The Reluctant Princess

Chapter Four

I took a walk down by the coast after dinner. 

Carlta was a small, exotic island. Colourful flowers and shrubs decorated the landscape, and majestic mountains blocked out the sunset. Down by the water, you had the playground of the rich and privileged on one side; yachts, mansions, pools, the lot. On the other, you had the typical tourist seafront; small cafés, ice-cream parlours and overly expensive gift shops. The sun was slowly sinking as I walked along the pier, and the lights of distant house glittered. People sat laughing and eating on the decks of private boats, and waved to me as I strolled past. Everybody on this small island seemed very friendly. I wondered how they'd receive me. Would they embrace an outsider? It was hard to tell.

The shops and cafés were closing up now, dragging in their wares. A newspaper stand caught my eye as I passed it. A huge tabloid paper had a photo of Theo on the front, smiling in a suit, one hand raised in a greeting of some kind. It was the headline however, that caught my eye: 

"Carlta's Beloved Prince Brings Home Fiancée"

I picked up the paper and quickly scanned the article. 

'...Prince Theodore will introduce his fiancée to the country in a televised interview tomorrow. The Prince's fiancée, who is not believed to be of royal ancestry, flew in from London this morning, where she was greeted by the Prince and his grandmother, The Duchess. Her introduction to the Carltation people has been eagerly awaited for many months now. 

"Prince Theodore and his fiancée met in London, and hit it off immediately," an inside source from the palace said, "He has been waiting to bring her home for a long time, but it's a big step; he wanted to be sure she was ready."  

The Prince and his fiancée are expected to make a statement about their wedding in the coming days. Tune in to CNT tomorrow morning at 11am to catch the interview live!'

"It's very exciting, isn't it?" I turned to see a little old man smiling up at me. I realised I was still holding the newspaper, and I put it back on the shelf. 

"Yes," I replied, forcing a smile, "It is." He was obviously waiting for me to leave so that he could pack up and go home, so I walked away from the shop, and started back towards the palace. It had gotten darker in the time that I was reading that article, and now I was eager to be home. Home. I wasn't home, was I? I was a long way from it. The thick, balmy air of the evening was starting to give way to the cool night air, which was refreshing after the hot day. My head was still whirring with the words of the article I'd just read. "Her introduction to the Carltation people has been eagerly awaited for many months now." My introduction was eagerly anticipated, was it? That didn't make much sense, given that I had only found out I was marrying Theo and that he was a Prince two days ago!  I know that the press tend to exaggerate (I mean, I am a journalist) but they very rarely lie where the Royals are concerned. I don't think that Theo was telling me the whole truth. I think that Theo was a Prince with a lot of explaining to do. 

***

I was having a great deal of difficulty sleeping, and it had nothing to do with discomfort. 

I wasn't used to being so warm, and the room was absolutely huge. To be truthful, I felt kind of lonely. I hadn't expected to be sleeping in the same room as Theo, but I had at least hoped that our rooms would be a little closer together. You could have built a shopping centre in the distance between them! And even though I was not very happy with Theo at the moment (when am I ever?), it would be a comfort to have someone I knew close by. 

There was a knock on the door at half past one. 

"Yes?" I whisper-yelled, wondering who on earth could be knocking at this hour.