Freedom 10
My dearest Cath,
So rarely in our lives together, have I ever kept something from you, on purpose. But I promise to you, this is a matter of most importance. It was about the protection of our children. All of our children, but I must admit, I fear for our Baby Boy, Blue, the most. In order for this to work, you could not know. Your mother vexes you too easily, knowing exactly which buttons to push to make you lose your temper. We cannot afford for you to lose your temper and let this secret slip in front of her. But please know, this deception has been eating me away inside, all this time. If this cancer doesn't kill me, this secret will.
I am writing this to you in the middle of the night. I can't sleep. Tomorrow is my first chemotherapy appointment, and right now, that is when I feel the most afraid. Not of the cancer, whatever will be, will be, in that regard. But right now, we have been able to limit your mother's exposure to our children, especially Henry. However now Philip is in the army, at your mother's request, and I fear it may be too late for him.
Do not mistake me; I love all of our children equally. But I have always felt something about our youngest is different. He is not like Philip, even before your mother got into his head about his legacy and the throne, above all else. He is not like me either. He is a gentle and sweet soul, a kind and respectful man. Though, I am fearful that Henry will not stand up for himself, when he needs to the most. Or worse, I am afraid that your mother will force him to become something he is not. To go against the fabric of his very being.
Henry will never be royalty. Oh, do not mistake me, he is good at it, and he knows his role all too well. But it will never make him truly happy. He will not do military service. It is not in him to be that way. Henry is special. Special in a way our other children aren't.
There is something about Henry that I suspect. Something that I have never told you about. Henry and I have never discussed it either, because it is not the kind of thing that a father should bring up with a son. It is the kind of news that Henry might share with us one day in the future, in his own time and on his own terms. Until Henry mentions it, it is simply not our business to know.
This is the true reason why I arranged for Shaan to become Henry's equerry; he needs a good man on his side, and who better than Shaan? No one. You know the real Shaan, almost as well as I do. He would never put Henry in harm's way, and he would give his life to protect Henry.
Please do not be angry at me, that I have been making contingency plans for Henry and his future within the Royal Family. Cath, Bea is like you, she can handle the royal life. She is a strong and fiercely independent woman; she has the poise and sophistication of a real princess. Your mother has already got her claws into Pip and that worries me, but he is old enough and strong enough to make his own choices. Listening to your mother was his choice.
However, I do fear that I won't be around to protect Henry from her, and he will be the one who needs us the most. I pray that I am wrong about a lot of things. I honestly hope I am wrong about your mother, but I fear that I am right. I pray that I will be ok, but if I am not ok, I know you will struggle to cope, just as I would, if it were you in my place. We need to be strong for our children, Cath. I need you to take the time you need to grieve for me, but I also need you to be there for them when you are ready, my love. Although, they're almost grown up, they will always be our children. I need to know that should I shuffle off my mortal coil, that you all are ok and that includes our baby boy Blue. Our sweet Henry.
I beg you for your cooperation in keeping our boy safe. For this to work, it is best that you are not aware of the particulars. Your mother cannot throw a dead man in the towers. Please do all you can to protect Shaan from the fallout. He was acting on my orders, back when he was my equerry, and he is only looking out for Henry. Loyalty is everything and Shaan has that in spades.
Please forgive me, my darling. I love you very much, and I love our children and our life together. I will fight to stay by your side, but I fear Henry's future will be longer than my fight.
All my love
Arth.
Catherine blinked away some of the tears gathered in her wet eyes. Shaan offered her the tissue box from the corner of his desk. "I won't ask questions." Catherine sobbed softly into the Kleenex. "The Queen had ordered MI6 to begin an investigation into Henry's disappearance. You will be questioned. They have already began questioning the staff at KP. Bea is in America, under the impression that she will be the liaison between the US staff and us. The problem is that I am trying to have my mother removed from the throne and she currently has the majority in government. I need to know that Bea will be kept safe. Can you go to her and stick by her side? Do not allow her to leave the safety of the US. I fear, if my mother gets her claws into Bea as well, she will use her to lure Henry out of hiding."
Shaan chuckled to himself. "There is no media there. Henry is on a media blackout. He will now know what is going on, unless we tell him."
