I definitely didn't mean for it to take this long to update. Life has been so chaotic with a new job and all. Hopefully this chapter makes up for the wait some. I'm already working on the next chapter, so it shouldn't take nearly as long. Let me know what you think! Thanks so much!

King Simon walked the halls in search of his wife. His meeting with the Prime Minister had ended earlier than expected and after a text message to Helena asking how her time with Eleanor was going, Simon found himself back at the palace. He had hoped for the best today as the two most important women in his life attempted to reconnect, instead a teary eyed emoji and a "not good" reply led him straight back to the palace.

He had first tried her office, a magnificently designed state room Helena had commandeered as her own personal work space. Knowing her usual attitude of work before family, Simon was sure she would be throwing herself back into whatever project she currently had going instead of dealing with an ill fated attempt at spending time with Eleanor. Instead, he found the room completely empty with no sign of his wife at all.

Several text messages went unanswered as Simon tried to no avail to locate her. Usually Helena was a force in the palace, a presence that every one felt. But today it seemed she needed to be invisible. Deciding to run by their room to change before heading out to the gardens to look for her, Simon was met with a surprise. There at the end of the bed sat his wife. Her head was in her hands, her hair flowing around her shoulders. She had been crying he was sure, and yet the sight of her took his breath away.

Helena looked up as her husband shut the door behind him, trying to quickly wipe her face before he noticed, "Simon, I wasn't expecting you back so soon. How did the meeting with the Prime Minister go?"

Instead of answering her, Simon sat down on the bed beside her taking her hand, "Helena, darling, what's wrong. What happened with Eleanor? A sad face emoji didn't really give me the whole story." He added with a smile.

"I don't even know where to start, Simon." Helena said sadly, a hint of defeat in her voice. "I've been sitting here feeling sorry for myself for the last little while. I tried to get her to go see Charlie White with me, she didn't really want to. I even suggested we could do whatever she wanted, I just wanted to spend some time with her. She told me we don't have that kind of relationship." Her eyes began to tear up again. "I want that kind of relationship with her. I wished I could go back and change so many things. I want nothing more than for our daughter to confide in me, want to spend time with me. I think it's too late, Simon."

King Simon placed an arm around his wife, pulling her close. "It's not too late, Helena, I don't believe that. It's just going to take some time. You may not see it, but I've seen how Eleanor looks at you. There's a longing there. She wants that same type of relationship with you. It's not going to happen overnight, but give it some time."

Helena nodded in understanding, "We did talk some, well I talked, she listened. I told her I was sorry, and that I never wanted to be the type of mother that I had become. I never wanted to be my mother. I also told her I was choosing this family, that I was choosing you, and that I was going to support your efforts to have the monarchy disbanded."

Simon raised an eyebrow at the last part, "I wished you'd have waited on that piece of information, we probably should have told both her and Liam together." He then asked, "How'd she take it?"

"I'm sorry darling, please don't be mad. I know that wasn't the best way to handle it but I needed her to know things were going to be different. That I was supporting you, and if it meant giving it all up I would. I made some comments to Eleanor the other day I'm not very proud of, about her and this monarchy. They were bitchy and hurtful and that's why I said them, but I needed her to know that I didn't mean them."

"What did you tell her?" Simon asked with a puzzled expression.

Helena looked down, "I'm so ashamed to even admit I said this to Eleanor, but I told her without the monarchy she was nothing. That I'd be fine, but without all of this she was useless."

Simon stood up, pacing back and forth, "Damn it, Helena, why would you tell her that? How in the hell under any circumstance could you tell our daughter that?"

"You're not yelling anything I haven't already said to myself, okay. That's why I needed to tell her about supporting the referendum. Because I wanted her to know that if it passed, she'd be okay. I told her how smart and beautiful she is, and how she can be anything. She needed to hear that, Simon, and she needed to hear it from me."

"What did she say to that," Simon asked as he sat back down beside his wife.

"Well, she didn't really have a chance to comment, because I also told her she was more than the drugs she's been doing. That's when she got really upset." Helena looked at her husband carefully, "Simon, she's been doing cocaine. Did you know that? I knew about the pot, hell I do that occasionally, but I didn't know about the cocaine. She actually snorts it off of a picture of me and her. Isn't that the ultimate insult? She hates me that much. But I told her that the days of her staying stoned are over. That I let her get away with too much for too long. So I threw it all in a garbage can and told her I loved her. She was speechless by that point."

Simon stared at his wife, dumbfounded by what she had just told him. "You threw it all away?"

