Dad arrived two days later with Osten in tow. It wasn't unusual for Mom and Dad to take one of the boys with them but Kaden was normally Dad's travel buddy. I was ecstatic to see my youngest brother nonetheless, despite the circumstances surrounding their visit to France.

"Where's Mom?" I asked Dad as we walked toward the room where he would be staying. Eikko and I had stepped in to organize who would be staying where as the palace would soon be flooded with foreign guests and Camille was still grieving.

"Dr. Cleary didn't want her traveling with the current state of her heart. I didn't want her to leave alone though and I definitely didn't want to leave her alone with Osten to handle so Kaden stayed behind. He was happy to keep an eye on her," Dad explained. The sadness in his voice made it obvious how much he missed Mom. "How are Ahren and Camille?"

"Camille has barely left her room for the past two days. Ahren is doing what he can to help her but what can you say to someone who lost their mother like this?" I asked him, yawning widely. He didn't respond and I realized too late that I had struck a chord. "Sorry."

He waved a hand at me. "Don't apologize to me, love. It's been over twenty years since it happened. I guess this is just bringing back a lot of old memories."

"We've been helping Camille in whatever ways we can, so we're pretty much planning the funeral. She at least has a meeting with her advisers today about what to do next. She kept pushing it off until Ahren told her this morning that she couldn't wait anymore to be queen."

"It's a harsh transition to make when you have to make it so quickly. There's very little time for mourning," he said. "But it's good that she has your brother. If I had to go through all that I did without your mother…" He peered at me as I yawned yet again. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just exhausted. Probably just jetlag and all of this extra work we've been doing."

"What does this mean for your trip to Panama?"

"We're flying in two days. It will have to just be a day visit now but I hope everyone understands that I need to be here right now."

"Sure, just don't forget which country is your country."

I sighed. "Yes, Dad, I know."

"Eadlyn!" Osten called as he ran to catch up with us. "Where's Eikko?"

"Downstairs." I narrowed my eyes at him. "Why?"

"No reason!" And then he was off again, running toward the steps like he had lived in this palace his whole life. Dad and I both shook our heads at him.

After letting Dad settle into his room, I walked with him down to the first floor of the palace where Eikko and Ahren were in a parlor seeing to the last bit of funeral details. "No, daffodils mean death or something," Eikko said, a pamphlet open in front of him. When the doors opened and Ahren and I walked in, he breathed out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, Eadlyn, what kind of flowers should we get?"

"Roses are a safe choice," I said. "White roses are rather elegant and I'm sure they would look lovely." I honestly couldn't care less about flowers. I fell into one of the sofas face-first as Ahren looked threw another bulletin.

"No, white roses represent vanity. This is impossible! There has to be some kind of flower that represents eternal life or something and won't send the wrong message at a funeral," Ahren exclaimed.

Dad was staring out the window, facing away from us, as he said, "Yellow roses."

"Yellow roses," Ahren repeated as he turned the pages of his bulletin. "Hm, jealousy, infidelity, extreme betrayal—"

"Friendship," Dad added, still not looking at any of us. "Friendship, a broken heart, extreme emotion. That's what yellow roses represent. They were her favorite flowers." His voice was distant, as if he was only have with us and the other half of him was in the past.

The three of us quietly assessed each other before Eikko nodded. "Yellow roses, got it. I'll make the call." He stepped away to the other side of the room, dialing the number for the royal florist.

"Where's Camille?" I asked Ahren, surprised to see him out and about without her nearby.

"In a meeting with her advisers. They're helping her prepare her statement for later."

"Her statement?"

Ahren grimaced. "She's expected to address what's happened, Eads. She's the queen now, the people really should have heard from her yesterday. We've put it off for as long as possible but its time she accepts her duties. At least, according to the advisers it is. I would fight for her to have years before her ascension if I could."

I shook my head. "I still can't believe Daphne is gone."

"It just seems so impossible. Why target you guys? Why target France?"

