Author's note: *slowly digs herself back up to the surface* Hello! Ehhh- well it's been a while, hasn't it? Over three months, if we're more precise! I last updated this story last year - haha I had to, sorry...Anyways! It's time for another "Not Every Royal Wears a Crown" -update, and boy, aren't I excited!

This chapter picks up right after our beloved royals learned about the Dowager Countess' death and made their way to the Abbey to pay their respects to their former employees. And just a little tip - give a quick read to the last chapter to jog your memory a bit before coming back to this new installation! And don't hesitate to leave me a review to let me know what you think...But for now, that's all! I'll let you get to reading and I hope to be back to this story as soon as possible! Stay safe, loves :)


**Before teatime**

Thomas Barrow walked into the kitchen with a smug look on his face. This did not go unnoticed by Daisy, who was trying to cut onions without crying - however, with not much success.

"What are you looking so pleased about, Mr Barrow?" Daisy asked, eyeing the butler who came to a halt by the doorway with teary eyes.

"You'll never guess who I just took into the library. A real surprise that one-"

Daisy seemed to doubt this information a bit before speaking up to voice her thoughts.

"The family isn't even here yet - and they're in mourning", Daisy pondered, as she wiped at the corner of her eye with the back of her hand, only ending with more tears on her cheeks from the bitterness of the onion on her fingers.

"Well, I hope his lordship comes soon, else it'll get embarrassing", Thomas said with a smile - to Daisy it seemed even genuine, though she could easily be mistaken.

"Well go on then, tell me, Mr Barrow", the assistant cook prompted excitedly.

Thomas cleared out his throat before speaking up.

"I'm not entirely sure I should-"

"Really, Mr Barrow! You can tell me", Daisy prompted excitedly.

The butler thought for a moment.

"Alright then...I heard a knock on the front door and when I went to see who it was - I was greeted by the Prince and Princess of Scotland!"

"What? Are you joking, Mr Barrow?"

Just before he was able to answer, the voice of Mrs Patmore could be heard from the kitchen doorway as she entered the room.

"What's this then? Did you need something, Mr Barrow, or are you just loitering about my kitchen for fun?"

"Mrs Patmore, you'll never guess what Mr Barrow just told me!" Daisy was all smiles when she said this, wiping her hands on her apron.

Mr. Barrow took that as his time for escape and he slipped away before neither noticed to go wait for his lordship to get back.

"Well, I suppose you'll be telling me then, Daisy, since it's got you all hysterical and that man smiling like he's the cat that got the cream. Goodness, girl, I haven't seen you have so much energy in years!" Mrs Patmore shook her head and took a seat at her small desk by the window, her eyes searching the small table for her reading glasses.

"You know that's not true, Mrs Patmore.", Daisy said, defending herself.

"Well, be that as it may. What was it that Mr Barrow told you then?"

"There are special visitors for his lordship-"

"Special visitors, eh? Not the queen herself, is it?" Mrs Patmore laughed, sliding her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"Well almost, isn't she almost the next in line?" Daisy blurted, thinking aloud."She's the king's sister, right?"

That got the cook curious and she took off her glasses to look at the girl. What did the former housekeeper have anything to do with this?

"What are you talking about, Daisy?" she asked.

Daisy seemed completely oblivious to the cook's confusion.

"What?"

That girl! She really could be so simple sometimes, thought the cook to herself. She waved her hand through the air as if to prompt the girl to speak.

"Oh- sorry! The visitors -"

"Yes?"

"Well...According to Mr Barrow, the Prince and Princess of Scotland are in the library upstairs!"

"What?"

Mrs Patmore took a minute to process this information, blinking her eyes twice before uttering another word.

"What -"

"At first I thought he must be joking, but even Mr Barrow wouldn't come up with anything like it" Daisy smiled slightly, looking at the bewildered face of her superior.

"Whe- Daisy, where did Mr Barrow go?"

