Chapter Twenty
A.N. Simon doesn't know that Helena took the picture of him and the maid. When he said 'I heard you', he meant that he heard her untold words and understood her problem. Sorry if it wasn't clear. My English is still not the best.
Queen Helena and King Simon sat at opposite heads of the breakfast table while Prince Robert sat next to his mother. Unlike his siblings, nine-year-old Robert was allowed to eat with his parents, though it wasn't as exciting as the twins imagined.
A group of shouting protesters gathered at the gates, their voice came through the windows. The Queen let out a nervous sigh, then she looked at her husband who buried himself in his newspaper.
"They are here for three days. When will they stop already?" – Helena asked, taking a sip from her tea.
King Simon looked up from his newspaper as he replied:
"I don't think it will happen soon. They organized a demonstration Monday…" – he began, then he added: – "Not here, don't worry."
The Queen was visibly relieved.
Robert tried to follow the conversation of the adults, but he didn't really understand the situation.
"Why are they protesting?" – he asked in confusion.
"Health care, pensions… Not that we could do anything to help." – came the answer from his mother.
"You told them plain enough." – the King remarked.
The Queen snorted derisively.
"Maybe you should talk to them since you are such a fan of the commoners." – she said scornfully.
The young Prince felt the tension between his parents so he spoke again.
"What if our staff wants to go to the demonstration? How are we going to go on a vacation then?" – he asked.
Helena let out a short laugh.
"You don't have to worry about that, darling. They are too well-paid to do so. Besides, I already told them that nobody will get a day off until this nonsense is over."
Robert hesitated for a while, then he turned to his mother:
"They should have the opportunity to go if they want to…"
The Queen was a bit surprised, but she was also proud of her son. Despite this, she wanted to remind him of the negative consequences of this protest, for example the cancellation of their family holiday, but she was interrupted by the arrival of her assistant.
"Your Highness!" – began Lucius, then he walked over to Queen Helena. – "I'm sorry to bother you, Your Majesty, but Princess Eleanor refuses to get dressed."
Helena rolled her eyes and snorted in disbelief.
"Bring her here, please. Thank you, Lucius!"
A moment later, a bodyguard entered the dining room with a kicking Princess on his shoulder whom he put down carefully next to the Queen.
"Good God! You could have dressed her up first." – said Helena as she looked at her daughter who wore nothing, but her pajama top.
"I think we came full circle." – King Simon remarked with a dim smile.
Feeling that all the attention is on her, Eleanor decided to continue her little show.
"Your Majesty!" – she said very seriously and curtsied to her mother.
The Princess was prepared to be scolded, but her parents and her brother burst out laughing.
"That was a perfect curtsy." – the Queen remarked with surprise. – "Where did you learn that?"
"From the maids." – the little girl replied proudly.
"Well, you are allowed to serve me my tea any time." – Helena said to her daughter and caressed her cheek.
Of course, she was joking, but Eleanor saw the potential in her unwary statement.
"Really? Can I do it now?" – she asked, overjoyed.
Helena didn't suspect anything so she let her do it. The little Princess poured the tea and the milk in her mother's teacup, but in an unguarded moment, she grabbed the orange juice and the salt cellar and put their content to the mix as well.
"Eleanor!" – cried her mother when she saw what she had done. – "I won't drink that."
"You must! You promised!" – demanded the little girl.
Helena shook her head.
"No. I said you could serve my tea, I didn't say I would drink it."
"Then I won't dress up." – Eleanor insisted.
King Simon could see his wife's hesitation. He could tell that it wasn't a good idea letting their six-year-old daughter have it her way, but Helena always stood for fast and spectacular results instead of consistent parenting.
"If I drink this, you will put on the dress I choose for you and you keep it on until I say so." – Helena finally said, sincerely hoping that her daughter wouldn't find a loophole.
Eleanor frowned, then she shook her head.
"I only wear pants." – she said with ease.
"Out of the question." – protested her mother.
The Princess had another idea:
"Weeell, if I can put the pepper in it…" – she started, but the Queen interrupted her.
"Fine. Just do it." – she said angrily.
Eleanor dispersed a great amount of pepper into her mother's teacup, then she gave it to her. The Queen looked at it with disgust.
Simon and Robert saw her discouragement and began to chant:
"Drink! Drink! Drink!"
Helena downed the mixture and her face twisted into a grimace.
"Your turn." – she said to her daughter, then she added: – "And Eleanor! Don't tell this to Liam!"
"Okay." – answered the little Princess and kissed her mother on the cheek.
"I swear, Liam. You tell her that you don't want to dress up and she will drink whatever you make." – Princess Eleanor said to her twin after she got back to her room.
"But I don't want to be naked." – Liam whined.
Eleanor shrugged her shoulders.
"If it was easy, she wouldn't let you put pepper and juice in her tea…"
Liam's eyes widened in amazement.
"Pepper and juice? And she drank it?" – he asked.
"The whole thing. In front of Dad and Robert and Hagrid and Mark and Lucius and Horseface Lisa… But she probably wouldn't do it for you anyway so…"
It was enough for Liam to get so jealous and excited that he threw off his clothes and rushed into the dining room.
"I won't drink it." – Queen Helena cried out as soon as she saw her younger son.
Thanks to Eleanor, Liam was prepared for this scenario and he said what he was taught by his sister:
"I want to wear a skirt."
"Don't be ridiculous, Liam. You are a boy. Boys can't wear skirts." – Helena replied angrily.
She looked impotently at her husband, but the King only shrugged his shoulder. Robert, however, decided to help his brother's case.
"In Scotland, the boys wear skirts too." – he remarked with a sardonic grin.
Helena looked at him reproachfully. From him, she didn't expect a betrayal like this.