"Unfortunately, you will have to be questioned by MI6, before you can leave." Catherine admitted, tersely. She had tried to appeal to MI6 that Shaan wouldn't know anything about Henry. But they had insisted on questioning him. "But as a Green Card holder of the US, you're entitled to someone from the consulate to represent you. Please, have your fiancée call someone. I do not want you to face them alone. My mother is out for blood. I fear that based on you will be made into a scapegoat, based on the colour of your skin and nothing else."
"Pity my Zahra cannot be spared from the States, she is itching to go toe to toe with your mother." Shaan muttered to the future Queen. "I will get someone organised. I promise."
"Do it now, I need to get back to Buck House and I was ordered to bring you straight there." Catherine encouraged the haste to Shaan.
Shaan made a quick call to his fiancée and within fifteen minutes, Noah Fitzpatrick was on his doorstep. He was from the US consulate, and he was a human rights barrister personally vetted and recommended by his love.
Feeling a little pink after they washed the day away, Alex searched the house high and low for some aloe gel to coat his boyfriend in to ease the sting of the sunburn. But he did not find any. He searched the house high and low, to no avail, before remembering that he had seen some wild aloe growing by the back alfresco area in pots. He headed into the kitchen for a pair of scissors and a paring knife to split the leaf for the pure gel.
Just as he was finishing up splitting the leaves he had gathered; Henry came into the kitchen wearing only a fresh pair of shorts that Alex was sure had belonged to him. So far, they had done three loads of laundry and had given up sorting it out into what belongs to who, long ago. What did it matter? They wore the same size and were in love with one another. They had been making plans to begin their lives together. His mother had won the election and Henry had purchased a brownstone that was currently being upgraded to meet their security needs.
Alex looked up from his handy work, separating the gel from the plant to see Henry take a seat at the counter. He was fresh from the shower and his skin was pink from the day's sun. Almost pink all over. Alex smiled at him as he took in Henry's beautiful wide smile and noticed that Henry had a few new freckles too. "Oh Hen, does that pink skin hurt much?" He asked in sympathy. Alex had been feeling guilty. He had been worried for his boyfriend. He was usually so pale and pasty, and he'd known in his gut that he would burn in the sun.
"It's not too bad." Henry murmured, soaking in Alex's presence in his life. Alex's beautiful brown skin was tanned and glistening from the day's sun and his eyes were sparkling from the carefree fun they'd had. "Shoulders are a little more sore than usual."
"Come on, babe." Alex urged Henry, snatching the small container he'd put the gel into and coming to Henry's side of the counter. He took Henry by the hand and pulled him gently off the stool, leading him back into their bathroom. "Let's get that skin taken care of."
Once they were in the bathroom, Alex sat Henry on the edge of the tub so he could look at his shoulders. Placing the gel easily within arm's reach, Alex stepped between Henry's open legs to smooth a peanut size portion of gel onto his pink cheeks. Henry loved the feeling of having Alex this close to him, his hands naturally sought out Alex's body and began their exploration of the vast map of his skin.
Alex nudged Henry to lean forward so that he could reach his back, neck and shoulders easier, to sooth the gel into his pink-rosy hued, sun-kissed skin. Henry, of course had other ideas. Alex's nudge had almost face-planted him into his boyfriend's hard abs. Taking advantage of the vast skin at the tip of his tongue, he began taking small licks and nibbles of Alex, swirling his tongue around in random patterns.
As Alex worked the gel into his sun tortured skin, he was fighting his libido at Henry's actions. Not getting the response he was looking for, Henry began leaving hot, open-mouthed kisses on the skin before working on a trail of love bites along the midsection of his abs. "Henry, baby." Alex panted, gently easing him back by the shoulders to look at him in the eye. "As soon as I am done, you can do anything to me you like. But first, we need to get this gel onto your skin, so your pasty skin doesn't blister."
Henry huffed playfully, as Alex resumed his ministrations. "Darling." Henry huffed against Alex's skin, sampling yet another taste on his tongue. "I want you. Need you." He nibbled, as he tried his best to lure Alex away from the task at hand and back into the bedroom.
"Soon, Hen, soon." Alex promised, as he ran his gel covered fingers up his arms, soothing the sore skin. Henry's moans at Alex's touch were spurring him on and Alex had almost had his fill. His libido had been steadily growing, as was his manhood. Between Henry's tongue on his skin, the small puffs of air tickling the fine hair on his abs and Henry's almost insatiability today, his resolve was crumbling.
