AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Janel chuckled. “Right, that one.”
While she knew her mother had a rough life before her father, it sounded near perfect to her. No one making demands on her time and having the freedom to go where she wanted to go, when she wanted, without having security make a big deal about it.
Her mom got that same dreamy look on her face when mentioning her father. Theirs was a true love story of all time. “That life brought me to your father. I miss a lot of things about that time, but I would never go back. Even if your father allowed me to.” The queen snickered.
We both knew who really ran the show when it came to those two.
Still, not having her life played out in the media sounded like heaven. Being the sole director of her every move was so outside Janel’s realm of thinking she wouldn’t have a clue how to proceed. Since the day she was born, she’d been trained for a royal life. Her own interests or preferences had never played into who she was to become. She was Princess Janel SuMartra and someday would marry a man with the same station in life that would hopefully bring some benefit to the people of Tanistan.
She looked out over the pristine gardens wishing she could find a few weeds. Something wild and untamed. “That’s what I’d love. Just a few moments in time to experience a simple life.”
With a heavy sigh, her mother admitted, “Unfortunately, simple and royal don’t go in the same sentence.”
But what if it did?
An idea started to form.
She’d heard her mother’s stories over the years about her hometown. She could see it in her mind right down to the single stop light and her one-story ranch house. The diner where her mother worked and even the parking lot where her parents first met.
She’d never visited the area, but she could imagine it so vividly. She could also imagine herself there. Not as the royal princess, but as simply Jane, like her namesake, her grandmother. From the day her grandparents had met, her grandfather had refused to call her grandmother anything but Janel, a name he’d given her because he said she was much more complex and more beautiful than a simple name like Jane.
Her mom leaned over and gave her a hug and kissed the top of her head. “Give it a few weeks and the fascination with your backside will be replaced with the next trending thing.”
She didn’t want to wait. The more she thought about it, an excitement like she hadn’t experienced in many years began to take hold. She brushed off her earlier concerns about the media coverage. “Mom?”
Her beautiful mother, with only a few wisps of gray sprinkled through her still vibrant auburn hair, turned to her. “Oh, no. You called me mom. That usually means I’m not going to like whatever comes next. It’s the same with all you children.”
Screwing up all the courage she had to go against the rules, Janel quietly admitted, “I want to go there.”
Her mom’s brows furrowed in question. “Go where?”
Taking a breath and forming her thoughts she explained, “I want to go to your hometown. In America. I want to visit and, I don’t know, maybe even live there for a while. Not forever, just a few weeks, a month at the most or two months maybe. I can get a job and find a place to stay all on my own… as just Jane.”
Her mother’s shocked expression didn’t give her much hope. If she couldn’t get her mother on board, there was no way she could convince her father to allow it. “I’m asking for permission to take a two-month sabbatical from royal life. I’ve never asked for anything, unlike my brothers and my sister. I’ve always played by the rules and taken whatever role asked of me. Well, this time I’m asking for something for myself. Please, Mom, let me go. Let me know what it’s like to be me and not Princess Janel.”
A great sadness entered her mother’s eyes and she took Janel’s hands in hers. “Maybe if I go with you…”
With a firm shake of her head, Janel continued her campaign. “No, Mom. On my own. Without bodyguards or special treatment.”
“Honey, even if I agreed, your father would never allow you to go off alone.”
Janel bit her lip. Her mom was right. Her father would never let her go without protection. “Fine, we can negotiate. I’ll take one bodyguard who I will check in with daily. He can be close by, but not involved in my life. I get to decide how my life plays out. It’s a small town. I doubt anyone even knows who the ruler of Tanistan is, much less recognize his daughter. And I look nothing like you. Shayla might have been recognized as your daughter, but not me. My black hair and blue eyes are too common.”
“Sweetie, your SuMartra blue eyes are far from common. They are definitely recognizable. And I’m sure there are friends of mine living in the area that will remember your father.”
She was right. Janel hadn’t thought of that. Searching her brain, she came up with a viable solution. “Fine, I’ll wear those colored contacts. I’ll have brown eyes.”
Janel could tell that her mom still wasn’t on board, but she was weakening. “Where will you live?”
With a shrug, Janel answered with a grin. “I don’t know. And isn’t that wonderful! Wouldn’t it be amazing if your old house were for rent? I could live where you and Aunty Ella lived.”
“I don’t know, Janel. All I see are red flags. You’ve never lived anywhere by yourself. You’ve never even been to the States except for a few brief stopovers in the capital city for events. It’s not all sunshine and flowers like you’re thinking. It can be dangerous.”
“Did you hear what you said? I’m twenty-eight years old and I’ve never lived by myself. I’ve never had just me to depend on. You are right. I’ve grown up in the background watching Kaden, Shayla, Will, and Creston live their lives and find their way in this royal world. I’ve been content to stay in the shadows and follow the rules. After what happened with James, it’s where I’ve needed to be. Now, I want something more. I want to find me. Not James’ widowed fiancée, or the royal princess with a nice ass.”
Her mother giggled and Janel smiled, knowing she was going to have help convincing her father.
* * *
