Chapter Twenty-Nine

The Royal Family sat around the breakfast table together as always. The King read his newspaper, the twins played with their food while the Queen engaged in a debate with Prince Robert on animal rights.

"What about hunting? Killing for sport is as bad as killing for fashion." – Robert presented his argument.

Queen Helena shook her head.

"Not if you eat them after. Then, you just accept your part in the food chain." – she pointed out.

Her son didn't give up so easily. He was sure he could win this. He smiled at his mother as he said:

"So you would wear… for example a rabbit fur coat if it was made of a rabbit someone had previously hunted and eaten."

Helena was about to answer, but suddenly the door open and a maid came in with a big plate of boiled eggs for the breakfast. The Queen turned white as soon as she felt the smell of egg and had real trouble to keep down the content of her empty stomach. The maid was almost next to her with the plate when she shouted at her:

"Don't put it down!" – she hissed. – "Turn around, go to the kitchen and come back when you figured out what is acceptable on a breakfast table."

The poor girl almost ran out of the room with tears in her eyes. The children (except for Robert) watched the scene open-mouthed, Eleanor even enjoyed it as usual when her mother's anger was directed against someone else and not her. The King looked at the young maid with sympathy, then turned to his wife.

"Do you enjoy this? Why do you have to be like this?" – he cried out indignantly.

The Queen still felt sick so she walked over to the window and opened it to breathe the fresh air.

"I'm disgusted with supermarket egg, you know that." – she said with mock ease.

King Simon slapped the table with his fist in frustration.

"There is no difference!" – he shouted.

Helena didn't want to argue, but he really knew how to make her angry.

"Just because you don't give a shit, it doesn't mean that there is no such thing as quality." – she snapped at him. – "There is a difference: the smell, the taste, the colour, the smell…"

Even speaking of eggs made the Queen feel terrible.

"Can we not talk about eggs, please?" – she asked weakly.

Prince Liam and Princess Eleanor simultaneously began to chant:

"Eggs, eggs, eggs, eggs, eggs, eggs, eggs, eggs, eggs, eggs, eggs, eggs, eggs, eggs, eggs, eggs, eggs, eggs, eggs…"

"Stop it!" – Helena shouted in an ominous voice and the twins became silent.

The King shook his head and mumbled under his breath:

"You are insane."

The Queen heard what he said and she was about to answer, but Prince Robert interrupted them.

"Dad, please!" – he cried out painfully, then he turned to his mother. – "I think it's time to tell them, Mom."

King Simon and the twins all stared at Helena.

"Tell us what?" – Eleanor asked curiously.

The Queen gave Robert a reproachful look. That wasn't the way she wanted to share the news with her family. She still stood at the window, half-hidden by the sash when she finally spoke:

"I'm expecting a child." – she announced neutrally.

"For breakfast?" – Prince Liam asked in confusion.

Queen Helena let out a soft chuckle. She stepped away from the window and walked back to her seat.

"No, darling." – she said gently, looking at Liam. – "I'm pregnant."

The silence fell on the room again. Princess Eleanor was the first who realized what the Queen's words meant.

"That's wonderful. I'm going to be a big sister!" – she cried out happily and ran to her mother. – "I hope it's a girl. We have enough boys already."

Helena let her sit on her lap and patiently replied to her endless questions.

"When will she be born? Can she sleep in my room? What will be her name?" – she sputtered, without taking a breath.

"He or she will be born in eight months and will probably have his or her own room... and we have plenty of time to decide about the name." – the Queen answered, while she was caressing her daughter's hair. – "But it's still our secret so I'd like to ask you not to tell anyone."

The Princess was ready to ask another storm of questions, but her brother interrupted her.

"You are a bad mom. You shouldn't have another child." – Liam remarked as he looked stubbornly in his mother's eyes.

His words hurt Helena more than she would have imagined.

"You shouldn't say out loud everything you think, Liam." – she replied resentfully.

Thanks to the twins, the Queen completely forgot about her husband. She only noticed his presence when he cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Children, why don't you go to your room so your mother and I can talk in private?" – he asked them gently.

Robert, Liam and Eleanor obeyed immediately to their father. Before they left the dinning room, the Princess turned back for a moment to ask her mother:

"Can I tell Penelope and Maribel?"

"If you can make sure that they won't tell anybody…" – Helena replied to her daughter after thinking.

Since the two Princesses came to stay in the Palace with their father for the summer, Eleanor spent a lot of time with them.

"They are terrified of me." – Eleanor said proudly. – "They won't tell anyone."

King Simon shook his head disapprovingly, but the Queen seemed to be content with this answer.

"I'll trust you on this, Eleanor." – she said in a serious tone before she let her daughter go.


"Why don't we take a walk outside?" – King Simon suggested, then he added gently. – "If you feel up to it, of course."

"Sure. Why not?" – his wife nodded assent and followed her husband to the gardens.

They walked quietly for a while, then Helena couldn't take the silence anymore. She suddenly stopped, which made her husband stop as well.

"Simon, please, say something." – she said in an almost begging voice.

The King let out a big sigh and looked at her.

"How far along are you?" – he asked objectively.

Queen Helena frowned and eyed him suspiciously. That was not the reaction she expected from her husband.

"My guess is six weeks." – she finally said. – "It must have happened on the ship during that big storm. Unfortunately, I don't recall any other time, do you?"

