In the dark of night, Arthur and I boarded a jet to head to our honeymoon. The location was undisclosed, so we could get some privacy. The press would eventually find out, but that's fine. We were headed to Santorini. As we settled in for the long flight, we cuddled up next to each other.
"What do we do now?" I asked as I placed a hand on his chest.
"Anything we want." He held my hand and stared at my ring. "I still can't believe it. We actually made it."
"I can't say it enough. I love you."
He squeezed me in his arms. And laughed. He placed a light kiss on my hair. "I love you too." Believe it or not, we were exhausted. Neither of us had gotten enough sleep. So we decided to catch up on our sleep.
Soon enough, we landed and we were driven straight to our villa. It was our private place. It was just perfect. With our own private beach to ourselves.
For the next few days, Arthur and I just just relaxed on the beach. We could see the news about us. People wondering where we were. They had gotten a hold of the details of our wedding like the cake designer, my dress designer and more. But we were just happy to see the positive feedback. The people were happy. And so were we.
There was this particular evening that will always stay with me. I had gone in to take a shower, but when I came out, Arthur was nowhere in sight. As I threw on a shirt, I could hear music playing on the beach. As I headed out there, I saw him. He extended his hands and when I took it, he pulled me close.
"Arthur, what's this?" I asked laughing.
"I'm treating my wife to a dance." He said proudly.
"Really?" I asked in amusement. He nodded and changed the current song. He had played one of my favourites. Dandelions by Ruth B. "Baby..."
"May I have this dance?"
"Of course." We just stayed there. There was no rush. It was just us, swaying away in the bright light of the moon. In that moment, we were so happy. But as the song ended, I decided to change the pace. I then played "Dancing Queen" by ABBA.
"No way." He had once told me that it was his favourite. As I sang along, I pulled him when we got to the chorus. We ran along the sand as we danced. It was funny to see the future king of England dancing to this song. But it was just one of those moments. As we waved our hands in the air with no worries, we smiled happily. All through that night, we just listened to ABBA. His best part was when we did the duet to SOS. Oh, we had the time of our lives.
We had many nights like that. The evening we rewatched Mamma Mia was also quite amazing. But my absolute favourite was when we travelled to Skopelos. It's an Island here in Greece. It was where Mamma Mia was shot. It was apparently the major reason we chose Greece for our honeymoon. It was our favourite movie as a couple.
We went to this silent club where everyone is hearing the same song, but through headphones. We were all singing the same songs. God! It's such a good movie. It was the time of our lives. And they really didn't care about we were. We knew that we just leaked our location to the Press, but we didn't care. We were getting back to England the next morning.
Apparently, there was a scheduled tour to USA and Canada. So we had to get back early. But with all the sex and fun we had on that trip, it wasn't one we were going to forget soon. So many stories, so many pictures, so many memories.
"You know, we're recreating every memory from 'Our Last Summer.'" He said as we touched down. It was one of his favourite songs from the movie.
"Absolutely." He kissed me and held my hand.
"Are you ready, Duchess of Cambridge?" I smiled as I got up.
"Do I look ready?" This was my first official look as the Duchess. I had to look perfect.
"Perfect." As we stepped down from the jet, we walked towards the Palace fields. The Press was there. Arthur and I smiled politely as we waved and passed. Arthur and I had agreed to stay at his apartment in Kensington. It was a five bedroom, 4 baths apartment. I actually thought it was unnecessarily big.
At this point, we already had a lot to do. We were expecting the President of the United States in two days, and I was still yet to pick a private secretary. Arthur had chosen to retain his. While Arthur stepped out to see his father, I held a ton of interviews, trying to find the perfect person. And I did!
"Alison Logie. I'm very happy to have you on board. I'm sure you'll get along with the rest of the team."
"As long as your best interest is their top priority, I don't see why we wouldn't." She was perfect! She had years of experience in PR. And she was basically a guru. I still had meeting with my stylist, then a meeting with the Head of Security. It wasn't all so bad.
By the time all was done, it was almost 7pm. Arthur had come back in time for dinner.
"You know, my dad thinks you should take the patronage for the Lawn Tennis Association. He knows how much you love it."
"We just got back. Being thrown into all this can be overwhelming."
"I know. But, I'm here. If you get overwhelmed, just tell me. I'll handle it." He went back to eating his dinner. "I'll just call him tomorrow to tell him that you're not ready."
I do love Tennis. A lot actually. "You know what, on second thought, I'll do it. I think it'd be fun." He smiled broadly.
"Ok. I'll let him know, and we'll make it official. And how did your scout for a private secretary go?"
"Amazingly well. I found the perfect person. And you're going to love her."
"Really? Why?"
"Because she puts me first. My interests come first to her. At least you can both agree on that." He gave a light chuckle.
"If you picked her, then I'm sure she's perfect." There was a topic Arthur and I never discussed. I found it weird bringing it up. Almost like it wasn't my place to say something.
"Arthur?" He looked up at me. There was this look on my face that immediately made him give me his attention.
"What's wrong?"
"Maybe it's not my place to say anything..."
"No. Stop right there. You're my wife, you can talk to me about anything. It's always going to be your place to say something. Now, what is it?"
"Your parents." His mood had changed. But it wasn't terrifying, so I continued. "Are they OK?"
