“Hola, Señor Moreno,” I say as I burst into the shop, greeting Mr. Moreno who is by the front window, sitting on a stool, organizing the shelves with new products.

The little shop has a few customers who look up at my entrance. Liam follows behind me and the customers gather together. I know they’re talking about me but they’re speaking softly enough that I can’t overhear.

“Su Majestad, es un privilegio volver a verlo,” Mr. Moreno, who stood when I entered the shop, bows before me, and I stand there awkwardly, never knowing how I am supposed to respond. I bow my head in a show of returned respect.

“¿Está la señora Moreno aquí hoy?” I trip over my words a bit but Mr. Moreno nods and gestures to the back of the store and then he begins to stand up. “Oh, it’s fine. Don’t worry, I’ll find her?” Mr. Moreno takes a minute to translate what I said but then he nods and lowers himself back down onto the stool to continue working.

I turn to walk down the tight aisle to get to the back and I hear whispers coming from another aisle. I look over to see two girls huddled close, whispering and staring at me.

“Don’t listen to them,” Liam says when he catches up with me. I shoot him a look and he makes a face. “Oh, you didn’t hear them, did you?”

“What did they say?’ I ask then immediately change my mind. “Never mind, I don’t want to know.” I throw my shoulders back and stand up straight, walking to the back counter to find Mrs. Moreno.

“Ah! Your Majesty!” Mrs. Moreno bristles with pride to see me in her shop once again. “¿Como puedo ayudarte?”

“Actually, I am here to offer my help,” I say and Mrs. Moreno looks slightly confused. “If you want me. I have some time this morning and thought I would stop in to see if I could be of use here.”

“Hmm,” Mrs. Moreno ponders my offer. She looks over at Liam who shrugs and nods, giving her the okay to put the Queen to work. “Okay! ¿Puedes coser?” Mrs. Moreno asks and the word doesn’t sound familiar to me so I look back at Liam.

“She’s asking if you know how to sew,” Liam translates for me.

“Oh,” I hesitate. While I do know the basics of sewing, I’m not a pro and I wouldn’t want to mess up anything she’s working on. “Sort of?”

“‘Sort of’? What does that mean?” Liam laughs and then remembers he is here in a professional manner. I roll my eyes and laugh with him though.

“It means that I sort of know how to sew, but not well,” I say, narrowing my eyes at him. Liam smiles then turns to Mrs. Moreno and explains the dilemma. She nods and considers what to do.

“Está bien. Tengo algo en lo que puedes trabajar,” Mrs. Moreno says quickly and I look at Liam for confirmation that I understood she has work for me to do. Liam shakes his head, yes. Mrs. Moreno gestures for us to follow her behind the counter and to a back room.

“Wow, this is a great setup. Do you make most of the dresses in the store?” I ask as I look around the back room. It’s a bit messy but it looks like she has been hard at work on a few different projects.

“No, solo para ocasiones especiales. Hice algunos para las chicas que asistieron a tu boda,” Mrs. Moreno explains with a big smile.

“She says that she only makes dresses for special occasions, and she made some for your wedding,” Liam says and I smile. I understood most of what she said but it is helpful to have Liam here to translate.

“Gracias. Estoy seguro de que los vestidos eran hermosos,” I respond in Spanish, telling her that I am sure they were beautiful.

Mrs. Moreno gets me set up in a little corner of the back room and I get to work. Liam takes a chair next to me and closes his eyes to nap while I work. We sit in the back room for an hour or so with only the noise of the sewing machine humming away while I work. Mrs. Moreno comes back to check on us a couple of times. She sees me sweating over the dress and asks if I would like to take the dress back home to continue working. I check the time and realize I need to get back to my computer for work, so I agree with Mrs. Moreno and thank her for her hospitality. Both she and Mr. Moreno bow to me as I leave their shop.

“They like you,” Liam says as we start the walk back through the village.

“I hope everyone will like me,” I say but don’t elaborate. Liam falls into step behind me and I feel weird walking alone but I know he has to walk behind me for certain reasons. “I have to stop at The Market to get some fresh flowers and well, for fun,” I tell Liam over my shoulder and I see him nod to acknowledge he heard me.

We stop at The Market and I peruse the stands, finding a few fun items. The stand owners try to give the items to me for free and at some point, I give Liam my wallet to pay for the items after I’ve moved on. I don’t want to be rude and decline the free items but I also believe I should pay for them. Liam agrees and leaves the money behind at each stand we go to.

I stop at my favorite flower stand and the owner helps me pick out some that will go perfectly with the ones I picked from the Castle’s garden. The owner also helps me find the right food for the flowers.

“Gracias,” I say to the flower stand owner, and Liam chuckles. “What?”

“Your accent has been getting worse and worse throughout the day,” Liam chuckles as we head back to the Castle.

“Are you serious?” I turn on him and he is still laughing so I know he is serious. “Why didn’t you say something earlier? I’m just tired!” I protest and he just laughs again. “Shut up, let’s go,” I say and we go back to the Castle where Liam excuses himself to attend to other matters and I go back to the cottage to set up my floral display. I take pictures and send them to my mother, proud of the arrangement.