Saturday, November 28
11:00 A.M.
MY BIRTHDAY Royal Pool

When I woke up this morning (on my own. Francesca didn’t wake me up, because it’s my birthday, so for once I was allowed to sleep as late as I wanted to, because there’s no school, no royal appearance, and no special event to attend today except my BIRTHDAY BALL TONIGHT) and went downstairs to eat breakfast, no one was around.

No one! In a palace full of people!

It took me a while to figure out where everyone had gone. I had to ask the majordomo, who finally told me:

• Mia and Michael had taken the twins to their first postbirth checkup at the pediatrician.

• Dad, Helen, and Rocky were on some kind of secret mission (I assume to do with my birthday, hoping to surprise me, since the majordomo wouldn’t give me any details. But I’ve already had the biggest surprise any girl could get in her life: finding out that her dad is actually the Prince of Genovia!).

• Lilly had gone off somewhere with Mia’s bodyguard, Lars, because it’s Lars’s day off.

This isn’t unusual. Whenever Lilly is in town and Lars has a day off, the two of them go off somewhere. Nishi thinks they are having a love affair, but Nishi thinks that about everyone.

I think it is more likely that Lars is showing Lilly the lovely Genovian countryside.

• And the rest of the palace staff was running around, trying to get everything ready for my party.

Fortunately Chef Bernard had recovered from his bout of La Grippe in time for my birthday, and had left some breakfast for me (my favorite, chocolate croissants). I took the plate and headed out to the pool, where I found Grandmère sunbathing in her pajamas.

“Hi, Grandmère,” I said, sitting on a chaise longue beside her.

“Well, good morning, darling,” she said, lowering her sunglasses so she could get a proper look at me. “Happy birthday.”

“Thanks. Grandmère, why are you still dressed in your pajamas?”

“Oh, Dr. Khan was here and said that while I don’t have La Grippe, I do have a slight cold—no doubt from having spent so many hours in the company of that odious young duke, who does not seem like the healthiest fellow—and advised that I rest and drink plenty of fluids before your ball tonight. Genovian sunshine always does me good after I’ve been away, so I’m absorbing some. And these are lounging pajamas, Olivia, not sleeping pajamas. I’m lounging. My question to you is, why are you not wearing your pajamas? It’s your birthday. You could wear pajamas all day if you wanted to.”

“Thanks, but I don’t want to.”

“Suit yourself. But I think the benefits of lounging will grow on you as you get older.”

I put my plate of chocolate croissants aside so that Snowball couldn’t get at them and stretched out on the chaise longue.

“Maybe,” I said. “But the truth is, I’m a whole year older today, and I feel exactly the same as I did yesterday.”

Grandmère sighed. “Get used to it. Aside from a more frequent desire to lounge, I don’t feel a day older than I did when I was your age.”

This caused me to sit up and stare at her in surprise. “Really? You still feel thirteen? But you’ve done so much with your life!”

“Yes, I have,” Grandmère said, turning her face back toward the sun—though of course her skin was well shielded from its rays by an enormous floppy hat. “But that doesn’t mean I feel any differently. When I was thirteen, I was certain I knew everything in the world there was to know.”

“And?” I asked eagerly. “Did you?”

She laughed. Well, not so much laughed as cackled. “Oh, yes, my dear. Absolutely.”

I sighed with envy.

I’ve only been thirteen for less than twelve hours (four if you count the fact that I was born at eight in the morning) and I feel like I know less than I did when I was twelve, thanks to Prince Khalil’s letter.