by Noelle Adams
Ana nodded, admiring the proud thrust of her sister’s chin. Ana and her sister both loved kids and wanted several. The idea cheered her a little.
Marabeth noted her changed attitude and continued. “Just think, we could get all our kids together for Christmases and birthdays. You want about six or seven and I want at least that many. I have no idea how many Max wants but I’m sure he’ll eventually want some kids.”
Ana laughed. “Could you imagine talking to Max about having children?”
The idea made both girls break down in giggles. “He’s much too dignified for having children,” Marabeth said, using a deep voice similar to her father’s. “Could you imagine Max changing a diaper?” she continued.
The idea was too ludicrous and they just laughed harder. “Max wouldn’t know which end of the baby to put the diaper on,” Ana said, picturing her tough, macho and oh, so dignified brother changing a diaper.
“What’s so funny?” Max said, poking his head into Ana’s room.
The appearance of the man himself just made the ladies giggle even harder. Max stepped into the room, feeling awkward but glad that his sisters were feeling better than earlier in the evening. “I’m glad you two are better. Ana, I just wanted to come by and tell you how sorry I am for how the evening turned out,” he said, bowing slightly toward both of his sisters, but his eyes focused on Ana. “It was not very well done but I’ve heard rumors about what could have happened. It was legitimate and not a slight on you personally.”
Ana sobered and nodded. “Was the emergency blond or brunette?”
Max flushed and shook his head. “Really, Ana. That isn’t a very nice way to talk about your future husband,” he admonished.
He sounded so much like their stern father Ana couldn’t help but laugh again. “Oh, Max. You’re truly your father’s son,” she teased.
Max didn’t take it as teasing but as a compliment and he bowed formally at his giggling younger sisters. “Thank you,” he said. “Well, since you two obviously don’t need any more cheering up, I’ll excuse myself. Have a good evening,” he continued and stepped quickly out of the room.
Ana and Marabeth laughed harder at his formality. “What about feeding the baby? Could you imagine him trying to get baby food into a wiggling baby’s mouth? He’d probably order the infant to be still.”
Ana nodded while gasping for breath. “But you know, the baby probably would stand at attention and would eat everything offered to her or him immediately without incident. Max just has that way about him, doesn’t he?”
Marabeth nodded. “Yes. Why is that, do you think?” she asked, turning serious. “I mean, we say something and people smile at us patronizingly. But when Max says something, people sit up straighter and pay attention to the point of foolishness.”
“Maybe it has something to do with the delivery,” Ana said, considering the issue earnestly even though the two of them had been laughing heartily only moments before.
Marabeth nodded in agreement. “You might have something there. Maybe we’re too nice. Do you think if we talk to father in a more stern voice, he’ll listen to what we say more often?”
“We’d have to get him out of a meeting to do so,” Ana replied dryly.
“Oh, he’s not so unavailable. I’ve sent him messages before and he’s come immediately.”
“Yes, but weren’t those messages life or death circumstances?”
“They were at the time,” Marabeth said. “I don’t think father thought so when he heard the issue.”
“When was the last time you sent him a summons?”
Marabeth smiled at the memory, “I told him Liza was dying and he had to come immediately to save her.”
Ana’s mouth dropped open. “You didn’t.”
Marabeth nodded, her eyes glinting in humor. “Yes. I did. And at the time, tears were streaming down my face and I stomped my foot, demanding that father do something to save Liza.”
Ana smothered a laugh before asking, “Marabeth, what did he do?”
She smiled fondly at her father’s actions. “He took me over to my fish tank and gave me a big hug. That was my first experience of life and death. He was very compassionate as he scooped my fish out of the tank and gave him a burial at sea.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me about that?” Ana asked.
Marabeth shrugged. “At the time, I remember being too devastated to deal with the death. Then, something probably happened and I forgot about it. I was about six or seven at the time, if I remember correctly.”
“What a wonderful story.”
“Yes, well, that’s one of the reasons I want kids so badly. I want to give them everything I didn’t have as a child.”
Ana nodded. “Lots of hugs and kisses?”
“And bedtime stories.”
“And snuggling in the dark when thunder storms come.”
“And holding their hands on their first day of school when they are so scared they can barely speak.”
Both girls were silent for a long time. Finally, Ana spoke up. “You’re right. I’m looking at this all wrong,” she said with a determined voice. “We have a purpose, don’t we? We are the ones that are going to raise the next set of rulers. We have to do so with compassion and lots of love, hugs and kisses. There’s a great deal of violence out there and we need to teach the next round of rulers how to deal with a changing world.”
“That’s a very nice way to think about it,” Marabeth said and they gave each other a hug. “Good night. Please don’t let your fiancé hurt your feelings anymore. The future is always wonderful if you look at it in the right perspective.”
“Thank you,” Ana said, deeply touched that her sister was so wise.
Marabeth walked out of the room and Ana picked up her evening gown and gloves, hanging them in the closet instead of leaving them on the floor. After curling into bed, all thoughts of her future husband were banished. In the dark, she relived yet again, her kiss with Marcus and the feel of his gentle hands holding hers.
