Royally Rebellious: An arranged royal romance (Resplendent Royals Book 1)

Chapter 24

For Immediate Release-

His and Her Majesty are excited to announce the engagement of His Royal Highness Prince Rikard, 29, to Her Majesty Queen Alexandra of Neandia, 21. The couple have been dating for some time, having met at an event with mutual friends. They will wed in Neandia in the autumn. We wish them many happy years together and are overjoyed to welcome Her Majesty on an upcoming state visit next month.

From the Desk of the Queen Regent-

Her Majesty Queen Alexandra, 21, will wed His Royal Highness Prince Rikard of Lundhavn, 29, son of the King and Queen of Lundhavn. The pictures released this morning serve as the official engagement photos for the couple. An engagement interview will follow on Thursday evening.

The nuptials will take place at St. Veronica’s Cathedral in Ville de Neandia 2 October. A reception will follow at Neandia’s Royal Palace.

This is the first royal wedding since the marriage of the Queen’s mother and father twenty-three years prior. A request to end the Queen’s regency will be entered into parliament at a time agreeable to all. The Prime Minister will ultimately sign the dissolution of the regency into law.

It’s Official!

We have a royal wedding planned in October! Prince Rikard managed to land the young Queen Alexandra in a surprising redemption arc usually reserved for shady politicians with good senses of humour. There are few details available apart from the wedding date of October 2nd and that it will take place in Neandia City. We will be there to follow this wedding every step of the way.

Photos released by the Palace in Neandia show the couple smiling happily in front of an intricate fireplace in what is known as the Jade Room. The princess chose a red dress by Belgian designer Marie Lacroix. The prince wore a grey suit. They looked very at ease and cosy together. It was clear they enjoyed one another’s company.

Exclusive!will have the exclusive scoop and will cover this wedding, being the official Lundhavian press outlet to cover the couple’s upcoming engagement interview later this week. We are fortunate to have a front-row seat in this proceeding.

Following Celeste’s incident in the hallway, I threw my weight around more. Celeste lost power by the day. Moreover, worries about Sexy Nerd Boy faded as Alexandra became more wrapped up with me.

I am not saying I relished misleading the girl. I was sure for years I had no conscience. Now, though, I felt guilty. Alexandra and her sisters expected me to stand up for them. The little girls treated me like I was their saving grace. I was the hero of my own story—despite my shady behaviour. Alexandra trusted me. Suddenly, I prayed that she and I would get out of this unscathed and I wouldn’t break her heart. I suspected if she found out about the coverup it would wound her beyond help.

I now had strong feelings for Alexandra even if I was unsure where they came from. I wasn’t in love with her. She wasn’t the first girl I’d kissed. I’d never seen her naked or taken her to bed. And yet? I felt obligated to her. Was this labelling theory in action? Maybe since I knew Alexandra would be my wife, I treated her differently. I found myself smiling at her involuntarily. That wasn”t like me!

As we prepared for our engagement interview like students cramming for a test. On this beautiful spring day, we sat on a blanket at the creek’s bank taking notes and quizzing one another over things that were bound to come up. Alexandra”s distracting presence took away from my normal quick-wittedness. I found myself looking at her cleavage as she reached over to pick up a new pen. She colour-coded everything. I should have found it annoying, but I could only stare.

It was terrible. I was in puppy love with the girl I was supposed to marry. Normally, this would be fine, but our marriage was arranged. It was a joke, right? So why did I want to spend the time doing nothing but kissing her?

“Okay, so proposal. The girls were told I proposed to you,” Alexandra said.

“Huh, what?” I shook myself out of my stupor.

“Yeah, so Asti told them. She made up a whole thing because they were asking and?—”

“Shit. No. I wouldn’t let that happen.”

“Oh, you wouldn’t?” She set her jaw defiantly.

I wanted to kiss the subtle scowl off her lips.

“I wouldn’t, no. I’d ask you properly. Maybe both could be true. You broached the subject, and I insisted I would do it properly.”

“Okay, I like that.” Alexandra scribbled notes. “But… how did you do it?”

“Maybe we were on a picnic. Cosy little day. I decided to keep it simple.”

“You are the least inventive man!” She giggled. “You mean like right now?”

“Newsflash—men don’t come up with big proposals like you see in the movies. This is nice. It’s intimate. I adore you, Alexandra.”

She looked at me lovingly. “Alright, fine, picnic.”

“And we met at a royal gathering,” I clarified. “Royal gathering. No more, no less. Mutual friends. Blah, blah, blah.”

Alexandra nodded. “Yes.”

She paused, biting the pen. “When did you know?”

I was temporarily distracted. Something about that was sexy. This very bookish version of her was driving me crazy!

“Know what?” I asked.

“When did you know I was the one?”

I tried to come up with an answer when she bit the pen again. Throwing caution to the wind, I kissed her. Tossing her notebook aside, Alexandra kissed me back. I pushed her down against the blanket—my body pinning hers to the ground. I stopped to look down. Alexandra stared back up. Her eyes were wide with surprise, but a smile presented at the corner of her full pink lips. Her hair fell against the blanket, framing her sweet face in a golden halo.

“Riding horses,” I replied. “The barn.”

She giggled. “What?”

“When we went to visit the horses. That’s when I had to know.”

“Oh, oh.” she smirked.

Alexandra pulled me back in. I kissed her again.

We spent the next few minutes clawing at one another. I wanted to take her then. Before, the thought hadn’t crossed my mind that I could just fuck her out here. Ever since the fateful interruption, we’d not managed to find a full moment to go back down that road. I’d fantasised since then about the way she shuddered and the sound of her little moans and growls as I ran my hand over her panties. Now, with her body lying beneath me and her hips pressed to mine, I knew I would have done it if she asked.

We heard laughter, and I looked over to see Odette and Ingrid staring. I pulled myself back onto the blanket, hoping that my interest in this situation was not telegraphed by the outline of an erection showing through my pants. It had been so long since I waswith anyone that the mere thought of fucking Alexandra had me running wild. I sat back, allowing Alexandra to pull herself together.

“Do you all not have something better to do?” Alexandra demanded. “We are busy preparing wedding things.”

“I’m sorry, but you two weren’t up to anything important,” Ingrid snickered. “Unless you’re practising for the wedding night. If so, get a room, Alex!”

Alexandra grabbed her notebook back and glared at her sisters. “Run along, girls!”

The girls snickered and left. I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“They’re so annoying. I’m sorry,” Alexandra said.

“Nah. It’s sweet. They care about you. They’re young and idealistic. They look up to you.”

“Do you look up to your brother?”

“My brother and I don’t get on. He’s a social nightmare. I’m just a nightmare. We have almost nothing in common. He hates sports. He hates going out. He’s just not like me,” I said.

Alexandra looked sad. “I don’t know what I would do without them, honestly. I know they will all fly the coop eventually. I want that for them. However, it breaks my heart. Because I will miss them.”

“They’re not gone yet,” I said. “We’ve got them for a bit longer.”

We. God, I used we in a not-at-all-royal sense. What was happening to me?