Royally Lost (16 page)

26

The
next morning, Nikolai rose early, a pit of despair in his gut. His attempts last night to find a number for the hostel had failed. Every laptop, computer, and phone had either been removed, or access to it locked down.

A breakfast tray was delivered to his rooms. Apparently, he was under house arrest.

He didn’t know if he should direct his anger at his parents or Visar and his mastermind of security experts. They must be nervous he’d sneak off again or try to get Becca to spring him out of his palace prison. They weren’t far off the truth.

Today he would track down a computer, but first he needed to shave before his mother sent someone in with a straight-edge blade to do it for him. Nikolai looked in the mirror. Not much he could do about his black eye.

As he lathered shaving cream on his face, Alexi burst in.

“You’re back!” She barreled across the room and into his arms. “When did you get home?”

“Late last night. Careful or you’ll be covered in foam.” He hugged his sister and realized how much he’d missed her.

“I don’t care. You should have woken me up.” She sat at the dressing table beside him.

Nikolai looked closer. He couldn’t possibly be seeing a pink sparkling piercing. “Did you pierce your nose?”

“Do you like it?” She beamed with pride over her sparkly nose stud.

“How did—”

“Well, you weren’t the only one having fun. A few days ago, I snuck out of the opening of the new opera. You were supposed to be there, so I had to go. Thanks for that! Mother was distracted with Lady Peregrine. I said I was going to the ladies’ room, but instead I ran to the mall.”

“Alexi! I read online about you taking off. Are you crazy?”

“It was only for a couple of hours, but it was totally worth it. I figured Mother and Father should know I won’t be any easier.” She grinned.

“You shouldn’t have.” He laughed and ran the razor over his cheek, creating a clean path on his face.

“I had to! They are so out of touch. They need some tough love.”

He rinsed away the hair and watched as a bit of his freedom swirled down the drain. “My escape didn’t seem to change anything. Maybe you’ll have better luck. I’m surprised Father hasn’t demanded you take it out.”

Alexi giggled. “He did, but I refused.”

“And he and Mother let you get away with it?”

“When I said I wouldn’t take it out, they took away my phone, my computer, all my electronics. Life has been pretty quiet, but it’s so worth it. I haven’t had to go to any official events because Mother doesn’t want anyone to see my piercing.”

Nikolai couldn’t believe his sister. “I think you’re gutsier than I am.”

“And look at your face! You’ve got a black eye.”

He swiped off another section of beard.

“Did that happen when you got mugged?”

“It was my friend who was mugged, but yeah, that’s when it happened. How did you know about that?”

“The only way I could find out what you’ve been doing is to have my maid sneak the papers in. So was your trip as wild as the papers say?”

“Other than the last day, when Visar publicly dragged me away, it was great.” His thoughts turned to Becca, and he worried all over again.

“And who is the girl? She’s so pretty. Everyone wanted to know how you met. Are you going to see her again?”

“Her name is Becca, and she’s American. Fate kept putting us in each other’s path. I realized that she was someone I was supposed to know.” He smiled at the memory of all the times he ran into Becca.

“And you really like her?”

“Yeah. I do. But now she’s stuck in Prague by herself. Her bag was stolen, she has no money or passport, and she’s supposed to fly home out of Nuremberg tomorrow.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I need to get in touch with her. I had her number, but I lost it along with my phone. I need to make sure she’s okay.”

“Just call the place where you were staying. She’ll be there one more day, right?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to do, but every phone and computer around here has mysteriously disappeared.” He finished shaving.

“Your rooms, too?”

“Maybe I can get Dmitri to track down her number for me.”

Alexi shot him a troubled look.

“What?”

“Dmitri was fired when Father found out he gave you money. Apparently loyalty is only useful if you are the one in charge. Loyalty to you or me is considered treason,” she said.

“This place is screwed up. I don’t know if I can stand staying.”

He wiped his face with a towel. But then he realized he might not be staying, he might be transferred to the military sooner than later.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got more plans for Mother and Father. They think they can decide how I live my life, but they’re wrong,” Alexi said with a grin.

Becca patted her back pocket again to make sure her new passport was still safe. At this point, she couldn’t relax about losing it until she was on the plane back home. She’d collected the cash that Dylan wired. Funny how having a passport and cash could wipe away a lot of her worries. Now all she had to do was wait until tomorrow morning when she could board a train for Nuremberg. She had a full, empty day ahead of her.

She followed the familiar route she and Nikolai took yesterday and came upon the horrible spot where he’d been taken. Was he okay? Was he back home?

With a heavy heart she turned a corner and caught her breath.

Before her stood the bridge with all the love locks. Was it only yesterday that they were here together?

She approached the locks with trepidation, as she feared their lock wouldn’t be there. But, after a quick look, she found it right where they’d secured it, nestled snug against the others. She reached up and touched the lock, willing Nikolai to appear.

She turned to scan the tourists and passersby. No Nikolai. She sighed. He wasn’t there now and never would be again.

