The Secret Princess

"Hej (hi), Benny, I have a secret to tell you!" my girlfriend eagerly whispered into my ear, hoping to snag my attention.

It was 12/16/2023, my 25th birthday (which I do happen to share with a somewhat-similarly named member of ABBA, just wanted to let you all know that), and so far it had been going quite well, with the exception of a balloon loudly bursting and almost making me cry due to my sensitive ears.

(It didn't.)

"Sigh. Astrid, can you please tell me your secret?"

"Nej (no), but I shall give you a hint: it relates to my Swedish heritage," she replied.

Now, despite my sweet Astrid having been born in the US, both of her parents were born AND raised in Sweden.

"FYI, Benny, but that is only a minor clue. Please tell me the whole secret," I nervously whispered back.

"After I go to the bathroom, I'll tell you, alright?"

"Mhm," I deeply sighed - this wasn't like how Astrid normally was.

~~~~~~~~~

After she returned from the bathroom, I eagerly waited for her to reveal the secret.

However, all she gave me was yet another hint.

"The secret is related to royalty."

I was confused - could this mean she actually has Swedish royal blood in her, or did someone officially proclaim her as a "dancing queen?"

"I'm sorry, but I still can't guess your secret. Please, darling, tell me the secret. I promise I won't tell a single soul unless you say it's fine to do so," I pleaded.

"I still need some time to figure out on how to say it. Don't worry, though, I shall tell you the secret by midnight tonight. Is that alright with you, Benny?"

I didn't know how to react - you see, normally, whenever Astrid had a secret for me, she'd tell me right away at the first possible opportunity WITHOUT using cryptic hints I cannot understand.

"Ah, that, that's fine, my love. Just remember to actually TELL me the secret! I can't stand the waiting anymore!" I pleaded as I tried not to cry.

"Remember, sweet Benny, good things come to those who wait. Even if you have to wait many, many, many hours. It shall all be worth it in the end," she lovingly consoled me.

Here we go again. Ugh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A couple hours had passed and my dark-blue watch now read 6 PM. Astrid now had six more hours to keep her promise regarding the secret.

"Sweet Benny, I have two things to say to you: the next hint is that it'd be something that makes me quite excited and that for dinner, we shall be ordering in from Olive Garden. What do you want to get from there?" she texted me.

After letting out a long, disappointed sigh, I had an answer.

"Wow, still no secret reveal? WEAK! Anyways, I'd like a Chicken Parm."

"K. See you in a bit."

I weeped - Astrid STILL hadn't revealed her secret, yet we were getting dinner from my favorite place.

"I shall only hope that Astrid keeps her promise. She hasn't been acting like herself at all since she told me about her secret. What was up with her?!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Half an hour later, dinner still hadn't yet arrived and I was quite antsy. I had been rapidly rolling all over the rug in the apartment we shared in boredom and anxiety.

"Astrid, darling, why haven't you told me your secret yet?! I have been waiting all day for you to tell me it! PLEASE TELL ME IT NOW!"

As she sat down on a nearby couch, she slowly turned her head towards me.

"Benny, sweet, sweet Benny, I know you have been waiting all day for me to tell you my secret, however, however, it does not yet feel like the proper time to tell you so. Only I will know when it is right to tell you so," she calmly whispered to me.

I was stunned at her response; it was like all my words had suddenly been vacuumed out of my mouth.

"Sweetheart, don't you at least have a HINT for me?!" I begged.

"Yes, but this hint is the final one: at some point during our dinner together, a gift I give to you shall give you a clue so huge, it will pretty much give away my secret at the first moment in which you see it," she calmly explained as she went to bring in the food. "If that does not work, then, I shall tell you. Either way, by the end of dinner, you will know my secret," she sighed as she went to collect our food.

Hope suddenly flared up within me; during our shared dinner, at a yet unknown point, Astrid would give me a gift that would, hopefully, reveal her secret to me.

If the gift hypothetically did not give away the secret?

She would verbally explain it to me instead.

Either way, soon enough, the chamber would be open, and at long, long last, the secret would finally be revealed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Wow, thanks for buying this. You know that I am quite grateful for this, right?"

"Mhm. I know you love Olive Garden, so I selected that as our dinner tonight. Now, let's eat before it gets cold," Astrid lovingly cooed as she unpacked the DoorDash Order.

"Alrighty."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Benny, you have been waiting long enough. Here is the gift I mentioned to you earlier today."

I dropped my fork in shock - this was only a light blue gift bag!

"The gift is inside the bag, if you couldn't tell."

"Ha ha, very funny, Astrid," I groaned as I put my arm in the bag and felt around for a bit, before revealing a smaller box with a blue velvet casing. This box was quite heavy.

"Is it what I think it is?!" I pondered.

Astrid's face suddenly displayed a large grin.

"Mhm. Open it, Benny! OPEN IT!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I suddenly felt like I was once again 10 years old instead of 25.

"Ooh, what is it?! What is it?! Could be a special pen?! Perhaps a jewelry box?! Maybe it's a ... CROWN?!" I giggled.

"You'll only know once you open the box! SO, OPEN IT!" Astrid begged.

"Fine, fine, I shall open the box."

What was inside shocked me to my core.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Inside the box laid a silver crown topped with blue gems, a small package of cleaning material, and an even smaller box containing a necklace with a special charm - a charm which displayed the crest of the House of Bernadotte - the house of the SWEDISH ROYAL FAMILY!!

"Astrid, darling, are you joking?! I still do not understand what this all means!"

"Well, to make a long story somewhat short, I did some DNA tests with a well-known company, and ... let's just say that they ALL confirmed that I have Swedish royal blood on BOTH sides of my family, putting me in the VERY back of the Swedish Royal Line of Succession, which means that there is a very unlikely chance, in other words a next-to-nothing chance of me becoming Queen. But hey, the chance is there!"

I was stunned and at a sudden and total loss of words.

"WAIT WHAT?! This is too good to be true - alright, so it IS true. Wow, wow, oh my, I, I, I cannot believe that you, my sweet, darling Astrid, ACTUALLY have Swedish royal blood within you, much less on BOTH sides of your family. Wow, I ACTUALLY am dating royalty, even if they are very minor royalty. I am a prince - alright, I WILL be one if I marry her. My, oh my..." I mumbled.

"My sweet prince, do not worry. We will still live in the US for now, although, we might consider moving to Canada someday. Life will be the exact same as before this. Now, how about I put that crown and necklace on you for a quick pic before putting them away in order to keep them clean?"

I suddenly lit up with joy.

"Would my current outfit be fine for this picture, though?"

"Mhm. Your outfit's fine. Let's set things up."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Alright, please adjust that crown a little bit, Benny. Beautiful! Now, the secret has been revealed at last! Smile! Awesome! Now, please look a little confident. Alright, one more picture! You look stunning, sweetie!"

I was blushing like mad.

"Thank you, darling. This surprise was definitely worth the wait!"

"Aww, you're welcome, Benny, my sweet, sweet prince. How about we have some ice cream?"

"Alright. But please make sure to add ALL the toppings!"

Astrid nodded.

"Of course I will! After all, I'm a princess!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mhm, this is good! My darling, you are a true princess! I am so, so, SO delighted right now! Even though I'm alive and well, I feel like I am in heaven!" I gushed with happiness.

"I knew you would adore this, sweet prince. I wanted the mood to feel just right before the reveal. Happy 25th, my darling Benny."

I didn't know how to reply to my princess, my actual royalty princess.

Eventually, I only muttered, "Thanks."

That word was all I could truly say.