The Royal Roommate

by P. G. Van

  “Welcome home, Amyra.” He kissed her cheek pointing at a sign posted on the top of the building.

  “I’m not Amyra, I’m Amy,” she said weakly looking at the people gathered at the main entrance to the building.

  “To all the people gathered over there, you are their soon-to-be Queen, Regina Amyra!”

  “Sid, I don’t want to deal with that now.” She shook her head refusing to look at the people.

  He took her hand to his lips, caressing the back of her hand with the warmth. “Just smile at them!”

  “I doubt if they would notice the girl next to their hero.” She laughed. He smiled looking at her shaking his head but did not say anything.

  The van pulled right in front of the main entrance, and she could hear the charged crowd that gathered.

  A voice blared through the walkie-talkie. “All clear, sir.”

  “Let’s go, sweetheart!” He took her hand in his before stepping out of the van.

  The crowd cheered calling out her name as she stepped out of the van holding onto Sid’s hand. She smiled looking at the crowd and pushing her hair aside.

  “Look into that camera so everyone can see you on that screen,” Sid almost yelled into her ear.

  She smiled sheepishly feeling everyone’s eyes on her as she looked straight at the camera. A second later, a hush fell over the crowd, and she saw the surprise in the eyes of the people close to her.

  She tightened her hold on Sid’s hand. “What’s wrong?”

  “Smile and wave,” he said smiling into the camera.

  She smiled, a genuine curve glowing on her face making the crowd cheer.

  “We need to move, sir.” A familiar man’s voice called out on the walkie-talkie.

  “This way, Amyra.” Sid directed her away from the crowd.

  “Stop calling me that,” she objected, her smile playing.

  “This is Edenridge soil, and you are Amyra. Nothing changes that.”

  The people in front of them who stood as shields stepped aside to make way for them with uniformed soldiers saluting and bowing as they walked along the path to the entrance. The salutes and brisk movements continued down the hallway until Sid stopped in front of a massive door.

  Amy followed him through the haze of emotions. She felt overwhelmed by the cheering of the crowd and salutes of the soldiers every step of the way. She remembered being part of the crowd as a teenager at a concert of her favorite singer, but her being the reason for people cheering was scary and thrilling at the same time.

  “Amy?” Sid looked at her as she stared at the long aisle of the library where he had taken her to see her parents’ pictures. She was breathing heavily, and he knew she was in the process of accepting the truth about herself. It was a lot to handle and process in a couple of days, but she seemed fine until she faced the crowd.

  He took her into his arms and felt the thudding in her chest against his. “You don’t need to be in a crowd until you are ready. We had no way to avoid the crowd at the Embassy. This was the group who worked tirelessly the past few days to keep us safe.”

  “I… I don’t mind the crowd as much as the uniformed people saluting me. I don’t like that,” she confessed.

  He laughed pulling her closer to him. “I’ve got good and bad news for you.”

  She gently pushed him away from her annoyed with the mockery in his laughter. “What’s so funny?”

  “Well, the good news is the Army wasn’t saluting you… that was for the Commander. The bad news is, you need to get used to it because I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

  She smiled feeling relieved and embarrassed at the same time. “You were right about me watching too many princess movies.”

  He nuzzled her cheek before planting a kiss. “You did well. Are you ready to meet your parents?”

  “I guess so.” She wove her fingers into his.

  “This way.” He led her down another hallway which opened up to a large room with high ceilings and walls lined with books. At the far end of the room were two large portraits, one of a man in royal attire holding a sword and another of the same man with a woman and a baby.

  “Amy, meet your father, our late King William Charles, III, and this is a picture of your mother, Vanessa Jane, holding their six-month-old princess.”

  “That’s me?”

  “Yes, and do you know why the crowd went into silence when you looked at the camera?”

  “I noticed, and I figured they were shocked to see me in my pathetic outfit.” She snickered.

  He laughed shaking his head. “Not because of your outfit, but because of how much you remind them of your mother who was well loved by the people. You have the command in your eyes that only your dad held, and I’m sure that’s what people saw in you. I clearly failed to see the resemblance when I met you because I was convinced you were a suspect.”

  “They look so happy.” She walked closer to the large picture that hung high above on the wall.

  “That picture was taken a few weeks before the family was attacked at the feast.” Sid put an arm around her from behind.

  Her heart ached for them, and her blood simmered with anger for destroying the happy family in the image in front of her. “Sid, I want you to bring every person responsible for ruining their happiness to justice.”

  “Your order, my queen.”

  She turned to look at him, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. “I’m asking you as Amy, the girl who never got to meet her parents.”

  He cupped her face with his hands and brushed his lips on her forehead. “I promise.”

  “Why does it make me so sad that they are no more when I don’t even know them?” She cried shutting her eyes.

  “Because you know them, your inner self remembers them.” He felt the moisture seep through the thin fabric on his chest.

  “My dad told me everything about them. It was a fairy tale. It’s like I’ve known them all my life as the King and Queen of Edenridge.”

  “Amy, we need…” He stopped when his walkie-talkie crackled.

  “Go, John.”

