Chapter Thirty-Seven

A.N. So this is the first part of the final chapter, the second part will come next week.

JulietLovesStories, you disappeared a bit, I hope you'll return for the finale because it will be a kind of symbolic ending as you predicted earlier.


Five years later…

Queen Helena was looking through the newspapers which, without exception, ran her daughter's last night outing on the front page. She just started to think how to kill this story when she heard Eleanor's voice from the door.

"Mom?"

Instead of an answer, Helena read aloud the headlines in front of her:

"Eleanorgy… Flash Dance… Royal Beaver…" – she said with pure disgust in her voice. – "My daughter, the Princess, behaving like a common whore. But go on, amuse me. Explain this latest disgrace, but please, Eleanor, make it original this time."

She expected some sassy back talk, but instead of that her daughter's voice was shaking as she said:

"Robert's dead, Mom."


An hour later the royal couple was sitting in Ted Pryce's office in the basement, waiting for an online meeting with a military commander to discuss Prince Robert's death. The King got called away for a phone call from the PM so the Queen was left alone with their head of security.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Your Majesty." – Ted Pryce remarked after an awkward silence.

"Are you? I don't think so." – Queen Helena replied scornfully.

The bodyguard looked away, visibly offended, but he didn't give up.

"I can understand you, maybe more than anyone right now. After my wife died…" – he began, but the Queen interrupted him.

"Please, spare me the details, Pryce. I remember all too well your wife's death. Tell me: does my son deserve a lifetime of tears as well? Like your wife?" – she asked with a mocking laugh.

"Your Majesty has an excellent memory." – Ted hissed angrily.

Helena shrugged and let out a sigh before she answered:

"Full of useless information as you can see."

They remained quiet for a while, then the bodyguard suddenly remarked:

"It's always the innocents who have to pay the price of our sins. My wife, your son… They deserve all of our tears."

The Queen looked at him with surprise, then she replied with a sudden anger in her voice:

"Well, they won't get mine. Robert would never ask for it anyway. I'm not you, Pryce… and hell, I'm not the King either. I have two more children and a country who needs me." – Helena stopped for a moment, then she added with a surprising honesty: – "Being the Queen and being good at it: this is how I atone for my sins. A lifetime of tears… what a waste of time."

She paused when she saw her husband enter the room. King Simon sat next to her while Ted Pryce connected them online to General Wilkinson, the former commander of Prince Robert.

"Please accept my sincere condolences, Your Majesties." – General Wilkinson began with a sigh. – "His Highness was a brave young man who served his country with honour and compassion. His sudden death surprised us all and it's not easy to talk about it."

Queen Helena looked at her husband for a moment, then she turned her gaze back to the screen:

"I'm sure it's easier for you to talk about it than for us to hear it, General."

The commander understood the hint and gave them a short nod:

"According to the reports, His Highness's aircraft took off at six o'clock precisely this morning. Twenty-seven minutes later it disappeared from the radar and we lost contact with him. We have a strong reason to believe that the plane crashed right after that. Our thorough investigation, however, excluded murder and accident. After checking the facts and examining the evidence, we came to the conclusion that Prince Robert committed suicide."

"How convenient! I should have known." – Helena cried out angrily.

The King looked at her with pity and gently rubbed her hand.

"He killed himself. No one could have known." – he mumbled.

The Queen jerked her hand away and remarked scornfully:

"I should have known that the army would try to cover it up. It wasn't a suicide." – her voice was harsh as she turned to her husband. – "Don't believe a word they say, Simon. The death of the Crown Prince… that's how wars begin."

"I can assure you, Your Majesty…" – General Wilkinson said, but he was interrupted by the Queen.

"I understand your position, General, it's a very sensitive matter. However, I have the right to know what happened to my son. Where is his body? Have you found it yet?" – she asked impatiently.

King Simon cried out to warn his wife:

"Helena!"

They all looked at him for a moment, then the general cleared his throat to answer:

"Not yet, Ma'am, but we are doing our best to locate him."

He could see that his words didn't satisfy the Queen.

"What about the black box of the plane? I want to see every data from it and all of your reports." – Helena demanded in a firm voice.

The commander lowered his eyes and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but these files are classified. You don't have the authority to see them."

The Queen was prepared for this answer and she decided to strike a different tone:

"The Crown and the Army always had a good relationship. It would be a shame if it was to change now…" – she began in mock innocence, then she added in a threatening voice. – "What would you say if I went to the British people and tell them that the Army wants to cover up the death of their beloved Prince? It might actually start a war."

"In that case we would have to consider you a security risk, Ma'am." – came the straight and not less threatening answer from General Wilkinson.

