Chapter Twenty-Eight

A.N. Sorry for not uploading this chapter sooner, but I was on a vacation. Thank you for your amazing reviews I really appreciate them. JulietLovesStories I loved your points. Point 3.: yes, Simon knows about Helena's affair, but he never confronts her about it. So I can show you more about his feelings in the next chapter (not in this one), but it won't be much. :)


At the Queen's biggest annoyance, her dizziness and nausea didn't pass after they returned from the one-month trip. It has been two weeks since she was back in the Palace, but she didn't feel any difference.

"I know that you are a firm believer of the wonders of the Internet, but shouldn't you see a real doctor?" – the King asked her one morning after she staggered out of the bathroom.

Helena looked at him resentfully.

"First of all, WebDoctor is a real doctor. I don't say I would let him perform a surgery on me, but he can perfectly diagnose my mal de débarquement." – she said with ease.

King Simon shrugged his shoulders.

"If you say so…" – he mumbled.

"I had seasickness and now my body can't process that we are suddenly back on land. It's completely logical."

Her husband just rolled his eyes, but didn't bother to answer so the Queen added in a scornful tone:

"You don't really care anyway."

Simon hesitated for a moment, then he coudn't hold back his anger.

"Right, I don't." – he hissed. – "I just hate being woken up to your retching every morning."

Helena gave him a triumphant smile.

"Finally, the truth is out." – she said sarcastically, then she added. – "The seamstresses are here to take our measurements. Be ready in an hour."


Queen Helena was standing on a footstool in her large dressing room, changing text messages with her assistant about the daily tasks, while the seamstresses quietly took the measurements they needed for her new gown.

Suddenly, the two women stopped their work and exchanged a quick glance. Helena saw that from the corner of her eyes and looked down at them.

"Is there a problem?" – she asked with no real interest.

The seamstresses looked at each other again, then one of them turned to the Queen:

"Your waistline is half inch bigger than it was."

Helena frowned for a moment, but she wasn't interested in the topic so much.

"Half inch." – she remarked indifferently. – "Thank you for sharing it with me."

The other seamstress, the older one replied timidly, avoiding the Queen's gaze.

"I have taken Your Majesty's measurements for eight years now. It has never changed until today."

"It sounds like your problem, not mine." – Queen Helena snapped at her as she was really getting annoyed by the two of them. If it hadn't been enough, she began to feel dizzy again.

She carefully stepped off the stool and sat in the closest chair to her. The two seamstresses didn't know what to do, the situation was as awkward as it could be. Finally, the younger one plucked up her courage and spoke:

"If this is not the right time of the month for you, we can come back another day." – she suggested.

The Queen didn't understand at first what she talked about, but then she realized that the girl was referring very diplomatically to her period. She guessed wrong, however, it was a good excuse for Helena to get rid of them.

After the two women left, suddenly everything fell into place. The nausea, the dizziness, the mood swings: it all made sense… much more than the stupid mal de débarquement.


After this revelation the Queen went straight to Robert's room. She found th Prince with his best friend, Twysden Beckwith.

"Hello Beck! It was good to see you." – Helena began, not wasting much time on courtesy. – "A car is waiting for you outside. Send my regards to your mother."

Beck quickly grabbed his things and left the room with a slight bow.

"Mum! What the hell was that? You can't just come in here and throw out my best friend like this!" – Robert shouted at his mother after the door was closed behind his friend.

"I think I just did." – the Queen replied absently. – "Anyway, what were you doing here so secretly?"

Prince Robert threw his blanket carelessly to the other side of the bed where Beck was sitting earlier.

"Nothing, we just…" – he mumbled, but it was too late.

His mother noticed what he did and she quickly revealed what he tried to hide. It was a couple of adult magazines in a pretty torn shape.

"Ha! Would you still say that I had no right to send home your friend?" – Helena remarked with a smile, seeming amused rather than angry.

Robert lowered his eyes in shame.

"Please don't say it to Dad." – he begged.

Queen Helena let out a genuine laughter.

"Do you think so little of me? Of course I won't tell him." – she said in mock resentment. – "I think it's perfectly normal in your age to be… curious and if you have any questions…"

The young Prince turned red and he cried out indignantly:

"Mum! This is so embarrassing."

Helena shrugged her shoulders.

"I think you deserve that much." – she replied, then she added more seriously: – "But you know the rule: what you do in private…"

"… has to stay in private, I know." – Robert finished her sentence. – "No one will know about it."

They were silent for a while then Prince Robert asked his mother:

"So did you just come for a raid or is there something else?"

The Queen couldn't hold back a nervous sigh as she looked into her son's eyes.

"There is." – she said faintly. – "Robert, I think I'm pregnant."

Her son cried out in disbelief:

"What? How is this possible?"

"It's not like I'm fifty years old." – Helena replied to him reproachfully. – "I'm thirty-four, it's very much possible."

Robert needed a minute to process the information and gather his strength to ask the inevitable question:

"Is it Dad's baby?"

His mother wasn't prepared for this.

"Robert!" – she shouted indignantly.

Prince Robert shrugged his shoulders like he didn't care.

"I wish I don't have to ask." – he remarked in mock ease.

Helena looked at him and she could see in his eyes all the damage she caused when she told him the truth about Alistair.

"Yes, it's your father's." – she said firmly, then she added, in case her son needed more proof. – "It happened on the cruise."

Robert quietly nodded before he asked his next question.

"What are you going to do?"

"There is not much to do about it. Your father and I are going to have another baby. You are going to have another brother or sister." – the Queen remarked softly. – "Are you surprised that I told you first?"

Her son shook his head.

"No. You always tell me first. You told me first about the twins." – he reminded his mother in a cheerful voice.

"Yes, I remember." – Helena said with a dim smile.

Robert looked at his mother and gulped.

"Mum, are you happy about it?" – he finally asked.

The Queen looked back at him with surprise.

"Mostly… Happy and excited, but also a bit nervous." – she answered honestly, then she continued, lost in thoughts. – "The last time I was pregnant it was eleven years ago. A lot of things have changed. I don't know what the people will think… what your father will think."

Now it was Prince Robert's turn to be surprised about his mother's uncertainty.

"You know what they will think. The people adore royal babies. And Dad will be delighted too." – he said reassuringly.

Helena was more afraid than she would have admitted, even to herself.

"Do you think so?" – she mumbled, secretly seeking comfort in her son's eyes.

Then she realized she had let her mask slip so she remarked in mock indifference:

"We were in love when we had the twins."

As always, Robert knew what she wanted to hear.

"You were not in love when you had me…" – he began.

"…but we fell in love after you were born." – his mother finished his thought.

Prince Robert gave her a big smile. He felt a wave of optimism that he didn't let himself too often. Suddenly he heard his own hopeful voice, saying out loud his thoughts:

"Maybe you will fall in love again."

"Maybe…" – Helena repeated, thinking of Alistair for a moment, then she eyed her son up and down. – "Robert, how do you feel about it?"

The young Prince shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm happy until you are happy, and Dad and the twins… and the monarchy."

"Sometimes I just hate the monarchy." – Helena sighed, surprised even herself that she said it out loud.

Robert understood his mother better than anyone. He knew that she lived for the monarchy and as the heir to the British throne, so did he. Although they didn't rebel against this life like the King or the twins sometimes, it didn't mean that they always loved it.

"I know, but this is our life." – he replied softly. – "At least, we are in it together."