  “Sir, the Eagle will be ready to go in ten. I have everything the Swan needs in her chamber.” The very calm voice announced.

  “Sid, who is that? He needs to stop calling me the Swan. I’m not a bird.”

  He laughed running the pad of his thumb on the edge of her eye absorbing the moisture. “That’s John, and you will meet him later today as my buddy and not as someone who works for me. We need to go now.”

  “Where are we going?” She jogged behind him to keep up with him as he led her out of the library by her hand.

  “We have clothes for you to change into so I can wear my uniform before I meet my boss in ten minutes.”

  “I need more than ten minutes. I need to shower.”

  “No, you don’t. I washed you myself last night.” He crooned making her blush.

  “So the Swan gets to meet the Eagle!”

  “The eager Eagle gets to see the Swan again,” Sid declared smiling as he led her upstairs.

  Chapter 18

  “Sid, do we have to do this now?” Amy’s stomach twitched with anticipation as they sat in the video conference room almost fifteen minutes later waiting for the President to come online.

  “I can move the meeting if you don’t want to meet him.” Sid smiled.

  “No… I don’t know what to say to him.” She ran her hands nervously over her belly feeling the smoothness of the silk dress she had on.

  “You’ll be fine.”

  The large device in the middle of the table beeped just as she was about to say something, and her words dove into her throat when she saw the TV come to life and a man in his fifties sitting at the table.

  “Hello, Amyra, I am delighted to see you,” the man cheered, and the smile on his face put her at ease.

  “It’s my pleasure to meet you, Mr. President.” She beamed.

  “Amyra, please call me George. Good to see you, Sidney.”
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  “Likewise, sir.” Sid almost sounded robotic and stood tall in his uniform suit. He looked indestructible with his broad shoulders and the determined look on his face.

  “Amyra, I still can’t believe we found you before the Guardian reached out to me. Rest assured we have been able to secure your family.” He smiled.

  “Thank you! I want my mom, dad, and brother to be safe.” She almost demanded.

  “We are very close to cracking the whip at the Barkha Group,” the President declared proudly.

  “With all due respect, we are not, sir.” Sid’s tone was blistering, and she was surprised with the shift in his manner.

  “Sidney, I have talked to the Ambassador, and she will take the required measures.”

  “I’m afraid it’s too late, sir. It is time for me to take over the operations here,” Sid declared.

  “Sidney, I need to give the Ambassador another chance.” The President seemed pretty persuasive yet held authority over the conversation.

  “Another chance, sir? Another chance, so she gets attacked again?” His voice blared in the large conference room making her shiver.

  “Sidney… I understand…” the President started to say and stopped when he caught Sid’s expression.

  “We have a mole in the Ambassador’s security team. Would you like for the Ambassador to take another month to identify who that is while we wonder when we will get attacked next?” Sid wasn’t backing down.

  “Commander, we have a protocol to follow.”

  “Sir, this is the royal family we are talking about, there should be no protocol when it comes to her safety.”

  The President looked at Sid for a few moments. “You are right. You have my approval to do what it takes to secure the Swan.”

  Sid saluted, his face rigid as the brick wall in the room. “With your permission, sir, I would like to be excused.”

  “Thanks, Sidney.”

  Sid gave her a brief glance before stepping out of the room leaving her smiling sheepishly at the screen.

  “Amyra, he likes you,” the President declared without hesitation, and when she blushed, he laughed. “You two like each other?”

  “Yes,” she whispered feeling the need to hide under the table. She was surprised he was able to pick up on their relationship in his first meeting.

  “How I wish William were around to see you two grow up and like each other,” he cheered.

  “Did you know… err… the King personally?”

  “Your father and I went to school together until he moved to America for his advanced studies.”

  “Oh… I didn’t know that.”

  “I knew your father for a long time, and I miss him. We lost everyone just when we thought we were making progress.” A gloom fell over his face.

  “How can I help?” she spoke up after a moment of silence.

  “Jason promised he would give the nation its queen. Are you ready?” His voice was calm, but it shook the ground under her.

  “You know my dad?”

  He smiled. “Yes, I met Jason at your parents’ wedding. So, Princess Amyra… are you ready to be our Regina?”

  “I… I don’t know what it means, and I don’t think I can do what’s expected of a queen.” She shook her head.

  “I trust Jason to have prepped you, and you are a born queen, Amyra.”

  “I don’t believe people are born to be royals, but I will do what it takes to relieve the people in the Barkha region,” she managed in a steady voice.

  “All you need to do is be crowned to be able to pass the orders so my Army can take over the region.”

  “Will that be Sid? Will he go back to the region?”

  “Yes, we will get support from the neighboring countries if we have your order.”

  She took a deep breath. “I will do it if it helps, but I don’t want Sid to go back to that region.”

  The president narrowed his eyes. “I don’t understand.”

  “The tough man you see on the outside is broken on the inside. He has been broken since he lost his mother and it became worse after living in the region and assassinating the leader,” she growled.

  “Amyra…”

  She didn’t let him finish. “I know he is your Commander, but I don’t want to lose him. I want him to stay out of that region until it’s recovered.”