The next morning, Becca was up and out of the hostel early. She said a silent good-bye to Prague and the memories, both good and bad.

A quick cab ride to the train station felt like a luxury after navigating the streets by herself. Upon arrival, she hoisted both her and Nikolai’s backpacks over her shoulders. She refused to leave his things behind.

The station bustled with rush hour activity as people hurried to their trains. She gazed up at the lofty dome and stained-glass windows. Art Nouveau, Nikolai would have said about the beautiful building.

It took her a while to find the right ticket counter where her prepaid ticket waited, thanks to Dylan. Even though the clerk told her where to find her train, the woman spoke fast and with a heavy accent. Becca missed having Nikolai there to translate.

She approached people who looked American to ask for help, and once on board, she asked a young couple next to her if she was indeed on the right train.

The trip to Nuremberg consisted of staring out the window for two hours and missing Nikolai. As much as she wanted to go home, how was she supposed to go back to her old life now that she’d spent the most exciting week of her life with a royal prince who made her feel special and important? She really wanted to be Cinderella, where her prince would come find her, but she’d left no glass slipper, and this was reality.

For all she knew he would be entering the Mondovian military any day. She sighed and leaned her forehead against the window as the train rumbled on.

Upon arrival at the Nuremberg train station, she followed the mobs of passengers into the main terminal and easily found the ticket machine. She was relieved it had instructions in English, but she couldn’t get her euros to fit in the slot of the bill feeder and wondered if she’d picked a broken machine.

“Here, you need to hit enter to confirm your order before it will accept your money,” said an impatient man behind her.

She felt like an idiot. “Thank you. I figured it must be something easy.”

Becca picked a forward train car so she could be one of the first off the train and into the airport. She lowered the heavy packs to the floor and settled in for the twenty-minute ride.

Travel days sucked. Every few minutes the train made a stop. She carefully tracked the progress on the map posted above the door. Just a few more stops and she’d be there. She readied her bags. Her nerves started to fray. She was so over international travel.

Finally she arrived at the airport and had to walk forever before arriving at the ticketing area. Luckily, everyone else seemed to be heading in that direction, so there was no chance to mess this up.

The line for check-in was long. She looked at her phone again. She had little over an hour to get through it. Then a text came in from Dylan:
Where are you? I’m waiting at the gate.

She texted him back.
Stuck in line.

Each minute dragged like ten as she watched the line crawl at a snail’s pace. Finally she received her boarding pass.

Becca headed for security only to discover a sea of glum passengers waiting to make it through the line.

Dylan texted again to say they’d started boarding the plane and to hurry up.

Becca texted back:
I’m in the line from hell.
She started biting the inside of her lip.

After an eternity, Becca passed through. She grabbed her belongings and checked the direction signs for her gate. Gate 44, all the way at the end concourse.

Unbelievable!

She looked at her phone. Dylan had texted that they had called for final boarding.

Becca ran, dodging passengers, strollers, and small children. The two packs bounced heavily against her back. With each gate she passed, her fear grew to a full-out panic. What if they left without her? She couldn’t bear being stranded in Europe one more day.

She spied her gate. Out of breath, she pushed on, rounding the corner to find the waiting area empty, except for Dylan and two scowling airline employees.

“Becca!”

One look at her brother and she started to cry.

“Dylan, I was so afraid you were going to leave.”

“Of course I waited. Come on.” He guided her to the gangway and handed over his boarding pass. “I wasn’t about to leave you behind. These women aren’t too happy about it. For a minute there, I thought they were going to close the doors on us.”

“Thank you,” she said to the annoyed clerk as she wiped away her tears.

Once seated, the doors closed, and the flight attendants recited the safety talk.

“Don’t look so miserable. You made it,” Dylan said.

“I know. It’s just, now that we’re leaving, it guarantees even more that I’ll never see Nikolai again. I’ll probably never even talk to him either.”

She tried not to cry, but fat tears of defeat rolled down her face.

“It’s a vacation romance, Becca. Give yourself two days back home, and he’ll be no more than a great memory. You’ll meet lots of guys at Northwestern.”

“This is different. I loved Nikolai.”

Dylan raised his eyebrows.

“I know. I’m a fool. It doesn’t matter how we felt for each other. I could never end up with a guy like him.”

“Why not? You’re just as good as he is.”

But she knew better. “Our lives are totally different. He’s destined to become king and serve his country. I’m just an ordinary girl from the United States trying to figure out my life.”

“Becca, don’t think that way.”

“Whatever. It’s over. Just like a fairy tale, only without a happy ending. It was more of an Aesop’s fable where all the stories are evil and horrible.”

“He said he’d find you.”

“And how will he do that? All my info was on his phone, which I now have.” She leaned her head back against the seat.

“Stop acting so negative. He must have some secret service that he can put on it.”

Becca hoped Dylan was right.

27

Nikolai
followed Alexi’s bouncing blonde-and-pink head up another flight of steps.

“Don’t you think this is a little extreme?” he asked, and he wasn’t talking about her latest effort to annoy their parents by dyeing her hair pink.

