not a fairytale

two

 I woke up the next morning in a sea of pillows and blankets with the early morning sun creeping into the glass wall leading out to the balcony that overlooked the bay. It was like waking up in a dream instead of my apartment that just overlooked a canal and the building on the other side of the river.

"I was beginning to think you were going to sleep all day," Logan's voice remarked from the next room through the archway.

"What time is it?" I asked, sitting up in the sea of white blankets and rubbing my eyes.

"Ten thirty," he replied, walking into the doorway, standing there in a pair of flannel pajama pants and no shirt.

"I work nights, ten thirty isn't that late for me," I laughed.

"I wish I could sleep in," he sighed, sitting down at the edge of the bed and handing me a glass of what I assumed was champagne and orange juice.

"Mimosa?" I asked.

"Mimosa," he laughed.

"So how do you feel about all of this?" I asked.

"The whole I'm now the crown prince of Meldeva?" He laughed.

"Yeah, that's what I meant?" I laughed.

"It's a lot. I went from just having to show my face at official events every few weeks and then disappear and lay low. But now it's all on me," he sighed, "I have to be at my father's side at every event, I have to learn a lifetime's worth of training and the ins and outs of being a monarch in the next few years before my Dad steps down. I don't even get to choose my own wife, I have to go through this ridiculous process that feels like a tacky reality show to pick which stuffy, prissy daughter of a noble family is the lesser evil when it comes to spending my life with someone. My brother stepping down and abdicating turned my life upside down and from now on I have no control over my life."

"That sounds awful," I sighed, "I remember when you said Alex did it, you made fun of it for quite some time," I added with a small laugh.

"Yes, I did, and now it's my karma I guess," he laughed halfheartedly, "I probably sound spoiled, I'll never want for anything material in my life, I life in a castle for God's sake, but none of that means anything when you have no control over your own life," he remarked.

"I get it," I replied, "But you already know that."

"I wish more than anything that I could be my own person," he sighed, "But, I wasn't born into the right family I guess."

"Well, while you're here, with me, you can try to be your own person," I suggested, "Do whatever you want to do for a little while, have a tiny sliver of freedom."

"I have less than a week of freedom left then," he laughed.

"Why did you come here?" I asked, begging him in my mind to tell me it was because of me.

"I think you know why," he said, looking down at his drink, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Do I?" I smiled.

"You," he said, looking back up at me, "All the memories I have with the best stories when I'm not faking anything, they're all with you. I figured if I had to spend one last weekend somewhere it would be with you, taking one last ride down the canals."

"Ana's brother still does those, I'm sure he'd be happy to take us," I replied.

"I would love nothing more, but if I do something that public I'll be caught by the press," he sighed, "And now it matters if we get seen together."