Chapter 9
After arriving back at the hotel from the long consul meeting, at six in the evening, Carolyn and Selene sat down to have a small meal and discuss the next stage of their plans.
But as they were beginning to discuss it, Carolyn's phone rang with a video call from her mother.
"Evening, Mom," greeted Carolyn on the phone. Then she saw her mother was dressed up rather elegantly for some event she must be attending later.
"Hello dear. Hello Selene," she guessed, smiling. "Selene, I trust you and Philip are enjoying yourselves. I saw a lovely picture in the paper of you two sitting at a restaurant with a milkshake and a meal. Must say I haven't seen you this happy in a long time."
Embarrassed, Selene came into the camera view, "Good afternoon, Your Royal Highness. Please tell me you are joking," She pleaded. Only to have both Carolyn and her mother laugh.
"Selene honey, I have eyes everywhere. I know all. It is my job and as future Queen, I have to be on the go."
"On the ball, mother," corrected Carolyn with a smirk.
"Right. Still, I am very happy. Carolyn darling, I can't wait to meet the new little princess. And the love of your life. I trust everything is in order on your side and there is nothing else we need to attend to before departure. I would hate for you to be delayed."
Carolyn looked at Selene for answers. "Your Highness, I can concur we are ready to leave, and all is done and ready." She then looked at Carolyn with a revenge glare.
"Why are you looking at me like that? I didn't send any pictures. Honest. You saw me. Mother, please tell her!"
Giggling, her mother replied: "Selene, I can concur it was not Carolyn, nor the media guys. But a private source I had tasked to keep us posted on you all, especially our new family members. She is so cute in that outfit you brought her."
Smiling, Carolyn knew then who it was, and after a moment, she had assumed Selene did so too. With a quick glance,Selene silently sent an apology to Carolyn, telepathically through her eyes, and slipped away to make a call.
"Where are you off to dress up so nice Mother" asked Carolyn to change the subject.
"Oh, just off to some charity event which you were meant to attend. Is there something you need to tell me?" mother asked, knowing her daughter.
In shock, she wondered what her mother was implying.
"Mother I am not sure what you are implying but I have not withheld anything from you. Max is to be discharged tomorrow morning in the care of our medical team. Ashley and Max's mother will arrive later about 2pm here at the suite and we will depart for the airport around 5pm and should be in the air around 7pm. Unless it is the addition of Max's mother joining us for a little while, I agree then I may have forgotten to mention this, but I am sure you received an update through Selene and Elene of the extra guest."
Smiling, her mother rolled her eyes and said. "And the engagement? Are we to announce it now or later?"
Shocked, Carolyn asked: "How on earth did you know that! Max and I agreed to it in private! I doubt even Selene knows we have agreed to become engaged!"
"Oh, well then the hospital staff shouldn't have known too, for Dr Gerber reported this to Dr van José and he reported his congratulations to us. We had to beg him to keep this quiet as it was not official yet," her mother reported, smiling from ear to ear.
"And no one came to speak to me, nor ask my permission too," grunted her father in the background.
"Oh, hush," commanded her mother. She smiled at Carolyn. "Dear, I am so happy for the both of you, but do be careful. Unless you want it publicly known before Max arrives here and meets us, I would suggest you make sure everyone holds their tongue." Warned her mother.
"I doubt we can hold Ashley's. She already is ecstatic on the idea I am to be her new mom. And she believes she will be a princess too," Carolyn replied, smiling at the mental image.
She quickly turned to Selene and Selene nodded and left the room.
Returning to the phone, "I trust the South Suite of Sorgenfri is ready for us. Max will be bed bound for another 3-4 weeks before being allowed to sit properly or start to walk again. Oh, and we will need to arrange for a physiotherapist and masseur to come in daily to work on Max. I will pay for all this as I don't want Parliament and the people to think we are making them pay for all this. I will get Selene to add this to the list."
"Carolyn, let's get you guys back here first. Yes, I heard that Palace has the suite ready for you and we will be temporarily moving there too, to be also on hand. We will use the North Wing to give you privacy. We will need to interview and perform necessary background checks before we can just employ the services of therapists. But I am sure after a long flight and then journey to the palace, Max will be exhausted and need several hours to rest and regain his strength. And you, as a new mother, will have the task of keeping him on the road of healing while dealing with the little princess. You can't push her off onto the staff, well not yet."
