by Mia Archer
“There, put that in your contacts and we’ll be able to get in touch tomorrow and hopefully we’ll be able to spend another day together,” she said with a smile. She reached out and touched my hand one last time. “This really has been a wonderful day, and I really do want to see you again.”
I licked my lips. I was at a loss for words. “I really want to see you, too.”
“Then let’s make it happen!”
Another buzz from my phone. I looked down to a frantic message from Sarah informing me that if I was going to meet up with everyone then I needed to get my butt to the front of the park asap.
“I really do have to go now,” I said. “Do you want to come with me to the entrance?”
“I’d love to, but I should probably get back as well.”
Amelia didn’t sound happy about that. I didn’t have time to dwell on that for too long, though. I really was on a timer here. I stood and hefted the massive stuffed bear I’d been toting around ever since Amelia won it for me at that shooting game.
Amelia stood as well. Then, to my surprise, she leaned in and planted a kiss on my cheek. I shivered as her lips brushed against mine, smiled, and before I could say anything she turned and melted into the crowd. A moment later it was as though she’d never existed. As though this whole incredible day had been in my imagination.
Only it hadn’t been my imagination. I had her number. I felt giddy. I spend the entire day with a hottie who was as smart as she was hot. Nothing could ruin this day.
Except for maybe getting back to the front too late and getting a good yelling from Fredericks. Yeah, that would ruin my day pretty quick. So I weaved through the crowd, made a little more difficult by the giant stuffed animal I was toting with me, and finally reached the front and saw a massive crowd of familiar faces that I could’ve done without.
“Damn Dani, did you win that for yourself?” Colin called out.
I blushed, but I also whirled around and flipped him the bird. He frowned and returned the gesture. Asshole.
“Seriously Dani, that’s one hell of a major stuffed animal you’ve got there,” Sarah said, coming up behind me. “Who got that for you? Did you meet someone today?”
If anything my blush deepened. For some reason I didn’t want to share everything that happened today. I was still processing it. It was still something special between me and Amelia. I felt like telling someone about it, even Sarah, would somehow break the magical spell that brought Amelia into my life.
“It was nothing, really,” I said.
“So you did win it yourself? The asshole was right?”
“Not exactly,” I said.
“So someone won it for you? C’mon. Tell me about her. Dish!”
“I don’t want to go into it right now,” I said.
Sarah shot me a look, but then Fredericks was addressing everyone and I didn’t have to talk to her. The man hated it when other people talked while he was talking.
“Okay everyone! Good to see you all made it back here in time,” he said. He pointedly looked at several people who were already graduated as though he hadn’t expected that but was pleased. Though the trip was still young. I had a feeling people would get into plenty of trouble before everything was over.
I certainly hoped I’d get into some trouble with Amelia before this trip was over. I couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel and get some sleep, because that would mean the morning would be here all the sooner and I’d be that much closer to seeing her again!
The waiting tonight was going to be killer.
12: Amelia
I stood in the door to one of the gift shops and watched Dani walking up to join all her friends. It was pretty easy to see her since she was the only person in the crowd carrying an oversized pink stuffed bear. It made her pretty easy to pick out even in the large crowds running through this place.
It would’ve been so nice to be able to go with her. To see some of the life she enjoyed. Hanging out with friends and being able to do what she wanted without worrying about her father’s crazy security people chasing after her.
The whole situation was going to be even worse now. I snuck out. I managed to get away from Felix, and he wasn’t going to be happy about that at all. I’m sure he’d have plenty of tricks up his sleeve to keep me from doing the same thing tomorrow, which had me worried about keeping the promise I’d made that we’d meet up again.
Oh well. There was nothing for it but to go and face the music. I’d figure out how I was going to get away from Felix when I came to that moment. No use worrying about it now when I didn’t even know what he was going to try to keep me on lockdown.
“It’s not fair,” I grumbled as I pushed my way through the crowd. I had my hat and sunglasses on again. I didn’t want to risk anyone seeing me and recognizing me. I’d done a quick search for my name after leaving Dani to make sure there wasn’t anything in the news about me disappearing.
There wasn’t, but there was still plenty of speculation about where I’d disappeared to along with endless reprintings of the photo that damned paparazzi had taken. This was all Felix’s fault. He was the one who let that asshole get through security so he could take the picture in the first place. I don’t know why I was getting the blame.
I sighed. Actually I knew exactly why I was getting the blame. I’d done so many things over the years to get father’s attention, negative attention almost always, that he probably saw that picture getting out as just another attempt on my part to make him miserable. It figures that the one time I was completely innocent was the one time he decided to get really upset. He wasn’t mad that I was kissing a girl. He was mad that it was being plastered all over the Internet and causing potential worldwide embarrassment for Allora.
I could see where he was coming from. Like I told Dani earlier when she pressed about father, it was complicated.
