"Here, I have something I want to show you guys," I say as I reach into my purse. When I pull out the ring, Charlotte gasps so loud that it draws the attention of most of the crowd in the restaurant. She puts a hand over her mouth for a moment.
"It's beautiful!" She says, taking it carefully from my hands to inspect it. "When you buy me a ring it better be just like this!" I watch her nudge Oliver in the side, and he rolls his eyes at me.
"Thanks for that," he says, taking a sip of his drink.
"Anytime," I reply, laughing. I turn towards Charlotte. "It was my mothers. Do you think it's crazy if I ask her?"
Both of them shake their head almost in unison, and it makes me smile.
"We have a little surprise for you, actually, speaking of that." Charlotte digs in her purse for a moment until she finds what she's looking for.
"Oliver and I pitched in together for this," she slides an envelope across the table, and I open it carefully. Inside, there is a plane ticket. It's marked for tomorrow morning early, to Zurich.
I stare at it for a long time in disbelief. When I look back up at them, I start to hand it back, and Charlotte's hands meet mine back in the middle of the table.
"We want you to go," she says smiling at me.
"You've done nothing but talk about her for weeks straight," Oliver says. "We were getting tired of hearing it." Charlotte nudges him sharply in the side again, and he lets out a laugh. When he does, I smile at him softly.
"If it makes you feel any better, the booking agent said you could call and refund your tickets and get most of the money back, and you can pay us back what you can." Charlotte smiles at me.
I feel myself getting slightly choked up. "You guys really didn't have to do this."
"We kind of did," Oliver argues. "If you brought up how much you missed her one more time.." Charlotte smacks him upside the head playfully, and he laughs again.
"Now you can go give her that beautiful ring!" Charlotte realizes she still has it in her hands. "It's a shame I can't keep it for myself though. I guess that just means you have some shopping to do!"
Oliver sighs and Charlotte and I smile.
The next morning, bright and early, my father takes off work so he can take me to the airport. It felt as if I'd never been this happy before. As he pulls off into the passenger drop off area, he helps me out of the car and gets my luggage.
"I'll be back in a few weeks," I smile at him and he offers me a hug. When he does, I feel him stuff something in my purse. When I look down, he's placed some money.
"To help you with the cab," he explains. "I looked it up. It's an hour trip."
I smile at the fact he was checking on me. "Thanks," I say appreciatively.
We hug again, and I start to take off towards the inside of the airport.
"Hey Penny," he calls out to me, and I turn swiftly to look back at him. “You’re going to go propose to a Princess." He laughs, in slight disbelief.
I'd waited my whole life to be brave enough to do something like this.
"I'm going to go propose to Astrid," I correct him with a smile, and he smiles back at me broadly.
"Call me when you get there," he reminds me, and I run to hug him one last time before I head to the airport.
The drive from Zurich to Liechtenstein offered the most beautiful views that I'd ever seen. Growing up in the city, I'd never seen mountains before. Not anything like the Alps. They towered above us in every direction, like skyscrapers, but only larger and more magnificent. Everything was so green I could hardly believe it was real.
The driver tells me when we reach the outskirts of the country. We drive down the stretch of road leading into the city of Vaduz, where Astrid had told me she was from, and I see the castle where Astrid's aunt and uncle lived. As we make our way down into the city, I reach for my phone to call Zoe and let her know I'd arrived safely and get directions to the place where Astrid was staying.
As soon as I pull it from my pocket, I realize its dead. Panicked, I look up to the driver. "You wouldn't happen to know where the Vogt's live?"
"You mean in Vaduz Castle?" He looks back up the hill.
"No," I try to think. "Lia Vogt?"
The driver looks back at me offering a shrug. Suddenly I feel fear wash over me. With no way to contact Zoe or Astrid, I was essentially lost in a foreign country.
"I'll get out here," I finally say and he pulls over on the edge of a street corner in the heart of the downtown area of the city. I pay my fee and step out from the vehicle. Maybe I could find someone to help me.
