Graduating Princess

Chapter 3 - Recovering

I don’t want to do this.

I don’t want to stand in front of a room full of reporters and listen to Victor, his Prime Minister and Chuck talk about the attack. I don’t want to stand there and look at the blank expressions; the hands holding up voice recorders and cameras. I don’t want to stand there knowing that I could be here with Ben.

“You have to go,” he keeps insisting. “The people will want to see that at least you are okay. I’ll be fine and you won’t be gone long.”

I shake my head, sinking down lower into my chair next to his bed. “I can’t… I can’t do that.”

He lets out one of those sighs he does when I aggravate him. “Anna, please. Don’t be selfish; don’t be a coward. Go show them you’re okay; show them you’re stronger than they think.”

I draw my brows together. “Did you just call me a coward?”

“Yes,” he says, his face not showing even an ounce of humor. He’s not kidding. “So, go with my dad and prove to everyone—including me that you’re not. Don’t be scared of the press now, Anna. You never were before. Don’t be now.”

Leaning forward, I cup my face in my hands. Just as I’m about to surrender and tell him that I’ll go, the door bursts open.

A loud raucous fills the room as four guys come rushing in, wearing army fatigues and berets. Their camaraderie stops once their eyes all land on me. In a split second they stop, bow, and then salute in unison. It’s pretty impressive.

Ben laughs, but winces. I can tell his chest still hurts, even with all the meds they’re pumping into him.

“How did I know you guys were my next visitors?”

Of course I should have expected his army friends to come here at some point. His aunt, the Duchess of Odessa came last night, and some of his extended family—like that cousin that Victor said I would have to marry if anything had actually happened to Ben (Leopold was his name I’m pretty sure). They came this morning.

“See, Anna? I’ll be fine while you’re gone. I’ll have these guys to take care of me,” he nods as they begin to walk over, joking around again. However, they seem more subdued. It must be me.

He introduces me, “These are my army friends from the base; guys if you haven’t already heard, this is my fiancé, AnnaMaria.”

With a roll of my eyes I laugh and, to avoid awkwardness, I rise and get ready to go tell Victor I’m coming with him. The guys—who were just about to take seats in the small chairs on the other side of the bed—have to stop and wait until I nod at them before they can sit down. It’s the kind of cringe-worthy awkwardness that makes me wish I had left a few minutes ago.

“Well it’s very nice to meet you,” I give them a friendly smile.

I lean down and kiss Ben on the cheek, which makes them coo and hoot. “I’ll see you in a bit,” I tell him in Slovek.

He replies with, “Yes, you will… try not to pay too much attention to the cameras, Ann. Just focus on my father.”

I nod, “Right.”

“You’ll do fine,” he calls out as I walk out the door.

You’ll do fine.

Yeah, okay. If you say so, Ben.

“Changed your mind?” Gabe’s voice startles me.

After I recover and compose myself I answer, “Yeah. Where’s Victor?”