Chapter 1
It was a very cold day outside here in Idaho. It rained all day long and I was soooo bored. I didn't know what I was going to do. It was summer vacation and I was stuck at home with a very wet day. My birthday was already over I still didn't know what I was going to do with the rest of the 2 months of summer break left. Suddenly I heard a knock on the door. I thought, "Oh no!" I wasn't expecting any visitors yet and my parents weren't due back for another 3 hours! I looked through the window of our house and I saw a very strange looking guy who was very wet. I didn't know him but I opened the door anyway because the man looked like he needed help. He was talking very fast so I said, "Whoa there slow down! Now tell me what you need." He said slightly slower, "I need some help, my car broke down outside in the storm and I need to use your phone!" I could tell by then that this guy was no American. Maybe French or German but definately not American. I told him it would be all right if he used our phone and I asked if there was anything I could do to help and he told me to go out to his car and tell the people who were in it that he called some help. I said, "Okay I will tell them I will also invite them up to the house until the storm dies down." He said hurridley, "No, no! Just knock on the window and tell them I found help!" I asked why but surprise, surprise he didn't answer me. There was some reason he didn't want me to see the people inside the car and I was going to find out why no matter what. I ran out to the car with my umbrella over me although it didn't help much. I did what the man said and went against his instructions and invited them in anyhow. I still could not see who the people inside were. When they said that they would be fine out in the car I said, "Well it's really not that safe in a car out in the lightning like this." The people inside (one who had moved to the driver's seat was answering all of my questions) said, "Well if it is a risk to our lives I guess we could come in." He said it in a I'm-better-than-you way. So the people got out of the car and I offered them my umbrella which was large enough for only 2 of them. The one who had answered all of my questions handed the umbrella to the other 2 and we ran up to the house. When we got inside we were all pretty wet and I recognized two of the visitors but I didn't say anything. The man who had come in first to use the phone was more than a little peeved that I didn't follow his instructions but I thought "Oh well, the stuffy old man will get over it!" The two I had recognized were Princes Harry and William and I smiled and waved to the both of them when the two stuffy guys weren't looking. They smiled back at me but then resumed their stiff adult-like looks. I so had a crush on both of them but like I was going to tell them right now! During all of my flirting attempts the two adults were on the phone trying to get help for the car so they didn't even notice me. Then I got up the courage to go over and talk to the princes. I said, "Hi!" in my most cheery voice but it obviously didn't help their glum feelings. Then they replied to me trying to sound happy. They said that they were hoping to get to their dad by 7:00 but now it was 8:30 I told them not to worry about it, things would turn out all right. We heard lots of yelling into the phone. I ignored it and concentrated on my guests. I think they realized that I knew who they were so they were mre comfortable talking to me.
Chapter 2
I told them my name was Katie Callen and they told me each of their names. I was just getting them to laugh and think I was fun when the men on the phone said, "Boys, I think you'll be glad to hear that we have sent 2 helicopters to come and pick us up!" They said, "Great now we can go see dad!" Then they looked over at me and William said, "Thank you very much Katie you made the time go by fast by talking to us. Hey why don't you give me your e-mail, snail mail, and phone and we'll get in touch with you some time." I said, "That sounds wonderful!" I gave them the info they requested by writing it down in my best handwriting to give a good impression when suddenly Harry jumped out of his seat and said, "Hey why can't you just come with us!" I said oh my parents are gone and won't be back for half an hour yet-" when I heard the garage door open. I thought Uh-oh my parents told me not to let anyone in while they were gone! Oh well I was sure they would understand the situation. I also hoped that they would let me go with William and Harry on the helicopter. Yeah right; now I was plain, flat out, dreaming! Well, anyway my parents walked in and said, "Oh my gosh, Katie how did get royalty into our house!" So I explained to them but they still thought that they were in a trance and they weren't really seeing it. Then William said, "Mr. and Mrs. Callen, do you think Katie could come with us on a helicopter to our summer cottage in Canada? My dad will be there so it's not like it's just teenagers roaming around." My mom and dad gave each other that should-we-let-her-go look I thought, oh no here it comes but they said yes to my amazement! My parents were letting me build up trust with them so if I blew this I was out for good! I heard the choppers arrive so I quickly packed some clothes and a few personal belongings. My parents said only for 1 week and if I was going to be late or if anything happened to call them. And then we were off! I rode with William and one of the guys who was on the phone and Harry rode with the other phone guy. Nobody talked much on the way there but by the time we got there it was midnight and I was exhausted so Harry showed me to my room and I just plopped down on my bed and fell asleep. The next morning I couldn't believe...
