"Are you sure they won't mind if I join you?"
"They won't, Roberta. They probably are celebrating that they made it to the next round, they won't mind having an extra visit."
"Welcome back, your Royal Highness" Kane says as we walk into the changing room.
"Thank you very much. And congratulations. I've brought a friend with me, I hope you don't mind."
"Of course not, ma'am."
"I was told there were naked men, tho" Roberta says. "Where are they?"
"Please excuse her. She's Italian and... you know them" I say, giving her a murderous look.
"Oh, yes, you know us. It's the Mediterranean blood, we all are horny" she replies, giving me a similar look.
"I like Italy and Italian women" Grealish says, looking at Roberta from head to toe.
"Good for you. What about you, Rashford?" she asks him, giving him her most charming smile.
"It is a beautiful country, and my girlfriend and I love the food" he replies.
"Ouch" Declan chuckles behind us. When I turn to look at him, his eyes are already fixed on me. "Hello."
"Hi" I say, smiling from ear to ear.
"Nice shirt."
"Thank you. I took your advice and gave red a go."
"You look beautiful, your Royal Highness. Though we aren't matching today" he says, pointing at my chest. "Where is your number four?"
"I bought this shirt the other day when I went shopping, and I didn't have time to put a number on it. If only I knew England's number four and he could get me one..."
"If only" Declan smirks. "TWas that the day you met my mum?"
"Yep. She was with this girl... I can't remember if she introduced herself or not."
"Yeah... Lilith."
"That's an interesting name" I chuckle. "Who is she?"
"You know who she is."
"I don't" I shrug.
"C'mon, El... Ma'am. I'm sure you did a deep dive into my life after you met me."
"Maybe" I shrug. "But I still don't know who she is."
"She..."
"Ma'am, Deccers, should we take the photo?" Kane asks us, Roberta already in deep conversation with some of the other players.
"Yes, of course"
"We'll continue this conversation later" Declan says to my ear, making me feel goosebumps down my spine. "I'll dm you."
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"You are crazy."
"Roberta..."
"No! I'm not going to help you with this" she says, crossing her arms over her chest.
"C'mon, it is just a little lie" I say, sitting next to her.
"A little lie? Little? You want me to tell David that you aren't feeling well so you can sneak out and go on a date with Declan, putting everyone at risk. What if someone recognizes you? Or him? What if you end up in the press? I'm not doing it, I'm sorry."
After our visit to the changing room, Declan did as he said and sent me a dm on Instagram. It is the only place safe enough to talk without my family somehow finding about him.
He wanted to talk about Lilith, but he wanted to do it in person. He said it was too important to do it over text. So he suggested that we should meet on his free day, go for a walk around the park, maybe get some ice-cream. He didn't say it, but it totally felt like a date.
"But I need to speak with him. Please" I pout.
"No."
"Ok, fine" I say, getting up. "Then I'll run away."
"How?" Roberta chuckles. "David is at the door, there are security guards everywhere. They will see you."
"I'll manage."
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"You are the best friend in the world, you know?"
"Yeah, yeah. Let's hope that helps when your dad throws me in a cell at the dungeons."
"We don't have dungeons" I laugh.
"That you know of" Roberta says.
I somehow convinced her to help me meet Declan. The plan is to tell David that I'm not feeling well, that I must have eaten something, and as she leaves to go for a walk to buy me something, she also starts feeling sick, distracting him enough so I can leave the room and escape through the emergency stairs. She loved acting back at school, this should be easy peasy for her.
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"I can't believe it actually worked" Declan laughs.
"Neither do I" I say.
Roberta's acting skills... Wow. That was better than some things I've seen on tv, and for a moment, I thought she was actually sick.
"Love the outfit, tho."
"We are matching again" I smile.
To kind of go unnoticed, we both chose to wear the most basic clothes ever, a hat and sunglasses, trying to look like two tourists and not like a princess and a football star.
"But you are looking way better than me, ma'am."
"You can call me Eleanor, no one is watching."
"Ok... Eleanor" he says with a cheeky smile.
"I love the way you say my name."
"You what?" he laughs.
"I'm sorry, I just..." Why did I say that? Urgh. "I've never been a big fan of my name. But when you say it, it's different" I shrug.
"You don't like your name? Why?"
"I don't know. It just feels... Too serious. And I hate that my nickname is Ellie. Eveb though now I am used to it, I still don't like it. It sounds too childish."
"One is too serious, and the other too childish" he says, arching a brow and trying really hard not to laugh again.
"I know, I know. It's stupid, but..."
"No, it's ok. When I was a kid I didn't like Declan that much either, it was too different compared to what the other kids were called."
"Your best friend is called Mason" I chuckle.
"And that's something that made me feel less alone, that he also had a name that you don't hear that often. You should be grateful that you don't share your name with ten other girls."
"I kind of do now. I've been told that many girls are being called Eleanor because of me."
"Perks of being the best royal" he winks.
"Yeah, sure" I chuckle, feeling my cheeks get warm. "So, speaking of names. Lilith?"
"Yeah..." Declan sighs. "She is my ex-girlfriend."
"Then why is she here?"
"That's what I asked her when she showed up with my mum. She said that the other girls had invited her, that since they all were friends and this was a special occasion, they wanted to be all together even if we weren't together anymore. Which, ok, I get it. But when we met at the hotel on my first free day, she tried to kiss me."
"Oh" I say, suddenly finding the floor very interesting.
"She is here to try and win me back. After cheating on me, she wants me back" he chuckles.
"She cheated on you?"
"Yeah. And with a guy we went to school with."
"That's... I... I'm sorry."
"Nah, don't be. Things were already bad between us, so" he shrugs.
"You don't want her back, then?"
"She's in the past. 100%."
"Good" I mutter.
"Fancy an ice-cream?" Declan asks me after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence that seem to last an eternity.
"I would love that" I say with a shy smile. Though on the side, I'm grinning. He isn't interested on Lilith. He doesn't want her back.
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"I think we may be in trouble" Declan says while we are queuing.
"What?"
"Don't look, but there are two women behind us whispering and taking photos."
"Shit."
"Move to be in front of me. Let's try and act as if I am your bodyguard."
"My... my bodyguard?"
"Anything wrong with it?"
"No, I just... You..."
"Too sexy for a bodyguard, I know" he says, making me feel a bit less nervous about the fact that someone may have recognized us.
"Definitely. Imagine the headlines. The princess and the sexy bodyguard."
"Forbidden love" he chuckles. "And we should go."
"What? Why?"
"More people are staring, come on" Declan says, putting his hand on my back and making me walk.
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"How did they find me?" I say when we get into a taxi, trying to catch my breath.
"I don't know. Someone must have tipped them" Declan says, camera's flashing all around us.
"Do you think they recognized you?"
"I don't think so, they were too focused on you. Sir, can we please move?" he urges the taxi driver.
"I'm trying to" he says, cursing under his breath.
After our failed visit to the ice-cream ban, we noticed people following us. We tried to distract them, to lose them inside the park, but it was impossible. A few minutes later, we were running, paparazzi following us while trying to get a photo.
"Who is that?" Declan asks when my phone starts ringing, the taxi finally moving.
"David."
"Do you think..."
"Oh, he knows. He definitely knows" I sigh.