"Everyone always wants France to be in a war. We just don't have the military for it. And I'm not compromising the free health care our citizens get just for upgrading our military," Ahren said decisively. Just like Dad, he had always sought peace in the world and hated wars. It wasn't that I loved wars or was a sadist – I just saw the necessity in having to stand up for your country when it was threatened. My job was to keep my citizens safe. If the North African rebels threatened them, I would go to war for the cause.

"But does Camille feel the same way?" I asked him, chewing on my lip. I stood and started pacing. If I laid on the couch much longer, I would surely fall asleep.

"Yes, but we both know that our advisers will try their damnedest to talk her into a war with the rebels. But how do you fight an enemy that's not even really there? They're not on our land, they're not a nation we can invade; how do we win?" Without realizing it, we both looked to Dad, the only other person in the room with experience in fighting an invisible enemy.

He must have known that we were waiting for him to say something. "As hard as it is, you have to let them come to you. You let them come to you and then you attack them head on, on your own turf. Targeting them abroad will only drain your resources."

"Of course, it's all hypothetical," I cut in. "You're not starting a war with rebels."

"Of course," Ahren agreed.

Eikko stepped back toward us, phone sliding into his back pocket. "Roses are ordered. All we have left is making sure it all comes together this afternoon."

The door slammed open and Osten ran in, his red curls bouncing wildly. He walked right up to Eikko and tugged on his sleeve. "So you're my brother now, right?" he asked him.

"Yes," Eikko said, sounding like he wasn't sure that was the right answer.

"You should help me with my plan."

My mouth fell open and I saw the same shock on Ahren's face. We hardly ever were asked to help Osten with his plans. How did Eikko get so lucky? Smiling wickedly, he nodded and followed Osten from the room. It was at least comforting to know that Eikko wouldn't let him do anything too outrageous.

Camille brushed past them, her eyes red from fresh tears. Ahren immediately engulfed her in a hug. "Are you ready for your statement?" he asked her, playing with her fingers.

"I…yes. I want to do it on my own, though."

Ahren drew back slightly. "Oh. Okay."

"This is something I need to do myself."

"Okay. Yeah, do it then. Can I at least come with you while you get ready?" Anyone that wasn't deaf could hear the hurt in his voice that he tried so hard to smother. Camille nodded timidly and tucked her hair behind her ear, walking out with him.

"And then it was two," I sighed. Dad sat down across from me. I checked my watch and calculated how long I had before I needed to go get ready for the funeral and if I had the time for a power nap. "Dad, are you okay?" I asked him. "I know that you and Daphne were friends…"

"You know, she was the first woman to express any attraction toward me," he said, smirking slightly. "Desperately, she told me that she had a crush on me. If it weren't for the fact that my Selection was starting soon after, she probably would have never told me. I think it was her last chance to make a grab for me."

I frowned. "But you two could have never married. Not when you both were heirs."

Dad waved a hand at me. "Don't you know by now that technicalities have very little meaning in my life?" He sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair. "She would have been a good wife, though. Obviously not even close to what your mother is but Daphne was loyal to a fault and not afraid to speak her mind. That's why she was such a good queen."

I lay down sideways on the sofa, hugging a pillow under my head. I could steal ten minutes or so of sleep and be refreshed for the afternoon. "Camille has a lot to live up to," I mused, thinking of the dozens of initiatives her mother had started and continued to fund over the last twenty years.

"No more than you do," Dad reminded me. "She just needs to understand how to make her own mark in her reign. Speaking of…I wasn't planning on telling you this since you weren't home but I guess we're back to work now so you should know – Goldsworth has spoken to the press."

I groaned. "I knew he wouldn't be a quiet one."

"Said that you used the exact same power you're trying to get rid of to fire him. He's essentially calling you a hypocrite, and those who don't support the changes in the government are following his lead. They've found a voice in him."

"So I'm going home to deal with my own brand of rebels?"

"Pretty much."

"Great. Can't wait."

Dad walked over to the bookshelf and took a book down, settling into an armchair to read it. "You don't need help with anything today, do you?" he asked with the book poised in his lap.

