by Karina Halle
The adrenaline of the adventure, though, jolts me awake.
I get out of the car. We’ve parked down a long road that ends at the base of the mountain. Four ATVs made for snow are parked around the bend of trees, while the other vehicles sit on the side of the road. I see Ottar waiting in one car, and Tom, a bodyguard, waiting in another.
But, standing in the middle of the road, dressed in their warmest gear, are my friends.
King Aksel and Queen Aurora.
Prince Viktor and Princess Maggie.
The only people who have yet to show up are the ones who came the furthest distance, Princess Stella and Prince Orlando, all the way from Monaco, but they should be here pretty soon.
“You made it!” I yelp, and then I run over to them like an overexcited puppy. I pull Aksel and Viktor into big hugs that probably make them borderline uncomfortable (especially Aksel, hugging him is like hugging a wall of ice), then try to act more restrained with Aurora and Maggie. Maggie is actually seven months pregnant and the size of a beluga whale. I’m actually surprised she’s even here, but she’s stubborn like that.
“Good job, Viktor,” I tell my friend, patting him on the back. “She looks ready to blow.”
“I feel ready to blow,” Maggie says. Then quickly adds. “Don’t worry, I won’t. Like hell I was going to let Viktor come to your magical cabin that he always talks about without me.”
“Well, you’re lucky, because with the new addition we had to build a new outhouse. No more spiders the size of your hand.”
“Excuse me, what?” Aurora speaks up.
“Hey, you’re an Aussie, you should be used to it. Anyway, it’s winter, they’re all dead. You all prepared to hike?”
They all stare at me, blank-faced.
“I’m just kidding. We have transportation around the corner.” Normally we hike there in the summer, but not with Maggie being pregnant, and also not in all this snow. We had the trail there cleared the other day when I had some men stock the place with food and drinks, and we’re riding up there on four-wheelers that can handle it.
“Guess we’re just waiting on my sister,” Aksel mutters.
“Look at that, Magnus, someone else is later than you are,” Viktor says with a laugh.
“Very funny,” I say. “J’vla bonde kuktryne.”
Which in Norwegian means fucking farmer dickface.
“Don’t get me started,” Viktor says. “I can have a swearing competition with you any day.”
“I think that’s them,” Aurora says, and we all turn to see a car coming down the road toward us.
Chapter 3
Stella
“We’re the last ones,” I whine as the car pulls off the road, and I can see a bunch of vehicles at the end.
“We had a longer flight,” Orlando reminds me. He gives me a funny look. “Are you nervous or something?”
“What, me?”
He nods. “Yes, my star. You’ve bitten your nails down to nothing.”
I glance down at my hand and wince, the nail polish from the manicure I got a few days ago already coming off. “I don’t know. I guess I just don’t know the rest of them at all. Not the girls, anyway.”
He lets out a wry laugh. “They’re coming to our wedding.”
I sigh. “I know. It’s just…they’re kind of their own group. You know, all Nordic and tucked away up here and we’re all…Monégasque and tucked away down there. I barely get to see Aksel anymore.”
“Because you’re busy. We’re busy. Everyone is busy. It’s life,” he says to me, leaning in and kissing me softly. “And it’s a good life, isn’t it?”
I stare into his blue eyes, my heart skipping a few beats, as it does sometimes when I look at him. I may be a little nervous for feeling like I’m not part of the clique or the group, but at least I have my fiancée by my side, a man that adores me.
And as nervous as I am about not fitting in, I think I’m just nervous being away from the kids. Anya is such an independent child that she’ll be just fine, at least I hope she will. She’s used to me jetting off here and there, though I have barely left the house since Estelle was born. And Estelle…she turns one in March and I have an immense amount of guilt leaving a baby behind. I know that she’s got family looking after her and she probably won’t even notice, but still.
The car comes to a stop, and everyone waves at us as we get out.
