Background
By Misha
Disclaimer- Not mine. I am not making any money off this, just borrowing for my own pleasure.
A.N- Just a short piece that popped into my head after the last chapter of the Royal Romance. How could MC possibly afford a horse on a waitresses salary? And really, while the house Beaumont might be allowed to sponsor anyone, you know the royal family would be doing background checks. Which is what gave birth to this little idea. A conversation between Eleanor (my MC) and the Queen.
Summary- The Queen and Eleanor talk about Eleanor’s life in New York.
Words- 663
Rating- G
“I feel like seeing the gardens.” Queen Regina announced imperiously. “Lady Eleanor, would you accompany me?”
“Of course, your majesty,” I answered with a smooth smile, knowing that there was no other answer. I also knew that this was an excuse to get me alone and I wondered what kind of interrogation she had in mind this time.
I had come away from every previous encounter with the feeling that I had at least won her grudging approval, but with only days until the coronation ball, I had a feeling the gloves were about to come off and I was about to face the tough questions.
“There is something I’ve been wanting to ask you,” she began once we were alone, “Why were you working as a waitress when my son met you?”
The question caught me off-guard. “What do you mean?”
“The background was quite thorough,” The queen informed me, “and that included financial records.”
“You ran a background check on me?” I asked and then nodded. “Of course you did. It only makes sense. I was the unknown element, you had to make sure that I wasn’t hiding something dreadful.”
“Exactly.” Queen Regina said, seeming impressed that I didn’t lose my temper. “We would have been foolish to allow someone we didn’t know to stay in the palace without at least looking into your background, even if you did have the backing of the House Beaumont.”
It made sense. I mean, the other women were all from well-known families, with easily traced histories. I was a waitress from New York. It had actually surprised me a little bit that no one asked me more questions. Like how a waitress could afford to buy fancy party gowns and a horse after quitting her job to run off to a foreign country. Even Drake, who must have a more realistic idea of what a regular person’s finances looked like, didn’t seem to think there was anything amiss.
“Did you find anything questionable?” I asked though I knew she hadn’t. I didn’t have anything to hide.
“Far from it.” The queen answered. “While you may not come from nobility, your background is quite good. Comfortable childhood, good education, and a happy family life until your parents were killed. That must have been quite difficult.”
“It was.” I said shortly, trying to fight off the wave of pain that came whenever I thought of them.
“After their deaths, you finished school, and then after a few months began to work as a waitress, despite the fact that they left you very well-off and you shouldn’t need to work a day in your life, if you so choose,” the Queen continued, “and that leads back to my original question, why did you choose to become a waitress?”
“Because I like people.” I answered simply. “Waitressing gave me the chance to meet a variety of people. It’s hard work, but it’s rarely dull.”
It was the truth, though only partially. However, I didn’t feel like explaining to Regina how lost I’d been and how keep busy had kept me from wallowing in my grief.
“There is something to be said about the benefits of hard work,” The Queen agreed, “too many people inherit money and just spend it foolishly, but you chose to take on a job that required hard work and long hours to support yourself and you also chose not to be idle, when you could be. It says a lot about your character.”
This wasn’t at all what I had expected when the queen summoned for a private chat. She actually seemed very impressed. “Uh, thank you.”
She smiled coolly. “You are quite welcome. You’ve been the surprise element this season, Lady Eleanor.”
I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not, so I stayed quiet.
“We should return to the others,” Queen Regina said after a moment.
I nodded and followed her out of the gardens, remembering to stay a few steps behind.
“Thank you for accompanying me on my walk, Lady Eleanor,” she said politely, “I see Prince Liam is unattended, I’m sure he would appreciate a few minutes of your time.”
The implication of that, her actually encouraging me to spend time with the prince, was unmistakable and I wondered if I had somehow down the impossible and won the Queen’s approval.
- Fin