"Nope. Enjoy the book." I stretched and walked out, feeling Dad's eyes on my back the whole way. When I turned to look over my head, he was staring at me suspiciously. I made my way upstairs to the room Eikko and I were sharing and where Eloise was waiting. She was only supposed to meet us in Panama but with this change in plans, we had to bring her hair with a wardrobe fitting for working in a palace and a dress suitable for a funeral.

I remembered dreading the possibility of having to ask Eloise to make me a funeral dress just days into her time as my maid, back while Mom was in the hospital after her heart attack. Selfishly, I was grateful that it wasn't my mother's funeral that I needed this dress for.

It was cruel, really, making Camille do a press conference before burying her mother. In the scope of things, she was better off doing it before but it still made the day even longer for her than it needed to be. Ahren stayed with her up until the last second before joining the rest of us, looking like he was fighting his own war against grief and slowly losing. He must have seen the questions in my eyes because he simply shook his head and dabbed at his eyes for a moment.

Ahren, Dad, Eikko, and I stood in a family parlor room as Camille delivered her speech in the gardens with Regis standing proudly behind her. Since this was an international broadcast, she would be delivering her speech in English. It didn't take long for word to spread that Daphne had been killed, despite the fact that the French authorities tried to keep it under the radar until they knew more. Within hours, Europe and the greater portion of Western civilization were mourning the lost French queen.

"My people," Camille began, her voice wavering slightly, "I stand before you today under the most distressing of circumstances." She stopped to breathe deeply and we all held our breath to see if she would burst into tears. Keep it together, Camille, you can do this, I begged her. "As you all know by now, our queen is now gone and I will be taking her place on the throne. I beg you all for patience and forgiveness in this time of crisis and going forward into a time of adjustment. We have lost a queen who was gracious, kind, supportive, and who loved her people. It is my hope that I can be half the queen to you as she was. We didn't just lose a queen in this attack. We lost a mother, a wife, a loyal friend, and a courageous heart. We will never forget this attack made against our monarchy and moving forward, it will not go unanswered."

"Oh no," Ahren said as all of our hearts sank.

Camille forged on, her voice stronger than it had been yet. "These sins will not be forgotten, nor will they be unanswered. As of this moment, we are officially at war with North Africa."

"She didn't just do that," Eikko said in a shocked voice.

"She did," I confirmed. "She actually listened to her advisers."

"Merde," Ahren groaned, stepping away from the television and pacing to the other side of the room. "I knew I should have gone to that meeting with her."

Eikko frowned. "But it wasn't North Africa that did this. It was the rebels from North Africa."

"Yes, but you can't declare war against a band of rebels. So you declare it against the country but North Africa is an ally to Italy, Illéa, Swendway…" I stopped listing all of their allies, realizing how serious this declaration of war actually was. Forget the fact that France didn't have the military or money for war, forget that Camille was declaring war on the wrong people. She was declaring war on a country that was allied with all of France's allies.

We were quiet, watching the destruction of the world begin, when Osten asked innocently, "So what's going on?"

Dad was the only one who could answer, both of his hands tight on Osten's shoulders. "I think, the fifth world war has officially begun."

It was somewhat anticlimactic to go from watching Camille declare war on an international broadcast to a funeral. It seemed poetic in a way, as we all knew now that this funeral wasn't going to be the last for the French. What Camille had done, declaring war on North Africa, decided her entire reign. She wasn't going to have the same reign as Daphne at all, not even close. Her reign was going to be dictated by war, by reports of soldiers lost and civilians caught in between.

My mind was reeling. As soon as the broadcast ended, Eikko and I escaped the parlor and walked to the chapel on the palace grounds to discuss our plans. We stood on the stone patio behind it, looking out over the glistening blue sea. "We cannot discuss this war with anyone," I emphasized to him. "Anything we say can be quoted and used against us to rope us into helping."

