SEVENTEEN

'A crown should not sit easy on the head.' - George R.R Martin

For obvious reasons, I've never given much thought to how I would rule.

I won't begin to lie and say I've not considered it recently – knowing it's going to happen now and is not more than a mere possibility. And I don't envy the choices that I have been too ignorant to realise my parents have made. But it's here, at this moment that I can't help but consider what is it that I would do if I was in James' situation.

I watch the boy – the man in front of me, the weight of the world on his seemingly robust shoulders. His eyes go from blazing angry, his pupils narrowed and dangerous before his expression completely transforms into something of sheer determination. His eyes turn to me, and for a long, drawn-out moment he watches my every micro movement down to my breath and even to when I blink. And almost as quickly as I notice it, he is pushing past me and disappearing out of sight.

Henry is innocent.

The single thought alone gives my legs motivation to follow him. I jog to catch up with James' long strides, but he is too quick as if he's a man on a mission. I follow him down a flight of stairs and through some double doors where I watch him dip his head low and whisper to his parents; head of communications. The woman nods once to James and reaches for her phone in her blazer pocket.

"Who is she calling?" I ask James, my hand reaching out to grab his wrist and I force him to look at me.

"Everyone." That is all he says.

"What do you mean?" I try to read his face but it's as if his features have committed the look of determination he holds.

"You don't understand. I can see her." His mask falls for a second before he swallows. "Every time I look in the mirror, every time my mind drifts off. She's constantly there."

"Claudia," I breathe her name.

"I know what I have to do, Eva," his voice cracks and he turns to glance outside of the window. I follow his eyes and peer down at the sudden mass of press starting to set up their cameras, the tripods being carried out from vans with their company printed on it. But it's the growing crowd that stumps me.

The crowd just outside the palace gates starts to congregate, their eyes darting at the press and back to the palace in front of them. They are clearly confused by the press' presence. That makes all of us. I turn to ask James if he was the one who called the press here but when I turn, he's gone.

"Excuse me?" I gesture to a passing butler.

"Your Highness," he bows.

"Is there a remote to turn that TV on?" I ask, pointing to one located on the wall behind him.

"Certainly, Princess." He walks over to the wall and fiddles with a decorative drawer unit below it and turns the TV on.

"Which channel, Your Highness?" he asks.

I frown at the TV and take the remote from his hands, turning the volume up at the TV presenter standing clearly outside my house. "I don't think it matters."

"We are outside the Palace gates after we received a request from His Royal Highness Prince James Prescott. He has called for a press conference claiming it is of extreme urgency he relays this message to us. We are expecting the prince shortly. Please stay tuned for more updates."

I don't have time to comprehend what is happening. A security guard stands before me.

"Your Highness, everyone must come outside now."

"What?"

He beckons for me, and I follow him down a corridor and to a door that leads to the outside. I spot my parents immediately; my father's head snaps up to meet mine and the question in his eyes is so intense it rings in my own eyes. I glance further down the steps to see my mother beside him, James' parents Katherine and Marcus beside her and then another door opens and all the royal staff start to file out orderly.

What the hell is he doing?

"Just down here, Princess," the secret service agent says to me, gesturing towards the steps.

I spot Adam and Ross appear behind my parents and I meet my father's gaze once more. He glances behind me.

"What on earth is going on?"

I jump at the voice as Charlotte's swinging blonde hair meets my peripheral vision.

"I think James is speaking to the press," I tell her, lowering my voice. "Charlotte, I think he's going to—" but I am cut off by the sudden roar of the crowd as James steps out from the doors, his blonde hair billowing in the wind. He's changed into a sky-blue shirt, no tie and dress trousers. He steps up to a microphone that is placed in front of him, and I am ushered to take my place beside my parents. Charlotte gives me one last look before taking her place further down the steps.

A bell rings and the crowd quietens, the flashes of the cameras, however, continue to fill the void.

"I know many of you must wonder," James starts, speaking into the microphone. I watch as Ross and a few other agents take their usual stances around the steps. "What this is all about and why I have called this emergency announcement."

The crowd murmurs and I feel my mother's shoulders stiffen beside me.

"Just under a week ago, the Duke of Cornwall's daughter Claudia Winthorpe passed away due to a car accident. The details of this car accident have yet to be released but I can inform you of what happened,"

I think I literally stop breathing. He's going to do it. He's going to clear Henry's name.