Henry pulled back from Alex, his hand's capturing his boyfriend's larger hands in his own. "Sweetheart, you're finished." Henry begged with one word. In a quick succession, Henry snapped closed the container on the counter and Had Alex's hands lathered with soap and under the running water in earnest. Alex barely had time to close the small mixer tap before Henry was tossing the hand towel at him. Alex deliberately took his time with the hand towel, smirking at Henry the whole time. He torturously dried each finger slowly and individually, simultaneously driving Henry to the brink.
Once he was done, he turned his back to Henry and hung the towel up on the small hook behind them. He turned back to Henry and let his top lip curl into that mischievous grin that he knew made Henry weak at the knees. "Now, where were we?"
Bea had been made to feel welcome by Ellen immediately. She was warm and open, loving and caring, in a way she longed to see her own mother once more. Although her own mother had been better since Henry and Alex's emails had been hacked and leaked, she wished that she could have the Catherine from before her father died. Not the shell of the woman she currently is. Even if her mother was now taking a firm, more active role in the Royal life, not wallowing away like she had been since her husband's death.
She had caught a glimpse of several of the most recognisable DC landmarks as they whizzed past them on the way into the underground entrance of the White House. "We can make sure you get to see the sights properly, Darlin'." Ellen reassured her, seeing her eyes light up in wonder. "We'll make sure of it, but for now, June and Nora are waitin' for us in the Residence and I'm sure you'll want to freshen up."
That calmed Bea's mind. She had held a small private fear that being in the White House might be like be in KP, feeling like she was trapped. As the car came to a stop and they exited the car, Zahra took the lead. She explained the rules around her security and the fact that she was now under the Secret Service protection. As such, they were to be with her at all times. She was reassured the one, lowly PPO that the Crown had sent with her, would be taken care of during her stay and returned to her when it was time to return to the UK.
Bea was in awe of the White House. Of course, she had visited Buckingham Palace and stayed overnight, on occasion for as long as she could remember, but the White House was something else, again. She knew that in addition to being the Residence for the President, that it was also a place of business for her. That it consisted of a hubbub of noise that she had never seen before in the likes of Buckingham Palace.
She remembered that her late grandfather, had once told her, not long after her father died. "My darling Bumble Bea, Buckingham Palace may be where we royals do business, but it's not really our home. We just sleep there, sometimes. Our home, our real home, is wherever we feel we need to be in that moment. It may be at Clarance House with your parents. At Kensington Palace, in an apartment, once you become of age. A Sandringham with the whole family, at Christmas time. Or Balmoral, in the summertime. But wherever you are, if you feel safe, you are home."
Entering the Residence, with Pez trailing behind her, she immediately went to the waiting arms of Alex's sister and her dear friend, June's arms. She felt Nora join their hug, and Percy too, before she realised something. She was safe. She was safe to be herself and not who her grandmother wanted her to be. She was safe from her grandmother's toxic ways. She was safe from whatever had sent Henry to up and vanish. Pulling back from the hug, she realised she knew why Henry loved coming to visit Alex so much. He was safe here. Safe to be himself and he felt loved for it.
"Dad," June said, seeing her father Oscar slip into the residence, having just arrived from California. "This is Bea, Henry's sister and this Percy Okonjo, Henry's best bud. Bea, Pez, this is our dad, Oscar."
"Call me Bea, please." Bea said before he could greet her formally. She had heard enough about the newcomer to recognise him instantly. Henry had told her such loving things about Oscar, and she could not believe how much Alex looked like his father.
Oscar smiled warmly at her. He could see the familial resemblance between the man who had captured his son's heart and the red headed woman standing between Nora and June. "Hola Bea, Pez, welcome." He was transfixed on the princess. He could see that she was worried, and perhaps a little scared. "Todo va a estar bien, princesa. Henry y Alex estarán bien." June took Bea and Nora with her, into her dad's arms. "Everything is going to be ok, Princess. Henry and Alex will be ok." He repeated in English as he hugged the girls.
"Dad already loves Henry like his own son, so you get to share our dad with us too." June's muffled voice replied in a whisper, catching Bea's questioning look.
"The more, the merrier." Nora quipped, chiming in too.
Bea blinked back her tears. It had been a long time since a man besides Henry, Pez or Alex had hugged her, and even longer since she had hugged a man that was a father. Oscar's warmth and loving nature reminded her of her own father, and it was all she could do not to cry and miss her own father in that moment. Now she understood what Henry had meant when he had told her that it was too easy to fall in love with Alex's family too.
