هنا و الآن

Carolina Kahla. 25. Publicist. there's things I wish I knew there's no thing I'd keep from you it's a dark and shiny place but with you my dear I'm safe and we're a million miles away

[carolinakahla]

( insp. )

[carolinakahla]

gracesinclair:

Truth be told, Grace liked having tasks to do. She grew up with a rigorous schedule in order to be sure her horse riding skills were up to par when the Olympics came around that it felt weird to be told to just sit back and relax until the princess was found. One part of her appreciated the fact that they weren’t trying to make everyone act as if nothing was wrong and have them go through their normal routines, but the other part of her disliked the fact that she was left with no duties and only her mind to keep her company. 

She smiled a bit at Carolina’s comment. “Right, forget I ever mentioned the words ‘pretty open’.” Her eyebrows went up when the publicist stated she was headed in the same direction as her. Grace expected to be the only person besides the staff in the kitchens, but she would be lying if she said she didn’t appreciate a little company. “Well, I suppose we should walk together seeing as we’re going to the same place anyways.”

Grace had to appreciate the irony of asking Carolina about how busy she was and her phone vibrating rapidly right afterwards. She wanted to comment that whatever the buzzing was about it was probably important and shouldn’t be ignored, but thought better of it. “I can’t even imagine how much stuff you have to deal with.”

It was...strange to have to talk to the royal party about other things than work. Carolina hardly had any interest in the personal lives of her employers and clients, but sometimes there was nothing to talk about besides that. For instance now, as she stood with Lady Sinclair. Despite how amicable she found their previous interactions, Carolina can’t help feeling a little stiff about it; and given the dire situation at hand, found it difficult to be mindful of the close friendship between Grace and Charlotte. 

‘ After you — I insist, ’ she gestured toward the end of the corridor with her free hand, making a note to be half a step behind the lady-in-waiting. ‘ How have you been? ’ she asked, tentatively. 

She took a quick moment to send the call to voicemail; she had time for a small break — she was insistent on taking every second of it. God knows it’s only another reporter asking for a quote; perhaps Carolina should change her phone number. Then at least her so-called colleagues would have to call her at work for work related things. ‘ It’s...relatively nothing I haven’t dealt with before. Obviously I’ve never had to keep a kidnapping of a client hush-hush, but you treat scandals all the same. ’

[carolinakahla]

zahra-dandekar:

Zahra nodded at Carolina’s request. She had a feeling that once Princess Charlotte was found, the press office would be needed as least as much as the security team.  Zahra didn’t doubt that someone at least knew that the princess was missing. The people who took her–if indeed she had been taken–certainly did. What they would do with that knowledge was almost as dangerous as what they would do, or were doing with the princess herself. Zahra hated how helpless she felt, and how little they knew. The only thing she could do was coordinate with Samuel and the other security staff, and keep a close eye on Sophia.

“It’s understandable,” she commiserated. “I’m disturbed by it, obviously. As is Sophia.” Sophia was also confused, alarmed, upset, and a little frightened. But Zahra was not going to divulge quite that much about her princess, even if she did like Carolina. 

“Have there been many questions from the press, or the public?” 

Carolina is a little disappointed Zahra wouldn’t tell her anything more, but she understood. Part of their jobs were to keep things confidential and to keep information on a need-to-know basis; still, Carolina couldn’t help but wonder how much the security team actually knew and what Samuel wasn’t telling all of them. ‘ Hopefully we’ll get Princess Charlotte back soon — for all of our sakes. ’ She sighed, ‘ Luckily we’ve been able to keep them at bay — for now. They’re just curious as to why there was a brief lockdown at the party; I just hope that whoever took Her Highness doesn’t leak it to the press, that would complicate everything. ’

[carolinakahla]

adelinehenstridge:

“Oh,” the princess spoke, realizing that she had been correct to assume she was going to the kitchen. No, you can’t. The reply almost slipped past her lips without second thought and she wouldn’t have felt that bad about it. She knew there would be plenty of other places for Carolina to refill her drink. For a reason that Adeline didn’t know, she simply sighed before they reached the doors. “That’s fine. I’m not going to kick you out of the kitchen, Carolina. You need coffee to do your best work, I assume.” And currently, her best work, would hopefully go towards the attempts of finding where Charlotte had disappeared off to. 

