Chapter 24 The King's lair

Much later on what was effectively the same morning, Ava woke up refreshed. Sounds from the bathroom told her that Eddy was trying to find the golden setting between scalding hot and freezing cold bath water and failing, opting for intermittent bursts of both to average things out.

Apparently someone had come into the apartment while they were asleep, because there were two neat stacks of fresh clothing on the table. Ava picked up the linen slacks, non-leather underwear and an oversized fluffy white jumper. A pair of flat cream coloured boating shoes stood on the floor. She wondered about the big round and very dark sunglasses.
'Ehhhrm Sis? I think I may have forgotten to take my clothes in here with me. Can you pass them through the door without looking? Please…?'

Ava obliged, except for the not looking bit. It seemed that Eddy had not managed to find any of the big towels. She decided that if spying was not his thing, he could at least have a successful career in modelling.
After chasing Eddy out and having a bath herself, they both went to look for some breakfast. They found the Prime Minister poring over a huge stack of paperwork from a blue leather box with a red stripe on it, at a table set for three.

'Good morning to the both of you. Did you sleep well? That suit suits you Eddy… Maybe it is a little tight around the chest though. We'll see about that when we go shopping. Let me help you with that tie.'

'Ava did that for me. I don't think it is supposed to be tied in a bow, but it is better than the noose, reef knot or the figure 8 follow-through knot she originally intended to make.'

'I am sorry that the Double Windsor is not in the knotting curriculum of the Girl Guides, Bro. You would have strangled yourself if I had let you do it.'

'Speaking of Windsors. Please have breakfast. We are expected to meet the King in less than two hours. Since it is a fine day, I intend to walk there through St. James park. Wolfgang can come too, if he doesn't mind being on a leash.'

'Only if you don't tell my friends. I wouldn't hear the end of it' came a rumble from under the table. 'Nothing I can't easily and obviously break out of.'

'Shall I be mother?' the PM asked and stood up to pour the tea from the silver pot that was standing on a food trolley.

'Yes please.' said Eddy. 'I would like to have you as a mother any day. This breakfast is much better than what we usually get at home.'

Caoilinn blushed as she admitted that she didn't prepare this breakfast herself. It's just one of the perks of being a Prime Minister.

After Eddy had eaten every last morsel of breakfast left on the table, they prepared to go to the King. Ava had slung the trench coat over her shoulder and put on the sunglasses after she saw Caoilinn put on a similar pair.

Walking past their car and through a guarded gate, they went left over the Horse Guards Road and then right into the park at the Clive steps. It really was a nice day, so there were plenty of people out in the park, in-line skating, pushing strollers or just ambling around. When a large man on skates failed to see one of the large metal markers of the Princess of Wales Memorial Path and launched himself into a parabolic trajectory, Eddy surprised everyone, including himself, by not only catching the guy, but holding him over his head, wondering what to do next. 'Maybe you should put him on the ground. Wheels first.' Ava proposed.

They walked past the geese and along the lake, still processing what had just happened, enjoying the sunny bits out of the tree cover. 'I want to go to this playground.' Eddy said as they reached the other side of the lake. 'Just five minutes. Pleeeease…..?' The Prime Minister looked at her slim silver watch and looked around. 'You can't get your clothes dirty before we get to the king, by going down the slides. I guess that the swings are out of the question as well because your new rear quarters will probably not fit between those chains anymore. Sooooo…. Do you want an ice cream or a waffle instead? We still have some time.'

With spit and a stack of paper napkins borrowed from the kiosk, Caoilinn and Ava eventually managed to get Eddy presentable if not a bit sticky after the chocolate and smurf ice cream disaster.

It took some time to get approval paperwork for 'The entry of Dog, Large' into the palace, which was good as a distraction from the fact that identification of Ava and Eddy could become rather tricky, age wise.

They were led to the private audience room of the King.

For reasons of confidentiality, the conversation that took place inside has not been recorded here.

They left the private audience room of the King.

Once outside the Palace, Caoilinn said 'That went better than last time. I suppose he was in a good mood, just before the bi-weekly drone hunt.'

'Ah… That explains the Wellington boots and Ghillie suit. It was really hard to spot him, although in hindsight, that rag rug did appear a little thicker than usual.'

'Did I hear it correctly when he said that contrary to the ducks from the past, the drones shoot back? That would lead to a unique Royal Obituary, I guess… 'Cause of death: Willingly shot by our own drones'.'

'I wouldn't worry too much. So far he survived, even though we source those drones from all over the world, even our enemies. This gives us a great insight in the state-of-the-art of offensive drones. The guy was literally born with a gun in his hands, so you can imagine the experience he has after 77 years of practice.'

'You mean you order enemy killer drones on purpose to test them against the King?'

'Hush!! That is a state secret! You haven't even signed your non-disclosure agreement yet!'

'That's a shame. It would make great reality TV and would probably boost the King's popularity sky high. I can already see the ads in my head.'
They walked on through the Green Park in silence, in the direction of the fashion shops.

Wolfgang broke the silence. 'Your King has a good eye for canine breeds. He nearly blew my cover. It's just a shame the Corgis aren't around there anymore. I would have liked to meet those in private.'

More embarrassed silence followed.