Royal Hearts Page #2

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Yeah, I'm gonna miss your

bad breath a whole bunch, Bear.

That's for sure.

Ol' Hank loves his Bear dog.

[sniffs]

Oh, wow, somebody needs a bath.

[train whistle blows]

Look, Mom, John Wayne.

Stop it!

GRIMSBY:
You made it!

Excellent!

I have the car waiting.

KELLY:
Oh.

ANNOUNCER:
Final boarding

for train 313,

departing for Merania.

Wow! This is for us?

HANK:
Don't get all

worked up, princess.

My old pickup's

more dependable than this rig.

Let's just hope we don't have

to get out and push her.

GRIMSBY:
Right this way, sir.

[sheep bleating]

MAN:
Come on.

Come on.

Come on.

- Come on.

- [horn honks]

Hey, what are you doing?

You're scaring them.

KELLY:
Would you mind moving

your sheep off the road?

Yeah, no problem.

Hyah! Come on, let's go!

Oh, good grief.

Let me do this. Excuse me.

Okay, little buddies,

let's go!

Move it along.

Whoo-hoo!

Hyah! Come on!

That's my girl, Grimsby.

It's good to see

she's still got it in her.

[bleating continues]

HANK:
Nice job.

Thanks, Dad.

Thank you! Later!

This is it, sir.

Your estate, up there.

That's not an estate.

That's a--

A castle.

We're gonna live in a castle?

HANK:
Vampires live in a castle.

Dad!

KELLY:
Thank you.

Oh, wow.

[sniffs]

Bit like Montana.

This looks nothing like Montana.

Well, it's smelling

like Montana.

What, am I wrong?

This way, please.

MAID:
Welcome, Sire.

Howdy.

- Sir.

- How you doin' there?

Nice to meet you.

Thanks for having us.

- Sir.

- Hello.

- Much obliged.

- Welcome, Sire.

I'd like you to meet

Miss Cecelia Petrov

and Mr. Bosworth.

They will be

your private secretary

and gentleman's gentleman

while you are in residence.

My what?

Your butler, Your Majesty.

What'd you call me?

Your Majesty, Your Majesty.

I'm sure you're eager

to see your property.

- That would be lovely.

- This way, please.

[claps]

You wanna tell me

what's going on here?

As I hope I made clear,

in addition to the estate, Sire,

you've also inherited

the title that comes with it.

And though very few actual

responsibilities are attached,

there are a limited number

of ceremonial duties

you'll be required

to fulfill.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,

the title.

So what's the title?

You're the King of Merania, Dad.

You knew about this,

and you didn't say nothing?

Would you be here if I did?

Well, you know

the answer to that.

Grimsby, can we have

a moment alone, please?

Of course.

[sighs]

I'm sorry.

- Boy, you better be.

- [laughs]

You want to tell me

what's so funny?

Since I was little,

you've always had

a nickname for me.

- Really? Like what?

- Princess!

You always called me Princess.

And now I am, I guess,

but for real.

I am not a king.

I am a cowhand.

And I don't belong here!

Haven't you got sense

to see that?

What I see is that you're not

even trying to make this work.

I just got here,

and already I miss my dog.

Oh, here we go.

You asked me to go on this trip,

and I did,

and now I'm going home,

as soon as I can find

this guy Grimsby

to tell him I'm quitting

and going to Montana.

It's called abdicating, Dad.

And before you do it,

there is something

you should know.

This is where we are, Merania.

We share a border here

with Angosia.

Centuries ago,

both countries were one,

ruled by a king,

who had twin sons.

He couldn't choose

a successor between them,

so he split Angosia in half.

One got Angosia,

and the other one got Merania.

So what's any of this

got to do with me?

The division remains

as long as there's a king

on the Meranian throne.

That's why they were

so desperate to find you.

When the last king died,

you were the only

living male heir.

So if you abdicate,

the country would lose

its independence.

Merania would then be ruled

by King Nikolas of Angosia.

Look, I'm sorry

for your trouble, I am,

but you got the wrong guy.

My daddy was a ranchman,

and so was his daddy.

That's all we've ever been

is cattlemen and horseshoers.

So we'll be leaving

first thing in the morning.

Dad? Dad, stop.

I know how you love your books

and your stories.

Well, that's all you got here,

just another story.

Don't you get it?

Your roots, my roots,

they're here.

These people need you now.

You don't know anything

about these people.

I know that they want

their independence.

Well, so do I.

Oh, she's a feisty one, sir.

Can I get you anything, sir?

Fresh air.

I'm going for a walk.

- Excellent idea.

- Alone, Bosworth.

Oh, as you wish, sir.

I hope it's to your liking,

Your Grace.

I don't like it.

I love it.

But I don't know

how long I'll be staying.

Is your father really leaving?

I don't know.

That's what he says.

If I can speak plainly,

it's so very important

to all of us here

to get him to change his mind.

I'm gonna try.

Well, let me know

if you need anything.

Thanks.

Uh, Cece.

Yes?

I want to do research on

Merania and the people here.

Is there a library in town?

Of course, but I think

you'll find the palace library

more to your liking.

[gasps]

[slow country]

[cow moos]

Well!

Hello, girls!

Ha!

[regal]

- [shrieks]

- Careful!

Thank you.

Hey, I know you.

You're the shepherd guy.

Also the cow guy,

the horse guy,

and the all-around

royal stable guy.

I even have a name.

I'm Alex.

I'm Kelly.

Yeah, Princess Kelly.

I heard.

Kelly is fine.

So what brings

a shepherd guy, cow guy,

and all-around

royal stable guy to a library?

Well, I was just

returning these.

Before King Viktor

died last year,

he allowed me to borrow

anything I wanted.

Since then, I wasn't sure

I would still be allowed.

I'm sure it's okay.

So you're not gonna

send me to the dungeon?

Not today.

So, looks like you're

reading some poetry.

"Words, like nature,

half reveal and half conceal

the soul within."

Tennyson. Okay.

It's not what I would expect

from a stable boy.

I can also quote a fair amount

of Dr. Seuss, though, sadly,

it doesn't impress anyone

over the age of six.

I'm more of

a Jane Austen fan myself.

Austen. That's not

what I would've expected

from a Montana ranch hand.

I am not a ranch hand.

- Whatever you say.

- [scoffs]

I don't need you

to carry my books.

But you're a royal princess,

not a common stable boy

like me.

I didn't mean

horsemen were common,

just a little rough

around the edges.

Ah, and you don't like

rough edges?

Yeah, I think I will

carry my own books,

thank you very much.

So what are you planning

on doing with these?

Well, if you must know,

I am researching

local history and culture.

Ah, well, lucky for you,

I'm an expert in both.

I can show you

or take you on a tour

to see some of the local

landmarks, if you like.

Saddle up a couple of horses,

ride out to--

No, no, no.

I haven't ridden in years.

Really? Why not?

It's complicated.

Well, I'm sure I can keep up.

All right.

When I was a kid,

my father pushed me

to become a ranch girl.

I rode in competitions,

barrel racing,

that kind of thing.

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