"I'm not sure - he was just here"

And the young assistant cook watched the other woman rush out of the room and after the butler. Daisy watched her disappear up the stairs, looking herself more confused than just a few minutes ago. Soon, though, the kind voice of Anna Bates sounded from behind her, drawing her attention away from the staircase;

"Daisy? What's going on?"

"Oh, Anna! You need to hear this!" Daisy beamed, "You'll never guess what Mr Barrow just told me"*

**Present time, in the library, Monday 29th of August 1929, Downton Abbey**

"Perhaps you'd like some tea, your highness?" lady Grantham asked with a kind smile.

"If it's not too much trouble?"

"Not at all. Barrow, could we have some tea?" the lord of the house addressed his butler who nodded his head.

Lady Grantham took a seat towards the red couches and gestured to the seating:

"Please, take a seat"

"Thank you, lady Grantham"

The slight anxiety she had felt earlier was now starting to disappear as Elsie took a seat on one of the red couches, her husband following her lead and sitting just a bit too close to her, their shoulders almost touching. Though, she herself didn't mind and doubted anyone else would even pay it notice.

"I meant to write to you, about her ladyship's passing...But it's all just happened very fast", lady Grantham said solemnly.

"Of course, lady Grantham. And we understand that"

"When did she, uhm- pass?" Charles asked.

"Only yesterday", lady Mary said quietly, her voice seeming to disappear somewhere in her throat, "She wanted to be buried soon, a small service with just the family and should someone from the village want to attend. Not much to anyone's surprise, she had everything planned"

Charles turned his face towards lady Mary, and he felt a tug at his heart.

"I am so sorry. We should have not come today, I'm afraid we're pushing in unwelcome"

"I think granny would have liked to know you came", Mary shook her head.

"And we're glad to be here", Elsie forced a smile.

Just then the doors to the library opened and Mr Barrow walked in with Andrew - both were carrying trays with tea and some simple baked goods on top. Elsie noticed they both cast looks in the royals' direction, but she wasn't really surprised. After all, it must be a surprise to them too, seeing the couple - the members of the royal family - sitting in the library of the family they serve. The two men moved about the small table by the windows and started pouring the tea into cups for all of the family and their two guests.

An awkward silence fell between them all and Elsie used the opportunity to turn and look at her husband, to see how he was holding up - their eyes met and through their usual silent communication, she understood he was alright. At least he would be. He smiled at her weakly and Elsie returned his smile with one of her own.

"How have you been, your highness? Since that awful business at the ball, that is", lady Edith, that is, the marchioness of Hexham, broke the silence with the kind question directed towards the princess.

"I've...managed, let's put it like that, lady Hexham", Elsie replied kindly, though she didn't like the fact that their conversation had steered to...all that, "Thanks to my wonderful doctor and the support from everyone around me"

"We followed the whole sorry tale from the paper. It's absolutely terrible", Bertie Pelham echoed his wife's words, "We're very pleased it turned out the right way"

"I am too, rather"

"I hear they got both sentenced. Only right for what they did, of course", said lord Grantham whilst shaking his head disapprovingly.

Elsie showed them a small smile, one which didn't quite reach her ears.

"You've not returned to your duties yet, have you, your highness?" the voice belonged to lady Mary.

Elsie look at the younger woman before answering:

"I will once we return to London, I think, lady Mary. At least that's been the plan for now"

Mary nodded and Elsie wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

"Tea, your highness?" Elsie heard being asked from beside her and she lifted her gaze to see the butler holding a cup of tea for her to take.

Just as she was about to lift her hand to take the cup from him, a gruff voice sounded from behind her and the princess was greeted with the face of one of her guards. Her eyes went between the cup of steaming hot tea and the guard. She had forgotten he even was there. But of course, they were trained to go unnoticed...

"I'm afraid I'll have to make sure it is safe to drink first, your highness"

Elsie almost laughed then and she barely managed a reasonable answer instead:

"I'm fairly certain Mr Barrow wouldn't dare to poison me"

"After everything that's happened, your highness, I simply must-"

"Just let it be", said Charles, surprising everyone with the force in his words.

