Great breakfast and even better mimosas. Freya stood with a fresh one in her hand at the bow of the yacht, with Jean-Paul at her side.

“So, this is what Rose felt like in Titanic? It's very liberating,” she said with a giggle.

“Why don’t I hold your glass?” Jean-Paul suggested calmly.

“Loosen up a little, Jean Paul. Look what a little liquid courage has done for me. I’m feeling good right about now. Like I can climb up on this here rail,” she started climbing, “and conquer the world. Whoops!” She tried to gain her balance with one hand on the rail.

“Miss Sinclair allow me to give you a hand.”

“If you insist on ruining my moment one more time, I’ll be sad.”

Just then, Gerard approached. “Miss Sinclair is everything all right?”

Freya turned to Gerard who acted as the fatherly figure of the security detail. Of course, he was the head of the Prince’s detail, but still, she liked him for always keeping them safe. In fact, she loved every one of them.

“Just enjoying this magnificent experience. You should try this sometime.”

She noticed Jean Paul lean cautiously in her direction.

Sigh, she thought, I suppose they want me down from here.

Freya went to get down, but her foot slipped causing her to fall forward. She released the glass, and it went straight into the water at the front of the vessel.

“Oh my gosh!” she shrieked as Jean-Paul and Gerard immediately secured her to safety.

Whatever level of alcohol-induced stupor had taken over her was officially gone as she clung tightly to Gerard, bawling.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to be so reckless. It’s just…” she sobbed, and Jean-Paul handed her a handkerchief, “my sister had her baby, and no one in my family could be bothered to tell me. Worse. I had Justine send the baby a gift, and she refused it upon discovering it had come from me.”

Her crying had become uncontrollable, but she was deeply hurt. This was her family. How else was she supposed to handle it all?

Freya woke to find Magnus sitting next to her in the bed. She jumped to her feet and rushed to the en-suite; her breath was atrocious, and she had no desire to talk to him in that state. She took a good look at her reflection in the mirror. There was a little puffiness around the eyes, probably from all the crying, but otherwise, not bad for having just woken up.

Oh man, how long was I asleep? she wondered as she looked out the small window trying to gauge what time of the day it was.

She went back out, and Magnus was now on his feet pacing. He looked concerned. Surely it couldn’t have been about her. Then she remembered her little shenanigans at the front of the yacht and almost falling to her death.

Her hand immediately went to her face in embarrassment.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t set out to make a fool of myself, but I did.”

He approached her. No, don’t do that. Don’t act like you care, not after being such an embarrassment, she thought to herself.

“Freya, you don’t need to apologize. It is I who is sorry. Jean Paul and Gerard explained everything to me. I wish I could fix the issues with your family. But I can’t. And I wish you wouldn’t hurt the way you do. But I understand. That’s your kin.”

He gently caressed her cheek, staring into her deep dark eyes. She could see the wonder there, hoping for more, but she wasn’t ready.

“I’ll be okay. I always am.” She weakly smiled. “Those mimosas though, they were so good, and well, I couldn’t stop.” It was a diversion. She knew he could see right through it, but she was learning that Magnus wasn’t going to push her into uncomfortable territory if she wasn’t ready. And for that she was thankful.

He smiled. “Well, that’s because it is made with some of the best champagne from the Roussos family label.” He paused as if to remember something. “Angela Roussos, the heiress to the label, is actually a good friend. She’s a bit of a spinster, but she’s quick as a whip, extremely intelligent, and very blunt. Anyhow, the first time I met her, she was clear about having an aversion to royals, especially young royals. She was a bit unhappy at the time because her father was pressuring her to take her role in the business more seriously. Not that she wasn’t involved, but she also didn’t know if she was ready to manage their portfolio of business.

“Needless to say, we hit it off. In fact, she introduced me to two of my good friends. And now I remember, they are both from Seattle. How is that for a coincidence? Grant Paterson and Reginal Chevalier. I believe they each keep homes there, but since they got married, they’ve spent more time in Europe. Grant has a beautiful spread in Baden-Baden, Germany, while Reginal himself has a bit of property throughout, primarily though in France as that is where the Chevalier’s are from. His and Cali’s, his wife, story is a bit magical. They’ll all be at the ball. Eager to meet you, of course. Grant’s tried to play cupid for me for the better part of the last year. He’s not very good at it. “

Freya recognized Grant Patterson’s name immediately. He was a local tech entrepreneur with a self-made rag to riches story. Yeah, he was a bit of a local legend.