“You’re here,” Aurora cries out happily, running across the snow in her stylish parka. She puts her arms around me, giving me a tight squeeze. My god, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen my sister-in-law, and this makes me realize how much I’ve missed her.
“You look great, your hair,” she marvels as she pulls away, reaching up to pat my head.
“You like?” I fluff up the ends with my hands and strike a pose. I was trying to grow out my blonde hair, but recently had it cut into a short bob. I know it’s such a “new mom” thing to do, but it’s made my life so much easier now that I can wash it and forget it.
Aksel comes over to me next, and even though he’s not much of a hugger, I still hold him tight.
“Hey brother,” I tell him, inspecting his face. Even if you didn’t know Aksel was a king, you’d figure it out anyway. He has such a way about him, always has since he was a kid, holding himself with such reverence and importance. Sometimes to a fault. But right now, he looks different. Relaxed. Dare I say, happy? There’s a twinkle in his blue eyes that doesn’t appear all that often.
“Norway looks good on you,” I tell him.
“Shhh, don’t ever let Magnus hear you say that,” he says with a small smirk.
“I heard that!” Magnus yells. “And while you’re talking about me, how about you give me your attention.”
“Hold your horses,” Maggie chides him. She comes over to me with Viktor. “I’ve never met the infamous duo from Monaco.”
The press calls her Princess Maggie, which should be a huge hint toward her laid-back demeanor. She’s American, with the kind of backstory the media loves to play up but, even so, I’m a bit intimidated. I know that’s an odd thing to feel when you’ve grown up a princess, but the fact is that the “normal” people are the ones I find the most interesting.
“I’d hug you, but you know,” she says, gesturing to her stomach, which sticks out like she’s got a couple of beach balls under her coat.
“How far along are you?” I ask.
“Far enough. Seven months, three days,” she says.
“I told her she needed to stay at home,” Viktor speaks up.
Maggie grins at me. “And I told him to mind his own business.”
I like her already.
Then Magnus comes over with Ella, practically shoving her in front of me.
“Here, you haven’t met. Ella this is Stella, Stella this is Ella, and now I’ve just realized that your names are pretty much the same,” he says.
Ella is a beautiful fairy princess, this petite blonde with the most perfect eyebrows that would make any YouTube make-up artist sick with envy.
“Nice to meet you finally,” Ella says. “And please excuse my husband. He’s operating at a different level today.”
“Oh good, you’ve mentioned me again. I can use that segue,” Magnus says, taking a step back. He gives us all a big smile. “Okay, now that everyone has been properly introduced, let’s get up to fucking speed. First of all, I want to thank you all for coming here. When I had this idea to have a New Year’s Eve party in the middle of nowhere, in the mountains of Norway, I knew it was crazy. But the world is built on crazy ideas, isn’t it? And it takes a special kind of person to agree to this madness. Thankfully, you’re all special people. You know it, too. There are only so many royals in this world, royals that are usually held to different standards than everyone else, adhering to strict protocols their entire lives. But you guys? You’re different. You’ve proved that by coming here.”
He pauses and puts his arm around Ella. “My wife had a rough time
this morning saying goodbye to the kids. So did I. It’s never easy. Since we’re all parents here, I know that you all went through the same thing today. Even when we know we deserve some time to ourselves, some time to let our hair down and have fun, away from the expectations of our countries, of the public, of even our children. But you’re here now. You made it. Now is the time to just be yourself. Get drunk as hell. Oh, except for you Maggie. And have some motherfucking fun!”
We all cheer in unison. Man, Magnus really does have a way of getting you pumped up.
The drivers and bodyguards go grab everyone’s bags from the cars and we follow them down the road, the snow getting deeper and deeper. The air is crisp and cold, and I’m grateful for all the layers I’m wearing. Orlando made fun of me for bundling up and packing so many warm clothes, but he’s not Nordic, I am. And I can tell he’s grateful that he took a cue from me.
When we get to the end of the road, we follow some wheeled tracks through the snow and then we see four ATVs.
