World Men à la Mode

Chapter Fourty-two - Horseback Riding

        Matthias seemed more excited than usual the next morning as you finished up breakfast and headed out to the bus with your friends. You were still in the dark about the day's activities, but Matthias soon changed that. Alfred tried to lay out the plans Luke yesterday but was once again cut off by the Dane.

        "You ladies are in for a real treat today! On account of me being like third cousins or something similar to the crown prince of Denmark, I pulled some strings and got us an extra exclusive tour of Christiansborg Palace and horse riding lessons at its stable!" he exclaimed.

        "Wait, we're going to meet the royals?!" Charlotte asked.

        Matthias laughed, but not in a mocking way. "Nope! Christiansborg Palace holds the Prime Minister's Office, the seat of parliament, and our Supreme Court. It's kinda weird that they have a stables here that's still functioning, but guess the higher ups gotta de-stress somehow, right?"

        "Yeah, I guess so."

        "Don't sound so sad, broshinki! You still might see some of the government officials while we're there. Also, we're going to have a picnic for lunch in the gardens before horseback riding, so we're stopping at a supermarket so you can all get food. After we're done at Christiansborg, we'll go to Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, a fine arts and sculptures museum before dinner. You then have free time the rest of the night at Strøget, which is one of our famous pedestrian streets with a crap ton of places to go shopping."

        "Yay! Shopping!" you and your friends exclaimed.

        While you were excited for shopping, you weren't sure how much more buying your wallet could take. You still had quite a very countries to visit, and you were already at the point of having to mail items home because you couldn't fit much more in your luggage. Oh well. You'd just have to deal with it like an adult when the time came.

        After hitting up the supermarket and buying yourself some food for lunch, you made it to Christiansborg Palace. The building was truly spectacular, as was the landscaping. You honestly didn't expect anything less than that for a royal palace. Matthias led the group inside and introduced everyone to the official tour guide, a cheerful looking brunette. You watched as she flirted with Matthias and occasional Alfred, but her main focus was the Dane, who joked with her back and forth in Danish.

        You couldn't help but feel a little jealous of the girl. She was beautiful and curvy. Not to say that you weren't, but she looked like one of those models you'd see in magazines or in commercials on TV. You grit your teeth while the tour continued through most of the morning. She led the group out to the garden and told them they could wonder about until one o'clock. That's when the instructor for horseback riding would come get them.

        Your friends and you sat in a circle under one of the larger trees with Matthias and Alfred, happily munching on your purchased treats. The riding instructor was promptly on time and whisked the group away to appropriately match them with a horse. You were matched with a gorgeous honey colored mare with a white under belly. She was pretty tame and listened to your commands and gestures well. A few of your friends didn't have quite as good luck, but they eventually got their horses under control. Alfred nearly got thrown from his horse, so he was switched to another horse.

        Once he taught everyone the basics of handling their, he explained the rules of Polo and had split the group up to play. It took about an hour, but you and your friends got the hang of it and managed to play well for another hour until you had to get going to make it to the museum. You said your goodbyes and thanked the instructor, then headed out to the waiting bus.

        "You were pretty good on that horse," Matthias commented, bumping hips with you with a smirk.

        "You weren't so bad yourself, Dane." You winked at him and smiled.

        He gasped. "Did you spend too much time with Lukas while you were in Norway?! Only he calls me 'Dane'!"

        You laughed and leaned against him slightly. "Nah. Just felt like calling you that."

        "Well, as long as you don't say it like he does, then I'm fine with it."

        "Awesome."

        He sling an arm around you as the two of you took a seat on the bus next to one another. You conversed the entire ride, earning some questioning and suggestive eyebrow wiggles and raises from your friends. You tried to ignore them as you got to know Matthias better.

        Once at Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Matthias turned the group loose after you all made it inside, saying that you had to be back at the entrance before six o'clock so you could make it to dinner on time. You wandered around mostly by yourself, taking pictures in areas you were allowed to and just admiring works in places you could not. You caught glimpses of your friends and the tour guides every so often but paid them no mind.

        By the time you reached the restaurant for dinner, you were starving. You ate silently, sparing Matthias and Alfred glances every few moments and catching them looking back at you. Valerie, who sat to you left, elbowed you gently and wiggles her eyebrows a few times. You elbowed her back with a slight smirk and shook your head. You couldn't do much about your friend's dirty mindedness, but you could ignore it, which was rather difficult most of the time.

        After dinner, you walked around Strøget with Charlotte and Samantha, picking up little trinkets here and there and a couple bigger items that you had shipped home right away. The thought of filling out the form to go through customs in the United States when you went home was frightening given how much you were going to have to write. You'd figure it out on the flight back home though. After all, you'd have a lot of time on your hands to do so. Upon returning to the hotel, you went straight to your room but stayed away for awhile, playing on your phone and reading until you grew tired and went to sleep.

~ Author's Note~

DreamsForDays here! I decided to make Matthias related to Denmark's royalty because why not? I don't have much to say again, so this author's note will be short. Thanks for reading! Feedback in the comments is always appreciated! Until next time!