AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Emile: I’m aware.
Raphael: Fill me in. I saw the headlines. Mommy and Daddy mad?
Emile: No more than usual. I’ll see you guys there.
Emile groaned and shut off his phone. His friends were good for a laugh but they’d never understand his current predicament. They’d all met at boarding school — during detention, unsurprisingly — and although there were a lot of similarities between them, they could never understand what it meant to be royalty. The pressure and the expectation was different for them. They could all coast off of their family money forever, never scrutinized by the press or expected to step up into a historic role. So, Emile kept the news of his exile to himself. They were all so preoccupied with their own partying that it would be weeks, maybe even months, before they noticed that he hadn’t been home to the palace, and hopefully everything would be sorted by that point. All he needed was someone to pour him tequila shots on a regular basis and point him in the direction of the best taco stands at the festival. The rest he could sort out himself.
He closed his eyes, hoping to stave off another headache courtesy of the potent mixture of his absinthe hangover and the morning from hell, and was surprised when he was gently shaken awake what felt like moments later by the same pretty flight attendant.
“Your Highness, we’re about to land. I brought you a coffee.”
“Thank you…” He searched groggily for a name tag on her uniform, but he couldn’t see one and couldn’t remember if she’d given her name to him earlier.
“Kayla.”
“Thank you, Kayla.” He accepted the cup of coffee gratefully. “You’re a lifesaver.”
“Thankfully not literally on this flight, but I givegreat… CPR.” The extended eye contact and the way she said it made it clear that she had a double meaning. Emile choked on his first sip of coffee. He’d only just woken up. It was too early for innuendo.
“I’ll bet that comes in handy.” He coughed. Smooth.
“You’d be surprised.” Kayla gave him a wink as she walked away. When he picked up the paper coffee cup again, he noticed that a number was written onto the side. His reputation clearly preceded him. Something he usually wouldn’t complain about — quite the opposite, in fact — but something about being banished from your kingdom didn’t exactly put you in the mood for flirting. Plus, the coffee was terrible.
He discarded the cup and looked out of the window, watching as the plane descended into what looked like endless desert, so different from the lush green forests of Charcieux. He was far from home and right now, that was exactly where he wanted to be.
There was already a car waiting for him when he exited the airport — thank God for the palace concierge — and he climbed gratefully into the back seat. It had been a long journey already, and the heat was stifling even just on the walk from the airport doors to the car. A leather jacket had been unnecessary. Air-conditioning, though, was very necessary. It was another reminder that he wasn’t in Charcieux anymore; at this time of year, it was fresh and crisp in his city. He enjoyed the heat but it was definitely a shock to the system.
“Where to, sir?” the driver asked as he levered himself into the front seat, Emile’s bags now safely stowed in the trunk.
“Rockapalooza,” Emile replied. “And I don’t want to be rude, but there’s a hefty tip in it for you if we can do this thing in silence.”
“Roger that.” The man doffed his hat, and pulled out into the heavy traffic, no doubt half of which was heading the same way. It was going to be a long car ride.
Emile put his headphones in and turned up the volume, closing his eyes and trying not to think about everything that had happened so far that day. Tequila was waiting for him. It was all going to be okay.
It was a lot sooner than expected when the car pulled to a stop, jolting Emile out of yet another nap. That damn absinthe.
Emile blinked in the bright sunlight, staring out of the window at a quaint-looking street. This didn’t look right. He’d expected… well, he didn’t know exactly what to expect, what with it being a spur of the moment decision to attend, but he’d definitely not expected a hardware store, a dog grooming parlor and a cafe.
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” he started saying to the driver.
“I’ll say. Your card’s been declined. I’ve gotta leave you here, sir.”
“My card’s been… what?” Emile couldn’t comprehend what the man was saying.
“Just got a call from the company. Unless you’ve got another way to pay, I can’t take you where you’re going.”
No. Surely not. They wouldn’t cut him off?
“There has to be a mistake. Try again.” He didn’t mean to sound so snippy, but he was truly at the end of his tether. No doubt this man would be blabbing to the tabloids tomorrow about how Prince Emile Ardouin was rude and arrogant, and getting a nice little payout for it.
“They tried again. Do you have another way to pay or not?”
Emile didn’t. He only had one credit card. It had never failed him before. In fact, that credit card was probably the most reliable thing in his life, which was a sad state of affairs if he thought too much about it. Without that he was utterly screwed. He knew his parents were exiling him, but he didn’t think they’d leave him destitute. That was a step too far. Did they want him to starve? Was this more than just exile? Was it a death sentence, too?
No. They’d never stomach the scandal. This must just be all part of him ‘learning his lesson’, he thought, rage coursing through his veins. It was going to be a steep learning curve. He suddenly wished he’d not flown quite so far from home. St. Bart’s would have been nice at this time of year, and a lot closer if he wanted to go and beg for his money back. How dare they do this to him?
Getting angry wasn’t going to help him, though, he thought as he stood on the side of the road with his bags, watching the car drive away. There was still a chance he could get to the festival and then his friends would be able to put him up for a while as he formulated a plan. He turned his phone back on so he could text them. Maybe Logan or Jacques could pick him up from here, if he could work out where in the world he was?