"And we can't help?" Eikko asked, just to check. "Your brother is going head-long into this, Eadlyn. We can't just sit back."

"We'll have to. We must remain neutral in all of this. France is an ally because I can't lose my brother but we can't lose North Africa as an ally. Imagine the impact on our economy if they cut off our trade deals. The tariffs we have for the trade, the materials and goods we get like medicines and metal supplies…we would go down faster than the Titanic. We cannot get involved with this."

"And you're really willing to choose trade deals over your twin brother?"

I groaned. "Of course not, but I have to. Ahren has his own country to worry about. If it were Illéa in this position, he would do the same." At least, I kept telling myself that.

As it were, I couldn't even look my twin brother in the eye. I sat in the row beside him at the funeral, Eikko between Dad and me. I marveled at the royals and dignitaries surrounding us, my heart breaking at the thought that not even a week ago, we were all together at my wedding. Now we were mourning the loss of one of our own.

I never felt more royal than I did at a funeral for a king or queen or some kind of royalty. It was in those times that we all felt like a family. Disagreements over trading was forgotten, previous wars were overlooked, and personal vendettas were put aside as we all joined together to mourn one of the few other people who knew what it was like to be us. We were our own kind of club.

During the reception following the service, I heard whispers about Camille's speech. Obviously no one was saying anything directly to her. She was virtually untouchable with the way she spent the afternoon huddled against Ahren's side. It was an ingenious move on her part. For someone to try to bring up war with her now, during a reception for a funeral, would be a gross misconduct in decorum.

There was still chatter though. Everyone was nervous and on edge, merely stating that this going to be very bad indeed. We all knew not to say anything committal so nothing went beyond blanket statements of our impending doom.

Even Queen Nicoletta was tense, only made obvious with the way she spent an hour drinking one glass of wine as opposed to her customary three glasses per hour. "You're heading into a difficult time, my young queen," she said to me as we walked around the gardens of the palace, looking for some peace and solitude. "Discernment is most important to you, right now. I will be praying for you and your family." Her voice was somber and I knew that she was deep in thought.

"We all are going to need as many prayers as we can get. The Western Union is about to be torn apart because of this war."

"It's true. Declaring war on another country in the union will definitely make things sticky from here on out." She peered at me from the corner of her eye. "And Illéa won't be getting involved?"

I shook my head. "For as long as possible, we're going to be neutral. It will take extreme measures to get us involved. Nicoletta, we can't afford to be involved. Not with all of this reform now. I'm not sending my country into war with so much up in the air."

"Very wise, indeed, Eadlyn." She stopped to sweep some of my hair over my shoulder. "I'm scared for you and Ahren. This is the type of thing that would separate families in the past."

"Ahren and I are different," I said, trying to convince myself of that more than her. "We'll make it."

"I hope so. The last thing we need is feuding Schreaves." I agreed, but I couldn't help feeling that it was inevitable. My brother was going to war and I was making the decision to stay out of it. There were some things that not even siblings could forgive.

The funeral and reception were brief thankfully. Eikko and I gathered in the sitting room near our bedroom with Dad, Osten, Queen Nicoletta, and Dad's cousin Mickey from Swendway. Eikko had met him when he came to our wedding and I loved watching him get to let loose a bit and speak in Finnish to his new relative. Mickey had brought his five-year-old daughter with him since his wife was very pregnant with their second child and unable to travel or care for their daughter on her own.

She was a firecracker but very ladylike, holding manners to the highest importance. Eikko spent most of the night twirling her around the room, much to her delight. I watched, smiling, having strong visions of our future and what kind of father he would be.

I reached for a coffee mug and my hand had just closed around the pot of coffee to pour when Dad stopped me. "How about decaf?" he suggested.

"Dad, I'm eighteen and married. I think I can decide what kind of coffee to drink."

"You're flying tomorrow and will have a long day since you're traveling west. You'll want to be able to sleep soundly tonight. Drink decaf," he insisted.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, but only because the decaf tastes better. Don't think it has anything to do with you being logical or right."