Chapter 5
The next morning was dull and gray. The sky looked like it was about to burst into thunderstorms at any moment. Ana looked out at the dull, lead sky and sighed. “I’m not going to be stuck inside this hotel all day long,” she said out loud.
Pulling on a pair of slacks and comfortable shoes, Ana made the decision that she was going to visit some museums today. If she could do it with her body guards, that would be fine. Otherwise, she would sneak out and do it on her own. In fact, she preferred to do it on her own.
Max was taking his last sip of coffee when she sat down at the table. “What was so funny last night?” he asked.
“You,” Ana said and smiled up at his stern expression.
“You were laughing at me?” he demanded.
“Not really at the current you. But at the idea of you changing a diaper on a baby,” she said.
Max looked confused. “Why on earth would I change a diaper?” he asked, not really sure why that would be funny.
Ana smiled at her tall, handsome and extremely arrogant older brother. “Exactly why we thought the idea was funny.”
Max’s features didn’t change but he shook his head and walked away, obviously confused by his sisters’ reactions to simple inquiries. “I’ll see you at dinner tonight,” he called out, kissing their mother as he passed.
The queen sat down at the table and poured herself a cup of tea. “What was that all about?” she asked.
“Just Max being his normal, autocratic and male self,” Ana smiled.
Natasha smiled as well. “He is very domineering at times, isn’t he?”
“I can’t imagine where he gets it from,” Ana said sarcastically.
Both of them laughed. “What is on your schedule today?” her mother asked.
“I’m going sightseeing,” Ana said decisively.
“That’s nice. Is Prince Erik taking you? I didn’t see his name on the schedule today. Perhaps he’s thinking to spend some
time with you. That will be good for both of you. We aren’t scheduled to see him officially until later this week but it will be good for the two of you to get together with some quiet time.”
A servant appeared at the door and bowed, interrupting their conversation. “You’re highness, I’m sorry to interrupt your breakfast, but there’s an urgent call from downstairs,” the waiter said, bowing again as he relayed his message.
“Oh, dear,” the queen said and rose gracefully from the table. “I wonder what could possibly go wrong today,” she said. “Have a nice day today and please tell me all about it tonight. I’m eager to hear about your impressions of Prince Erik and his attitude toward you. For some reason, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by each other,” she said with a mysterious smile on her face as she hurried out of the room to deal with the latest crisis.
Ana didn’t have a chance to tell her mother that she wasn’t seeing the arrogant prince today. In fact, she hadn’t heard from him at all which should have eased her guilt at her lie of omission, but it didn’t.
Ana quickly finished her toast and tea, then slipped out of the room, ignoring the twinge of fear and guilt she felt. The sense of freedom she was experiencing more than overrode those small twinges. She found another scarf and pulled it on over her head. She snuck out of the room just as she had yesterday. It occurred to her that she really should inform her body guards of what she was planning but decided not to do it. She wanted another day of freedom.
It was just as easy today as it was the day before. And it was a simple task to find the museums in Washington, D.C. She’d picked up a map in the lobby of the hotel, but all the main museums were located along the grassy strip known commonly as “The Mall” that ran between the Capital building and the Lincoln Memorial.
Ana spent the better part of the morning going through the Museum of American History. There were wonderful exhibits on everything from the gowns and contributions of the First Ladies to trains and transportation as well as Julia Child’s kitchen. Ana spent over three hours in the museum and didn’t realize how much time had gone by.
PRINCE ERIK LOOKED up from the report he had been reviewing for his afternoon meeting and did a double take. There she was! “Stop the car!” he called out forcefully. As soon as the limousine stopped, he jumped out and walked across the street. There, standing like a beacon of sunshine on the gray sidewalks under a dreary sky was the woman who had haunted his dreams and forced him to miss his engagement dinner the previous night. His father was still angry with him over that last issue but Erik had been hounding his security team to find out something on the woman who had eluded an entire force of top notch security guards and investigators. He couldn’t believe that she was standing there, just smiling at the gray sky when he had paced his rooms until the early hours of the morning out of frustration for not finding any trace of her yesterday.
“You kept me up last night,” he said, startling the tiny woman wearing a sunny yellow sweater and navy blue slacks. Her hair was pulled back on her neck but there was no way of hiding those red, flaming locks.
She turned and instantly smiled up at him, making all the stress of the previous night disappear. “Hello!”
Erik’s anger completely dissipated with her enthusiastic response. It was a balm to his ego that she obviously wanted to see him just as eagerly as he wanted to find her. “What were you contemplating doing?” he asked, putting a hand behind her back and moving her out of the path of a large group of noisy students making their way toward the museum’s entrance.
Ana’s smile grew brighter as she looked up at his handsome face. “I was thinking about heading back to my hotel, but,” she lowered her voice and her eyes shyly, “I really don’t want to do that.”
