The doorbell rang out through the Bella house. Amy, who was busy in the kitchen, lifted her head to look towards. "Is anyone gonna get that?" The bell rang again, which prompted Amy to groan and shut the fridge. She walked to the door and opened it to reveal a very tall, bald man in a black suit and even darker sunglasses. "Uh, g'day."

The man took one look at her and gave Amy a polite nod. "Excuse me but I am looking for Rebecca Mitchell."

Amy was still standing there wide eyed. She noticed more details, like the earpiece in the man's left ear and the stretch limo waiting in the street. "Shawshank's not here right now can I take a message?" That wasn't true but Amy was entering panic mode.

The man raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing the woman in front of him. "Really?"

"No," Amy turned and shouted into the house. "Beca! Someone's here to see you!" She stepped aside to let the man through the door. "She'll be right down."

Sure enough, Beca bounded her way down the stairs and froze when she saw the man at the door. "What the-Martin, what the Hell are you doing here?"

"Lady Mitchell," Martin bowed his head ever so slightly.

"Beca what's going on?" Chloe came down the stairs after her friend. "Who's this guy?"

"And why did he call you a lady?" Amy added on.

"Um," By now the other Bellas had gathered to see what was going on, which is exactly what Beca did not want. "He's..."

"I am head of security for the Duchy of Emil." Martin bowed even lower this time. "And I am here to escort her ladyship to the Emil estate for an important meeting with her grandfather."

In sync every Bella turned to stare at Beca, who had turned bright red at the wide eyed stares of her friends. "Surprise?"


Staring out the window of the limousine was not helping Beca calm down from Martin's sudden appearance. Especially since the Bellas insisted on tagging along and were making a mess of things. "I told them I could drive myself. Was that really so hard to understand?"

Chloe, who was the only Bella managing to keep her cool, gave her a small smile. "So do I get to ask questions or are you going to be prickly for the rest of the day?"

"My mother is third in line for some dusty old throne that no one except the family cares about." Beca explained while keeping her eyes locked on the window. "And by extension I'm in line."

"Wait. Does that make you a princess?" Stacie leaned over to join the conversation. "Cause that'd be really weird."

"I'm not a princess." Beca pinched the bridge of her nose to keep the irritation at bay. "If, for whatever reason, both my Uncle, my cousin and my mother all died or something then technically I would become the new duchess." She turned her gaze to the partition that separated the cab of the limo. "Which is why I shouldn't have to go to these stupid meetings!"

"He can't hear you shortstack." Amy, who was raiding the mini fridge, said. "This is one of the best limos you can get. Totally soundproof." When that earned a few looks Amy shrugged. "Had a rich boy toy back in Tasmania, had a lot of fun in the back of one of these."

"So is your family super rich or something?" Chloe asked, desperate to change the subject.

"It's old money," Beca sighed. "Like two hundred years ago they had a lot of pull with ship building or something. Made a bunch of money and earned a royal title out of it."

"Fascinating," Stacie leaned in closer. "You said you had cousins, any of them single?"

"Stacie." Chloe chastised the girl who simply shrugged and started to help Amy with the snacks. Chloe scooted a little closer to Beca so she could whisper. "When were you going to tell me all this?"

"I don't know," Beca whispered back. "It's not really something you bring up in casual conversation."

"Will this cause problems for us?" Chloe wrapped her hand around Beca's.

"It shouldn't. My mom already told the rest of the family about us." Beca gave Chloe a confident grin. "Besides, it's not like they can force me to do anything I don't want to. This meeting is probably just to discuss the annual ball that they try to drag me to every year."


"By the end of the year you will be named Duchess Rebecca Von Emil."

"What!?" Beca stared at the group in front of her. Her grandfather, the current duke, her uncle Roger and her mother, all of whom looked extremely uncomfortable.

"It's only for a little while Beca." Rodger tried to explain. "In three years my son will be old enough and you can abdicate."

"Why the hell can't you do it?" Beca couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Isn't that supposed to be your job?"

"I abdicated a long time ago." Rodger tried to explain. "You can't really take that back."

"Mom?"

"I'm sorry Beca," Rachel gave her daughter a pleading look. "I can't do it either. My job is at a critical junction and the hospital needs me there to oversee the research. If I leave now the whole project might fall apart."

Beca groaned before slouching in her chair. "I was supposed to start at that studio in New York after graduation. Chloe and I already planned everything out for the move."

"I'm sorry Beca," Her grandfather said in a soft voice. "If it wasn't for my health then I could hold out for Thomas to come of age. But my doctors are insisting that I retire and focus on getting better."

Beca loved her grandfather and the cancer diagnosis two years ago had hit the family hard. But she never expected that she'd be the one to succeed him. "What about Chloe? I'm not leaving her behind."

"And you won't have to." Her mother quickly reassured her. "She's more than welcome to stay at the mansion."

"But what about vet school?" Beca knew that Chloe had already applied to a local school in New York.

"We do have a university nearby." Her grandfather said. "It is fully accredited and is considered one of the best institutions in Europe."

Beca groaned again, she really couldn't find a way out of this. "But I'm not supposed to be a royal. I have tattoos and stuff, I don't know any of that etiquette crap you guys do all the time."

"It's not like we're just going to throw you in the deep end without help." Roger said. "I'll be there to do most of the work. All you'll really need to make appearances at formal occasions and sign legislature."

Beca considered her options. She'd be setting her plans back by at least three years, which wasn't great but it could be worse. And if she was allowed to bring Chloe with her then could it really be that bad?

"I need to talk to Chloe about this." She settled on that. After all she didn't expect Chloe to just hop on a plane with her at the drop of a hat.

"Of course." Rachel gave the other two a look, letting them know that the matter was settled. "Go and speak with her and get back to us by morning."


"So you'd be in charge of this whole area?" Chloe was looking at a map of Emil. It technically wasn't even a country, heck it barely even counted as a duchy.

"It's really not that big." Beca said from the bed. "It's smaller than Lichtenstein or the other principalities in Europe."

"Becs, you know I failed maps." Chloe laughed at Beca's expression as her head popped up. "But it sounds like your family really needs you."

"I know." Beca got up and wrapped her arms around Chloe. "But we were just about to start our life together. This is a pretty big wrench in those plans."

"Actually," Chloe grew a mischievous smile. "This kinda sounds like an upgrade." At Beca's confused look Chloe explained. "Think about it. That apartment we looked at online was tiny and in a really bad neighborhood. That offer your grandpa made for me to go to a local college while you're doing all the royal stuff sounds like a huge weight off our shoulders. Especially if we don't have to pay New York rent at the same time."

"It kinda sounds like you want to do this."

"I think it sounds like an adventure." Chloe spun around and kissed her girlfriend. "I know it wasn't the plan but we can do this."

"I think you just want an excuse to live in Europe." Beca laughed as Chloe nodded her head vigorously. "All right. I'll talk to my grandfather in the morning."

"And just think," Chloe leaned in to whisper in Beca's ear. "Of all the scandalous things we can get up to in that giant mansion, my Duchess."

"Chloe!"