Free The Crown Jewels by Honey Palomino Page A

Everything is free for me and my guests,” she said, with a wink before lowering her voice. “One of the perks of being a member of the Royal Family.”
    “Really?” I was stunned.
    “Really!” she replied. “You can have anything you want.”
    “Oh, my God.”
    “You are too cute,” she laughed, grabbing the velvet dress off the rack again and pushing it towards me. “Go. Try this on!”
    “Alright, I will!” I smiled at her gratefully, and took the velvety concoction to a dressing room. Once I had it on, I looked at myself in the mirror.
    It was beautiful. The velvet fit perfectly, hugging my curves and plunging to a fairly conservative v between my breasts. I fluffed up my hair, and turned in a circle.
    I couldn’t help but smile at my reflection. Even when I dressed up back home, it wasn’t like this. A nice, simple black dress with some costume jewelry and I called it good. This was extravagant. This was luxurious.
    This was not me.
    “I don’t think this is the one,” I said, walking out of the dressing room to show Catherine. “Maybe something a little simpler —.”
    “— you look amazing!” she squealed, closing the distance between us. “It’s perfect!”
“I don’t think —,”
    “— no! Not another word, you are taking this and wearing it to the ball.”
    “I feel like a Christmas tree or something. It’s too much, too green, too fancy, too —.”
    “— I think it’s lovely.” Catherine and I turned towards the voice together, and I felt Catherine tense up immediately. The woman standing in front of us was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
    She looked like she had just walked off the cover of Swedish Vogue. Everything matched. She was pure gold - golden flowing locks, pale creamy golden skin, bright golden brown tiger eyes - all of which matched her outfit. She wore a yellow-gold fitted dress, topped with a blonde and brown fringed shawl. On top of her head was a furry blonde hat that I was pretty sure was once a fox.
    I couldn’t stop looking at her.
    “Seraphina,” Catherine said coldly, “hello.”
    “It’s darling to see you, Catherine,” she replied. “Who’s your friend?”
    “This is Julia. She’s a friend of Will’s, from America,” she replied. I held out my hand to shake hers, but she just stared down at it.
    “Oh!” Seraphina replied, lifting an eyebrow. “A friend of Will’s, huh? You poor soul.”
    “Excuse me?” I asked, putting my hand back at my side.
    “Don’t start, Seraphina!” Catherine said, and I jumped at her tone. There was obviously bad blood between the two of them. I wondered how Will fit in. I was sure it had something to do with his prick, though.
    “Oh, now, now, Catherine darling. You know I mean no harm.” She touched a perfectly manicured finger to my bare arm. “You just keep your little heart put away when you’re around Will and you’ll be just fine. And, well, don’t forget the condoms,” she winked and tapping her finger on my arm. “He gets around. A lot.”
    I blushed, speechless, mortified.
    “Don’t be a fitta, Sera.” Catherine seethed. She turned away, pulling me with her, and walking into the massive dressing room with me.
    “Sorry about that, Julia,” she apologized as she sat on a huge red velvet settee.
    “It’s fine. What’s a fitta?” I asked.
    “A cunt!” she exclaimed. “She shouldn’t have said those things to you.”
    “She didn’t bother me at all,” I lied. It bothered me a little. Of course I wasn’t the only heart Will had broken. I’m sure a woman like Seraphina had provided him with hours of entertainment before he trampled all over her heart. I also knew there was no doubt there was a long line of Seraphinas before and after me.
    Nothing about Will was a mystery. There was nothing I could hear about him that would be shock me.
    “Julia, I know what happened between you and Will. You don’t have to pretend with me,” Catherine said.
    “What?” I asked. Okay,