Chapter 4: Arrival

Loud pounding on the door by Patrick awoke the tousled girls who looked groggily at one another, briefly wondering who each other was. Without so much of a warning, the door burst open to flood the room with bright Queensland sun dripping off of every item in the room. Brianá and Anna Maria groaned, hiding under their blanket; and Cheska growled something obscene in Japanese. 

“Breakfast is on the way your highness, Ms. Brianá, Ms. Nagasaki. Outside in five if you will. We have a deadline.” He left just as quickly as he had arrived, not bothering to take the blinding sunshine with him. Anna Maria was the first to roll out of bed, run a brush through her locks and teeth, throw on a pair of skinny jeans, riding style boots and a baby blue, off the shoulder peasant top. 

She doe not look very much like a princess, thought Cheska, who had just gotten up as well, and was dressing in black leggings, black flats and yet another red t-shirt. Brianá was the only one who seemed to be able to get herself into a cute paisley sundress and everything straightened up and packed in the time the other two got dressed. Another knock sounded at the door and Patrick hollered for them to hurry up. 

“We’re coming Patrick! Don’t get your nickers in a twist…geez.” Anna Maria hollered right back. She smiled at her friends shaking their heads, one with annoyance and the other with amusement. They filed their way outside, this time prepared with sunglasses. The scrambled into the same Range Rover from the night before; however, there were three lunch sacks with cups of hot coffee for Brianá and tea for Cheska and Anna Maria, apples, and some sort of breakfast roll stuffed with steaming sausage, scrambled eggs, a hash-brown patty, and a slice of tomato. 

“Are we supposed to"“

“Cheska! Shut up, please, and just try it.” Anna Maria snapped as she bit into her sandwich. “Mmm, I love a fresh bap in the morning.” Her mouth still partly full. Brianá dove right in, hardly stoping to enjoy the flavorful combination of tastes; while Cheska stared repugnantly at her companions. She was beginning to think more and more that Anna Maria was just putting up a facade"surely one would not act this way if they were a member of the Royal family. She cautiously took a bite, surprise washing over her face at how delectable the flavors actually were. It was as if she had bit into a little bit of heaven.  

The caravan set out, one vehicle in front of theirs, and one behind. Anna Maria entertained herself by pushing various buttons on the radio, much to the displeasure of Patrick; and Brianá started writing in her daily journal. Cheska leaned her dark head against the window and stared out at the red emptiness that was the Australian landscape. 

*****

“I never knew Australia was so beautiful.” Anna Maria exclaimed, her eyes wandering over everything from clumps of spiky grass to the vast mesas. Brianá nodded in agreement. 

“It really is an unexpected beauty.” 

Cheska grunted from beside her. “Japan is better. We have so much more greenery, plus, we’re a more sophisticated country. Not some desert wasteland.” Anna Maria rolled her eyes, ignoring the girl’s comment. She was getting tired of all the negativity. 

“Why do you have to find something wrong with everything Cheska? What has the world ever done to you?” 

Cheska turned her scornful eyes onto Anna Maria. 

“Grow up and realize that the world is not all puppies and rainbows and ta-tee-da. It’s a cold hard place. Shouldn’t you be more cynical if you’re next in line for the throne of England?” 

Patrick slammed on the brakes, throwing his passengers against their seat-belts. Without a word, he got out of the vehicle, marched around to Cheska’s door, and opened it wide, waiting for her to emerge. She stared at him blankly. 

“What do you want? I’m not going anywhere.” Patrick pursed his lips, steam beginning to seep from his nostrils like an angry bull. 

“This is the last time I will say this. You will NOT,” he yelled, “speak to Her Highness in that way. You will ride the remainder of the trip in that car.” Patrick pointed to the Rover bringing up the rear of their group. “You will not speak to the driver, nor will he converse with you. Upon reaching the school, you will be in the hands of President Rosenpaul. Is that clear Mistress Cheska.” 

