#(chris e)

Chris grinned back to her, shrugging as he jogged to meet her. Clad in sneakers, sweatpants, and a t-shirt, he looked ready for a morning workout - one he seemingly now intended on skipping. “Even though I’m your pilot, technically I’m on your security team too so I think it’d look bad for me to say I’d lost you,” he reminded her, his grin growing to a smirk.

Rosie rolled her eyes at Chris, turning and walking side-by-side with him down the path. He’d already begun to snigger when she muttered, “Yeah I’m really going to get lost with guards every fifty feet.”

“I have a feeling you’d know how to slip by them if you wanted to,” Chris answered, and while Rosie snorted with sarcasm, his tone seemed to be completely honest.

“Me? I’d never…” she drawled.

But Chris simply arched a single brow at her, looking at her out of the corner of his eyes as they continued around the bend in the path surrounding a large pond. “Remember your brother is my best friend. I’ve heard enough stories to know it’s true,” he murmured.

Rosie chuckled quietly to herself, avoiding his gaze. “I just have no idea what you’re talking about,” she finally told him, but knowing wholeheartedly just about every story James must’ve told him through the years.

“Yeah I bet you don’t,” Chris laughed.

“Was there a reason that you were looking for me? Were you hoping to get a few pointers on how to play tennis?”

He raised another brow at her, a hand moving from his pocket to rest on his chest as a bird flew overhead. “Pointers? If I remember correctly, I’m the one who beat you… more than once,” he reminded her.

“That’s because I didn’t want to ruin all your confidence the first time we played together,” she laughed, reaching to tuck her hair behind her ear as she caught a glance at the security guards across the property from them.

“Sounds like pretty big talk for someone who lost,” he whispered, dropping his hand back into his pocket.

Rosie snuck a glance at him out of the corner of her eye, seeing the large grin on his lips as he glanced around the property. He just always seemed so… completely real. In a way no one really had before. She had never been around people as electric-seeming as Chris had, instead she had always been the forced center-of-attention on a lonely island, it felt. But the presence and energy he’d brought was surely welcomed by Rosie.

She was all-too aware of her surroundings, the guards on a perimeter around the property, with no less than five sets of eyes on the pair as they walked side-by-side together. But she was also all-too-aware of the patient, kind, amused man next to her, and indulged herself further by pointing out to him, “At least I didn’t nearly trip over the net.”

“Keyword there was nearly. I didn’t actually trip over it,” he said, his voice aghast at the suggestion.

But Rosie shrugged, ignoring his outrage. “I would have thought an Air Force captain would have been a little more athletic,” she stated, pursing her lips to keep her from giggling at his reaction.

He shook his head, squinting in the sunlight as he gazed upwards. “Be careful, Princess, remember that I’m the one flying you this afternoon,” he murmured to her, his voice low.

“I will as long as you do me one favor,” she paused, waiting for his eyes to meet hers as they passed under some sprawling tree branches. “Just call me Rosie.”

He grinned, his eyes brightening at those words. “If you just call me Chris,” he offered, brows raising hopefully.

“You’ve got a deal on that,” she assured him, eyes darting away from his hopeful, happy ones to look. She stiffened as she saw the moving gazes of the guards around them, willing herself to ignore them. Desperate for a distraction, she asked, “So what are you doing out here?”

He shrugged, lips pursing as he buried his hands in his pockets. “I’m not really doing anything until we leave this afternoon and I just saw you walking by yourself so I figured I’d just come see if you wanted some company,” he admitted, his voice becoming strangely quiet.

Rosie let the silence linger for a few moments as they walked, the gravel under their feet being the only sound as they walked. She mulled over his words, replaying them in her mind and feeling okay with that, with the offer of his company. “…That would be nice,” she admitted to him, her voice just as quiet as his had been.

The silence returned for a few moments as she struggled to find the words to say next. Thankfully, Chris took the lead and turned his head to look at her as she stared straight ahead. She had no idea why all of the sudden she felt so uncomfortable, but she also didn’t want to leave his company, despite the prying eyes and knowledge that this probably wasn’t something he should be doing, especially in the aftermath of the tennis match. But she made no moves to leave, instead listening intently as Chris said, “So Rosie, tell me about you.”

Rosie couldn’t stop the nearly-bitter laugh that escaped her. “Tell you about me? Doesn’t everyone already know everything they want about me?” She reminded him. And despite all her hopes and wishes - she knew it was true. Why wouldn’t it be? He surely had to sit through - like every other person in this country, including herself, James, and Annie - monotonous lectures and lessons on her family, dating back centuries and ending with the king and the future of the monarchy - the prince.