As I make my way up to a stranger, I forget for a moment where I am.
"Excuse me, do you know where a phone is?" I ask.
They stare at me blankly, and I realize I'm not speaking in German. I reach into my purse for the phrase book I'd gotten for my original trip. Although I had promised Astrid I'd learn some German, I'd gotten too distracted with clinic.
"Telefon?" I ask, and the woman points me down the street. When I reach the corner, there is a small pub. I enter, making my way up to the bar.
The bartender comes immediately, leaning across the counter top. "Was darf es sein?"
God Penny, why didn't you practice?
"Telefon?" I ask politely, and he stares at me for a moment before pointing to the far end of the bar. There is a phone hanging on the wall, and I rush to it quickly. As soon as I get there, I realize I don't even have Astrid's phone number memorized. I race back to the counter, pulling open my phrase book again as the bartender comes back to me.
There is no word for book. "Telefon book?" I ask. He seems to understand what I mean but shakes his head. Frustrated, I sit down at the bar, leaning my head on the table.
"Was darf es sein?" He asks me again. I realize he must be asking what I wanted. We exchange glances for a moment before I say the only word I remember. "Apfelwein?" I ask, and he nods, smiling at me. I pass over some money to him, deciding the rest would be the tip and he takes it graciously. Who knew how much I'd just given him.
When he brings the drink back, I sit at the edge of the bar looking at the strangers around the room. The apple taste brings back strong memories. It didn't take long before I finish it and sit it on the counter. As I get up to leave, the bartender delivers me a second one.
"No no," I shake my head. "I didn't order this." He looks confused at me. I point at the drink, and he smiles.
The man nudges his head towards the opposite end of the room. When I turn, I lose my breath. Leaning with one hand on the bar, smiling at me, was the most beautiful sight in the entire world. I run to her as fast as my legs would carry me.
I worry for a moment when I reach her if I should embrace her in public or not, but she wastes no time pulling me into her arms. We kiss, deeply, her hands wrapped around my face.
"What are you doing here?" Astrid gasps when our mouths leave one another.
"I wanted to surprise you," I tell her, running my hand across the side of her face.
"Well you certainly did that," she replies with a laugh.
"Can I borrow your phone?" I ask abruptly, and she gives me a funny look before she digs it from her pocket. "What's Zoe's number?"
"Zoe knew you were coming?" Astrid asks me, but I don't answer. Finally, she roots through her contacts, and as soon as the phone starts to dial, I put it to my ear.
"Alright, tell me where we need to go," I reply.
A taxi picks us up outside the pub, and I let him speak to Zoe for a moment. As soon as he finishes, he nods at me. His eyes can't stop staring at Astrid, and I realize he must know who she is. Meanwhile, Astrid looks completely confused. I reach for her hand, and I can find myself shaking when I do. She looks concerned, leaning over to whisper in my ear.
"Are you alright?" She asks, and I can't help but smile.
"I've never been better in my entire life."
It takes ten minutes to climb the side of the hill over past the castle and into the pasture that lies just beyond it. As soon as t
he driver turns on the dirt road, Astrid knows exactly where she is.
"Why are we going out here? I haven't been here in ages."
When we're dropped off, I can hardly believe the view all around us. We sit high on the side of a hilltop, the Alps surrounding us. The overlook goes into a beautiful valley of wildflowers and lush green grass. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.
"So, tell me what you'd want," I turn to her, our eyes meeting. She looks at me curiously.
I study around me a little more, thinking about it for a moment. This had been the place where the royal family members had gotten married for generations. Astrid had wanted to be married here since she was a little girl. When Zoe had told me about it when I’d told her what I planned to do, I knew it was the perfect place. "I'd say obviously we'd have the ceremony right here, because I mean, look at the view." I look out again, and it takes my breath away.