Helena pointed at a random garbage can on the floor beside her vanity. "There's pill, what I'm assuming is cocaine, and a few other goodies in that garbage can. I'll flush it all later. Simon, I'm going to do everything I can to repair the damage I've caused to mine and Eleanor's relationship, but if it comes down to her hating me because I'm trying to keep her sober, then so be it, she can hate me. If that's what she's hating me for, I can accept that. You've been right this whole time; she needs a mother and quite honestly she needs me to kick her ass a little bit."

This time, when Simon put his arm around her, he pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. "I'm not sure I've ever been more proud of you, Helena. What you did for Eleanor this afternoon and for what you just told me? She may be mad about it, but there is no way that Eleanor doesn't know that you love her after that. The rest will all come in time."

Helena laid her head on Simon's shoulder, "Thank you for that. I'm sorry I didn't tell you more earlier, I just didn't want to text it, and I really wasn't ready to talk about my epic failure at connecting with our daughter. I even left my phone in the bathroom on silent because I didn't feel like dealing with anything else this afternoon."

"Ahhh, that explains why you didn't answer my last few text messages. I was starting to think you'd already grown tired of a husband that actually cared how your day was going and wanted to know where you were." Simon said jokingly.

Helena cut her eyes towards her husband as she gave him a light shove, "Not hardly. Granted it may take some time getting used to. I can't remember the last time I actually cared that you knew where I was going or what I was doing."

"Now," Helena said changing the subject as she moved to sit at her vanity, "How did you meeting go with the Prime Minister?" She picked up her powder brush and began to touch up her makeup, occasionally glancing at Simon in the mirror.

"It went as well as could be expected," he said with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "I reiterated my position on the referendum and how important I think it is for the people to be vote. He seemed supportive of the idea. But he was hesitant when it came to our family. He said we'd need a unified front regardless if it passed or not."

Turning in her chair so that she was facing him, Helena asked, "And?"

Simon smiled, "And I told him I had your full support. I did, however mention you weren't completely sold on the idea, but that you would support me. He seemed satisfied with the idea, though I'm quite sure he was waiting on me to say that you'd die before giving up the thrown." Simon chuckled before adding, "I can't even tell you how good it felt to be able to tell the Prime Minister that you were in my corner, Helena, thank you for that."

"I meant everything I said, from now on I'm going to support you. Whether I agree or not we're a unified front. I love you. I chose love and chose you, and that means everything that comes with it, including making us homeless and tossing your brother out onto the street." Helena gave her husband a sly smile as he began to laugh. "I'm kidding. But in all seriousness, what are you going to do about Cyrus?"

Simon ran his hands through his hair, then stood up and began to pace the room as he spoke. "I told the Prime Minister he was out. It was more of a courtesy than anything else really. I've made the decision and the sooner he's out the better. I don't want him around any of you anymore, the twins already despise him so there's no love lost there and you can live without him. He's a vile human being that is capable of anything. For all I know, he's planning my murder as we speak."

"Simon!" Helena exclaimed, "I highly doubt that much! He's your brother for heaven's sakes, and I'm quite sure no man named Cyrus will ever fall a king. Cyrus may be a lot of things, but he's not a murderer."

"I'm just saying it's possible. You know as well as I do he'd try anything to become the King of England. He needs to go and the sooner the better. We all need a fresh start around here and Cyrus isn't a part of that. He will never support the referendum or me for that matter and I refuse to allow his scheming and attempts to undermine me continue. Now, I know he's currently in the palace so I'm going to do what I should have done a long time ago. You may want to stay here; I know this morning you said you'd come with me but it's not going to be pretty and I'd rather not subject you to the confrontation."

Helena was quite for a moment, before walking over to her husband, blocking his movement. Placing a hand on each side of his waist she looked him in the eye, "Simon, a hundred years ago I said for better or worse. I didn't fully comprehend what that was going to entail over the years; I didn't understand how a King or Queen could ever experience the worse, but we have. We've had our fair share of bad experiences; the worst being losing Robert. Somehow though, mostly impart to your patience and forgiveness, we're still here. Now, it's time for me to be the wife you've deserved this whole time. I'm going to love you and support you and be there for you whenever you need me. So if you'd let me, I'd like to be there with you when you speak to Cyrus. I'll even stand out of the way if that makes you feel any better."

Simon leaned down, giving her a long, slow kiss. Her hands moved from his waist to his back as she pulled him closer as their kiss began to deepen. Simon was the first to break apart, "I love you so much, Helena," he said as he held her tight. "Without those bad times, we wouldn't know how close we came to losing it all. I'm honored you want to be there for me, so if you're sure you're okay with being there when I ask Cyrus to leave, he was your confidant after all, then by all means come with me."

"I love you too. And yes, he was my confidant but he's not my husband. I've chosen the side I'm going to take, so if you're bound and determined to do this, then go ahead and do it."