And she’d never forget the papers - the ones that stalked their near every move, wrote think pieces upon think pieces about the state of the monarchy, the wild black sheep of the Royal Family of Ellington, and the constant scrutiny they faced, all while carrying a tone of adoration.

But Chris seemed unperturbed, and Rosie had to sneak a glance at him furtively, nearly suspicious at the innocence and naivety. “Only what they publish in the papers, and that’s not really knowing someone,” he simply told her.

Rosie couldn’t even hide the surprise on her face, truly never having heard someone say anything like that before. It almost felt unbelievable that someone wanted to get to know her. She had spent her entire life in the shadow of James, always being the girl who had to fight against who she really was to be the royal princess on best behavior she was always supposed to be. Rosie had always felt that everyone around her either just wanted to be near her for her title, or expected her to be exactly what their perception of a princess was, and the hardest part for her is that a lot of that was true. She was so pulled into this bubble of royalty, every single thing in her life being dictated by it that it felt completely foreign to her to have someone simply getting to know her.

A slight smirk appeared on Chris’ lips, egging her on and encouraging her, C’mon, don’t even try to pretend you don’t have anything to say. I know enough about you from James to know that you’re not shy.”

“I was just surprised is all,” she admitted, unable to hide the shock from her voice. Her eyes bore forwards, hyper aware of every shift of his eyes as she hesitated. “I just don’t… know where to start I guess.”

“Start with anything, like how you’re terrible at tennis,” he suggested, a chuckle escaping him.

Her brow arched, finally sneaking a glance at him out of the corner of her eye. He seemed relaxed, his usually tensed and poised shoulders slouching with amusement and the twinkle in his eyes shining brighter under the bright sun. “We’ll see if you’re still singing that tune after we have a rematch,” she goaded.

“Okay, I won’t start with a sore subject,” he relented. A silence fell for a short moment and the chirping of birds filled the air until he asked, “What did you study at university?”

“Art history,” she answered quickly.

His head cocked and turned to look at her. “Art history? I don’t know that I would have guessed that,” he admitted.

“Well tennis wasn’t an option,” she laughed, tucking her hair behind her ear. She didn’t know why, but despite the frenetic and uncomfortable feeling inside her at this questioning, she couldn’t help but indulge him. “I’ve always loved art. I’m not very good at doing it myself but I appreciate it.”

“Do you get to do anything with that now?”

She shrugged, a frown began to cross her lips. It’d been a sore subject of hers for a while now, the battle between reality and her desire for normalcy. “Not really, I mean I always kind of knew I’d probably have to be a working royal. But then before I graduated university, James ditched me to go into the Air Force so I had to take his place which everyone was thrilled about,” she sighed.

“I think you underestimate what the country thinks about you,” Chris said, his voice sincere. “But what if you could have a normal job? What would you want to do?”

“That’s easy. I would have wanted to curate art for a museum,” she answered quickly. It’d long been a love of hers and something she eventually looked forward to, once several years of being an active royal was under her belt. She yearned for the years when she got to be part of the future art curation of the many estates and homes in the family.

“I don’t think I’ve ever even hardly been to a museum,” Chris laughed, his laughter ringing through the grounds and causing a smile to cross Rosie’s lips.

“Looks like I’m just going to have to educate you then.”

He shrugged, simply agreeing, “Looks like it.”

His line of questioning didn’t stop there, with Chris continuing to ask her about things like what she normally did during tour downtimes, where she’d traveled over the years, her childhood, and everything in between. It was something she wasn’t used to, this interest in things beyond the surface level interests and charity endeavors. Instead, he asked about Rosie, not Princess Rosalie.

“What about your family? What’s your relationship with them like?”

She chuckled, waving a hand. “You probably already know from James,” she reminded him, all too aware at how long Chris and James had been friends.

“I’d rather hear it from you though. He can only give his perspective,” Chris said, his hands pushing into his pockets as they rounded a corner.

Rosie’s brows furrowed, looking at him. “What are you doing? Trying to gather information for the tell all you’re going to give about me later?” She asked.

“Hey I’ve gotta cash in while I can,” Chris laughed, the sound reassuring him.

“Well I’m sure you know what my relationship with James is like,” she began, pausing before adding, “He and I are really close. I mean, I’ve always been in his shadow, and there’s a lot of things he doesn’t fully understand about that but James is the one who understands more than anyone else what this life is like.”

