An Heir – Chapter 18

Bastien collected Viktoria personally at the airport, as he looked at the young Queen he frowned, she’d clearly been pining for her husband; she looked tired and skinny. He helped her with her bags to the car waiting outside. He let her create the conversation; it was minimal. Viktoria clearly had a lot on her mind. She sat in the back seat, head against the window, watching the beautiful Cordonian landscape roll by in the dim dusky light of the night. Bastien wondered if Viktoria knew where the King was, she didn’t look like she’d been off partying with friends during their separation: did she actually know that he’d been on a boys weekend in Vegas to take his mind off the split? Bastien decided to keep his mouth firmly sealed unless she brought up the location…

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Arriving back at the palace, Viktoria felt like she was doing ‘the walk of shame’, as she passed through the corridors towards her home, every member of staff hushed and bowed their heads or scurried away as they saw her approach. She grimaced at the thought that the last time they heard her voice, she was returning her wedding rings to their King and striding out of his life… Reaching their suite within the palace, she opened the doors, and looked at her beautiful home. Everything was neat and tidy, it looked exactly as she had left. Viktoria supposed that was the beauty of having maids, if Istvan had been left to clean and tidy for three weeks with no assistance, she dreaded to think what the place would look like… She rolled her eyes and chuckled at the thought. Dumping her bag, she headed towards the kitchen to make herself a coffee. She’d just finished pouring as the door knocked; it was Bastien, brining her little corgis back to her. With Istvan being away, the dogs stayed in the staff quarters of the palace where they were always getting plenty of attention and treats. Little Raul and Oscar nearly knocked Bastien off his feet to get to Viktoria. She got onto her knees ruffling their fur, snuggling them and getting lots of puppy kisses in return. Bastien smiled and bid her goodnight as he closed the door behind him. Viktoria made her way to the sofa, plopping herself down with her piping mug clasped in her hands, both little dogs stretched out contentedly at their mistress’s feet. She sighed listlessly as she sipped: she was half-way home. Now she just needed Istvan to be here, and she’d be right back where she belonged.

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When sleep had finally taken Viktoria, she’d gone out cold. All the fitful sleeps, broken with heartache and questions in the crisp, cool white sheets of the New York hotel room couldn’t come close to the feeling of crawling into her own sumptuous bed. Istvan wasn’t there, but Viktoria could feel him. She’d pulled on one of his t-shirts to sleep in so that she could be closer to him. His scent clung to the fabric; so masculine and strong and sensual. Imaging his strong arm slung around her body, she drifted off with relative ease, not resurfacing until the early afternoon of the next day. The consolation to sleeping so long, was that it would only be another few hours until Istvan got back. She ran her hand across her still sleep-filled eyes, trying and failing to remember where he said he was flying back from. She’d been so agitated when she finally heard his voice, she couldn’t remember half the conversation, just that she was to back to the palace and he’d be there as soon as he was able to get a flight back to Cordonia.

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Istvan groaned, as he opened his tired eyes. His neck was jammed in an unnatural position. Coach? Blood inhumane was a better description of it for anyone taller than his wife… He had hated every minute of this journey home. From the noisy getting-ever-drunker man a couple of rows away, to the unidentifiable plane food, to the teenage girl with music playing so loudly through her headphones, she may as well be using a speaker… Istvan never wanted to have to fly in this manner again: it was appalling. His whole body ached due to the ridiculously small amount of leg room in contrast to his long limbs – his knees were jammed up against the seat in front of him, his legs unable to close… He shook his head and tried to focus: this was a means to an end, that’s all it was. Another couple of hours and he would be home at the palace with Viktoria. This horrible excuse for air-travel would be far behind him… He hoped this whole sorry scenario of the past month would be far behind him soon afterwards…

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Viktoria was buried in her closet, trying to find something to wear. Something that would make her look nice when her husband laid eyes on her for the first time in almost a month, but at the same time, she didn’t want to look glamorous – as though she hadn’t been upset… ‘What outfit do you wear for that??’ she wondered. She finally settled on a pair of grey jeans and a fluffy pink sweater. She brushed her long dark hair, leaving it down loose, sprayed a little of her favourite perfume, the one she knew he liked, and put a little make up on. Not too much, just enough to make herself presentable and camouflage the dark circles under her eyes. She positioned herself in a chair in the weak sunlight on their balcony over looking the perfectly manicured gardens, breathing in the heady floral scents. The two little dogs scuttled around her feet chasing a chew toy. Viktoria realised she had a smile on her face for the first time in weeks. This was where she belonged. She opened her subscription to Trend Magazine she’d found on the counter inside, there was nothing particularly interesting in it, but at least it would pass the time until her husband returned she mused as she passed an hour flipping through it… Her phone vibrated in her pocket, Viktoria pulling it out to look at it. Istvan ’Just landed, heading to the car. See you soon x’ Her heart skipped a beat. He’d put a kiss at the end of the message. Viktoria knew it was a longshot, but she made a wish and prayed that they could just pick up where they left off and let the last month disappear like a bad dream.