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"Clothes."
"Eyes."
Something about the argument seemed absurdly
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funny to Selena. She couldn't help herself. She started to laugh.
Beside her, Lara giggled.
"How could eyes be made of glass? Everyone knows that windows are glass," the queen said earnestly.
Andrew shot Selena a funny look. His eyes crinkled in the corners, his mouth twitched.
Edith frowned and glanced at the faces around her. "They're laughin' at us, Your Highness."
The queen's eyes rounded. Then a quick smile quirked one side of her mouth. A deep, breathy chuckle slipped out.
There was a moment of stunned silence, and then everyone was laughing. The booming sound filled the tiny room.
Selena had never experienced such exhilaration. She felt wonderfully, joyously alive.
"I ... love ... to laugh," Lara said with a gap-toothed grin.
Finally the laughter melted away, leaving a silence that was warm and welcoming.
The queen wiped the tears from her cheeks and turned to Selena. "Thank you, child. It's been a long time-----"
"You're welcome," Selena answered automatically.
The queen rapped her on the nose with her open fan. "You're welcome, Your Highness. That's me. You may address me as Queen Victoria or Your Highness."
Selena watched her mouth form the words. "Your ... Highness."
The queen beamed. "She will come to me for lessons first, of course."
"What will you teach her?" Andrew asked.
"The essentials. How to walk with books on her head. How to wave and curtsy. An overview of the peerage." Her fleshy face scrunched in a thoughtful frown. "Tea etiquette is crucial."
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"That should help her in the real world," Andrew said.
The queen looked up sharply. "Do you think she'll ever see the real world?"
"Why not? She's not crazy."
"Neither am I," snorted the queen. "If it weren't for my evil twin sister, Vicky the sneak, I'd be on the throne right now." The queen turned and began pacing the room, fanning herself, muttering.
Selena went to the queen. "Help me."
The queen paused, turned. "You accept that I am the real and true inheritor of the throne of England?"
Selena had no idea what she'd just been asked. So she nodded.
The queen smiled. "Today we shall begin with my realm of expertise."
