by B. B. Hamel
I’m glad Mila doesn’t speak Bellestanian, because they weren’t being generous with her. Of course, most of the people in Bellestan speak English, but Bellestanian is still the primary language, and so most people speak that. She probably heard a few of those comments in English, but I’m hoping she assumed they weren’t the norm.
Unfortunately, it looks like the press isn’t going to be kind to us. Apparently, they think I’m a traitor to our people, and that I’m a part of the problem. They think we’re just a bunch of elite trying to destroy Bellestan, and Blaz Perko is the only one that can save them.
They accused Mila of all sorts of insane things. From being an American spy to wanting to seduce the King, the press was absolutely out of control.
As soon as we step out of the car onto the castle grounds, I turn to Mila and take her hands.
“I’m so sorry about that,” I say.
She blinks, a little surprised. “About what, the press?”
I nod once. “They were out of control.”
“Oh.” She laughs a little. “I expected that.”
“You did?”
She shrugs. “Isn’t that what always happens?”
“No,” I say, laughing. “Not at all. They’re usually a little more respectful of the monarchy.”
“Different times, I guess,” she says, shrugging.
I grin at her, and feel a surge of pride. “Come on,” I say. “Welcome to Castle Krizman.”
The castle stands before us, stone and ornate. She looks up at it with wide eyes, and I don’t bother looking at the castle. I watch her reaction to it, which makes me smile huge.
She’s excited, like a little kid seeing a castle for the first time. I realize suddenly that this really might be her first castle. We start to walk toward it and she just gapes.
“It’s big,” she says. “And beautiful. How old is it?”
“Built in the eleventh century,” I say. “Well, mostly just the inner parts of it. We’ve expanded since then.”
“Amazing.” She looks around and laughs. “How do you live here?”
I grin at her. “You’ll see.”
The drawbridge is down and the enormous gates are thrown open, so we walk through them past an honor guard. They salute us as we go, and I salute back. Mila waves a little uncertainly and I smile at her encouragingly.
We make it past the guards and into the ornate first chamber. It’s the reception hall where ancient kings and queens received petitioners. Two thrones sit on the top of a dais in the center of the room and incredibly beautiful tapestries hang from the walls. Fireplaces line the room, which were once the only form of heat in the castle. Now it has some modern upgrades, but the hearths are still lit on ceremonial occasions.
Just as we turn toward a side hallway, I catch a glimpse of a very familiar face. “Aleks!” I call out.
Aleks Loncar turns toward me with his usual sideways grin. He’s a bit older than the last time I saw him, which was about five years ago. Aleks was my closest friend growing up. He’s the son of a rich baron and we went to all the same schools together. Now he’s the head of the royal guard, which is why we barely see each other.
“Hello, my Prince,” he says.
“Cut that shit out.” I walk over and give him a big hug, which he returns. He’s a bit shorter than me, but he’s a barrel of a man, stocky and thick chested. He grins at me when I step back. “You’re getting fat.”
“You too, little Bran,” he says.
“Oh, cut it out.”
“Is that her?” He peers around me at Mila.
“That’s her.” I wave her over. “Mila, this is Aleks. He’s an old friend.”
“Hello, nice to meet you.” They shake hands and Aleks gives me a look.
“So polite, this one. I thought all Americans were loud boors?”
“Give her some time,” I say, laughing.
“Hey,” she says. “Are you two stereotyping me?”
“Yes,” Aleks says. “We very much are.”
“If I knew some Bellestanian stereotypes, I’d say them,” she says. “But your country is so small, I don’t know any.”
Aleks burst out laughing as Mila grins at me. I can’t help but laugh along.
“Damn,” Aleks says. “Smart as a whip. I see why you chose her.”
“She’s always impressive,” I say in return.
She gives me a little wink and I laugh again.
“Are you ready to go down?” Aleks asks me.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
We start walking down a side hallway. Mila hurries to keep up. “Go down?” she asks. “What’s that mean?”
I grin at her. “You’ll see.”
We reach the end of the hallway. It branches out into a wide horizontal room with elevator doors lining either way. One door is already standing open, and the three of us pile in. Another guard is already there and waiting for us. He presses a button on the wall and the elevator begins its descent.
I look over at Mila and take her hand. She raises an eyebrow at me. “You’re going to like this,” I say to her.
The front of the elevator is glass, but for the first few hundred feet, the only thing to see is rock and earth. We descend faster and faster, until finally the rock drops away, revealing an enormous cave.
“This is home,” I say to her.
We stare out into the real royal living area. It’s an enormous cave, two football fields across at least. It’s hollow in the middle, and at the bottom is an old lake. Above the lake are several floors surrounding the hollow center, like tiers on a cake.
“Holy shit,” Mila whispers, which makes everyone in the elevator laugh, except for the guard, of course. He wrestles with himself to keep a straight face.
“That’s what I said the first time I saw it,” Aleks says. “I was ten, but still.”
“It’s still amazing to me, and I lived here,” I add with a grin.
“How?” Mila manages to ask.
