Chapter 2
two
ASTRID
Staff packed a mountain of bags into a waiting line of cars. I imagined I would feel release and hope in this moment. Instead, my feet were leaden. I looked at my younger sisters—Ingrid and Odette—who waited excitedly for me, hopeful to follow in my footsteps.
My older sister, Alexandra, said in sweet French, “Phone us when you arrive.”
I would miss her and our mother tongue.
“I will,” I agreed.
The small baby in her arms, my niece Linnea, kicked her feet wildly.
“I will miss you most of all.” I kissed my niece on her head, breathing in that fresh baby scent.
My brother-in-law smiled with pride. “You're going to do great.”
“Thanks, Rick,” I said. “I'll miss the wisdom of Rick the Prick when I need it.”
He chuckled. “Call me anytime, kid.”
“Be nice!” Odette said, annoyed by our candour.
Though I wanted to hate him when he'd shown up a year and a half ago, embroiled in the strangest plan to marry our sister, he became a friend and stand-in big brother. I'd loathed this asshole, but now I relied on his knowledge of the outside world more than I liked admitting.
“Don't forget us,” Odette, the emotional one, sobbed.
“Oh, I won't, darling. How could I?” I hugged her tight.
I was not a hugger, but I knew she needed it.
Alexandra reminded the two younger girls. “You’ll see her at term break for an entire month. And Rick and I will check on her for the state dinner soon enough.”
Astrid and Rick were due to represent our home country of Neandia at Buckingham Palace.
“I'm just across the English channel. A quick shot back if I am needed.”
“No. You will go and live your life,” Alexandra sounded confident but fought the biggest tears.
“I will miss you so much, Andi!” I fought tears harder.
As long as I remembered, Alex and I were united against the ties that bound us. With the arrival of my brother-in-law, we had hope, and with my sister's marriage came new freedom. We saw an end to the repressive regency that bound us to our grandmother's controlling rules. I'd thirsted for this. Free to leave, I would pursue postgrad work and learn everything about the world. Leaving felt as selfish as it did brave.
Alexandra kissed me for the final time, and Rick picked me up in one last big bear hug.
“You're gonna kick ass, kid. Take names and smash the patriarchy or whatever sort of shit you get up to.”
“I will!” I chuckled. “Thanks, Prickard.”
“Anytime, sis.”
“Go, go,” Alexandra said. “Learn all the things.”
“Wear all the things!” Odette added.
“And ride all the horses!” Ingrid beamed.
“I will,” I agreed.
I stepped out to the waiting car, past my security detail. It would be the last time I saw them until my next homecoming. On the other side of the Channel, I was a free woman. For the first time in my life, I could be a normie. Thrilled and terrified, I climbed into the car. It was time for a new adventure and a fresh start in Shalebrook. At twenty-one, I would discover who Astrid Deschamps was and what she was capable of.