Timeless - Max Verstappen

Chapter 13

2023

Anna's POV

My hair blows with the ocean breeze as I walk the pathway along the beach front. The beach, this one specifically, has always been one of my favorite places. Ever since I was little I have always begged my mom and dad to bring me to the beach. It is just on the outskirts of Amsterdam, away from the house and the crazy life of being a princess. Thankfully being a princess these days is much easier than what my ancestors had to deal with.

I take in a deep breath of the salty fresh air before I make my way to the closest train station, catching the train back into the city Centre. I prefer to use public transport or walk where I need to go if I can. Using the Royal chauffeur system just doesn't feel right.

I walk up the front steps of the castle, and make my way to my room. I still think the fact that we are living in a castle in this day and age is far to much but my dad insists that it is tradition. I pass all the paintings of my ancestors that cover the walls as I walk. I check my watch to see that supper is still an hour away. My room is rather spectacular, it is still the original design. The only thing that has been changed in this room is the furniture and the curtains. And there is now a TV in my room too. Everything else is exactly how it was when it was originally built all those millennia ago. I scroll through Instagram on my phone, deciding to post a photo I took of the beach on my story.

I fix my hair and make my way down to the dining table where I find my mom setting the dishes of food on the table. She insists on helping the kitchen staff even though they do not want the help, she loves to cook. I greet her with a hug as my brothers walk in to the room, followed by my dad. We sit down and begin to dish ourselves food. "I have to tell you guys something. The Formula one Grand Prix weekend is next weekend and to celebrate we will be hosting the drivers and showing them the castle as well as the the dinner slash dance that I spoke to you guys about. It is in two days so make sure all of your clothes are prepared and ready to be worn on Saturday." My dad explains. I smile, thinking about the beautiful dress that the seamstress and I designed for the ball.

I have met max before, but that was a couple of years ago when he first got into f1. All that was said between us was 'hi'. Not very spectacular. And as for the sport itself, I have loosely followed what has been happening, especially with max winning two championships in a row, but other than that I haven't really gotten into the sport.

We eventually finish up with dinner and I make my way to the cinema room. One of the old lounges was converted into a cinema room a couple of years ago. The windows were darkened and a projector and a scree were installed. As well as some really comfortable couches. I flop back onto one of the couches and not long afterwards, both of my brothers join me. We enjoy watching movies in the evenings together. My older brother, Thomas grabs the remote and flicks through all the movies we have, before deciding on one. My younger brother, Stefan, makes himself comfortable on the beanbag as the movie begins.

~

The sound of the waves fill my ears as the fresh morning air hits my skin. I walk down the sidewalk towards the promenade. The sky is just beginning to brighten as I reach the low wall, separating the promenade from the sand below. I watch the waves rush up and down the sand as something moves in the corner of my eye. I turn to find a man, a hat low on his head with sunglasses covering his eyes. His head turns and his eyes meet mine. "Anna. Wow it's nice to see you again." He smiles. "Hi, max. Long time no see." I smile back. "It has indeed been a long time." He laughs. "Yeah a lot has happened, Mr 2 time world champ." I say with a laugh. Making him smile.

"So what brings you down here at this hour?" He asks me, shifting closer to me as he leans against the wall, placing his sunglasses on top of his hat. "I don't know. It's just something about this beach specifically that draws me here. It's beautiful and comforting and it's almost empty so I don't run into people. I like the quiet, it helps me think." I smile. "It's strange because I always find myself at this specific beach whenever I'm here too. It's probably just the calmness of the waves, away from our busy lives." He smiles. "Yeah I'm sure your life is much busier than mine."  I laugh

Max and I talked as we watched the sun rise in front of us. He is so easy to talk to. It must be because I feel weirdly comfortable around him even though we haven't interacted that much. We shared small pieces of our busy lives. I watched the smile grow on his face as he spoke about his racing career and how he has won the last two seasons and is currently on an unbeaten streak. I pick up on how passionate he is about his sport. Slowly the visitors to the beach begin to grow and we decide to go our separate ways. "It was really awesome catching up with you." Max says with a small smile. "Yeah it was. I enjoyed it. I'll see you at the palace tomorrow?" I question with a smile as he begins to slowly walk backwards, away from me. "I wouldn't miss it. Bye Anna." He says, his smile wide as he slips his sunglasses back on. "Goodbye max." I say and he turns around before walking off. The smile covering my face stays the whole way home.