The Princess & the Pauper

  "Carina," he said with a smile. "It's good to see you."

  "Markus," I replied, walking up to him and kissing him on each cheek. "I'm so sorry about what happened in America."

  "I'm sorry," Markus replied. "I'm the one who got your face in every tabloid in the world. Well... not your face, but--"

  I sat down on the sofa and looked up at him through my lashes. "I know. I feel like such an idiot for pulling off that stupid prank with Julia. I hope she didn't just drive you totally crazy."

  I watched his face for the minutest reaction at the sound of Julia's name, and my heart fell. He actually

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  smiled this private sort of smile. Like he had some kind of ... crush. Could Ingrid possibly be right?

  "No. Not at all," Markus said, leaning back on the sofa. "Julia is ..." He trailed off and stared off into space like a lovesick puppy dog.

  "Great," I said, slumping next to him. "She's great."

  "Yeah, she is," Markus said. "And you know, I should have realized she wasn't you. I mean, you usually avoid me like I have onion breath when we go to those things, but Julia ... she listened to me and laughed at my jokes and gave me advice."

  "I listen to you!" I protested feebly.

  "Carina, come on," Markus said. "I usually bore you to tears."

  "That's not true!" I said indignantly, sitting up straight. He just looked at me, and I felt an embarrassed blush creep to my face. I stared down at my hands and fiddled with my sapphire ring.

  "Okay, well, if I'm so awful, why do you still ask me to dance at all those functions?" I asked pitifully. "Why do you even bother?"

  "Because we're old friends," Markus said, sitting up and taking my hand. "And because you know if I didn't ask you to dance, we'd both hear it from our parents."

  I laughed, my heart heavy. "You know," I said, attempting a glance at him out of the corner of my eye. "I was coming in here to ask you out on a date."

  "Really?" he blurted, raising his eyebrows.

  "I know, crazy, huh?" I said.

  "Carina, be honest," Markus said, smiling. "You don't

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  want a guy like me. You want a guy who'll sneak onto the grounds like Ingrid does and jet off with you to Paris on a moment's notice and ... I don't know ... a guy who wears a lot of leather and has tattoos and rides a black motorcycle or something."

  I laughed and blushed again. His assessment was pretty much dead-on.

  "I'm too predictable for you," he said lightly.

  I took a deep breath and leaned back, slumping even farther into the couch. If my mother or Fröken Killroy walked in, I would be banished to my room with a book on my head. But I didn't care. It felt like a slumping moment.

  "Well, I never would have predicted you were going to fall in love with my American double," I said, looking up at him.

  He turned crimson and sighed. "Yeah. Me neither."

  Then we laughed again and he settled back. We sat there for a few moments, staring across the room at the portrait of my grandmother that hung above the fireplace. I wondered what her friend Gustav had looked like. And if he had a grandson.

  "You know, I hear Gerald of Vistana just got back from partying in London for two weeks. His parents never even knew where he was. Maybe you should give him a call," Markus said suddenly.

  "I could never date a guy named Gerald," I deadpanned, running a lock of my brown hair through my fingers. Gerald of Vistana was actually this total hottie with dark hair and brooding eyes who definitely deserved to have a better name.

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  "He has his own plane, you know," Markus said.

  "Interesting," I replied. "E-mail me his number."

  Markus smiled, leaned over, and kissed me on the cheek. There was no tingling skin, no heart palpitations, no loss of breath. Markus was a great guy, but he'd never been the guy for me. My prince was still out there somewhere. And I knew I'd have a lot of fun finding him.

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  ***

  Chapter 36

  "Wait a minute, wait a minute," I said, watching my mother in awe as she packed up her bag. "You are going to be the official hat designer for the royal family?!"

  "Yep," my mother said with a grin. "We are basically never going to have to worry about money again."

  "Mom! This is unbelievable!" I said, my heart bubbling over until my whole body felt fizzly. I ran over and hugged her, and she dropped the pair of jeans she was folding so she could hug me back. "Do you have any idea how many hats you're going to sell when people back home find out about this?"