"What do you mean?"
"They seem distant from each other."
"It's because they are." He was blank. Very straightforward. There had been rumours of his father having a mistress. And not just the type of mistress he just sleeps with. From the looks of things, he genuinely loves her. His father and his mother had been separated for a while when Arthur and his brother were younger. In that period, his father made it obvious that he wanted another life, with his mistress. He actually almost divorced Arthur's mom. But somehow, they pulled through. But I'm starting to think that the reports of them getting back together was not particularly true. They seem like they're stuck with each other.
"Ok." He didn't seem willing to carry on with that conversation, and I wasn't going to force him. We had finished dinner, and the table had just been cleared.
"Look, Victoria, for obvious reasons, I find it uncomfortable to talk about my parent's marriage. But, there isn't much to it. You know the stories, just pretend like you don't. Just smile and wave. When it comes to this family, we all just smile and wave." He got up and walked to my seat. He leaned down and kissed my hair. "I'm going to get some work done in my office. Don't stay up."
Like I said, it was all overwhelming. I understood the "smile and wave" rule. I grew up with it. No matter what's going on, just keep smiling. I was too tired to even think properly. I just got up and went to bed. I slept off soon enough. Later into the night, Arthur joined me in bed. I cozied up to him, and we stayed there. Till morning.
The thing about having an apartment like ours is that we actually have minimal staff. We have a butler, no chef (we can both cook), a cleaner, and that's it. Our personal employees stay in the staff quarters on the estate.
So, starting my day here felt amazing. Arthur was still asleep when I got up. He loves his sleep. I got out of bed, brushed my teeth, and changed into a workout fit. I packed my hair into a quick bun, and headed out. On my way to the kitchen to make a smoothie for my run, I ran into the butler. He seemed so young to be serving such a senior member of the family. But Arthur handpicked him himself.
"Your Highness, good morning." He said nervously. I smiled warmly at him.
"Morning. How was your night?"
"It was good, your Highness." Oh the title! Can he just stop.
"Ok. What is your name?"
"Louis, your Highness."
"Ok, Louis. Can you please point me in the proper direction to the kitchen?"
"Absolutely. Come right this way." He walked briskly to the kitchen. As we got there, he bowed and left. He was so nervous.
Pushing all those thoughts aside, I make my morning smoothie. Apples, green grapes, blueberries, beetroots and a tablespoon of vanilla flavoured protein powder.
"You really didn't plan on going for a workout without me, did you?" I turned to see Arthur standing by the door. He was dressed, and apparently joining me for my workout today.
"Well, you've never joined me before."
"That was before. Now, could you please make me a bottle of that smoothie for our run too. It looks amazing."
"Sure." I made him a bottle, and just before we headed out for our run, he grabbed me and kissed me. "What was that for?"
"For saying yes." I smiled warmly. Then started running. "Last person to make it back to apartment makes breakfast."
"Not fair!" He ran after me laughing. We ran all around the estate. And trust me, it's a big one. We stopped for a running break at the pond. This was our skipping time. Each person was to do 100 skips in the time of 3 minutes. Intense? I know. But you don't get this body by being lazy. "You know, we're already married, you don't need to kill us both." He said tiredly.
"Come on, it's fun. Drink your smoothie, it helps." We finished skipping and stopped to actually rest.
"Is this going to happen every morning?"
"Probably. Some days are just for the Planks." I said laughing. He was a sweet man. He got up and extended his hands to me. I lazily took it.
"Then, we'll do all of it together. Come on, we have a lot to do today." We ran back to the apartment, and guess who lost.
"Ok, I'm going to make this easy for you, I just want oatmeal." He smiled and headed into the kitchen, and I went upstairs to take a shower.
I just loved the basic look of workout clothes. I really did. And being at home, there's no need to look glamorous. So, I threw on a black legging, a black sports bra, and a grey hoodie on top of it all. My hair was packed into a bun, I applied a bit of lip gloss, and that was it, I was done.
I headed down to have breakfast, and Arthur ran upstairs to take a shower too. He also looked casual. Black joggers and a black hoodie. We were both very casual people. As he sat down with me at the dining, we discussed a couple of things. But one major one.
"Don't you think the staff calling us 'your Highness' is a bit too formal?"
"Well, it is what you are. They call me Arthur." He said casually.
"How'd you get them to do that? Louis couldn't even look me in the eye this morning."
"Oh, Louis. He called me 'Master' for a whole year. It took him so time to actually call me by my name. I'm sure he'll adjust. He just wants to get to know you first."
"Could you just talk to him?"
"Fine." So he got up, and actually called Louis.
"Is everything alright, Sir?"
"No, it's not. My wife seems to have a complaint about you." He looked like he was going to cry. Why was Arthur playing games with this kid?
"Your Highness, did I do something wrong?" He asked as he turned to me.
"No. Not at all."
"Victoria here, would rather you don't call her by any title."
"I'm sorry. But I don't understand."
"Look Louis, I'm sure you're used to meeting a lot of courtesy demanding people, but I'm not one of them. The title is a lot to handle with the outsiders, I don't want to come back home to that too. Do you understand?"
"Yes...."
"Just call me Victoria."
"Yes, Victoria."