Alex’s POV:

I grabbed our suitcases from the baggage claim, catching up to Aerowyn who was already rushing for the door. It seemed I had greatly underestimated how happy she was to be back in the states. The last few weeks had left a huge strain on her both physically as well as mentally, so the break was exactly what she needed. That much was obvious.
Within seconds of exiting the airport, we were engulfed by the sweltering air that was Miami. For the first time in weeks I had the chance to wear casual clothes rather than my usual of trousers and a blazer, so I was satisfied by the lack of clothing consuming me. Anything but shorts and a t-shirt was asking for trouble.

I stared after Aerowyn as she skipped through the bustling crowd, smirking slightly as my eyes landed on her shoes. They were fucking awesome to say the least. They were emerald green Converse with a white base, but that wasn't what caught my eye. Upon the fabric sat daisies after daisies, each hand painted as delicately as the rest. With their colours ranging from yellow to white, it was pretty hard to miss the prodigious meadow she had created.

Suddenly her feet stopped in their tracks, and my gaze soon found their way back to her face. She followed my eyes down to her feet, forming a small 'o' with her lips before shrugging it off and falling down onto the bench beside her. I took a seat, placing out suitcases down as I turned to Aerowyn who was already staring back at me.

"We should probably go over the plan," she stated matter-of-factly. I nodded, adjusting my position so I could fade her comfortably. "Okay, what's my name?"

"Matilde." I responded almost instantly. It was like I hadn't spent the last few days having it hammered into me. Notice the sarcasm?

"And how did we meet?"

"You work for the royal family, we met whilst I was helping Garry."

"Sounds good," she stated, clearly satisfied with our plan. It was simple, really. As long as we kept it casual and I remembered to call her Matilde, we'd be safe. "So where are we meeting the rest of your band?"

"Well, the first gig isn't until tomorrow, so we're staying in a hotel tonight." I explained, to which she nodded along, taking in everything I said. "We'll be moving to the tour bus by tomorrow evening though."

"Cool," she smiled brightly, "I've never actually been on a tour like this, so I'm actually excited."

"Speaking of which, I got you something." I grabbed my suitcase pulling it up onto the bench beside me, quickly unzipping the front pocket and pulling out the small, badly wrapped present. Aerowyn eyed me suspiciously, but took it all the same.

"You got me a camera?" She asked, inspecting the silver box in her hand.

"Yeah, I figured the next best thing to painting would be taking pictures. It's not a professional one, but I figured you'd want something a little better than a phone to record the experience with."

She stared back at me, her eyes widened by my words. I couldn't pinpoint whether it was a good thing, or a bad thing, but then she threw her arms around my neck.

"Thank you!" She gushed, pulling back from the hug. "I love it."

"Good, I'm glad."

She leaned past me, grabbing her suitcase before jumping up with just as much energy as she had before. I chuckled lightly, grabbing my own suitcase before following after her.

Something about Aerowyn having lived in New York for a few years made her an expert at hollering a cab, so it didn't take too long for us to be on our way. I gave the driver the address the guys had sent me, and we were soon on our way to the hotel. It wasn't exactly high-end, as far as a princess was concerned, but it was good enough for tonight. If anything it would be the comfiest bed we'd get until we returned to Dalewin.

Most of the cab ride was silent. Aerowyn was staring out of the window, taking in the sights and snapping pictures where and when she could, whilst I was texting the boys to make sure all the plans were still in check. From what it seemed, they were all eager to meet my new work associate. It wasn't necessarily a lie – we did work together, after all. They just weren't going to find out the full truth. Well, hopefully.

I paid the driver the designated amount of cash, thanking him for the lift before following Aerowyn out of the car. She had already grabbed our suitcases by the time I had shut the door, placing mine beside me before skipping off inside. I followed after her, checking the room numbers on my phone as I did.

One corridor and a lift ride later, we were standing outside room 4D, reaching up to knock on the door. Before my knuckles even had a chance to graze the hard wood, it swung open.

"I wanted to scare you in the corridor," Jack moaned, pouting at me from the doorway. His eyes immediately flickered to Aerowyn and he stared at her, mouth widened.

"Well you sure did, now move." I pushed past him, dropping my case against the wall before, to Zack's surprise, throwing myself down on the bed. Rian was sat on the large chaise beneath the window, only just noticing my arrival as well.

