Happily Whatever After
A.N.: I planned this story only to be ten chapters as a warm up for Season 3. I don't want to write it simultaneously with the show because I'm afraid that my perception of the characters would change due to the new episodes so this is the end for now. Maybe I'll return to it later or I'll write a new story, I don't know yet... Thanks for reading and commenting, I really appreciate it.
Happy New Season For Everyone!
Good Night Britain with Eliza Stone
ELIZA: "I'm so sorry for the delay, our next guest was… uhm… held up by… anyway, she is here now, so please welcome former princess Eleanor Henstridge.
Eleanor stumbles to the couch, almost falls over as she steps on the podium. Eliza gives her a worried look.
ELEANOR: "Ooops… Hi everyone! It's so nice to be here, Alice."
ELIZA: "It's Eliza. Anyway, let's get into it because you were late and it's a live show, we don't have much time. Your life has changed a lot recently. Do you mind me saying… it turned upside down?"
ELEANOR: "I don't mind, just say what you want. Everyone does that anyway."
ELIZA:…
Eleanor rolls her eyes. She lets out a sigh.
ELEANOR: "Yes, it turned upside down."
ELIZA: "Okay… so, according to the news we hear about you, it was quite a rough time for you. You got arrested, you went to rehab… and now the paternity scandal. How are you feeling?"
ELEANOR: "Like sh*t. It feels like sh*t."
ELIZA: "Let's try to avoid curse words, it's a live show and we can't bleep it so fast…"
ELEANOR: "Yeah, right, sorry. I'm just f*cking high all day."
Eliza nervously looks at the crew for help, but the cameraman and the director just shrug and avoid her gaze.
ELIZA: "Let's talk about your family then."
ELEANOR: "Great subject. Thanks, Ellie."
ELIZA: "It's Eliza."
ELEANOR: "Whatever."
Eliza gets angry for a moment. She gets up, contemplating a dramatic leave, then she sits back and let out a long sigh.
ELIZA: "You found out recently that former King Simon is not your father and that your real father is your mother's old flame and new husband…."
ELEANOR: "… ex-husband. Alistair is getting a divorce. Shocker, right?"
The audience is laughing. Eliza waits until they quiet down.
ELIZA: "What do you think of him?"
Eleanor leans back and sprawls on the couch. Obviously, she doesn't give a sh*t about this conversation, which annoys Eliza immensely.
ELEANOR: "Alistair? He is great. Ditching my mother makes him even greater. #ditchthebitch"
The audience chuckles, which makes Eleanor more confident.
ELEANOR: "Ditch the bitch! Ditch the bitch! Ditch the bitch!"
The audience is clapping and cheering and slowly begins to chant it after her. This is awkward for the crew of the show and the TV channel so Eliza tries to shut it down, but with no success.
ELIZA: "I have to ask the members of the audience to stay quiet."
ELEANOR: "This is kind of cool. I shall print it on a T-shirt, right?"
The audience is cheering. Eliza is trying to change the subject.
ELIZA: "Eleanor, please. What do you think of your father's sudden trip to the USA?"
Eleanor turns back to her with a grimace on her face.
ELEANOR: "Don't know, don't care. He is probably chasing my mother to get back into her p*ssy. Not that anything good ever came out of that place… except maybe Robert, but he is already dead so…"
She shrugs. This is a disaster. The director is waving to Eliza to wrap it up and shut the whole thing down.
ELIZA: "We have time for one last question. What are your plans for the future?"
ELEANOR: "Other than my awesome #ditchthebitch T-shirts? I don't know… It's kind of feels great the way it is… Yeah, I like it. Everything is f*cking great."
Eliza has a very hard time to process it and say out loud the next sentence.
ELIZA: "This was a very pleasant talk. Thank you for being here, Eleanor."
Studio Fifth Manhattan, the venue of Helena's Fashion Show
New York Fashion Week was just days away. Helena and Rachel used every minute to rehearse with the models and put the final touches on the dresses. As the show was planned to be the opening of the Fashion Week, the venue was already decorated with QH logos (short for Queen Helena), and large drapes to advertise the Your Majestic collection.
