CHAPTER 13
Archie
Roberto's security report confirmed what I'd already suspected: someone was actively trying to sabotage my wife.
"The airline has no record of any cargo hold leak during the flight," he said, standing in my study with the expression of someone delivering news he knew I wouldn't like. "The baggage compartment remained completely dry throughout the journey."
"So someone damaged her clothes."
"It would appear so, Your Highness."
"And the speech substitution?"
"Three people had access to the folder after Elena placed the original inside. All three confirm it contained healthcare talking points when they handled it."
"Meaning someone switched the documents after the final check."
"Yes, sir. Someone with high-level palace access."
I processed this. Someone in my household was deliberately sabotaging Betty. The luggage, the speech, and probably more incidents I hadn't connected yet.
"I want a full review of everyone who had opportunity to commit either act. Cross-reference the lists."
"Already done, Your Highness. Six names appear on both access lists."
"And?"
"I'd prefer to complete the investigation before making accusations, sir."
He was right. But knowing that someone close to me was targeting Betty made my protective instincts surge in ways I hadn't expected.
"Fine. Complete your investigation. Daily updates. And increase security on everything related to Betty."
"Understood, Your Highness. Though I should mention that Captain Steiner has already made similar requests through Valdorian channels. She's quite... thorough."
Of course she was. Betty's Valdorian security detail had been hovering since her kidnapping as an infant had made international headlines. Captain Steiner took her protection mandate very seriously.
"Coordinate with her. Full information sharing."
After Roberto left, I sat alone with the uncomfortable realization that I wanted to do something for Betty that had nothing to do with political alliances.
I wanted to make her happy.
When had that happened?
I found her in the library, surrounded by healthcare policy documents and looking like she'd been there for hours. She glanced up when I entered, and something in her expression softened.
"Stalking me now?"
"Strategic reconnaissance." I sat across from her. "Roberto confirmed the sabotage. Both incidents were deliberate."
"So I'm not paranoid."
"You're not paranoid. Someone with palace access is actively undermining you."
She absorbed this, then surprised me by laughing. "You know what's funny? A month ago my biggest problem was customers complaining about latte temperatures. Now I have actual enemies trying to destroy my reputation."
"That's not funny."
"It's a little funny. In a dark, absurdist kind of way." She set down her pen. "Any suspects?"
"Six names on both access lists. Roberto's investigating."
"And in the meantime?"
"In the meantime, I thought maybe we could do something that doesn't involve sabotage investigations or healthcare policy." I paused, suddenly unsure. "There's a restaurant in the old town. Private, excellent food. I thought maybe... dinner?"
Her eyebrows rose. "You're asking me on a date?"
"I'm asking my wife if she'd like to eat somewhere that isn't a palace for one evening."
"That sounds suspiciously like a date."
"It can be whatever you want it to be."
She considered this, tapping her pen against the table. "How would that even work? I have a Valdorian security detail that follows me everywhere. You presumably have a Solmarian one. Between us we'd have enough bodyguards to invade a small country."
This was the part I'd been thinking about all afternoon.
"I have a plan for that."
"A plan that involves leaving the palace without a twelve-person security entourage?"
"A plan that involves... negotiation."
* * *
"ABSOLUTELY NOT."
Captain Steiner stood in my study with her arms crossed and an expression that suggested I'd just proposed we set Betty on fire.
"It's dinner at a restaurant I've been visiting since I was sixteen," I said. "Giuseppe has hosted me dozens of times without incident."
"With respect, Your Highness, Princess Bettina was kidnapped from a secure palace garden at age two. She is a high-value target with known enemies. Taking her to an unsecured location for a recreational dinner is not something I can approve."
"I'm not asking for approval. I'm asking for cooperation."
"Then you're asking for my resignation, because I will not be responsible for this."
"Captain." I held up a hand. "What would it take to make this acceptable?"
She paused, clearly not expecting negotiation. "Full advance sweep of the restaurant. Background checks on all staff. Plainclothes agents at every entrance. Secured transportation with armored vehicles. Communication blackout on our destination until we're en route."
"Done."
"I'm not finished. Counter-sniper positions on the adjacent rooftops. Medical team on standby within two-minute response radius. Evacuation routes pre-planned and rehearsed. And my team stays inside the restaurant, not outside."