that I was actually there! I went down to breakfast and there they were, almost every member of the royal family! William, Harry, Charles, The Queen and her husband, and Zara and Peter. I didn't know what to do so I just took to the old rule of female etiquette: don't speak unless you are spoken to. They were all carrying on in conversation when Zara finally was the first one to notice me. She said jokingly, "And who is this quiet one at the end of the table?" pointing at me. William said, "Oh, how rude of me! Grandma, Grandpa, Dad, Peter, and Zara, this is Katie Callen. When our car broke down last night she let us come into her house to get out of the storm and call for help so we invited her to come here as a thank you." Then everyone said their "Hi's" and "How do you do's". Little did I know that that short introduction was my attention-magnet for my whole stay! Before I knew it everyone was talking to me, even the queen!
Chapter 3
There on my first day out of the week I had to stay there, I was already becoming popular to the royal family! Even on my first day I started taking a liking to "the heir and the spare" as they are called, or Wills and Harry as they wanted me to call them. I went shopping, swimming, rollerblading, and just chilled out with them. They were so informal around their family and me. That night, all of us stayed up until 3 o'clock in the morning just talking and laughing. Now Zara was kind of my friend while I was there because we were the only 2 teenage girls there; if I just wanted to talk girl talk I would talk to her. I could tell she knew I liked Harry and Wills. One day when we were talking about boys she asked me, "So how old are you?" I said, "I'm 13 as of June 21!" She said,"Hmm, You're Harry's age and on William's birthday. So which one do you like best?" I said innocently, "What do you mean?" thinking oh no does she really have to bring this up? She said, "You know what I mean Katie. Which one do you like best, Wills or Harry?" I said, "And how do you know I like either one of them?" "Believe me I can tell. You're the type that daydreams about my cousins but would be too shy to admit it to them." she explained. I said, "Well, you've got me there! I do like your cousins but there's no way I could possibly pick one over the other. They're both so sweet to me!" Zara said, "I know, I've noticed! You've got them both practically wrapped around your little finger and I know which one really likes you." I said, "No you don't! You're just kidding me! Which one and, hey how do you know?" " I know because I heard him talking to himself about you. A little eavesdropping never hurt anyone! Besides, if I told you which one it was, you'd have to choose!" she said in her sarcastic way. "Please tell me! I won't treat them any differently unless they ask me out. Please!" I begged. "Okay," she said "just don't tell them I told you. It's Harry." By then my mouth was wide open, a prince liked me! Zara said, "Oh, no, I knew this would happen." I said sorry and shut my mouth. After that talk with Zara on my second day, my whole relationship with the Princes changed. Sometimes I would think, "why couldn't William be the one who likes me?" Other times I would think, "wow, Harry is such a sweetie!" I was so confused. By the night of my second day I was very sad because I couldn't tell which one I liked better. Should I like Harry just because he likes me or should I think about it and not let that fact determine anything? I just didn't know.
