"Victoria, maybe you should reconsider the whole ball thing."
"I'm not going. You can go if it means that much to you but I won't go."
"God, you're stubborn." I walked out of the room and he followed. After the whole protective bunker situation, we moved to a hotel suite and spent the night there.
"Arthur, my sister died less than 24 hours ago! Her husband is still on the run and you expect me to go to a stupid ball?!"
"It's your duty! It's not easy, but it's your duty."
"Wow....Arthur, I don't want to argue with you or fight. I'm not in the mental place for that yet, so maybe we can save this conversation for later."
"I don't want to fight with you...look, the police will find your sister's husband but until they do, the affairs of the Palace can't be put on hold. We came here to attend the ball and announce our engagement to your family, so can we just do that? And if we go and you feel uncomfortable, even if it's just for a second, we'll leave." He had a point. I came here for the ball so I might as well.
"Fine. But I have to be at the Palace in about an hour for the staff meeting which means we'll have to make an appearance together so...."
"We need to look our best."
"Exactly. My hair is already done, I just need to put on my clothes and I'll be good to go." Arthur went in to look for the right suit and I went to pick what to wear. After minutes of searching and searching, I finally found it.
"Arthur! Let's go, we're going to be late." I was shocked to see him waiting patiently for me in the hotel kitchen.
"I'm through...babe. You look good by the way."
"Thank you. You don't look bad yourself."
"And thank you too. Shall we?" We stepped out of the hotel suite and straight into the elevator. I had my sunglasses on as soon as we stepped out of the hotel building and guess what...the press was waiting for us. Arthur put a protective hand on my lower back and led me to the car. We didn't pose for any picture, but they definitely got enough. We were both busy with our phones all through the drive so much so that we didn't even notice when we arrived at the Palace. Arthur went straight into a meeting with my grandfather, and I went to the staff hall. Everyone was gathered there, waiting patiently for me. There was also a detective there. No surprise there.
"Good morning everyone." It was a formal setting. They were seated and I was standing on the podium with the detective. "I want to start off by thanking each and every one of you for your dedication to this family. We would not be able to truly function without you. Your duties vary but you all have one thing in common, you are sworn to secrecy in this family. We, the royal family, depend on that secrecy. That being said, last night, the body of Princess Freja was found in her room after the dinner." There was no surprise on their faces. Most of them were sad and others were indifferent but none of them were surprised. "The palace is yet to release an official statement and until they do, we would appreciate it if this horrible news stayed within these palace walls. Today, I have here with me Detective Felix. He'll be overseeing the investigation and I expect each and everyone of you to be fully cooperative. Any information you have will be truly appreciated. Feel free to meet the detective or even me, we just want to get to the root of the matter. I appreciate your loyalty, dedication and secrecy to this family. You will be rewarded dearly for this." I stepped aside and allowed the detective talk. When he was done, the staff left the hall and I was now alone with him.
"Walk with me?"
"It would be my pleasure your highness." We started walking around the Palace grounds.
"So, where are you on my sister's case?"
"Well, we got a tip on his location but when we got there, he was gone. Not to worry, we'll find him." I smiled with my head down.
"I trust you to do your job well. But if you fail to do it, we'll have an issue." I smiled and walked away. Coincidentally, I bumped into my mother on my way in.
"Victoria, we need to talk."
"I'm not particularly sure that I want to talk to you."
"I didn't ask. I said we need to talk."
"Maybe this whole bossy thing of yours worked on my sister, but it definitely won't work on me. I'm going to get Arthur, and we're leaving." I walked past her like she wasn't even there. I met Arthur in the tea room. He was just seated there. He seemed distracted. He didn't even notice when I sat next to him.
"Don't make me think you were just lying to me when you said you loved Copenhagen." He turned to me with a smile.
"The last few hours have been...something. I'm merely holding on to my sanity...and that makes me wonder how my baby is doing."
"I'm hanging in there. I want to cry, but I can't. It hurts like hell you know. This trip was supposed to be...exciting and about us but it's slowly becoming something else. I just want to go back home." My head was low and so was my voice. I really felt like crying.
"Hey." He placed a finger under my chin and lifted my head. "We'll go home, really soon. And we can make our announcement when you're ready. There's no rush. I don't care if it takes a year, I'm fine with the knowledge that you're mine. Married or not."
"Arthur why me?" He looked at me with shock.
"I don't follow."
"Why me? We've known each other for less than six months and we're not only dating but we're engaged. You seem so particular about me, but why?" He smiled softly before he answered.
"You don't meet people like you every day. And so when I got lucky enough to meet you, I knew instantly that I didn't want you to go. Does that make sense?"