Entering the kitchen, she could feel herself growing more upset and she knew that leaving her room was a bad idea. She could lie in the dark and deal with these things on her own, instead of getting mad at their media team for her sister still being missing. It felt as if all of the feelings she had been stuffing down were trying to escape. She needed a drink. “Don’t you have things to do, as well?” Adeline referenced the question the brunet had greeted her with as she made her way towards the fridge. She found the orange juice within moments but her fingers stalled on the champagne when she spotted a bottle of vodka near the back.

“And I’m not really in the mood to grab tea with friends.” Adeline closed the fridge with her elbows, revealing the choice of orange juice and vodka. She knew that even if Carolina made a comment about it not being the proper time for a drink, it would probably just make her pour two. “Have you heard any updates?” Her words came out softer than she would have liked and the question was vague, but she knew Carolina would understand. She poured her drink into her glass, mostly vodka with a couple of splashes of orange juice, before taking a sip. “I know that the public can’t find out. But if I can do…anything, I will.” She took another drink, finally meeting Carolina’s eyes. “She’s my sister. I need her back.”

She found Adeline hard to read, or maybe it was just Carolina trying not to read into every little thing the princess was doing. Either way, she never felt so out of place before, even in a palace filled with royals. The situation at hand had caused this, she concluded. Nothing else could explain her offering to accompany Adeline, of all people, in a task that has nothing to do with their professional relationship  ( if one were to even call it that ).

Carolina reached out for the door with her free hand and held it open, silently insisting that the princess enter first. As they did, Carolina immediately went for the coffee maker next to the stove, putting a considerate amount of distance between herself and Adeline by the refrigerator. Pouring the dark liquid into her mug she replied, still looking down at her hands. ‘ A lot, actually, ’ she said candidly. ‘ But even a machine like me needs to refuel every once in a while. ’ She’d have to smack herself for that little joke later. ‘ Um, I’m handling it, your Highness. ’ 

Raising an eyebrow at the younger’s choice of “breakfast”, she almost said something; even having opened her mouth for a second before closing it. She nodded instead, at Adeline’s words. ‘ I know as much as you do, ’ she told her. What else was she to say besides the truth? Still, Carolina was shocked at the vulnerability the princess showed. She was at a loss of words, pausing to think while she warmed her hands with the cup between her palms. ‘ I can ... try to talk to Samuel, I know it might not sound like much, but there’s a chance he might tell me something if I can convince him to. If he hasn’t told you or your siblings anything yet, it might be for your safety. Has Nathan told you anything? ’

[sugarbcby-deactivated20190311]

[carolinakahla]

tobybuchanan:

He usually avoided the castle, his family, and more so any drama at any cost. He figured the Holidays would be full of them, since he kind of thought his family had a flare for the dramatic. Not to mention that this Holiday season was the first without his aunt. Though he and his aunt weren’t close, he still loved her and he still misses her. 

“Who me?” He asked, stopping himself from running into each other. “Oh well I thought I would too.” He shrugged. “I honestly don’t know why I’m here.” He wanted to ask where Charlotte was, if they had found her. Sure Toby had known, but he wasn’t exactly in the loop and he knew for sure that they wouldn’t be notifying him first. Charlotte was his cousin and although they weren’t particularly close, he was still worried about her. He wasn’t heartless. Would she even know? 

More importantly, he wanted to know if Arabella would be safe. He wanted to get her out of the castle, if Charlotte was missing, who knew who would go missing next? He was not going to just sit here and watch his sister stay in danger. Maybe that’s why he had decided to make an appearance here. He needed to make sure that she was okay. “I’m glad I ran into you, though. Are you busy? If not, I’d love to be able to speak with you.”

‘ It’s fancy meeting you here. ’ Lately it seems like she can’t escape Tobias. Not that she blames him, the royal family is his family and whether or not he cared much for them they’re still family. Maybe he didn’t know why he was at the palace, but he’d always be welcome. ‘ Intuition? ’ she suggested. It was dumb to say that he would have come on a gut feeling; she knows he isn’t particularly fond of all of this, but she hopes that even in the middle of this chaos, he’d have genuine sympathy for his cousins. 

