Chapter 10

Ruby rides up the elevator to the apartment she shares with her father and slides the door open when the elevator stops. She finds her dad waiting when she steps out.

"You were out late." He remarks.

She walks up to him with determination and wraps her hands around his waist.

"Hey. What's all this about?" He asks her.

Ruby exhales loudly. "I just want to say that I love you. Because I do."

He kisses the top of her head and Ruby stays in his embrace for a moment before pulling away from him.

"Goodnight, Dad."

She walks towards her room and shuts the door behind her.

\*****/

Ruby is working on school work in the living room of the apartment when she hears her father come up in the elevator. He steps out of the elevator to find her sitting there. He pauses and stares at her for a moment as he takes out his earpiece. He crosses his arms and continues to stare at her.

"What?" She asks him without looking up.

"Are you gonna tell me why the Queen was standing in my living room or am I meant to it never happened?" He asks her.

"She just wanted to hang out. We're kind of besties, me and the Queen." She remarks without looking up at her father. There is an awkward silence between them that forces her to finally look up. Her father sits down on the coffee table across from her. "She wanted to tell me not to see Graham. She also threatened you, took a cheap shot at Mom, and was pretty much a complete bitch. And before you say anything, I want to say that I'm sorry. Again. A girl has a few gin and tonics and all hell breaks loose."

"Do you want to see Liam?" He asks her.

"Dad, there's no seeing. Okay? We hang out. And no, I wasn't planning on it."

"Good. Because I agree with the Queen. I think it's for the best. But if you change your mind, don't, for a second, worry about me, or my job, or what the Queen wants, or any of it. Okay?"

"Really?" She asks her father in surprise. He is usually a man who puts his job and duty first. This is very uncharacteristic of him.

"She may rule a nation, but that icy bitch has no hold on my daughter's heart. Besides, they've taken enough from us already."

Ruby smiles up at her dad with tears filling her eyes. This is a side of her father she hasn't seen very much since her mother passed away. She missed this part of him.

"Thanks, Dad."

The intercom on the wall behind her father rings and interrupts the moment between them. Her father immediately gets up to see who is coming up on the elevator to visit them.

"Well, you may not want to hang out with him but he certainly seems to want to hang out with you. Next King of England on his way up."

Ruby immediately shuts her books and starts to straighten up the living room. Her father opens the elevator doors for him when he arrives. She grabs her phone from the table and leans back trying to look casual on the couch for when he arrives.

"Good morning, sir." Her father says with an outstretched hand.

Graham shakes his hand and replies, "Good morning, Ted."

"Hi." He says to her.

"Oh, hey." She replies casually. "What's up?"

"Sorry to come unannounced." He says while walking over to her.

"That's what she said." She replies. Oh my god, she cannot believe she just said that to the future King of England. She is such an idiot.

"Wow." He remarks as he sits down in the same spot her father was sitting just a few minutes ago. "So Emma said you and my mom are hanging out now."

"Yeah. We go to the mall together, trade clothes, and threaten each other."

"I should have warned you. It's kind of what we do. I meet someone, she threatens them. It passes for love in our family."

"It's fine. I mean, it's nice of you to stop by, but totally unnecessary."

"Good, because that's not why I stopped by. I was wondering if you wanted to grab a coffee sometime. What's that erm… that sludge that you drink? Iced soy dirty… girl?"

"Iced dirty chai with soy." She giggles. "It's delicious. You should try it."

Did she really just giggle? What kind of girl is he turning her into? She never giggles. Oh man, she must really like him.

"I plan to. With you if you say yes."

"I don't know."

"It's just coffee, Ruby."

"If that's your story." There is a pause between them and she looks up into his eyes. Oh, she really is going to regret this later. "Fine. Coffee. You and me. Me and the future King of England, having all the coffee." That last phrase she says in a mocking British accent.

"Good. Umm… yeah. A little awkward but I'm still in. I'll text you."

"Okay"

"I've gotta go." He gets up and begins to walk across the room toward the elevator.

"Hey." She says he stops and turns his body towards her. "Thanks for stopping by."

"I wanted to. Had nothing to do with the Queen."

