Page 5 of Naughty Prince
“I’ll do my best…sire,” he says, his mouth kicking up in a grin as he turns back to his work, and I turn back in my seat, chuckling to myself as I shake my head and smile.Two days.Two days and I can come back and claim that gorgeous cunt as my own.
Five
Ivy
“In the early part of the seventeenth century Alaistar the first, was made a prince after siding with the Holy Roman Emperor Matthias in a political battle.” Our tour guide pauses at the iron gates that separate an enormous stone castle from the rest of Fürstheim. Rebecca and I hold our cellphones in the air, snapping pictures and taking selfies of this place that seems lifted out of a fairytale. There’s a blanket of white snow over cobblestone roads, and all the buildings look like they’ve been lifted off the set of a movie about knights and kings and queens. I adore this place, and I can’t believe their tourist industry is suffering. Everyone needs to visit this place. It’s like a warm hug—even though it’s freezing cold.
“Being prince meant Alaistar was allowed to purchase land and build this castle. The original structure is still standing to this day.” He points to the castle, telling us how the turrets were used for defense when other kingdoms sought to take over Alaistar’s lands.
“Can we go inside?” Rebecca asks, her cheeks all rosy and nestled against her fluffy coat and hat. She looks adorable.
“Unfortunately, no. Fürstheim is one of the few microstates that is still governed by its own royal family. They reside in a more modern wing of the castle, and they hold government in the original gathering hall—updated with modern conveniences, of course.”
“Wow,” I say, taking a few more pictures that are pretty much identical to the twenty I already have. “There’s so much history here.”
“Indeed,” our guide says, lifting the reins on the horse-drawn carriage we’re sitting in. I think this is my favorite part of this tour. We have hot chocolate to warm our hands, and a blanket draped over us to keep us warm. We travel around to the tune of horses’ hooves hitting stone,clop, clop, clop,and the lovely accented man telling us everything we need to know and answering our random questions.
“Does the royal family hold court?” Rebecca asks. “Like, you know how in the old times the king and queen would sit on their thrones and all the people in their kingdom would come and tell them their problems and they’d be all—you owe Bob the Baker two goats for breaking his cart.” She’s very animated telling this story, doing her best impression of a kingly voice to top it all off.
I smile, and our guide grins too. “Fürstheim’s royal family is very private. There are certain events each year where they take part in a parade around town then deliver a speech to let us know they have our best interests in their hearts. But we don’t see them out and about. That wouldn’t be proper.”
“How sad,” I say. “I think it would be fun to be in the market and bump into royalty over the coffee cart.”
“I don’t think any member of a royal family would fetch coffee for themselves,” Rebecca says. “They’d have people for that.”
“Indeed,” our guide says as we clip-clop away.
We’re told some more about the little country’s heritage, and how they maintain a healthy GDP by valuing education and embracing scientific progress. The country may look like a snapshot of olden times, but it is very forward thinking.
When our tour is over, we stop at a little café in the center of town. We’re seated next to an outdoor heater and fed rich beef stew and crusty bread.
“Wouldn’t it be wonderful living somewhere like this,” I say to Rebecca, my cheeks hurting from all the smiling I’ve been doing today.
“You couldn’t possibly have a complaint in the world,” she agrees, dipping her bread into the rich gravy.
“Can I get you ladies anything else?” the waitress asks as she passes our table.
“How about a greencard?” Rebecca asks, and I laugh, but the girl looks a little confused.
“We were just talking about how wonderful it would be to live here,” I explain. “Is it as idyllic as it seems?”
She lifts her brow as she bounces a shoulder slightly. “I don’t really know. I’ve always been here, so I’ve nothing to compare it to. I don’t have the urge to leave though. I mean, maybe I’ll travel some day when I’ve saved enough, but I’m happy to live my days calling Fürstheim home.”
I grin and tilt my head toward the castle in the distance. “It’s kind of cool that you guys have your own king and queen too. I always thought Britain was the only place with a monarchy.”
“Don’t forget the thousand little countries on the Hallmark channel,” Rebecca jests.
“Those aren’t real.” I laugh.
“They do a good job keeping the country going,” our waitress says. “So I can’t complain too much. The king is a bit of a crotchety old man, and the queen acts like she’d rather be anywhere than in the public eye. She kind of just sits there and says nothing when the King is giving his address.”
“You don’t like them?” I ask, leaning my chin on my hand.
“Oh, not particularly. I don’t think anyonelikesthem. We respect them because we all have wonderful lives and opportunities given to us, but they sit up in their castle and ignore us all most of the time. Well, except the prince. He’swonderful.” There’s a softness the comes over her eyes at the mention of this prince.
“Wonderful?” I exchange glances with Rebecca who’s just as interested in this story as I am.
“Well, yes. He is so friendly and kind. He comes into the town and spends his time as a part of the community. He’s very down to earth, loves doing things to help kids and the elderly, and he’s also really dreamy. I don’t know a single girl in Fürstheim who doesn’t have a crush on him. Even my gran says she’d kick grandad out if Prince Lucas came calling.”