Chris nodded, listening intently. “I’m glad you two have each other,” he admitted to her.

“Me too. I honestly don’t know what I would do without him,” Rosie spoke, her voice becoming softer as she grew more vulnerable. “James is closer to our father than I am. I think that to him I’m kind of just the one who always has to be managed… and my mother is just kind of… there. I honestly don’t even know how to describe it. She just isn’t…”

“Involved?”

She nodded at his answer. “That’s a good word for it. She just does whatever my father says and just sort of holds the party line. I’ve never felt like she was at all interested in me, but she and my younger sister Annie are a lot closer.”

“James never really talked about Annie much,” Chris softly interjected, as if his mind was beginning to fill in the spaces between her careful words.

“They love each other but aren’t really that close. He’s so much older than her that they were just kind of always in different places in their lives,” Rosie admitted to him. She paused, before quickly adding, “Annie’s really sweet though. She’s been able to escape some of the pressure and things placed on us and I hope to keep it that way.”

“I think she’s lucky to have you,” Chris spoke honestly.

“I’m not always so sure about that,” Rosie laughed, shrugging off the sincerity of his words. “Do you have any siblings?”

He shook his head, his eyes moving to stare straight ahead. “No, James is the closest thing I have to a brother.”

“What about your parents? Are you close to them?”

“I’m super close to my Ma, she’s the best,” he smiled, seemingly unknowingly and instinctively.

Rosie couldn’t help but smile at the loving expression on his face at the thought of his mother. “What about your dad?” She asked him.

Chris’ smile dropped, his jaw tightening. “… I never knew him,” he finally confided, their steps soft on the gravel as his voice lowered. “He left before I was even born so I’ve never met him.”

“Oh Chris, I’m so sorry,” she apologized, never meaning to pry at a clearly sore subject. The entire idea, while perhaps a normal event and one he had grown up with, was so foreign to her. From never knowing a parent to never knowing a family and their history, something her entire life revolved around.

“I’m more sorry for my Ma, I know it wasn’t easy on her,” he shook his head with a sigh. “She was the best parent I could ask for though.”

Rosie’s lips curled as she listened to him. “You two sound close,” she pointed out.

“We are. I talk to her all the time and she’s a big fan of yours,” Chris laughed.

“Of me?”

A loud chuckle escaped him as he shook his head.“Oh yeah, by you going on this tour, I’m flying you instead of flying the Air Force so that makes her happy,” he informed her.

“Well I’m glad I could win her over,” Rosie agreed with a smirk. “I’m sure she wasn’t happy when you came home one day and told her you were going into the Air Force.”

He shook his head, a hand running through his short hair. “She wasn’t, but I had been working so many odd jobs throughout high school and university to help make ends meet for us both that she was happy I did have a steady paycheck.”

Rosie quickly turned her eyes to the path in front of them, her shoulders tensing at the casual way he spoke about his life, and the way he’d struggled. She knew some things from a high level, that Chris grew up in the city, hadn’t gone to the same boarding schools so many in their circles had. But for the first time, she was struck by the sheer differences, more frequent than the similarities, in their lives; but also at how it formed this amazing person, despite the hardship he’d faced.

“Do you see her often?” She asked, her voice low as they passed several guards.

“She’d kick my ass if I didn’t,” he laughed, the sound light and happy. “The last place James and I were both stationed was only a couple hours from where she lives in the house I grew up in so I’ve been lucky to see her a lot the past two years. I think after the tour is over I have a week off before going back to the Air Force so I’ll probably spend it with her.”

“No wonder she’s a fan of me then, I got her son a safer job and a week off,” Rosie chuckled, moving her hand to push the hair out of her eyes. “I guess that’s proof I can keep some members of the public happy with the royal family.”

“The royal family already had her approval, she adores James,” he informed her.

“She’s met him?” Rosie asked, surprised.

“A lot actually,” Chris admitted. “She would visit me a lot during university or sometimes when I’d go home for a weekend James would come with me. She pretty much adopted him as another son.”

She mulled over her words, realizing how much of James’ life she hadn’t known. They of course had grown up side-by-side, but at early ages they’d separated to attend their all-boys and all-girls boarding schools, only seeing each other during tours, big events, holidays, and breaks. Despite all those years of being the other’s closest confidant, she’d missed a large part of James’ life and word. “I didn’t realize how close you two were,” she whispered.

