She swayed a bit until her forehead came to rest on his chest. “Thank you. I wouldn’t have expected to be so tired today, but I am.” She wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned more heavily against him. “I am glad you came by though. I’m always happy to see you.”
He chuckled. “That’s good, because after the wedding, you’ll see me all the time.”
Elise moved back just enough that she could look up at him. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Before he realized what was happening, she’d raised up on her tiptoes and brushed a kiss against his cheek, just barely catching the corner of his mouth.
“Good night,” she whispered but didn’t move away.
“I don’t know when I’ll see you next.” Frederick dropped her hand and wrapped his arms around her. “It could be a while, though I hope I’ll see you before you leave town.”
“I’ll make sure we find a time.” Her arms looped around his waist. “I bet travel won’t be nearly as comfortable as on our way here.”
“Probably not, but once we’re publicly married, you likely won’t travel any other way very often.” He tightened his arms around her. “It’s a perk of being queen.”
“No long layovers or missed connections? I can live with that.”
After another moment, Elise stepped back, letting go of him as she did.
Frederick wanted to kiss her but instead decided just to give her a kiss on the cheek like he had several other times.
They said their goodbyes and he left her to get some rest. He was shown out a back way, down a freight elevator, to his waiting vehicle. As soon as he fastened his seat belt, the vehicle started for the palace.
Typically, he ended up working while riding in a vehicle, or at least looking through notes on one thing or another. Not this time. This time, he stared out the window, watching as his hometown passed by. How long had it been since he’d simply enjoyed the view?
Too long. He needed to remember that his job wasn’t just to make decisions, but to act in the best interests of his people. How could he know what that was if he didn’t spend time knowing what was going on in this city? Or the rest of the country? He needed to find a way to spend time out among the people. What would that entail?
When he made it to his office the next morning, that was the first thing he discussed with George.
“A tour of the country,” George mused. “Perhaps for your honeymoon? It would also assist Queen Elise in becoming familiar with Southern Santiero. It would be a good way for the people to get to know her as well.”
He made an excellent point. “See what we need to do in order to make that happen. Perhaps we can take the yacht for part of it, sailing between islands.” It had been a while since he’d been out on the yacht, and he missed the open ocean. “That would be my preference.”
“Does the queen get seasick?” George asked.
“Good question.” Frederick reached for his phone and sent his first text to Elise. He’d been meaning to send one the last few days, but he never thought about it at a good time when he had a minute to send one.
Her response came quickly.
“She doesn’t get seasick.” That was a relief. “Start planning the trip. I would like to spend a few days with my mother, if at all possible. It will be good to see her without an agenda pushing me on my way.” It would also be good for his mother and Elise to get to know each other. If anyone could related to Elise’s new role in life, it was his mum.
“Very good, sir. I’ll get started on it later this afternoon. We do need to have a meeting with the queen with regard to the wedding as soon as possible. If we can’t make it work with your schedule, the event planner can meet with both of you separately. I’ve not planned a wedding, much less one for the monarch, but I would imagine her dress needs to be chosen quickly to ensure plenty of time to complete it.”
“I hadn’t thought about that.” But it made sense. He’d wear one of his uniforms, most likely. That was easy enough. “Please have her coordinate with Elise as soon as she can. We will also need to meet about everything else that goes with a wedding, won’t we? Flowers, photographers, musicians, all of those things.” Frederick preferred to let someone else handle all of those things for most events, but this was his wedding. He needed to be more involved than he typically would be.
After discussing a few more items, George left the office, leaving Frederick alone to get work done. He had a Council meeting early the next week as well as meetings with members of Parliament over the next few days. The work of a monarch didn’t stop for much.
Not even planning a wedding.
Planninga wedding while starring in a major motion picture had to be one of the craziest things Elise had ever even considered, and would have been even if it wasn’t an adaptation of a beloved musical. At least she wouldn’t be doing most of it on her own. She’d be presented with options and asked to choose the ones she liked best, but the pressure would still be enough to stress her out.
No one knew she was planning a wedding either.
The meetings would be held in her hotel suite either before call time or after she returned in the evening. Her first real meeting would happen as soon as her driver returned her to the hotel. And this meeting would be one of the most important of the whole thing.
Her dress.
Elise knew she needed to choose a Southern Santierian designer, but she wasn’t familiar enough with her new country to have any idea who to choose.
