“Mother, we need to talk…”
Kaylie heard the prince’s voice as he entered the room and quickly turned from the window and saw he looked like he was on a mission.
The queen gave him a patient smile. “Of course. Come in and join us.”
“Alone,” the prince said, giving Kaylie a pointed look.
“I would love to go, but I have no idea where to go,” Kaylie said, locking eyes with him. “Because apparently I’m stuck here.”
“What are you talking about?” the prince said.
“She’s talking about the storm,” the queen answered for her. “I was just about to explain to Kaylie that there’s only one road to our airport and how we close it when a storm comes, so no one will be flying until it’s safe.”
“She can’t stay here,” the prince said with conviction.
Kaylie watched as the queen tilted her head with a smile that looked like more of a warning. “Kaylie will be staying here as our guest, as planned,” the queen said.
Kaylie saw the prince’s jaw clench. She could feel his displeasure from across the room. She felt a chill down her spine, even though the room was toasty warm from the fire.
“As planned?” the prince shot back. “I didn’t know anything about this plan.”
“Neither did I,” Kaylie said. “Join the club.”
“So, it’s settled, and you will stay here with us,” the queen said, smiling at Kaylie.
Kaylie was still trying to process everything. “I really don’t want to impose…”
“Too late,” the prince said under his breath, but Kaylie caught it, as did the queen.
“Alexander.” The queen gave him a disapproving look. “Where are your manners?”
The prince crossed his arms in front of his chest. “You might want to ask Miss Karlyle about her manners. She’s the one who tried to give me a lap dance at the airport.”
The queen’s eyebrows arched as Kaylie’s face blazed red hot from embarrassment.
“What? No!” Kaylie sputtered. “That’s not what happened.” Frantic, she turned to the queen. “I mean, I did fall into his lap, that’s true; I couldn’t see. It was windy, but I did not give him a lap dance.”
The queen’s eyes widened with even more amusement.
Kaylie rushed on, desperate to explain. “I thought his car was mine and it was snowing and I jumped in…”
“And landed on my lap,” the prince finished for her.
Kaylie glared back at him. “I didn’t see you.” She turned to the queen. “I really didn’t see him. I couldn’t see anything and I promise you, I’ve never done a lap dance in my life…” She spun back around and faced the prince. “And even if I had, it wouldn’t have been for someone like you.”
“What? Someone royal?” the prince asked with a laugh.
“No, someone rude!” Kaylie fired back at him.
The queen chuckled. Kaylie could see she was enjoying the heated banter.
“Alexander, how do you even know what a lap dance is?” the queen asked. Her eyes were twinkling with laughter. “Are you talking from experience?”
“Mother!” the prince exclaimed, looking appalled.
The queen laughed. “You started it.”
The horrified look on the prince’s face was so priceless, Kaylie couldn’t help but laugh, too.
The prince, frustrated, walked over to the fireplace and added another log to the fire.
“Alexander, Kaylie is a journalist…”
The prince, stunned, dropped the log he was holding. “A journalist? You’ve invited a journalist into our home after you know what they’ve done to this family…”
The queen interrupted him. “She’s not paparazzi, she’s a feature reporter I’ve hired to help research some of our family’s Christmas traditions.”
“Actually, I don’t usually do features; I’m an invest…” But Kaylie didn’t have time to finish before the prince jumped in again.
“Why does she need to research our Christmas traditions.” he asked, giving Kaylie a look of distrust.
“Because they’re important for us all to remember and we haven’t been doing that these last few years. We haven’t been celebrating Christmas at all and I don’t want Anna to forget how special it is, and you know Sophia wouldn’t have wanted that either. All you’ve been doing is working right through the holidays like you want to forget it all, but we can’t and shouldn’t forget.”
Kaylie saw a flash of pain cross the prince’s face before he quickly looked into the fire.
“There’s nothing wrong with working,” the prince said. “It’s our duty. That’s who we are. That’s what our people expect.”
