Chapter 11
It had only taken a couple of days for Frederick to become accustomed to Elise’s near-constant presence.
He didn’t want her to leave.
Once confirmation came that the window had shattered for no apparent reason, they’d left the secure suite.
Frederick immediately went to his office and made arrangements for the royal plane to take Elise and her security team to the next shooting location.
Then he went to the guest suite where Elise had been staying.
She let him in as soon as he knocked. He could see her earbud and she held up a finger.
“I would appreciate that. There was a situation here that led to me being unavoidably detained until I missed the last flight.”
Frederick realized what she was doing. He typed a note on his phone that he had it taken care of and showed it to her.
Elise stared at it for a moment, longer than he would have thought it would take her to absorb what it said. “Actually, can you give me just a minute? I may have a solution.” A pause. “Thanks.” After hitting the mute button, she looked up at him. “What were you able to figure out?”
“My plane will take you then return.”
Her head tilted. “I didn’t think I could take it.”
“Normally you couldn’t, but the delay was caused by the security teams so it’s incumbent upon us to take care of getting you where you need to go.”
“You’re sure?” She didn’t look or sound skeptical, just needed to be certain.
“Absolutely,” he reassured her with a nod.
She took her phone off of mute. “Thank you for holding. I’ve had a solution fall into my lap. I appreciate your help.” Another pause. “I’ll talk to you soon.” They exchanged good-byes and she turned the phone off. “Thank you, Frederick.”
Were those tears in her eyes?
Frederick reached up and brushed a bit of hair off her face. It seemed she always had bits falling out of her ponytail. “You can call me Rick or Ricky if you want.”
Those were definitely tears in her eyes. “You mean it?”
He nodded.
For the first time since possibly the plane, she initiated contact, sliding her arms around his waist and resting the side of her head on his chest.
His cheek came to rest against her hair as he put his arms around her. “You’ll be able to get some rest on the way and won’t have to worry about making your connections.”
“I have to admit, I’m okay with that part. Running through the airport is probably my least favorite part of air travel.”
“Not the ten-hour flights with no sleep?” He couldn’t say he’d ever experienced it himself, but he’d heard.
"I can afford to fly first class most of the time so I can usually get some sleep on long flights."
Was it his imagination or did her head seem to rest a little more heavily against his chest? He tightened his hold on her.
For the first time, he started to realize how much he was going to miss her.
That didn't seem possible, not really. Yes, they'd been married for nearly a month and had spent precious little time together during that time, but knowing she was just down the road brought a sense of something he really couldn't define. Comfort? Peace? Reassurance of safety?
He trusted the security teams. They would protect her with their lives if that's what it came to.
It wouldn't be necessary - he was certain of that.
Not only would they protect her, but the production company would have security as well.
Despite being in Europe, the site was fairly secluded.
It wouldn't be easily accessible by anyone.
"When will the plane leave?" She took in a deep breath and blew it out slowly, almost like a peaceful sigh.
"Whenever you want, within reason. Probably not for at least an hour." He didn't know for certain. The plane was supposed to be ready to go at a moment's notice, but he hoped they could spend at least a few minutes together before she needed to leave. "Are you hungry?"
"I could eat." But she didn't move.
"We can have something sent in. Almost anything we want, though we probably don't want to ask for something that will take a long time to prepare." They didn't have that much time.
Probably.
"What time do you need to be at your hotel?" That was likely the best place to start.
Elise took a half step back and looked up at him. "Since someone has so kindly offered me a private plane, I should be able to sleep on the way which helps. What do you recommend ordering for dinner?"
"Everything they make is fantastic." This time he moved away from her but took her hand so the contact wasn't completely broken.
"How about your favorite? I'm not picky." Elise followed him to a sofa nearby and took a seat close enough for him to let go of her hand and wrap his arm around her shoulders.
He pulled his phone out of his other pocket and opened an app. "When you get back permanently, the IT Department will set you up with everything you need. There's apps to order a meal, to find your way around the palace, and a couple of other things."
She let out an exaggerated sigh and slumped against him, her hand coming to rest on the top of his knee. "That's a relief. I figured I'd get lost and have to send up a flare to get rescued. But that would be a problem, because, you know. It’s indoors. Plus I don't typically carry flares."
Frederick laughed, something he knew he didn't do enough of. "Flares indoors would not be the best plan, no." After he placed the dinner order, he put his phone down. "Anyone would be happy to help you if you're in a spot where you don't know how to get where you're going."
"I know, but wouldn't that be a bit odd? The queen asking for directions? Even though I've only slept here like three nights total."
He rested his cheek on the top of her head. "William said he still gets lost at Windsor."
"Who?" She shifted to look up at him. "William?"
"Prince William, Prince of Wales. He did an interview at Windsor.
The interviewer said something about getting lost, and he said he gets lost. He could have been joking, but it has over a thousand rooms. We're not quite that big, of course, but it's still pretty easy to get lost if you don't know your way around.
" It didn't have nearly as much history as most of the places in Europe.
Being a fairly young country on the world stage sometimes bothered Frederick.
Not as young as countries closer to the "New World" of course, but much younger than Great Britain or even the Commonwealth of Terra Insula in the northern Mediterranean.
A knock on the door shook him out of his thoughts. Frederick kissed the top of her head. "Dinner's here."
He was determined to enjoy his time with Elise before she was gone for weeks.
Falling in love with his wife was on his list of things to do - and what better way could there be to start?
It had been a very long few weeks, but at least Frederick had been able to send his plane for Elise's return to Southern Santiero. Being on set was typically fun for her. There was no reason why it shouldn't have been.
