The worst part of being a king was not being able to do whatever I wanted.

That was the paradox of power. When you were the most important person in the country, people did everything they could to try to control you. I had guards around me at all times, men utterly loyal to the crown. I knew their type. Hell, I was their type. I had served in the Starklandian military like every man of royal blood does, and I’d fought in the civil war before my brother was killed. But they were around to both keep me safe and to keep tabs on me for the ministers and their cabal.

The ministers, for their part, wanted to control what I thought and did. They were constantly feeding me information and opinions, hoping I’d make some decree or other about some obscure statute that would no doubt benefit their various interests nicely. I was constantly bombarded with appointments and responsibilities, and that meant I rarely had time to do anything I really wanted to do.

But I was still Trip Brunhild. I’d slipped many an escort in my time, and I’d no doubt slip many, many more in my years as king.

As soon as we got back into the castle, I headed toward my chambers in the west wing. But instead of cutting down my hallway, I slipped behind a statue and ran down a false stairway. I could hear my guards trying to keep up, but the twisting passageways could get confusing in the inner keep.

I’d spent my childhood wandering the hallways of the castle. It was built like a maze on purpose to confuse assassins and attackers. The guards spent time in the castle, but they didn’t live there. I was able to lose them pretty quickly.

I smiled to myself and found myself in an empty apartment. I quickly removed my jacket and made myself a little more comfortable. I hated wearing the damn suit, but it was a part of the job. I had to look like a king as much as act like a king.

I left the apartment and headed toward the east wing, where our guests were staying. I found a control panel and typed a few commands.

“Yes, sir?” Maximillian answered.

“Hi, Max. Where’s the girl staying?”

“Sir, aren’t you supposed to be in a cabinet meeting?”

“Probably,” I said, “but your king is ordering you to tell me where the girl is, Max.”

He sighed. Maximillian had been a servant of my family for a very, very long time. He was really my closest confidant and advisor, and more like a father to me than my own father was.

“I’m getting tired of you playing that card, Trip,” he said.

“I know you are, Max, but I love it.”

“She’s in room twelve thirty, and her parents are right next door.”

“Damn. Right next door? You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“Of course I did,” Max said. “You think I’d leave a lady unguarded around you?”

“That’s my boy,” I said. “Make it a challenge. Bye, Max.”

“Goodbye, Your Highness.”

I switched the communications off and headed down the hall, whistling and smiling to myself. The servants I encountered all looked absolutely shocked to see their king walking the halls without an escort, his sleeves rolled up, his jacket removed. They shouldn’t have been surprised, since they all knew me fairly well.

I was a notorious playboy after all. Starkland loved its bad boy prince. And truthfully, I had a hell of a time playing into that fucking role.

Right now, though, I wasn’t the bad boy or the king. I was just Trip, and I wanted to see that girl again.

I finally found her apartment and knocked. After a second, she pulled the door open.

And stared at me, shocked. She was probably surprised to see the king actually coming to her door alone like this.

I grinned at her, loving the look on her face.

“Invite me in,” I commanded after a second.

That snapped her out of it. “Aren’t you supposed to ask?”

“I’m the king,” I said. “I get to make commands.”

She shook her head. “You’re not my king.”

“I’m everyone’s king.”

“What do you want?” she asked.

“I just came to see how you were liking the castle so far.”

“It’s nice, thank you.”

I laughed, my smirk getting bigger. “You know, I had to shake a security detail to come say hello without five men hovering around me. The least you can do is invite me in.”

“I guess that’s as close to asking as I’ll get out of you,” she said, sighing. “Come on in.”

She stepped aside and I walked into the room. I’d never been in it before, which wasn’t unusual. The castle had hundreds of rooms, and I hadn’t had time to explore them all.

“Nice,” I said. “They gave you a good one.”

“Yeah.. It’s really nice.”

I sat down on a chair and crossed my arms. “So, Bryce, I guess this is us officially meeting.”

“I guess so. What do I call you? King Christophe?”

“Just Trip, please.”

“Okay, Trip.” She sat down on the couch across from me, biting her lip. “Look, about earlier.”

“You mean about you slapping me in the face?” I smirked at her, leaning forward. “Yes, let’s talk about that.”

“Look, maybe I shouldn’t have done it, but what you said surprised me. It was just a reaction.”

I nodded. “I understand.”

“I’m not sorry, though.”

“Good. I’m not sorry, either.”

She looked annoyed. “You should be, though. Do you say that to every foreign guest or just the girls?”

“Just the attractive girls,” I said. “Only the ones I really do want to see in nothing but a pair of panties.”

She turned a bit red and crossed her arms. “I’ll slap you again, you know.”

“I bet you will.” I grinned even bigger. “I think I’d like that.”

She sighed, shaking her head, and I saw a little smile playing at her lips. “I read about you, you know.”

“Did you?” I asked.

“You’re the Partying Prince.”

I laughed. “It’s better in Starklandian. ‘Bad boy prince’ is probably a more accurate translation.”

“Whatever,” she said, shrugging. “I’m just not really surprised, is all.”

“Maybe you’re not yet,” I said, “but I think you’ll find I’m full of secrets.”

“I’m sure,” she murmured.

I stood up. “How about a personal tour? I’ll show you parts of the castle you’ll never get to see otherwise.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“Afraid I’ll corner you in a dark corner and slip my hands down your body and find out just how wet you are?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head, “but I am afraid you’ll try.”

I laughed, grinning hugely. I liked this girl. I could feel a thrill in my bones, an excitement over her that I hadn’t felt for a woman in a very long time. She was so unlike every other girl in Starkland. She didn’t seem at all impressed that I was the king, or that I used to be the bad boy prince.

“Your loss,” I said. “If you change your mind, just call me.” I got up and walked over to her control panel. I entered my private number into her contacts section. “You’ll be able to get me anytime you want with this.”

She frowned at it and walked over. “Why do you guys have such an advanced castle? I mean, shouldn’t this place be all swords and shields?”

I laughed, nodding. “Yes and no. We like to update this place from time to time. But there are some swords and shields left lying around somewhere.”

“Great. I’ll make sure to check them out.”

“Good. I bet you’d look nice wearing only a belt and a nice piece of steel.”

She looked away. “I guess we’ll never find out.”

“We’ll see.” I stepped over to the door. “I’ll talk to you tonight at dinner, Bryce.”

“I guess so, King Trip.”

I laughed, opened the door, and headed out.

My security detail found me a few minutes later. They were annoyed that I had lost them, and the ministers were annoyed that I was late for the cabinet meeting.

But I didn’t much care. They were fine without me, and I hadn’t been able to help myself going to see Bryce again.

I was glad I had. She was as beautiful as I’d remembered and then some.

This was going to be a very, very fun visit.