“This place is actually pretty old,” I say. “At least, the main cave. The floors were all added later, plus all the modern conveniences. It’s bomb-proof, nuclear blast-proof, flood-proof, just about everything proof. We could live in this place for years and never have to go to the surface if we didn’t want to.”
The elevator slowly slides to a halt and the doors on the other side open.
“I’ll take you to your room,” Aleks says.
Mila must not caught that comment, because she doesn’t say anything as we step out into the hallway. It’s a lot like a hotel hallway, but instead of doors on the right side, it’s just glass windows overlooking the center of the cavern.
We walk down the hallway, and staff members stop what they’re doing to bow. I hate that, but I know it’s all part of the royal game. I acknowledge them all with a smile and nod as we go, which isn’t necessarily something I have to do, but it’s nice. Mila keeps staring around, shocked at everything. It really is beautiful, but I’m used to it.
Paintings line the walls, and everything is designed and decorated to perfection. It’s all clean and dust-free, thanks to the enormous staff that works to keep this place going. We come to the end of the hall and pass through another set of doors, separating the royal personal wing from the guest wing.
Mom and Dad’s room is up on the left. We walk past it and Aleks stops in front of a door. “Here we are,” he says, pushing it open.
We step into an enormous suite, one of the best rooms in the whole cave. It’s filled with plush furniture, beautiful sculptures, priceless paintings, and has a fully stocked bar plus a little kitchen area. There’s a bedroom in the back and a full bathroom.
“Thanks, Aleks,” I say to him. We’ll get settled in.”
“It’s good to see you,” he says again. “I’ll be around.”
“You will?” I ask, laughing. “I thought you were too busy for me these days.”
“Well, the days are different. I’m your personal guard for your trip.”
He nods and leaves. I watch him go, frowning after him.
“What’s wrong?” Mila asks.
I look back at her. “Aleks is the head of the royal guard,” I explain. “He shouldn’t be on personal guard duty. That’s below his station.”
She nods, understanding. “Maybe things really are bad.”
“I guess so.”
We turn toward the room though I can’t shake the bad feeling I have. The press was bad enough, but Aleks acting as my personal guard makes everything feel very, very bad.
“This place is incredible,” Mila says. “You really don’t live in the castle up there at all?”
“Not at all,” I say. “It’s old and drafty. Plus, it’s safer and nicer down here.”
“Amazing.” She laughs, shaking her head. “An underground castle.”
“That’s right.” I grin at her. “Take a look around the room.”
She hesitates a second then smiles huge and starts to look around. I’ve seen it all before, so I pour myself a drink from the bar, trying to shake this bad feeling. I sip the bourbon as she explores, making the appropriate excited sounds as she checks out the beautiful bathroom and bedroom.
She returns to me, shaking her head. “There’s only one bed,” she says. “Did you know that?”
“I thought this might happen.” I shrug a little. “We’re engaged, after all.”
“Right but…” She stares back at the bedroom, biting her lip. “We’re not actually sleeping together, are we?”
I smirk and step closer to her, head cocked. “Would that be so bad?”
“No,” she says. “I mean, yes. It’s not professional.”
“Right,” I say, stepping closer to her. “Your conditions.”
“Right,” she echoes softly.
“And what if this is all that we have? Would you sleep in my bed? You’re pretending to be my Princess, you might as well enjoy my company.”
“Bran…” she says, eyes wide.
“Relax,” I say quickly, laughing. “There’s a room next door. I’ll be staying there.”
She lets out a sigh of relief. “Won’t that look odd?”
“The rooms are connected by an inner door. We’ll just enter and exit from here, but I’ll stay next door.”
“You sure that’ll work?”
I put my hand on her shoulder. “Trust me.”
“Okay.” She nods once, resolving herself to it.
“Good. Now, get settled. Your bags should be here soon.” I head over toward the door next to the kitchen. Fortunately, it’s unlocked. “I’ll be next door. Get some rest. We have a lot of work to do in the morning.”
I open the door, but Mila steps toward me. “Bran?”
I stop and look back at her. “What’s that, Princess?”
“This place is amazing.” She gives me a shy little smile. “I’m glad I got to see it.”
“Good,” I say. “Not many outsiders ever come down here. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I step through the doors and into the adjoining room, shutting it behind me.
I lean up against the wall and sigh. My room is a mirror image of her room, but that’s not really the issue.
I’m worried. I knew this might be hard, but I had no clue how hard. I underestimated the danger my family was in before I left, and now I’m starting to worry about bringing Mila into this. But so far, she’s handling herself well, and I’m really impressed.
We’ll get through it. Things are bad now, but we can make a difference. We have to make a difference. I have to trust my instincts. Mila can handle this. Nothing dangerous will get close to her.
I head into my room and start to plan our next few moves.
6
Mila
I wake up in an enormous, comfortable bed, and it takes me a second to remember that I’m in a cave underneath a castle. A little groggy, I get out of bed, and try to pretend like any of this is normal.
Except, of course, it’s not normal at all, not even a little bit. Yesterday was actually insane. I feel like I barely took any of it in.