The guard was hesitant, clearly taken back by the prince's order. But he supposed the prince wouldn't allow any harm to come his wife's way, and thus relented and took a step back.

Elsie looked at Charles but decided to say nothing. Instead, she turned back to the butler, who was still standing before her and holding her tea.

"Thank you, Mr Barrow", she took the cup from his steady hand and thanked him with a polite smile, which was returned with one of his own.

Seeing Thomas Barrow had surprisingly made her realise how much Elsie had missed their old friends, their old life. It made her feel guilty - even if she knew there was nothing to be guilty about.

Soon everyone else had a cup of tea in hand and the conversation shifted to new topics, though, a bit awkwardly so. No one seemed to really know what to say. Elsie found herself conversating with lady Grantham, who was sitting just opposite her on the other couch.

"How has everything been here, lady Grantham?" Elsie asked whilst sipping her tea - made just like she wants it.

"We've made it work. Of course, Mrs Baxter is wonderful at the job, but not as good as you were, your highness"

"I'm flattered to hear that, lady Grantham"

For a moment the two ladies listened to the others make up topics to discuss before lady Grantham turned back to address the princess again.

"It was very sudden though, this business with my late mother-in-law. She moved to live with us once her health began to decline. It didn't take long for her to take to her bed entirely"

"I'm so sorry to hear that", Elsie said.

"Yes, well, we'll survive. These coming weeks will be the real challenge, but once we've passed them..."

Elsie nodded understandingly.

"But here I am bothering you with our worries, your highness, how terrible of me"

"Lady Grantham, me and my husband came to pay your family our respects in your time of grief. You mustn't worry, we understand what we took on when we came here uninvited...After all, we have known your family for over thirty years"

That managed to make the lady of the house smile appreciatively.

"Very well, I shan't give it another thought then"

As lady Grantham took a minute to enjoy her tea, now starting to get a bit cold, Elsie moved her gaze around the room. The two servants were starting to make their departure upon making sure everything was as it should be. Elsie wondered if she'd get a chance to go see them at some point during their short visit. Their real friends, Elsie thought. Meanwhile, she thought of lady Grantham, maybe even lord Grantham, as her friends these days, her true friends would always reside below the main floor of the house...At least she hoped that was still the case. Elsie sipped her own tea then, only to be greeted by a loud crash at the library door.

Everyone turned to look at the cause in complete surprise - a very familiar-looking cook was laying on the floor with one of the teapots, which had shattered all around her on the carpeted floor.

"Damn and blast!"

"Mrs Patmore are you alright?" stressed Daisy as she rushed to inspect the damage.

"I'm covered in tea, what do you think?!" the cook growled.

"What are you doing up here?" Andrew hissed at Daisy, a bit alarmed to be in such a situation.

"What's going on here?" asked Lord Grantham as he walked closer to the scene with his teacup in hand - he came to realise almost all the members of his staff were crowding the doorway.

Seeing their employer standing just a few steps away from them, Daisy quickly helped the older woman up from the floor.

"I do apologise, milord. I'm afraid I've been a bit clumsy, silly old me"

"Nevermind that, Mrs Patmore. Are you quite alright?" Robert asked, surprising even himself with the kindness he managed to muster.

"Oh, yes. Quite alright, milord", Mrs Patmore stumbled with her words whilst trying to make herself look more presentable - but what with a tea-stained apron and skirt, she was somewhat less than successful.

"Well, that's good to hear. I think someone best clean this up then, before more mess is made", Robert cringed at the massive tea stain on the carpet.

"Of course, milord. I'll see to that", the butler nodded his head and glanced at Andrew by his side, motioning for him to do something about this mess.

Andrew left the room right away, clearly glad to have been granted a reason to get out of the situation.

"Now, then, if we've managed to avoid any serious damage to anyone, despite the poor carpet, I think we can all get on with our day"

At his words, Mrs Patmore looked a bit disappointed.

"Of course, your lordship. Right away" Mr Barrow said and cast a look towards the staff to get them leaving from the doorway - honestly, these people, he thought.