Simon shook his head. He didn't remember any other time either, no matter how tragic it was for their married life. Of course it didn't mean that Helena couldn't have been with someone else. He knew that she had a lover and a few years ago the King found out about his wife's secret spa dates. He noticed that sometimes when she came home from the spa her hair was a bit wet and her skin had an intense coconut scent, but sometimes she returned just the same as before. Simon couldn't remember whether he felt the coconut on her the last time or not.

The Queen's voice dragged him out of his thoughts.

"I didn't plan this, if that's what you think. I didn't want to deceive you or manipulate you… or increase my influence. It was spontaneous." – Helena remarked softly after a while.

The King wanted to believe his wife so much that he decided to believe her. He grabbed her hand and gently rubbed it with his thumb while he spoke:

"I know. We had a good time on that trip. It didn't happen in a long time." – he mumbled, carefully avoiding her gaze.

Helena nervously pulled her hand out of his, which forced him to look at her.

"Listen, Simon, I don't know how you feel, but I'm happy about this baby." – she said angrier than she intended. – "I don't expect that it will bring us closer again and…"

"But I do." – her husband quickly interrupted her. – "I do hope that it will bring us closer. And of course I'm happy for the baby. How could I not be?"

The Queen let out a relieved sigh. She looked at her husband to find the truth in his eyes and he looked back at her. They smiled at each other and their gaze suddenly changed. They radiated pure joy. King Simon hugged his wife tightly and there was no need for words anymore.

Helena pressed a quick kiss on her husband's lips and pulled closer to him while they walked back to the Palace.

"I'm scared. Everything is different now. We were young when we had the twins…" – she admitted with a sigh.

"We are still young. At least, you are. I will be forty, an old man basically, by the time this baby is born." – the King replied jokingly.

"Such vanity." – Helena cried out with overacted indignation. – "You are on the top of your life, you know that. And personally I think that these little grey hairs just made you even sexier."

Simon looked her in the eye and laughed at her.

"Really? So you don't think that I should dye it…" – he said thoughtfully like he was really considering the possibility. – "Let's say blue for example."

Queen Helena imagined her husband with blue hair and she couldn't hold back a smile. Then she quickly regained her composure.

"I said you are still young, but not that young." – the Queen said with ease.

"Wow! You can be mean, my love." – Simon cried out in surprise. – "No wonder Eleanor is so sassy."

"Because of me? It's not true. I never encouraged her to…" – Helena protested, but her husband silenced her with a long kiss.


When they got back to the Palace, another surprise greeted them. Someone was playing the piano. The King and the Queen followed the sound and soon they found themselves in their daughter's room.

"What is the piano doing here?" – Helena asked in surprise.

Princess Eleanor shrugged her shoulders,

"I had it brought up from the basement." – she said with ease

"Yes, I can see that." – her mother answered, a bit annoyed. – "But why?"

"I want to play for my sister…" – Eleanor said proudly.

The Queen was genuinely touched by this gesture, but she also remembered that persistence wasn't her daughter's strong suit.

"That's very sweet. I'm sure she will appreciate it." – she replied with a smile, then she added in a different tone. – "Well, if you don't give up until she is born, which I doubt very much."

"Helena!" – the King cried out reproachfully.

His wife looked at him and said with indifference:

"You know I'm right."

Her mother's derogatory words didn't discourage Eleanor as she demanded in a firm voice:

"I want to play for her now."

Helena stepped closer to her and caressed her long hair.

"I'm always happy to listen to you, darling, but we have to do this some other time." – she said gently. – "I have a lot of work right now."

The Princess shook her head in protest.

"I don't want to play for you, I want to play for her. She doesn't have anything to do."

The Queen seemed to be amused by this argument.

"I'm afraid that until we share my body, she must go where I go." – she said with ease and she was about to leave.

Eleanor, however, didn't finish.

"Or you must stay where she stays." – she remarked in mock innocence, which she knew was generally considered cute.

King Simon couldn't hold back a laughter.

"If we put it that way… It's just a question of priority." – he remarked, still smiling.

His daughter nodded in agreement:

"Exactly. Thank you, Dad."

Helena gave a reproachful look to her husband, then turned to the Princess again.

"For God's sake, Eleanor, she is smaller than a peanut." – she cried out in anger. – "She can't make her own choices."

Princess Eleanor was never afraid to talk back to her mother and she was always ready with an answer:

"It doesn't mean that you are more important." – she replied in a calm tone.

"Yes, it does." – the Queen snapped at her because she began to lose her temper.

Eleanor could see her impatience and provoked her further:

"So you are more important than me?" – she asked while she started to walk little circles around her mother.

"I am." – her mother replied without batting an eye.

She followed her daughter's movement with her eyes as she disappeared and reappeared in front of her.

The Princess could see her suspicion and confusion. She could barely hold back a grin.

"If we were in a burning house and the firefighters could only save one person, who would you choose: me or yourself?" – she asked.

Helena replied without hesitation:

"You, of course, but…"

Her daughter didn't let her finish.

"I have no more questions." – she said with ease and stopped in front of her mother.

The Queen shook her head in disbelief. She was angry and proud of her daughter at the same time. She didn't know if it was the pregnancy that already softened her or the fact that Liam's words still echoed in her head, but she decided to let Eleanor have it her way.

"Fine, I'll stay. But only ten minutes." – she said and sat beside her husband on their daughter's bed.

Eleanor was playing the piano as if she didn't miss one day of practice since she quit years ago. The sound of Chopin concertos and difficult Bach fugues filled the Palace. The King and the Queen were mesmerized and they didn't even notice that hours passed while they were listening to their daughter.

"I guess that boarding school is not so urgent matter now." – King Simon whispered to his wife.

"I guess it's not." – Helena replied with a smile.