“Our chariots,” Magnus says, waving to them with flourish.
Each vehicle takes four passengers, so each couple sits in the back, with a bodyguard or driver up front.
I buckle myself in beside Orlando, our bags secure in the storage compartment at the back, and then we’re off.
At first, we follow a trail that seems to have been cleared recently, chugging along under towering pines. But the higher we climb, the more that the trees thin out, until they’re few and far between.
Here it looks impossibly white and barren, the mountain rising up and up and up. We take a switchback route over a steep face, and then, finally, we come to a level area.
Two cabins poke out of a handful of trees. One looks like it’s seen better days, the other is smaller but newly built with fresh-looking wood.
“And here we are,” Magnus says, still living in his role of master of ceremonies. He climbs out of the ATV and stands before us. “The cabins. Your home for the next two nights. Now, in one cabin there’s a pull-out couch, a bed upstairs in the loft, and a bed in the bedroom of course. Plus a kitchen—don’t worry, it’s already stocked with food and alcohol.” He gestures to the new cabin. “That cabin is basically just a bedroom. Perfect if you need privacy. Only problem is, on a night away from our children, I’m sure we all want a little privacy right now.”
“I’ll take it,” Aksel says in a commanding voice.
I roll my eyes. Of course.
But Magnus doesn’t bite. “Oh really? Is that because you’re the king and the rest of us are just princes and princesses. Lesser royals?”
“Yes, that’s right,” he says gravely.
“You know what,” I say, raising my hand briefly. “I think Maggie and Viktor should have it. After all, she’s pregnant.” I fire a saucy smile at my brother.
“I won’t say no,” Maggie says, giving me a grateful look. “I do have to pee like all the time at night and I’d hate to keep waking everyone up when I go outside to use the outhouse.”
“And I’m totally used to it by now,” Viktor interjects.
She elbows him. “Yeah, this guy sleeps through everything. Lucky him.”
“Okay, it’s settled.” Magnus then claps Aksel on the back. “Sorry, your sister had a point.”
Aksel glares at me, and I have to fight the urge to stick my tongue out at him.
Alas, I am punished for speaking out, because when we haul our bags into the main cabin, Aksel immediately claims the bedroom for him and Aurora, and Magnus and Ella take the loft, leaving Orlando and I on the sofa bed.
My brother smirks at me, eying the couch.
What a dick.
“All right,” Magnus says, when he comes down from the loft. “Now that we’re all settled, I think it’s time to start getting drunk. Someone go get the American and the Swede.”
Aksel puts his boots back on and heads outside.
Magnus starts bringing out bottles of wine, cans of beer, bottles of hard liquor, and all the mixers you could want.
“Shouldn’t we have something to eat first?” Ella asks him.
He answers by grabbing a few bags of chips and triumphantly plopping them on the table. “Problem solved.”
Viktor, Aksel, and Maggie walk back inside the cabin, Magnus gets the fire roaring, and then the fun begins.
Aurora and Maggie argue over whose Spotify playlist to play first.
Orlando finishes a beer in five gulps, which prompts Magnus to do the same, and dear lord, those two are so similar that I know the next two nights are going to be nothing but crazy.
Then, as we all start drinking more, we start fanning out into groups, much like we’re at a high school dance.
I’m on the couch with Aurora, Ella, and Maggie, while the men are all in the kitchen, laughing their heads off in a drunken stupor.
Ella shakes her head, watching them, and then turns to us. “If any of your men do something stupid, I’m afraid there’s no one to blame but Magnus.”
“Nah, Viktor knows well enough,” Maggie says, making an effort to adjust herself on the couch cushions. “I don’t know what it is, but when the two of them get together, they turn into teenagers.”
“I know Orlando doesn’t know them that well,” I tell her. “But I can already tell it’s the same thing with him. Two peas in a pod.”
“Three peas, once Viktor gets going,” Maggie adds.