The Bellestanian press was absolutely brutal. I expected them to be loud and maybe a little aggressive, but they seemed to actually hate Bran. Which shocks me, because from what I understand, Bran singlehandedly brought his country into the twenty-first century and beyond.
I did a little research on Bellestan before leaving, naturally. Before Bran and his company Babble, Bellestan was just like every other ex-Soviet state, except even smaller than most and even more secluded. It’s surrounded by mountains, which keeps it safe and independent, and it’s rich in agrarian land and natural resources. Basically, people were mostly farmers up until the last ten years.
Bran invested billions into Bellestan. He installed internet infrastructure, rebuilt their crumbling roads, and basically made the country a hotspot for tourists once again. This brought in a lot of money, but it also strained some of the local population that apparently wants to go back to farming fulltime for whatever reason.
It’s more complicated than that, but I don’t think I’ll ever understand the nuances. Bellestan is its own place with its own deep rich cultural history, and a lot of the issues that they’re facing are just totally alien to me. Honestly, I kind of wonder how well Bran really understands it all, since he’s the one that’s pushing for many of the modernization processes.
He made this seem like it would be easy when he first invited me, but I’m starting to realize that it’s going to be far from that. Still, at least my rooms are absolutely beautiful. As I brush my teeth, wash my face, and get dressed, I feel like I’m seeing them for the first time.
If I had to picture what a royal hotel room would look like, this is basically it. It’s modern, but there are classical flourishes all over, like the oil paintings hanging on the walls and the ornate lamps and other details. The furniture is all functional, but still very stylish. And to top it all off, the little kitchen is actually fully stocked.
I put on some coffee and get out my laptop. It’s eight in the morning in Bellestan, which means it’s the middle of the night back home. I want to Skype my mom, but instead I just send her a quick email, letting her know that I’m safe and sound.
When the coffee is done, I drink it while looking at social media. It feels almost normal, if only my room had windows. Instead, I’m buried under thousands of tons of rock, way underneath a castle, and I’m supposed to be pretending to be a Princess.
As I’m finishing my coffee, there’s suddenly a knock at the door, but not at the front door. It’s the door right next to the kitchen, the one that connects to Bran’s room.
I take a deep breath before heading over and pulling it open. Bran grins at me, wearing a simple and casual part of slacks and a button-down shirt. He steps into my room without so much as a good morning.
“Are you ready for breakfast?” he asks me.
I cock my head at him. “Breakfast?” I ask. “I’m not even showered yet.”
He sighs. “I sent you a message.”
“Where?”
“Your phone.”
“Oh, crap.” I run into my room and grab my phone. Sure enough, there’s a text from Bran from last night informing me about breakfast with his parents. “Shit!” I say.
He laughs, standing in my bedroom door. “You look fine.”
“I’m a mess.”
“It’s okay,” he says. “Honestly.”
“At least let me get changed real fast.”
“Real fast,” he says. “Mom and Dad are real busy, you know.”
He stands there and watches me as I step over toward my bags. I look over at him. “Get out!”
He sighs. “You’re no fun,” he mumbles as he leaves my bedroom and shuts the door behind him.
I get dressed quickly, just a simple skirt with a tucked-in white blouse. I look maybe a little more formal than Bran does, but I�
��m meeting royalty for the first time today. I wish I had time to shower, but I still look fine enough. I do some quick makeup, and I meet Bran back out in the main room a few minutes later.
“You look great,” he says as I emerge.
“I wish I had an hour.”
He laughs and shrugs. “It’s just breakfast, Mila. Relax.”
“You relax,” I grumble. “I have to meet your parents for the first time here, you know.”
“Honestly, they’re good people. You could show up in pajamas and they wouldn’t care.”
“Why are you dressed, then?” I ask him.
He grins at me and shrugs. “I have standards, you know.”
I roll my eyes at him as I follow him out the front door. We emerge into the hallway and I’m surprised to see Aleks standing there. He strikes a quick salute as Bran walks past.
“Cut that shit out,” Bran says softly.
“Just following protocol, asshole,” Aleks responds.
We file down the hallway, Bran in the lead, Aleks bringing up the rear. He keeps a respectful distance, and I suddenly realize that he’ll be following us all the time. I guess I didn’t really understand their conversation yesterday when Aleks and Bran were talking about Aleks being our personal guard. I figured it would involve something else, not actually being here all the time.
I’m still distracted by the enormity of the cave we’re in as we head down the hall. Bran keeps moving, not even looking out the window, but I can’t help myself.
The place is just so beautiful. The rock walls up above the human-made floors are all still rough hewn and natural. There’s a soft glimmer of light coming up from the bottom of the cavern, and the floors themselves are all lit. It feels like a modern hotel atrium, except we’re underground, and it’s much bigger.
We pass some other staff members, and everyone is very deferential to Bran. We finally stop outside a pair of double doors, and Bran turns toward me.
“You ready?” he asks.
“I guess so,” I say.
“Call my mother Queen Ana and my father King Branimir. They’ll tell you to call them Ana and Big Bran, but please don’t call my father that. Stick with King Bran.”