Eric sat silently at breakfast the next morning whilst Grimsby and Carlotta spoke of their plans for the day ahead. The twelve year old wasn't really listening to what to two adults had to say, but every so often their conversation would catch his attention and, as soon as Carlotta mentioned that she was going into town the young Prince's head shot up.
"Can I come" he asked, staring at the maid with pleading eyes?
"Eric you're meant to be studying today" said Grimsby matter-of-factly.
"Nonsense, I'm sure a little outing would do him good" said Carlotta. Eric smiled. Carlotta had always been able to grant him small privileges when others weren't willing to.
"And besides," continued Carlotta, "he been working so hard these past few weeks, I think he's earned a break." Grimsby thought for a moment. It was true that Eric always worked hard in his lessons, and seemed genuinely keen to learn; but Grimsby liked routine. Today he had scheduled a math lesson for Eric, and if he were to go out with Carlotta everything for the next week would have to be pushed back a day. As he considered all the options the older gentlemen caught Eric's eye-line and sighed. There wasn't a person on Earth who could deny those blue eyes. With a smile he nodded his head.
"Alright then" he said. Eric beamed and looked expectantly up at Carlotta.
"We'll leave at eleven 'o' clock," she said. "That gives you plenty of time to get ready." Eric hastily finished his breakfast and ran upstairs, leaving Grimsby and Carlotta smiling after him.
"You know, sometimes he seems so much younger than twelve" stated Carlotta. Grimsby nodded in agreement.
"Yes, and sometimes much older" he added. Carlotta sighed. Because of David's strictness Eric was very mature for his age, and had been all his life, which is part of the reason why he found it difficult to befriend other children. Although shy, the young Prince was much more comfortable around adults than children and some of the things he said made him seem far older than twelve. However, there were moments when he allowed his more childish side to show. And, in all honesty, Carlotta much preferred it that way. She remembered when Eric was about six or seven years old; the two of them would play out in the garden together for hours. She remembered watching him running around, listening to his laughter as he indulged himself in imaginary play, his imagination flourishing to the point where he had believed it to be real, if only for a moment.
But when the three of them had moved back into the palace things changed dramatically. Eric was brought back down to Earth, and promptly realised that, although he was only ten, he was in charge now. The realisation had put an end to his games and, instead, he had committed himself to at least two hours of tutoring six days a week. At first, Grimsby and Carlotta and assured him that it wasn't necessary for him to get straight back to his lessons, but he had insisted that Grimsby taught him everything that he'd missed whilst they'd been living in the village. That was the first sign that he had been forced to grow up too quickly. When Carlotta had asked why he was so keen to get back to lessons his response had left her in tears.
"I want to be a good King" he'd said.
Now, Carlotta knew for a fact that the last thing Eric wanted was to be King, so she knew that he was lying of course. But what upset her most, was that he hadn't been willing to tell her the truth. In the past he would always tell her what was bothering him, and she would hold him whilst he cried, uttering soothing words in his ear. But that day two years ago, had been the turning point for Eric. He had put on a brave face and pretended that everything was alright when really, inside he felt like crying.
Carlotta remembered the times when David had scolded Eric for crying and he'd come running to her for comfort that he knew he would never get from his parents. But now things had changed. Eric seldom came to her for comfort, and even if he did, it was only if he'd hurt himself. In fact, Carlotta hadn't seen him shed a tear in years, besides when he was injured, and even then he kept his tears to a minimum, and that pained Carlotta more than she cared to say.
But, for Eric it was a very different story. As soon as he'd been told that he, Grimsby and Carlotta would be returning to the palace all he'd been able to think about was that someday soon he'd be King. And that scared him. Despite being tutored from such a young age, Eric didn't feel as if he knew a thing about what was expected of him once he turned eighteen. Out of fear of failure he'd begged Grimsby to begin his lessons again, and tried to start acting more grown up. After everything that Grimsby and Carlotta had done for him, the last thing he wanted to do was to let them down. He wanted to make them proud, and to do that he knew that his dependency on Carlotta would have to stop, or at least become slightly less. Letting go of the only person who had always been there for him had been incredibly hard, and every time he so much as thought about it, he would be driven to tears. But he bottled up his emotions until he was in bed at night, then he would cry himself to sleep, certain that he was alone.
He didn't know why he did it, because it was hurting him more than it was doing good. But he was afraid, afraid of letting people down and not living up to his potential. Grimsby had noticed that Eric felt burdened by responsibility, and tried to make his lessons fun, whilst at the same time educational. His guidance and reassurance had meant that he was now a better father to Eric than David had ever been. The two of them had gradually become a lot closer over the past few years and, whereas they were still very close, Eric and Carlotta seemed to drift further apart. The maid had concerned herself in housework to keep herself occupied; but in the back of her mind, all she could think about was that little boy who had once depended so heavily on her... she just wanted him back. And all Eric wanted, was someone to be there for him, for someone to hold him close and tell him that everything would be alright. But he was too shy to ask. Letting go of Carlotta had been his first big mistake, and he wasn't sure how to fix it.
If the two would only open up to one another, they'd realise that they need each other more than ever.
(A/N: I wasn't sure about this chapter, because it's a very sudden turning point. But, in the movie, Eric seems closest to Grimsby out of the two adults, and I wanted to depict why that might be without changing my story too much.)
