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
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 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
MadelineI sighed, standing in front of the closed doors of St. Monica's Cathedral. I knew that on the other side, my future was waiting for me. I smoothed the white embroidered tulle of my dress, before checking that everything was in order with the bouquet."Are you nervous? " Max tried to reassure me."Not really. I just want to get it over with," I replied sincerely.I didn't feel nervous, I knew I was just fulfilling the plan we had set out from the beginning, and if possible, I was looking forward to being married. The sound of the wedding march rang out, causing me to take a deep breath as the officiant fixed the last details of my appearance before the doors opened. My father offered me his arm, and I plastered my face with my best smile as I took the first step towards my new life.The temple was packed, the entire court had gathered to witness the union, and the queen herself took pride of place, watching me walk with a pleased expression. I walked with firm steps towards th
Madeline Later, we were all settled on the sofas, resting for a while. Fred had already said goodbye to his new friend and rejoined us after disappearing for a while." We should do this more often " Phillip sighed, sipping his non-alcoholic cocktail as he drove.Normally we had a private driver and a small team of security guards when we left the country, especially in Fred's company, but on this occasion, we managed to lose everyone. "Have you prepared yourselves for the hard time you're going to have when we get back? "David asked indifferently." Just us? " I teased him." I live alone, no one can say I haven't spent the night at home," he pointed out." My father thinks I'm spending the week with my mother," Lyna added." As long as no one knows we were with you, we'll be fine," David scoffed.Lyna and David, unlike the rest of our group, were the children of palace officials. In general, we knew that Queen Johannah discouraged and even disapproved of any unnecessary interactio
MatteoI tried to keep as neutral an expression as possible while escorting the whole group of young troublemakers to the Queen's presence. I still didn't understand the dynamics of the place very well, and dealing with the Aristocracy wasn't something I was used to, but I could see that I wouldn't be short of content for free entertainment. I arrived in the country two weeks ago after leaving my homeland in search of a better life. I got the job thanks to a referral from a friend who, like me, had left the military in search of a quieter life. And I have to say that I was curious about everything in that place, and my curiosity had just been heightened by the presence of Anna Madeline Lechner. The moment she got out of that car, fixing her gaze on mine was etched in my mind, and the sound of her heels against the hard marble floor made me aware of her presence, even though I pretended to ignore the group of people I was escorting.I opened a large double door, waiting on the other
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
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