"Umm.. hi.." Aerowyn's voice muttered from the doorway, still being restrained by Jack and his inane need for staring at pretty girls. I rolled my eyes, pushing myself off the bed before making my way over to the pair.

"Do you mind?" I asked, leaning against the wall beside Jack who was still staring at Aerowyn, just as gobsmacked as before.

"Not at all." He uttered, sparing a second to glance at me before returning to gape at Aerowyn.

"Dude."

"Fine, Alex. I'll leave your girlfriend alone." Jack retorted bitterly.

"No, I'm actually-" Aerowyn started, only to be cut off by Jack walking away. She turned back to me, eyebrows raised.

"I did warn you." I added, knowing fine well that I spent most of the flight going into detail about how weird these guys were.

She shrugged it off, stepping into the room now that the doorway wasn't being blocked by some horny skunk-haired five-year-old. I closed the door once she was inside, leading her into the main area where the guys were having a conversation of their own, most probably about something stupid judging from Jack's face.

"Guys," I spoke, to which they all turned their heads in my direction, only looking at Aerowyn, rather than me. "This is Matilde. Matilde, this is Jack, Zack and Rian." I pointed to the three of them as I said their names, to which they smiled and said their greetings to Aerowyn–or should I say Matilde now?

"It's nice to meet you all. I'm so excited to see you guys play," she gushed, smiling brightly at the three boys.

"We're excited to play for you," Rian countered, standing up from the chaise before moving to the bed. I followed suit, taking his previous seat before pulling Aerowyn down beside me.

"The real question here is which of our roles is her favourite." Jack added, nodding matter-of-factly.

"The guitarist," Aerowyn replied almost instantly, smirking at Jack, "obviously."

"Of course," he stated, stretching his arms in order to flex his paucity of muscles. I rolled my eyes, leaning back into the chaise.

"Anyway," Rian interrupted to Jack's disappointment. "What exactly do you do for the royal family?"

Aerowyn shifted uncomfortably beside me, but answered all the same. "I work on the grounds with the horses, mainly. I met Alex when he was sorting out the arrangements for the princess’ lessons.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t find him just nosing around,” Zack chuckled.

Rian nodded in agreement, “yeah, Alex over there is obsessed with horses.”

“I’m going to have to force him out on a ride when we’re back in Dalewin then,” she stated, sparing a rather ambiguous glance at me before turning back to the boys. “Do you guys ride much?”

“I mean, it depends what type of ride you’re talking about,” Jack winked, to which Aerowyn giggled softly, staring down at her hands. I held back the temptation to snort at his bad joke, instead turning my attention to Zack who perked up again.

“We don’t ride horses like Alex,” Zack stated, completely ignoring Jack's previous statement. "We tend to have our own hobbies while we're apart."

“That's expected. You obviously don't want Alex biting your ear off every second of the day," she smirked, sparing a quick glance at me before chuckling at my faux-hurt expression.

"I'll have you know that I'm quite an astute person," I insisted, sitting up from my slouched position. "I only speak words of wisdom."

"You can't even pronounce my name," she retorted, giggling at her own inside-joke. "So I'd love to hear some words of wisdom."

"Hey, no, that was one time. You do not get to hold that against me," I argued, watching her expression closely. She held my gaze, attempting to keep her face serious beneath my stare, but also failing miserably.

"Um, sorry to interrupt whatever you've got going on here, but didn't you say your name is Matilde?" Rian interrupted, his eyebrows arching in confusion.

"Matilde, yes." Aerowyn replied, turning back to the boys with an ardent grin.

"Dude, you can't say Matilde?" Jack butted in, staring at me in disbelief.

"Of course I can say Matilde, see? Matilde, Matilde, Matilde," I insisted, knowing fine well that Aerowyn was soaking it all up. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to take Matilde to her room."

"I'll see you all later," Aerowyn added before rushing out of the room after me. I had already taken the key from Rian so all I needed to do was find her room.

"Just your information, not being able to say your name was a one time slip up." I stated, glancing at Aerowyn.

She bit on her, attempting to withhold her laughter. It was pretty obvious that she was less stressed than what she had been back in Dalewin, so I was satisfied for the time being. I was just thankful for her smile.

"You know they're never going to let me live this down." I added, fumbling with the key in the door before pushing it open to reveal her room.

"Oh, I know." She smirked, taking the key from me as she sauntered into the room. The door closed behind her and I was left, alone, in the corridor. I don't know what it was, but I had a feeling that this tour was going to be the best one yet.

Notes