Chapter 4- A Decision Made
The next morning was a fresh new day. I had new opinions and new ideas. I got myself ready, after what Zara told me I wanted to look extra nice for both boys so I wore a little more makeup than usual and spent 30 minutes on my hair. I walked down to breakfast only to find that I was 10 minutes early. What should I do for 10 minutes while sitting in a dining room? I thought, "Oh what the heck, I'll go outside. It's not like they'll miss me or anything!" Just then I heard the door open and I thought, "So much for that plan!" It was Harry. He said, "Oh, we couldn't find you in your room and we didn't know where you were. Now that William and I know where you are I think we'll leave, bye." I said, "No, no wait it's okay I need someone to talk to. Hey where were you guys going anyway?" "We were just going to go on a bike ride for about 10 minutes until it was time for breakfast." William said as he walked in. I said, "Can I come with you, I'll try not to bother you to much it's just that I was getting a little bored just sitting here. Please!" I said puffing out my bottom lip to make a puppy dog face. After they both laughed at my face William said, "It's all right with me! How about you Harry?" "It would be fine with me!" Harry chimed in. I said relieved, "Oh great! Thank you so much! I owe you for letting me come with you!" and then without even thinking about what I was doing I gave them each a friendly hug. Then I realized that I had just hugged members of the Royal family, not just my friend next door so I covered my mouth and just started laughing. By then both boys had started laughing, too. Then I said, "Oops! Sorry about that! I guess I just meant that to say thank you. Well, let's go on that bike ride!" They nodded in agreement even though they were still laughing from the incident. We went out to the barn where the bikes were kept and found a tandem (two-seater) bike and two single bikes. We agreed that I would ride the tandem bicycle with William driving (because Harry had always been scared of it) and Harry would ride the red single bike. Then we were off! Since the grounds of their summer home were quite extensive we decided that it would be hard to drive away off the property. We all agreed on taking a special road that led west of the house. They later told me that the road ended in loose gravel. When we got to the end a couple of minutes later we were going to turn around and go back to the house. Harry said that he would race us back and William said, "You're on, sucker!" "On your marks get set, go!" I screamed. Harry was in the lead, in fact, far in the lead because he had less weight on his bike. Suddenly, there it was, another patch of loose gravel! We could miss it so I tried to warn William but it was too late. We hit the gravel and went splat on the ground! Now Harry was out of sight. The bike had landed on William's back and on my leg and we were both lying on our stomachs bursting into laughter. After Wills got up I stayed still and played dead making him laugh even harder! He picked the bike up off of me and held out his hand to help me get up. I took his hand, he pulled me up and said, "Are you all right?" I said, "Yes, I'm fine. Do ya' want to do it again?" He laughed, picked me up and set me on the bike. "Now Katie, do you think you can stay on this time?" he asked playfully. I responded, "It depends, do you plan on wrecking again?" we both giggled and then took off. I knew right then that William was the one I liked, but what would I tell Harry if he asked me out? No, sorry, I'm in love with your brother; oh yeah, that's sensitive! Chapter 5-What's next?
When we got in to breakfast I had dirt and dust all over my white tank shirt and jean shorts and William had dirt streaks on his face. Everyone (especially Harry) asked why we were late and what happened. We told them the story and they started to laugh. Next, Zara, Harry, William, and I went swimming in the lake. It felt so good because it was a hot day outside. I was up by the house drying off when William walked up behind me and tapped on my shoulder, scaring me half to death! I jumped up from fright and turned around. I saw Wills and said, "Oh my goodness, you scared me!" He said, "Duh! That was the whole point!" I giggled. He said, "I have to tell you something, Katie. My grandma wasn't going to tell you until tonight but, I want to tell you now. One of our friends that lives here is having a very formal ball tomorrow night in his ballroom. Grandma wants to know if you want to come with us." I said very excitedly, "Oooooh! Very fancy! I don't think I could go though. First of all, I didn't pack a formal gown, actually, I don't own one. And second of all I wasn't invited." He said, "I have both of those conditions covered already. For the first condition: Zara, Peter, Harry, and I will take you shopping tonight for any kind of dress you want, my treat of course! And for the second one: