Emma and Killian were up before the sun the next morning, to catch a flight across the country to Vancouver Island. Neither of them had been terribly happy about the long distances they would be covering in such a short space of time, but given Killian's packed filming schedule, they knew it might be their only time to visit certain parts of the country they were now calling home. And Emma wanted to make sure that they gave back as much as they could, given that the Canadian government had been gracious enough to host them.
"Does this happen often?" Killian asked, stifling a yawn into his fist.
"You're frequently up before dawn for work."
"Yeah, but not on weekends."
Emma chuckled as she curled into her husband's side, fidgeting a little until she found a comfortable angle to rest at. "You can nap on the flight."
"Oh, I fully intend to," he assured her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I can see now why you guys give up working when you become royals."
"I've always been a royal," Emma yawned into his chest. "But it's more complicated than that. The only reason we're getting away with this is because we're not using public money to fund our lifestyle."
Killian raised a brow in question before dropping it and shrugging off the thoughts circling his mind. It was far too early for another conversation about where Emma's money came from.
The mayor of Victoria was already waiting on the tarmac to greet Emma and Killian when their flight touched down. After a brief round of introductions and pleasantries had been exchanged, the young royals said a temporary goodbye and were ushered over to a waiting car, ready to begin yet another day of packed engagements for their Queen and country.
Their first stop was at The Mustard Seed Street Church, a charity that Emma's father's foundation had been heavily involved with, after David and Mary had visited Canada a few years before Emma's birth.
Emma and Killian spent their morning meeting the less-fortunate families in the area who relied on the charity for the food bank services it provided, and the family centre it ran. Killian was more than happy to join a group of adults for a first aid class that was being offered while his wife spent time in the kitchens, helping their volunteers to begin preparations for the family dinner that would be served later that evening.
When the first aid class was over, Killian volunteered to stay back and help Chris clean away all of the equipment that had been used.
"Do you think you'd ever come back and join us for dinner?" Chris asked, while he was stacking chairs. He knew that the Duke and Duchess had plans for the rest of the day, but Chris also knew that seeing royals amongst their familiar faces would be wonderful for the families who looked forward to dinner night every month.
"Of course. If we can make it work, we certainly will. We're based in Vancouver at the moment while I'm filming, so it'll be a much shorter flight over than the one we took this morning."
Chris chuckled a little at the Duke's words before moving over to help him fold away one of the tables they had used.
"Do you see that big guy standing over there?" Killian nodded his head to show where Stephen was waiting for him, just beside the door. "If you give him your number, we'll try and arrange a date to come back and join you guys for dinner before the end of the year."
"Thanks. That would be amazing," Chris replied, because he knew not only how much coverage it would bring to their cause, but also how much of a morale boost it would be for those involved in the family dinner nights. He had already noticed a big change in the faces he'd seen that morning, and nothing made Chris's day more special than seeing the families he worked with happy. "I can't guarantee the food will be to the standard you guys are used to, but the company is always amazing."
"Trust me, it can't be any worse than what my father deems 'cooking,'" Killian teased, straightening up and brushing the dust from his hands. "We're really not all that snobbish when it comes to food. Emma loves a good cheeseburger."
"I'm sure we could make that happen for her," Chris assured him, holding out his hand for Killian to shake. "Thank you so much for getting involved today. The guys here loved having you join us, and I certainly appreciated the help cleaning up."
"It was my pleasure," Killian replied. He'd genuinely had fun that morning, refreshing his first aid skills and getting to talk to some of the city's most interesting people. They certainly had better conversation to offer than the politicians he'd spent the previous day with – but he knew better than to voice that opinion.
"Shall we go and see what the kids are up to?" Chris offered.
"Absolutely." Killian gestured for the other man to lead the way, and then fell into step just behind him, with Stephen bringing up the rear. "I'm pretty sure that's where we'll find my wife," he added. "She loves kids and animals. Wherever we go, she always ends up finding them."
"I can see why. The kids normally pick more interesting topics of conversation than the adults," Chris declared, pushing his way through to what appeared to be a large classroom. The space was full of small tables with groups of children already crowded around them, engaged in different organised activities.
In the middle of it all, Killian found his wife. Emma was crouched between two young girls, helping them add more pink glitter to some kind of castle they'd been making from the empty paper towel rolls they had collected.
"Ugh. I'm gonna be finding glitter in my hair for weeks," he sighed, and Chris laughed heartily.
Killian took a moment just to survey the room before he made his way over to a group of boys at the table nearest to him – who, thankfully, didn't have a tube of glitter anywhere in sight.
Thanks for reading and reviewing.
The Mustard Seed Street Church is an actual charity running in Victoria, BC and is well worth your support, should you choose to offer it! (Unfortunately, David's foundation doesn't exist or it really would have made a large financial contribution to such a worthwhile cause. Instead, the author made a much more modest one when she was searching for a charity that would work for this chapter!)