The girl’s face remained unmoved as she tossed her bag to Patrick, who let it fall to the dust, and hopped out of the car. Brianá and Anna Maria sat dumbfounded that their chauffeur had managed to shut the Japanese girl up. Cheska strode like a haughty hen to the trailing car, climbed in and slammed the door shut. Patrick resumed his position as driver and the caravan continued. 

  The rest of the trip continued in silence, each girl lost in her own thoughts. 

*****

“Your Highness?” Anna Maria was tousled out of her nap by Patrick’s smooth voice. She rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times at the sunbeams dancing their way into the vehicle. 

“Your Highness, we’re about ten minutes from the school.” 

Anna Maria smiled sweetly, patting the man’s arm in thanks. She peered around at Brianá, who’s nose was plastered to the window. 

“Anna Maria! Look! There is a kangaroo!” Anna Maria pressed her nose against her own window and and gasped as she saw a lone red kangaroo, hopping away to who knows where. 

“May we put the windows down Patrick?” Brianá queried. The mane nodded but warned her that dust and dirt may bother them. The girls took his words into a consideration and rolled down the windows to let the icy air out and the hot heat in. Bringing up the rear, Cheska had hardly glanced up from her phone the entire trip. She had been having a long, hate-filled conversation with her best friend from home, Momo. She happened to glance up at the precise moment that Anna Maria stuck her golden head outside her window. Cheska frowned, the girl’s hair was flying wildly in the wind, giving her a Lady Godiva image. Cheska grumbled in Japanese, the words s**t and bimbo crossing her vocabulary. 

Brianá laughed at Anna Maria’s childlike character; she then wondered if Cheska was doing okay. Patrick was awfully hard on her. The young girl shook her head, hoping things would change between the three of them once they arrived at the school. 

“Oh…my. Brianá look! Look! Aussie cowboys.” Her voice was smooth with a lustful edge on it. Brianá poked her own head out the window and followed Anna Maria’s gaze. She caught sight of two young men atop black horses, galloping in the same direction as the Rovers.  Cheska saw their heads and looked around to see what was so interesting. She spotted the riders and immediately smiled deviously. “Maybe there will be some excitement around here after all.” She thought. 

As the riders and the vehicles moved closer together on their seemingly identical destination, the young men glanced over, spying  Anna Maria  and Brianá’s fervent watching. The first rider, dressed in a loose white cotton button down with sleeves rolled up and a tan palm leaf cowboy hat, smiled at Anna Maria and reached up, brushing his fingers on the brim of his hat in greeting. The Second young man, dressed similarly to the first except his hat matched his horses coat, waved his tanned arm at Brianá, calling out to her in a heavy accent.

“Dobroye utro, beautiful lady!” Brianá blushed and waved back. Cheska’s jaw dropped, she really wasn’t that good looking to catch the attention of someone she didn’t even know. 

*****

Just as Anna Maria was imagining herself getting to know this mysterious cowboy, the caravan pulled up to a 10 foot tall wrought iron gate. Screwed tightly to the dark bars were three solid gold letters--Q.B.S. Stretching out from either sides of the gates was an equally tall red brick wall; with a white brick column every twenty feet for what seemed like three miles each direction. Three jaws simultaneously dropped open in awe when the looming gates creaked open, gracefully showing off their old age. As the two rovers"the lead one breaking off before entering the grounds" drove through campus, the viewers noticed that the campus grounds were neatly kept up, with rows of flowers lining the gravel pathways; large Maple trees grew along either side of the main roads and Oak trees rose up to nearly 50 feet high. The sprawling grounds were covered in lush green grass that came right up to the historic brick buildings. New students were scattered about, learning their way around a new place; while returning students found friends that had been greatly missed over the spring break. Looking around the girls saw an old Gothic style library, the circular shaped basketball coliseum and several academic buildings. Anna Maria had read that there was a 200 horse barn and four full sized riding arenas, two of which were covered for bad weather, however she could not see any sign of a barn. Thinking to her self, Anna Maria hoped and prayed she would be able to see three of her horses soon.