"Maybe over there we could have the reception," I say, pointing in the direction of the mountains that lined the distance. "My dad would love to see the mountains."
Astrid lets out a small laugh and comes to take my hand in hers.
"They usually have the receptions over there," she notes, moving my hand over towards another end of the field. "So you can get a view of the Alps and the overlook." I see what she means and nod.
We pause for a moment before the two of us look at one another again.
"I don't really know how they do it in Germany," I admit as I find myself falling down to a knee. She puts a hand up to her face, stifling a soft sigh.
The two of us stare at each other before I pull my mother’s ring from my purse and hand it to her.
"Wills.. micher..a.. heiraten?" There is silence for a moment before she lets out a laugh.
“Did I say it right?” I ask.
She gives me that perfect, amazing smile before she sets herself down on the ground beside me. After I place the ring on her finger, she takes my hands in hers again.
“Penelope,” she says softly to me. “I love you. I knew from the first moment I met you that I loved you.”
“Ich liebe dich, too,” I breathe.
"Willst du mich heiraten?”
I nod, laughing. “I totally butchered it.” And she smiles.
Epilogue
Penelope
Astrid and I stand in front of the beautiful red roofed building that sat on the outskirts of downtown Vaduz. It was perfect in every way, having been renovated slightly but still retaining that quaint charm. I'd specifically requested that it not be too lavish or extravagant. It was not what my mother would have wanted.
"They just delivered the last of the supplies today," I tell Astrid. "We'll be able to open up in a week and start seeing patients. I think there might be some coming as far as Zurich." She looks impressed.
We wander inside, taking in the pleasant looking interior. Nina and Zoe had helped us decorate the place, and it looks as spectacular as we'd hoped it would be. Again, it maintained its quaint looking architecture, mixed with some modern updates. Zoe had painted large murals of fields of wildflowers and the Alps on all the walls throughout. Every patient room had a different theme.
As we make our way back outside, I look down the main street leading into Vaduz and then back at the building. Across the front, it read "The Abigail T. Waters Free Clinic." The minute we'd graduated from school, I'd insisted we open it, and Astrid knew just the place.
Suddenly I find myself rummaging through my purse. "Oh, I almost forgot. This came in the mail for you today." I hold out a brown envelope to Astrid. It was thick. She rips it open carefully, pulling out the paper inside. Her Certificate of Citizenship.
"I'm officially a US citizen," she says in disbelief.
"We should go celebrate," I smile. "But only if there are potato pancakes involved."
"Of course," she laughs, taking my arm.
.........................
Astrid
My mother stands behind me, her hand over her mouth, trying her best not to cry. I look back into the mirror, admiring the beautiful cream colored gown that had belonged to her on her wedding day many years ago.
“You look beautiful Schatzi,” she smiles at me, wiping her eyes. When I turn back to her, we come together in a hug, and she wraps her arms around me tightly. As soon as she does, there is a knock at the door.
“Can I come in?” I hear Penny ask as she opens it a crack.
“The brides can’t see each other before the wedding, it's bad luck!” My mother says, meeting her at the door. The way she says brides makes me smile.
“Please? I have a surprise for Astrid,” Penny says. When my mother looks at me, I nod.
As she enters, in a striking light pink dress that went just below her knees, I can’t help but stare at her. She’d let her hair grow out around her shoulders and pieces of it were pinned up around her face. My heart skipped a beat when I saw her, and the two of us couldn’t look away.
“Wunderschön,” I breathe.
We are very quickly interrupted by the barking of a puppy. She comes bounding in, her floppy ears bouncing as she made her way around the room. Eventually, she came up to meet me, and I reached out to pet her softly behind the ears. She is beautiful, with fuzzy curly hair and big eyes that stared longingly up at me.
“Astrid is allergic to dogs,” my mother scolds Penny, and when I look at her, she’s smiling.
“I know, that’s why I got her this one.” I notice, even after I’d pet it for a while, I didn’t sneeze. “It’s an Irish Water Spaniel. They’re hypoallergenic. And, she already knows a trick.”
