Blessed

"Oh, I got an email from NYU," she says. "They approved the extension."

Nicole has managed to delay her degree for a year. Until then, she'll be here. At some point, she'll have to return to the States to finish her studies. Unless I can organize a transfer here. I'm not going to mention anything just yet, though. I'm just happy to have her back.

"Thank you, for that," I say. She leans over the table and kisses me. Her lips taste like hot chocolate.

"How do you like Elanda, so far?" I ask.

Nicole shrugs. "I think I’m getting the hang of it. It’s a big change, obviously. The languages will take me a while to figure out, too."

I smile. "It’s okay. Everyone speaks English as well. You won’t be stuck."

She nods. "I know. I want to try to fit in a bit more, though. It’s your country, you know?"

"You’re a treasure," I say. "What did I do to deserve you?"

She smiles at me.

"I miss home, though," she says. "I left so quickly."

"Do you want to go back?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "Not right now. Maybe later."

"I think you should stick around for a while. You’re already seen as nobility because you live at the palace."

Nicole chuckles. "Next thing you know, they’ll be calling me ‘Your royal Highness,’ too."

"Would you like that?" I ask.

Her breath hitches in her throat. "I don’t know," she says in a voice barely louder than a whisper. She clears her throat. "Royalty can’t marry commoners, though, anyway."

She knows what I'm getting at.

I shrug. "There’s no law about that, here."

She blinks at me, a smile curling at the corners of her mouth.

One day, perhaps not too far from now, I'd like to make her my queen. She's the world’s perfect woman. Not only does she have all the attributes that would make her a good queen and a perfect mother to the heir of a king, but she also fought for me when the easiest thing would've been to give up.

If that isn't love, I don't know what is.

Nicole

We’ve just arrived home after yet another formal dinner in the Capital. Yes, I call this remarkable palace home now. At first it didn’t feel that way. Everything about the country and this lifestyle was, well, foreign to me. I missed New York a bit, but being with Thomas made me more comfortable and released me from the guilt of not even saying goodbye to some of my closest friends.

Leaving in a frenzy left little time for me to see everyone. I barely got my things packed in the few hours I had before boarding a flight and making my way across the globe. Anxiety is an understatement for how I felt knowing that Thomas could reject me upon my arrival.

Besides the note, I had no real way of knowing his feelings, or if he wanted me to come here. So you can imagine my surprise when I saw him waiting for me at the airport. What was even more shocking was the onslaught of cameras and reporters as we made our way to the waiting limousine. He was so famous that even being at the airport was a cause for countless articles to be written about him, as everyone began to question just who I was.

This was definitely a lot to get used to, but after some time it has all grown on me. Luckily, Thomas has found me a tutor so I can begin learning French, I want to learn German as well, but the French language is so romantic. I love when Thomas speaks to me in random lines from the language, so I’ll focus on that one first and then switch over once I get the hang of it.

I could tell he was happy about my desire to speak the native language, but I can’t be sure why. He’s fluent in all three, so I know he doesn’t need me to learn French to speak with me. Maybe he thinks it will mean I’m interested in staying longer, I can’t be sure. He casually mentioned the universities available to me, but he can’t possibly think I would go to school here.

Besides, that’s a year away and I’ve done enough of living for the future, while I’m here, I just want to focus on one day at a time and enjoy my days with Thomas. Everything is perfect, and easy, since he has a huge staff to help do everything. I haven’t even done laundry because there’s a maid, and a cook makes us the most delicious meals I’ve ever had.

It’s crazy that this is his normal life, never blinking an eye at the opulence, but to me everything is a bit over the top. I have to stop myself to reacting so dramatically to things when he invites me into his life. I used to be the bashful one, but now its more Thomas, as I learn more about him.

When we walked through the garage to the palace, he cringed as the butler reported on the status of the care for all ten of his cars. Ten cars! I know he worries that I could possibly think differently of him because of his wealth, but I would never judge him by it. I just like to poke fun at him for having access to so much and having a difficult time understanding what its like to do these things on your own.