  Her brow creased as she pulled away from me. "I may have to hire a few people," she said, biting her lip.

  "You may have to start a whole company!" I added.

  My mother smiled, piling a few more things into her suitcase. I wasn't sure if I had ever seen her look so relaxed and happy. And I definitely knew she'd never smiled for so long without stopping. Coming to Vineland might have been the best thing I'd ever done.

  "Well, you can help me figure out a business plan with

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  all the free time you'll have when we get back home," my mother said, snapping her suitcase closed.

  My face fell. "Don't I get any time off from my grounding for basically facilitating your meteoric rise to success?"

  "Nice try, kid," she said.

  There was a knock at the door and she smacked my butt lightly, pushing me toward it.

  "Ow!" I said jokingly as I scurried over to the door before she could whip me with the towel she'd used on her hair that morning. I was laughing as I pulled open the door.

  "Markus!" I felt a full-body flush come on at the sight of him.

  "I heard you were leaving today," he said, glancing past me at my mom, who was eyeing us curiously. "I thought we could go for a walk."

  "Oh! Yeah," I said, my heart fluttering. I looked over my shoulder. "Mom, this is Markus. Can I go for a walk with him? Just for a little while?"

  Don't say I'm grounded, I begged silently. I'll die if you say I'm grounded.

  "Hello, Markus," my mother said, walking up next to me. "I'm Sharon Johnson."

  "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Johnson," Markus said, extending his hand.

  My mother blushed. Seriously. I would have made a gagging sound if I hadn't been hoping she'd forget about my grounding.

  "So, Mom?" I said when she drew her hand away. "Can I?"

  "Half an hour," my mom told me sternly. "You still

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  have to say good-bye to Carina and the king and queen." She blinked and her forehead crinkled up. "I can't believe I'm living in a world where I say things like that."

  "Get used to it," I told her with a smile.

  Markus and I were both silent for the first few minutes of our walk. It was a beautiful day out. The sun was shining and the air was warm and soft, much less heavy than the smoggy air in Los Angeles. I took in the immaculate lawns surrounding the castle, half trying to commit them to memory, half trying to calm my nerves. I wished Markus would talk first. There were so many things I wanted to say that I couldn't get them straight in my mind.

  "What are you thinking?" Markus asked suddenly.

  "I was just wondering what you were thinking," I told him, trying to smile.

  Markus laughed and led me toward a paved pathway that ran all the way out toward the thick woods behind the castle. We walked along the path until we came to a bubbling fountain surrounded by marble benches and shaded by trees. A breeze ruffled the branches overhead, letting the sun break through and cast leafy shadows on the water. It was really beautiful. I knew I would remember this place forever.

  "We should sit," Markus said.

  Something in his voice sent a shiver down my back. If I'd ever felt a sense of foreboding, that was it.

  I perched on the bench next to Markus, afraid to move and afraid to get comfortable. I felt like I was waiting at

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  the doctor's office for a shot. Something not good
was definitely about to happen.

  "Julia, I want you to know that I meant everything I said the other night in the library," Markus said, leaning forward and resting his forearms on his thighs. He laced his fingers together and blew out a sigh.

  "But... ?" I said, watching him carefully.

  "But... there's no point in kidding ourselves," Markus told me. "This ... what we have ... it can't go anywhere."

  My stomach was tied in knots. Even though I knew he was right, hearing him say it was like hearing someone tell me I was never going to graduate or go to college. That I had no control over my future or getting the things I wanted.

  "I'm really never going to see you again, am I?" I said, concentrating to keep my stomach in check.

  Markus looked at me, and I knew the pain in his eyes was reflecting mine. "I wish things were different, Julia, but you're going back to California, like you should. And I... I'm staying here to take over my father's post. Like I should."

  "But what about architecture school?" I blurted, suddenly forgetting about myself and my breaking heart. "I thought you were going to talk to your father."

