The next day, the weather turned for the worse, with fog and drizzle, so they stayed at home. It was the day he observed her secret power, the princessly power of doing nothing gracefully.

Staring for an hour at the fog outside, on the window sill, dressed only in one of his boxers and shirts, a cup of tea in hand.

Leaning her head on his shoulder, her hands around his arm, eyes closed, for a couple of hours, while he was browsing data about rogue North Korean factions.

Sitting all evening in the armchair, sipping mulled wine, wriggling her now sockless toes toward the fire, to enjoy the heat, her feet perched on the arm of the recliner.

Contemplating the darkness of the night and the lamposts' meager light until late, then going to sleep, him holding her hand until the soft purrs of her snoring arrived.

Just sitting and doing nothing was an art she had pushed to perfection. He invented a name for that: the do-nothingness and nicknamed her, that day, The Do-Nothing Princess.

Elliot is the Official Unofficial Contact of the US Embassy in Prague, the one to ask for information when a crisis happens. In the right place at the wrong moment, he saves a young woman from being kidnaped by pimps, and his life changes forever. Aine's true identity becomes a problem of concern when a rogue North Korean hit squad is sent after her, with intent to kill. Aided by the CIA Chief of Station, codename Smith, Elliot fights to save Aine's life, trying to figure out on the way if she's traumatized and delusional, Kim-Jong-Un's love-child, or a princess from an alternate reality, like she pretends to be. All that while hiding her in his apartment, unbeknownst to his momentarily absent fiancee. Battling off local thugs, North Koreans, or evil wizards, is hard, but even harder is their inner fight between keeping true to their betrothed ones, or succumbing to their mutual attraction.

Cover photo by Free-Photos on Pixabay