Page 3 of The Prince and the Double Shot (Runaway Prince Hotel #2)

PHIL

P rincedelphia was not what I was expecting from an American city.

Of course, I had only ever been to New York, so my experience was lacking.

It was a city, but it was also quaint in its own way.

The name of the city was not lost on me – fitting, actually.

I had heard rumors of this place when I was in boarding school.

But it was almost like a folk tale that would be whispered in the hallways after one of our own disappeared.

Where had he gone? Princedelphia, of course! Then we would all laugh, but under the laugh was something else. Sometimes it was true. A place where royalty could lose themselves… Or find themselves, as my mother hoped.

But how could you find something that was unfindable? I was broken, and Petra had my missing piece buried within his coffin.

The car careened around a curve way too fast. Is this how the commoners drove? I had never been in a taxi before, and it was not the most pleasant of experiences. “Do you always drive this fast?” I grabbed the handle above the door and clutched it tightly.

“It’s tourist time,” he said in an accent I could barely understand. “Where are you from? Europe somewhere?”

“Yes,” I hissed as he merged into traffic and sped up. “How about you?”

“I’m from Alabama, but I’ve been here for almost twenty years now. We’re almost there. That place has been a staple of this town for a long time. You can’t stay anywhere better than the Renverse Hotel. I’ll tell you that.”

“That’s what I was told.” My stomach dropped.

I was used to traveling. I’d been to most of the world during my lifetime.

America was the one place I had never cared to explore.

But here I was, and now it was feeling very real.

What was I supposed to do while I was here?

It was odd to travel with no guards or servants.

But there was something… exciting about it, in a way.

I had never really been on my own before – not like this, anyway.

Petra and I used to sneak out and drive places, but…

I hadn’t been alone, and I hadn’t been somewhere that I didn’t know.

A stranger in an even stranger land, if you believed the things they said about this country.

The car screeched as it turned onto the small ramp. A large hotel loomed in front of us.

My adventure was beginning, and I felt so numb.

No… I was scared. I was scared that my mother was right, and I would lose Petra forever.

I knew I couldn’t go on like this. I had a duty to my people that I would have to fulfill.

They deserved me to be at my best, and I had been at my worst for so long that I couldn’t even remember what my best felt like.

We drove into the shadow of the hotel. A small circular courtyard catches my eye, and I squint at the large statue standing in the middle.

People are milling around and chatting as if they are having a meeting of some kind.

My castle is huge, but the hotel is much larger.

I glance upwards through the window to the many stories looming above us.

My skin feels electric as I wait for our turn to get to the entrance.

‘Tourist season,’ the driver said. We had tourists, too.

But we were a small country. Princedelphia’s borders alone would be almost as large.

I was nothing here. My hand twitched. I was weak and stupid.

Mother would not have sent me here if there was anything to fear.

I knew that. But why was I shaking? I wasn’t a fucking child.

I took a long, slow breath and slowly let it out.

There is so much concrete and not enough green spaces in this world.

The Earth gave me comfort and my sparse magical abilities.

My connection to the green spaces of this world was one of the only things that still brought me comfort.

To communicate with a tree and to feel its lifeforce was a gift that my family had.

Here, I would barely be able to use it. I had barely used it for the last two years, ever since Petra died.

I felt even more alone.

“Almost there.” The car jerked, and I put my hand on the back of the seat to steady myself.

The hotel looked like it had been added on to at some point.

The styles of design almost fought against themselves.

The oldest part felt European, but the addition looked much more modern.

It was odd, but comforting in a way. Old and new - living together side by side.

It was the same thing that I had to become.

I had to find the new inside me so I could overcome my past. I had to find a way to live in harmony, and this was to be my first step.

The car lunged forward, and I yelped as we quickly came to a stop. My door opened, and a handsome young man offered me his hand. “Welcome to the Renverse Hotel.” I took his hand and carefully extracted myself from the backseat of the taxi. “Go inside, and we will bring your bags right in.”

“Thank you,” I tried to smile, but it felt forced.

I handed the man a ten-dollar bill before walking towards the large front doors.

These I opened myself. If there was a doorman, he was nowhere to be found.

I was not used to slumming it. The red carpet of the lobby was bright, if not a little dingy in places.

I walked over to the front desk and waited for the woman who sat behind it to acknowledge me.

“One moment,” she muttered without glancing up. “What’s a nine-letter word for confusing and evasive? Why do I do these things?”

“Obfuscate,” I chuckled.

“Mother fucker! You’re right.” She wrote the letters down on her crossword and then set it aside and stood up. With one glance, I felt judged.

“How is Margaurite? Is she still a bitch?”

“How did you…”

“Relax, Phillipe… Sorry, Phil is what I was told to call you while you’re our guest, isn’t it? Your mother and I have chatted, and I was expecting you. How was flying coach? It’s a shock to the system the first time. How do they make those seats so small?”

“It was… enlightening.”

“As will be the rest of your stay.”

“I’m sorry, but… Who are you?”

Her laugh was warm, but the look on her face was anything but comforting. “I’m Sheena. My wife and I own the hotel.”

“And how do you know my mother?”

“Oh, Maugaurite and I have known each other since we were children. We even went to the same boarding school once upon a time when life was very different.”

“You’re friends with my mother.” I nodded.

“No, I wouldn't say that. But I wouldn’t say I’m not, either.”

“Ok…” She was confusing me and obfuscating instead of telling me the truth.

“Everything has been arranged for your stay. It’s just as your mother wanted it. I know that the last few years have not been kind, Phil. Hopefully, an escape to the Runaway Prince Hotel can do you some good. While you are here, your mother suggested that you help us with the grounds and gardens.”

“Oh, she didn’t say that I would be…”

“Nothing in life is free, Phil. Your room and board are covered by the help you will give us. It’s standard practice.”

“I thought I would be a guest.”

“And hide in your room. Maugaurite wanted to make sure that was not a possibility. You’ll enjoy the experience – or you won’t.

I suppose that choice is yours. Remember that we value any royal’s anonymity for those who want to escape here.

If you see a familiar face – smile and move on.

People come here to escape their lives and duties for however long they choose.

I hope that this place brings you some kind of peace.

” She rang a small bell, and a tall man with a nametag that read ‘me’ stepped into view.

“Room 345, please. He will show you the way.”

I followed him, but the place was a virtual maze.

I did notice the coffee shop that I would soon be stopping at.

I was exhausted and hadn’t slept in… well, I hadn’t slept well for as long as I could remember.

But if I fell asleep now, I would be a total mess tomorrow.

I needed to stay awake so I could sleep through the night, and I still had about eight hours to go before it even got dark.

I had to work?

That was a bit of a shock. But I did love gardening.

Maybe it would fill my cup, so to speak, if I were able to help the meager green spaces here.

I could have a rosebud bloom within a few minutes if I put my mind to it.

I had stayed in my room and sulked too long.

Mother was right, as much as I hated to admit it, I did need a fresh start.

Maybe working in the earth and cultivating plants would be a good beginning.

Back to the basics that I had always loved.

“Right this way?” He nodded, and I followed him down a long hallway that was shabby chic. He didn’t speak much and didn’t seem to want to, so I left it. I was tired anyway, and I was sure that I would get more answers when I needed them.

The one question I really wanted answered was how that Sheena woman knew my mother? School, she had said. There had to be more of a story there. I knew very few people who knew my mother before she was queen.

Would my children say the same thing?