Governed by the royal family, St. Bartholdi is a small European country surrounded by lavender fields, where Anna Madeline Lechner and her friends are trying to survive royal life and find themselves caught in a web of lies with major consequences. In the 21st century, Maddie is tired of the absurd rules and social barriers imposed by the Queen, and is determined to overcome all obstacles in search of her freedom. On the other hand, the palace's newest security guard, Matteo Bertozzi, has left everything he knew in his native Italy in search of a new life, and gets much more than he bargained for. Faced with so many restrictions, the small wooden hut in the middle of the lavender field becomes a perfect fragrant refuge, where rules disappear, time almost stops, and fantasies become reality.
View MoreMatteo I waited a few minutes before leaving, heading straight to the palace to begin my rounds. It didn't take long before I was leaving one of the palace's meeting rooms, already fully uniformed, after giving a complete report of the party to Mr. Lechner, omitting the part where the princess disappeared for a few minutes and his daughter recognized me. The man seemed quite pleased with the information he received and with my discretion in handling the matter. But during my rounds through the palace gardens, scenes of Maddie's dance wouldn't leave my mind; it was becoming a greater trial than I had anticipated, and I could hardly concentrate on my task. I was in the middle of a round in the early hours of the morning when a figure on the west side of the garden caught my attention. I walked there cautiously, skirting the Lechner's property in search of anything suspicious. When I turned to where I saw the figure disappear, I was startled by a loud noise, reacting quickly, catchi
Matteo"What do you think?" I showed the final result in front of the camera on a video call with Josephine, my cousin whom I was very close to."It's perfect, you just need to fix your hair," she suggested."My hair is fine," I denied.My cousin rolled her eyes, deciding not to insist on the matter."What else did they give you to wear?" she asked.I picked up a navy blue blazer, putting it over the shirt I was wearing.I felt very strange wearing pieces that cost at least half of my salary, as if I had robbed a YSL store, but both the queen and Mr. Lechner didn't give me much choice.After I revealed my age, they explained to me what they were planning and prepared everything to make it work."Explain to me again what you have to do," Josie asked."The future princess was invited to a party by one of the country's noblemen's sons, so I have to go and play the role of a twenty-four-year-old woman's babysitter."That was one of the most ridiculous situations I had ever experienced, bu
Matteo“How did you end up here?" Maddie asked as we walked through the lavender fields a few days after she found me in the woods.I had given up trying to stay away. Madeline was like a magnet pulling me towards her, and as much as I knew it could cause me trouble, I couldn't resist."At the palace?" I glanced at her sideways."In the country. We're a great tourist destination, but people usually don't migrate to St. Bartholdi," Maddie explained her reasoning.I observed her profile exposed by the high ponytail she was wearing, the wind blowing, tossing her hair and bringing the scent of lavender to my nostrils, a scent I always associated with her. Madeline and I were taking advantage of my break time to get to know each other better. She had started running a little later, and we always met in the field, walking to the cabin that was there, sheltering ourselves from any curious eyes that might appear, making the most of the available time."It was a recommendation from a friend. H
MadelineAfter enjoying a few minutes in Matteo's company the day before, during the last minutes of his break time, a plan began to form in my mind. I spent the night calculating the schedules, I knew what to do to get to know him better.Later than I was used to, I hurried down the stairs, wearing my workout clothes and hair tied up in a ponytail, heading to the kitchen to grab my water bottle."Anna? Did you just wake up? I thought you were already out for your run," my mother was surprised to see me."I decided to sleep a little longer today since my schedule is free, there's nothing wrong with that, right?" I smiled at her before making my way to the kitchen.Instead of accepting my answer without question, my mother followed me, seeming unconvinced by my explanation."Anna, what are you up to?""Why do you think I'm up to something? I just slept in a bit," I frowned."Are you going to meet the prince?" she grabbed my arm, making me turn to face her."Why would I do that? His par