The host of the event said that Harry and I could each bring a date, so you could come as my date if you wanted to. So what do you think now?" I was now too flattered to speak so I just stood there for a minute. Wills looked at my expression and said, "I knew this would happen! I knew that I was to forward in asking you that. Listen, I'm sorry. You can stay home if you want to. Just forget I ever..." I suddenly interrupted, "I'll do it! I'll be your date for the dance. If you want me to, I'll do it!" He said, "You will? Are you sure you want to because I don't want to force you into anything." "Are you kidding? Of course I want to who could turn down a chance for shopping and a date with prince charming. It's almost a dream come true!" He said, "All right!" in a very adolescent way. Then I held up my hand in a way that you would do at a formal dance. He gracefully took it and kissed like a gentleman is supposed to. After taking my hand that once he didn't let go until we reached the front door. I said in my best British accent, "Thank you Mr.Windsor for escorting me." He laughed and said, "It was my pleasure young woman. I hope to see you again soon." He kissed my hand again and I giggled. I suppose that we probably looked pretty stupid, acting like that in our swimsuits, but we didn't care! After dinner that night, I dressed in some of the nicer clothes that I brought along. I brushed my long brown hair and Zara put it back in a part ponytail for me. She wanted me to look nice too because I told her about what had happened that afternoon. She was just as surprised as I was that Harry didn't ask me out first. And then I thought about it. "Oh no! What about Harry! Won't he feel out of place with his brother having a date and him not? Why did I say yes, that was so insensitive of me!" I said. Zara reassured me, "Relax Katie! We'll find a date for him. Do you know anyone where you live who is just like Harry?" I said, "Yes of course, my good friend Alyssa! She is funny and caring just like him! Do you think we could fly her out here for him?" "Sure," she remarked, "we can get her out here in an hour and a half if we call now!" Great, I thought, now Harry will be very happy and I know Alyssa would say yes. We called Sharon's house and she screamed into the phone, "Oh my gosh I can't believe this! I'll get on the next plane there. I'll see you at around 9:00 p.m. then all right?" "Great," I said, "and don't forget to pack your fanciest gown." I knew she had one because she bought it to go to an opera once. It was now 6:45 so I said, "Okay Zara, let's go shopping!" We went to some of the most expensive stores in town and had found nothing. Wills held my hand occasionally trying to do it at a time when I wouldn't notice that I was holding his hand. It was 8:30 and we had to get back because I told Harry that I had a surprise just for him. We stopped in one last store called Le Dreismund (I have no idea what that means) and there it was; the dress of my dreams. It was a sleaveless (but not revealing) white silk dress with white silk gloves that came up a few inches past my elbows. I just stopped and stared at it. Wills said, "Why don't you go try it on?" breaking me from my trance. I went to the manager of the store and asked for that dress in my size and tried it on. I walked out with it on and Wills and Harry were speechless. I said, "What, does it really look that bad?" Peter said, "No, you look like Cinderella and these two are so immature that they don't know how to talk to you." "Gee, thanks." I said blushing. "So, Wills could you stand to go to a party with me in this or will I embarrass you?" I said walking over and taking his hand. He said, "Wow! I never saw you like this before! No you won't embarrass me, I'm just afraid that other guys will dance with you if dress like that." Then he winked at me and said, "Well I know who that dress is sold to!" I looked down at the price tag and thought holy cow! I told Wills quietly, "I don't have enough money along with me for this." He said, "I told you it would be my treat! Don't you worry I'll pay for everything, and don't forget some shoes. What kind of date would I be if I didn't buy you a dress!" I kissed him on the cheek and said, "Thank you so much; you didn't have to do that." We all walked out to the car together. I was holding my dress in one hand and William's hand in the other. We hurried back to meet Harry's surprise. Just as I had hoped Alyssa showed up just minutes after we got home. Now came the big test: would Harry and Alyssa like each other? When Alyssa walked in, we were all in the family room looking at my dress. I saw her first and said, "Harry I think your surprise is here." He said, "Great, what is it?" I told him to look over in the doorway. He said, "Wow, Katie who is this girl?" "This is my friend Alyssa Lewis. She's always wanted to meet you and I thought that since I was here that maybe I could get her a visit with you." I