"Inside the restaurant? The whole point is to have dinner without being watched."
"The whole point, Your Highness, is to keep the Princess alive. I can position my people discreetly, but they will be present."
I thought about Betty's face when I'd suggested dinner somewhere normal. The hope in her expression, the brief flash of excitement before she'd remembered to be guarded.
"How discreetly?"
"You won't know they're there unless something goes wrong."
"And if Betty notices them?"
"Then she has better situational awareness than most trained operatives, which would actually be reassuring."
I considered my options. "Fine. But they dress like regular patrons. No earpieces visible, no tactical stances, no scanning the room every thirty seconds."
"Twenty seconds is standard."
"Forty-five."
"Thirty-five, and that's my final offer."
"Deal."
Captain Steiner nodded crisply. "I'll coordinate with your security team. What time?"
"Eight o'clock."
"We'll need to advance at six. I assume the restaurant owner can be trusted with sensitive information?"
"Giuseppe has known me since I was sixteen. He's kept secrets about my whereabouts from my mother for over a decade."
For the first time, something that might have been approval flickered across her face. "Good. Experience with discretion is valuable." She turned to leave, then paused. "Your Highness?"
"Yes?"
"This is a good idea. The Princess has been under considerable stress. A normal evening would benefit her psychological resilience."
Coming from Captain Steiner, that was practically a gushing endorsement.
* * *
Betty
"YOU NEGOTIATED WITH Captain Steiner?" I stared at Archie across the palace foyer, genuinely impressed. "She once made a Valdorian cabinet minister cry."
"It wasn't easy. We'll have plainclothes security throughout the restaurant, counter-snipers on adjacent rooftops, and a medical team within two-minute response radius."
"So basically a normal Tuesday in my new life."
"Basically." He offered his arm. "Shall we?"
The armored SUV was waiting outside, which should have felt excessive but was actually becoming distressingly normal. Two of Captain Steiner's people sat in the front, dressed in casual clothes that didn't fully disguise their alert postures.
"Is it weird that I'm starting to find constant surveillance comforting?" I asked as we pulled away from the palace.
"Stockholm syndrome, probably."
"Or just acceptance that this is my reality now." I watched the old town streets pass by, the ancient buildings lit golden in the evening light. "When I was little, I used to dream about being a princess. The Disney version, with singing animals and ball gowns."
"And now?"
"Now I have security briefings instead of singing animals, and my ball gowns keep getting sabotaged." I glanced at him. "Though I have to say, the prince is better looking than I expected."
"Is that your way of complimenting me?"
"Don't let it go to your head."
The restaurant was tucked into a narrow alley that looked like it hadn't changed in centuries.
As we approached, I spotted at least three people who were definitely not regular diners: a woman reading a newspaper at an outdoor café who kept glancing at doorways, a man examining produce at a nearby stall with unusual intensity, and someone on a rooftop who probably thought they were invisible but had caught the light when they shifted position.
"I see four of them," I said.
Archie looked surprised. "Four?"
"Counter-sniper on the roof, newspaper lady, produce guy, and there's someone in the alley pretending to be homeless who has way too good posture."
"Captain Steiner said you might have good situational awareness."
"I've been watching true crime documentaries for years. Some of it stuck."
The restaurant owner, Giuseppe, greeted us at the door with the kind of genuine warmth that couldn't be faked. His wife Maria appeared moments later, immediately taking my hands in hers and declaring that I was too thin and needed feeding immediately.
"This is perfect," I told Archie as we settled into a private dining room with harbor views. "Minus the sniper on the roof, obviously."
"The sniper is for your protection."
"I know. It's still surreal." I accepted the wine Giuseppe poured. "Three months ago I was worrying about whether I could afford new tires. Now I have rooftop snipers protecting me while I eat dinner."
"Does that bother you?"
"It should, right? Normal people don't have snipers." I took a sip of wine, considering. "But I was kidnapped as a baby. There are people who still want to harm me for political reasons. Having protection isn't paranoid, it's practical."
"That's a remarkably healthy attitude."
"I've been talking to Captain Steiner a lot. She's surprisingly good at explaining threat assessments without making me feel like I should be panicking constantly."