  The President smiled, pure joy lighting up his face. “It is true, you are in love with each other.”

  Amy was taken aback with the comment, but a smile crept up her lips and blushed looking down at her hands. “Yes.”

  “I should have known from the way he looked at you. I’ve never seen him that way. I am so happy he found love. I thought I lost him the day he told me he wanted to go to the Barkha region, and I wanted to stop him as a father, but I could not as the President.” His voice was soft, and Amy thought she misheard him.

  “You are Sid’s father?”

  He smiled nodding.

  “Your wife died saving me?” she restated.

  “Yes.”

  “How are you able to bear the sight of me? I’m the reason your family was ripped apart. Why do you want me to be the Queen when I was the reason for your misery?” Her voice blared in the large conference room.

  “Your life will save thousands of families, and if you are not crowned as the Queen, all the sacrifices will have no meaning.”

  She rested her elbows on the table and dug her fingertips into her temples refusing to look at him. “I’m sorry for your loss and what Sid had to go through.”

  “You can heal him, Amyra. You are the reason for the change in his behavior in recent weeks.”

  “I… I don’t know…” She stopped when she saw a man in uniform approach the President. The man whispered something in his ear making the President look alarmed.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Amyra, I need you to go stop Sid from what he is doing? He is in the Celestial Garden. Please hurry, and John will take you to Sid.”

  She was in shock, but she stepped out and found a man who looked familiar. “John.”

  “This way, Princess.” He led her down a hallway toward a French door and out into a patio area.

  She heard the pleas as soon as she stepped outside and noticed a group of soldiers and a few other people in normal clothing gathered in the middle of the garden.

  “What is going on?” She followed John to the group, and as if the group sensed her presence, they cleared the way for her, and she stood shell-shocked looking at the sight in front of her. Sid was standing in the center, the sole of his shoe on the face of a man laid on the ground, his uniform drenched in blood, a baseball bat in his hand, and his hands smeared with blood.

  “Sid, stop.” Her voice was shrill from the burst of emotion inside her. He looked up at her, his chest heaving as she walked toward him. As she got closer, she took in the sheer rage in his eyes and saw the monster that lived inside him. He looked scary, and her rational brain told her to turn and run, but her heart told her he wouldn’t hurt her.

  Amy figured out the man who lay on the floor whimpering was the mole Sid was looking for, but she didn’t believe in such acts of violence and torture. “Sid, I need you to stop.”

  “Amy, leave,” he ordered gruffly.

  “I didn’t come here to leave. I need you to stop.” She reached for the blood-stained baseball bat and took it from him. She expected him not to let go, but he let go without any resistance.

  She took his hand in hers and whispered. “You don’t need to do this.”

  “Amy, leave,” he repeated making her body jitter.

  “No!” Her breath was hot on his ear.

  “I need you to stay out of this, and let me do my job,” he growled.

  “Hurting people is not your job… protecting them is.” She ran her bloodstained hands over his cheek pulling him to her.

  He took a deep breath before pushing her away almost knocking her off her feet. “This is the shameless dog who got sold f
or money.” He kicked the man who lay limp on the floor, digging the pointed toe of his shoe into the man’s stomach making him cry in pain. “He is the reason those bastards came so close to you.”

  She shivered at the raw need in his voice but did not let him see how shaken she was on the inside. “Sid, don’t do this. How is this helpful?”

  “This is a reminder for everyone who betrays their country.” He snarled looking at the crowd gathered. “If anyone even thinks about hurting her, I will squeeze the life out of you with my bare hands.”

  Amy’s breath caught in her throat at the savage in his words, but her heart swelled with the love for the monster who threatened to take a life for her. She looked into his eyes filled with cruelty but was able to see the dedication for his country and the love, the love for her.

  “Sid, listen to me. You don’t need this traitor’s blood on your hands. Put him away so he never sees sunlight again.” Her voice shook with fear as she wondered how Sid was handling her interference.

  She held her ground without moving a muscle when he stood frozen without responding to her words. “Baby, look at me.”

  She looked up at him when he took a step away from her. “Amy, are you asking me to spare the life of this traitor who led those wolves to you?”

  “Yes,” her voice trembled.

  “No, this man doesn’t deserve to live. He deserves to be punished, tortured until he lets out his last breath,” he grunted kicking the man in his stomach. The crowd gasped at the inhumane action, but no one had the courage to speak up even if they thought it was wrong. Sid was their hero, the young hero who killed the dictator making the Barkha Group crumble. He was their protector who held the borders strong to stop the rebels from entering the rest of the country.

  “Commander Sidney, stop!” She was loud, her voice held a command making him freeze. “This is an order from the Eagle. I need you to arrest this man and prep him for interrogation.”

  Sid stiffened as if in response to the command in her voice, but he did not react. When he finally spoke, his voice was steady, but the temper scared her. “Get this dog indoors and secure him.”

  He took Amy by her hand and led her away from the crowd as a few soldiers squatted next to the man laying on the ground groaning in pain. She felt his anger around her, the way he huffed, and the way his fingers dug into her flesh. He didn’t utter a word as he pulled her with him as he walked purposefully toward her room.