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“Why does this stuff keep happening to us?” I asked her.
“From what I was told, life sucks for everyone,” she grumbled back and sipped on her drink, leaning over. “But it does always feel like we so-called royals end up with both great and shitty hands all at once. There in her…a new heir just a month away, all of us on the verge of celebration. And now look.”
I hung my head. “Do you think he’s gone?”
“Are you ready for what it means if he is?” she asked, reminding me that until his child was of age…I was next.
I shook my head. “No. And I do not want to be.”
“Neither did he,” she replied, finishing off the drink. “It’s funny, none of you seem to want the job everyone in the world dreams about. Being a royal. Being a king or queen or princess. If only they knew the truth. How cold and punishing it can be…yet we must always remember to smile through it. Smile as they mock us, laugh at us, rip us apart, threaten us…try to kill us. We have to smile and be polite. In all honestly, I would pay money for a free day. Just one day where the royal title fell off, and I could go one on one with them. Tell them what I really think of them.”
“You could just give up and become a commoner,” I said, and she just looked at me. Everyone thought that was easy, too… but it wasn’t, especially in our kingdom. To give up royalty, here was basically to cut yourself off completely. She wouldn’t even be able to have a phone conversation with her own mother. Royals did not communicate with former royals.
Give up your family and whole life for what…the people? As if.
“It’s been three hours,” I said, looking at my watch. “How could they still not know anything?”
She shrugged, reaching below the counter and grabbing some fruit. The whole bunker could probably keep us hidden away for a few years. It looked just like a normal drawing room; however, the doors led to two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a restroom. Even if they burnt the palace to the ground, we would be safe in here. No matter how fancy they made the place, though, there was no denying the fact that it was a bunker.
“I think I’ll have that shot.”
Dammit, Gale, you better be alive!
When I woke up, the room was dim. Elspeth was still in her place by the bookshelf, drinking tea, and the dogs were curled up around her feet. I couldn’t see Eliza from where I was lying, but I could hear her whispering behind me. Slowly I lifted my head off my mother’s lap.
“No, Odette, you should rest more.”
“Is there any more news?” I asked, looking around the room.
“We are still on radio silence for now,” Wolfgang said as Gelula came up to me with a glass of water and a bowl of soup.
I shook my head. “I’m fine.”
“You are not. You need to eat,” my mother said, touching my arm. “Just a couple swallows.”
“Is there any way we can turn on the news or something?” I wanted to know…anything more.
“In our experience,” Elspeth spoke up. “The news often doesn’t know what is going on, either. So, they repeat the same thing over and over again. Sometimes to fill time, they just get any testimonies from witnesses whether they are true or not. All it does is create further confusion and panic. Believe me. The Guard will know anything before they do.”
I hung my head, staring at my feet, and it was then that I realized I hadn’t even had time to put on shoes. I was in here, bare feet and all.
“Ma’am, please eat something—”
“If we haven’t heard anything after so long, it’s bad, right?” I felt that familiar tightness in my chest…dread.
My mom hugged me to her. “Think positively.”
“If I could do that, I wouldn’t be panicking!” I snapped. “I need to figure out what’s going on. Please—”
Before I could start begging, the red phone I didn’t know was in here rang. Thelma walked up to it, answering, but of course, she let nothing show on her face. She just stood there still as a statue with the phone to her ear.
“Understood,” was all she said before hanging up the phone, and I got up, my mother holding me.
“Well?” I pressed.
“The king has arrived back at the palace. He’s all right.”
“Oh, thank God!” I gasped, falling back on the chair, covering my face.