The queen walked over and looked into his eyes. “But our first commitment should always be to this family, to each other. We can’t help others if we can’t help ourselves.” She took the prince’s hand. “Put ‘family first,’ is what your father would always say, remember?”
Kaylie watched the prince’s eyes soften for a moment.
“I remember,” the prince said quietly. He kissed his mother’s hand before letting it go. “But times have changed and we have even more commitments now. I’m just trying to live up to Father’s legacy, like he wanted, and someday Anna will carry on that tradition.”
The queen lovingly put her palm against the prince’s cheek. “Son, I know you’ve done an amazing job and you’re teaching Anna all about duty and honor…”
The prince nodded.
“But...” When the queen continued, the prince’s smile faltered. “There’s more to life than just work, and this Christmas I want Anna to see that. I want her to learn that what’s most important at Christmas is being with family and the people you love and opening your heart to the Christmas spirit.” The queen looked deep into the prince’s eyes. “And Anna isn’t the only one I want to enjoy this Christmas. She learns by your example, so you need to show her how special Christmas can be.”
“But my schedule is filled back-to-back until the first of the year, you know that,” the prince said.
The queen nodded. “Yes, I do, and that’s why I’ve made some adjustments.”
Kaylie’s eyes widened as she watched the prince’s mouth drop open.
“Adjustments?” the prince asked, looking annoyed. “What do you mean by adjustments?”
The queen crossed her arms in front of her own chest, mimicking him, and took a step toward the prince as she locked eyes with him. “May I remind you that I still run this family? If adjustments need to be made, I will make them.”
The prince immediately dropped his arms and his attitude. “Of course. I understand.”
“Do you?” the queen asked. “Because sometimes I feel like you’ve taken on all the responsibility of this family and you use that as an excuse to stay so busy that you’re hardly a part of this family anymore.”
Kaylie winced, seeing the prince take the direct hit.
“I don’t ask you to do a lot for me,” the queen continued. “But this Christmas, I need you to support me on this.”
The prince looked confused. “On what?”
“On celebrating Christmas again,” the queen answered.
Kaylie shifted from one foot to another. She felt very uncomfortable being in the room when such a private conversation was happening.
“And I’ve decided,” the queen continued. “Things are going to be very different for us this Christmas.” The queen turned and smiled at Kaylie. “And Miss Karlyle—Kaylie—is going to help us.”
Now Kaylie felt even more awkward. She wished the ground would swallow her up so she didn’t have to deal with the disapproving look on the prince’s face. She looked around but felt trapped, and then decided maybe she could appeal to the prince and get through to the queen that way. She felt like the prince clearly didn’t want her there any more than she wanted to be there.
“As I told your mom…” she started.
“The queen,” the prince quickly corrected her.
“Yes, sorry, of course, as I told the queen, I’m a reporter. I don’t write books or children’s stories.”
“Children’s stories?” the prince asked, looking confused. “What does that have to do with anything?” He looked from his mother back to Kaylie.
Now it was Kaylie’s turn to stare at the queen. “You didn’t tell him? I thought you said your family wanted me to do this?”
The queen brushed off Kaylie’s concern with another charming smile and Kaylie couldn’t believe it when the queen motioned for her to tell him. She took a deep breath and ripped the proverbial Band-Aid off.
“Your mother wants me to write a fairy tale for your daughter for Christmas.”
“What?” the prince said, almost choking. He looked stunned and furious all at the same time.
The queen didn’t blink. “Kaylie will be using our Christmas traditions to create a customized fairy tale for Anna, so our traditions can be preserved for generations to come. Isn’t it a wonderful idea?”
The prince looked at the queen like she was insane. “I don’t understand what’s happening here.”
“That makes two of us,” Kaylie said and turned back to the queen. “And you do realize Christmas is only a few days away. No one can write a children’s book that fast.”
The queen waved off her concern. “I’m not asking for a full book, just a fairy tale using our family’s Christmas traditions. I’d like to give it to my granddaughter on Christmas to start a new family tradition. Then, after Christmas, we’ll hire an illustrator to create some beautiful pictures for your story and have it made into a little book.”
