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“I can’t promise I won’t slip up and say ‘Ma’am’ a few times,” Ingrid replied with a shy smile.
“That’s okay,” Elin said.
“Very well,Elin,” she replied, realizing she’d never said Elin’s name out loud to her in their three-year working relationship.
Elin smiled wide, as if she realized the same thing and liked it, which made Ingrid’s heart warm to see her happy.
“I’ll change in my room and meet you downstairs,” Elin told her.
“What else should I bring?” Ingrid asked.
“A book, maybe? Just don’t bring any work, okay?”
“Yes, M–” Ingrid stopped herself. “I won’t.” She chuckled at her almost-immediate mistake.
Elin smiled and left the room.
???
They called these springs the White Lagoon. It was one of the natural wonders that had people flocking to St.Rais these days, and they would have at least part of it to themselves. The last time she’d been here, she’d been just out of university and about to start her career in public service. She and her sister, Sarah Anne, hadn’t had much money, so a faraway destination wasn’t an option for a holiday. They’d chosen St. Rais and had been happy with their brief trip that had included the White Lagoon, which had white and black lava rocks punctuated with almost milky blue waters and steam billowing from the natural-forming pools like clouds.
There were over fifty pools, if she remembered correctly. Some flowed into others. Some were off on their own, with small pieces of beautiful green shrubs, high grass, and small trees, giving them a bit of privacy. A soak in the hot waters was a spa-like experience all on its own. She’d even applied a mud mask to herself and to Sarah Anne, and the mineral salts from the spring made their skin look and feel better and instantly cleaner. She’d long ago told herself that she’d return here one day and enjoy this again, but she’d never planned on coming back with a future Queen, who had tripped over her own two feet at least three times while they’d been shown to their own pool by one of the guides.
“I can’t believe this is ours for the afternoon,” Ingrid said, looking around and seeing no one now that the guide had left them alone.
Not only had they been given a pool of their own – out of sight, out of mind – but they’d been given a pool on its own tiny island off to the side of the main part of the park, which operated the springs for the country. The pool was surrounded by a few meters of vegetation, and they’d had to walk across a small footbridge just to get there. Ingrid had worried about the future Queen being able to walk across it without falling in. She’d stood close behind the Princess on the three-meter-long bridge, holding out her hands at Elin’s hips, not touching her, of course, but being there just in case. Elin had managed to make it across fine, though. Then, before he left them alone, their guide told them they could walk back on their own or wait until their time was up and he’d return for them.
“It’s beautiful,” Elin spoke, looking out at the rest of the expansive spring.
“Yeah, it is,” Ingrid agreed, taking it all in. “My sister is going to be so angry with me.”
“What? Why?” Elin asked, turning to her.
“We always said we’d come back here together one day,” Ingrid explained, taking off the backpack she’d carried.
“I’m going to get you in trouble?” Elin asked, clearly concerned.
“She’ll be fine,” Ingrid said, realizing she’d actually worried her. “Maybe you could call her and tell her you ordered me to come or something. That could help.”
“Of course,” Elin replied.
Then, Elin took her own backpack off and unattached the straps that held in the blanket they’d brought with them. She laid it on the part of the grass that had been flattened by the others that had come before them and sat down on one side of it, staring at the bubbling water.
“I’ve never been in one of these things,” she admitted.
Ingrid sat down next to her and asked, “What?”
“I’m always here on business. When I visit Elizabeth, Palmer, and the kids, we do more family stuff; we don’t come here.”
“I can’t believe I’ve been somewhere you haven’t.”
“Why not? I haven’t been everywhere.”
“Because I grew up poor,” Ingrid explained. “We didn’t go on holiday growing up. Sarah Anne and I had to save up to afford a trip to St. Rais, and they’re basically our next-door neighbors.”
“Shall we get in, and you can tell me more about it?”
“Growing up?” Ingrid asked.
