The Royal Heir - The Valtoria Diaries 2

Owed by the world

"Well, guys, this is it. Welcome to the Walker ranch."

They'd made their way down a long driveway lined with trees and through an open wooden gate, seeing the rustic ranch house prominently in the foreground as they entered the grounds. Drake drove the car round to the left, coming to a stop near an old barn where other cars and trucks were parked.

"Whooo. We did it!" Maxwell exclaimed.

"Who did it?" Drake grunted.

"You did it, but you couldn't have done it without our encouragement and motivation!"

"Oh trust me, I could," Drake muttered, getting out of the car. Although he was still stuck with Maxwell for a couple more weeks here, at least he didn't have to be in such close proximity to him for such long periods.

Sadly, the same was also true for Hana, who had already got out of the car and was gazing around. He got out too, and went to join her.

"It's just how I imagined it," she said.

"I mean, sure, it's been a long while since I've been here. But yeah. It's just how I remember it too."

As the four of them trudged to the front door, it opened. Drake made eye contact with his mother, who leant against the porch.

"Mom. Good to see you."

"You too, son."

"Everyone, I'm sure you all remember my mom, Bianca." Bianca had of course visited Cordonia briefly around the time of Jones and Maxwell's wedding, mainly to get to know her grandson and future son in law.

"Great to see you again, Mrs Walker," Maxwell said, stepping forward to greet her with a kiss on the cheek. "I've been so excited to get here and join in all the wedding planning fun!"

Drake then heard another familiar voice from behind his mother. "Who said anything about fun? While you four are here, you'll be making yourselves useful. Right, Bianca?"

Oh, man. Why was she hanging around like a bad smell?

"Aunt Leona," he said curtly. "What are you doing here?"

"Is that how you greet family these days?" Leona sneered, stepping out. "I thought hanging around with all these stuffy nobles would at least teach you something about manners."

Drake noticed Jones's eyes begin to narrow as Leona examined the group.

"You know me, I'm a slow learner," he replied. "It's good to see you. Guys, this is Leona, my mom's younger sister. Aunt Leona, these are my friends. Hana, Maxwell, and Jen."

Leona looked first at Maxwell. "So you're the annoying little brother."

"I'm sure my brother has much to say about me," grinned Maxwell.

"Let's not forget we have Maxwell to thank for helping Savannah out when she was in trouble," Bianca pointed out.

"I like you, Mrs Walker," Maxwell said, still grinning.

"And you?" Leona next paced towards Jones, whose expression was very cool in comparison to her husband's. "You, I can't stop hearing about. From the news, the tabloids, my own sister.. is it true that you're leading Cordonia to inevitable ruin by corrupting the monarchy?"