There was this pause that filled the otherwise empty corridor where she didn’t know what else to do. Should she reassure him that everything was okay like she does with the curious caretakers? Should she confide in him and confess to him everything that was hanging on her shoulders? Or should she just bid him goodbye and awkwardly walk away, like they’ve been doing nearly every time they’ve run into one another? 

‘ Oh. ’ That was all she mustered out. She could feel her heartbeat start to quicken in her chest, her face begin to warm with blood, and her mouth start to gape open as the shock of his request hits her. Carolina simply nodded, ‘ I was going to grab some coffee from the kitchens but I can easily get a snack as well. ’ She added, ‘ If it’s that important to you. ’ Which she feels it is, if he came all this way, even unconsciously. 

[carolinakahla]

gracesinclair:

It’s only been a couple of days since the royal Christmas party ended, and it was clear just quickly everything managed to fall back into it’s hectic place. Grace herself had a lot of free time on her hands after the princess’ disappearance, but she was able to see how much work the security and pr teams were having to do after the lock down got word to news outlets. Grace could only imagine the things they’ll write about and the predictions they’ll make as to why exactly the party didn’t run as smoothly as everyone would’ve liked. 

Grace was examining some of the artwork on the wall on her way to the kitchens for a midday snack when she heard a voice she quickly recognized as Carolina’s. she smiled at the girl in return, “Evening, Carolina.” Grace listened to her next line, shaking her head slightly at the girl’s comment. “Shocking enough my schedule’s pretty open at the moment. I was just on my way to the kitchens for a snack and a bit of small talk with the staff.” 

Grace knew she pretty was free seeing as the princess she’s supposed to be attending to isn’t exactly around, but she was pretty curious about the other woman. “I would have thought you’d have other things to do, seeing as the days after events are usually a news station’s Christmas.” In any fancy, high class event, there was always a scandal or two to be dug up, and it was true that media places were vultures just looking for their next meal. 

Carolina would be ashamed to put Charlotte’s ladies in waiting under any excess stress during this time. How tasteless would it be, after all, if she pushed Grace and Olivia into the public eye when their friend and princess was nowhere to be seen. Going by their public duties; visiting shelters and orphanages, smiling and waving at photographers while trying to dodge the inevitable pestering of journalists and camera crews bombarding them with questions. Carolina could prepare them, though the most she’d be comfortable with giving them is the double-edged “no comment”. The best for everyone, she concluded, would be to keep everyone in the palace until further notice. 

‘ Evening, Lady Sinclair, ’ she returned. ‘ I wouldn’t tell me that, if I were you, ’ she joked, letting out a breathy chuckle that was intended to lighten the mood a bit. ‘ I was on my way to the kitchens myself. I’m in need of my ... fifteenth cup of coffee for the day. ’ Carolina held up her empty mug. ‘ Keurig K Cups don’t do the trick sometimes. ’ 

She sighed at the mention of things Carolina should be doing. The grip around her cell phone tightens and like the squeeze triggered it, her phone began to vibrate vigorously. Ignoring it for now, she addressed Grace. ‘ Nonstop since the party. But Valeria and the team and I are on top of it. Nothing for you to worry about. ’

[carolinakahla]

zahra-dandekar:

“I do,” Zahra nodded curtly in confirmation. “But this is one of them. Any news?” she shook her head right after she said it, knowing that if there had been any news about the princess, security would have been informed. That didn’t stop Sophia from constantly requesting updates, though. 

“I’m meeting with Samuel,” she explained as they walked down the hall together. “We need to discuss security. Again.” Zahra still had no idea how Charlotte had managed to disappear right under the nose of her bodyguards.  It was a nightmare, and Zahra had the feeling things were only going to get worse from here. The longer the princess was missing, the worse things became.  Zahra wanted to find out what had happened, and who was responsible, and she–along with the other security and intelligence personnel–wanted it yesterday.

“How are you?”

Carolina was glad to have an acquaintance in Zahra. They were both relatively new to the palace, and even after all these months, Carolina was still getting her bearings in some areas. It’s refreshing having someone else to share that sentiment with. She shook her head, ‘ I know as much as the royal family, I’m afraid. ’

She walked slower, taking her time to walk down the hallway so she could talk with Zahra. If there was any information that the press office was missing, it would be the wisest thing for them to know. ‘ Please tell me if you learn any new information. I really want Charlotte to be safe. ’ And it was true. Besides being able to have the “People’s Princess” back, it was important to her that Charlotte is actually okay. 

