A/N: Thank you so much for the positive feedback. Let me know what you think and enjoy!
Eleanor woke with light in her face and grumbled. Early mornings were never her favorite time of day but she was a princess, so her life was centered around early morning, per her mother's scheduled orders. Her dad used to let her sleep in when it was just him in the Palace while her mother was on trips. Sometimes she really missed the simplicity of her dad being in charge. She missed a lot of things about having her dad around; including all the side trips he would sneak her, Liam, and Robert on for ice cream or to go to a park like normal kids. He made sure they had normalcy in their lives, even as royal children.
Rolling over, she saw the figure in her bed and smiled a little. Jasper was asleep still, lying curled up to her. He had a t-shirt and sweatpants on, but he almost looked...younger in his sleep, like he was less worried and a lot less angry. She was still in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt she stole from him. They hadn't had sex, but still...this was the most intimate thing she had done in ages with him. And it felt real and genuine. He had stayed the night with her after coming back to her room and listening to her talk about her relief, guilt, pain, and fear. About everything she had been feeling lately.
"Morning," he mumbled softly.
"Hi," she replied.
His body was warm against hers and she felt at ease for the first time in a long time. Even though they weren't on solid ground yet and it certainly wasn't any kind of relationship as of now, it was a good place to start over for both of them. Jasper was the kind of man she had needed all along and never knew it. He was bossy and infuriating a lot of the time because he could be an unmitigated ass, but at the same time he genuinely cared for her and took care of her.
"Did you sleep?" he asked, opening his eyes to look at her.
She nodded, "Better than I have in a while."
Since the death of her brother and then her father, there weren't many nights she had slept that weren't drug or alcohol induced. But last night, she had really slept easily and soundly without the aid of drugs or alcohol to dull the screams of her nightmares. Jasper made her feel safe and like she had some sort of control in her life that she didn't have otherwise. Turning, she faced him in her bed and tangled her legs with his as she touched his cheek. It was rough and unshaven, but comforting at the same time because it was Jasper.
"There is a lot to do today," she whispered.
"I've got to talk to Hill about new protocols for you and Liam," Jasper replied.
"What about Ophelia?"
The thought occurred to her that her friend was no longer safe now that her father was revealed as a murderer. People would be looking for revenge and the easiest way to do that was strike back at someone's family member…Ted Pryce had done it in murdering her father and brother, so who was to say someone wouldn't do it to Ophelia, even though she was an innocent party in all of this.
"I made plans with Hill to extract her last night after the match. She is on a plane here with a security detail, but wasn't given any other information."
"Do you know what's going to happen when she lands?" Eleanor knew that she wanted Ophelia here, close to her, so that she could be protected and cared for.
"I believe Hill is escorting her from the airport directly here," he said, sitting up. "There is a lot of demands for blood out there and we are taking every precaution that she isn't harmed in the initial aftershock."
Eleanor nodded and sat up with Jasper. "Thank you…you don't know how much I appreciate you and Mr. Hill doing this."
"Ophelia is not a guilty party…but a lot of people are going to treat her like an outcast because of what her father did, but she didn't do anything. No one should be cast out for the sins of their parents." Jasper's words were laced with more meaning than Eleanor was ready to hear this morning.
No one in the immediate family blamed Ophelia and she knew that no one wanted her to be hurt any more than she already would be. The hardest part of this whole ordeal for Eleanor was knowing that her friend's father was the one who had murdered her father and brother. A man who had served their family even longer than Eleanor and Liam had been alive. It wasn't Ophelia's fault, but the guilt would weigh heavily on Phe because Eleanor knew she cared about their family. She cared about Liam, even if she was with some other boy now. Her brother also still loved Ophelia, even if he denied it a thousand times. And she loved Ophelia like family, so she didn't want to see any harm come to her.
"Does my brother know she's coming?" she asked after a few quiet moments.
Jasper stood and grabbed his hoodie. "No. Hill thought it best to leave your brother alone for a while…he wanted time to himself."
"Did we do the right thing?" she asked, standing up as she pulled a blanket around her, wrapping herself up protectively.
"Pryce…had to be stopped. He killed two innocent people and was part of a plot to keep harming members of the Royal family," Jasper responded, putting his phone in his pocket. "The options to bring him down were limited and we did the best we could with what we were given. Don't feel guilty for putting someone who deserved it behind bars."
"I just…I wonder if it's what my Dad would have done." Eleanor's gaze fell down to the floor as she thought about what her father would have done.
"Your father was a good man, loyal to his people and hardworking. He was murdered and deserved justice." He looked at her and reached out to touch her hand.
"I think about Ted grieving Daphne, Ophelia's mum, and how much pain he was in after losing her. No one stopped to think that her loss might send him over the edge. Even Phe didn't know how much he was hurting," she said, bringing her gaze up to Jasper's. "He misplaced his blame to my family because he believes that had he not been serving our family, his wife would have been spared. And my mum was kind of a bitch to him when he was grieving."
"Someone selfish took the life of Ophelia's mom…someone who had poor aim and a shitty attitude about life. That group of people took advantage of Ted Pryce's pain to turn him against the family he swore to protect. I understand that he lost someone significant to him, but placing the blame on your family, despite your mother's heartless comments, was wrong. He was wrong and you have every right to want justice."
Eleanor nodded and moved forward to hug Jasper, burying her face in his chest and breathing in his scent. She hadn't been this vulnerable in a long time, but she knew that what he said was right. Her family, though messed up and secretive, was not at fault for the death of Ted's wife. The only direct party related to her family responsible was her grandmother, Dutchie, as she orchestrated Dominique's "accidental" death, which in turn lead to her family seeking revenge and ultimately setting in motion the events of today.
"Let me know when Ophelia arrives?" she mumbled, looking up at him after a few moments.
He nodded. "I'll text you the moment she's safe in the Palace walls."
With that, Jasper excused himself to go work and wait for Ophelia's arrival. She knew that was the first priority right now, next to getting Cyrus' fat ass off the throne. But that would come when the DNA tests were redone to prove she and Liam were their father's children. Left to her own devices, she got in the shower and dressed for the day, knowing it was going to be a difficult one for a lot of people. She got on her phone when she was done and saw a notification for a text from Imogen.
I'm doing alright now…got a nice apartment and was able to get an honest job working downtown. Wouldn't have been able to do any of it without your help.
She smiled and knew that at least some good had come of the last few weeks. Imogen was a good friend that she cared about and she was thankful that they had been able to pull her out of that situation she'd found herself in after rehab. She knew that starting over was never easy, but she believed that given the right chance, someone could begin again.
Glad 2 hear it. Please keep in touch and come see me? Or I can come to u.
I will. Come 2 visit soon and have dinner. I'll even cook.
Eleanor grinned and replied that she would soon. She didn't know how to cook anything herself, but she appreciated the gesture of friendship from Imogen. Growing up, she didn't have a lot of friends outside of the palace, so it was nice to have someone else normal in her life. Ophelia's friendship meant a lot to her, so Imogen's friendship was equally as important. She only hoped that her first friendship wasn't damaged beyond repair when Ophelia found out the truth about what had happened. For now, she could only hold her breath and wait.
