Thank you for your patience! Here comes chapter 11!

"Are you out of your mind?" Kurt exclaimed and stared at me. "I didn't think you would actually do this."

I closed the door to the hotel room and took a few steps closer to my boyfriend. "He threatened you, Kurt. I needed to do something."

He sighed and looked away. "What will happen if someone recognizes you? Of course I will protect you, but I'm not a bodyguard."

"I'm not expecting you to be one. We're just going to be us. If people identifies me, I'll deal with it in some way. We'll be fine," I said and tried to sound confident, but on the inside I couldn't have been more scared.

I had a lump in my throat that wouldn't go away. It was just as stuck as I felt in my life. I thought I would be relieved when I left the palace, but it was practically the last thing I was. Why was Prince Charming's life an endless dream, and mine wasn't? Are some stories called fairytales because they can't become reality? I felt stupid for thinking that question. The answer was obviously yes.

"I know we'll be fine, but what about you?" Kurt asked and took my hand. "You look like you're about to cry."

I always looked like I was about to cry these days. Unfortunately, it had become a well-used accessory to my look.

"I think I just need time," I said and avoided his glance. "I'll be okay."

He nodded slowly. "You can't blame me for being worried," he said and was quiet until I met his eyes. "You haven't been yourself lately."

I knew that. Back in Westerville I was another version of myself. A happier person.

"What can I do to cheer you up?" Kurt continued when I didn't answer. "Do you want to talk? Do you need a hug? Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it."

I smiled a little. "Thank you."

He smiled back.

"Can we do something normal? Like see a movie or take a walk in the park?" I asked and already felt a little better by thinking of it.

"Sure," he said. "Just put on the sunglasses."

"Right," I said and quickly took them from the table where I'd left them. "I'm ready!"

He laughed at my enthusiasm. "Let's go then."

We ended up in the park. It was a perfect day for a walk. The sun was shining and children laughed and played around us.

"Hyde Park is beautiful," Kurt said.

I smiled. "Yes, it really is," I agreed and looked at the surrounding flowers.

We were in The Rose Garden. I loved everything about it. It was a great place to get my thoughts together.

After a short while, we approached a fountain.

Kurt took my hand. "Come on!"

"What-"

He gave me a coin and took me closer to the fountain. "Make a wish."

I laughed and shook my head. "It's silly, Kurt."

"It's not," he said and looked at me. "But don't tell me the wish. Otherwise, it won't come true."

"Says who?"

"Says… The Law of Fountain Wishes," he said with a serious expression.

I laughed. "You just made that up."

He laid a hand on his hip. "You can't prove that."

I smiled and shook my head. "Fine, I'll make a wish."

Kurt took a step back. It was like he wanted to give me some space for this moment. It made me smile even wider.

There was so much I could wish for... I could wish my dad would be more understanding, wish Cooper a successful time as a king or wish I would find a way back to America.

I squeezed the coin and dropped it in the water. A happy life with Kurt. I wished that more than anything.

"Are you done?" Kurt asked from behind.

I turned around and nodded.

"Would you like to go for some coffee?" he asked softly.

I smiled. "I would love to."

We made our way out of the park and walked until we found a Pret a Manger. It was a popular café in England. I loved it – the coffee there was so good.

We took a seat at a table. I sipped the coffee while I looked at the surrounding people. It was pretty crowded in here.

"This reminds me of our first dates," Kurt said.

"Yeah, but nothing can really compare to the Lima Bean."

"True," he agreed. "But maybe, this could be a new special place for us?"

I was just about to answer when I saw a familiar face. It was Mandy, the young maid from the palace. She walked against us.

"Is it okay if I sit here? I can't find a free chair anywhere else," she said and smiled.

She didn't recognize me.

"Sure," Kurt said and moved his chair closer to mine to get her more space.

Mandy gratefully sat down. "Thank you. I'm late for work and in a bit of a hurry. Actually, I've already been at work today, but wasn't needed again until later. I decided to drop in here on the way back."

I couldn't help but smile. She really liked to talk.

Kurt nodded politely. "Where are you working?"

She took a bite of her sandwich. "It might sound really fancy, but… at Buckingham Palace. As a maid for the royal family."

Kurt eyes went wide. "Oh."

Suddenly, Mandy looked at me. "Are you the type of guy who wears sunglasses indoors to look cool? I mean, you kind of look cool, but isn't it annoying to see the world darker than it has to be?"

I looked at her, a bit surprised. She had a point. Lately, I had seen the world like through sunglasses. For some reason, I seemed to choose to pay attention to every bad thing. All I saw was darkness, but if I started to focus on the lights in my life, I might see it all in a different way? Maybe I would even be okay with being a prince?