MadelineI woke up nearly two hours later to a knock on the door, the sun was shining brightly outside, and I had already missed my morning run, not that I felt up to it at that moment."Come in," I yawned to whoever was on the other side.Louise opened the door slowly, looking embarrassed for having woken me up."Lizie, good morning," I smiled at my friend."I didn't mean to wake you up, sorry."I got up, going to the mirror to check the sorry state I was in after sleeping with wet hair."No problem, it's already late. I just didn't sleep much last night," I explained, running my fingers through my hair."Any problem?" she asked, sitting on my bed.I grabbed a brush, fixing my hair, getting ready to leave."No problem at all, quite the opposite. Fred called me yesterday," I winked at her, watching her through the mirror as I brushed my long brown hair."Oh my God, I thought you guys were done with that," she teased me with an excited expression.Louise was the only person I had confi
MadelineThe hot water ran down my body, falling straight from the ceiling as I lathered up with the soap that would leave me with a not at all typical scent. The pressure of the water was relaxing, not as relaxing as a bath would be, but relaxing nonetheless.I closed my eyes, smiling as I felt his hands gently circling my hips just before his lips traced the sensitive skin of my neck, clinging my body to his, rekindling all the desire from the night before." This smells great on you," Fred nibbled on my earlobe.I moved into his arms, turning to face him before feeling the cold marble on my back." Your smell?”" Exactly," he laughed, trapping me in the shower before kissing me.But instead of allowing myself to enjoy that kiss any longer, I slipped out of his arms and opened the shower door, leaving him behind." I'm sorry, Fred. But we're overdue, your parents could be here any minute " I laughed at his disappointed expression." Would that be so bad? " he stepped under the showe
MadelineI sighed, increasing my pace, turning onto the trail that would take me to my favorite place in the whole world. It wasn't long before I emerged from between the trees, where a large lavender field opened up before me.Unlike the other fields throughout the country, this one was not visited by tourists. This was the palace's private field, and I knew that outside the harvest season, it was only busy during the days and times when the field was watered twice a week.A few lilac branches were beginning to appear among the green bushes, making me long to see them in full bloom. In the background you could see the hut that served as a rest area for the workers during the harvest season.I ran between the rows of bushes, taking a deep breath to absorb the soft scent of lavender that would become intense in a few weeks when everything was in bloom.After running for a few minutes between the rows of lavender, I sat down on a bench at the edge of the field, taking a deep breath befo
Maddie I watched the palace gardens from my bedroom window as I finished getting dressed, the sun already shining in the sky, raising the temperature outside.I put on a tight tank top, putting my hair up in a high ponytail before putting on my sneakers, wireless headphones and heading out. It had been a fortnight since our visit to Zurich, and I was pleased with the rise in temperature at the beginning of May. I went down to the kitchen, which was deserted since breakfast had already been served, opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water."Miss Lechner, are you going out? "Felix, my father's private security guard, appeared at the service entrance to the kitchen, watching me with that neutral expression that was typical of all palace guards."I'm going for a run, Felix, as I do every morning," I explained, walking towards the exit."Will your run be long, Miss Lechner?” I sighed, halting my steps before turning to the man. Usually they avoided this kind of questioning, but a
MatteoFaced with the movement, the other guard and I opened the door, keeping it open until the whole group had left the room, each father scolding his own son.I took one last look at the female figure who was balancing well on those heels, her legs exposed by the short dress.We waited until they were out of sight to close the doors, allowing us to relax a little now that there was no one in the hall."Bertozzi, right?" the man, who seemed to be a little older than me, held out his hand.I shook it without hesitation, I was still getting to know the palace staff, since I had only started the night before, before I was receiving the necessary training to deal with the Monarchy of that small country."Tobias Bauer, welcome to the palace, you may notice that there's no shortage of free entertainment at our little court," he quipped."Does this sort of thing happen often? "I frowned."This group gets into trouble and ends up here? At least once a month. They know that the queen won't d
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