"Whatever." – she said resignedly and handed over her teacup to Liam.
However, no one was prepared for what happened next. They expected Eleanor to be more resourceful, but they forgot the fact that Liam was a boy.
"Worm! This was a bloody worm!" – screamed the Queen and jumped up from her seat. – "Go to your room, right now! And you can forget about the zoo!"
"But they named it after me and Lenny…" – he cried with tears in his eyes.
"I don't care. We'll go without you."
Eleanor, who watched her brother from the doorway, now ran into the dining room and tried to make the things all right.
"Please, Mommy, don't punish, Liam! It was all my fault." – she begged. – "I will be good, I promise. I will be good the whole day, just let Liam come to the zoo with us."
Helena sighed. She knew she couldn't let them get away with it.
"All right. One of you can come and the other stays at home. You decide." – she said with ease, then she sent the twins back to their room.
King Simon watched the scene in silence, but now he couldn't help saying something:
"You punish them for your mistake." – he remarked objectively.
"Yeah, Mum. It was mean." – added Robert.
Queen Helena looked from one to the other, then she gave up her resistance.
"Just one hour. Let them think of what they did, then you can rescue them and we will all go to the zoo."
Prince Robert ran over to his mother and hugged her tightly.
"You are the best. Thank you, Mom."
The twins were overexcited when they arrived at the zoo and they could hardly wait for the opening ceremony to end so they could see the animals. The manager of the new Prince & Princess Zoo gave an exclusive tour for the Royal Family. He even let the children in some of the cages to caress the animals.
"We provide the best possible circumstances for them. Our residents have bigger space than in any other zoo and their food is coming from overseas…" – the manager explained to the Queen who listened to him with a polite smile.
Prince Robert walked beside them, while King Simon and the twins rushed forward to see the Africa House.
"Look, Robbie!" – Princess Eleanor cried when her brother and mother caught up with them. – "He is eating from my hand."
Her brother looked at her as she offered a carrot to one of the giraffes who wrapped his tongue around it and snatched it out of her hand. Robert turned his attention to his father who fed another giraffe in the same way.
"There is another one who seems hungry." – Queen Helena remarked when she saw her son's hesitation.
Prince Robert didn't need more persuasion after he got his mother's permission. He ran over to the carrot bucket and gave a piece for the third giraffe.
The Queen was left alone with their guide who spoke about his recent study on animal droppings. She was truly grateful for her daughter to call out for her and interrupted the manager.
"Mum! Liam doesn't dare to feed the giraffe." – Eleanor tattled to her mother.
"That's not true!" – her twin protested, but his behaviour told otherwise.
Helena walked over to her younger son and bent down to him:
"What is the matter, darling?" – she asked softly, so no one could hear them.
"She pushed me." – Liam complained and pointed at a giraffe.
His mother hugged him and rubbed his cheek.
"It wasn't very nice of her, but I'm sure she didn't do it on purpose." – she said kindly, then she added: – "What do you say I go there with you and we give her a carrot together. She sure doesn't dare to knock down the Queen, does she?"
Liam shook his head.
"No. She doesn't." – he agreed and let his mother lead him to the giraffe in question.
Queen Helena wanted to make the most of their visit so she arranged a special photo shoot in the zoo. The images were intended to appear on stamps and the Queen commissioned a calendar as well to support disadvantaged children with the income.
Therefore, every member of the family could choose an animal to be photographed with. Princess Eleanor was so happy that she couldn't decide. Finally, she was captured with a baby elephant who playfully wrapped his trunk around her body. Robert wanted to choose an eagle, but his mother was against it because of its controversial historical background, so he posed with a cockatoo on his shoulder, which made him look like a pirate. On another picture, Queen Helena was cuddling an ocelot whose blue eyes matched hers, while her husband's photo showed the King sitting on a bench with a chimpanzee "talking about" the big problems of the world. Prince Liam chose the petting zoo as a venue where he was photographed with a lamb and a little bunny.
The 'Mop Revolt', as Queen Helena called it, was in full swing when they got back to the Palace. The majority of their employees expressed their wish in a form of a petition to participate in the demonstration on Monday. The Queen was about to threaten to fire them, but King Simon gave his permission.
"You know that you just sabotaged our holiday." – Helena said reproachfully to her husband.
Simon shrugged his shoulders.
"I apologize to everyone, but this was the right thing to do."
Eleanor and Liam, who sat with their father, now both slid off his lap and rushed to their mother. Helena couldn't help enjoying the support of the twins who were always on Simon's side. However, the King managed to change the situation.
"Maybe we could go without them." – he suggested with ease.
"Alone. With no servants at all." – Queen Helena cried in shock.
Princess Eleanor looked from her mother to her father and frowned.
"Who is going to take care of us?" – she asked.
"Your mother…" – King Simon replied without hesitation.
Eleanor and Helena looked at each other and they burst out laughing. Robert was the first to realize that his father was serious.
"You mean the whole day for a week?" – he asked him in disbelief.
Simon smiled reassuringly at him, then turned to his wife and daughter.
"Yes. So girls… what is it going to be?"
"No girls! I'm the only girl who will decide it." – the Queen snapped at her husband.
She wished she wouldn't have said that because now all eyes were fixed on her.
"Take your time. But just to remind you, we will soon have our anniversary… and Robert's birthday…" – King Simon argued in a playful tone. – "Wouldn't it be nice to have some privacy?"
Helena knew already that she lost against her husband. However, he put a bug in her ear with the idea of a little privacy after ten years. This was something even the Queen couldn't resist, but of course she would have never admitted it.
"All right. If you all want this…" – she said in mock disappointment. – "But don't blame me if it is horrible."
