Chapter Thirty-Two
A.N. Thanks for the reviews, I'm so happy that after more than half a year, there are still so many readers, although my story is not always the most heartwarming one. I'm planning some more chapters so the story would conclude where the TV show begins.
Cyrus was right. The drink knocked out the Queen and she only woke up when her husband came back to their room.
"The Americans are gone. Finally." – he cried out, relieved.
Helena sat up in the bed and said:
"You should have woken me up."
"It was unnecessary." – the King replied, then he added with a charming smile. – "Besides, you are so beautiful in your sleep."
He climbed onto the bed and started kissing his wife, but she roughly pushed him off of her.
"Not now!" – she mumbled.
"What is it?" – Simon asked in surprise.
The Queen backed away to the window to keep her distance while her husband stood at the opposite side of the bed.
"I lost the baby." – Helena remarked flatly after a long pause.
The King looked at her in shock.
"What? When?"
Queen Helena couldn't stand her husband's gaze and she lowered her eyes.
"Yesterday. During the party." – she replied softly.
"It's not possible. I was there… with you…" – Simon mumbled in confusion. – "Why didn't you tell me?"
The Queen let out a scornful chuckle.
"The Americans were here, I didn't want to distract you." – she said, still avoiding the King's eyes.
"Distract me? You didn't give me a choice. You should have told me!" – King Simon cried out angrily.
"Why? What could you possibly do to make it better?" – Helena shouted back, then she lowered her voice. – "It was humiliating and painful and... I couldn't do anything. I didn't want you to see this… to see me like this."
Her husband was speechless. He wanted to rush to his wife and comfort her, but she made it clear that she didn't want his pity. He sank down on the edge of the bed and buried his face in his hands.
"It was a girl." – the Queen whispered quietly.
The King gave her a painful look.
"Alice…" – he mumbled with tears in his eyes.
His wife reaction, however, surprised him.
"No, Simon. It wasn't Alice." – Helena snapped at him, not sure why she got suddenly so angry. – "She was… It was smaller than my palm. It was just a… a thing, not a human being… just a thing… not a baby and certainly not Alice."
"Okay." – answered King Simon softly.
The Queen nodded in relief.
"I asked for the children. We have to tell them." – she said after a moment.
"Do you want me to tell them?" – her husband asked quickly.
Helena couldn't hold back a sigh.
"No, I will."
Their parents' bedroom was usually a forbidden territory for the children. They could count on one hand how many times their mother let them in.
"Don't stop there, come here." – Helena cried in mock cheerfulness when she saw her children standing shyly in the doorway. Then she turned to her husband. – "Look at them! Are these really our children, who don't dare to enter a room?"
Robert knew immediately that something was wrong. His mother's fake smile and her overacted happiness didn't suggest so much good. Anyway, he stepped closer to the Queen and made the twins follow him.
"You won't have a little brother or sister. I'm sorry." – their mother announced the news objectively.
"But I want it!" – Eleanor cried out in protest.
Helena gave her a bitter smile.
"Sometimes things don't turn out the way you want them to." – she said in mock ease. – "It's time for you to learn that lesson, Eleanor."
The little girl frowned in confusion.
"Why are you punishing me? I didn't do anything wrong!" – she cried and tears appeared in her eyes.
Her daughter's pain reminded the Queen of her own grief and she needed a moment to collect herself.
"I know, darling. I don't punish you." – she remarked softly and hugged the sobbing Princess. – "I didn't want this to happen either, but it happened. We have to accept it."
They all remained quiet until Robert broke the silence.
"I'm sorry, Mom." – he said sadly.
"Me too." – her little brother mumbled.
Her mother looked at him with a cold stare.
"Don't be, Liam. You think that I'm a bad mother. You should be happy that I won't have another child." – she said scornfully.
"Helena!" – the King gently rebuked his wife.
The Queen looked at him in surprise and shrugged.
"I mean it." – she remarked with ease.
Robert looked from her mother to his father, then he asked carefully:
"Is there anything we can do?"
The Queen shook her head.
"No. You can all leave now." – she said and the conversation was over.
