by Renna Peak
Andrew
I wish I could have stayed in Victoria’s room all morning—wrapped my arms around her and slept the hours away. Perhaps when we woke up, I would have found all of this to be a dream.
But I’ll be the good son, the good heir, for a little longer. Even though my exhaustion is getting harder and harder to ignore with every passing hour. My body feels heavy. My head is foggy, but the haze is periodically split by sharp, stabbing pains, a constant reminder that it’s been far too long since I’ve slept.
And it will be some time yet before you see your bed again, I remind myself. There’s no time to rest before my speech—I must focus on the task ahead.
Once again, I read over the speech Victoria wrote for me. It truly is beautiful—the perfect way to handle this very delicate situation.
I glance at my watch. Only ten minutes left until it’s time for me to make my speech. I’ve been here at the hospital for almost two hours, and I’ve spent most of that time pacing back and forth at the foot of my father’s bed. My mother sits at his side, and a nurse is here at all times to keep an eye on his condition.
I fold the speech back up and return it to my pocket. I walk over to my mother and bend over, kissing her softly on the cheek.
“It’s time for us to go,” I tell her softly. “You don’t have to come with me, you know. You can still choose to stay with him if you prefer.”
“I am the queen,” she tells me, rising. “I should be there.”
I understand the look in her eyes—it’s one I know all too well. My mother might not normally be as stubbornly married to her duties as I am, but like the rest of our family, I think she finds comfort in turning to her responsibilities during a time like this.
I offer her my arm, and she gives me a small smile as she takes it.
“I’m proud of you, you know,” she says quietly to me as we head down the hospital corridor toward the room they’ve prepared for the announcement. “Your father would be, too, if he could see how well you’ve been handling this.”
“I’m afraid I’ve caused more problems for Father than I’ve effectively handled,” I say. “If it weren’t for the stress I’ve caused him, he probably wouldn’t even be in this situation right now.”
My mother looks up at me, frowning. “I knew you would do this—blame yourself. You always take so much responsibility on your own shoulders.” She stops, forcing me to stop, too. “Your father has always been the same way, which is why he takes things so seriously. He doesn’t like when things happen outside of his control—because deep down, he feels like he should be able to control them. Both as a king and as a father. He sees every member of this family as his responsibility, and every choice we make is his responsibility, too. I know it’s difficult to tell sometimes, but he’s so strict because he thinks he’s protecting you—and when you or Leopold or any of the others defy him, he gets angry because he’s worried about you. At some point, he has to learn that you need to be free to make your own choices, whether or not he believes them to be the best choices for you. And if you make a mistake…well, then perhaps it will teach you a valuable lesson that will make you an even better king someday.”
Perhaps it’s just the fog of exhaustion in my brain, but I have a hard time fully comprehending her words.
“Listen to me, Andrew,” she says, reaching up and placing her hand on my cheek. “You are a good man. Good and wise and strong. You will make a wonderful king someday. But to do that, you must remember to trust yourself. And yes—sometimes that means ignoring your father’s advice or suggestions.”
I offer her what I hope passes for a smile. “I understand.”
“Do you?” she asks, her eyes growing sharp. “Do you truly?”
“I’m trying to,” I tell her honestly.
That seems to satisfy her for the moment, because she gives a nod and looks down the corridor. “Perhaps we should continue this conversation later. I wouldn’t want us to be late.”
We continue down the hall, reaching the temporary press chamber with only a couple of minutes to spare. William is waiting there for us, as is Nicholas. Princess Justine also stands nearby.
“Thank you all for joining me,” I tell them. “I’ll try to make this as quick and painless an event as possible. I will be receiving no questions from the press, and I request that you decline any queries they put to you. A couple of days from now, when we have a little more information, we’ll hold a larger, longer press conference. Understood?”
Everyone nods and murmurs their agreement.
“Good,” I say, straightening my shoulders. “Then let’s proceed.”
Together, we walk into the room to face the handful of reporters and photographers waiting for us. I shouldn’t be nervous in front of so few people—I’ve spoken to far, far larger crowds before—but I am. This event will be broadcast live on local Montovian television, so I must be perfect.