‘ In all honesty? ’ she wrapped her arms around her middle. ‘ A little shaken up. ’ The princess was taken from a royal event where there were guards and security personnel all around them. How could this have happened so discreetly? What was to happen next? ‘ How are you? How’s Sophia? ’ 

[carolinakahla]

adelinehenstridge:

The darkness and isolation that her room offered was enough to keep Adeline in her room for days after the death of her mother and the idea of it was extremely tempting now. The only thing that kept her from retreating was that she’d be left with her thoughts. With her mother’s death, she knew exactly what happened. Had an idea of what was to follow. At least when she was out, roaming the halls of the palace, she could find herself distracted. Because Adeline couldn’t handle this. She wasn’t stable enough, wasn’t strong enough. The heaviness in her chest was weighing her down - and the thing was, she knew exactly how to stop it. 

“Like what?” Adeline replied, raising her eyebrow, even though she kept her body facing the direction she was heading. If there was a to-do list for someone who’s sister had been missing, she certainly hadn’t seen it. Though, considering she was a princess, and how Carolina handled crisis situations, Adeline figured she must have one for her. “On second thought, forget I asked.” 

There was that gnawing feeling in her stomach again, the one she associated with grief. She first felt it, truly felt it, after her mother passed. It was creeping back in. Adeline thought about how she treated Charlotte, how she behaved at the event she had worked so hard on. At least with her sister, Adeline knew that Charlotte knew she loved her. At least with her sister, she had hope that she would return.

“I’m on my way to the kitchen,” she began, glancing down at her phone to look at the time. She ignored the texts on the screen. “I forgot to eat breakfast.” Though it technically wasn’t a lie, Adeline hadn’t planned on getting much to eat. She assumed that one of the newer staff members would turn away whilst Adeline grabbed any alcohol that they had in the kitchen. For a moment, she wondered if the woman walking beside her was heading in the same direction, since they were nearing the kitchen. Perhaps she could grab orange juice, as well. Mimosas were a common breakfast, right? “I can grab something for you if you’re busy.”

It can’t be easy for them. Losing the life of a parent, Carolina could understand, but finding a sibling to be missing was something that she couldn’t fathom getting through. Especially when the royal family is still in mourning. Knowing relatively how each of the family members’ temperament ran, Carolina had made a point about keeping her distance from Adeline. Her relationship with the youngest princess will always be strained, and Carolina knows that. She’s accepted it, even though she may not always be easy with her. But she could at least grant Adeline the pleasure of staying out of her hair unless necessary. At least for now. 

Which isn’t to say that Adeline has been up and down the walls; no, she was decidedly quiet. An uneasy kind of quiet that Carolina just couldn’t help but wonder about. She observes the princess a bit before shrugging. ‘ I don’t believe we have anything scheduled for you, ’ she informed her in a level voice. ‘ But I was expecting ... tea with your friends or you doing something with your brother. I don’t know. ’ 

‘ Oh, ’ she let out. ‘ I’m sure they’ll have some danishes or some toast. ’ Carolina had the sudden realization that she did not know how to go about a conversation with Adeline that wasn’t about her work. She couldn’t be charming; Adeline would see past that in an instant. She couldn’t be overtly sincere; she and Adeline didn’t have that kind of relationship. She couldn’t even be professional, because it feels tasteless and cold. She had to settle on being awkward. ‘ Or they could even make you something if you wanted. ’

‘ I was actually on my way to grab a cup of coffee. ’ She raised the mug in her hand up a little to indicate. ‘ I could ... join you? ’ She couldn’t tell if her face had grimaced along with what she was trying to internalize, but Carolina felt like she had just taken off all her clothes and started running around screaming. 