“Very impressive,” she said, with a bit of whistle.

“Freya, these are my friends. They are not what you expect of rich people. In fact, Cali grew up in foster homes. I don’t know all her back-story, but what little I do know, it was very tormented. She’s as sweet as they come, but don’t be fooled; she’s also as tough as they come. Patricia and Cali's friendship goes back to their childhood. Patricia is a bit more of a free spirit, but she too is extremely kind. Both are from Seattle, so you all should hit it right off.”

"I love your optimism," Freya said. "Honestly, I'm really nervous about the whole thing. I don't even know what my dress looks like as Paulo is keeping it some big secret. Kind of worried," she laughed, "but he hasn't steered me wrong just yet." She was thankful he’d changed the subject away from her mishap.

"He's quite the character. You know, he came highly recommended by Cali. My mother adores her, and at some point, Paulo was recommended and became the backup for my mother."

"So, the Queen is who assigned Paulo to me?"

He smiled that smile that made her toes curl. "Yes. She wanted you to have the best."

"That was very kind of her. I'll make sure to thank her properly."

"Not to change the subject, but I really want to make sure everything is okay?" He stared into her eyes with such compassion, sending a feeling through her she wasn't familiar with. But it felt good.

"Not to sound like a broken record, but I am going to be okay. I'm not saying it doesn't hurt, because it hurts like nothing I've experienced before. I don't like talking about my family issues mostly because it seems so unfair. As if I'm gossiping about them and they are not here to defend themselves. And that's not me."

"But you can vent your grievances. Your perception is your reality. If they don't agree with it, perhaps they should take a closer look at their own actions?"

She shifted into an upright position, now sitting directly in front of him.

"Very true. And that is why I sought the help of a therapist for a while. But I stopped going because my therapist felt I needed to cut my family out altogether. Obviously, I wasn't ready for that, so I stopped going."

"Freya, may I ask you? Where do you believe these issues are really stemming from? Honestly?" He reached out to hold her hand as if to give her the support she needed to open.

"Not sure if I mentioned before, but I think it comes from my mother's control issues, and as far as my siblings go? I really don't know. I try hard to cover for them. I used to get a lot of comments and questions regarding whether they were jealous of the amount of time our mom had to spend with me as a dance mom. I would hate for it to be that, but now I'm just not sure anymore. Except for Tristan, I honestly feel like Will and Claire do not like me."

Freya took a deep breath, calmed herself down for a few moments, and continued, "I love my family. My dad doesn't treat me badly, but he also rarely stands up to my mom. And when he does, it’s a bit of a cowardly approach. Tristan has been trying as of late. But even he leaves out information that I think is done purposely, like Claire having the baby. Why wouldn't Tristan tell me? Why couldn't he trust me enough to handle my sister’s unwillingness for me to be involved?

"It's worse when you just cut me out completely. Having a new member in the family is a big deal. The least he could've done was share the information with me. Don't you think?"

She was looking to Magnus for some type of validation she wasn't wrong.

Magnus shook his head pensively. She wondered what was going through his thoughts.

"I'm sorry for being an emotional mess."

"Freya, there is nothing to be sorry about. I'm just quietly agreeing with you, wondering too, what on earth, or more like why on earth are they treating you like this?"

"Well, in their defense, you haven't known me for too long, so maybe I am the one in the wrong here." She laughed. "You know, maybe their actions are justified, but I'm just too blind to see it? I've always been a bit more closed off. I spent so much time focusing on my ballet career that I rarely had time for anything else. But it's also how my mother wanted it." She looked away at the window, taking in the view. "It truly is beautiful out here."

He smiled while reaching for her, pulling her in closer to him. "I hope we can return again soon."

The thought made her happy. She hoped that it would be so.

"I've been giving a lot of thought to my family situation. I've decided to give it one last attempt; an intervention of sorts. Allow their grievances toward me to come out so I can try to understand and see if we can't move on from all of this in a positive way."

"Will you have a mediator present?"

"No. Why?"

"Sometimes it helps. Especially when feelings are involved."

She considered what he was saying, but if she brought in an outside party, her family surely wouldn't be honest.

"I'll consider it. Thanks for the suggestion."

"You're welcome," he said as he kissed her on the neck, slowly making his way to her lips.

She smiled. "A nice way to distract me, Your Royal Highness."

He didn't reply. Instead, he took her into his arms and continued to passionately kiss her as if the world were ending. Freya responded as an equal. He wasn't a Crown Prince when he was with her, he was simply Magnus, the man she was falling in love with.