Erik smiled at her answer since it was exactly what he was hoping for. “Good. Because I’d just have to follow you and convince you to come out with me again.”
“Really?” she asked, looking back up into his handsome face as her smile broadened at the idea.
“Absolutely.” He glanced down at his watch quickly. “Have you had lunch?”
Ana shook her head. “I hadn’t thought about it yet.”
“Come with me. There’s a wonderful restaurant right around the corner.’
“Is it busy?” she asked warily but followed him anyway.
“I don’t think so. Why?” He put a hand to the small of her back and guided her down the road, feeling protective of both her feelings and herself.
Ana couldn’t tell him that she didn’t want to be in a large crowd for fear of someone recognizing her, but she had to tell him something. She thought quickly for a reasonable explanation. “Because I’ve just spent several hours in a museum with a crowd. I think I need some time in a quiet place for a little while.” It was actually the truth and he seemed to accept it as the whole reason for her wariness.
“Ah, an introvert. I understand,” he said.
Ana didn’t really consider herself an introvert. She liked being around people but she also needed space, being alone so much of the time because of her body guards. It was exhausting but thrilling being around people when one was used to being protected and isolated at all times.
“Perhaps. But I think I’d like to be more of an extrovert,” she replied, following him down the street as he led her to a lovely Spanish looking restaurant with colorful plates and bright curtains shielding the diners from the people on the sidewalk.
“Why is that?”
“I’d like to be around people more,” she decided, thinking of her morning and watching all the fascinating people in the museum. They were almost as interesting as the exhibits.
“That sounds like someone who puts herself in seclusion most of the time. Believe me, I’m around people so often I’d love to have several hours a day to myself.”
“Oh, it is nice some of the time,” she said, thinking of her time spent at the palace. “But don’t get me wrong. I have many days when I just crave those times.”
“You have a particularly full calendar?” he asked, smiling in amusement.
She eyed his patronizing expression with humor. “You probably think I’m some sort of debutante who spends my time organizing parties, don’t you?”
“I try not to make assumptions about people in general but you don’t strike me as a hard core career woman. What do you do?” he asked.
Ana had just walked into a trap. What could she say? She didn’t think he’d believe her if she explained that she was a royal princess who spent her days helping out various charity organizations. She considered her words carefully before saying, “I do my fair share of organizing events,” was all she would say. “What do you do?” she asked, hesitating while he spoke to the hostess.
He noted her evasiveness but when she asked her own question, he had to quickly sidestep that one, unable to form an answer quickly. “Well for the past twenty four hours, I’ve been searching for a lovely red-head who escaped from me yesterday.”
The hostess was leading them through the restaurant toward a table in the back which suited Ana just fine. She wanted to question him further about his career but was afraid he might question her further.
Once they were seated and looking at the menus, he looked across the table at her. “So tell me, why wouldn’t you come out with me today when I asked you yesterday? Do I repulse you?”
“No!” she said quickly, moving her menu to the side as she earnestly shook her head. “No, please don’t think that.”
“Then, if you were just going to stroll through museums, why wouldn’t you accept a lunch date with me today? We’re here now.”
Ana wondered what to say to him. “My life is...a little complicated. It isn’t normal that I can just stroll through an area like this,” she said, leaving it at that. She couldn’t really explain that she was a member of a royal family and she had actually escaped her guard today. He’d either not believe her or he might...Ana couldn’t imagine what he might think. She’d never
had to explain her title or position before. It had always been announced and coordinated before she’d even entered a room.
“Why not?”
“I have a pretty protected life,” she said simply.
Erik didn’t go into that. He knew what that was like, living with his own body guards all the time. He spotted Tim three tables away and grimaced. “I can guess that might be a little restrictive,” he said.
“Very,” Ana replied with feeling.
“So tell me more about what do you do for a living?”
Ana was stumped again. “I’m active in several charities,” she evaded. She didn’t like lying to this man. He probably never lied in his life, he had a very honest, if incredibly handsome face.
“What kinds of charities?”
“I raise funds for several children’s organizations. I guess that’s my main focus. It breaks my heart to see children who go without a meal or a warm place to sleep. I think they should all have a chance to go to college if they want. In fact, I’m of the opinion that every child should go to college just as they should go to high school and elementary school.”
“That wouldn’t define the leaders much, would it?”
She laid her menu down, ready to do battle in an effort to defend children who usually didn’t have a voice. “Depends on what you consider leaders. Are they only the wealthy that have the means to send their children to college or are they the ones that drive themselves hard enough to make their own way through college? Or could they even be the ones that have to work in low paying jobs in order to save their families, never able to earn the education that will help them break out of the cycle of poverty?”
“We can’t be responsible for pushing the whole world,” he challenged. Erik loved the spark that moved to her eyes when he said that. She obviously didn’t like his opinion.
“You’re wrong,” she said.
Erik threw back his head and laughed. No one had ever dared to be so blatant about their disagreement with him before and he was enchanted. “How so?” he asked when he finally got his mirth under control.