I stand at the podium, letting my eyes move across the small crowd.
Where is she? She promised she’d be here…
Finally, I spot her—in the very back, nearly hidden. Victoria is there, watching me, and when our eyes meet she gives me a small, encouraging smile.
I can do this.
I clear my throat and begin.
The first half of my speech focuses entirely on my father—his current state of health is the most important news, of course. I see the concern on the faces of the reporters—they must have expected something, of course, since the press conference is here at the hospital—but I remain calm and give them some of the basic facts: my father had a health scare, he’s currently stable and well cared for, and we’ll make another announcement as soon as we have more information. I’m sure the reporters have questions, but they’ve already been given strict instructions that they will be thrown out of the press conference if they speak out of turn.
“With that,” I say, “I’d like to get a little more personal.”
There’s a stillness in the air, a tension that seems to settle over me. I take a deep breath and continue.
“I know I’ve been in the news a lot recently,” I say. “And I know I have a lot to apologize for. By now you will have heard that I made a mistake that has cost my family and this country one of our most prized possessions—the royal scepter. This scepter has been passed down through my family for generations. It is a symbol of national pride, a physical representation of our nation. Through my own carelessness, the scepter no longer belongs to our country.
“I understand that no apology can undo what I have done. But nonetheless, I will not shy away from apologizing. I will take responsibility for what I have done and lay myself humbly at your feet. I am sorry for my act of recklessness. I am sorry that I put my own pride ahead of that of our nation. I am sorry that I behaved like a fool and a child. I am sorry that I allowed myself to forget, even for a single night, that my first duty is—and will always be—to serve Montovia.”
I curl my hands around the edges of the podium. “I do not ask for or expect your forgiveness. It is not for me to ask anything of you—it is my duty to give. To serve the people of Montovia. I cannot ask for your forgiveness—I must earn your forgiveness. And I intend to dedicate the rest of my life to that goal, to being the prince—and future king—that you deserve.”
My eyes fall down to the next paragraph of the speech, the one where I tell them that my first step toward achieving that noble goal is to marry Princess Justine. I lift my chin, looking back out at the reporters.
“I know many of you perhaps expected to hear the announcement of a betrothal today,” I say. “My search for a wife has certainly been no secret—after my plane crash several weeks ago, I thought the best way to serve Montovia would be to marry and quickly produce an heir. To show the citizens of this country that I was dedicated to life, to fulfilling my duties as crown prince. I thought that marrying would be the first major step toward becoming the king I want to be someday.
“But if there’s
one thing these last few weeks have taught me, it’s that becoming a good ruler is about more than what I do or don’t do. It’s about listening to my heart, about trusting my soul. It’s about finding the truth. About realizing how much I don’t know—and allowing myself to be humble and open enough to learn. Every moment I spend on this earth is a moment to learn. And now that my eyes have been opened, I intend to spend the rest of my life, day in and day out, learning from you, the people of Montovia, how best to serve you.”
My eyes wander past the reporters to the back of the room. To Victoria. I can see the anxiety in her eyes—she’s alarmed that I’ve gone off script.
“So no, I won’t be announcing an engagement today,” I say. “But I do want the world to know what is responsible for this revelation I’ve had. It’s not just the hardships that have shown me the truth about my life, no—it’s love. I’m in love with a remarkable woman named Victoria Simpson, and she has taught me more about myself than I ever thought possible. It is because of her that I am here before you today. Because of her that I finally understand how I might best serve the citizens of Montovia. Because of her that I see my true purpose in life. And I want the whole world to know that I love her completely.”
Royal Mistake #6 (the final—and full-length novel—episode) will be available on or around March 29, 2017. Sign up now to join the Royal Heartbreakers Reader Team for notification when it is available.
Royal Mistake
Royal Mistake unfolds over the course of six novels. Each follows the continuing story of Prince Andrew of Montovia and Victoria Simpson. Royal Mistake is the second of the Royal Heartbreakers Series. Royal Heartbreaker (Leopold) is available now.
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Also by Renna Peak
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ALL I WANT (Book One is free!)
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