"Was it really necessary to take three cars?" I asked no one in particular. We were parked outside a country club house. The second car in a line up of three limos.
"The Royal Family must travel separately, Mademoiselle," Mr. Arsenault said calmly from the driver's seat. "For safety. They can't all be in the same vehicle. What if there were an accident?"
"I guess that makes sense. Not very environmentally friendly though."
I jumped as I felt something on my leg and looked down to see Prince Leopold hand on the bare skin of my knee.
"Stop bouncing," he said. "There is nothing to be nervous about."
"There is a crowd of photographers out there, and we haven't had a chance to discuss...you know," I dropped my voice at the end.
The Prince had said that today was the day our plan would go into action. The official first day of our fake romance. Part 1: Falling in Love. We hadn't had two seconds alone to discuss what exactly the plan was though. And now we were counting down to zero on that clock.
I had no idea how anything romantic was even going to be possible considering we were all here so watch Prince Leopold play some sort of sport. I imagined that would mean there was a lot of distance between him and I. At least half a field's worth.
The Prince leaned in closer to me. My eyes flicked up to the rearview mirror and caught hold of Mr. Arsenault's gaze before he quickly looked away.
"Would you relax," he whispered and squeezed my knee gently. "I've got a plan."
"Which is?"
"You are next," Mr. Arsenault said.
"Just play along," the Prince whispered, then louder. "You look beautiful."
"Thank you."
I had to agree with him. Angelique had dressed me up in a light grey sundress with a pretty straw hat. Definitely not Game Day appropriate, but very Pretty Woman.
That, and the field of horses I'd seen on the drive in had me suspecting that whatever sport the Prince was about to play involved horses.
"And Go," Mr. Arsenault said.
Farrow climbed out of the passenger's seat and opened the rear door of the car. Prince Leopold climbed out first, then offered his hand to help me.
I took a deep breath, plastered a smile on my face, and then took his hand and followed after him.
Camera's started flashing as we fell in line behind the King and Queen. A few moments laters, I could hear Princess Lupa's heels on the stone walkway as she and Prince Henri took their places at the back of our procession.
We smiled and waved, like a mini parade, attracting attention from the other people who were arriving for the game.
Luckily, it was a short walk to the clubhouse.
Inside, the building looked like some sort of country estate. All dark wood, horse paintings, and leather chairs. The family's formation fell into a loose circle.
A few words were quickly exchanged between them, in french. The King shook Prince Leopold's hand.
"Good luck," I said, picking up the vibe.
The Prince disappeared down a grand staircase, I assumed to the locker rooms, and I followed the rest of the family out the backside of the clubhouse.
There were large tents set up around a huge grass field. People in fancy clothes stood beneath them, champagne and beer glasses in the gloved hands. They all bowed and curtailed as we walked by.
We went to a tent towards the center of the field that had only five chairs in it. They were all comfy looking armchairs, not white painted wooden chairs like had been in the other tent's we'd passed.
We took our plush seats and suddenly, all the other people began to sit down as well.
I looked wide eyed at Princess Lupa beside me.
"No one can sit until the King does," she said by way of explanation.
I didn't know how to answer that, so I asked another question instead. "What exactly are we going to be watching?"
The semi-finals of Cannette, the national game of Solis," the Princess said. She turned to a waiter and quickly ordered something.
"I ordered you champagne," she told me, turning back. "You'll like it."
"Cool, and what exactly is this Cannette situation? How does it work?"
"It's sort of like a mix of polo and rugby. You'll see. It should be an exciting game today. Antoine DuBlaise is on the other team."
"Who?"
The drinks arrived then and the Princess took a delicate sip of her drink before leaning towards me.
"Antoine DuBlaise is, was, a family friend. He is the brother of Odette, Henri's fiancee."
My mouth fell into a little 'o', my eyes darting to Prince Henri. He was just out of sight, on the other side of the King and Queen than me.
"Is Odette here?" I asked, looking around. I had seen a few pictures of her online. Blonde, blue eyes, and drop dead gorgeous.
"No, I wouldn't think so," the Princess said. "She hasn't been in public since they broke their engagement."
"I thought she was the one that called it off." It seemed strange she'd be the one embarrassed to show her face if she'd ended the relationship with the King.
"Nothing is ever simple in love and war," the princess replied, and lifted her drink to cheers with me.
A polite round of applause began. I looked up. The players were beginning to arrive on the field. My mouth fell open as I looked them over. None of the horses had reins or saddles.
"They ride bareback?"
"How should they catch the ball if they have to hold reins?" the Princess shot back like it was common sense.
I took a drink of my champagne. "But, how do they...steer?"
"The horses and riders are experts. It's all in how you shift your body weight. Sometimes noises or whistles."
"Well shit," I muttered and leaned back in my chair.
"There," the Princess nodded. "That's Antoine. Number 5."
I followed her directions to the far side of the field to a blond man on a horse. From this far away, it was difficult to see the details of his face. Based on the relative size of his biceps to his head though, it was clear Antoine was in very good shape.
Suddenly, my attention shifted. A player was heading straight for the royal tent. Prince Leopold, now dressed in the same white pants and grey polo shirts as the rest of his team.
Sensing my cue, I stood, and moved to the edge of the tent. Then Prince jumped off his huge white horse, and I dipped into a small curtsey. The crowd had grown slightly quieter around us.
Prince Leopold reached into the collar of his shirt and pulled the chain he always wore over his head. "Will you keep this safe for me? I can't wear it while I play."
I offered him a smile. "Of course."
The Prince put the chain over my neck, then grabbed my hand and placed a brief kiss on my knuckles. A few cameras went off.
"Thank you." He turned and jumped back onto his horse.
A murmur rose through the crowd again as I moved back to my seat. I felt my cheeks heat. Found it impossible to look at the Royal Family.
All he'd done was asked me to hold a necklace and the whole venue had swooned.
This was gonna be easier than I expected.