Chapter 38: Chapter XVII Maximiliano-1

"The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain," I muttered to myself as I sat in first-class on my flight to the other country, my eyes fixed on my phone as I somehow ended up reading about 'My Fair Lady'. I had always thought the famous quote read 'plane' and not 'plain', and now it made so much sense to me. The stewardess past me a strange glance when I had my breakthrough moment, my jaw dropping wide and I immediately texted my findings to Sarina. She sent me an amused message back. I was waiting for Ian to join me, as we had not yet taken flight yet. I was utterly grateful that he could come with, because just the thought of being left alone in another country all alone was terrifying. They were doing runway check-ups and Ian was still outside, making an important call. There were two other men in first-class, clearly for business if their suites and ties were anything to go by. They were furiously talking about something they were viewing on a laptop. I had seen them throw me nasty glances when I entered, clearly not expecting someone like me to me in first-class. I looked fairly normal, I believed. Black skin-tight trousers and a knitted cream sweater, my hair tied up in a fancy braid that, surprisingly, my mother had made. I knew that I would have to change clothes once I got to Spain because it was a little warmer there. Besides the two there was another man with a woman on his arm. It was clear that he also had money, but not the type from business. This looked to be more trust fund inheritance that he was spending to impress a lady. A commoner lady who was excited with her lucky strike. Ian entered the room in his fancy suit, coming to take a seat behind me. The first-class design was that of individual cubicle-like structures, holding a seat that can transform into a bed and an entire mini home-theatre. I've been on flights before, but never on a public plane to another country. My father had his own jet, so of course we would use it. I sat up onto my knees on the seat, peering over the back of the seat to Ian. "Everything alright?" I inquired, feeling the glares from the business men and even the playboy at how informal I was being in a place like this. Ian nodded. "Everything is excellent, Your Highness. The plans for the arrival in Spain have been reconfirmed because of the plane delay," he told me with a smile, knowing I wasn't feeling too excited about this flight. Sure it was only two hours, but I wasn't keen on flying. Period. I nodded and sat back down, getting comfortable in the seat. As soon as we were in the air I was going to close off my cubicle and start to watch the series Sarina had given me. It was the same one she had spoken about in the salon. "Hello everyone!" I looked up once a man with a midnight uniform and silver rank stripes on his blazer. He stood at the front of all the cubicles, resting himself against one of the barriers. He looked so calm, as if he didn't have a care in the world. "I am the pilot for this flight. I came to see how everyone is holding up," he looked friendly and well skilled. It set a little bit of relief in me. He looked like a man who I could trust with an entire plane with more than three hundred passengers. Who could anyone be given that much power? I shouldn't be talking. I am going to rule the country. "Yes, well, when are we going to start flying?" one of the business men asked, clearly impatient. "The runway checks have finished and we are just waiting for the go ahead from the control centre," he answered professionally, not fazed by the man's rudeness who scoffed in response. The pilot's eyes scanned the class before landing on mine, smiling immediately. He got onto his knee and placed his hand over his heart, bowing before me. I could see that his actions confused the rest of the cabin. He stood up straight before speaking. "Your Highness, I must say when I heard that you would be joining us for this flight, I was a little on my nerves. I have to make this flight my best one yet because, after all, I've never had royalty to impress before," he laughed a little nervously, but I could tell it was only for show. I smiled gently. "I am sure you will perform your task with excellence," I responded, genuine with my smooth ways. "Your comment means a lot, Your Highness," he responded, the rest of the cabin staring at me with wide eyes. He excused himself and returned to the cockpit. I breathed gently. "Your Highness," I heard and turned to see Ian holding out his hand towards me, gum on his palm as he held it towards me. "To equalize the pressure," I nodded, accepting the gum with a smile and popped the strawberry flavoured piece into my mouth. I could still feel the eyes of the rest on me, surprise in their eyes and even guilt. Guilt of whatever thoughts they had about me. That teaches them not to read a book by its cover. The take-off was smooth and soon I found myself isolated with earphones on, the world leaving me alone as I binge-watched the first six episodes of Sarina's favourite series. I now understood why she loved it so much. I was offered inflight food and drinks but I wasn't too keen on having my food and drinks prepared by someone I didn't trust or hadn't seen preparing my food like at the palace or the cafe. It was going to be hard to adapt to Spain's customs. Luckily Ian knew of my phobia and promised that he would check out the palace kitchen for me. But it was a palace, so it was automatically a little more trustworthy than an aeroplane who more than a thousand people get on in a single day. Now I was the one reading the book's cover. Two hours later, we touched down without any problems. I was a little disappointed that we had already landed, because now it meant that I would have to go deal with His Royal Highness and not get to watch my series. I was packing up my things back into my carryon backpack, but I remember that I had forgotten to get redressed. Oh well. I got up from my seat and prepared to exit the plane when I heard myself being called. "Your Highness," I turned to see the pilot. "How did you enjoy your flight?" I smiled in response. "It was fantastic. Thank you for your services," I responded, and he returned by bowing his head to me. Satisfied, I exited the plane whilst being flanked by Ian. There were many people on the runway, boarding and exiting planes. The most eye-opening sight was when I noticed how many people were Spanish. This was the farthest I had ever been from my home. I was so far out of comfort zone that I couldn't even envision it anymore. I really was in Spain.