replied. Alyssa said quietly, "Hello Prince Harry. I'm 13 years old just like you and I was wondering if we could, well, you know, go out on a date or something." "It would be my pleasure. Hey do you have anything going on tomorrow night? Well you see there's this dance and my brother already has a date and I was wondering..." Harry answered as they left the room together. "Wow!", said Zara "I have never seen a set-up work that well. You must be magic." "No but I do like to watch people fall in love." I said winking to William. He just laughed at me and shook his head. It was 10:00 p.m. already and I wasn't tired yet so William said he'd take me for a walk. We went out by the lake and just sat down by it. That was the first time Wills had ever kissed me for real with out my hinting. I couldn't wait for the dance! Then, we saw Harry and Alyssa walking along the side of the lake just like us. I said, "Aww! How cute!" Then we heard a snapping sound. I said, "What was that?" "Congratulations Katie, You will be featured in almost every tabloid paper around the world." he said sadly, "You have just been introduced to the paparazzi!" I said, "Oh no! So what will they think; what will they write about us? Oh, and what about Harry and Alyssa, will they get them too?" He answered, "It is awful that they still like to bother us even after what happened to my mom. The papers will all make up stories about how I proposed to you and that we're getting married this fall. Even though it's not true they'll write about it anyway! It doesn't matter to them that it might hurt someone's feelings; they just want the money. And about Harry, he'll be okay, our status and power can really come in handy sometimes! We're learning how to handle stuff like this. If they write a story that is completely false, we tell our grandma and she tells the paper that they had better change their story or get in legal trouble. It will turn out okay don't worry! I'll make sure that nothing happens." Wow, how could a friendly kiss on the cheek get so much attention! I didn't know, but now I felt like going inside. See if the media gets any more pictures of me, I thought!
Chapter 6-The Day of the Dance
Oh I was so nervous! I mean it's not like a person like me gets to meet Prince William all the time so I wanted to look very nice and be very ready for tonight. I was happy that Zara was there with me because I had never been to a formal ball before and she told me everything that I needed to know from etiquette to how to act around my date. Alyssa was already comfortable about having rich people around her so she needed no advice in my opinon. I would have been a social moron without her and Zara there! The dance started at promptly 7:00 p.m. so we started to get ready at 5:30! First we put on our dresses. Next, we called her professional hair stylist to get our hair done. After we left the room, our hair looked great! We had to do our own makeup so I was extremely careful on how I put everything on. We put capes over our dresses so we didn't get makeup all over everything; that would look nice, lipstick smeared on white silk! It was 6:15 and we were ready (we thought) for the dance which lasted until very late that night. We walked out into the living room where Zara's date John was waiting for us with Wills and Harry. After we met them we went out to the limo. There were two limos, one for the 5 adults (the Queen and her husband, Charles, Peter, and his date) and one for the 6 teenagers (William, Harry, John, Zara, Alyssa, and me). When we arrived at the dance there were photographers all over the place so I did as Zara told me and linked arms with Wills as Alyssa and Zara did with their dates. I just smiled and walked like Wills was doing. Girls were screaming to Wills and it bothered me a little but I didn't show it because I didn't want to make the Royal family look bad. After we got inside I was much more comfortable, but still there were girls who were flirting with my date. Finally after socializing politely with the hosts of the ball, Wills and I went up to dance with everyone else. Oh was I glad that my mom had forced me to take ballroom dancing lessons! The first song that the orchestra played was a waltz. That was basically how the whole night went. We just danced and socialized the whole night but I guess that's how it was supposed to go. At about 10:30 that night we finally left the ball. I couldn't wait to get back home and into my pajama's and get out of that dress! After tonight, I only had 3 days left here. That was so sad to me because this was almost the best week of my whole life and 4 days of it were already over! Little did I know that tonight was an important night for the entire Royal family. They were trying to find an official girlfriend for William; one that they could let the media know about so that the girls wouldn't bother him so much. The night of the ball was my test night even though I didn't know it. They