"Maybe. Look, I don't want to be here for much longer but while we're here, maybe we should try to make the best out of it."
"So..."
"Fine. We can come for the ball." He had a victorious smile on his face and that made me laugh.
"You know, it may not feel right, but this is the right decision for you."
"Yeah." This conversation was interrupted by the ringing of his phone. I noticed the look on his face change drastically. "Is something wrong?"
"Yeah...um...no. Not at all, everything is perfect...perfectly fine. I just need to head back to the hotel."
"You can't. We have lunch with George and the girls. What's going on?"
"It's just work. Look, tell everyone I'm sorry and I'll see you when you get back. Sorry babe." He gave me a peck on the cheek and ran out of the room. Something's definitely up with him. I waved the feeling off and went to the flower garden for lunch with George and the girls.
"Victoria. I'm so sorry." George said as soon as he saw me. He got up and gave me a big hug that soon became a group hug when Louise and Camille joined.
"Thank you guys." They let me go and we sat down. Everything was set. The food, drinks, snacks. It was all nice.
"How are you holding up?" Camille asked softly.
"I'm managing. Still in shock, the nightmares are constant. I couldn't sleep at all last night. It was crazy."
"Where's Arthur? How is he even dealing with all this?"
"That's a good question Louise. Arthur is at the hotel. He's sorry for missing lunch and I really don't know how he's taking all this. I think he's fine and if he isn't, then he's doing a pretty good job at hiding it. It's rough, truly rough."
"I can't even begin to imagine what you both are going through. Is there anything we can do?"
"Um.. nothing right now, but thank you. So, are you all ready for the ball?" They were surprised at my question.
"They're still doing that? After everything?"
"You, more than anyone, should understand how a royal family works Louise. The ball is still happening and I'm supposed to stand there, happy and all!" I stabbed the perfectly cooked steak with my fork and the force sent the plate to the ground. The beautiful ceramic plate was now in pieces and everyone was staring at me. Louise got up immediately and came to my side. She engulfed me in a hug and I just cried on her.
"I'm so sorry guys." I said in tears.
"You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about. You just lost your sister Tori, it's ok if you aren't ready to get back to normal yet." George said.
"I was there. I could've done something! Anything but let her go."
"Victoria, I'm going to take you back to the hotel. Is that ok?" George said. I nodded in agreement and he got up and also helped me up. "I'll meet up with you guys after I get her home." Louise and Camille nodded slowly as they watched us walk away. After we got into the car, I calmed down. The hotel wasn't far away from the Palace but it felt like it was miles away.
"Thank you." I said as I stared out of the window.
"Well, you're my friend and you're also my best friend's girlfriend. When Arthur isn't there, I'll be there for you." I smiled as he gave my hand a tight squeeze. "You know, I lost my brother when I was younger." I turned and finally looked at him. He turned away from the window but he didn't look at me, he just looked straight ahead. "I was 12 and he was 10. My father was away on business and my mom was sick. There was a riot, a bad one. We weren't supposed to go out but I convinced him and we did." He swallowed a lump of saliva and his eyes got teary. "We joined the crowd and he was so scared. I still remember his tight grip on my hands. I saw a couple of friends ahead and I let his hand go. The cops came and started shooting and everyone started running. I called out for him many times as I searched for him. I didn't find him until everyone had left. His fragile little body was on the floor. He was trampled upon by the crowd. There was no way he was making it. But when I held his hand, he gave it a squeeze. It was almost as if he was hoping that I would protect him. But I couldn't."
"I'm so sorry George."
"Loss is a tricky thing. In my case, it was my fault but this wasn't your fault. There's absolutely nothing that you could've done. It won't happen immediately but one day, you'll realise that." At this point, we pulled up to the front of the hotel. I said nothing until we got to the suite door, and then I turned to him.
"And maybe you'll also realise that you were just a child. It was a mistake."
"Maybe I was just a child, but I was definitely a stupid one." He knocked on the door and before I could say anything, Arthur opened it.
"Babe, you're back early. And your make up is smudged. What happened?"
"Someone got a bit emotional during lunch. She just needs a bit of rest."
"Thank you for bringing her, George. It means more than you know. "
"We're family, it's fine. Just keep an eye on this one and I'll see you both in a few hours at the ball." He walked away and Arthur took me into the suite.
"Babe, are you ok?" Arthur asked as he sat me down on the couch.
"I'm perfect." I said faking a smile. He sat down next to me and held my hands.
"Victoria, your sister is dead. You found her body and you weren't even on speaking terms with her when it happened, I can't imagine what you must be feeling right now. Talk to me, please."