“I honestly don’t even hardly remember how we became friends. One day we just kind of…were,” Chris laughed.

She smiled softly, knowing exactly what he met. James had always had it a lot easier socially than she had, and it was clear just how easily the two clicked. “And then you even got stuck with him after university,” she pointed out.

“Yeah I just couldn’t seem to shake him,” Chris laughed, shaking his head. “He’s certainly made the Air Force a lot more fun. I’m going to miss him.”

Rosie was quiet for a moment, listening to the crunches of leaves underfoot as they walked. “Do you plan on staying in the Air Force or do you have other plans for things you want to do?” She asked him.

He shrugged, lips pursed. “Honestly I’m not sure. Probably just staying in until retirement I guess,” he confessed.

“Well obviously you’re talented at it, I’ve seen all those medals on your uniform,” Rosie complimented him.

“It’s a good steady career and takes care of me and my Ma so I can’t complain,” he smiled, shrugging at the praise.

She was struck by the way he so easily and honestly brushed off praise, turning it into something positive about someone else. Any compliment paid to Chris by Rosie had turned back to his Ma, or his upbringing, the grounded way he was clearly raised. It was so effortless for Chris, and while he may shrink under the attention similarly to Rosie, he bolstered those around him and made it as though it was expected as part of his role and job here.

“What about….” she began, trailing off as David, her private secretary, walked towards them on the path suddenly. David first bowed in front of Rosie, before glancing at Chris quickly.

He cleared his throat, eyes turning back to Rosie. “Princess, it’s time for you to get ready.”

“I’ll be there in a moment,” she told him, lips pursed as she wanted one more moment here.

“I beg your pardon but we’re already behind schedule,” he all but pleaded, eyes staring straight at her.

Chris shifted a bit next to her, and she saw the way his posture straightened and tensed back up again at the intrusion.

“Alright,” Rosie relented with a sigh. She looked next to her, aware of David's presence still there, as she told Chris, “Chris, thank you for this morning. That was just… really nice.”

He smiled, his eyes looking at her before shrugging, “It truly was my pleasure,” he admitted.

She headed inside after David, following him upstairs. She’d just sat down after a quick shower in a vanity chair, beginning to have her hair and makeup done for that evening’s casual events when a quick knock rapped at the door and she was ushered downstairs into the study of the estate. Inside the room, which was packed by the advisors to the Princess’ office, the head of security, other security members, and, to her slight surprise, Chris, who was leaning back against a bookshelf, his arms crossed over his chest, a serious expression on his face as they both avoided the other’s eyes.

Thomas, the head of security, began as the door finally shut behind her, “Princess Rosalie, I need to inform you of a security threat at our next stop on the tour.”

Her brows furrowed as she sat in the plush chair at the center of the room, facing Thomas who sat at the desk. “Security threat? I thought the coast is what we were worried about?”

“It is, but the palace found out about a tip about someone saying they had a plan to break into the event you’ll be speaking at in the next city,” he spoke.

“Is it a legitimate tip?” She asked, mind racing at the possibilities.

“We’re not sure and our team is checking into it,” he informed her, leaning back in his seat. “The issue is that we need to leave within the next hour to make it there, but I don’t believe we’ll be able to confirm nor deny if it’s a legitimate tip in that time.”

She nodded, taking in the information. “So what are we going to do?” She asked, her voice quiet.

“I spoke to the palace and the choice is up to you Princess. You can decide if you’d like to go or skip over that city.”

She’d never had the autonomy to make these decisions before, having never faced something like this, and having never been aware of these things in the past due to her young age during so many tours. “Has my father weighed in on it?” She asked, suddenly desperate for the guidance he’d have provided, backed by his long experience.

“He said that you could decide,” Thomas answered, Rosie’s heart sinking. “The threat could be real, but skipping that city could make us appear weak or fearful. The decision is up to you though, your highness.”

She nodded, asking them to give her a moment. The group quickly filtered out of the room, the door shutting behind them. But at a light touch on her shoulder and a throat clearing, she slouched with relief. Chris walked around her chair, turning to half sit on the desk in front of her, his eyes concerned as he looked her over.

“Rosie, are you alright?” He asked, his voice low and worried.

“Hmm? Oh yes, I’ll let you know of my decision soon so you can get the plane ready,” she answered, swallowing uncomfortably as she pulled a bobby pin out of her hair, fidgeting.

“That’s not why I asked,” he told her, repeating, “Are you alright?”

She shrugged, mind still racing. “Yeah I am.”

