Playing Princess

Playing Princess 2.23

Izzy had taken the chance for a day off almost immediately, leaving me to start off the first phase with a bang.

It was strange having to put up the same façade again only the strange part was, it came almost naturally to me. What was even weirder was that it felt as though I hadn’t even left in the first place.

Only a couple days into our research and we hadn’t found a single lead.

Until Kyle arrived.

It was a little eerie that Allegra seemed to have absolutely everything under control, managing everything as if she were the princess in danger, and not Izzy or me. Arranging for Kyle to arrive without any suspicion under the nose of our superiors was either easier than it seemed or Allegra was incredibly sneaky.

That girl surprised me to no end.

Seeing as the preparations for the Winter Festival were taking the kingdom by a storm, I’d found it easy to slip away from any prying eyes to Kyle’s arrival at the airport.

I waited impatiently in the getaway car and wondered what was taking them so long.

The door suddenly burst open and in scrambled a familiar lanky figure with a flailing mix of long limbs.

“Kyle!” I all but screamed and threw myself at my friend. I pulled him into the tightest hug possible and heard him choking in my ear. “You’re here! You’re alive!”

“Not – for long!” he wheezed and struggled against me.

I released him with a sheepish smile as the door slammed shut after Joey and Allegra started moving out of the busy airport.

“There was some delay,” Joey explained, slightly out of breath. “A lot –”

“– I had no idea Aldern’s festival was this popular!” Kyle chirped with shining brown eyes. “There were so many tourists all coming in to stay in Aldern for the event so we were kinda held up.”

I grinned and lightly punched him on the shoulder. “I’m glad you could make it!” My smile faltered a little at remembering the reason for his being here. “I just wish it was for a vacation or a proper invite instead of –”

I couldn’t finish that sentence. I wasn’t exactly sure how.

“Of what?” Kyle retorted and adjusted his bags at his feet while Allegra made a sharp turn around a corner then made a beeline for the palace. “Of working to protect you? Stop you from getting hurt? Astrid, come on. There’s no place I’d rather be.”

Then he did something I never imagined I would see him do sober.

Kyle winked.

And he was awful at it too.

I bit back a laugh as he nudged me playfully. “Did you just –”

Kyle jabbed my side and elicited a ticklish squeak from my lips. “Don’t judge. And anyway, how many times will I get to do some cool spy work for a royal family in my life?”

“It’s not spy work, just –”

“–spy work,” he finished cheekily. “It’s spy work. Don’t argue with the genius.”

There was a sudden snort of disbelief which neither of us had made.

I glanced over to Joey whose gaze was aimed out the window but the twitch in his jaw gave him away. “Don’t mind him. Joey thought he could do all the research himself.”

Joey whipped his head around with a slight flush to his cheeks. “I-I did not!”

“Yes you did,” Allegra called from the front with a grin. “And why are you three all cooped up there? Joe, you could have sit shotgun with me.”