Twisted-Games

BRIDGET
TWO WEEKS AFTER MY DATE WITH STEFFAN, I LEFT FOR MY GOODWILL TOUR
with Mikaela, Rhys, another bodyguard named Elliott, the palace
photographer Alfred, Alfred’s assistant Luna, and Henrik, a reporter from the
Eldorra Herald.
Everyone loved my idea, including my grandfather, and the palace had
worked around the clock to put together the perfect itinerary on short notice.
We hit all the country’s most important regions, including the manufacturing
hub of Northern Kurtland and the oil and energy center of Hesbjerg. I felt like
I was campaigning for an office I’d already won, somewhat undeservingly,
thanks to genetic lottery.
But I had to do it. After years of living abroad, I needed to reconnect with
the people of Eldorra. Understand the way they lived, what problems kept
them up at night, and what they wanted that was within my power to give. In
practice, the prime minister and Parliament ruled the country, but the royal
family, as an institution, wielded considerably more power in Eldorra than in
other countries. It boasted an eighty-nine percent approval rating—far higher
than any politician—and the monarch’s opinions held a lot of sway.
If I were to be a good queen, I needed to get back in touch with the
people. It didn’t matter that I didn’t want the crown. It would be mine one
day regardless.
“It’s just us and a handful of staff,” Ida, the owner of the dairy farm we
were visiting, said. “Our farm is on the smaller side, but we do the best we
can.”
“It looks like you’re doing a lovely job.” I walked through the barn. It
was smaller than the others we’d visited, but it was well-kept, and the cows