All I Have

Chapter 9 ~ Is Giving the Queen Third Degree Burns Cause for a Beheading?

'Are you sure you know how to drive?!' Asher screams as a car drives past us, honking his horn loudly and shouting a cuss word in my direction.

I swerve out of the way and hear the suitcases rattle around in the boot of the car that the agency arrived to have ready at the train station when we arrived this morning. The Greenewood's adjust their seatbelts in the back and exchange anxious looks. It's only around six-am and so there's not that many people on the road except for us, and that rude man.

I scoff at Asher's insulting question, given that I learnt to drive when I was fourteen, and check the rearview mirror to glare at the man who just drove past us, despite the fact that he won't be able to see me.

'Yes! He was just driving on the wrong side of the stupid road.' I shout back and I can already tell everyone in the car is regretting letting me drive. I made a very compelling argument about how no one would expect a princess to be driving herself to the airport, and also I called shotgun, which is very, very important.

'No he wasn't! Marzia move!' Asher shrieks as another car comes our way, directly in front of me, in my lane, 'They drive on the right here! We drive on the left! Fucking move over!'

I yelp and swerve into the other lane just in time to miss the car. Asher and the triplets continue screaming, listening to another long honk from another car. Once in the correct lane, a traffic light stops us. Asher and I fall back into our seats and the triplets let go of one another, a feeling of fear and looming death settling into our bones.

'You're not so good at this protecting thing, are you?' I chuckle, holding my chest and taking a deep breath so that my lungs don't feel so restricted.

'Yes I am, it's not my fault you're inept.' Asher shudders, rolling down the window to let in the cold air and we all take a thankful breath, relieved it isn't our last.

'In my defence, none of us have ever driven in Sweden before.' I say, taking in our surroundings of fields full of tulips. It reminds me of Alania, but we're still a few hours away yet.

The reason the five of us are travelling to the airport alone and without an armed agency escort is that the press have been camped out at every airport and train station to try catch a glimpse of the princess. And my cover would be well and truly blown if I jumped into an armed car with a fake passport now wouldn't it?

Zoë, Quigley and Augustus are joining us for the drive, but they're having to fly in their own plane to avoid any suspicion when we land. We're going to drop them at the airport, and then go give me a princess makeover at the smallest diner with an outside bathroom that we can find.

Asher has been disturbingly quiet ever since last night, besides his most recent outbursts about my perfectly capable driving. I don't understand the huge impact that our parents knowing each other has, but it's clearly messed with his head, because he's been making dumb decisions all morning.

One of them being, letting me drive.

I tuck my seatbelt underneath my arm and take another rattling breath. I can't tell if the tightness in my chest comes from having almost just died again, or the fact that I'm getting ever so closer to being home soon.

The traffic lights change and I move slowly back into driving, a lot more cautious about oncoming traffic from now on. I do appreciate the irony that would be me dying in a car accident instead of being murdered, but I don't think my family would.

It's not far to the airport, and for safety reasons, they're setting off an hour earlier than we are, so they clamber out when we arrive, hardly saying anything on the drive over. I can tell all three of them are exhausted, and Augustus was not quiet about the lack of sleep he managed to get last night because of Quigley's motion sickness.