Free Web NovelChapter 123: Chapter 123
Henri woke the next day to find his personal maids lined up at the edge of his bed. They had immediately returned to him as soon as he came back from college, they would have to leave when his parents return but for now they would make the most of their chance to take care of the Prince again.
"Your Highness." Annette murmured, curtseying, the other three mimicking her action. "Word has come in that you will be receiving quite a number of visitors today." She said in a rush, hoping to deliver the news quickly.
Henri quickly rose to his feet, his friends had said that they would be paying him a visit at the castle but he hadn’t known it would be this soon. It was welcome though because he was already sick of being all alone in the huge castle.
It didn’t help that he had nothing to do, he couldn’t even spend some time with his parents because they had gone on a trip.
"How early," He muttered to himself, to the maids he said, "Ask the kitchens to prepare enough breakfast to feed at least seven." He directed. "You may all leave."
Annette made the first move, she bowed and silently walked out of Henri’s chambers with the other three in tow.
"Did he just say prepare breakfast for seven?" Denise whispered to the others as they made their way down the hallway in front of Henri’s chambers.
Annette led the way to the kitchens, they had to relay Prince Henri’s message to the cooks.
"That means he already knew they would be coming?" Cassie chipped in.
"Maybe he even invited them." Annette voiced in disbelief.
Besty hung a little bit behind the trio, she was more concerned by the fact that Prince Henri had dismissed them so he didn’t need their help with bathing or cleaning.
Back in his chambers, a while later, Henri was already getting dressed. He never imagined that it would ever get this easy for him to button up his sleeves, college did have a lot of uses. He hoped that Dodie would come along as well, they still had a race to participate in.
A knock rapped on his doors just as he was about to leave, he expected it to be the maids and was a little surprised when the doors weren’t automatically opened up for them by his guards.
"Enter." He allowed, watching with curious eyes as the large doors swung open.
"I decided to come to get you myself for breakfast." Audie grinned, respectfully staying outside his chambers.
"I’m surprised my guards didn’t run you through with their spears." Henri stepped out to meet him, walking beside Audie to the dining room.
Audie moved a little distance away from Henri at his words, "Did you order them to?" He asked fearfully. freёwebnovel.com
Henri laughed easily, "Did your older sister come along?" He eagerly changed the subject.
Audie’s expression soured at this, "Unfortunately, I couldn’t stop her."
In the dining room, the others were already seated. Without Audie in the room, the other five were quiet and a little nervous. This was understandable as they had never been to the castle before.
Celine was seated right next to Errol, Nael on his other side, the both of them constantly vying for his attention. Nael clearly had no qualms dragging with a seven-year-old for the attention of his boyfriend.
When Henri showed up, pleasantries were exchanged and then they sat to eat.
"Can I sit beside you, Your Highnesses?" Celine said, her voice ringing clearly like a bell.
Henri was surprised by this, he knew Celine because her brothers tended to talk about her to everybody but he was yet to meet her in person. "Sure..." He agreed easily.
"It’s Highness if you’re referring to just one person, Cel." Errol leaned down to whisper to her, his strawberry blonde hair done up in spectacular bunches.
This time, Errol was the only victim of Celine’s aspiring hairdressing talents, Valentin seemed to have evaded her somehow.
"Can I... Can I sit beside you, Your Highness?" Celine tried again, her voice steady. frёeωebɳovel.com
Henri smiled despite himself, "You can call me Henri, and sure, come."
Dodie made a disgruntled sound, "I was already sitting beside him."
"Too bad," Celine said in a singsong manner, tilting her head from side to side. "I asked Henri and he said yes."
"But I was here first," Dodie countered, unwilling to back down.
It was clear that it was something they all did, they treated Celine like she was the same age as they were so arguing with the witty seven-year-old seemed to be a common occurrence.
Dodie got up without hesitation when Celine came over, helping her get on the high chair before settling down on the next seat.
Random conversation flowed around the table, Henri finding out that Audie might have lied a little to get them all permission to visit him. If the servants noticed how bright and open Henri now was, they kept their findings to themselves.
After breakfast, they retired to Henri’s receiving room to relax for a bit before Dodie jumped to her feet and requested that they go on the race.
Apparently, Lady Johann and Mrs. Carew would be coming to get them hours before lunch because they were wary of their children being their usual selves without supervision at the Royal Castle.
The race between Henri and Dodie was disrupted for the second time because Celine wanted to ride with Henri, and no one could turn her down. They all ended up taking a leisure horse ride together, Nael insisting on riding with Errol although there were more than enough horses in the stables to go around.
Henri went out in person to see his friends off, a little awkward at how deferential his friend’s mothers were being. He found that it was easier for those younger to treat him like an average person than the older generation.
It was easy to convince them both to let their children visit the Royal Castle as often as they wanted, and Henri took advantage of this. If they visited often during the course of the holiday maybe it wouldn’t be so lonely and boring as he feared it would.
