Page 4 of A Royal Promise
She stood dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. With her arms outstretched, she took in a deep breath of the cool mountain air, and a smile settled on her lips. Finding new places made her feel alive. What was the point of having the entire world out there if not to explore it?
Bri tugged at the sleeves of her pullover before she swiveled on the heels of her hiking shoes and stepped forward, immediately slipping on a frost-covered rock. Her arms flailed as she lost her balance and started to careen backward toward the cliff’s edge. She heard her bodyguard’s footsteps nearing, and a strong grasp took hold of her forearm, pulling her to safety.
She turned to the side and smiled at her bodyguard as he towered over her with a scowl on his face. “Thanks, Bastian.”
He shook his head and rubbed his temples before shooting her a stern look, forcing the wrinkle lines on his face to deepen. “You’re going to send me to an early grave, Your Highness.”
Bri swatted his arm. “You know you love me.”
Bastian grunted in response, crossing his large arms across his chest. Only his gray-peppered black hair waved slightly in the breeze. He was as immovable as a tree trunk with his stocky build and stoic expressions. But Bri knew who he truly was on the inside…a big old softie.
She briefly checked the time on her phone. “I should probably head back.” Bastian gave a slight dip of his chin before she started walking, more careful of her steps.
He broke the silence as they walked. “Where do you want to travel next, Your Highness?”
“I haven’t decided yet. I need to look at my favorite travel blogger’s page, but I’m thinking somewhere near the water.”
“Do you think this trip is the one that will satisfy your adventurous spirit?”
She sighed. “I guess we’ll have to wait and see, but if Italy, America, New Zealand, Spain, and Australia didn’t do it, I’m not sure anywhere will.”
As a princess, she had been blessed with the opportunity to visit many of the places on her bucket list. Yet, no matter how many places she visited, she was always left with the feeling of wantingmore. She just didn’t know what it was quite yet.
When they neared the palace, Bri pulled her phone out of her pocket. A smile tugged at her lips when she saw a message notification from her best friend, Drew.
Drew: Did you know Neptune has only completed one orbit around the Sun since its discovery?
Every morning, without fail, he texted her a random space fact. He had been obsessed with the solar system for as long asshe’d known him. While she wasn’t an avid space lover like him, Bri looked forward to his daily texts.
Bri: *exploding head emoji* I don’t know how I lived my whole life without knowing this!
Drew: Sarcasm has never been your forte.
Bri: How do you know I was being sarcastic? What if my life is forever changed by learning Neptune moves slower than molasses?
Drew: *gif of Jim fromThe Officegiving the camera ‘the look’*
Bri: Okay, you got me. This fact was at least more interesting than yesterday’s.
Drew: You didn’t like learning you could survive for about two minutes in a leaky spacesuit? I thought that was cool. I mean, you would pass out after a few seconds, but you could say you lived for two minutes IN SPACE.
Bri: Except, there wouldn’t be anyone to tell…
Bri: Because you would be dead…
Bri: *skull emoji*
Drew: Fine, fine. I concede.
Bri’s brow furrowed. Drew typically put up more of a fight in their daily discussions, and he’d texted her five minutes later than usual this morning, according to the timestamp above the text message. His texts to her wereneverlate, not even by a minute. He was the person who put everyone else first. He was the person who knew her better than anyone. Like how he waited to text her until nine every morning when he knew she would be awake, even when he was always up at the crack of dawn.
Bri: What’re you up to today?
Drew: Just a few meetings here and there.
Drew: I have to go, sorry.
She stopped walking as she read his response. Drew usually told her what he was doing for the day in a bullet-point list. He never evaded her questions.
