Tonights causeSave the Pelicans, Save the Penguins, Save Something or Otherwas a good one but for the most part, events like this were not. Nicolas raised his glass, caught the overly-sweet smell of cheap champagne, changed his mind about drinking any more of it and surreptitiously eyed his watch. Maybe there was truth in the old saying that there could be too much of a good thing. And tonight, hed realized he was ready for that to happen.
Besides, this was New York, a city in which modern fairy tales thrived. He had been protected from the media as a boy and carefully maintained his privacy as a man. So Nicolas became Nick, moved to a Manhattan penthouse and assumed the carefree existence that went with having good looks and lots of money. It will be a huge event, viewed by the entire world, and you should attend as Karass new king." "You have the spirit our people require, my son," hed said, "but you must be king by the time your aunt, Queen Tia Karedes of Aristo, celebrates her sixtieth birthday.
"I am still a prince, free to make my own choices, and I am simply informing you and the Council of my plans." "I am not yet king, father," Nicolas had replied with quiet determination. "A king cannot think of his own needs," his father had said, when Nicolas told him he was taking this time alone.
He had agreed, but with a price: half a year of anonymity far from Karas. Nicolass father and the Council feared that without a new direction and new leadership, Karas might be swallowed up by one of the two kingdoms and they had decided that it was time Nicolas provided that leadership. It was wealthy, thanks to its gold mines, but smaller than its neighbors, the once-united but now-separated kingdoms of Aristo and Calista. His homeland was an island kingdom in the Mediterranean Sea. For the past six months, Nicolas had been living in New York and enjoying his freedom, but two weeks from now he would return home and assume the responsibilities of the throne of Karas. It was a tightly guarded secret, known only by his father the king and the Council of Ministers. But then, Nick the billionaire and Nicolas the soon-to-be king of Karas were the same man. Prince Nicolas of Karas was ready to say goodbye to the whole thing, too. Flat champagne, unidentifiable food, too much bling and too many women competing for his attention. Nick Karrier had been at the charity ball for only half an hour but he was more than ready to leave.Įvents like this were painfully predictable.