O21

"So are you going to open it?" Eric asked, from her bedroom.
"Ummm...yeah" she said, staring at it with her finger stuck in the flap, ready to rip it open.
"You want pizza for dinner? My treat" he asked, scooping up the phone and waving it in her direction.
"Yeah, sure" she mumbled, distracted. He walked off and grabbed the phone book. "No mushrooms!"
"Yeah, yeah" he muttered, punching in the last few digits and turning away from her. She again turned her attention to the envelope. Slipping her purse over her head and dropping it to the floor, she quickly took a deep breath and ripped open the package. Inside it contained a few different sealed envelopes along with some legal-looking documents. She set the documents on the coffee table and opened up one envelope to find two plane tickets to Paris.
"Good God, what could this be?" she asked out loud as Eric babbled in the background. She set them down also and turned her attention to another envelope. Again, she slit it open and began to read the short note inside.
Dear Miss Greta Von Amburg,
As you probably know, your father, Baron Von Amburg, passed away a few months ago. But we write you with happy news to state that after a few months of legal proceedings and birthright checks, we have found you to be the most eligible family member to accept the throne. Enclosed are the legal documents that prove your inheritence and the tickets to bring you to Paris to begin and hopefully succesfully complete the necessary tasks. All arrangements have already been made. Instead, we insist you bring with you a man of pure heart and soul to help you on your journey. Have a safe trip here and we look forward to meeting with you.
"Oh, God" Greta said, with a groan, as she collapsed back onto the couch.
"Greta?" Eric asked, hanging up the phone. "Are you ok?" She nodded weakly and held up the paper for him to see, while silently rubbing her temples with her free hand. He jumped up and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. She took a long swig from it and drew in a deep breath.
"Thank you" she said.
"You're welcome....now what happened?" he asked. "Was it the letter?"
"Read for yourself" she said, handing him the letter. He quickly scanned over the letter.
"Wow" he said, as he read over it again. "This looks authentic"
"So do these" she said, holding up the legal documents.
"So when it says 'we look forward to meeting with you', when does this mean?" he asked pointedly.
"The tickets are for Tuesday" she said, closing her eyes against her impeding headache.
"Tuesday, as in two days from today?" he asked. "As in, you're leaving me for God knows how long in two days?"
"Eric, didn't you read the letter?" she asked. "I need to take a guy with me"
"Yeah, one of pure heart and soul" he recited from the letter. He leered up at her. "Where are you going to find one of those?"
"Eric, I know it would be asking a LOT from you" she started. "I mean, you would have to take off work and take off to Paris with me for who knows how long to do God knows what"
"Greta, I would b..." he started.
"No, you know what?" she interrupted. "That's too much to ask of you. I'm sorry to even waste your time" With that, she got up and walked over to the window to stare out at the setting sun. She heard silence behind her and tears welled up as she assumed that he had left her. She reached up to wipe away one tear when she felt a hand on her arm.
"Hey" he said, and she slowly turned to face him. "If you would have let me finished, you would have let me say that I would be honored to accompany you to Paris again"
"Really?"
"Really" he said. "I would love to help you with this. But maybe first you should set up a meeting with Mickey Horton to make sure this is all legit"
"Good idea" she said. "I'll make an appointment for tomorrow"
"And maybe you should also call your friend Lily to see if she knows what's going on" he added.
"Another good idea" she said, reaching for her cell phone. "What would I do without you?'"
"Hopefully, we'll never find out" he said, flopping down on the couch. She made the call but Miss Faversham wasn't at her suite so she left a message for her to call back as soon as possible. As she hung up, she sat down next to Eric, who was aimlessly flipping through the television channels. She leaned her head on his shoulder and he set down the remote to place his arm around her neck and pull her closer.
"Eric, I'm scared" she finally admitted.
"Don't be, I'll be there to help you the whole way" he answered.
"What do you think they mean by 'my journey'?" she asked.
"I don't know" he said, turning to smile at her. "I never went out with a real princess before"
"Shut up!" she said, secretly glad that they were able to joke about what could be such a serious matter.
"Do I have to bow down to you now, your highness?" he teased.
"No" she said but then added. "But I might make you if you continue to misbehave"
"Oh, I like the sound of that" he said, leaning in for a kiss but then stopping with the doorbell interrupted them. "Maybe that's the king himself!" he yelled out, over his shoulder, as he hurried to answer it.
"No king here, just the pizza delivery" came the answer through the door. Greta smiled as he quickly paid and then motioned for her to remain on the couch. He soon presented her with her own plate of pizza and they sat down to eat. Afterwards, wrapped up in each other's arms, they watched a movie until Eric noticed that she was asleep.
"Hey princess" he said, shaking her gently. "Time for bed"
"Mmmm" came her reply, as she pulled him to her harder and her two fingers slipped in the hole between two buttons of his shirt, her fingernails running against his stomach.
"Time for beddy-bye" he teased gently. He leaned over and gave her small kisses all along her cheek and cheekbone until she woke up.
"I don't want you to go" she pouted, her arms wrapping around him more tightly.
"Greta, you know I gotta" he said.
"Stay with me tonight" she mumbled into his shirt collar and he smiled to himself.
"As you wish" he said, standing up and pulling her to her feet alongside him. They walked slowly to the bedroom, his arms wrapped around her from behind as she leaned against him, still half asleep.
"Keep it moving, sleepy" he said, gently running his fingers under her t-shirt to tickle her bare skin.
"Hey, none of that" she demanded, turning to face him in the doorway. "Or I'll banish you to sleep on the couch"
"Never again!" he said, dramatically holding his hand over his heart. "Please forgive me, your majesty"
"I might forgive you, only if you make it up to me"
"You drive a hard bargain" he said, sweeping into a low bow. "But I like the way you run things, Princess Greta" He straightened up and swept her up into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his earlobe as he entered the bedroom and kicked the door shut behind him.