.

"My lady" One of the girls spoke "I am Gwen and this is Celeste. We will be serving you"

I turned back to see them finishing a slight bow.

"Hi" I said again.

"Celeste will be handling your day to day care but I will assist in preparing you for big events" Gwen with the gold trimmed dress said.

"We're both aware of the situation so there's no need to worry" she continued "But please refrain from speaking about it in public or anywhere anyone might hear"

I walked passed the girls and took a seat on the bed. It was soft. Comfortable.

I started to unbuckle the sandals and Celeste quickly rushed and took over. I let her.

"If there is anything you need, please let either of us know" Gwen finished.

"I need wifi" I told her immediately it came to mind.

She nodded. "I will have to relay that request to Sir Percival"

"Alright"

"Your documents are on the vanity. Shall I retrieve them for you?"

I shook my head. I would read them later. Now I needed to rest.

Celeste who had finished removing the sandals and had placed them neatly in the wardrobe returned to massage my feet.

I hadn't asked her to but it felt nice so I let it happen. I didn't yet know how to feel about the situation.

Were they really going to do whatever I asked? Somehow it felt wrong. They were people even if they didn't seem to mind.

I didn't know if Celeste actually enjoyed the work but she had a pleasant expression on her face that made it seem like she did.

"Dinner is in an hour, my lady" she continued. "Celeste will help you freshen up before then. Will that be all?"

I could only let out a soft moan as an affirmation. Celeste's trained hands felt amazing after the long day of walking in those heels.

The fitted bodice of my dress had grown uncomfortable and so would definitely be the next to go.

"I will take my leave then" Gwen stated before bowing one more time and heading for the door.

"Is the dinner with the King and Queen?" I remembered to ask Celeste as soon as Gwen closed the door behind her and we were left alone.

"No, my lady" Celeste answered. "The royal family takes their dinner privately. Yours will be brought here"

I realised this was the first time I'd heard her voice. She sounded young. I briefly wondered about her age before remembering I could just ask her.

"How old are you?"

"Nineteen, my lady"

Three years younger than me. Well, five years now.

"Do you have to call me 'my lady' everytime?"

She didn't answer. Was she allowed to ignore me?

"Can you just call me by my name Mor... Amelia?" I asked her. It was going to get exhausting hearing that title all day long.

"I will do as you request but I must address you properly whenever we are in public"

"That's fine. And that's enough" I moved my feet out of her hands which caused her to stand and resume her original stance with both hands in front of her, one covering the other.

My back ached. I stood up.

"I need to remove this dress" I said.

A moment later she was unzipping the red dress and granting me freedom from my satin prison. She moved the straps off my shoulder and held the dress in place for me to step out of it.

She really wasn't going to let me do anything. Not that I was complaining.

With the dress completely off, that left just the bra that covered the breast forms and the gaff.

I walked towards the large full size mirror to get a better look at my new form. It looked to me that my lack of breasts had been crucial to keep a somewhat male structure to my body.

Now though, the female form was complete and there was no denying it.

Through the mirror, I could see Celeste suppressing a smile.

"What is it?" I asked with my own smile through the mirror.

She immediately ceased.

I turned to her and frowned.

"I want us to be friends" I said to her "I wish you would be open with me"

She seemed reserved so I walked up to her and took her hand. This seemed to shock her. It felt like I had so many enemies already. I could use someone looking after me, and not just as a job.

"Please?" I asked with a smile.

I could see her inhibitions slowly fade away.

"We were told about you this afternoon. I didn't believe it was possible. I thought it wasn't possible for a man to pretend to be a royal lady"

I let go of her hand and turned back to the mirror, "And now?"

"You are beautiful. More beautiful than many real women" she said to me.

How should I have felt about that? Proud? Hurt?

"Why would they even tell you?" I asked still studying myself in the mirror. She was right, I was beautiful. "Aren't they worried you will talk?"

A sudden sadness took over her face.

"They tell us because they know we won't talk" she answered.

She seemed saddened so I didn't press.

"I want to shower" I said.

Through the mirror, I saw her nod, "I will prepare a bath".