  Markus stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I was just daydreaming," he said, looking off into the trees above my head. "After everything that's happened ... my father and I had a long talk and ... I know what I have to do. I think I've always known."

  I was actually speechless, which was a really weird

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  feeling for me. How could he be so resigned to living a life he didn't want? How could he just give up like this?

  "I know what you're thinking, but you've never met my father," Markus said, flushing. "He's kind of a master debater."

  "So he debated you out of your dreams?" I asked, a little too much sarcasm seeping into my voice.

  "Not exactly. He reminded me of my duties," Markus said, his jaw clenching. "And I can still study architecture ... as a hobby."

  "Is that gonna be enough?"

  "It'll have to be," Markus said. He tipped back his head and blew out a breath. I had this feeling that he wasn't telling me everything. That just like me, there were a million thoughts in his head and he was trying to sort through them all. "You know what's funny?" he said finally. "Everyone thinks that people like me are privileged. Like we can do whatever we want to do. But the truth is that people like you have a lot more freedom. You can make your own decisions in life."

  "So can you, Markus," I said, standing up so that he had to look at me. "You have to stand up to your father."

  Markus swallowed hard and looked me in the eye. "I can't," he said. "This is the way things have to be. I have a duty to fulfill and you ... you have your life to live."

  "Markus--"

  "Julia, let's not talk about this anymore. We only have ..." He lifted his arm to check his watch. "We only have fifteen minutes left. I don't want to spend it talking about my father."

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  I sighed and reached up to hug him. When he held me, I felt like I just wanted to curl up in his arms and stay there. I forgot all about L.A. and school and my future. This was the only future I wanted to have--with Markus.

  But the moment he let go, reality set in again. Markus's life was here in Vineland. He had to do what he felt he had to do. And I had to go home and get back to work on my own dreams. College, a career, a life of my own. I'd always promised myself I'd never let a guy make me forget about what I wanted. And even though Markus wasn't just some guy, I had to let him go.

  "I'm really going to miss you," I told him, looking up into his amazing eyes.

  "I'm going to miss you, too," Markus said, tucking my hair behind my ear. "There's no one else in the world like you, Julia Johnson--no matter how many people you and Carina fooled."

  I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck. 'Thanks for noticing," I said.

  Then Markus touched his lips to mine and we kissed good-bye. It was sweet, it was bitter, it was painful, it was heart-stopping. It was everything a good-bye kiss should be.

  "I love you, Julia," Markus said when we parted. "I always will."

  Then he walked me back to my mother's room and we said good-bye. Forever.

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  ***

  Chapter 37

  "So," Julia said, sitting across from me on my bed with her legs pulled up under her. She was wearing a pair of comfy-looking jeans and a hooded tee. Her hair had been dyed back to its original color, just like mine had. We were finally back to being ourselves. "So," I replied.

  Ourselves, but slightly less articulate.

  We looked at each other and laughed. For once in my life I was wishing for a speechwriter to tell me what to say. Julia was leaving to go back to L.A. in a few minutes and we were supposed to say good-bye. The problem was, there were about a hundred other things I wanted to tell her that seemed more important. And there wasn't enough time to say them all.

  "Well ... I have the rest of your money," I said, reaching over to my bedside table and pulling an envelope out of the drawer. I dropped it on the bedspread between us.

  "You don't have to pay me," Julia said. "It's not like I exactly did the job to your satisfaction. Thanks to me,

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  you're no longer Princess Carina. You're the Finger-Lickin' Chick."

  I laughed, shrugging it off. "That'll pass. Besides, being kidnapped to Vineland wasn't part of our deal. You more than earned it."

  Julia smiled and opened the envelope, fanning the cash inside with her thumb. "Funny. It actually looks like I won't be needing this anymore. Thanks to your mom and her monster hat order."

  "So blow it on a pair of really good shoes," I said.

  Julia blanched. "Do they have five-thousand-dollar shoes?"