But instead, she'd found herself wishing to be back in her new home.
With her new husband.
Who was no longer a bachelor king.
She hadn't thought the whole thing through before making her offer to Frederick or going through with the quick marriage. The end of her career had come quite unexpectedly, and she would miss it, but she knew she'd made the right decision.
The rest of the cast and crew had thrown her a lovely retirement party of sorts. There had been cake and balloons. Even a few presents.
Elise would still have to do the press tour for this project, but that wouldn't be for a year or more and who knew how much she'd actually end up doing.
The mere fact that she was now married to a king could be enough publicity without her doing many interviews or film festivals or anything besides possibly the premieres.
Could she arrange to have one in Southern Santiero? It could be good for tourism and publicity for her new homeland. She'd have to talk to Frederick about it and see if it was even a possibility.
Not long after takeoff, Elise snuggled down under her favorite bedding in the same bed she and Frederick had shared on their first flight together. With any luck, she'd sleep most of the way to the Southern Santiero.
After slipping into slumber, she didn't remember much about the dreams she had, though they left her a bit discomfitted. The next thing she realized a member of staff woke her up to return to a seat for landing.
Once buckled in, she used a brush to pull her hair back into a sleek ponytail. A quick glance in the mirror told her she didn't need any touch ups because she didn't wear any make up, but she looked okay anyway.
Besides, it would be dark when she arrived. There would be lights on the tarmac of course, but given then hour it seemed unlikely that there would be press close enough to take pictures.
As she walked down the stairs toward the waiting vehicle, she glanced around but didn't see anyone on the other side of the fencing a fair distance away.
"Welcome home, Your Majesty." The driver was one she'd ridden with before.
"Thank you. I happy to be home." That felt right. Home.
She hadn't truly felt like she had a place to call home since she left Eastern Novigradia many years earlier to move to the States for SPACE.
It seemed incredibly odd, given that she'd never even seen her husband's official living quarters.
A glance at the clock on the dash told her Frederick would likely be asleep when she arrived at the palace. They had also decided she'd stay in the other suite until after the official wedding.
That was coming up in just a few weeks. Aside from a carefully selected outings, planning would be her sole focus until the day arrived.
When the SUV slowed to a stop under the portico, a member of the staff waited to open her door. She hadn't met this staff member before.
He bowed a bit at the waist as she exited. "Welcome home, Your Majesty."
"Thank you. I'm happy to be here." She only had her purse with her. The rest would be delivered directly to her quarters. The bags were probably already there.
"It would be my honor to escort you the rest of the way."
Elise blinked as she realized who waited for her just inside the doorway. "Frederick! I didn't think I'd see you this evening."
He leaned down to kiss her cheek. "My wife is home after being away for weeks. Where else would I be?"
She slipped her hand inside his elbow, and he covered it with his free one. "You know, I may expect this kind of greeting every time I come home after being away."
Frederick chuckled. "Duly noted. Whenever possible, I'll be sure to meet you." He stopped in his tracks. "Is it acceptable that I didn't meet your plane? Isn't that what spouses are supposed to do? Meet you at the airport and pick you up?"
Elise tried to hide her grin but failed.
"That is how it often happens, but not always.
It depends on the city, the airport within the city, availability of public transportation or ride shares like Yfir for a reasonable price, and so on.
You ensured I had a way home from the airport. I think that's probably close enough."
They started walking again. "I'm glad to hear you're not offended I didn't meet you there."
"I'm surprised to find you here, to be honest. I thought you'd be asleep long before now. A king needs his beauty rest after all, doesn't he?" She bumped her hip lightly against his.
"He most definitely does."
The sincerity in his voice and on his face had to be for her benefit.
"Perhaps not beauty sleep, per se," he went on. "But a king must have his wits about him at all times and a rested mind to ensure he makes the best decisions he possibly can for his people."
"That makes more sense."
When Frederick stopped again, he turned to look at her. "I'm not quite certain what you mean by that."
Elise reached up and laid a hand on the side of his face.
"Just that you are most definitely not in need of beauty sleep.
This face is quite handsome already. I fear for the women of Southern Santiero if you were to turn become even more so.
" She gave him a wink. "Of course, that doesn't matter.
" Her thumb brushed along his jaw. "You are quite taken already and not by any of them. "
He turned his head to kiss the inside of her wrist. "Thank you."
For someone who said he didn't have much experience with physical contact, he sure picked up on it fast.
Or perhaps it had been modeled for him by his parents when he was younger or even his grandparents.
"You know, I'd like to kiss you right now, but..." Frederick glanced both ways down the wide hall. "But you never know when someone will appear and since we're legally wed but not officially, I think I would prefer somewhere a bit more private."
He took her hand this time and seemed to walk a bit faster than he had been before. Not much, but definitely a little bit.
It didn't take long to reach her temporary quarters. Frederick opened the door and stepped to the side to let her enter first.
Within seconds of the door closing, Elise found herself in his arms being kissed like she never had been before.
Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, and she'd been pulled up on to her tiptoes as Frederick leaned down.
The kiss expressed some of the longing and loneliness they'd both been feeling while they were apart. With their schedules, they hadn't been able to talk much, only text with a few long emails thrown in for good measure.
But now... here... together...
Everything they'd been missing seemed to be culminating in this moment.
Until she found herself suddenly quite alone, one hand on the wall to keep her balance.
Frederick stood a few feet away. "I have missed you, Elise. Greatly. But I don't think either of us is ready for the places that was headed."
She gave a single nod but didn't trust herself to speak.
He came back toward her and kissed the spot where her hairline met her forehead. "Good night, love. I'll see you in the morning. Sleep well."
And he was gone.