"Claudia ran out in the middle of the car and was tragically and mistakenly killed by a passing car. I know this..." James trails off and when his eyes dart from the crowd, they meet mine. I'm distinctly aware of the flashing cameras swivelling in my direction and I do the only thing I can do. I give him a reassuring smile.

"I know this because I was in the car when it happened."

The audible gasp that rings out in the crowd has everyone on the steps sucking in a sharp breath and I can practically see my father's ears blowing smoke from where he rigidly stands. I don't even know where to look. James keeps his composure, but I can see his fists curl and the subtle way he pushes all his weight from one foot to another.

Holy shit is all I can think. This is going to change everything.

James clears his throat and puts the nail in the coffin. The truth that will set his head of security free. "Not only was I in the car when this happened, but I was also the one driving it."

If I thought there was chaos beforehand, nothing in my nineteen years of life has matched this. The crowd is in a frenzy, the press scream questions at James, and I watch as the five secret service agents all seem to seamlessly stand a bit closer to the heir to the Australian throne.

James' voice dulls the cries of the crowd.

"Not only am I immensely sorry for the pain and the suffering I have caused the Duke and his family, but I cannot and will never justify what I have done or hide it behind my crown. I will not allow others to take the fall for my actions and I shall not lie to the people of this country who have only ever graced me as one of their own."

"I have learned recently that denying the truth doesn't change the facts. And the fact is I was behind the wheel when Claudia ran out into the road. An accident – an event, that will forever change and shape my life and the ones Claudia's touched. I cannot tell you why Claudia was out that night that I drove. I cannot tell you how sick and angry I feel with myself. I also cannot tell you how much I wish it was me, and how much I would gladly take Claudia's place. What I can tell you is I know these are only words. I know this is shocking news and I know many of you may look at me differently. And even though doing this, I may lose your respect, I would far rather do that than allow my integrity to slip as someone who has been allied with this country for my entire life and who cares for it deeply."

James backs away from the stand and I can see him trying to gather himself with a deep breath before he itches back forward. The crowd hangs on to every single one of his words and I find myself doing the same.

"I made a promise to my twin when he passed that given my time, I would rule honestly and openly. If and when I take my throne back home, I would be breaking the promise I made to myself and my brother by covering this truth and if I am to lead the way I wish to, I cannot build my crown based on lies."

My heart clenches and I catch James swallowing and he looks directly at the camera like he's talking to the Duke himself.

"I will pay for any consequences deemed necessary for my actions. I hope you can accept my utmost apology for what happened and I know this will not bring your daughter back. I am so, so sorry."

James steps back from the microphone and for a spilt second, there is nothing but the sound of the wind crying in the air. I can feel every fibre of my body alight with the information, James' truth radiating in the air. If you had told me a day earlier, I would have liked James much less respected him than I would tell you you're crazy. But I don't stop the feeling of my heart swelling.

It's difficult to also not take in too much all at once – my parents' frozen frames, the way Katherine stands beside them with an unreadable expression on her face, the look that Adam is giving James as if this is the first time he is really seeing the man before him. I don't dare to turn to catch Charlotte's eyes or the look of the staff who work for us. I am scared to capture the reaction of the audience or to note how the press is living for this scandal.

Until the commotion makes me forced to look and I watch as several police crowd around a man who rattles on the gates.

"Long live the Australian King!" he yells through the barriers.

Silence falls once more and there is another shuffle in the crowd. I tear my eyes to James who has his back on the crowd and watch him freeze. I hear more shuffling and then I hear it again, another voice.

"Long live the Australian King!" they repeat.

James visibly tenses again from where he stands but he manages to turn back to face the crowd and I catch the way his bottom lip falls and I swing my eyes back to the crowd.

"Oh my god,"

But it's not me saying the words. It's my mother beside me.

One by one, each member of the crowd starts to kneel on the floor, bowing their heads to a man who is not their king – let alone their heir. It's the most insane and heart-stopping moment of my life and I cannot tear my eyes away from them. The press swings their cameras around to pan over the crowd.

"This is incredible," I hear someone mutter.

And it is incredible. My people are bowing to James. The world is bowing to James.

I know then my answer.

I've never given much thought to how I would rule, but if I had any idea on the right way it should be done, following in Prince James Prescott's footsteps may be a good place to start.

Thank you for reading! x