“I am so confused,” the prince said, raking his fingers through his thick, wavy hair.
“This might help,” the queen said as she walked over to an exquisite antique writing desk and picked up a fancy scroll with a red satin ribbon tied around it. She handed it to the prince.
“What’s this?” he asked, looking even more baffled.
“Open it up and see,” the queen urged. Her eyes danced with anticipation.
As the prince unrolled the scroll, it went on and on until he finally couldn’t hold it anymore. He dropped one end and it tumbled all the way to the floor.
“Whoa,” Kaylie said, seeing all the writing on the scroll. She leaned in to get a closer look at what was written.
“Tolvania Christmas Traditions.” the prince read out loud. “What is this?”
The queen laughed. “You just read what it is.”
Kaylie looked impressed. “Are these all really your Christmas traditions?”
“Only my favorites,” the queen said. “We have hundreds, but these are the ones I’d like you two to concentrate on.”
“Us two?” Kaylie asked, startled.
The prince gave Kaylie an apprehensive look. “What does she mean us?”
Kaylie held up both hands in self-defense. “Hey, don’t look at me. She’s your mom. I don’t know what she’s up to.”
The queen laughed. “Kaylie, you said you don’t think you’re qualified to do this…”
“That’s right,” Kaylie said, relieved that the queen was finally getting it.
“And Alexander,” the queen continued. “You don’t think you have the time to bring back a bunch of Christmas traditions.”
The prince also looked relieved. “That’s right, I really don’t.”
“Well, you’re both wrong,” the queen said. “And since I’m the queen and this is my castle, we’re going to do things my way.”
Kaylie’s smile disappeared when she realized the queen wasn’t kidding. The queen continued. “The fact of the matter is there’s a snowstorm outside, so for the time being, Kaylie, you must stay with us and during this time I see no reason why you, Alexander, can’t show her some of our Christmas traditions. This way, Kaylie, you can make an informed decision on whether you can write this fairy tale or not.”
“But I’ve already said,” Kaylie started but was interrupted by the prince.
“Mother,” the prince said. “I told you I don’t have time to, to…play holiday tour guide.” The prince glanced at Kaylie. “No offense.”
“Some taken,” Kaylie said.
The prince held up the scroll and its long list of Christmas activities. “I can give you a dozen reasons why I can’t do this.”
The tense moment was interrupted when Princess Anna entered the room. “Father, is anything wrong?” she asked. “I’m done with my studies and I would like to take Blixen for a walk.” Blixen was right next to the princess. When he heard the word walk, his ears perked up and his tail started wagging.
The queen happily motioned toward the princess. “Alexander, you have all your reasons why you think you can’t do this, well, there’s your one reason why you must. Your daughter. Do I need to give you more?”
Kaylie felt uncomfortable watching mother and son battle it out so, instead, she turned her attention to the princess.
“What topics are you studying right now?” she asked the princess.
“English literature and history,” the princess answered in a matter-of-fact voice. “I’ve also been learning about global warming.”
“Wow,” Kaylie said, surprised and impressed. “That’s a lot, and you’re how old?”
“Ten and two months and four days,” the princess answered. “Tomorrow I’ll be studying archaeology and Renaissance art.”
Kaylie laughed. “Okay, now you’re just messing with me.”
The princess didn’t laugh back. Confused, she looked at her father for help.
“Wait, seriously?” Kaylie asked.
The queen nodded. “You see what I mean. Time to add a little fun into the curriculum.”
“Fun?” The princess frowned. “What do you mean?”
The queen walked over to her granddaughter and took Blixen’s leash from her. “How about you and me and Blixen go for a walk in the gardens out back, where Miles always shovels a path for us. It’s snowing pretty hard out there. We’ll have to bundle up. How does that sound?”
“I would like that,” the princess answered politely. “Blixen loves the snow.”
Blixen barked his approval.
The queen laughed. “Then it’s unanimous. While we do our walk, Alexander, you can give Kaylie the tour.”
“Tour?” Kaylie asked, fearing whatever the queen was going to say next.
