Chapter 39: Chapter XVII Maximiliano-2

We looked over the crowd of people and saw that a little riot had started near our plane. Girl were being kept back by security guards and I knew immediately that we would get involved in the situation. What proved it even more inevitable was the fact that in front of the security guards stood the handsomest man I had ever laid my eyes on. He wasn't wearing a suit, but instead wore a tuxedo that practically oozed of luxury. In his hands was a sign that he held up into the air which read: 'Bienvenidos a España, Princesa Melanie.' My Spanish was not as on point as my other languages such as French and Italian. Those were really the only two that I was comfortable with, and Mandarin had to be the one I did the worst in. Luckily I could read the simple message, just welcoming me to Spain. I really hoped that the Prince was fluent in English. We headed over to the man who carried a warm smile, his entire aura enticing. As soon as he spotted our heading towards him, he lowered the sign and gave me the honour of seeing his perfect teeth in a smile. He handed the sign over to one of the men in black and headed over towards me. He stopped right in front of me, his tall figure luring over me. Being so close to him I could truly say that he was a beautiful man. I returned a smile just as warmly. He got onto his knee in front of me which made me blush in embarrassment. Why was he bowing before me? He carried a higher rank, having already been crowned. He took my hand and placed a butterfly kiss on it, my cheeks reddening even more. He stood up straight and chuckled a little at how red my face was. "Mi Princesa," he nodded towards me. "Mi Príncipe," I addressed back with a nod. "English?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow and a sly gleam in his eye. I sighed in relief. "Please," I must've sounded a bit desperate because he laughed at me. His accent was quite thick, but it was appealing to the ear. "Let us get out of this mess," he told me, looking over the little crowd. He caught the eye of one of the security men who nodded in affirmation. They began to clear a passageway for us to head off the runway and towards the main building. Ian joined in assisting the security team. He led me to the pickup zone where we quickly found my load. His men took my bags to the limousine that waited outside for us, four other black cars surrounding it. This wasn't unusual, this was how my mother and father travelled and occasionally me to. There wasn't much conversation throughout this process because we were more concerned to just get to a more secure location. Once we sat in the limousine together, then the conversation began. "I have not yet introduced myself. How very rude, I apologize. My name is Maximiliano-Alejandro," he introduced himself with a bit of an embarrassed smile. It was adorable on him. "Melanie Annabelle," I returned the gesture. He smiled. "The fourth, I believe?" I nodded in affirmation. "Yes. Annabelle the fourth, not the Melanie part," I explained and he nodded. "I think your name is beautiful and it suits you perfectly. My name is a bit of a mouthful so usually I tell people to call me 'Max', but that was before I crowned," he explained and I understood what he meant. "Because we're not allowed to have nicknames," "Yes. You can still call me 'Max' if we are in private if you want to, otherwise 'Alejandro' is easier to pronounce," I nodded my head in thanks. "So Melanie?" "Or 'Mel' if we are in private," I said sarcastically, making my tone replicate the one he used. He chuckled amusingly. "So I have two weeks to keep you entertained and teach you of this marvellous country. I don't think it will take too long to work through all of the tourist attractions before you're bored, so I planned something special for the last weekend," I was curious but nodded. My life was in his hands now, so he better keep me amused. "So I was thinking we can get you settled in today and get you accustomed to the palace, and then tomorrow we have an early roadtrip," he started to explain, excitedly. "Where are we going?" "Well the plan is that tomorrow we go see the 'El Escorial' and the 'Aqueduct of Segovia'. After the weekend we'll go to Granada, and then the Ibiza Island, then Barcelona and then we'll back in Navarra for the Running of the Bulls!" he spoke so enthusiastically. "Running of the Bulls?" I questioned. "It's an event at the San Fermín festival where people run through the barricaded streets while a stampede of bulls is released into the crowd," my jaw dropped at this. "The festival goes on for nine days and there is a running each day. The bulls are lead to the bull ring where after the run, bullfights take place. It takes place each year," he explained, a loving for his country evident in his tone. Spaniards were crazy. "That should be fun to watch," I said, thinking of the image of a crowd running away from bulls. If they still with the crazy tradition, then it must be safe, right? "Well I better hope so. I will be running in the event," he turned to me with a bright smile and I can't help but gawk in bewilderment. This trip was nothing like I thought it would be.