[carolinakahla]

‘ No, we’re moving that to tomorrow, ’ she said into the receiver. ‘ I don’t care what you have to shift around, we’ve been shifting things around too. ’ The few days post the Royal Christmas Party already had Carolina’s work phone, email and cell phone  ( for the few industry colleagues who wanted to call in a favor )  chiming in a chorus of rings and beeps, trying to get an in into the family’s already busy schedule. Her friend at The Telegraph emailed her first thing the morning after, asking for an exclusive statement from her about what happened to warrant a temporary lockdown. Carolina was insulted that there was hardly any nuance in the email and promptly deleted it with no further deliberation. In fact, in the past three days, she’s deleted over two hundred messages asking about the same thing without a reply. 

It’s not that she doesn’t understand; of course she does, jobs in communication are all interconnected and they should all work together, but, God, does she hate journalists.  At least the ones she can’t manipulate but that’s a story for another time. They’re all about self-interest and are so blinded by their ambition that they don’t realize that there are more than two sides to a story. It’s all about winners and losers; heroes and villains; saints and sinners. No gray areas; no inbetweens. And now with the still dire situation of a missing princess, there is no way that any of them are getting anything besides the general statement released by the Communications Office. 

Carolina penned down the exhausted confirmation from the person on the other end onto her desktop planner, wishing them a Happy Holiday before hanging up. She sighs tiredly and looks into her coffee mug. It’s empty, what a shame. She should just ask one of the interns to grab her another refill, but she needs to get up and walk around. Dejectedly, she gets up from her seat and grabs her mug and  ( with a second thought )  her cell phone and steps away from her desk.

She decides to forgo the coffee they have in the small kitchen in their offices and heads out to the main palace to siphon coffee from the kitchens. Carolina’s friendly with one of the cooks, having traded her grandmother’s lamb stew recipe for access to hand ground imported coffee. She walked into a hallway and found someone else in the halls. ‘ Why hello, ’ she greeted. ‘ I thought you would have other things to do. ’

[carolinakahla]

tristanaldridge:

“My history with your employers was one when I was young and untitled in my own right,” he replied smoothly. “I’m not so stupid as to want to cause more problems for Sophia and her family. I think we can all admit I’ve done that enough.” Inside, Tristan was seething, but he did his best to quell it, years of training keeping his tone placid and polite, his eyes curiously interested. “I’m not sure Samuel is who you’d need to worry about,” he finally said softly, leaving unsaid the fact that the royal family’s publicist harassing a duke would make for wonderful tabloid fodder. But that wasn’t the game he was playing this time and so Tristan stayed quiet.

“I accept your apology,” he said congenially, the edges of his lips quirking. “I assure you, my mother and sister are not going to run to the tabloids and I am not so foolish as to do so. And even if I wanted to, which I don’t, I wouldn’t have the audacity to do so while in the palace itself.” It was a lie, of course, not the part about him not wanting to run to the tabloids but the part about him not doing so in the palace. If it suited his plans, Tristan would do just about anything. But Carolina didn’t need to know that and the duke inclined his head again. “Was there anything else?”

The way that he spoke made the blood in Carolina’s veins warm with adrenaline. She did not like this first encounter with the Duke. ‘ As long as we all understand one another, there should be no further issue. ’ She stretched her mouth in a tight lipped smile if only out of courtesy. ‘ Whatever the reparation, I’ll handle it. ’ His backhanded threat was almost undetectable behind his calm demeanor; Carolina had to applaud him for that, but it wasn’t anything she hadn’t faced before. In her line of work she has to be fearless and be able to stand in the face of lions. ‘ It’s my job of course. ’

‘ Then I must thank you. ’ Whether or not he was being genuine, she didn’t really care. ‘ And other than this slight altercation hope that you’ve enjoyed your evening. Now if you’ll pardon me, I have matters to attend to. ’

[carolinakahla]

tristanaldridge:

It was almost laughable how the woman in front of him thought he would grant her information - personal information - that was not hers to have simply because she said so. “I would believe that,” he drawled, his voice still smooth, still conciliatory, still refraining from arguing with her. “If you were actually with security. I’ve been coming to events at Buckingham for my entire life and this is not the security protocol taken with invited guests of my stature. If I’m not mistaken, you work with Ms. Vanderbilt in the public relations area and therefore, are not security personnel.” He wanted to remind her that she was to refer to him as your grace but refrained from that as well, mindful that even some commoners didn’t follow the protocols and, well, he couldn’t expect an American to.

