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“Your Majesty, I can have the royal doctor meet you at the palace, if you’d like,” Markus offered.
“I want to talk to the doctor that saw my father first. I assume he came in through the ER.”
“Yes, Ma’am. The royal physician has reviewed your father’s tests and–”
“And he’ll tell me everything is going to be okay because he’s employed by my family, and my father has likely already told him to gloss over the details, Markus.”
“Very well, Ma’am. I’ll take care of it.” He bowed, and off he went.
“You should sit, Ma’am,” Ingrid suggested, motioning to the lone chair in the hallway.
“I’m okay,” Elin said. “I feel like I need to be moving right now, actually.”
“It might take a minute for Markus to get the doctor. Would you like me to get you a tea from the machine down the hall?”
“Can I walkwithyou?” Elin asked.
Ingrid gave her a soft smile and a nod. They walked down the deserted hallway with security giving them a little space to do so, and they arrived at the vending machine that looked older than Elin.
“I don’t have any money,” Elin spoke, realizing it in that moment. “I never carry money.”
“Yes, I know,” Ingrid said. “I do, though.” She pulled money out of her purse and inserted it into the machine. “Take your pick. There’s terrible tea and terrible coffee.”
“Can I get one terrible coffee for youanda terrible tea for me?” Elin asked.
“How will you even pay me back fortwodrinks?” Ingrid teased.
“I can do the dishes back at your apartment,” Elin offered as she watched the tea pour into a tiny paper cup.
“I don’t think you’ll be going back to my apartment tonight, Ma’am,” Ingrid said.
“Yeah, I suppose not,” Elin replied.
“Your Majesty,” Markus interrupted Elin’s calm moment with Ingrid.
Markus had found the doctor quickly, and Elin was able to get the truth from the man who told her that her father would likely need a hip replacement, would have metal inserted into his leg, and would need to be off his feet entirely for the next several weeks. Before Elin could leave the hospital, she wanted to check on her father one more time. She walked into his room and found him groggy but awake enough to talk.
“Hi, sweetheart,” he spoke with a scratchy throat.
She gave him a sip of the water on his table and said, “Hi, Daddy.”
“Listen, your mom and I talked a little earlier, before you all got here, and we’re going to move out of the palace. I’ve asked Steven to get Bygdøy ready for us to live there permanently. We’d made other arrangements initially, but Bygdøy is better given my health,” he said of the royal farm and house in Oslo.
“You’re leaving the palace?”
“The palace is the official residence of the King and Queen. We’re no longer the King and Queen. You’re the Queen, Elin. Besides, I scared your mother tonight by trying to go up and down those stairs. The farmhouse is a lot more accessible for me, and it’s still in Oslo, so we’ll be close by.”
“Are you sure? We can make adjustments to the palace.”
“I’m sure. Your mother wants this, and I don’t want to frighten her like this again. Besides, there’s plenty of time for them to get Bygdøy ready since I’ll be here for a bit and not exactly mobile for a while.”
“I’ll make sure Steven has what he needs,” Elin said, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze.
“Thank you. And please remember that you should be in my office now.”
“Dad, I–”
“It’s important, Elin. You’re the sovereign; you need to be in the sovereign’s office. I should have moved out earlier, but I suppose I was trying to hold on to something that’s now gone.”
