Chapter Thirty-Five
The next morning Queen Helena woke up with a heavy weight on top of her. The King didn't return to their bedroom yet so Helena had to realize that it was her bodyguard, who was still lying on her bed.
She pulled up her knee and gently kicked the sleeping man to wake him up.
"What?" – Ralph asked groggily and rolled off the Queen.
Helena quickly got up and put on a night robe.
Before she headed to the door, she leaned over her bodyguard and whispered to him:
"Last night was great. I forgot about all my troubles, thanks to you." - she pressed a quick kiss on his lips, then she added: - Anyway, your wife called twice. You'd better be hurry. You remember the way we got here…"
"Yeah, crystal clear." – Ralph mumbled. – "I could find my way back here any time."
The Queen let out a soft chuckle.
"That won't be necessary. It was a one-time thing."
"We'll see." – the bodyguard whispered confidently and Helena trembled for a moment at his words."
She went to the small courtyard to clear her head, but at her surprise she found her daughter there.
"I'm sorry I didn't know you were here." – she said and sat on the bench next to her. – "So how do you feel?"
Princess Eleanor let out a big sigh and looked at her mother.
"Stupid… Robert and Dad and Liam, they don't get this. How could they?" – she mumbled and tears started running down her face.
The Queen pulled her in an embrace and tried to wipe off the tears with her thumb. Eleanor couldn't hold it together anymore. Her whole body was shaken by sobs:
"It was all your fault… If you hadn't thrown out Beck… I just wanted to hurt you."
"It's all right, darling. It's all right." – Helena whispered like a mantra, then she added: – "If it's any consolation, it worked. You did hurt me."
The Princess pulled away from her and gave her a scornful smile:
"It didn't worth it. I feel like a whore."
Her mother didn't know what to say to ease her daughter's guilt.
"You are not a whore." – she remarked quietly after a little while.
"That's it? That's all you can say?" – Eleanor cried out in shock mixed with anger.
"What do you want me to say?" – the Queen asked with a surprised look, then she continued mockingly: – 'Don't worry, my first time was a disaster too, I felt like an idiot after it happened…?!'"
"Yes!" – the Princess shouted because that was exactly what she needed from her mother right now.
Queen Helena looked down to avoid her daughter's gaze and remained silent for a while. Her voice was soft when she finally spoke, but she wasn't as calm as she seemed. She felt the anger boiling up in her with every word:
"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that. I wasn't reckless or unpredictable, I didn't rebel, I didn't dare to defy my parents… and I certainly did not do something so stupid just to punish them!" – she finished by shouting.
"Right, because you are always so fucking perfect!" – her daughter shouted back.
The Queen shook her head to protest.
"I didn't say that, Eleanor." – she sighed and forced herself to calm down. – "Look, it didn't happen the way it should have, but you are a woman now. You made a decision and you have to live with it. That is a part of growing up."
"Then, I don't want to grow up." – Eleanor mumbled.
Helena kissed her on the cheek and gave her a bitter smile.
"I wish you wouldn't have to. Maybe that way I wouldn't have to grow old either. It's a win-win."
"It really is." – the Princess agreed, then she suddenly looked up at her mother and asked: – "Mom, why can't you always be like this?"
The Queen frowned and asked back in confusion:
"Like what?"
Eleanor hesitated before she said out loud what she thought:
"Nice."
Her mother couldn't hold back a genuine laugh.
"You don't always make it so easy." – she remarked.
They both remained quiet for a while, then the Princess broke the silence.
"Are you disappointed in me?"
Helena shook her head and gave out a little sigh:
"No, I'm disappointed in myself because I couldn't prevent this from happening." – she said objectively, then she quickly changed the subject. – "Of course you don't have to go back to your school, you can stay here until you need."
Princess Eleanor smiled at her because she was glad that her mother finally wanted her to stay, but she has already made her decision.
"Thanks, but I think that Switzerland is the perfect place for me right now." – she replied with ease and stood up. – "In fact, I should pack my bags before my ride arrives. You wouldn't mind if Beck accompanied me on the way, would you?"
The Queen was about to protest and forbid her daughter to see him again, but she realized that she wasn't in a position to do so.
"I… No, of course I wouldn't. I hope you will enjoy yourself." – she answered with a fake smile and let her daughter go.
"How could you send Eleanor back to school after what just happened?" – King Simon shouted at his wife when he finally found her in one of the living rooms.
Helena looked up from the novel she was reading and replied in a calm tone:
"I didn't send her. She wanted to go back."
The King wasn't convinced and he couldn't keep his temper.
"Do you expect me to believe this?" – he hissed angrily.
The Queen let out a frustrated sigh and put down the book.
"It is the truth, but you are free to believe whatever you want."
"If you hadn't treated Beck the way you did… if you hadn't humiliated him in front of the whole Palace…" – Simon mumbled, but his wife interrupted him.
"Yes, it was all my fault, I know." – Helena remarked scornfully, then she added in a serious voice. – "But honestly, Simon, what would you have done in my place?"
She waited for her husband's answer, but he only shrugged his shoulder and remained silent.
"I thought so." – the Queen said softly and looked at the King with contempt. – "You know I'm not the monster you think I am, so instead of blaming me, you could focus on finding that boy, who did this to our daughter."
King Simon gave her a blank look as he answered:
"How? She refused to tell me who it was."
"Then find out." – Helena snapped at her and stepped closer to him. – "Think of your friends… Which one of their spoiled offsprings couldn't resist the possibility to seduce the Princess?"
"I don't know." – the King admitted it with a sigh.
He looked out the window and saw the black car leaving the Palace grounds with Eleanor. The Queen walked over to him and followed his gaze.
"Well, ask them. Threaten them if you have to, do everything that is necessary to get them to tell the truth." – she suggested as it was the most natural thing.
Simon cried out in indignation:
"I can't do that."
"Of course you can't… You will let him get away with it." – Helena answered scornfully. – "What kind of King are you who can't even protect his own daughter?"
"I… I can't just…" – Simon stuttered, but he couldn't finish.
The Queen put her hand on his shoulder and gently rubbed his back while she remarked in a sad voice:
"See? I can point fingers too, if I want."
King Simon nodded in agreement.
"You are right."
"No, I'm not. What happened, it's none of us's fault." – Queen Helena protested and looked her husband in the eye. – "Eleanor made a mistake, but she wanted this. There was nothing we could do."
"If you say so." – the King mumbled, but his wife could see that she didn't convince him.
She decided to change the subject and attempt to make peace with her husband:
"Yes, I say so. Listen, I don't want to argue. Liam and Robert won't come home next weekend because of the sports day in Eton and Eleanor will probably stay in Lausanne as well so it will be just us for a while. It would be nice if we could get along or at least stay out of each other's way."
Simon looked at her and quietly nodded, then he turned back to the window and looked out again, lost in thoughts.