Helena's eyes widened in shock and anger after hearing that insult and she couldn't control her emotions anymore:

"Really? Was my son a security risk too? Was he?" – she shouted.

Almost at the same time Ted Pryce also felt the need to remind the commander who he was talking to.

"I have to warn you, General: threatening the Queen of England is treason." – he remarked in a firm voice.

The tension in the small room was palpable. Finally, King Simon broke the uncomfortable silence:

"I think we should all calm down. General, thank you for your information, I'm sure you told us everything you were allowed to tell." – he began softly and let out a short sigh. – "Please, forgive my wife. She is understandably upset, but I promise you that this conversation won't leave this room."

The Queen silently stood beside her husband, her expression revealed nothing. However, as soon as they said goodbye to the General and the computer screen went black again, she burst out of the room.


"Helena, please, wait!" – King Simon called after his wife.

The Queen turned around and finally let her rage unleash:

"Forgive my wife, she is understandably upset?! What the hell was that?" – she shouted.

"It's called diplomacy. These people don't joke, I just wanted to protect you." – the King replied defensively.

His words didn't have much effect on Helena, who continued with the same intensity:

"You don't get to talk in my name. But you were right in one thing. No matter what we believe, we can't tell this to anyone. Ever."

Simon frowned and asked cautiously:

"What about the children?"

"Especially the children." – the Queen replied firmly. – "It was a military accident."

The King nodded in agreement.

"Do you really think that?" – he asked after a short pause.

His wife looked at him like he was a fool. She even sounded offended as she answered:

"Yes, of course."

King Simon knew that his questions might upset the Queen, but he needed to know:

"How can you be so sure?"

Helena looked him in the eyes and remarked in a soft voice:

"Because I know… knew our son. I talked to him just yesterday."

She got lost in her thoughts as she remembered her last conversation with Robert.

"I'm sorry that I didn't call sooner." – he apologized.

"It's all right, I was busy anyway." – the Queen replied, though it wasn't entirely true.

She didn't manage to fool her son either who remarked teasingly:

"Really? Just because you picked up on first ring."

Helena couldn't hold back a laugh. They were silent for a moment, then Prince Robert asked:

"So how are you? Are you and Dad still in Sandringham?"

The Queen shook her head.

"No, we are both back home now."

Robert felt the hidden tension in his mother's voice.

"How do you get along?" – he asked cautiously.

"The same." – Helena said with a sigh. – "We had an argument about Eleanor. I don't appreciate that she quit university, but you know your father. He always defends her no matter what she does."

The young Prince let out a small smile because the situation was too familiar for him.

"Be patient, she just needs some time to figure out what she wants. Lenny is a smart girl, you know that." – he tried to convince his mother.

He knew from the silence on the other end of the line that he succeeded. Helena's voice was more softened as she spoke again:

"I know, but partying in Paris will hardly help her find the answers."

"I will talk to her. She promised to call me tonight." – Robert remarked.

The Queen snorted derisively and said:

"Don't hold your breath, I'm waiting for her call for three days. In this regard, your brother is no better. At least he stays on the campus to get drunk. Never mind. Let's talk about you instead."

"I'm fine. I took our new aircraft for a test run." – Robert answered objectively, but his voice became more and more enthusiastic as he continued. – "It was amazing. The rivers, the woods, the mountains from above… I know you don't like flying, but you should have seen this."

Helena couldn't stop smiling as she listened to her son.

"I'm glad that you enjoy yourself so much, darling. It's good to hear that you are happy." – she said, then she added playfully: – "Although I would prefer if you were flying above the Buckingham Palace already."

Prince Robert let out a short chuckle.

"I miss you too, Mom. I'll be home by the weekend and… I may have a surprise for you."

"I don't like surprises." – Helena remarked with a sudden uneasiness in her voice.

"Relax. You will love this one. It includes me and a certain lady…" – Robert replied with a grin.

His mother frowned as she couldn't hide her surprise.

"Is that so?"

"Okay, don't get too excited. We had only one date so far after she visited the base with her family. They donated some money because she has two brothers in the Army, twin brothers actually" – Robert blurted, then he continued without thinking. – "Imagine what would happen if we got married… pretty big chance of having twins! Anyway, she seems really nice."

Queen Helena never heard her son talking like this. She was still smiling when her husband's voice dragged her back to the reality:

"What did he tell?"

"What?" – Helena asked back in confusion.

The King repeated his question:

"Robert. What did he tell you?"

"Nothing important…" – the Queen replied with a sad smile. – "…but he was happy."