“It doesn’t look like it,” he replied quietly, watching her carefully.

“It’s just… a lot to process,” she finally confessed, struggling under the pressure and every possibility.

“Well I’m a pretty good listener,” he told her, lip curling momentarily before his expression disappeared.

She nodded, biting her lower lip. “… I just hate it when they leave things like this up to me. It feels like they’re just waiting for me to screw up,” she told him, tapping her fingers against her legs.

“Well if they choose to leave it up to you, they’re going to have to live with the decision so that’s on them, not on you,” Chris reminded her, voice even and level.

Rosie chuckled bitterly, informing Chris, “That doesn’t mean I won’t have to pay the price for it though.”

“What do you think you want to do?” He asked her quietly.

Rosie sat there quietly as so many thoughts ran through her head. She knew that for them to actually come to her and consider cancelling an event, that there had to be some validity to the threat. It wasn’t a secret there was some growing unrest along the coast and it wouldn’t surprise her that some was spilling in farther. This tour had been highly publicized already, something from the tour or about Rosie nearly daily and thus would be the perfect opportunity for someone to try to attack it and her.

But then there was the flip side that it could make the royal family appear weak or simply uncaring about the people there, dipping out at the sight of trouble. Rosie didn’t want to be someone who was out of touch and let people down, or have it added to the list of the things she had messed up. It didn’t seem like there was a good option and Rosie lifted her eyes to meet his as she honestly admitted, “I don’t know.”

“You still have time to think about it,” he said, nodding. And he was right, but she didn’t see a way she could wrestle with these options within the timeframe still, not without someone’s advice.

“Chris?” She asked, her voice nearly shaking. “Can I ask your opinion?”

He huffed, quietly admitting, “I don’t know I’m the right person to be telling you what you should do.”

“I respect your opinion though,” she said. And it was true, he’d been through more in this realm than she hopefully would ever, had the training, the knowledge, and the ability to see this from many perspectives. “I’d like to know what you think.”

“…Honestly?” Chris began, pausing. She nodded encouragingly, her eyes wide as she looked up at him anxiously. “I think I’d leave and move on.”

“Really?” Rosie asked, surprised at the honesty and fear behind his words.

“Yeah, I’ve seen the layout of that building and there are a lot of entry points for someone if they did want to try something. It’s a pretty hard building to secure completely especially with so many guests there. It’s not a huge loss if you skip it, but could be a huge loss if that tip turns out to be true.” Chris said. He shrugged, adding, “I’d move on.”

She mulled over his words, at the risk he mentioned. It would be more important to play it safe, to avoid mourning lives or destruction than it was to worry about causing bitter uproar for skipping out. He put into words what the only way she knew forward would be, to play it safe in the best way possible, and she knew how invaluable that was.

With a nod, she looked up at Chris, her shoulders returning to the poised, perfectly straight posture that was ingrained in her from many years of training. “Would you call everyone back in?” She asked Chris.

He looked at her for a long moment, and with the last hesitancy and anxiety leaving her expression, he nodded. Hopping off of the desk, he opened the door, peeking his head out and murmuring for everyone to come in. As everyone filtered back into the room, she couldn’t help but notice Thomas’ frown, but ignored it as they all stood in front of her.

She stood as well, moving a hand to smooth her clothes as Thomas asked, “Did you have a decision, Princess?”

“We’re going to skip it and go to the next city,” she informed them, her voice sounding more resolute to her than it had since earlier that day.

“Are you sure, your highness?” One of the many security team members asked - Roger, she reminded herself, he’d been on Annie’s detail for years before being promoted.

“Completely,” Rosie answered with a nod.

Rosie sat silently in the backseat, alone with her thoughts with the only sound she heard was the engine of the car and the patter of soft rain on the windows. She just couldn’t shake that feeling of loneliness that had been her constant companion the last few years but she didn’t get time to dwell on it when the car came to a stop on the private airfield, her door being held open and an umbrella handed to her as she climbed out of the car.

Her plane was sitting idle on the field, the stairs open and waiting for her along with the small integral staff of people who would be on the plane with her lined up and waiting next to the stairs as they always were. Rosie’s eyes skimmed over each person, politely smiling at the head of security, the tour advisor, palace public relations strategist, her secretary for the tour, but when her eyes came to the person standing closest to the stairs, somehow despite the rain, her day felt a little bit sunnier.