I look at Penelope curiously, and she gives me a mysterious looking smile.
“You’ll have to wait and see,” she answers me before I have a chance to ask.
The wedding is held in the traditional location, in the rolling hills above Liechtenstein, where Penelope had proposed to me three years prior. When I arrive by town car, I am surprised to see the entire valley covered in beautiful wildflowers. The rest is quite intimate, with a small area set off near the overlook for the ceremony and a tent for the reception.
Penelope had requested only our closest friends and family be invited and I’d happily obliged. Thomas flew in a few days before to help with preparations and visit with Penelope. Nina, Zoe, and her fiancé Evan had come shortly after. Even Charlotte and Oliver had made the trip, bringing along their newborn son Archer, who was as precious as he could be.
Oliver, Charlotte, and Zoe wait as I watch Penelope make her way down the grassy aisle with her father. They kiss each other softly on the cheek before they part. When she turns, I follow, my parents at each of my arms. All the while I can’t keep my eyes from Penelope. After my parents let me stand beside her, I take her hands in mine, and the two of us smile.
Nina had insisted on officiating the ceremony after much debate from my parents. She’d gotten her internet license and all. It is small and simple, just the way we had wanted it to be. During the ceremony, as Nina asks for the rings, I am surprised to find our new puppy walking down the aisle after Thomas releases her, toting a satchel around her neck. After Penelope says her vows, she looks to me, and I smile softly. My hand goes to rest gently on her cheek.
“Es gibt nichts schöneres als dich.” There is nothing more beautiful than you. I say it and that is all that is necessary. Before Nina can tell us otherwise, the two of us kiss softly.
.........................
Penelope
That evening, as the stars come out and the reception continues on, Astrid finds me out alone, admiring the view. When she joins me, we wrap our hands together, looking up at the sky.
"My father wants to make a toast," she tells me, leaning to give me a kiss on the cheek. The two of us wander back under the tent and sit beside them at the table. When we do, he gets to his feet.
He speaks in rough English, looking at me when he does.
"Traditionally, in our family, our children grow up to marry ro
yalty. We raise them to pass on the rich traditions of our people. To honor our history. To be strong leaders and diplomats."
He looks to Astrid. "My daughter is a fine example of all the qualities of a royal citizen of Liechtenstein. She is a beautiful, intelligent woman, who knows what she wants and has worked hard to do it."
"Now I am sure you are all aware, this is not a traditional wedding. It is far from anything we ever expected. Yet at the same time, it is all we could have ever hoped for our daughter. Her wife, like her, is an outstanding example of a royal citizen."
I stare, slightly confused, as he turns back to meet me. "So as we are keepers of tradition, while they are ever changing, it is with great honor to introduce the newest member of the royal family. Princess Penelope Waters, wife of Princess Astrid Vogt."
Astrid holds tightly to my hand, smiling at me. I can't help but sit stunned, hardly able to take in what I had just heard.
Charlotte looks over at me from down the table. "I think it's time for a first dance!" Oliver hops up from his seat, running over to turn on the music. Before I know it, a familiar song echoes through the night. As Whitney Houston's voice starts to sing, I feel Astrid's eyes on me. When I turn towards her, I am laughing.
"Don't you do it."
"I want to dance with somebody," she sings to me, holding out her hand. The two of us make our way out onto the dance floor, surrounded by our friends and family. When I find myself watching her, swaying to the music, I reflect on what I'd known since the moment I'd met her.
That I liked her. I liked her a lot.
Thanks for reading my third novella Royal Pains!
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Disclaimer: The people, events and places in this piece in no way reflect their actual references. This work is purely fictional. The author wishes to acknowledge that she was privelaged to include Liechtenstein in her work to recognize the country and enjoyed learning about it's rich history. The royalty in this piece does not reflect the countries true monarchy and is meant only as purely fiction.
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