"I haven't thought of it like that. Thanks, Mandy," I said without thinking.

She stared at me in shook. "How did you know my-" she started, but then went quiet and continued to stare. "Wait. It's you, isn't it? Oh my god… Your High-"

"Please, don't say it," I interrupted quickly.

"Oh, of course not," she said and seemed to understand. "I can't believe I literally told you I'm late for work. You know what? I just skip the sandwich and run to the palace. I'm so sorry for bothering you here. I'll go right away!"

"Mandy, wait," I said before she had a chance to stand up. "You can't tell anyone you've seen me here."

"Why not?" she asked, but then her eyes went wide. "Oh, no one knows you-"

I nodded. "And I would really appreciate if it stayed that way."

She stood up. "You can count on me," she said and did a small salute, but then blushed when she realised what she had done.

I smiled.

"Have a good day!" she finished and left us alone.

Kurt looked at me. "She seems… nice?"

I nodded. "She is. I can't believe this happened though… I need to be more careful," I said and sighed.

"You didn't say her name on purpose. Don't blame yourself."

"It's hard not to."

"I know," he said and squeezed my hand under the table.

We went back to the hotel and changed to a room with a bigger bed. I laid down while Kurt packed up some of his things in the bathroom.

I closed my eyes, but opened them as soon as I realized what I had forgotten; I hadn't texted Cooper yet.

"Kurt?" I said.

"What is it?" he answered and looked at me from the bathroom.

"Can I borrow your phone? I need to text Cooper."

"Sure! You know my code, right?" he asked.

I nodded and took his phone from the bedside table. 4619. He hadn't changed the code since we met.

Me: I'm okay. I forgot to text you. I'm really sorry!

It didn't take long before I got a replay.

Cooper: It's fine. Glad to hear you're okay, B!

I smiled and laid the phone on the bedside table again.

A bit later, me and Kurt went to bed. We were both tired after the day. It didn't take me many minutes before I fell asleep. For the first night in a long time, I slept really good. No bad dreams and no tears. It was an amazing feeling.

"Blaine?" Kurt said softly, which made me wake up.

I yawned. "Yeah?"

"I'm going to buy some breakfast. What do you want?"

"I'll go with you," I said and sat up.

"Are you sure? You can sleep some more if you want to."

"No, I'm up," I said and started to get dressed.

He smiled. "If you say so."

We had just made it outside when Kurt's phone started to vibrate over and over again. He took it out of his pocket and scrolled through the messengers.

"Is something wrong?" I asked worriedly.

"Oh god," he said after a while. "A picture of us is all over the internet."

"What?" I said in surprise. "Can I see it?"

He showed me the picture. I gasped as soon as I saw it. It pictured me and Kurt at Pret a Manger, holding hands under the table. The headline said: What is the prince hiding?

"That's not the worst one," Kurt said and showed me a different text.

The same picture was still all over the screen, but it had another headline. It said: The truth about the prince is out. I started to read the rest of the text immediately.

Yesterday, the Crown Prince had his birthday celebration at Buckingham Palace. His younger brother, Prince Blaine, did also get some attention during this day. It was supposed to mirror a special welcome back to the long lost family member. Prince Blaine has repeated time after time how honored and grateful he felt over this. But is that really the truth?

The day started off very well. Both of the princes mingled with the guests and were beyond nice to everyone. Prince Blaine even held a speech, telling everybody how honored he felt to be a part of the day.

After the speech the prince was quick to leave the room, but came back after a while. However, his attendance didn't stay for long. Shortly thereafter, he made his brother leave the ballroom, so they could talk outside privately. Prince Blaine didn't return after that. Instead, his older brother held a long speech about the day and thanked a few people in particular for coming. It was almost like he tried to make the prince's suddenly disappearance less obvious. For many of the guests, it seemed to work.

Later the same day, Prince Blaine was found with a guy at a Pret a Manger. They were holding hands and talking. The prince wore dark sunglasses and very informal clothes. It was hard to recognize him if you didn't look carefully.

The young prince was doing this while the rest of the royal family took care of more than a hundred of guests at the palace. His brother had kindly chosen to share his birthday with him, so why couldn't he be there? Is he going to disappear for another three years? At this point, no one would be surprised. Prince Blaine acts selfishly. Perhaps, it would be a delight to have him gone? His actions doesn't make him worthy to represent this country.

I stared at the last words with tears in my eyes. I had messed everything up. Again.

I looked after the name who had written the text and couldn't have been more choked when I found it.

I'm home from London and actually wrote this chapter yesterday, but didn't have time to post it. I hope you enjoyed it! I'll write a new one really soon :)

Who do you think wrote the text about Blaine? I know… But I won't tell you yet!