"Of course not. Thanks, by the way, for always making sure that I don't get a big head. Between you and your mother, I've managed to stay relatively humble." He poured himself a cup of regular coffee and took a sip, wincing at how hot it was.

"You can drink regular coffee but not me? I'm not the only one flying home tomorrow."

Dad bit his lip. "Actually, I called your mom and spoke to her this afternoon after the speech. She had watched it as well and we both agreed that I should stay and help them in whatever way I can."

"But, doesn't Mom have her surgery next week?"

"It will only be a few days that I'm gone. We just want someone here to help Camille get her head on straight and help her lay out some sort of plan for the next year. Clearly the advisers are monopolizing her and Regis is of little to no help. He never helped his wife, I don't expect him to step in now." Dad noticed the question in my eyes and sighed. "Regis and Daphne loved each other and were good at being married. When it came to being partners, however, Regis was uninvolved. America always said that he was in it for the free booze."

I smiled. "That sounds like something Mom would say."

"Anyway, I'm staying." He held back from saying something, looking sheepish. "Okay, so I wouldn't ask this of you if I didn't think you were capable. And you are, capable, I just don't want to add another burden to your trip to Panama."

"Osten?" I guessed, sighing.

"Osten."

"As long as he behaves himself and doesn't end up falling off a waterfall, we'll take him. He's obviously taken a liking to Eikko these past few months."

"I remember Eikko talking to him quite a bit during the Selection. I think Osten liked that he wasn't one of the Selected and was more of a behind-the-scenes guy." He stared fondly at his son from the other side of the room. "But I'll only be a couple days behind you guys, getting home. Once he's home, pass him off to Kaden and he'll be fine."

I rolled my eyes. "He's ten, Dad. I think he can take care of himself in his own home."

"I can't believe he's ten. Who decided he could be ten?"

"The same people that decided you could be forty."

Dad gave me a sideways glance but the corners of his mouth twitched. "Hey, not yet."

"Yeah, I don't think you'll be able to get out of that birthday," I told him.

"There were a few years where I was happy just to live to make it to another birthday." He put his arm around my shoulders and took a sip of his coffee. "I'm glad to have passed you a kingdom that you didn't need to fear."

I smiled grimly and glanced over to see Ahren and Camille having a serious discussion as they walked into the room, but they didn't seem to be arguing. Ahren put his hands on her shoulders and guided her to the middle of the room where they stopped. Everyone paused and looked at them, wondering what they were doing.

"Camille and myself would just like to say thank you to you all. You took time out of your incredibly busy schedules to help us in our time of need and we are forever indebted to all of you," Ahren said, Camille nodding in agreement to everything.

"Don't even mention it, young ones," Mickey said to them. "You're family to us."

Camille came up to me. Dad gingerly stepped away and busied himself with putting sugar in his coffee, even though I knew that he only put sugar in his coffee if he and Mom were drinking it together. "Eadlyn, I can't thank you enough. You and Eikko were supposed to be on your honeymoon and it was ruined…I just know that we will now emerge from this time as closer friends and fierce allies."

My heart constricted at the word. Maybe it wasn't on purpose but the choice of words was definitely tactful in that it essentially cornered me into helping her with her impending war. I couldn't, though. Not if I didn't have to. "You're my sister, Camille. We are certainly closer friends," I evaded.

She gave me a hard look, a challenging look. She wasn't fooled. A line had just been drawn and we were standing on opposite sides, facing each other. "I see," she said in a tight voice. "Have fun in Panama." She walked back to Ahren's side and shrunk herself into it, making her look even more petite than she was.

The tense silence was interrupted by the ring of Dad's cell phone. He held up a hand to the room in apology. "It's my wife, excuse me." He walked over to the windows, his phone pressed to his ear.

Osten ran over and clung to his arm. "Can I talk to Mom?" he pleaded, pulling on Dad's sleeve.

Eikko came over to hug me, as he had listened closely to my interaction with Camille. "We should get going," he suggested.