"I would never push her away, nor dump her on the staff. While I was a bit tired from today's venture with her, today, I love her to bits and know we have to get to know each other more."
Thinking for a moment, she resumed. "Mother, Father with your permission, and Grandmother's too, would you announce my engagement. Say just after we depart South Africa please. Something in the line of… HRH Princess Carolyn is returning to Denmark after an extended stay in South Africa and is accompanied by her future husband, widower Max Peters and his daughter. They are due to land in Denmark tomorrow morning. Mr Peters is currently medically immobile and is healing from his injuries he sustained after saving the Princesses a couple of weeks ago and will be transported to Sorgenfri Palace with the Princesses upon arrival. The Crown Prince and Princess blah blah blah.." she smiled. "Can you issue something in that line please?"
"My Dear, tradition requires your fiancée to speak and seek my permission of your hand and the permission of the Monarchy too. But, as we all are already in agreement, I had already drafted an announcement and was just waiting for you to ask. I would love to release it now but agree we should wait till you are in the air. I will also ensure little Ashley is kept out of the news as much as possible. I suggest the jet lands at Grønholt Flyveplads and then everyone, except you & Selene, will travel to the Palace from there. Immediately, you will depart and fly to Copenhagen, where you will depart before the media and country, and drive to Amalienborg. You will meet with us all, formally. Later, you, with your mother and me, will travel to Sorgenfri. This will also deter everyone and protect Max and Ashley from the media," declared her father from next to her mother, and her mother smiling nodded in agreement.
"As you wish father. Thank you so much" she thanked her parents and pleaded she needed to go, so they said their goodbyes and hung up.
"Selene, please come back in here," called Carolyn.
Selene re-entered the kitchen and quickly confirmed she had spoken to the staff. Carolyn updates her on the phone conversation and Selene nods, then disappears to make notes and send instructions to the various relevant staff tasked with the homecoming.
Carolyn, after visiting the bathroom, heads to the kitchen to make another cup of coffee and grabs her meal. She went to the lounge and sat to eat the last of her lunch meal.
Pondering while chewing, her cell phone 'binged' and she saw it was Clem letting her know: 'the plane has departed after being delayed due a technical issue.'.
Carolyn was surprised at the 3-hour delay and sent a message back: 'fly safely, see you soon'.
She then turned on the TV and changed to the international CNN news channel. After watch a bit about USA again in the news, CNN news anchor announced:
'According to a source, Danish Princess Carolyn is due to come back home, after an extended leave in South Africa. Rumours were, she is engaged and bringing her fiancé home with her. The Danish Royal Jet just departed a few minutes ago, according to airport sources. And the Royal Jet was destined to Port Elizabeth in South Africa. While the palace is not answering us at the present moment, we will continue to monitor this glorious news. Princess Carolyn, aged 29, and currently is second in line to the throne, is long overdue to be married. The country is worried that when her father, Prince Johann takes the throne, their ancient law would force him to marry her immediately. Luckily, Princess Clementine is still only 16 and would have 9 years before she reached the mandated 25th year mark. We will keep you posted on this. In other news….'
"Selene!" Carolyn quickly turned off the TV, shouting to Selene to come immediately.
Upset, Carolyn informed her of the news and begged her to do something. In a state, Selene calmed her down and called Philip, ordering him to upgrade security all-round, including bringing Ashley immediately to the hotel, and not tomorrow. This was now the safest place for her.
She then used Carolyn's phone and placed a call to Max. While Carolyn, still upset, listened in on the call, Selene updated Max on the latest events. He readily agreed to the changes. Then she handed the phone to Carolyn and went to her 'desk', quietly calling the palace, and started rearranging necessary changes and protection while discussing a new plan of action.
Carolyn sobbed on the phone for all her nicely planned plans were going to runes. Max on the other hand suspected this would happen, but was surprised it only came out now. He calmly spoke to her and calmed her down.
"Love, it is meant to be. Security has already been upgraded here and the night Sister said if anyone comes onto her floor to try get to me, she will amputate some bodily parts"
Carolyn chuckled and smiled at this.
