4. The Press Conference.

[Luke]
"Okay spill it, tell me about the girl?" Liam asked adamantly.
I stared at him in shock, when I had left the Parade, I had not even thought of the implications, all I wanted was just to have the woman in my arms with me for a while longer.
"I rescued her from my horse and I gave her a ride to her place." I lied because I didn't want to talk about her to anyone just yet.
Oh, how I wish I could meet her again.
"Oh okay, because I'll be scolded for leaving the Parade without taking permission you know." He shook his head.
"I'm sorry man," I said lowering my head, I realized that I had put my friend in a weird position.
"It's nothing man, but you have to see this Megan chick, she's already married to you in her mind bro." He said and I winced slightly.
"I don't know what to do about her bro, I have to attend the charity ball with her you know," I told him.
"Well, son, you're in for a hell of a ride, what a woman!" He mocked me laughing loudly.
"It's not funny, you know," I said and swatted his arm playfully.
The playful action was reciprocated and we ended up throwing fists and clothes at one another like high school children laughing at each other's behavior.
A voice from outside broke through our playful antics and we were forced to an abrupt stop.
"The King is here to see you, your highness." The servant announced.
If he was shocked to see Liam and me hurriedly exchanging garments after hearing his announcement, he did not show it.
He just made the announcement and went out to await the king's arrival.
"Son," the King called out as he stepped into my room.
"Your majesty," I greeted and bowed slightly.
Thankfully, Liam had been able to hide in the bathroom before he came in and I had gotten out of the palace guard uniform I had been wearing.
The fact that he had not been able to tell his own son apart from another when Sir Thomas had done it in such a short amount of time hurt me more than I would like to admit.
"You were amazing out there with the people today son, I can only hope that you bring the same energy to the charity event tomorrow." He said and he moved to sit on my bed.
He hadn't done that in years, I was not even sure he had done that ever before.
"I'll be ready for the charity event, I'll talk over the rest of the preparations with my assistant, you can rest assured I will be at the charity event." I had long learned to give him the kind of reply I knew he wanted.
"And Megan, the poor thing wanted to talk to you after the parade but you just walked off without giving her an audience." His eyes hardened and he shook his head disapprovingly at me.
"I was just tired, I wanted to rest, Megan will accompany me to the ball tomorrow, she has already been informed of that fact," I said and watched his eyes soften, I just wanted the conversation done and over with.
What happened to the always busy King, I had seen him more often than I had seen him before ever since I returned back to Denmark.
"That's fine, you know Camille would have loved to see the responsible young man you've grown up to be, I'm proud of you, son." I thought I saw sadness in his eyes but I might have imagined it because it disappeared as suddenly as it appeared.
"Don't talk about her," I muttered under my breath angrily.
He didn't deserve to talk about her, not after what he did.
"Did you say something?" He asked, getting up from my bed.
I shook my head in disapproval and he tapped me on the shoulder before leaving.
"The man is really trying, you know." I didn't even realize when Liam came out of the bathroom, I was already so deep in thought.
"I can't believe that I'll be saddled with Megan the whole night tomorrow," I complained ignoring his statement.
After what had happened today, I couldn't very well ask him to pretend to be me for the next event, I would have to handle the press conference and the charity event all by
"I'll leave you to it then, you should be able to handle her." He sounded a bit upset and I felt a bit bad for not coming clean to him, but I just didn't want to talk about it right now.
"Okay, later then."
***
The palace was filled with activities in preparation for the press conference, it wasn't like there was ever a time that the palace was ever quiet, but there was an extra buzz today, no doubt the King had ordered that everything is arranged to perfection.
I hadn't seen Liam since our last encounter, he must have been so busy with his job as the secretary to the chief of staff, I would see him at the press conference later though so I wasn't that worried.
"The press conference is scheduled to start in thirty minutes, sir." Leon, my secretary, knocked on the door and said through the door.
"I'll be right out," I replied and walked to the bathroom.
I was dressed in a custom-made tuxedo and my hair had been styled by an expert stylist, I was looking every bit like the prince of a country would look.
I stared at my reflection in the mirror and my mind wandered to Claire, I didn't know why but I hadn't been able to get her out of my mind.
At first, I decided to let it go, but now I had the urge to see her again and that was one of the reasons I had to see Liam. If anyone could help me with that, it would be him.
The thought of seeing her again would be the only thing keeping me sane during the press conference and the charity event this evening.
As expected, the King had a lot to say at the press conference and I could do nothing but agree with him and smile for the camera.
A show.
The King wanted a show and I knew to give him one.
"If you'll excuse me, I have to get to the bathroom," I whispered into my secretary's ear before bowing politely and leaving the table.
Flashes of the camera followed me as I exited the room and I thought I caught a glimpse of red hair but it must have just been my imagination.
Damn, I really couldn't wait to see her again.
I turned the water faucet off and wiped my hands with a paper towel after using the toilet, I gripped the sides of the sink and I took in deep breaths, I didn't want to go out there again, the charade was getting hard to keep up with.
"Sir, sir, you're needed out there." Three knocks to the door changed my mind and I rushed out immediately.
I was about to enter the meeting hall when I ran into a rather soft body, my arms immediately reached out to cradle the fall and I was able to stabilize the body in my arms.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking," I said as I looked down at the person in my arms.
"No, you don't have to be sorry, I wasn't looking." The person looked up at me and my breath caught as I looked into the most beautiful brown eyes I had ever seen.
"You!" She yelled and pushed away from me immediately.
"Claire." I smiled.
.
.
.
[Claire]
Oh no, I thought as I ran into a body, I had not been looking and I had been in a rush.
After leaving the palace, George, who happened to be my taxi driver, had gotten me a nice hotel to stay. It was a family-run establishment so everyone had been very nice to me and I liked it there.
Through their help I was able to get a temporary lodging that now served as my house. The apartment was nice, not too expensive or fancy and it was located close to the city.
The address on the letter had been a dead end because my mother did not live there anymore, but I was still determined to find her.
The cash I brought with me was depleting rapidly with the apartment and even a car that I had acquired so I decided to get a job.
Which better place than to get a job in the media since I had a lot of experience working for my father's company in America.
On my very first day, I was assigned on a field mission with my boss, there was a press conference going on at the palace and we had to cover it.
I wasn't exactly ecstatic about going to the palace because my last visit hadn't turned out so pleasant and I also didn't want to turn up in a newspaper by mistake, not that my father really read danish news, but I had to be careful.
It was relatively easy to do because I was allowed into the meeting hall on only two occasions.
On the second occasion when I was coming out, I ran into a hard body. If his arms hadn't caught me, I would have fallen on my ass.
"You!" I said in shock as I recognized the person holding me.
I pushed away from him seething.
He looked so handsome he took my breath away, I didn't remember him being this white though, he had been a bit tan when we met, but that didn't change how handsome he looked.
"Claire." His voice washed over me and I couldn't stop my body from reacting to him.