“No kidding,” I grumbled as I got to my feet.
“I think we’ll end for today,” Alm said, eyeing me. “You look like you should take a rest.”
“Who? Me?” I laughed. “No, I was totally looking forward to getting knocked out ten more times.”
Alm frowned. “Sarcasm is not becoming of a prince.”
I sighed. “You’re starting to sound like Ms. Dahl.”
He smiled, which was a rare occurrence. “That’s because I’ve been spending more time with her.” He turned and left the training room without another word.
I chuckled, then grabbed my side because laughing hurt from the beating I’d gotten from Alm. I gathered my things and started to head back to my room, but as I was crossing the front entrance, I heard a knock on the door. I stared at the huge wooden slabs, wondering if I had heard correctly. I’d never heard anyone knock on the castle doors before. I approached them hesitantly, then turned the huge knob and peeked outside.
“Oh good, it’s you!”
Kirsten Dahl was standing outside, wearing a bright pink coat and looking expectant.
I forced myself not to make a face that reflected the way I felt. “Hi. Can I help you?”
She quirked an eyebrow. “The real question is: can I help you?” She smiled flirtatiously and winked.
I didn’t respond, so she continued.
“My aunt wanted me to deliver this to you,” she said, pulling a large book out of her coat and handing it to me. I read the cover. The Compete Guide to Becoming a Gentleman.
“Wow, thank you,” I said. “It looks like a fascinating read.”
Kirsten stood there gazing at me for a few seconds, and I was tempted to just shut the door.
“Aren’t you going to invite me in? That would be the polite thing to do.”
I swallowed hard. I most definitely did not want to let her in, but if I didn’t she’d probably report my lack of manners to Tabitha.
“Of course,” I replied with a forced smile, opening the door wider so she could pass.
Kirsten took in the expansive entry way, her eyes lingering on the elaborate chandelier hanging above us. “It must be nice to be so rich,” she said dreamily.
I raised my eyebrows. “It’s about the same as being poor, but the clothes are fancier.”
She laughed, a high-pitched giggle that I was fairly certain she had practiced. I led her into a sitting room that was right off the entry way. She sat down on a love seat and I chose a chair across the room.
“Don’t you want to sit a bit closer?” She asked, patting the seat next to her.
“Ah, no, I just got done with training and I’m all sweaty.”
Instead of being put off like I’d hoped, she smiled and let her eyes rove over me.
“So, you studied narwals?” I asked before things got too uncomfortable for me.
“Yes, I did.”
“And, what did you learn about them?”
Kirsten pouted. “I learned that they’re a lot uglier in real life.”
I took a deep breath. This girl was something else. And at that moment I really wished that she was doing something else.
“Is there anything you’d like to ask me?” I said, wondering why I was always the one asking questions.
“Oh, I don’t need to,” she replied, “I already know everything about you.”
I blinked. “You do?”
“Of course,” she said with a little laugh. “The news has covered your whole life story.”
I straightened in my chair, a little disturbed at this new development. “Really?”
“Oh yes,” she replied with a glint in her eyes. “They’ve covered all your history, your talents, your preferences, and your downfalls.”
I started to feel a little sick, wondering what everyone in Gulbrania would think about my pitiable life in Indiana. “They covered all that, huh?”
“Yes, it’s very interesting,” Kirsten said in a suggestive voice. “This one is my favorite,” she added, pulling out her phone and walking over to me. “I have it bookmarked.”
I tentatively took her phone as she offered it to me, not terribly excited to read what she thought was so interesting. But as I skimmed through the first few paragraphs, I realized that I had been worried about all the wrong things. The article from the Gulbrania Herald described how I had been sent to Indiana to get a “real world education,” but while I was there I had broken so many hearts with my stunning good looks and reckless charm that I had to be recalled to Gulbrania to receive rigorous etiquette lessons. Apparently the press hadn’t been satisfied with my lack of cooperation the other day and had decided to make up their own stories.
I handed the phone back to Kirsten, who was too close and peering at me with that frightening eagerness. “Kirsten, you should know that-”
“Don’t worry, I like bad boys,” she said in a low voice. “I can handle having my heart broken.”
I was very nearly squirming out of my seat when my mother stepped into the room.
“Frederick! There you are! Oh, you have company?”
I stood up and took a step away from Kirsten, extremely grateful for the interruption. “Um, yes. Mom, this is Kirsten Dahl, Tabitha’s niece.”
My mom smiled. “Oh, of course! How are you, dear?”
“I’m wonderful, thank you, your highness,” she replied politely.
“Well, Kirsten,” I said, crossing the room to the door, “thank you so much for coming by and delivering the book.”
“Oh, she doesn’t have to leave,” my mother interjected.
“Yes, she does!” I said, perhaps a little too emphatically. My mother stared at me, and I turned to Kirsten. “I mean, it’d be great if you could stay, but I know my mother has urgent matters to discuss with me.”
“I do?”
“Yes!” I exclaimed. “About the presentation gala! Which I’m totally excited about, by the way.”