He turns and walks into the elevator. She watches him leave her apartment with a wide smile on her face. She leans back and exhales sharply.

"This is gonna suck." She whispers to herself.

\*****/

Emma is just outside the gates of palace sitting on the sidewalk next to the flowers, cards, candles, and other items people have left to memorialize her brother. Killian waits by the door of the car for her. She wanted to pause for a moment at the memorial before heading out to another party where she would forget all her problems for the night.

"Hey, Auggie. I miss you…and I'm gonna miss you. I'll be fine. You know me. Look out for Graham, though." She pauses a second to hold back the tears that threaten to escape her eyes. "I think he's gonna need it."

She stares at all the flowers before her and takes a calming breath. She grabs the open bottle of wine next to her leg and stands up. She turns and walks to the car and Killian opens the door for her.

"Where to, Your Highness?"

She pauses by the car door. "Have you ever been to Paris, Killian?" She takes a long sip from the bottle of wine and gets in the back seat of the car. Killian shuts the door behind her.

Later that night, Emma walks through a club in Paris with Killian right on her tail. She spots one of her friends in the club dancing with a man. She pulls her close and kiss her on the lips for a moment before pulling her away from the man and further into the heart of the club.

\*****/

While Emma was partying in Paris to down her sorrows, Graham is meeting their father on one of his walks around the city. The stop along the river Thames and stare at the London Eye.

"Oh, it's a beautiful city." There is a pause between them. His father does not respond to his comment. Graham turns and looks at his father. "Dad, are considering abolishing the monarchy because of me? Because you don't believe in me?"

His father turns to face him and look him straight in the eyes.

"No. I'm considering it because I do believe in you. And because I want something more for you."

"What could be more than King?"

"Love. A family raised beyond the tabloids and the walls of the castle. A life lived and not destined. I like Ruby very much."

"Me too."

"Her mother was killed because of me. Because men always choose the wrong things. They stalk power and wealth, and frivolous things they think will make them whole. And it never does. It never does."

Graham takes a moment to process what his father is saying to him.

"But her father chose duty and honor and service to the King. Those aren't frivolous things."

"No. If you asked him, could he do it all over again? What road do you think he would travel? Ted chose duty over love. August chose honor over his own path. Choose love. Choose your own path. Those are the roads to travel my son. Come on."

Graham follows his father as they start their walk back to the palace.

\*****/

Emma wakes up the next morning in her own bed with the bodyguard lying next to her and she does not really remember how she got home or why he is there in her bed. She knows why her friend lays next to her. Her friend gets up from the bed and walks across the room. Emma leans over the pulls a cigarette from her bedside table and lights it. She taps the bodyguard on the behind.

"Hey. Go home."

She leans back over and grabs her phone and begins scrolling through the notifications. She feels the bodyguard stir next to her.

"You are welcome. Get out." She tells him as he sits up and begins to dress. "I apologize in advance, Killian, for getting you sacked. But… let's be honest, I mean, you were a dead man walking anyway."

"Probably so… What do er… you remember from last night, anyway?"

"Erm… nothing, Killian. You were perfectly forgettable" She tells him while he puts on his shirt.

There is a pause.

"It's just that I remember everything."

She laughs. A memory is going to get you nowhere, Killian. You cannot threaten a princess. This is going to be amusing, she thinks to herself.

"Yeah, well, like I said… You're very welcome."

"See I remember being at the club. And I remember the drugs that I put into your drink. And I remember every… sordid, depraved, self-loathing thing you did after that."

Emma could not believe what she was hearing. This man had the audacity to drug her. Oh, he was so getting fired now. She watches as he gets off of the bed and turns to face her.

"And you know, when I forget… I can always just watch the video." He says with a wicked smile while toying with his phone in his hands.

He is actually blackmailing her and he has proof. Shit, this is not good. Emma lets out a heavy sigh.

"So I think I'll keep this job."

He pulls his blazer out from underneath the sheet causing the sheets to go with him. Emma rushes to cover herself feeling disgusted. She watches as he walks towards the door.

"I like the benefits." He tells her right before he walks out of her room.