However, just as they started their departure they were stopped right there in their tracks by the unmistakable voice of the princess of Scotland.

"Well, this is rather unfortunate..."

No one dared to move and for a second Elsie thought she might burst out laughing.

"I had hoped the prince and I would have been given the chance to pop downstairs to see you, but I'm not sure you have the time now, considering this mess you have managed to make", Elsie said, unable to contain her amusement as she giggled slightly upon seeing their faces.

She really had missed the lot.

**A short while later**

They had been led downstairs by Mr Barrow. Though no one else seemed to be at ease, Elsie couldn't help but feel quite calm as she was offered a seat by the servants' table and served yet another cup of tea. She watched as her husband took a seat next to her and glanced around the room.

"Heavens, take a seat, everyone! I dare say you do enough standing during the day as it is", Elsie smiled at her nervous friends who were awkwardly standing around the table, not quite knowing what to do next.

They slowly took seats around the table at her permission, the sound of the screeching of chairs temporarily filling the room.

And still, not a word was said in the room.

"We do not bite"

Elsie couldn't help but smile at her husband's words as she made it to speak again, this time addressing her husband:

"Although, I think you would have back in the day, seeing that mess on the library carpet"

That erupted a quiet laugh from their friends around the table.

"That might be true", Charles agreed.

"How have you been, your highness?"

Both Charles and Elsie looked to their left where the kind of voice Anna Bates was heard.

"Alright. Though, it has taken some adjusting", Elsie answered, "And please, drop the titles, Anna - if I still may call you that?"

"Of course, your highness!" Anna was quick to say.

"Let's say I'll be Mrs Carson for the remainder of our visit, alright?" the princess corrected her gently and got a smile in return from the lady's maid.

"Alright then, Mrs Carson"

"How has little Johny been? Well, I hope?" asked Charles to fill the descending silence.

"He's been an angel, and he's growing so fast! He'll be sad to have missed you"

"As are we, he's a darling little boy"

"We're all very glad to see you both, your highness- sorry, Mrs Carson", stated Mrs Baxter from her place at the other end of the table.

"Downton has been a very different place without you here if I can say so", everyone was surprised to hear Mr Barrow's words.

Elsie was well and truly touched. And from the corner of her eye, she could see that so was her husband.

"That is very kind of you, Mr Barrow"

"What's the palace like, Mrs Carson?" asked Daisy excitedly - her voice a bit too loud.

"Daisy!" Mrs Baxted chided.

"That's alright, Daisy", said Charles, "It is a very beautiful place to live in. We have our own living quarters away from the king and queen's rooms, and then, one of my favourite places - the garden, which we have full access to"

"It sounds magical!"

"It almost is", Elsie laughed, "But my - look at you Daisy!"

Elsie beamed at the younger woman's form - she looked lovely, and a pregnancy stomach suited her. Her unsaid comment earned a happy grin from Daisy.

"It has been a pleasure to watch you grow from a little girl to a grown-up woman, Daisy. Though I can't be there to witness any of your happy future, I shall be glad to know to have been part of the rest"

For a minute Elsie thought the younger woman might cry and felt tears prickling in the corners of her own eyes. She proceeded to clear her throat to keep the tears at bay:

"Now, this is getting a bit too emotional for a Monday, don't you think?"

And Daisy laughed alongside the rest of the people in the room.

Once the laughter quietened down, they fell into a comfortable conversation, talking about everything - the couple's time as royals, the happenings at Downton and so on. It was after over twenty minutes later when Elsie realised what the time was and began to stand up, after a moment they were all standing up again.

"I hate to say this but...It has been absolutely lovely to catch up with you all, but I'm afraid we've overstepped our non-existing welcome as it is", she spoke with a smile on her face - though, one that didn't quite feel right.

"Will you be leaving back to London, Mrs Carson?" asked Mr Bates.

"Yes, just in time for Dinner I think"

"And...Will we see you again, Mrs Carson?" it was Anna asking the question and Elsie felt very bad for the woman.