"We still have another twenty minutes or so before we're late," I told him, checking my watch.

He blushed and smiled coyly. "Maybe I just want some alone time with my wife."

"Osten is coming with us," I quickly said, realizing that he didn't know.

"Fine, then I can wait until we're on the plane and he is soundly asleep."

"You really think Osten sleeps? He just sits and plots all night," I told him, pulling out of his arms to go say goodbye to Dad. Eikko went about the pleasantries with Mickey and Queen Nicoletta while I interrupted what looked to be a very hushed, very serious conversation between my parents. Osten was pouting off to the side, clearly unhappy with being pushed away and not allowed to listen in.

"Eadlyn," he said in a voice that more announced my name, indicating that whatever they were talking about, it was about me. "Are you leaving?" I nodded and Dad handed me the phone.

"Eadlyn, honey, how are you?" Mom asked me, sounding slightly frantic.

"I'm fine, Mom. Just tired. Exhausted, really. You should relax a bit, stop worrying about me."

She laughed, and I knew she was rolling her eyes. "Yeah, right. Maybe you should cancel the trip to Panama," she suggested just a little too eagerly. I eyed Dad, wondering what they had talked about that had suddenly made her oppose the idea of this trip. "Just come home, get some rest – maybe you'll feel better once you're sleeping in your own bed."

"I'm not sick Mom. I've just been tired and it's probably from all that's been going on these past few days. I promise, I'm fine," I insisted, staring Dad down since he clearly was concerned as well.

"Okay. Please, just remember to make Osten wear sunscreen. He's pale so he'll burn easily. And you know not to drink the tap water there. General Leger is meeting you there at the airport with some more guards. Oh, and don't let Osten eat too many sweets," she said, rattling each item off quickly as she remembered them.

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, okay. Got it."

"He's my baby, Eadlyn," she said as if she was trying to make me understand why she was worried.

"I know. Eikko will take good care of him. Besides, Kile will be there too. The kid will be insulated so well he may as well be wrapped in bubble wrap."

Mom hummed, not fully convinced. "I ought to let you go. Just stay safe, Eadlyn, okay?"

"I'll be fine, Mom," I said for what felt like the millionth time. There was no point in me telling her not to worry though. She'd been worrying about me my whole life, probably before she even knew I existed since she and Dad worked so hard to amend the laws of inheritance before Ahren and I were even microcells. "Do you need to talk to Dad?"

"Yes, please," she said quickly. I handed the phone back and kissed Dad on the cheek quickly before going to see Eikko. He was giving Mickey's daughter one last twirl and then nodded to me that he was ready to go.

Osten was quiet as we rode to the airport in a caravan of six armored vehicles and a small army of men and artillery. Honestly, we only would have been safer in a tank. But I knew that these were dangerous times in Europe and was grateful for the protection we were given. It put me on edge, knowing that there was a recent assassination and then a declaration of war just floating out there, waiting to be responded to.

I shivered, for the first time really thinking about the fact that Daphne had been killed. Killed. Not just assassinated, because assassinated made it sound like it was royal but there was no glory in what had happened to her. A human life had ended, a life that had friends and family and people that cared about her deeply. Daphne may have been a queen and may have been one of us, but she was a person too. It could have been me, or Queen Nicoletta, or even Kile. I squeezed Eikko's hand even tighter.

Once on the plane, Osten claimed a couch and flipped the TV on, perusing through the list of movies we had within seconds. Eikko and I bid him goodnight and went to the master bedroom on the plane. "I'm exhausted," I whined, curling up on top of the covers, still wearing my black dress and heels.

Eikko sat by my feet, placed them in his lap, removed my heels, and started massaging near my toes and arches. "Well, I'm amazed by you."

I peered at him curiously. "Care to elaborate?"

"Eadlyn, your friend's mother gets killed and you're the first to offer to arrange the funeral? Never mind the fact that they have a whole team of people that could have done that for them and in fact, may have already had some of the details written down somewhere that Daphne wanted at her funeral—"

"—I thought it meant more for me to do it myself," I interrupted, but Eikko kept going on.