I rode the train back. It seemed silly to try and sneak in on a bus. They were going to have people posted at all the possible points of entry to the resort. It’s not like I could escape. The day had been so magical, but as it came to a close and the doors opened at the resort I felt a growing sense of dread. The fun was about to come to an end. I just hoped the fun ending wouldn’t include a trip back to Allora. I really wanted the option to see Dani tomorrow.
I took a deep breath and stepped through the doors. Looked around in surprise.
“What the heck?”
The platform was almost completely deserted. There wasn’t the swarm of security people I would’ve expected. I figured Felix probably had kittens earlier when he realized I wasn’t at the resort. Was it possible he didn’t realize I’d made my escape? It seemed impossible, but there was just the station attendant standing there smiling at me pleasantly.
“Did you have a nice trip?”
I jumped at that voice coming from right behind me. Though it wasn’t Felix. That was a decidedly feminine voice. The new girl. Renata. The one who let me go earlier for some reason. I whirled around and figured there were worse people to catch me than her.
“Where’s everyone else?” I asked.
“Still scouring every corner of the resort looking for you,” she said with a smile.
“Then what are you doing here?”
“I snuck away because I figured you’d be coming back through here eventually,” she said. “You could say I have insider knowledge.”
“You didn’t tell them I snuck away on the train?”
Renata smiled and put a finger to her lips. I felt safer around her already. I liked her a hell of a lot better than Felix already.
“So what do we do now?”
“If we can get you back to your room without anyone noticing then you just pretend you were playing hide and seek in that ridiculous maze all day long and we don’t say anything about the fun you had in the park today,” she said.
“And if they do catch us?” I asked.
Renata shrugged. “I doubt I’ll be able to stop Felix from blowing his sta
ck.”
“At least that’s something I’m used to,” I muttered. “It seems like he’s always doing that. Like he takes it personally every time I screw up.”
“To be fair I did read your file,” she said as we made our way into the hotel through a pair of massive sliding glass doors. “It seems like over the years you’ve been very good at getting yourself in trouble.”
“But I wasn’t trying to get myself in trouble this time! It’s not fair! It’s not my fault that asshole slipped through security and took a picture of something that was supposed to be a private moment!”
Renata stopped. I took a couple of steps farther into the hotel before I realized she wasn’t right there beside me. I turned and regarded her standing there with her arms crossed under her chest. She had an eyebrow cocked and she would’ve looked pretty if she didn’t look so damn scary.
“What?”
“You’re blaming everyone else for your problems when it seems to me you’re the only person who’s really to blame for the situation.”
“What are you talking about?”
Renata took a step closer. Frowned and shook her head.
“Don’t you see? Sure this time it might’ve been dumb luck that a photographer managed to get through security and snap that picture, but it’s your behavior leading up to that picture being snapped that was the real problem. If you’d behaved yourself instead of taking every opportunity you could to embarrass your father then maybe he’d be more inclined to believe you when you tell him you didn’t have anything to do with those pictures getting out.”
I frowned. I didn’t like that. The whole situation was so unfair and it had never occurred to me that I might be a little to blame for it, but at the same time what she said did make sense.
“Like the boy who cried wolf?”
“Exactly,” Renata said. “Only in this instance it’s Felix keeping a tight rein on you rather than a wolf devouring you.”
“Might as well be the same thing,” I growled.
“Felix’s methods are a bit extreme. Especially for a grown woman like you,” she said.
“Exactly! That’s what I’ve been trying to tell father for…”
Renata held a finger up and stopped me mid-sentence. I stared at that raised finger, a little confused and a little amazed. I’d never shut up like that for anyone before. She grinned.
“I agree that you should be treated like a grown woman,” Renata said. “The moment you start acting like a grown woman. Which includes taking responsibility for your actions. Shit happens, as the Americans are so fond of saying. How you react to that is very important, though.”
I hung my head. Damn. This girl was able to do more with a few words than Felix was with any amount of yelling. Why couldn’t she be the head of my security detail?
“What is going on here? Princess? What are you doing up here by the platform?”
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to force down the scream of frustration threatening to overwhelm me. That voice. A shrill angry voice I’d heard so many times over the years. Felix had found us.
“Sorry,” Renata said. “I warned you this might happen.”
“Yeah, it’s not your fault,” I said. “I’m the one who snuck out in the first place, right? I suppose I should start owning up to a few things.”
Renata smiled. For some reason that smile made me feel pretty good about myself. Maybe I was learning a few things. Growing up just a little. I was the one who snuck out, after all. I guess it was time to own up to a few things. I turned and fixed Felix with my best princess look. It wasn’t nearly as good as what father and mother managed when they were really upset about something, but then again they were well and truly the ones in charge while I was just waiting in line to assume the throne.
Big difference there.
“Felix,” I said.
He looked past me to the train platform. Returned that angry gaze to me. His eyes narrowed.
“Did you go to the park today? Is that why we haven’t been able to find you?”