-BBC NEWS AT NOON-
JULIA: "Good afternoon! It's exactly twelve o'clock. The Palace has confirmed the sad news: Queen Helena suffered a miscarriage. Our reporter is at the gates of Buckingham Palace, where a huge crowd gathered to express their sympathy to the Royal Family. Hello, Matt!"
MATT: "Hello Julia! Yes, indeed, a lot of people came here today to show their support to the Queen and her family. Let's hear what they say."
JENNIFER: "I was so excited about the Royal Baby. I'm very disappointed right now. It's amazing that the Queen and the King are so much in love after fifteen years that they decided to have another baby. I feel sorry for them."
THERESA: "Queen Helena is such a wonderful person. I met her in a children's hospital three years ago when my son was sick. Her strength and support meant the world for my family. The Queen is always there for us, she is like a mother to the whole nation. I think that's why the people are here today: to show her that we are there for her too."
MATT: "It's hard to find the right words. Let's get back to the studio."
JULIA: "Thank you, Matt! In the wake of the sad news the Queen expressed in her statement that she would focus on the future and continue her charity campaign with the American First Lady for the sick children across the world. – In fact, Her Majesty is the most active member of the Royal Family, she carried out almost 300 engagements just this year. She stands for many good causes, but her work for the children is outstanding. Let's hope that she can find some comfort in helping them after this personal tragedy."
The next few days were awfully quiet in the Palace. The royal children hardly saw their parents and when they did, they didn't dare to speak in their presence. Finally, Helena couldn't bear their silence any longer.
"Let's talk about your birthday." – she suggested to the twins with forced cheerfulness in her voice.
She could see that Eleanor didn't like this topic.
"Will you be here this year?" – the little girl asked scornfully.
The Queen let out a resigned sigh.
"I missed your birthday once." – she replied, offended. – "Besides, you said that your last birthday was the best in your life so stop bringing this up to me."
The Princess looked at her mother in guilt. Prince Liam, however, decided to seize the opportunity and asked:
"Can we have dodgems and petting zoo this year too?"
"Absolutely not. Your birthday party will be the same as any other year." – Queen Helena said coldly, then she added in a softer voice. – "But since it's your tenth birthday, you can think bigger regarding the gifts. So what would you like to get?"
Prince Liam cried out without hesitation.
"I want a yacht."
The Queen looked at her husband who shrugged his shoulder. Personally, he didn't like the idea of spoiling the children to make them forget about their loss, but he didn't want to go against his wife. Helena looked back at her son and nodded.
"Okay. Anything else?" – she asked.
"A shark." – Liam remarked in enthusiasm.
His mother frowned in surprise, but she didn't say no.
"We have to figure out where to keep it, but I think we can manage that." – she replied with ease, then she turned to her daughter. – "What about you, Eleanor?"
The little Princess knew exactly what she wanted and she wasn't afraid to share her wish with her parents:
"I want a baby sister."
"We talked about this, it's not going to happen." – Helena said with a sudden anger and the pretended happiness disappeared from her face.
"At least, not in the near future." – King Simon added quietly to ease the Queen's words.
His wife looked at him in surprise mixed with anger.
"No, it will never going to happen." – she said firmly.
They all remained silent after the announcement. The children turned from one parent to the other in a growing despair. It was obvious that they didn't have time to discuss the matter, but the Queen has already made her decision. Finally, the King cleared his throat and said:
"Never say never." – he mumbled and let out an awkward chuckle.
"Well, this time I say it: never." – Helena remarked sharply and for a moment, she forgot about her children in the room. – "I did my duty, I don't owe you any more children."
King Simon gasped in shock.
"What are you talking about? You don't owe me…? Of course, you don't. I didn't mean it like that." – he cried out indignantly.
Helena quietly nodded.
"Good." – she said in a firm tone, then she turned to her daughter. – "So what else do you want, darling?"
Princess Eleanor was still under the influence of the ugly scene between her parents, but she quickly recovered from the shock.
"A horse." – she said with ease.
After all that happened, she didn't expect much resistance, but her father shook his head.
"Out of the question." – he shouted.
Blackmailing wasn't an unfamiliar method for Eleanor and she wasn't afraid to use it when she needed it.
"Then I want a sister." – she demanded peremptorily.
The King let out a painful sigh.