Simon came to a stop outside of the door to Cyrus's room. Before he could knock, he felt a hand on his back, "Before we go in there, are you absolutely sure this is what you want?" Asked Helena.

"I'm positive." Answered the King, before taking a deep breath and knocking on the door. Without waiting for an invite he entered, holding the door open for Helena to ease in behind him.

"And what did I do to deserve this honor that both the King and Queen of England would come to my chambers?" Cyrus asked sarcastically.

Walking further into the room so that he was standing only a few feet from his brother, Simon answered, "I need to speak with you and it can't wait." Simon paused briefly turning to look at Helena who was standing at the edge of the room by the door trying her best to stay out of the way. She gave him a slight nod of her head in support before Simon turned back to Cyrus.

Cyrus narrowed his eyes at his brother before sending a questioning look in Helena's direction, "Well, seeing as you've brought the Queen with you, I'm going to venture a guess and say that you decided you over-reacted yesterday and that you're not planning on ending your marriage or the monarchy, brother." A smirk played across his face.

"You're partly right. I'm not going to end my marriage, but the referendum is still in play. You just won't be around for it to matter, brother. You see, I know about all the times you've schemed against me, even the times you've used my wife. But it's over now. I want you out." Disdain etched the King's usually handsome face.

"What do you mean by that? Helena, what is he talking about?" Cyrus asked, shocked evident in his voice.

"You won't address her again, in fact leave Helena out of this all together. I've put up with a lot from you over the years, Cyrus. From both of you actually, but now I no longer feel the need to. See, Helena, I'm married to and on top of that I love her, so I'm choosing to put up whatever she does, but you I'm cutting off. I'm stripping you of your title and I'm kicking your sorry ass out of this palace. You're a leach, you're hateful and arrogant, and you've been nothing but an embarrassment to this family for year."

Cyrus' face began to turn a bright shade of red, "You can't do this, I'm a royal! And I'm your brother! And what do you mean I'm an embarrassment?! Have you checked the tabloids lately? I do believe my dear niece was yet again on the cover!"

Before Cyrus could defend himself, Simon grabbed him by the shirt collar, "You're out." Then through gritted teeth he added, "And you will never mention my daughter or either son of mine again."

Cyrus pulled away from Simon, "Son of yours? Your daughter? It's almost hilarious you actually think they're yours, King. That bitch has been lying to you for years." Cyrus all but spit out.

Helena inhaled sharply, as Simon looked at her, anger written all over his face.

"That's right brother, take her side because she's the faithful, loyal wife." Cyrus said, before asking, "Do you really think those children are yours? Your wife is nothing more than a common whore who'd spread her legs for anyone. They're all bastards. And you're the idiot who's been playing house with them the whole time."

Helena listened in horror as Cyrus shared her deepest and darkest secret. She wanted to bolt from the room but her feet wouldn't budge from their spot. Instead, she watched as the King of England began to visibly shake with anger as he was forced to hear the truths being told to him. Yet instead of coming towards her or demanding answers, he without warning punched Cyrus.

"You broke my nose!" Cyrus shouted through his hands as he tried to stop the bleeding.

"You're lucky it wasn't more than that. If you ever say another word like that about my wife or my children, your nose will be the last thing you worry about. I can promise you that, brother. Now, get your stuff and get out. I don't care where you go as long as it's not here."

Without another word, Simon turned to go leaving Cyrus on the floor. When he was even with Helena, he looked over at her, his face expressionless before walking out.

Helena looked from her husband's exiting form to the man on the floor in the center of the room. She walked towards him, "You stupid goddamn little man. Why couldn't you leave my children out of this?"

Cyrus smirked, giving her a bloody grin, "You think I was going to sit by and let you continue to prance all over this palace while I'm exiled to god knows where? You better think again you bitch. I don't know how you've managed to pull the wool over his eyes for this long, but it's over. Think of it like this, you don't have to by Simon a Father's Day card anymore. You're welcome."

Leaning down, so that she was just inches from Cyrus' face, Helena replied, "Get out. I didn't think Simon should kick you out completely, I thought he'd calm down and realize you were his brother and that this could all work out. But I'm glad he did. Now, get the hell out of my house."

Turning sharply on her heel she started for the door, only to hear Cyrus say, "It's not going to be yours much longer. I'll save you a seat beside me in purgatory."

Helena left the room without looking back. "I've got to find Simon and explain everything," she thought as she hurried back across the palace. "We were finally on the right track, and now this.

"I just hope he can forgive me one more time." She whispered to herself as she rounded the last corner that led to their bedroom. Stopping, she took a final second to compose herself before placing her hand on the door-handle, "It's now or never."