“What I did today is none of your business, Felix,” I said. I figured that was a good middle ground between outright lying and spilling the truth. I didn’t want to get Renata in trouble, after all.
“It very much is my business, princess,” he said. He reached out and took my arm and yanked me along. I yelped at the sudden pain.
That pain didn’t last long. In a flash someone was between me and Felix. Renata stood there, her eyes flashing, staring him down.
“You would do well to remember your position,” Felix said.
“And you would do well to remember that you’re supposed to be protecting Amelia. Hurting her is hardly doing that job.”
They stared daggers at one another for the space of another moment, then for a wonder Felix turned away. I’d never seen him back down like that ever before. At least not with me. I could learn a thing or two from this Renata girl. She seemed pretty badass in addition to being willing to cut me a little slack.
“I’ll take the princess back to her room,” Renata said. “I’m sure that she’s ready for some rest after the day she had.
Felix puffed up a little bit. Uh-oh. When he puffed up like that it usually meant he thought he had the upper hand. That usually meant father was involved somehow.
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” he said. “The king himself has been waiting for us to find his wayward daughter. He requested that we get her in front of a camera for a teleconference the minute we found her.”
“It’s called Skype,” I muttered. “Not a teleconference. This isn’t the ‘80s.”
Felix fixed me with another glare, but I tried to emulate Renata and face it down with my back straight. I wasn’t going to look away from him. Then again it was difficult considering he’d been watching me since I was a little child. Old habits died hard and all that.
“You will come with me to your room where you will speak to your father,” Felix said. “I can guarantee that he isn’t too happy at all that you disappeared for the span of a day.”
And that’s how I found myself back in my suite in front of a computer staring at the frowning face of my father and mother. It was almost comical the way they both tried to crowd into the camera frame, but I knew better than to laugh. Felix flanked me on one side and Renata was on the other, as though they were worried I was going to bolt to get away from this conversation.
The idea was tempting, but I knew I wasn’t going to get very far.
“Amelia,” father said. “Your mother and I have been worried sick about you! Where were you?”
Where was I? I was out having the time of my life with an American commoner. I was out living my life instead of being trapped in the cage set up by all the security people. I was out from under Felix’s oppressive thumb. Maybe it was just a crush, but I felt the first stirrings of something deeper when I thought of Dani.
None of that would likely please father given that I was out here in the first place to avoid drawing attention. And so my mouth did my thinking before I could stop it. Old habits and all that.
“Are you sure you were worried about me? Or were you worried that news would get out that the Crown Princess of Allora was missing and that would hit the news cycle?”
Father frowned and he looked pained. He really had been worried about me. He might be strict, but he wasn’t a monster. I caught motion out of the corner of my eye and turned to see Renata frowning and shaking her head. I’d just put my foot in it, big time. That was something the old Amelia would do. I needed to take responsibility for my actions.
“I’m sorry father,” I said.
Father’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t have time for your games, Amelia.”
I took a deep breath. This went against every instinct I had. Every instinct that was screaming at me to make some smart remark that would send father into a rage. Renata was right, though. I needed to be the bigger person if I wanted to be treated like an adult.
“
I truly am sorry,” I said. “I shouldn’t have snuck out like I did. I should have at least let someone know where I was going.”
I looked at Felix and smiled. He operated under the polite fiction that he only had my best interests at heart. I tried to tell father that Felix’s punishments were often overreactions, and I was always told I was the one overreacting. The idea that I’d tell someone where I was going would sound perfectly reasonable to father even if Felix and I both knew that I’d be locked in my room for the rest of the day if I did anything that stupid.
Still, I was trying to turn over a new leaf. I might as well act the part.
“Well, I’m glad to hear you say that,” father said. “You know I’ve been thinking I was perhaps a bit precipitous sending you away. Maybe you could fly back and we could discuss this all in person?”
His face softened, though mother still didn’t look happy. “If that girl is truly what would make you happy, well, it is the twenty-first century.”
I felt a peculiar mix of relief and panic. Relief that this actually seemed to be working. That father was taking my apology and treating me like a person rather than a recalcitrant child. Panic at the idea of leaving Royal Realms which would mean leaving behind any chance of seeing Dani. I didn’t want that.
“No!” I said. Once again my mouth was working far ahead of my brain.
Mother raised an eyebrow. Father leaned in closer to the camera. “What was that, dear?”
“I mean, I’m having so much fun here at Royal Realms, father,” I said. “And we only just got here. Plus I understand the park and the Royal Company have all sorts of fun things planned for me what with a real princess visiting their park. Perhaps I could stay a few days and enjoy myself?”
“Yes, I suppose you do have a point, Amelia,” he said with a chuckle. “This is going to take some getting used to.”
I fought back the urge to stick my tongue out at him. I was doing so well for myself with logic and reason and acting like an adult rather than acting out. Maybe there really was something to this. I’d have to give Renata a big hug when it was all done.