=^..^=

After an uneventful shower and dinner, Celeste had finally left me alone but only after exphasizing that I should pull the rope next to my bed if I needed anything.

Did people really go through their entire lives not doing a single thing for themselves?

I had made a fuss about the sheer nightgown when she'd first brought it up but I had to admit, it was extremely comfortable.

A far cry from the dress from earlier, the white lace gown felt like I was clothed in clouds.

"Focus" I said to myself. I had to learn everything there was to know about Amelia.

And there was a lot to learn.

I studied the documents again with my full attention.

One interesting thing though was that Amelia had actually died in Lenoria. Only one of about 70,000 visiting visas granted that year, she'd been taking a year off after completing high school six years ago.

In her visa interview, she had said visiting Lenoria had been a dream she shared with her father who was a History teacher.

There was no information about how she died.

Her.. my parents were Henri and Jennifer Beaumont.

'Both parents are alive and living in America' I read the words of the page to myself. How did that work?

What did they feel about some random girl posing as their deceased daughter?

According to the story, Amelia lived in Lenoria until three years ago when she met and fell in love with the Prince Nicholas which caused them to run away together.

So it seemed Nick and I had been together already for some time. Which didn't leave any room for awkwardness in our relations.

I decided I was tired and would read the rest the next day. I didn't know if it was the softness of the bed, the nightgown or the day I'd had but soon I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.

=^..^=

I awoke to the smell of eggs and opened my eyes to see Celeste pulling aside a curtain and opening a window I hadn't noticed last night.

For a second, I wondered if it might have all been a dream and I surprised myself when I felt relieved that it wasn't.

I winced at the light rays passing through the windows and hitting my eyes.

"What time is it?" I asked groggily.

"7:30 my lady" she answered.

"We talked about this" I groaned as I sat up.

I could honestly say I hadn't had such a good night sleep in a while. I wondered where Nick was this morning and why we were sleeping separately if we were supposed to be dating.

Were they worried we would actually have sex or was this just the norm?

"There is a fresh toothbrush in the bathroom"

With no complaints, I forced myself to my feet and headed for the bathroom. When Celeste began to follow, I stopped her.

"I can handle it".

=^..^=

I was met with a surprise after breakfast when Celeste requested I lift the skirt of my dress.

She had walked into my room earlier holding a tray with a lone syringe containing a clear liquid and a needle.

"What's that?" I'd asked.

"I was instructed to administer this once per week.

"Okay but what is it?" I'd asked again.

She shrugged. "I was just told to do it every week"

Okay that was worrying. I didn't think they would go through all this trouble to harm me so it probably wasn't anything bad.

Maybe some weird secret drug to make me obey? Possibly but unnecessary since I was planning to anyway.

"Can I say no?"

Celeste shook her head.

I really didn't think it was anything bad so I lifted the skirt of the knee-length purple dress she'd chosen earlier and waited for the prick.

Thankfully, it came and went and I was free to go about my day. Nothing felt different after the injection so atleast there was that.

=^..^=

Percival knocked on my door around 11am which marked my first time seeing him again after the audience with the King and Queen.

"Hello, Percy" I felt like I could say that now. I was the prince's girlfriend. That probably put me above him.

This annoyed him but he tempered his reaction. "It's Sir Percival" he replied simply as he walked through the door.

"Oh don't be like that" I said turning to walk back to my bed. "Tell me, are my parents really still alive?"

It was easy to start thinking about the Beaumonts as my real family. After all mine sucked. If my dad saw me now, he'd probably have a heart attack.

"They're actors. Do not worry about that. I have your contract. Read it and sign it" he said handing me another envelope before turning to leave.

"What about the real Beaumonts?" I asked to a back turned Percy.

"Read it and sign it" he said again before walking out the door.

There was the usual stuff you'd expect. Confidentiality, a duration of 1 year subject to renewal, behavior in public, implications for breach of contract, additional duties as required, media interaction and more.