  "Probably," I replied. "Even I don't know that."

  "Oh, they do," Ingrid's voice cut into our conversation. "I even tried on a pair once."

  I turned around to see her standing at the door to my balcony. "How did you get in here?"

  "Let's just say Josh will be purchasing some new rims for his Beemer," Ingrid said, bouncing onto the bed. She sat down to my left, between Julia and me, as if she was going to officiate the conversation. I guess it was kind of appropriate, since she'd been our go-between all along. "I couldn't miss saying good-bye to princess number two," she said, smiling at Julia.

  I took a deep breath and pulled my ankles a little closer to my body. "So, Julia, you should know that I asked Markus out on a date."

  Julia honestly looked like I'd just told her I'd lost her scary little cat.

  "He shot me down," I told her.

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  "Really?" she said happily, then pressed her lips together, embarrassed.

  "Yeah, he shot me down, too," Ingrid said.

  My heart hit my stomach. I hadn't just heard that. "What?" I screeched. "What are you talking about?"

  "You asked him out, too?" Julia added.

  "A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do," Ingrid said, lifting one shoulder like we. were talking about nothing more interesting than her new nail color.

  "Ingrid! You think Markus is more boring than toast points," I exclaimed, totally confused.

  "Carina, my friend," she said, patting my knee. "You are just really, really oblivious."

  I pulled back my head and blinked. "I don't even know what to do with this information."

  "Well, don't worry about it. His heart belongs to Julia," Ingrid said.

  "Not exactly," Julia told us with a sigh. "We basically decided to call it off."

  Ingrid and I both looked at Julia, stunned. Normally I would have pumped her for more information--there's not much I love more than a good piece of juicy gossip. But something about the way she was avoiding looking at us made me stop myself. Yes. I was actually able to stop myself.

  "Wow," I said. "Markus had a busy week."

  "I think we all did," Julia said, raising her eyebrows.

  "So, what're you going to do when you get back to L.A.?" Ingrid asked, settling b
ack against my pillows and stretching out her legs so that her oversized feet were resting right between Julia and me.

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  "I don't know.... Visit a Buddhist priest ... go to a couple of movie premieres ... maybe buy some cashmere," Julia said, frowning comically. "The usual." She looked at me and grinned. "Jealous?"

  "Nah," I said, leaning back on my hands. "I'm going to try wearing these jeans out of my room. That should be enough excitement to last me years."

  Our laughter was cut short when Asha stepped into the open doorway. "Miss Julia? The car is waiting to take you to the airport."

  Julia looked at me, and I got a sinking sensation all the way down to my stomach. In the last day I'd felt closer to her than I had after all those nights of coaching her back in the States. I actually didn't want her to leave.

  "Well, you have my e-mail address," Julia said, sliding off the bed.

  I followed her lead and stood up across from her. "And you have mine."

  "Carina, I wanted to say ... I really am sorry for all the trouble I caused and for--"

  "Stealing her boyfriend?" Ingrid supplied.

  "Ingrid!" we both said at the same time.

  "Well, I'm sorry for making your mother worry," I said, rocking back on my heels. "And for, you know ..."

  "Generally being a bitch in L.A.?" Ingrid added again.

  "Ingrid!!"

  "Sorry. But the car is waiting," Ingrid said with a grin.

  Julia and I smiled at each other, and then before I knew it, she'd wrapped me up in a tight hug. I squeezed her back and closed my eyes, surprised that I suddenly felt

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  like crying. But if it hadn't been for Julia, I never would have been able to leave my life behind for a little while. I would never have found out that rock stars can be frogs and regular guys can be princes. Or that just cleaning a toilet could be so empowering. Or that taking a ride from a guy named Crazy Dave is never a good idea.

  Ingrid sniffled and let out a little whimper. "I'm just so touched by this moment, I think I'm gonna cry."

  I pulled away from Julia and shot Ingrid a look. "You know, we do still have stockades on the grounds. I've seen 'em."