My mom gave me a stern look, but then she turned to Kirsten. “I’m afraid he’s right, dear, I do have some things to discuss with him, but I’m sure we’ll see you again soon.”
Kirsten smiled and nodded, then gave me one more longing gaze before leaving the room.
My mother raised an eyebrow at me. “I hope you have a good reason for being so rude.”
I threw up my hands. “I’m sorry, mom, but I have absolutely nothing in common with that girl. And she’s a little bit scary.”
To my surprise, my mother laughed. “She is somewhat vapid, I’ll give you that. But son, you really need to work on being tactful, even if you’re uncomfortable.”
“Believe me,” I grumbled, “I tried.”
My mother waved her hand. “Anyway, I did, in fact, need to talk to you about the gala. You’re going to need to put together a performance.”
“A what?”
“Just a little performance to showcase your talent. You could play your guitar or something.”
I frowned. “That sounds silly.”
“Nonsense. It’s just to help people see who you are and get to know you.”
Her words reminded me of the news article I had just read and my mouth went dry. “I don’t think people want to get to know me,” I said woefully. “They all think I’m some douche-bag ladies man.”
My mother suppressed a smile. “I assume you’re talking about the news stories. Don’t worry, Frederick, nobody believes that stuff anyway.”
“Some of them believe it,” I mumbled. As much as I didn’t want to be painted as some heartless jerk, what bothered me even more was the fact that nobody really knew me. They didn’t know who I had been and what I had been through. They all just assumed that I was some spoiled, good-looking prince.
“The other urgent matter,” she continued, “is your date to the gala. Have you asked anyone yet.”
I groaned. “Do I have to?”
“Yes, Frederick, it’s tradition.”
“Well, maybe we should try being a little more progressive.”
; My mother sighed. “Honey, it’s really not that difficult. Why don’t you ask Kirsten? I’m sure she’d be willing to accompany you,” she teased.
I glared at her, and she put up her hands defensively.
“It was just a suggestion,” she said lightly. “But you need to figure that out, as well as your performance. The presentation gala is less than a week away.”
I nodded in defeat, realizing there was no arguing with her on this. She walked up to me and gave me a hug. “I love you, son. I know this is hard for you, but you were born to do this.”
I backed away. “To do what? Play guitar and ask girls on dates?”
“No. To lead this country.”
Her words felt like a ten ton weight on my shoulders. Of course I knew that being a prince meant that one day I would take charge of Gulbrania, but no one had ever said it out loud. Now it felt real. I shivered. Hopefully that day would be many years in the future.
Chapter Fifteen
Kayla
“Hey honey, could you take these burgers over to table six?”
I grabbed the tray from my mom and dutifully served the customers, then ran back to the grill to help make more food. It had been really busy at the diner that afternoon, and I hadn’t been able to talk to my mom, even though I could tell something was wrong with her. Her smile seemed forced and she kept staring out the windows. Finally, when all the customers were momentarily take care of, I went back and found her in the kitchen.
“Hey, is everything okay?” I asked.
She took one look at me and broke into tears. “I don’t know, Kayla. Everything is a mess since your father got out of prison.”
I stiffened. “Did you see him?”
“Yes, he came to the house this morning.”
I recoiled at the thought of my father in my house. “What did he do? Did he hurt you?”
“No, no,” my mother replied, waving her hand. “It’s just hard to see him. It brings back a lot of pain that I thought I had buried.”
I took my mom’s hand. I had been so self absorbed lately that I hadn’t fully considered how all of this would be affecting her.
“Anyway,” she continued, taking a shaky breath, “He told me he didn’t want to be in contact with me, which is completely fine, but he said he does want to be a part of your life. I told him you didn’t want that, but he said he wasn’t giving up.”
I chewed on my lip, remembering what Frog had said about his dad, how they had made amends. “I’ll talk to him,” I said quietly.
My mom’s eyes widened. “Kayla, are you sure?”
“Yes. I’m not going to trust him just yet, but I’ll hear what he has to say to me. I can at least give him that.”
My mother closed her eyes. “Okay. But you will be careful?”
“Of course.”
She took a few breaths and then opened her eyes. “You are an incredible young woman, Kayla.” She wiped the tears from her eyes. “Thank you for this. I think it was good to tell you about it, to get it out. Now let’s get back to work.”
She gave me a quick hug and walked out of the kitchen. I stood there for a few seconds to collect myself, then followed her out.
A couple hours later, when things had calmed down some at the diner, I saw Milo Kowalski walk through the doors.
“Hey Kayla,” he said sheepishly as he approached the front counter. “I was wondering if I could get your help on some English homework.”
I furrowed my eyebrows. I wasn’t used to people asking me for help with their studies, but things were under control at the moment and I was pretty sure my mom could spare me for a half an hour. Plus, talking to Milo would be a welcome change.
“Sure,” I said, coming around the counter and pointing to an empty booth in the corner. “Let’s sit there.” After we had both settled into the booth, I looked at Milo expectantly. “So, what’s your homework?” I urged.
Milo pulled a notebook out of his backpack, where I could see he had two or three sentences written. “I’m supposed to write a paper about modern day fairytale equivalents, but I just can’t...” he trailed off, staring down at his notebook.