“Yes, around the castle, so you’ll know your way around. It’s quite large but don’t worry, Alexander will show you everything. Won’t you, Alexander?”
Alexander opened his mouth to say something but then saw Anna watching him. He promptly shut his mouth. “Of course.” When he tried to smile, Kaylie could tell it was forced and was only for the princess’s sake.
“Anything in particular you’d like me to show Miss Karlyle?” the prince asked the queen.
She motioned toward the scroll he was still holding. “Anything that’s on the list that’s one of our Christmas traditions. You might want to take it with you so you don’t miss anything.”
The prince held up the huge scroll. “You’ve got to be kidding me. There are dozens of things on this list.”
The queen laughed. “I am kidding.”
The prince looked relieved.
“I sent you an email with the list so you’ll have it on your phone. You don’t have to carry the scroll around,” the queen said with a bright smile. “I just thought the scroll was a fun idea.”
“So much fun,” the prince grumbled.
Kaylie hid a laugh, seeing that the princess was watching them closely.
“You two enjoy your tour. I look forward to hearing all about it,” the queen said as she guided the princess and Blixen out of the room.
As soon as the queen and the princess were gone, Kaylie turned to the prince. “Does your mother, the queen, always get her way?” she asked, exasperated.
“What do you think?” the prince answered as he quickly rolled up the scroll and handed it to Kaylie.
“I think I’m in trouble,” Kaylie said, shaking her head. “Big trouble, but wait, why are you giving me this?”
The prince was already heading for the door. “Because I have work to do.”
“But I thought we were supposed to do this together?” Kaylie called after him. “What about my tour?!”
“I’ll have Elsa do it,” the prince said as he sailed out the door and laughed.
The next laugh Kaylie heard was the queen’s as she walked into the room with the sheepish-looking prince.
“Apparently this one didn’t quite understand today’s game plan,” the queen said, giving the prince a look.
The prince looked away. “I thought you were going for a walk with Anna.”
“I am,” the queen said. “She’s changing into the proper clothes.”
“So, you were just waiting for me?” the prince asked in disbelief.
The queen laughed. “I know you well, my son. Now please, don’t embarrass either of us anymore. You’re being quite rude to our guest. Apologize, Alexander.”
The prince rolled his eyes. “Mother, I’m not twelve.”
“Then stop acting like it.” The queen gave the prince a little nudge.
“I’m sorry, Miss Karlyle,” the prince said. “Sorry, that you got tangled up in this family drama.”
“Don’t you mean Christmas celebration?” the queen offered.
“I give up,” the prince said with a sigh.
The queen patted his cheek. “Good choice.”
This time Kaylie did laugh and that had the prince turning his attention to her. “It is really a shame that you came all this way, from New York City, under false pretenses for a job that you’re clearly not qualified for.”
The prince’s blunt words startled her. Even though she’d been saying the exact same thing to the queen, that she wasn’t qualified to write a Christmas fairy tale, having the prince say it was a whole different story. He didn’t know her. He didn’t know anything about her.
She held up the scroll that the prince had tossed at her.
When the prince gave her a look that said don’t do it, she looked even more determined as she let the scroll unravel, dropping to the ground. She quickly scanned the top Christmas traditions on the list. One immediately jumped out to her.
“This tradition, about upside-down Christmas trees, what’s this one all about?” she asked.
The prince shrugged. “I have no idea. Never heard of it.”
They both looked at the queen who was smiling, remembering.
“Ah, the upside-down Christmas trees,” she said, her eyes lighting up with joy. “That is one of my favorite traditions that we haven’t done in years.”
The queen gave Kaylie a hopeful look. “Would you like to hear more about it?”
At that moment, Kaylie knew if she said yes, she’d be going down the Christmas Rabbit Hole with the queen.
But when she saw the prince behind the queen vehemently mouthing the words no, no, no and shaking his head, she made up her mind.
She looked back at the queen. “I would love to hear more.” Kaylie’s smile grew when she saw the prince throw up his hands in frustration and look at her like she was nuts.