“Meanwhile, I want Aksel to get drunk,” Aurora says, pouting, her eyes glued to him as he casually sips a scotch, smiling in amusement at the other men. “It’s so bloody rare that he does. You can attest to that, Stella.”
I nod, taking a sip of my wine. “I’ve only seen it twice, so it’s a nice change of pace when it happens.”
“That’s it,” she says with a determined nod. “That’s my mission. I’m getting the King of Denmark drunk. If not tonight, then tomorrow night.”
“I’m sure Viktor and the others will be helping you without you even knowing it,” Maggie says, raising her can of sparkling apple juice.
“I bet you wish the nine months were over,” I tell her.
“Yep,” she says, pressing her lips together. “I’m over being pregnant. It’s not just about not having a glass of wine anymore. Or, you know, several. I just want to meet the little one.”
“Do you know the sex yet?” Ella asks.
Maggie shakes her head. “We want to be surprised. We don’t care either way. As long as it’s healthy.”
“And if it’s not healthy, then you’re just going to give it the boot or…?” Aurora jokes.
Maggie laughs. “You know what I mean. Though, god, I just realized how often people say that and what it actually sounds like. No, we’re just so very excited. And I’m extra excited to not have to pee every five minutes. Excuse me.”
“Here let me help you,” Aurora says, helping Maggie to her feet. The two of them go and get their boots on, while the men still aren’t paying any attention. Typical.
I watch them go outside and then look to Ella. “Must be so weird to be an ordinary girl and then get sucked up into this royal mess,” I tell her.
She nods. “I think about that a lot. I know being the Princess of Liechtenstein isn’t the same as being the Princess of Denmark, but at least we were raised with our roles in mind, even if I did spend a lot of time pretending I wasn’t a princess. You know, before I met Magnus.”
“They both seem to handle it well. I know the press has been far more brutal to Maggie and Aurora than they are to us.”
“I don’t know, you were dragged pretty badly,” Ella says with an impish smile, taking a sip of her drink. She gestures with head at Magnus behind us. “As for me, well that was all his doing. Luckily, all his stupid shenanigans ended the moment he met me.”
“You’re a good influence on him,” I say to her.
She grins. “And you’re a good influence on your prince, too.”
I raise my glass to hers. “Here’s to us then. To the princesses a
nd their reformed princes.”
“To us,” she says.
We clink our glasses and slam our drinks back.
Chapter 4
Maggie
“Oh my god, we’re snowed in,” I cry, staring out the door at the space between the cabin and the outhouse, a motion detector light coming on and illuminating what used to be a path. Now it’s covered in a thick dump of snow and the flakes are falling from the sky fast and hard.
I close the door, trying to keep the heat in and then waddle as quickly as I can back to bed, feeling like a penguin in a foot race. I rip back the covers and get back under them, attempting to snuggle up to Viktor, but my damn stomach is in the way.
“Viktor,” I whisper. He doesn’t move. He’s out, snoring extra loud, which is why I woke up in the first place. For once I didn’t even have to pee, but he was going off like a chainsaw, brought on by all the copious amounts of booze he’s had.
“Viktor,” I say again, louder. I poke him in the side.
He mumbles something, doing a half-snort, half-snore thing. He’s lucky he’s so damn handsome.
I poke him again.
Finally his eyes blink open, illuminated by the faint glow from the fireplace, the last of the log burning.
“What? What is it?” he asks.
“It’s snowing,” I tell him.
His eyes close. He licks his lips. “What time is it?”
“It’s six a.m.”
“Okay,” he mumbles, giving me a small smile and then relapsing into sleep again.
“Viktor!” A harder nudge.
“What, what?” he cries out, trying to look at me again. “What’s happening?”
“I said it’s snowing.”
“And?”
“I’m snowed in. We’re snowed in. I can’t even make it to the outhouse.”
“Helvete,” he swears sleepily.
“Yeah, Helvete. I need you to clear the way.”
“Right now?”
“I have to pee!”