A coat lay across one chair.

A jean jacket lay across another.

Two pairs of unidentical shoes lay strewn all over the floor.

In the center of the room, an unlikely pair could be seen taking a nap together.

"Should we wake them up?" a voice said.

"I don't want to but Adelaide and William would be back soon," a female voice replied.

At the names of the twin royals, Camila peeled her eyes open. The dainty clock above the door said the time was twenty minutes past six. She did not want to believe it; she had slept for more than five hours, twice as much sleep than she required to function every day.

Her eyes dropped to the King and Queen in the doorway who bore warm smiles.

She finally looked at the Prince who was holding her tightly with his legs tangled in hers and his head nestled in her chest. He looked serene, much better than he had looked in the past few weeks.

She shot down the stab of guilt that sliced through her.

"Your Highness," she said, "Your siblings would be here soon."

"Go back to sleep, Mila," he groaned and pulled her on top of him.

She did not dare glance at his parents.

Reaching down quickly, she kissed his nose hoping he would respond. He didn't.

She moved to his lips.

Immediately, his hand shot up to hold the back of her head to press her closer.

After a few seconds, she pulled back ignoring his groan of protest.

"Mila, if you're gonna wake me up like that, at least don't stop halfway."

"Some other time. Your siblings are coming," she slipped out of his embrace and reached for her coat.

He sat up and stretched, "That was the best sleep I've ever had in my life."

"Don't exaggerate," she said and threw his jacket at him.

Although she said that, she knew exactly what he was talking about. She could feel her internal workings functioning better than optimally, almost humming in satisfaction.

He gave her a smug smirk, "Whatever you say, Mila."

"Mila?" the queen asked, her smile growing.

That was when he noticed his parents at the door.

"Oh, hey, Mum. Dad. You don't mind me borrowing your knowledge keeper, do you?" he grinned. Camila rolled her eyes.

What a child.

"You just manage to find the joke in everything, don't you?" his father said chuckling.

He walked to the door, "Yes, yes I do."

The prince looked outside and frowned, "Where are the people that interrupted my nap?"

Just then, the twins stormed in yelling for their father to settle an argument between them.

"What is it again, you crazy kids?" the said father sighed. 

"Tell William that pineapple doesn't belong on pizza!"

"Tell Adelaide that it doesn't matter. It's just pizza!"

"Can you hear his blasphemy? It's just pizza. Can you hear it?" the princess accused.

"You can live without it. If pizza was outlawed, you won't die," Prince William replied.

"I'd rather be a fugitive than give it up," she said with narrowed eyes.

"For the sake of all things good, Adelaide! Camila, you're the smart one. Tell her," the younger prince turned to her.

Normally, Camila would have launched into a lecture on the nutrient composition of pizza with or without pineapple. She would have suggested alternatives to pizza in a situation where it was outlawed. If needed, she might have even constructed a weekly meal plan excluding pizza for the princess to show that she could survive without it.

But today, her mind was on something else namely the increased levels of electromagnetic waves in the room accompanied by the static that could only be from a device associated with sound. 

She looked at the twins with their phones in their hands.

Off. She shouldn't be able to detect that.

What's wrong? her mate mindlinked her. The family was staring at her with varying degrees of concern on their faces.

Tell your family to keep talking. Stay away from important matters. I'm almost certain there's a listening device, she replied suppressing the wave of pain that came with her linking. 

"Your Highnesses, both your opinions are valid. I am not in a rightful position to discredit your beliefs," Camila said as she began to circle them. The eyes of the King and Queen began to burn in anger.

"See, Will. She said I'm right," Princess Adelaide continued the conversation smoothly.

"No, she didn't. She probably thinks you're wrong and just doesn't want to tell you," her twin followed.

"Kids!" the King exclaimed, "Why don't you tell me how your day was."

She passed behind the twins, and the hum increased suddenly.

She stepped back.

"Yeah, Taylor called today. She said she was coming to visit soon," the princess said.

Wrong topic. 

Camila thought of warning her not to stop talking, but it was too late. If she stopped suddenly, the eavesdroppers on the other end may realize something was up.

The queen winced but continued talking, "Really? How's she doing?"

"Her college classes are pissing her off so she'll be coming to cool off sometime this week."

A plan began to form in Camila's head.

She stood behind the princess where the hum was the strongest.

Finally locating the offending object, Camila gently reached up and pulled the hair clip from the younger girl's hair.

Making sure not to upset the microphone, she held it near the princess as they continued their conversation about Taylor and a party that she and Princess Adelaide wanted to attend come Friday night.

Tell the princess to say something about going to change into something else. I need to wrap the hairpin in aluminum foil to block the transmission, Camila mindlinked the prince.

Not missing a beat, Princess Adelaide stretched convincingly as though the listening device had a camera,

"My feet are killing me. Imma change. Be back in a second."

She said, and Camila began to walk in the direction of the palace kitchen in search of aluminum foil.

At the door, she motioned for the cook to be silent before mouthing 'aluminum foil.'

Fortunately, the man understood her immediately and soon presented her with a wrap and scissors. When he had cut out a sheet, she nodded in thanks and returned to the throne room now with a carefully wrapped hairpin.

"Your majesty," Camila whispered to the queen, "May I place this in your meeting room?"

The queen nodded and took the package into the soundproof room behind her throne.

When she came out, the King held her as she was vibrating in anger.

"My own home is not safe anymore. Someone dared to invade my home," she seethed out.

"Where'd you get that hairpin, Adelaide?" her twin asked her.

"It was in a set Taylor mailed to me about a week ago. I just got the package yesterday," she replied, hugging herself.

Her earlier acting was false bravery. Camila could see her fear of being involved in this situation.

Could she ask her to pretend a little longer?

Yes. Yes, she could.

Feeling Camila's gaze on her, the princess turned to her,

"I'll still need to act a little longer, won't I?"

Camila nodded, and immediately, the family began to protest to protect the littlest royal.

"Please," Camila started, and they quieted, "I do not wish to put the princess in danger, but this is a seemingly foolproof plan to get ahead of the eavesdroppers. If anyone shows up to harm her, we'll be ready."

"How exactly do you plan on doing that without roping other people into this?"

Camila turned to the prince, "I think we're going to a party this Friday."