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The handshake was slightly different and was with two hands, so when Gale outstretched his two hands to the king, I did as well to the queen. She was just a few inches short than me, with dark hair and the most beautiful natural face. Her skin was so clear it was almost sparkling. I was so distracted for a second, I didn’t realize she was going for a hug until it was too late for me to change. She tried to adjust and change, but then I changed…and knowing we both had no clue as to how to greet each other now, we looked at each other, and she giggled slightly.
“What shall we do?” she asked me in English, the language we’d be speaking while they were here.
“Handshake then hug?” I smiled back.
She nodded. And so we did, kissing the side of each other’s faces. She stepped back slightly, allowing her king to step in front of me and her to walk to the Gale. I outstretched my hands because I knew that at least with him, women were not to hug him.
“Your Majesties, welcome to Bellecoeur Palace,” I said formally to them.
“We thank you for your welcome,” he said once before moving to take a stand beside Gale, so we could take our photos.
Well, that could have gone more smoothly. But I tried not to let it bother me. Smiling, I waved.
“Please.” Gale outstretched his hand to welcome them inside.
As they went, Queen Dema and I walked side by side.
“How was your flight?” I asked, trying to ease into a conversation.
“It was nice. Thank you. How are you?” she asked, nodding to my stomach. “Almost there, I see.”
I placed my hand on the side of my stomach. “Yes, we are fine. Two more months.”
“Congratulations again. We brought gifts for the child as well.”
“You did not have to…but thank you.” My voice drifted a bit there as I remembered Wolfgang telling me something about how it was pretty much a rule that monarchs gave each other gifts when visiting.
“You remember the rules.” She smiled, looking over my face.
“Is it that obvious?” I tried not to frown as all eyes were still on us.
“Only to someone who’s been there before,” she said back to me. “I did the same thing when the Princess of Monaco came to visit us just a few months after our wedding.”
“How did you recover?”
“I did not,” she said, and we laughed…but gently.
“Oh, how is your mother? I’ve been doing exactly as she said for my skin, and it has never looked better. She is brilliant.”
“She is fine, but when I tell her, you said that she will never let me hear the end of it. She said she became good friends with you at the wedding? Forgive me for not speaking more with you then. It was…so much.”
“I know exactly what you mean.” She nodded.
And for the first time…I felt like…I had a friend, around my age, who understood exactly what it felt like to be in this position. I didn’t have to explain because she’d been in my shoes at some point in time.
“Odette.”
“Dema.”
We both looked up to see our husbands looking back at us curiously. Right, we were supposed to do our talking in the gardens for lunch.
“We’ve made the kings wait,” I whispered to her.
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” she whispered back to me.
I grinned…yeah, my mother was right. I liked her.
“So many stars,” King Arjun said to me.