Rachel looked at the screen of her mobile phone where she was following Eleanor's newest talk show scandal.
"This is a disaster. And it grows bigger and bigger." – she mumbled. – "I wouldn't return to London for a while if I were you."
Helena looked at her and shrugged.
"Good. I'm not planning to."
Her assistant gave her a surprised look.
"Don't you even care?"
"Of course I care. That's why I have left in the first place." – the former queen hissed angrily. – "This hostility… my daughter hates me, my country hates me and I have absolutely no control over either of them. So if you'll excuse me, I will focus on the only thing I have left."
She stopped the music and walked over to the models.
"This is New York, I get it, everyone is in a hurry, but I want something else." – she said to them in a firm voice. – "I don't want to see you running in my clothes. For God's sake, it's not an Anne Hathaway movie."
The girls exchanged a confused look, then they turned back to Helena.
"What do you want then?" – one of them asked wearily.
The former queen was outraged by this tone, but she forced herself to calm down.
"Walk with smaller steps, don't trot like a horse." – she replied sarcastically. – "Your movements need be elegant and graceful so that the dresses could work on you. That's it for today, I'll see you tomorrow."
As the models disappeared behind the curtains, Helena turned back to her assistant. But instead of her, she found someone else sitting in the front row.
"Simon! What are you doing here?" – she asked in shock as soon as she saw her ex-husband.
The former king gave her a small smile and replied:
"We had parted so abruptly before you left. I wanted to see you."
The surprise was written all over Helena's features, but she quickly composed herself.
"That's great, but I am in a hurry. I have tickets for a new Broadway show." – she remarked coldly. – "I will call you later, all right?"
Her ex-husband gave her a puzzled look.
"That's it? I'm travelling halfway around the world to be with you and you ditch me?" – he asked angrily.
Helena winced at the mention of that particular word. She let out a sigh and sat down in a plastic chair beside him.
"I don't know, Simon. You are sending me pretty mixed signals. First, you throw me out like yesterday's trash, you divorce me; then you kiss me and you know... on my wedding day; then you let me go without a word… and now you are here." – she explained in a soft voice. – "What am I supposed to think?"
"That I love you." – Simon answered passionately.
His ex-wife couldn't hold back a smile.
"It's not a good idea." – she mumbled.
The former king took both her hands in his own and squeezed them gently:
"What do you have to lose?"
Helena didn't pull away her hands, but she couldn't bring herself to look at her ex-husband. She stared at their clasped hands while she replied:
"Me? Nothing. But you… I cheated on you, I lied to you and you don't even know my worst."
"After twenty-five years I think I…" – Simon protested, but the former queen interrupted him.
"No." – she whispered and she shook her head.
"Why are you doing this?" – her ex-husband cried out in confusion.
Helena hesitated for a moment, then she continued.
"Dominique Stewart's death wasn't an accident. My mother killed her and I have known about it all along."
Simon let go of her hands and got up. He began to walk back and forth between the rows of seats. His ex-wife was staring at him for a while, then she cleared her throat:
"You should leave. You can still catch a plane back to London."
The former king looked back at her and stopped.
"What if I don't care?" – he asked seriously. – "It's time to let Dominique go. I have mourned for her long enough."
Helena slowly walked over to him and put her arms around his neck. She gave him a long, passionate kiss. He wanted to continue, but she stopped him.
"There is something else. Ted Pryce." – she said and she pulled away.
Liam and Amelia were walking on the streets of London, followed by a bunch of paparazzi. Amelia nervously kept looking back at them while her boyfriend decided to ignore the unpleasant company and continued to talk to her like they were alone.
"And just around the corner, that's my absolute favourite place in London. You will see why." – Liam explained and led her girlfriend toward a narrow alley.
Amelia, however, let go of his hand and stepped back.
"No, I really don't right now. Can't we just go home?" – she asked in a frustrated voice, then she walked back on the street until she found a cab.
She quickly got in and Liam had no choice but to follow her.
