putting her down.
“I won’t. Come on, Aunty Kristin.”
The Princess had been forgotten for the moment, but Kristin feared a new problem had arisen, one that might be much more difficult to fix by the time this experience was over.
“I’m right behind you, sweetheart.”
Kristin had a hard time crediting that any of this was happening. The moment was surreal.
With Sonia in her native dress and the handsome Prince looking as if he’d just stepped from the pages of a fairy tale. Kristin had to admit that the two of them entranced the eye.
Everyone, including the security guards, must have thought so too judging by the hush that fell over the crowd of locals and television people. They’d congregated around the Chocolate Barn’s sixteen foot high chocolate Santa waiting for the Prince to join the owners.
“Your Highness,” Mrs. Severeid spoke up, “we are honored that a member of the royal family could be here today to meet the winner of our contest, Sonia Anderssen from Chicago, Illinois, in the United States.
“She’s a true daughter of Frijia and we are proud for her picture to appear on every can and packet of hot chocolate, the Chocolate Barn’s newest product to the world.
“Out of the fifteen hundred children’s photographs sent in by Frijians from all over the globe for our contest, Sonia’s picture captured our attention and our hearts.”
Fifteen hundred? Kristin had no idea the competition had been so fierce.
Mrs. Severeid bent down to put the microphone in front of Sonia. “Will you tell everyone about the dress with the Varland lace you have on, Sonia?”
“My great-grandma wore this when she came to America from Frijia a long time ago with her mommy and daddy.”
“You look lovely in it. Can you tell the people watching how it happened that your photograph was sent in?”
Uh-oh. Sonia was a precocious child. Kristin held her breath, half afraid of what was going to come out next.
“Grandpa Elling sent it because he loves me.”
“Did you know he’d entered you in our contest?”
Sonia shook her head. “No. Not till Aunty Kristin told me I was going to meet the Princess. But she has to rest cos she’s going to have a baby boy any minute.”
No, Sonia—
“So she asked her brother to come. They’re best friends. He couldn’t wear his crown cos it’s in a church and gives him a headache, but he’s going to let me meet his dog who lives at the Captain’s House. Thor’s not mean. Prince Eric says he’s as sweet as the Princess.”
Stop—
The press was going to seize on all those private juicy tidbits, especially the fact that the Princess was expecting a son, another royal heir to the throne. Kristin was sure the gender of the princess’s unborn child wasn’t supposed to be common knowledge yet!
While Kristin hid her face in her hands, excitement and laughter rippled through the mesmerized onlookers as video cameras rolled and flashes popped by the dozens.
When she peeked through her fingers, she saw that the Prince had gathered Sonia in his arms once more. To Kristin’s shock, he was smiling at her with his eyes as well as his mouth. If he was upset, it didn’t show.
“As you can see, it was my lucky day Princess Maren asked me to represent her on this delightful occasion. I’m sure the whole world is as charmed by Sonia as I am.
“I think it only fitting that everyone meets the woman who made it possible for Sonia to be here.” His gaze sought Kristin’s in the crowd. “If you’d come up here, please—”
With a royal summons like that Kristin had no choice but to join them, yet her legs felt like rubber. She prayed she wouldn’t embarrass herself by stumbling on her way up to the mike.
“Sonia?” the Prince said. “Will you introduce your aunt?”
“She’s my Aunty Kristin and I love her cos she takes care of me and brought me to Frijia. I love Grandpa Elling too.”
The Prince’s eyes leveled on Kristin in such a personal way it made it impossible for her to look away, let alone breathe. His gaze traveled over her features and seemed to rest on her mouth.
“This is a great day for Frijian-American relations. Don’t you agree?” he asked in a deep, drawling tone.
Kristin nodded like a tongue-tied school girl before getting control of herself. “This experience is something Sonia will treasure all her life. I speak for my father, Elling Remmen, when I say thank you to the Severeids and Your Highness for this once-in-a lifetime opportunity.”
More flashes went off, then Kristin turned to shake the owners’ hands.
With a happy smile, Mr. Severeid took over the mike. “For the next year we’ll be sending Sonia a chocolate treat from our store every month so she won’t forget us.
“In her honor, we’ve had a mold made of Sonia and will now present her with a chocolate figure of herself she can hang on her Christmas tree at home in Chicago.”
That was a surprise the Severeids hadn’t said anything about until now. It warmed Kristin’s heart. She knew her father would be overjoyed to see his darling granddaughter honored this way. She was his pride and joy.
Everyone clapped and cheered as the owner handed Sonia the five inch high chocolate ornament covered in a transparent wrapper with the blue, red and gold ribbon made expressly for the Chocolate Barn.
Sonia clutched it in her hand.
“Say thank you,” Kristin whispered to her niece.
“Thank you everybody. Can I eat it after Christmas?”
“You can do whatever you want.” The older man knew about Sonia’s blindness. By now his compassionate eyes had filled to the brim with tears.
“I’ll put your ornament in my purse for safekeeping,” Kristin whispered to her niece.
When that was accomplished she started to take Sonia from the Prince, but he held her closer to him as if to say he wasn’t about to relinquish her yet.
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