Kelly LeVonne

Saturday quickly arrives and I find myself once again dressing a little meticulously. I wear a knee length red Alexander McQueen dress with a mildly plunging V neckline. The dress is body hugging and has short sleeves. I wear a simple gold necklace which I had received from my grandmother and do minimal make up. I want to look a bit formal since I'm going to the palace.

Once ready, I wear simple black Louboutin heels and take a black Chanel purse from my closet before leaving.

At exactly 2pm as requested, I pick Arabelle from her downtown Victorian house styled mansion.

"Hello Arabelle." I greet her with cheek kisses she reciprocates before driving off to an expensive but popular toy shop where we spend about 20 minutes simply debating what to buy the boys before we leave for the palace.

"So do the boys know you are coming to visit or is it a surprise." I ask her once we begin the drive again.

"They know. I had to call Theodore to find out what time they'll be free because they changed their darn nannies again. Anyway, he said they should be done with practice by 3 pm."

I nodded at her before choosing to ask the one question that came to my head the second I heard that she spoke to Theodore. "Do they know I'm coming?"

More like, does he know I'm coming? I want to ask but I refrain from doing so to avoid suspicion.

"They should. I did tell Theodore." She replied.

I felt my stomach begin a strange flutter that it seemed to get at the mention of Theodore's name or an opportunity to see him.

Arabelle looked at me strangely for a moment before looking away with a small smile etched on her face.

I ignore it, choosing instead to focus on the road that will lead me closer hopefully to the man that had been torturously invading my thoughts for weeks now.

The drive to the palace takes an hour and fifteen minutes and soon the majestic black gates of the Spreeton Palace are before me.

I buzz the hidden intercom which Arabelle points out to me as I observe the heavily armed men guarding the gates and entrance of the palace like statues.

"State your name and the cause of your visit." I hear a man's deep voice most likely coming from the security tower close to the gates.

Arabelle speaks up. "Arabelle Brick. I'm here to see my nephews."

After a minute of confirmation, a buzz goes off and the large gate slowly opens to the majestic palace. The palace never ceases to amaze me with how large and beautiful it is.

We move down the long driveway and park close to the entrance doors where someone comes to collect my car to re-park it. As we walk in, I notice armed bodyguards in sharp black suits literally everywhere.

"Hmm, it seems Theodore is home." Arabelle says and I look at her questioningly. "The guards are three times more today than as usual."

We are let in and led by a guard down up the massive staircase complete with the grand chandelier in the foyer opposite it and down many carpeted hallways to what seems to be the children's playing room judging by the large space filled with toys and a massive television in the far left of the room along with game consoles, complete with a nanny quietly observing them.

They are playing a video game when we walk into the room but they immediately abandon it as soon as they notice Arabelle.

"Aunt Arabelle!" They shout as they storm her.

Arabelle kisses and hugs them with a laugh before speaking to them softly and making them laugh. I watch the whole interaction in silence and a smile on my face. They are so adorable.

Ronald is the first to acknowledge my presence by hugging my waist area before Richard comes to do the same.

"Hello, Kelly." He greets once they both pull away.

I kneel to their level to look them in the eye with a wide smile. "Hello. How have you both been?"

"We've been good." Richard replies laying a hand on his younger brother's head. Ronald scrunches up his face and moves away from his hold.

"I'm a big boy, don't do that."

"Oh, yes you are." I agree with a laugh at the annoyed look on his childish face.

"What do you have there?" Richard asks nodding his the bags of boxes on the floor beside me.

"Well, Aunt Arabelle and I brought you boys some toys." I said moving the bags to them.

Immediately both their eyes lit up before attacking each.

"Wow. Thank you, Kelly." Richard said. "Thank you, Aunt Arabelle." Ronald repeated the same after him.

"You're both welcome." I noticed that Arabelle had sat down on one of the couches, her attention now on her phone.

"We were playing a game of virtual football before you walked in, would you like to join us?" Ronald asks and I'm impressed by his immaculate use of words and his accent, although it isn't all that surprising as he is a Nobel child after all.

"Of course." I agree, standing back up to my full height. "Although, you boys are going to have to go easy on me, I don't know how to play." I say with a chuckle.

They both laugh before pulling on my hand.

Five minutes in and the game is on. It's just me and Richard playing this first round and he is a score higher than me. Ronald is cheering for me on this one though, and finally when the game comes to an end, it turns out that I won with one score ahead.

"Yes!" Ronald and I both scream, exchanging high fives.

Richard laughs and I'm glad to see that he isn't a sore loser.

After two more rounds with both of them, I'm tired and decide to take a break while they continue. I go take a seat beside Arabelle who is still on her phone.

"Is everything okay?" I ask her.

She looks up at me with a smile. "Everything is okay. I just wanted to give you the opportunity to get familiar with them and vice versa."

I nod understandingly. "They are quite energetic and really adorable." I say with a chuckle.

"The energy is from their father, no doubt." Arabelle says. "Always up and about." Although she says it in a joking way, I see the worry in her eyes.

"You worry about him." I notice.

"All the time." She agrees with a nod. "Being alone isn't easy so I can't imagine how he does it all the while ruling a nation. He's an incredible man." She says the admiration in her voice clear. "Stubborn too." She adds with a laugh that makes me chuckle. "You wonder about him." She says suddenly.

That statement makes me freeze. "Um, of course I do. He's the King." I quickly say.

Arabelle shakes her head. "Not as the King, my dear. As a man."

I feel nervous at her observation. Is my sudden interest in the king that obvious? It would seem strange that a man whom I have only met twice and who is more than half my age would constantly be on my mind but I can not help it.

Although, I do fear what some certain people will think about it which is why I haven't said anything about my interest in him to anyone. In this society, the age difference will receive a whole lot of gossip with him being 39, turning 40 this year and me having just turned 24 earlier this year.

Arabelle seems to see the slight fear in my eyes. "Your secret is safe with me, dear." She says putting her hand atop mine which I didn't notice had been wringing together.

"How do you know though?" I ask her perplexed.

"That look you both shared at the horse match, it was heated. And your excitement to see him, I noticed. Beside, an elder woman always knows, especially an observant one." She says flashing me a small grin and wink before looking back at her phone.

This woman never ceases to amaze me, I think with a smile on my face.

I watch the boys play for a while before asking the nanny to direct me to the restroom which she does.

On my way back, I notice a door slightly ajar and I look inside. It looks empty on one end so I push it further open and see it's a piano room.

Never one to resist playing, I find myself shutting the door closed and walking in.

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