“You may ask,” he replied, his mouth becoming slightly tighter. “But I am not inclined to tell you information of a personal nature.” There had been no response from his mother and the typical, worrying response from his sister. But that was his business and not hers. “I’m sure you understand, Ms. Kahla, is it?”

The likes of Tristan didn’t intimidate her. She knew where she stood with him in terms of status, but she also knew where she stood on the side of her employers. ‘ Then you should know that my job is to ensure that every aspect of the royal family’s public reception is in a good light, and given your history with my employers, you must forgive me if I don’t have complete faith in your intentions, ’ she said in all candor. ‘ My best interest, of course, is with the family, as is the interest of the security team here at the Palace. I’m sure if I overstep, Samuel will forgive me. ’

‘ Hm. ’ She offered him a tight smile, ‘ Of course I understand, and again, I do apologize for speaking out of turn. I’m sure you understand that on a night as important as this, we would all want to avoid a scandal. Especially if rumors spread under false pretenses were to get out. One only knows that we have to be careful about the red ink on our ledgers. ’

[carolinakahla]

tristanaldridge:

When he saw the woman approaching, Tristan wondered what she wanted; he’d been avoided or treated as just another guest [instead of the duke he was] by nearly everyone this evening so surely she wasn’t coming over to speak to him. But she was. The publicist wanted to speak to him and Tristan kept a placid expression.

It was the American accent that made the duke wonder just what this woman wanted. He knew who she was, of course, in a cursory sort of way, though he would have thought someone working in public relations would have been more professional and polite to someone of his stature. “I’m not certain that what I do on my personal mobile is any of your concern,” Tristan replied, his lips curving into the polite noble smile that he’d cultivated since childhood. She was a publicist, not an interrogator and he had no reason or desire to tell her what he’d been doing - it was certainly none of her concern. But, he also did not want to start another issue when he was trying to rehabilitate his image in the eyes of those he saw each day. If he didn’t comply, Tristan knew that it would get back to the Henstridges and would undo what little progress he’d made that day. “But if you must know, I was letting my mother and sister know that I’ll be detained and not to wait up.”

Her face schooled with professionalism, she didn’t want to alarm him further with her intrusion. But it was her job tonight to make sure things went well, and even in this predicament, there was still some salvaging to do. ‘ A security precaution, ’ she told him, ‘ if you don’t mind. ’ Even behind that charming smile of his and the few servings of alcohol in her system, she wouldn’t trust him as far as she could throw him. ‘ I apologize in advance, and you do deserve some respect, sir, but truly you understand the circumstances. Your safety, and the safety of all these people frankly, is only achieved through your cooperation. ’ Granted she took a few liberties as to her authority in what she just said, but she hopes that he buys it. 

When he mentions his mother and sister, she stands down a bit, but her shoulders were still squared. Good, she thought to herself. ‘ And, may I ask, what their response was? ’ Pardon if she doesn’t fully believe him. 

[carolinakahla]

tristanaldridge:

The palace was on lockdown. As if Tristan didn’t have to spend enough time with these plebeians, now he was forced to suffer their presence even longer. He consoled himself with the fact that there were still copious amounts of champagne and enough petit fours to keep the rabble occupied. Though he had no desire to answer to anyone, he knew that if word got out about the palace being on lockdown [and all that would take was one idiot with a cell phone texting someone who wanted to post it on Twitter], he would have a worried mother and a weak worried sister to contend with.

Tristan punched out a few words on his phone and sent them along [it was easier to stay ahead of the situation with his remaining family; proactive not reactive was the key] before grabbing another glass of champagne and leaning against the wall as he surveyed the rest of the individuals, his eyes narrowing as he realized that the Princess Charlotte was not in the room. Come to think of it, had he seen her lately? He couldn’t recall and his lips thinned before he was joined by another.

Very calmly and as discreetly as she could, Carolina hurried from one side of the room to the other, trying to gather enough information about the lockdown as possible. She had spoken with Nathan and was on her way to speak to Samuel after his answer left her with more questions than not. She didn’t appreciate being left in the dark, especially with something that was significant enough to warrant a lockdown. 