Rosie couldn’t help but notice how handsome he looked standing there underneath the black umbrella. He stood straight and tall, that perfect military posture with his long legs outlined in a pair of navy blue dress pants. Rosie’s eyes followed up the length of his legs to see him wearing a pristine white button up shirt and navy blue tie that matched the suit jacket that hung on his broad shoulders. His brown hair was pushed to the side, spiking up a little bit at the top and his thick scruff that wasn’t thick enough to be a beard only outlined that chiseled jaw that looked like some of the statues she remembered studying in her art classes.

But the playful closed mouth smile he gave her when their eyes met were anything but like any of the marble statues she had seen and left her unable to help herself but engage him, “Well, are you going to get me to the next leg of the tour safely?”

He chuckled quietly as he twisted the umbrella slightly in his hands. “Good news for you, I’m an even better pilot than I am at playing tennis,” he replied.

“And humble too,” Rosie laughed, a sarcastic whisper.

“It is awfully hard being so good at so many things,” Chris rolled his eyes, but his voice remained amused.

“Really? Because I only heard you say two things.”

He smirked, eyes darting down before he met hers again. “You better remember I’ve got your life in my hands.”

“Somehow I’m not too concerned,” she admitted, playful yet honest.

Chris shot her a smile that felt warmer than a summer day coupled with a wink that made her own lips curve into a grin before she turned to walk up the stairs to the plane, handing her umbrella to the guard at the top of the stairs before going inside to sit down as everyone else followed in behind her.

She watched as Chris stepped on board and his eyes instantly found her, commenting on his way by to the cockpit, “Better buckle up, Rosie. I might give you a bumpy flight in return for your sarcasm.”

Rosie didn’t get a chance to respond, Thomas instantly appearing as he inserted into the conversation with a harsh correction, “I believe you meant to address Her Royal Highness as Princess Rosalie.”

“It’s fine Thomas,” Rosie quickly defended, seeing the discomfort on Chris’ face and the harshness in Thomas’ before she went on to say, “I specifically asked him to call me Rosie.”

With another uncomfortable pause, Thomas just nodded in acknowledgement before going to his seat. Rosie didn’t even want to look at Chris, purely loathing all of these things that went along with every part of her life, but Chris broke her out of it when he leaned in with a smirk as he said, “I’m making so many friends on this tour,” before giving her that wink again and then disappeared to the cockpit.

A small smile lingered on her lips as she went to sit down and Rosie relaxed into her seat, getting ready for the smooth takeoff but had just barely heard Chris’ low voice come over the intercom to announce they were at cruising speed and everyone could move from their seats when the tour administrator, Sarah, came to sit next to her. The greying haired woman was one of the many palace staff members who had been employed as long as she could remember, upholding the strict traditions and ways of the royal family, but Rosie was thankful that Sarah had always been kind to her, extending her a little more understanding than others.

“Princess Rosalie, are you ready to go over your next few events?”

With a small nod, Rosie tried her best to focus as Sarah briefed her on what the next few stops would entail. There were a handful of speeches, ribbon cuttings, and visits to different charities, but as they got closer and closer to the unrest on the coast, the security threat grew larger, which led Sarah to bringing up an undeniable fact, “We don’t want you to look as though you’re vulnerable at any of these events. Normally we like to have security be a little more invisible but we’re going to make them a bit more obvious. The palace also decided we’d like you to have a security escort next to you at each event and so Thomas-”

“Oh Sarah, please not Thomas,” Rosie all but begged, sighing as she spoke.

“He is the head of security,” Sarah said, shocked at the idea of not having Thomas be there.

She nodded, but admitted to Sarah, “I know but this is already hard enough. If I have Thomas breathing down my neck it’ll only make me more nervous,”

“I suppose we could have someone else,” Sarah finally admitted, lips pursed as she looked at the papers in front of her and tried to solve the equation.

Rosie was quiet for a moment, but knew the answer in her heart. “…What about Captain Evans?”

“Your pilot? Princess, he’s not really part of the core security team. He’s more here at the request of the Prince.” Sarah reminded her, but Rosie was willing to push the issue.

“But he’s been through the security training and he’s military so he certainly knows protocol,” she reminded her. Then, knowing the optics of this, she added, “I think if anything it would look good to have a decorated Air Force Captain as the one standing next to me at events. It shows trust in the military, puts less of a wall between me and the people than a security guard would, and it would… make me feel a lot better.”

Sarah was quiet for several moments. Rosie could practically hear the battle inside her mind, but was thrilled when she finally said, “You’re right, I think the Captain would be a good choice.”