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“Welcome to the Tleurbonne Children’s Hospital,” a woman says, pulling my attention from Alex, and I notice for the first time she’s one of several people standing in a line. “I’m Dr. Alison Dalgleish, Chief Medical Officer. We are so thrilled to have you here, Your Royal Highness,” she says to me.
I shake her hand and she curtsies. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, doctor.”
“We were not expecting Your Royal Highness.” She curtsies to Alex. “Although with your excellent work with CAYAC, I’m sure you’re no stranger to children’s hospitals.”
What have kayaks got to do with hospitals? Unless Alex goes kayaking and ends up injuring himself? Maybe he’s not very good it at?
We’re introduced to the rest of the people, and then they lead us down the corridor toward the cancer wing.
“You're going to have to explain to me what kayaks and hospitals have to do with each other,” I say to Alex.
“Not a kayak,” he replies with a laugh. “C. A. Y. A. C. is an acronym for Children And Young Adults with Cancer.”
That makes more sense.
“It's a project I’m involved with back in Ledonia. We fund cancer research specifically for younger people. We’re having some promising results, although it's early days of course. We started out in Ledonia, but it's expanded into nine European countries already, including Malveaux, and we're hoping to increase that number each year. The more countries that are involved, the more money we make, which means we can do more.”
With every meeting, every conversation, I’m getting to know a different Alex. He's not the shallow-as-a-puddle playboy prince everyone thinks he is. He does kind things like turn up to help me at my first public appearance and spearheading cancer research for young people.
He’s not the man I first thought he was.
We reach the oncology ward and immediately we’re shown into one of the rooms. It’s brightly colored, with murals of farm animals on the walls, the curtains separating the three beds drawn to show the full room.
I step inside, my eyes landing on a young girl with sparse hair, sitting upright in a bed. She can’t be much more than eight or nine, and she’s wearing a Barbie pink jumpsuit with the word “Princess” in looping gold script across the chest.
She beams at me as we approach.
“Princess Madeline and Prince Alexander, this is Ava. She’s been with us for some time,” Dr. Dalgleish says.
“Hi, Ava,” I say as I crouch down beside her. “It’s great to meet you.”
She beams at me, her entire face lit up with joy. “You’re a princess,” she says.
“I think you’re the princess. You have it written on your shirt. See?” I gesture at myself. “I don’t have that.”
She looks down as though not knowing what’s emblazoned on her chest. “That’s only because I’ve decided I want to be a princess when I grow up,” she says, her tone serious.
“I bet you’d make a wonderful princess,” I say, and win another one of her beautiful smiles. “What would you do?”
“Oh, I’d make ice cream free and get rid of vegetables,” she replies promptly.
“You’ve already thought about this?” I ask, and she nods.
Alexander raises his brows. “You’d get rid of vegetables all together?”
“Oh, yes. Especially broccoli. I hate broccoli,” she replies.
“You know what, Ava? I’m with you on that. Broccoli is truly horrible,” he says, and she lets out a giggle.
It would seem even eight-year-old girls aren’t immune to Alexander’s charm.
“Do you like being a princess?” Ava asks me.
I think of the changes in my life, the fact I miss Dad and Chloe, and a bunch of things about my life in Houston. I think about my new-found closeness with my grandparents, the way I’m fulfilling a role here that has begun to mean more and more to me. The life I lead is so very different, but it’s new and exciting, even if it’s scary at times. But I get to visit places like this and help to brighten a little girl’s day.
“You know what? I do like it,” I reply. I glance at Alexander and notice he’s smiling at me. “Do you like being a prince?” I ask him. “Did you know this is Prince Alexander from Ledonia?”
Ava’s eyes widen.
