Page 3 of The Crown

“Wow.”

They crept into the inlet, trying not to ripple the smooth surface. Then Lucan brought her two skis. “Ladies first.”

She looked from one to the other. “Are you sure?” The opportunity to ski on completely glassy water didn’t come every day.

“Of course. It’ll calm. There’s a beach area on the opposite side that consumes the waves.” Trane pointed to the far side. The inlet was huge, plenty of room for their purposes.

“Ok then.” She didn’t wait to be told twice. “But I’m gonna need that one.” She leaned around Lucan to point to the HQ on the ground.

He turned to her with a wide grin. “You got it!”

As she pulled on a life jacket he said, “It’s wobbly, difficult to get up if you aren’t used to it.”

“Ok thanks,” was all she said. She couldn’t wait to get out on the water.

She lowered herself in, rippling the mirror image. It felt nice against her skin. Even in April, the hot Mediterranean sun was beaming down on them all. The boat took up the slack in the rope and when it was pulled taut, she shouted, “Hit it!”

With a burst of speed, the boat tore forward, and lifted her seamlessly out of the water, droplets spraying all around her as she at last planed on the opened glass. Tearing across the wake to the smooth silk off to the side, she found it. The hum. And it filled her. For a moment she just listened, and took in the beauty that surrounded them. The water was crystal clear. Even though 10 meters deep, she could see the bottom. Such a precious resource. Such a beautiful part of the earth. But enough admiring, it was time for some fun. She dug in hard and cut across the wake to the other side, rounding to the left, to turn sharply back across the other way. A huge wall of water sprayed out behind her. Cheers erupted from inside the boat and she grinned as she tore back the other direction at thrilling speeds.

When at last she couldn’t hold on any longer, she let go. Pulling out of the water, she lifted her wobbly limbs into the boat.

Trane turned off the engine and the boat rocked over the remaining waves from her turn.

She took off her dripping life jacket and pulled on a sweatshirt. Nico’s. She had borrowed it once and never gave it back. She never would. While she snuggled up inside of it, Daniel sat beside her. “I got some excellent shots. Some of these are print worthy. Do you mind if I mess around with them a little bit?”

She looked at the images as she scrolled through them. “Those are stunning.” Some featured the back drop of the steep cliff. Others displayed the thick forest, the mirror image on the water, her prone body - almost horizontal to the water, and even individual droplets clear from a massive rooster tail spray. “That’s pretty amazing work, Daniel.”

He blushed. “Thank you.” He scrolled forward, “But look at you. I don’t think even Trane can get that close to the water.”

It was an amazing shot. If she had lowered her arm, her elbow would have touched the water; that’s how close she was. “Could you send a few of those to me? I’d love to show Sierra.” She grinned. “And Nico.”

“He’ll never live it down. His fiancé kicks his butt on the water.”

“Oh, I doubt I’m any better than he is.”

Trane pulled on a life vest. “Who’s driving? After that awesomeness I’m itching to slay a bit myself.”

Lucan took the wheel, everything about this brother looked chiseled, his sharp jawline, his military haircut, even a short cropped beard.

Then Trane took his turn, diving in after his ski, whipping hair out of his face when he surfaced. Each one of these men would cause every woman she knew to melt. Trane rose out of the water in one smooth motion. As good as they said Jo was, Trane was even better, the power of his weight, the force and strength of his muscles let him do things on the water she never could. Where her spray towered over her height, his arced beautifully for several stories.

Everyone took their turns. She even wake surfed, throwing the rope to an eager Daniel to catch while she pretended to be on waves at the beach. It was a near perfect day, made only better if Nico could have been there.

2

Nico let the disappointment of missing a day of skiing with his fiancé and brothers fade from his mind just as their voices dimmed, the further he walked up the docks. His driver waited. His personal assistant had already dinged his phone five times. Work awaited.

They weaved through the closest town to their palace. The people in it viewed themselves as family, cousins perhaps, guardians of the crown. They fought back the paparazzi, and often kept royal secrets. As a result, he and his brothers could make appearances in town and not be mobbed. They had many friends in the shop owners, and favorite pastries from the bakeries. The street was decorated for Sant Jordi, a Spanish holiday. His mother had heard of it, and consistent with her literacy efforts, had encouraged the Torrens to participate. Every man was to give away flowers and every woman, a book. Nico found it charming. He asked his driver to pull over in front of Miguel, his favorite flower vendor.

Warm smiles welcomed him on the street, but the citizens passed on, giving him his privacy.

Miguel grinned, “Your new woman. She is special, isn’t she?” He began collecting flowers to add to a bunch.

“She is.” They hadn’t yet announced her as his fiancé, the future queen. “She is also new to this custom. I plan to surprise her.” Thoughts of her learning all of their customs, becoming one with their people, filled him with expectation and a surge of happiness he had never felt before. At last his life had begun to feel complete, hopeful and, he had to admit, purposeful.

Thoughts of her skiing with his brothers, though tantalizing and tempting him away from his many responsibilities, also gave him a comforting sense of family. He appreciated how well she fit in with them so far, and for the efforts his family made to help her feel welcome.

His phone dinged. A text from Monique. He couldn’t even call her an old girlfriend, although she was someone his parents hoped might have been. She appeared to have given up on any romantic interests, but she did continue to touch base, to leave supportive thoughts, to give him ideas, and to react to recent headlines. One thing he would miss about Monique was her already existent grasp of his people, the major players, the news moguls, and the issues; all the things that Jo would yet learn. But he knew Jo had other strengths. Thinking of her spunk, her readiness to jump in, and the love she already felt for Torren, he knew she would do just fine.

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