"And I know that you're terrified of what's going to happen next yet you still try taking care of everyone else first. I am utterly amazed by you."

I shook my head. "You can't keep complimenting me like this. You'll wear yourself out within the year."

"Nope. I could never grow weary of praising you."

I groaned, my stomach swooping at his sappiness. We could hear Osten then, calling for one of us to come help him with something. Eikko patted my feet and stood. "I'll go. You stay right her and wait for me to come back. I'm not done worshiping you." He winked and ducked out of the room, slapping the doorframe casually on his way out.

I sighed and pulled the pillow tighter to my chest, choosing to just stay dressed rather than changing. Clearly I wouldn't be undressing myself that night so there was no sense in my getting ready for bed just yet. My body had other plans though, because the next thing I knew, I was opening my eyes to see Eikko standing over me, shaking my shoulder.

"Did I fall asleep?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, yeah, you did."

I lifted my head enough to look out the window to see that we were descending through the clouds. I couldn't even remember the plane taking off. "Did I sleep through the whole flight?"

"Yeah, you did. But you needed to, clearly, so I have no problem letting you sleep."

"We're still technically on our honeymoon. Sleeping the night away is the last thing I should be doing."

"If you're tired, you're tired. My queen needs her sleep, especially when we're on our way to Panama for relief work."

I sat up and rubbed my eyes, scrunching my nose up when I found lines of mascara on the backs of my hands. Eikko had somehow managed to remove my dress when he got back and let me sleep in my bra and underwear. I tucked the blanket under my armpits to keep myself warm as Eikko held a folder out to me. "Is that the itinerary?"

"Emailed directly from General Leger, including security details," Eikko confirmed.

I flipped open the folder and was pleased to find a rather short itinerary for our one-day, one-night trip to Panama. It looked like we would be resting up at the royal vacation home – that hadn't been used in over ten years – until morning when we would meet Alice, the CEO of a nonprofit organization that focused on rebuilding homes after natural disasters. I had read about her work ahead of time and it truly was inspiring. She was the youngest CEO in all of Illéa at the age of twenty-two and was surely on her way to being one of the most successful.

Alice would be giving us a tour of one of the areas most devastated by the hurricane and translating for those that still spoke the native language down there, which she happened to be fluent in. There we would have photo opportunities and the chance to actually help in some of the work they're doing to rebuild the community. Then we would head back to the royal home in Panama and call it a night, either sleeping there or flying back to Angeles. At the rate I was going, flying straight back to Angeles sounded like a great idea, just so I could spend the night in my own bed.

Eloise arrived with ten minutes left until we landed to get me dressed. She handed me a pair of jean shorts and a tank top with Alice's nonprofit's logo emblazoned on the front. She braided my hair off to the side and put out socks with work boots. "Going casual today, I see?" I asked her.

"It's hot and you'll be working. Don't worry, it was all approved by the palace press staff," she said, winking at me. "And let's face it, your legs look great in those shorts."

I popped my hip out and struck a ridiculous pose. Eikko laughed when he came in and saw me, also dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. "Someone is obviously feeling refreshed."

We met Osten by the door to the plane and I tried my best to control his unruly red curls. "Did you sleep at all last night?" I asked him, bending down to inspect his hair from straight on. He had circles under his eyes.

"Sure," he said vaguely, still half-asleep.

"Can you at least wake up for the cameras?" I teased.

He rolled his eyes. "I hate cameras."

"Me too," Eikko jumped in. "But it's all part of the job, right?"

The door opened and we waited for the go-ahead to come out. Osten would be going first since he was the prince and decorum said that I should go last for everything, out of respect. The call never came though.

Then General Leger stepped on the plane, looking like he hadn't slept in days and probably wouldn't sleep until we were safely back in Angeles. "Change of plans. No cameras. Just go straight to the royal house," he said shortly. He sighed and held his hand out to the door. "Welcome to Panama."