"What the hell was that?" – the former prince asked after they were both in the car, heading toward his apartment.
Amelia looked him in the eye and hesitated for a moment.
"I can't go on like this anymore." – she began softly. – "This attention… the rumours, the paparazzi... Your family is toxic."
"Wow, that's a bit strong." – her boyfriend replied with a frown.
Amelia regretted immediately what she had said and tried to explain herself.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. It's just…" – she mumbled and let out a sigh. – "Alistair and I are not used to this. We have never asked for it."
Liam looked at her, but he didn't answer. Amelia saw this as a sign of understanding, but she couldn't be more wrong.
"So there is a we and a you now." – her boyfriend remarked bitterly.
Amelia wanted to protest, but the former prince didn't let her:
"You are supposed to be on my side!" – he cried out in indignation.
"And I am! You are not being fair." – his girlfriend shouted back angrily, then she took a deep breath to calm down herself. – "Believe me, I compromised a lot for our relationship because… because I love you. I tolerated a certain amount of extra attention and I lived a partly public life for you… but this is too much. If it wasn't for your mother…"
Once again, Liam didn't let her finish.
"Guess what, Amelia, I didn't choose this life either. Neither did my sister, nor my mother for that matter."
Amelia let out a scornful chuckle.
"Yeah, but let's face it, they have a habit of ruining everyone's life around them." – she said in a sarcastic voice.
"Really? Because Alistair is just so innocent in all this. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't even sit here with you right now." – Liam shouted in rage.
They stared at each other like wild animals, then they suddenly burst out in laughter.
"Maybe this whole thing is not so bad after all." – Amelia remarked teasingly.
The former prince raised his eyebrows.
"Maybe?" – he asked back with a grin.
His girlfriend rolled her eyes and pressed a quick kiss on his cheek.
"Fine. It's good that it happened. For both of us." – she replied, then she became more serious. – "I just wish we could get away from all this. Just for a while."
"You couldn't be more right…" – Liam agreed. Suddenly a knowing smile spread across his face. – "… which is why I applied for a scholarship at the University of Melbourne."
Amelia playfully punched him on the shoulder.
"Why didn't you tell me?" – she asked in mock indignation.
Liam shrugged and took her hands in his.
"I saw that you were suffering, I'm not a total jerk… But I didn't want you to get your hopes up until it was sure."
His girlfriend couldn't wait any longer.
"And?" – she demanded impatiently.
Liam took his time, just to annoy her, before he answered:
"I got it. So pack your bags, baby, we are going to Australia!"
Amelia almost screamed in joy, but her boyfriend quickly covered her mouth with his own, in the form of a passionate kiss.
Helena was relieved that she was finally able to tell the truth to her ex-husband. The whole truth about Domino and Robert's death, the deal she made with Jeffrey Stewart in exchange for the name of her son's killer, the murder of her mother and that one of Ted Pryce by her own hands…
"Are you going to say something?" – she asked her ex-husband who leaned on the catwalk's floor and lowered his head. – "Just tell me if I am going to spend the rest of my life in prison."
She wanted to sound calm, but her voice trembled a bit. She gently rubbed her ex-husband's back with her fingers. Simon turned around so suddenly as she touched him that Helena had to take a step back.
"I won't say a word to anyone." – the former king decided. – "But why? Why did you tell me?"
Helena gulped, then she took a deep breath.
"Because I'd rather let you leave me again than build another relationship on lies. I have learned my lesson." – she remarked with a bitter laugh.
She eyed her ex-husband up and down and she backed away from him. There was no need to stay any longer.
"And now if you'll excuse me, I can still get to the theatre." – she said with mock ease and she turned around to leave.
Simon's voice, however, stopped her.
"What you have done to Ted, it's something you have to live with for the rest of your life." – he remarked matter-of-factly. – "I honestly wish you could get over it, but it has nothing to do with me… or my feelings for you."
Helena turned back to face him. She didn't know what to say.
"I… I don't get it." – she mumbled.
Simon let out a genuine laugh and walked over to her.
"You don't have to." – he whispered in her ears and kissed her.