watched how I acted in public: manners, social skills, dancing, and attitude. I didn't realize that it was all a test until Alyssa told me. She explained, "You did a good job tonight, I think that you'll get a good grade", "as always." she added under her breath. I always got good grades in school and Alyssa always teased me for it. I asked, "What do you mean that I'll, 'get a good grade'?" She answered, "Oh, I thought you knew. Tonight was kind of like a quiz. Everything you did tonight was watched by the royal family. They were checking to see if it would be acceptable for you to date William publicly. You did well though so you don't have to worry about anything." "What do you mean? Do they think that they can just be judges like in a pageant or something? Why don't they just ask me a question about world peace, too. If that's what this twisted family does then I'm out of here!" I said angrily. I stormed out of the room. Who do they think they are judging other people like that, I thought. I went to William's room because he told me that if I ever needed anything I could come to him because he was usually up pretty late. I knocked on the door. He opened it and said, "Oh hello! Can I help you with something?" "You sure can! Just who do you think you are anyway? Was your family testing me on my behavior tonight? Did your family put you up to asking me to the dance? I'm just mad that...", I said angrily but was interrupted by Wills saying, "Hold on a second where did you get these ideas? Who told you this?" I answered, "It doesn't really matter who told me this. All that matters is if it is true or not." He said, "Okay, the part about my family judging you tonight is true but I asked you out on my own free will! They can't make me like anyone! I choose who I want to like. They can introduce me to anyone they want to but I still like you, Katie!" With this comment I was completely stunned. How could someone like him, like someone like me without being pressured into it somehow? It was to much for me to take. I felt really dumb, standing in my Winnie the Pooh pajamas in the middle of Prince William's room staring at his desk! I was just thinking about things for a moment. How was I going to answer what William had just said? What I finally ended up doing was saying thank you for the comment and giving him a hug. To my surprise, he hugged me back. I wanted to cry because I felt really bad about yelling at him just now but held myself back from my emotions and just stood there staring at him. He knew that I felt bad about it so he just sat down with me and told me that everything was all right. I did feel better after awhile of the comforting. I looked up at him and said, "I like you, too." With that, I think he felt better also. All of a sudden Harry walked in and said, "Oh, hey William," then saw me,"never mind, I'll come back later, sorry Katie." I said, "No, don't go away! What did you need?" "Are you sure I wasn't interrupting anything?" he asked in a drawling voice. William answered, "No, it's okay we were just talking. What is it that you need to talk about?" "Umm...Can I talk to you alone Wills?" Harry said. "Whatever you need to say you can say in front of Katie." William replied. Harry told us the problem, "Well, if you say so! It's about Alyssa. I was going to ask her to be my girlfriend tonight but every time I try, I get nervous. What should I do? I mean what if she doesn't like me?" I said, "Oh believe me, she likes you! Listen, if you want the 411 on her, here it goes: she likes you and has had a crush on you for two years! She has been waiting for you to ask her out, I'm sure of it. So don't get all nervous about it, she's just another girl! Look, you're talking to me and you're not nervous. I think that you just need to get some courage; don't be a wimp!" He said, "Thanks Katie, I guess William was the wrong one to come to." "Hey!" William interjected playfully. "Now go on Harry, don't just stand there!" I said and gave him a push on the back and Harry left the room. Wills started laughing. He just sat me on his lap and gave me a kiss on the nose. I gave hime a kiss back on the cheek and said, "Good night, giggle boy!" We both laughed and I left to go to my room. I apologized for blowing up at Alyssa. Then, I went to bed. I thought, "Wouldn't it be nice to live like this, no spending limit, always having someone to love you, and the most beautiful clothes. Oh well!" I didn't know it now but I was going to see the bad side of being rich and famous the next day.
Chapter 7
"The future King of England is the King of One girl's heart (page 42)" read a tabloid from Canada. "A New Princess?" read another paper. Those pictures of William and I were all over the World now. I was so angry that I bursted into tears. "Why me? Oh and they're not true; how could they do this to us!" I cried. Just then William and Zara walked into my room.
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