Princess Adeline of Wales

Chapter Forty-Five: Breakaway

21st of August 2005 - Treetops Hotel, Kenya

Stretching her arms above her head, Adeline couldn't help but smile to herself as she opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling of her temporary bedroom. 

Jet-lag had pretty much kicked her ass since she had arrived and Adeline was more than relieved that she had the room to herself so that she could unwind. 

It as hard to believe that fifty-three years ago, this was where her grandmother had been when she had learnt of the tragic passing of her father and her rise to the role of Queen. 

Perhaps it was part of the draw that Adeline had felt when she had been asked where she'd be spending her gap year, Kenya being the first place on the tip of her tongue and had caught almost everyone by surprise. 

Sitting up in her bed, Adeline looked around the room that would be hers during her stay; everything had been arranged and she had been assured that there would be little disturbance for her here. 

The sound of her stomach grumbling made her sigh and she threw back the light sheets before climbing from her bed, a quick glance at her clock reassured her that it wasn't too late for her to grab breakfast. 

They had arrived rather late yesterday from the airport, her father having been rather reluctant to allow her to leave and had made her promise to call whenever she had the chance. 

Tying her hair back out of her face in a messy bun, Adeline slipped on her sandals before she padded out of her room and onto the balcony to see the view. 

The view was unlike any that she had seen and she moved towards the railing as she admired the scene before her, there were a few giraffes eating from the trees not far from her and she could see a herd of elephants grazing nearby. 

"Your Royal Highness," greeted one of the servers, a quick curtsy was offered as she preceded to set breakfast on the table for their royal guest. 

The entire hotel had been abuzz with the news of the top-secret royal guest, everyone dying for a chance to lay eyes on the Princess that had arrived late last night. 

It was not every day that they had such a visit, even rarer now that they were independent from the UK and had been since 1964; although the place clearly held a special place in the hearts of the royals.

"Adeline is fine," Adeline reassured her, with a kind smile as she glanced back at the view that was laid out before her; she felt truly blessed to be here and she intended to make the most of her time here while she could. 

There was no telling when she would get a chance like this again, she knew that once she finished university then her path was mostly set for her and she might never get the chance for this sort of privacy again. 

"I am Ngina, I shall be serving you today. I have brought you breakfast ma'am, the tour has been scheduled for this afternoon if that is okay," Ngina continued moving to set the table so that it was ready for Adeline, she had been carefully instructed on what was expected of her. 

There would be many that would happily take her place if she were to fail, many jealous snakes that had been furious when it had been her tasked with delivering the Princess's meals and ensuring her stay was nothing but perfect. 

The hotel was in need of a boost such as this, a royal guest would certainly but them back on the map and there was no doubt that there would be many a person in the world that would come to the Treetops hotel just because Adeline had stayed here with them. 

"Thank you, it all looks amazing," Adeline complimented before moving to take a seat while Ngina poured out a cup of tea for her and made sure that everything was perfect.