There were two areas that really caught my attention. One was obviously the financial compensation where it was stated that I'd be getting Seven hundred and thirty five thousand euros per year which I thought was a very specific sum but also a second clause where they outlined their rights to cosmetic and surgical alteration of my body within reason to fulfill the role.

I didn't like how vague it was not specifically naming any procedures but for seven hundred thousand euros per year, they didn't need to. I wasn't passing up on over 20 times my current salary.

And so I agreed to it. I carefully placed the signed document on the vanity and pulled the rope. I'd decided I needed a walk.

=^..^=

Celeste had chosen comfortable shoes that matched the purple dress and led me through the halls of Eclipton and out the massive front door.

There were actually people outside now unlike yesterday evening when we'd arrived.

Some tended to the various ponds and others tended to the various trees and flowers. All of them stopped to look as I passed.

Celeste had returned to her stiff self and was walking a few steps behind me so I was left to entertain myself and marvel at the beautiful gardens.

Among the workers, there were those in fine garments that watched as I passed. Men and woman, young and old. I was sure they were all people of some importance but of course I had no clue who any of them were.

I could have asked Celeste for a crash course but instead I decided to play a game with myself where I would try to guess their station based on their looks, clothes and overall smugness.

"Marchioness" I said after looking at a middle aged woman wearing a funny hat.

"Minister" Older man wearing a gray suit.

"Duke"

"Councilor"

"Yes, my lady?" Celeste spoke breaking my concentration.

I waved her off.

"Marquis"

"Viscount"

I was probably wrong about all of it but it kept my occupied while I took in the evening breeze and stretched my legs.

"Countess"

"Baron"

"Princess"

That was my reaction when I saw her. An almost otherworldly beauty standing next to and admiring one of the ponds. She wore a simple green dress with a wide collar but she wore it so elegantly it looked more expensive than it probably was. Unlike most of the women in the garden, she wore her hair unshackled and free down her back.

"Who is she?" I asked Celeste promptly ending my little game.

"Lady Olivia" Celeste closed the distance between us to whisper in my ear "His Majesty's ward"

I signaled for her to go on.

"She was the daughter of the Duke of Huxley. His Majesty and the Duke were very close"

"So not a princess then" I said to myself.

"No, my lady" Celeste answered anyway.

"I told you not to call me that"

"Sorry, my lady"

I sighed.

"Is she visiting the castle?" I watched her movements. Perfect in every way. She looked like a queen.

I wanted to go talk to her.

"She lives here. She has since Huxley manor burned down" Celeste informed me.

Now that she'd said that, I could see a tinge of sadness there. I wanted to talk to her even more now.

I carefully approached. It was high school all over again. I was approaching a pretty girl hoping I could get her to see the nice guy that I was. The only difference was that guy was gone now.

"Hello" I said when I reached the pond.

"Hello" She replied. Even her voice was perfect.

"I'm Amelia"

"I know. I'm Olivia"

I know.

"Nice to meet you Olivia"

"Are you enjoying Lenoria?"

"I haven't really seen it. Just this castle, which is really beautiful"

"Well I hope you get to see it. There's places more beautiful than this" she spoke whimsically.

"Really?" I found that very hard to believe.

"In the ways that really matter" she smiled.

"Oh, okay"

"I haven't yet seen Prince Nicholas. How is he?" She asked.

I had thought she would be shy but that was proving not to be the case.

"He's fine. Though I haven't seen him today" I answered.

"When you see him, tell him I said hi"

She was pleasant. I saw an opportunity to make a friend and so I took it.

"I will. Um..." I paused to gather my words "Do you think you can show me around the castle?"

"I..." She started to say.

"Olivia, you shouldn't talk to strays" Another girl's voice cut through the air from behind me.

I turned around to see Celeste stepping aside and bowing as two girls approached. Emily from yesterday and another girl dressed in a similar fashion.

'Fuck, not this again' I thought to myself.

=^..^=

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Hello! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Just getting all the pieces in place to start the real story. Thanks for sticking around.

I'll have to apologise in advance for irregular uploads. Might be a busy couple days.

Anyway see you in the next one. Let me know your thoughts. Always love to read them.