As she made her way past the other security guards and waiters hanging around the perimeter of the room, she came across the infamous Tristan Aldridge. She had heard, mainly from Valeria, all about him. How he broke Sophia’s heart and how he took advantage of her position; Carolina is predisposed to hate him. And with the cell phone in his hand, given the situation, it was possible that he would cause her more disdain if he were to tell anyone outside of the room about the current state of the party. ‘ Excuse me, ’ she said sternly, walking up to him. ‘ But what did you just do on your phone? ’

[carolinakahla]

adelinehenstridge:

“That’s probably easiest for the both of us,” the princess told her, wondering if she’d be able to escape the media team at the end of the party. Attending the event for her mother was bad enough, let alone coming up with someone that summed up how she felt about it. Not that they’d print the truth, anyway. Adeline didn’t mind ranting towards Carolina, considering she worked for family and had the skin to take what she said without reporting back to her father. Most of the time, at least. 

Adeline couldn’t care less about the brunet’s feeling on the matter, considering it wasn’t her mother that she lost. Everyone felt as if they could tell her how to feel, simply because she was everyone’s queen. Even if this event was one of the favorites of her mother, it only made it harder to deal with due to her absence. “At least we can agree on that.” She said, referring to the photos of queen that were placed around the palace. The princess hadn’t thought of it turning her mother into a brand, but she did know that every time she saw her face it made her chest feel heavier. A large portrait would soon go up next to all of her elder relatives that had passed - forever their, watching their legacy. “So,” she spoke suddenly, wanting to change the topic, as her eyes fell on a group of men in the corner. “Those are polo players, yes? Do you know the name of the one in the grey suit?” 

She felt an insurmountable evidence of further withdrawal ( if it were possible ) from the princess. Carolina didn’t know why she even bothered sometimes, seeing as Adeline had remotely any interest in being cooperative and considerate toward her. Not that she really cared, but it did help Carolina picture Adeline as a human being with feelings. She did have sympathy with the royal family after all for her own personal reasons that she didn’t feel is appropriate to share. 

She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at the princess’ next words. Always so vapid and unsurprising. Carolina turned to look at whomever caught Adeline’s eye, going through the guest list in her mind. ‘ Maxwell Richardson, ’ she told her. ‘ And, your Highness, if you’re going to invite him to someplace private, please be discreet. ’

[carolinakahla]

gracesinclair:

Grace was happy that Charlotte was one of the more tame Henstridges. She couldn’t even imagine having to deal with some of the things others had to deal with. Her job was mainly to make sure the princess didn’t stress herself out too much and be there as a shoulder to lean on. “We can hope people remain civil, but it is a royal party.” She shrugged ,knowing at least something always happens. “What’s the worst thing?”

Carolina let out a quiet laugh, ‘ It’s one of my favorite things of this job. Most of these people are already so accustomed to the responsibility of their public images that they know the consequences of their actions. ’ She thought back to several altercations she’s had with Adeline; small verbal arguments but all with her own duty as a publicist and the princess’ duty as a royal in mind. ‘ I can’t say much, but it involves an heiress, the wife of a multi-national business mogul and a particularly expensive art collection. ’

[carolinakahla]

arabellabuchanan:

Arabella grimaced slightly. She didn’t know how other people’s parents were, but she knew that her parents would indeed be appalled if they had to sit through that Christmas. London surely had its fair share of snow during the holidays, but Arabella had heard of the intense snow that the northeastern United States had experienced two years prior, Boston being especially affected. “Well, I hope that you do enjoy the London Christmas,” Arabella told Carolina kindly, raising her glass. “New Years is especially festive, I think that I look forward to that more than Christmas. The countdown in Piccadilly Circus is certainly entertaining.”

Carolina looked out to the crowd of people on the floor, most of them tipsy and chatting and dressed to the nines. Suffice it to say, it wasn’t at all like the holiday parties she frequented back in the States. It made her miss home a little; the warmth of her relatives coming together, going to Mass with her mother, helping her little brothers decorate the tree. There was no Christmas like a Kahla Christmas in her eyes. But still, the winter in London had proved itself to be beautiful in its own way, Carolina had to  at least admit to that. ‘ I’m excited to see how it plays out, but I’m at a bit of a loss in terms of activities to take part of, like festivals or places to get a tree, would you happen to have any recommendations? ’ She made a low noise in the back of her throat in confirmation, ‘ It sounds wonderful. Definitely reminds me of Times Square on New Years by the sound of it. ’