"So, tonight I am going to rest early, tomorrow I will see you. But when Ashley arrives you will need to have her gran, Lauren, with you for the night. video call me so I can chat to her too, please."
Carolyn agreed to this. She reported to Selene Max's requests and Selene nodded, confirming Mrs Williams would be sleeping over with them this evening.
Wiping her eyes, she drew on his strength and decided enough was enough.
"Max, I am going to make a statement. I will go live on my Instagram page, where no one can then edit it. I am going to declare my love for you, and tell them the truth, the whole truth. Will you be okay with this?"
Max, shocked for a bit, smiled and nodded. "You go girl, show the world. Show them God's blessings. I will watch it from my side. Just share the link to me please. And remember, I love you."
Smiling, she blew a kiss and hung up.
She quickly went to her room. After sharing her instagram page to Max, she washed her face, reapplied makeup and sorted her hair out, changed into something more appropriate. Back to the lounge, and she chose a single seater with a view behind it. Checking on the phone how it looked, she chose to pull the curtains a bit and rechecked. Once happy, she quickly sent a message to her parents, to check out her Instagram page, then logged into it and started a live stream.
"My friends, I am sitting here still in South Africa, I come to you to live, to bring to you the truth. After what was broadcasted on CNN and probably on other news channels around the world, I felt the truth had to come from me. A little over two weeks ago, my sister and I were attending an event here in Port Elizabeth, in South Africa. We naughty chose to slip out without our protection, to venture down to the beach and mingle with the people here, without our fame, titles nor army of guards. Just to be ourselves for a bit. But regrettably we were not aware of a group of stalkers, who were waiting for the right moment, to try to kidnap us. We later discovered they were from Denmark and planned to overthrow the Danish Royals and government. While running away from them, we came across a man sitting on the beach, who quickly saw our plight. In brief, he risked his life saving us. The conflict between the bad guys, three of them, and our bodyguards, left this saviour with injuries. Some of them sustained from one of our guards, who wrongfully assumed our saviour was also one of the bad guys. Later, my sister, Princess Clementine departed back home under instructions of our parents. But I chose to stay on, to monitor the status of our rescuer's health. After a week of unconsciousness, he woke up. And, well let's just say, we fell in love at first sight. I knew then God had planned for all this. He had planned for us to meet, for me to fall in love with him and him with me. We became privately engaged yesterday, in secret, and were waiting to come back to Denmark, so he could traditionally seek permission and approval of the Queen and my father. But after a discussion earlier with my father, I have authorised my father to officially announce our engagement, which was going to be released after we depart South Africa tomorrow. But somehow this news got out. While I am upset that people, who work for us, and who we entrust these details and our lives, chose to release this without permission. I know the palace will be investigating this. I know you, the public, wants to know the truth. While I thank CNN for their kind words in the new clip. I am well aware of the people of Denmark that are concerned about me and the long overdue marriage matter. Please know this. God has finally blessed my prayers and I have found my soulmate. So, in a few days I will be arriving back in Denmark with my fiancée and we will later make a formal announcement, after meeting with my grandmother, the Queen, and my father, Prince Johann. I ask for your patience and support, and thank you for your prayers. May God bless you all."
And she stopped the live recording.
Selene was weeping away at that broadcast and smiled with a nod as she saw her 'little' Princess was finally growing up. Then her mobile 'binged' with a text, instructing her to check CNN and Sky News. She quickly turned on the TV again, while Carolyn called Max to check on him.
Seeing Carolyn on TV, with the sound muted, Max praised her on the announcement and claimed now he had to get her a ring asap. Carolyn laughed.
While on the phone with him, she heard a 'beep, beep' of her phone and glanced at it, finding her mother was trying to call her. Without asking, Carolyn told Max to wait a second, and made into a three-way call, allowing Max to meet her mother, possibly her father earlier.
"Hello Mother, just to let you know, Max is also conferenced on the call. Shall we change to Video mode?"
"Hello dear, yes let's do so," and Carolyn enabled the video conference call feature which allowed Max to see her and her mother.