"I certainly hope so. And if it's up to me, which I think it is, we will", Elsie said firmly.

"I'm glad to hear that", Mrs Baxter smiled.

"Well, we best get going then", Charles said, placing a hand on his wife's back.

"Yes, but there's one thing I'd like to do before we go"

Charles nodded, understanding right away what his wife meant.

"Daisy, do you know where Mrs Patmore might be?" Elsie asked kindly, hoping to get an affirmative from the younger woman.

"I think she went to get a bit cleaned up after that...disaster, in the library"

"Well, she must have come down already, it's been over fifteen minutes", Anna said, "I can go look for her-"

"Looking for me, your highness?"

Both Mrs Bates and the princess were stopped in their tracks and Elsie turned around to come face-to-face with the cook. She flashed a smile and said:

"Hello, Mrs Patmore."

The two women moved to the kitchen for some privacy - though, the princess' two guards followed shortly after them and Elsie was more ready to give them a proper talking to but somehow she managed to keep her mouth shut. And she was glad to be left alone with her dear friend - even her husband had already decided to get back upstairs to start preparing for their journey up to London, leaving her and Mrs Patmore alone.

Elsie watched as the other woman shifted from one foot to the other, unable to get any words out of her mouth.

"I'm glad I caught you before we left", Elsie said gently, not wanting to sound - well, to be honest, she wasn't quite sure.

"As am I, your highness"

Now Elsie did let out a laugh - a resemblance of a snort. That made Mrs Patmore look at her with raised eyebrows.

"I had hoped you'd still call me Mrs Carson, or better still, Elsie, Mrs Patmore", the princess explained upon seeing her friend's expression.

"But-"

"Yes, well, I find myself not caring too much about titles and proper names. It'd be different if I was back in London, where things are expected of me, of course"

"Right you are", Mrs Patmore nodded absentmindedly.

Elsie let her eyes inspect her friend once more but she was soon interrupted by the said person's voice:

"You've not...completely forgotten us, have you?"

Elsie met her eyes.

"Of course not, I doubt I ever could"

She nodded again and Elsie wondered what she was thinking at the moment.

"I have missed you, you know. Very much, Mrs Patmore"

Perhaps the words sounded silly, at least they did to Elsie. But she wanted to say them nonetheless.

"I hope we can remain friends, even though our lives have pulled us into different directions. And besides, I haven't been completely truthful to you"

"Whatever do you mean?"

Elsie let out a sigh:

"Well, I never wrote-"

"Think nothing of it, your h- Mrs Carson. You've had your troubles"

That needed no explanations - they both knew what she meant.

"Well, that is true", a quiet laugh left her lips then.

"How are you, by the way?" Mrs Patmore asked, forcing a smile at the taller woman.

"I'm fine. Physically at least - it'll take a bit longer for me to put it all behind me for good"

"I was very worried for you when I heard. And to think it was that bloody-"

"Mrs Patmore", Elsie interrupted her, "don't go asking for trouble for yourself, it's all over now. No need to get yourself all worked up because of it anymore"

"I'm sorry. It's just so...shocking"

"I know - trust me"

A silence fell upon them as they both thought of a thing to say. Mrs Patmore was the first to figure it out.

"Will you be leaving for London now?"

"Yes. We've been away for a few days, it's a high time we get back to our duties"

She nodded, seeming to be lost in thought.

"And..."

"Yes?" Elsie hummed.

"I know it must sound silly, but I have to ask you"

"Of course"

The cook fell silent again but Elsie didn't rush her. Her patience was soon rewarded when the cook spoke up:

"Are you happy?"

Elsie was momentarily taken back by the question and so Mrs Patmore continued.

"I've no right to ask you this, of course, but-"

"Don't be silly, you've every right. We're friends, after all", Elsie corrected her before forming an answer, "And yes - I am happy. It's a different kind of happiness, I think. But I am happy"

Now Mrs Patmore did smile properly.

"Good. Then there's nothing else for me to say"

And a smile found its way to Elsie's lips as well.