The Royal Programme

Chapter 6

Hiya lovelies pictured above is the beautiful swimming pool and lounging area.
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It was already 11:15am by the time I had taken to wake up and get ready. I settled on wearing a simple navy skirt suit and black pointy-toed heels. I decided to put my hair up in a pony so that the little wisps of hair would not bother me.

Today, I had a rather late start. Therefore I decided to have breakfast in bed, whilst I read over the itinerary for the day. It was pretty casual; all I had to do was get to know the suitors one by one in the common room after lunch with my siblings and friends. 

Everyday lunch would be just me and my companions, the dinner and sometimes breakfast (if I chose to wake up early) would be the only times where I would eat with my guests, as it mentioned in the itinerary that my parents made for me.

Seeing as I still had time to kill until lunch I decided to ask Nik, Angel and Alex if they were up for some swimming and tanning time. Natti was out at some event with the minister of Greece so we had all the freedom to ourselves, which was just a relief. After personally knocking on their doors and asking them, they had all agreed to spend what was left of the morning and some of their afternoon, relaxing by the pool. Lunch would be served at approximately one, which meant we had hours yet to come.

I was frantically searching for a nice swimsuit when I came across a scandalous two piece bikini, which to be frank I don't even know why I packed. It was always deemed appropriate for royals to wear swimsuits if they insisted on swimming but seeing as Natti nor my parents were here I decided to be rebellious and changed into the bikini. 

It was a darkish red colour which made me feel slightly out of my comfort zone because I would be completely exposed, but I still kept it on. Over that I put on a loose floral maxi dress and grabbed my sunglasses and a sun hat as I made my way into the exclusive 'royals only' pool situated next to palace, where we could see and breathe in the salty sea water. 

It was risky wearing a bikini since some of the suitors' room were on this side of the palace, so they would be able to see from their windows. But I didn't care, I was feeling rebellious. I'll show them what an amazing person I am, I thought to myself as I reached the pool.

Nik and Angel were already there, sunbathing on the sunbeds. To my surprise Angel wore a bikini too, a light blue one and Nik wore matching blue shorts. They looked like a cute couple, which they could be if my brother wasn't too scared and actually asked her out.

"Look at you lovebirds all matching," I said winking at them as I sat on the sunbed nearest to the pool. Angel blushed profusely as Nik gave me a lazy smile. "Anyways where's Alex? I could've sworn I heard him leave before me."

"He's not here yet. I reckon he's still picking his 'best' swim shorts," Nik replied sarcastically, in response I just rolled my eyes. Him and Alex were such drama queens, the pair of them took ages to get ready, so I was impressed when Nik had already arrived before me.

I took the time to get rid of my maxi dress and reveal my unprofessional side. I popped on my Dior sunglasses and sun hat as I applied sunscreen on my skin, waiting for one of the lovebirds to notice me and say something about my appearance.

"Oh my goodness! Nina you look stunning," Angel spoke whilst giggling. On the other hand, Nik looked slightly annoyed.

"What do you think you're wearing missy? You are just so lucky Natti isn't here, or else she would've murdered you and I both sister." Nik said with a tone of feigned disappointment but then he laughed whilst saying, "I would kill to see Natti's reaction just about now, I can already imagine the look of horror if she saw you. But don't worry sister, your secret is safe with me."

I nodded my head and laughed whilst I started to enjoy a peaceful moment as the sound of waves brought a sense of tranquillity. But the moment was cut short by a high pitched squeal. 

I had only one word: Alex.

He quickly greeted Nik and Angel before he swiftly made his way towards me. He stopped in his tracks and shamelessly stared at me. I mean I couldn't blame him, it was not everyday you see a princess in scandalous clothes. I smirked as he got on the sunbed next to me. That's when I realised he was wearing red shorts too. What a coincidence!

"Wow Nina you look unreal darling," Alex gulped. "You best be sure not to be seen by one of the suitors or god help me so, I will personally go smack them."

"Yeah sure thanks Alex. I'm not your darling," I said in a sarcastic tone and jumped into the pool. The cold water feeling refreshing on my warm skin as I grabbed a pizza shaped floatie and floated around like a duck. 

I closed my eyes for one second and the next I was immersed in the water. Nik had pulled the float and left me rolling into the water helplessly. He laughed maniacally. I splashed water at him and he sneered at me before trying to run at me but falling into the water himself.

Barks of laughter could be heard erupting from Angel and Alex, even I doubled over in laughter. That was the funniest thing I had seen my twin do since yesterday, he had just made my day! Slowly Alex and Angel got inside the water and it soon turned out to be a great water splashing fight between us all. It was around 12:30 when we started to feel hungry so we all dried ourselves up and made our way upstairs.

It had been a fun filled morning. Some of the suitors had indeed seen me when we got out the water and whistled as they saw me outside by the pool. Thankfully, Alex was quick to wrap a towel around me and lead me inside to my room.

We muttered a 'see you later' to one another as we went inside our room to shower and change into formal clothes again. I just wore the outfit I was intending to wear before and stepped out for lunch.

Both me and Nik stepped out simultaneously so he had the pleasure of accompanying me to lunch, which for the record went smoothly. We just lied when Natti asked what we did, saying we stayed in Alex's room and had a quick catch up. Natti looked a bit sceptical but she brushed it away as she began talking about how boring her morning had been.

We ate our lunch in silence as Natti talked on and on, boring us to death by the time we had finished. I was just about to leave when I heard Natti call my name.

"Nina wait I need to discuss something with you. All of you," she said pausing to look at Angel, Nik then Alex, whom she gave a disgusted look and then continued, "out! I wish to speak to Nina alone."

They all scurried off, my twin and best friend looked at me with worry but I nodded in reassurance that I would be fine. They seemed to get overprotective sometimes, especially when Natti or my parents were involved. But once they got the hint they left too.

"There's some interesting news. Apparently, not all the guests had arrived yesterday. There was one missing. Elijah Flints. I just welcomed him in and showed him into his room a few minutes ago and he looks fabulous! If you don't like him, I will not hesitate to steal him. Not literally of course!" Natti explained. "But after you meet him, can you tell me if he is of your interests or not so I can be prepared."

I gave her small smile. "You may steal him if you like him sister. I meant what I said in the plane. I want you to be happy too, so by all means if you feel like you have a connection go for it. But hopefully I'll be talking to him later on to see what he looks like, so I'll tell you if I think he's my type or not during dinner."

"Yes yes.  Oh by the way, I hope you remembered that you have a meet and greet with all the suitors one by one this afternoon, from three to five." She said in a firm tone, reciting my schedule for today.

I muttered a 'yes I knew that already' and headed back to my room to relax, before my much awaited interaction with the men. This time I was going to meet them all properly, one by one, and I hoped they were all as charming as they seemed.

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There's the end of chapter 6, I hoped you liked it. It was more of a relaxed 'calm before the storm' chapter. Things will change sooner than you would expect. Once again, thank you for reading. Don't forget to tag, vote, comment and share this story to friends and family who might be interested.

Stay tuned for Nina's one on one interaction with the handsome men!