“We have to be careful. For all we know there are bugs and hidden cameras in every room.”

“Beyond security cameras in the public places and main corridors, I don’t think we’re being spied on. Now hand over the phone.”

“Not till we get to the top. You don’t want to get cut off because of bad reception.”

He appreciated his sister’s determination to help him track down the Prague hostel, but she did err on the side of the dramatic. They were on the rarely entered fifth floor of the palace where they used to tell ghost stories as children. They’d passed room after room of stored antiquities.

Finally Alexi decided the last room before the tower stairs would be remote and secure enough.

They squeezed themselves past dusty crates and boxes to a sunny window for better reception. Nikolai looked twice at a storage crate labeled
Renoir
. He ran his finger over the letters painted on the crate. “What a shame, to keep all these priceless pieces of art locked up.”

“You know Father. Lock it up, keep it safe. It’s the same way he treats us. Here’s a spot.”

“Give me the phone already.”

“Here.” She handed over the phone. “You could be a little nicer about it. It wasn’t easy to convince the stable hand to let me borrow it. You would not believe how paranoid everyone around here is of getting sacked.”

“After Dmitri was fired for helping me, I don’t blame them.” He immediately searched for the hostel name and number. “Got it!” He dialed and held his breath, hoping.

Alexi climbed on top of a box marked
18th Century clock by Le Faucheur.
He could only imagine the value of her makeshift chair.

“Prague House. This is Kristoff,” a voice answered.

At last! His heart soared with hope. “Hello, Kristoff! I stayed at Prague House a few days ago, and I’m trying to track down a friend who stayed there with me.”

“I’ll do what I can. Is your friend still here?”

“She flies out of Nuremberg today, and I don’t know what time she had to leave. Her name is Becca. I’m sorry, but I don’t know her last name.”

Nikolai was still frustrated that he hadn’t been able to secure a phone earlier.

“I know who you mean. Becca left about an hour ago for the train station.”

“Dammit,” Nikolai muttered.

Alexi looked up from examining her blue nail polish with a sympathetic frown.

“Any chance you are the man pictured with her in the newspapers?”

“Yes, that’s me. My name is Nikolai.” Now maybe he’d be more eager to help. “So now that you know I was traveling with her, can you give me her information? I’d be forever grateful.”

The phone became quiet and then Kristoff spoke. “I’ve never talked to a prince before. I wish I could help, Your Majesty, but the registration book went missing the same day that you did.”

He couldn’t believe it. More interference by Visar and his team.

“What?” Alexi asked, braiding the long pink sections of her hair.

“The registration book is mysteriously gone,” Nikolai whispered.

“No way! Those dirty shits. Ask him to check the credit card receipts.”

Nikolai returned to his call. “It’s really important that I find her. You are my only hope. I know it’s probably against the rules, but you have no idea how desperate I am. How about credit card receipts? Her signature should be on the receipt.”

“I’m really not allowed to do that, but I’d be happy to make an exception for you. Just one minute.”

Nikolai tapped his fingers on a storage crate while he waited.

“What’s he doing?” Alexi asked.

“He’s checking.”

“Just think, in a minute you’ll have her full name. You know she’s from Chicago. It should be easy to find her now.”

“Prince Nikolai?” Kristoff’s voice came back over the phone.

“Yes, I’m here.”

“This is very strange, but all the credit card receipts for the past week are gone. Every single one. I checked in the safe, too, but they aren’t here.”

“Unbelievable.” He scrubbed his hand over his face.

“I can contact the night manager if you like. Perhaps he knows where they are.”

“No. Thank you, Kristoff, but I’m pretty sure those receipts won’t ever be seen again.”

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to help you more.”

“Thank you for trying.”

“She seemed very sad after you left. I hope you’re able to find her.”

“Thank you, Kristoff. I do, too.”

He ended the call and tossed the phone on a crate next to Alexi.

“So all the records are gone,” she said.

“Everything. If I didn’t know better, I’d bet they cleaned the place of all her DNA, too.”

“Who do you think ordered that? Father? Would he be so mean?”

“I don’t know that Father would have made a direct order to wipe away all traces of Becca, but I wouldn’t put it past Visar to do it on his own.”

“So that was a dead end, but there are other ways to find her. We just have to think of them,” Alexi said.

“I don’t know her airline or flight number, not that the airline would release a passenger list.”

“What other places did you go? Did she use her credit card anywhere else? What else did you do where there could be a record of her?”

“Becca always paid cash other than at the hostel. She went to the police station to report the robbery, and she went to the U.S. Embassy.”

“Perfect! Try those.”

“I really don’t think the police station is going to release the name of a girl who was mugged.”

“Well, you won’t know unless you try! Are you in love with her or not?”

Nikolai grinned. “I’m on it!”

He spent the next hour contacting the U.S. Embassy, the Prague police station, and even the riverboat company. No one would help him. They all cited privacy laws, security reasons, or company policy.

Dejected, he handed the phone back to Alexi.

“It’s no use. She’s lost to me.”