“Milo?”
He snapped his head up. “Sorry,” he said, “it’s just that... I usually used to do this with Frog. I’d go over to his house to study, even though I didn’t really get a lot of studying done, and we would watch TV or he’d make dinner or something.”
I held back a smile. Milo hadn’t come to get my help with homework. He had come because he missed Frog. He was lonely.
“Was Frog a good cook?” I asked.
“Oh yeah,” Milo replied. “You wouldn’t believe the stuff he made. Chili and grilled chicken and lasagna... his mom was out of town a lot, so I think he got pretty comfortable in the kitchen.”
I leaned forward, intrigued by this new information. “I never knew that.”
“Did you know he could dance, too?” Milo said with a mischievous smile.
“No, I didn’t.”
“I don’t think he wanted anyone to know, but I caught him a few times. He’s actually really good.”
We sat there and talked about Frog for about an hour until a large group came into the diner and I saw my mom motion for me to help.
“I need to get back to work,” I said regretfully. “You’re welcome to stay here as long as you like.”
“No, I better get home,” Milo said, packing up his things. “Thanks for your help.”
I nodded, knowing that he wasn’t talking about his schoolwork. “Anytime,” I replied. “Good luck with that paper.”
The rest of the evening seemed to fly by. Not only were we relatively busy, but I kept finding myself thinking about Frog. He had been a really good friend to Milo, and I had been impressed to learn about all of his hidden talents. I thought about him so much that by the time we closed the diner I was filled with an intense desire to talk to him, to hear his voice. I went back into the kitchen and tried to prepare the dishes to wash them, but I couldn’t concentrate. Finally, in a moment of bravery, I pulled out my phone and called him.
“Hello?”
I flinched. His voice sounded deeper, huskier.
“Frog? Is that you?”
“Kayla! How are you?”
I looked at the time and realized that it was probably in the middle of the night in Gulbrania. “Oh no, did I wake you up? What time is it there?”
He chuckled. “It’s five in the morning. But don’t worry, I couldn’t sleep anyway.”
“You sound... different.”
He cleared his throat. “Um... it must be the connection. Or maybe I’m going through puberty again or something.”
I laughed. I had missed his casual jokes. “Maybe you’ll get even taller.” I teased.
“I hope not. I hit my head on enough doorways as it is. What are you up to?”
“I’m about to wash the dishes at the diner.”
“With that big power sprayer?”
“Yeah.”
“I think that is one of my favorite memories of you.”
I made a face. “Really? In gross clothes and soaking wet?”
“You were blasting those dishes like they’d personally offended you or something. It was awesome! And I thought your clothes actually made you more attractive, if that’s even possible.”
I felt my pulse quicken. “I guess I ought to wear dirty sweats more often.”
“You should. You might start a fashion revolution.”
I smiled and felt warmth spread throughout my body, but I decided to change the topic before things got too uncomfortable. “So how are things over there? Are you going to school?”
There was a pause. “I’m not, actually. They, um, do things a little differently in Gulbrania, so I’m being tutored.”
“Tutored? Wow, fancy.”
“Hardly. I spend most of my time getting my butt kicked.”
“By your tutor?”
“Yeah. He’s really big on physical education.”
“How are things for you at school?” Frog asked, sounding a little more serious.
“Oh, it’s fine,” I replied, not really wanting to talk about it. “I’m handling it, but every day I get more excited to leave and go to college.”
“I can understand that.”
“So, do you think you’ll ever make it back to Indiana?”
“I hope I do someday. Why do you ask?”
I felt my breath catch in my throat with sudden emotion. “Well, I miss you. And to be honest, Frog, I... I love you.
I waited breathlessly for his response after that hasty admission, but he didn’t say anything. I heard some shuffling, and then the call was disconnected.
Chapter Sixteen
Frog
I was equal parts elated and horrified. When Kayla had said those glorious words, I had been so shocked that I fell out of my bed and landed right on top my phone. By all appearances, it was broken. The screen was cracked, there was no light, and there was no sound. What horrible timing! I thought. The girl of your dreams confesses her love to you and you have no way to respond! She had completely put herself out there and I had left her hanging because of my stupid clumsiness.
I got up and paced around my room, thinking about what had happened and what I could do. She loved me! And she loved me, she loved who I had been, scrawny, speckled and ugly, not the strapping guy I was now. It was incredible! And I agonized over the fact that I couldn’t talk to her.
After about an hour of pacing and processing, I threw on some clothes and went to look for Zane. I knew that most mornings he was in the training room, preparing for the day’s instruction. I didn’t find him there, but I did find him in the kitchen, eating a biscuit.
“Zane! I am so glad to see you!”
He jumped and nearly dropped his biscuit. “Hey Freddy, what’s up with you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so pumped up.”
“She loves me!” I exclaimed, unable to contain myself. “Kayla loves me!”
To my surprise, Zane frowned. “She does?”
“Yeah, she just told me on the phone.”
Zane tapped his fingers on the counter. “Interesting.”
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