"Hello Max, it is nice to finally meet you. I wish I was there in person, but like my daughter, I can't wait so long. How are you?"
"Your-your Highness! It is nice to meet you too. And I can see where Carolyn's beauty comes from. While I am still stuck in this hospital bed, I am doing well. I hope you are not upset by your daughter's declaration on Instagram."
"No, actually we all are very happy with it. I would have liked to discuss it first, but agreed it was meant to be. Carolyn, your father is in a meeting with his staff to sort out the palace side and your grandmother says you owe her big time." A giggle came into the room where Carolyn's mother was, and something in Danish was said.
Carolyn laughed and translated that her grandmother was going to 'punish her for not seeking permission from her Queen first.'
Max smiled as he was unsure on how to act on this.
"Dears, now that the world knows. You do realise you have opened up your lives to all to see. We were hoping to ease Max into the royal life and try to keep Ashley out of it for the time being."
"I know, mother. But I was sick of the interference and didn't want lies to be spread. I had to do something."
"I agree, so now we need to move faster than before. So, this is what is going to happen. You will depart earlier than planned, as soon as possible. Max, I would suggest the doctor gives you and your daughter some sleeping meds for the plane trip, as you will need all the strength when you get here. You both will now land at Copenhagen Airport, and will be escorted to Amalienborg, where we will all meet in person. There, your Grandmother will bestow her blessing and award Max for services to the Crown. This will be privately recorded and released to the public with the official announcements. After a while Max, Ashley and Mrs Peters will then be transported, under guard, to Sorgenfri with your staff, where you will be 'locked down' for a few days from the public. I am trying to keep Ashley out of all this for the time being, but if you choose to include her it will be fine. But for at least a few months, there will be no public display or appearances of her. I don't want to harm or scare her."
"Yes mother" replied Carolyn while Max kept quiet, allowing her to lead as this was more her forte.
"Max, do you have any questions or anything you wish to say or add?" asked Princess Amelia.
"Ma'am, I am happy with whatever Carolyn is happy with, and agree with everything. Well, except one thing. The 'award to services of the crown'. Please Ma'am. I didn't do this for an award, and if an award was chosen, Carolyn is my choice. May we leave this?" he asked carefully.
"Ingen! No! It is my choice and shall be done," shouted the Queen.
Princess Amelia stood up and went to sit next to her mother-in-law, to include her in the video feed.
"I am the Queen, and if you want my permission to marry her, you will accept his award. You will be knighted for your bravery and beyond any call of duty other than God's. For saving my granddaughters, for which I am eternally grateful. You will accept the 'Order of the Elephant', and be styled and invested as Lord Max Peters, protector of the Danish Royals. What is your decision, young man?" glared, the Queen at Max, while Carolyn and Princess Amelia were secretly smirking.
"Y-Your Majesty, respectfully. While I am not Danish by birth or citizenship, I do not have to succumb to your ruling," he said and heard a loud gasp from Carolyn and Selene. "But! As I declare my love for your granddaughter and seek her hand in marriage, I am willing to waive my citizenship to South Africa, and graciously accept your gift. I can only hope I will not disappoint you or your family, as I learn Danish culture and royal rules."
"Wonderfully said. Well done my boy. I can't wait to see you in person, now I am off to bed. Godnat!" and she departed.
"You were playing with fire there, Max," warned Princess Amelia, "but nicely said. I would suggest not doing that again."
Carolyn started to laugh. "Oh that was classic. No one has ever done that to Grandmother. Never!" and her mother laughs a little.
"Well kids, I suppose I must hang up and also prepare for bed. Until tomorrow, bye"
"Bye" said Carolyn and Max together
After the call disconnected, Max and Carolyn smiled at each other. "Oh Max, what have you done to yourself? You barely met my grandmother and already tried to stick her up the wrong way. No one would have dared to say that to the Monarchy. Ever!"
Max just smiled, then sheepishly said. "Order of the … what? Elephant! Is that something that is given as a joke?"
Offended for a bit, but then realised he didn't know their culture, she explained. She explained that the 'Order of the Elephant' was the highest bestowed award to a non-royal for services to the crown. "So, soon-to-be Lord Max, you better be extra grateful when she hangs the elephant around your neck!" she smiled.