"It's not an either-or situation, Lenny." – he explained to his daughter in a sad voice.
Eleanor was prepared to lose this battle, but her mother's reaction surprised her.
"I think it is." – the Queen replied to her husband with ease. – "Your daughter is trying to say something to you, you just don't listen. She clearly needs more space… more freedom."
"Yes, clearly." – the young Princess remarked in an uncertain voice.
King Simon shook his head to protest:
"But a horse… it's dangerous and way too early."
"No, it's not. She is a big girl now, she can take care of herself. As for the danger, statistically speaking, getting in a car or an airplane is much more dangerous than riding a horse." – Helena said in a calm voice.
Her husband snorted in anger:
"You are talking about statistics when you know exactly what my problem is."
Queen Helena couldn't hold back a sad laughter.
"I know exactly what your problem is and I think it's shameful that you are reminding me of it right now." – she hissed angrily.
The King and the Queen glared at each other for a while until their daughter interrupted them.
"What exactly your problem is, Daddy?" – Eleanor asked curiously.
Simon didn't expect this question and he didn't know what to say.
"Nothing." – he mumbled. – "I will think about the horse and I will talk it through with your mother."
Princess Eleanor always got what she wanted so she was sure that she would get the horse as well. However, her parents did everything to mislead her. They blindfolded her and led her to the garden.
"Is it a horse?" – the Princess asked in excitement.
She could hear her mother's frustrated sigh.
"I'm sorry. I did everything I could. Your father was too stubborn." – the Queen remarked in mock sadness.
"But we hope that you will love your present anyway." – the King added happily.
Prince Robert took off the scarf from her face and said:
"All right. You can open your eyes."
"May I present to you Charlie Jones." – Queen Helena announced with a smile and led a gorgeous white horse to her daughter. – "Congratulations, you are his new owner, darling."
Eleanor rushed to her new gift and kissed and hugged him all over.
"Mom! He is beautiful. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" – she cried out happily and ran to her mother to hug her too.
"Can I ride him?" – she asked impatiently.
"Of course. He is yours. Just wait a second." – the Queen replied laughingly and put a helmet on her daughter's head. – "Here you are."
"Ouch! It's pulling my hair." – the Princess whined and tried to take it off. – "Do I really have to wear this?"
Helena looked around, then she bent down to Eleanor and whispered into her ears:
"Only until your father is watching you."
Liam and Robert were almost as excited about the new horse as Eleanor herself and they all wanted to feed him and ride him. Their parents watched them from a distance as they helped their sister up to the saddle and she rode away, swift as an arrow. It was quite an impressive sight.
Queen Helena tried to follow her with her eyes until she could see her. Then, she turned to her husband, only to see the terrified expression on his face.
"She is safe, you can relax." – she said to him reassuringly. – "A bullet couldn't go through that helmet… even if she falls, which she won't, she will be fine."
Simon smiled back at her, but he was still worried.
"She seems to enjoy herself very much." – he finally replied.
"Yes. I was right. She just needs some independence." – his wife remarked with satisfaction.
King Simon looked at his wife and he suddenly realized what this was all about.
"No, Helena, please." – he asked her.
The Queen shrugged her shoulders and said with ease:
"Boarding school will do wonders for her."
"I can imagine what kind of wonders." – the King mumbled in a sarcastic tone. – "She is too young. Nobody sends a ten-year-old girl to boarding school."
"Nonsense. If it was true, there would be no boarding schools for ten-year-old girls. But there are. You would be surprised how many, just in this country." – Helena remarked objectively.
The King looked her in the eye and almost begged her:
"Please, think about it before you decide."
His wife's cold gaze scared Simon, but her words even more:
"I have already decided."
King Simon nodded resignedly.
"What about Liam?" – he asked after a while.
The Queen's expression changed immediately and a worried look appeared in her eyes.
"He is different. He is so shy…" – she began, then she suddenly changed her mind. – "…but you are right. If he stays home, the people will think that we are playing favourites. I guess we have to find a suitable school for him too."
"You are about to make a big mistake and it will be very difficult to fix it." – Simon remarked sadly.
Queen Helena gave him a defiant look and let out a cruel smile:
"Maybe… but at least I can focus more on being the Queen."
