Cheeky King

by Nana Malone

  I stared into her clear blue eyes. It would be so easy to be that person that I used to be. I could take the bait, jump in, and try and drown out the loss. But I couldn't. Planting my hands on her hip bones, I gently pushed her back. "Eliza, obviously you're beautiful. But I can't do this."

  She stared at me. "Are you serious?"

  I nodded. "’Fraid so."

  "I stayed at this party for this? God, I should have just gone home with my dad."

  I blinked at her. She'd stayed deliberately for me. I saw it now. This whole thing might not even be about me. Might be that position for her father, for her. "Then by all means, let me get you a car."

  When I made the call, the operator's voice was brisk. "How may I serve you, Your Majesty?"

  "I need a pick-up in my private quarters. The destination is the British Embassy."

  "As you wish, Your Majesty."

  But before I hung up, I added another request. "I request that my personal guard, Penelope Marsh, be the one to escort her."

  There was a moment of silence, but then the woman on the line again said, "As you wish, Your Majesty."

  Penny was at my private quarters in a matter of minutes. When she pulled up and exited the car, she froze when she saw me with Eliza. In a flash, I saw the pain in her eyes, and I steeled myself against it. "Your Majesty. You requested a car?”

  Seeing her wounded should heal the tear over my heart. But it didn't. Instead, it just made it worse. That burning, empty feeling in the center of my chest was back. But instead of stopping the madness, I doubled down. "Yes, Ms. Marsh. Please escort Ms. Geneese back to the embassy." Then I turned to Eliza and gave her a lingering kiss on the cheek. "Until next time."

  She gave me a dazzling but puzzled smile. "I'll hold you to that, Your Majesty." Eliza didn't even acknowledge Penny as Penny opened the door for her. I hated that. What I hated more was Penny didn't even acknowledge me as she slid into the driver’s seat.

  You wanted to wound her, and you did. And now there's no going back.

  18

  Sebastian

  I couldn't sleep, not after the events of the evening. I left my quarters and decided to walk the grounds. I wasn't surprised when I found myself at the rear entrance of my parents’ quarters. Like me, my mother was still awake. She sat on the balcony staring up at the stars.

  "I wondered when you'd come and find me."

  "Hi, Mum."

  "Did you have your fun with what's her name?"

  "Eliza. She was nice enough. But it turns out I wasn't feeling it."

  My mother tipped her head down to level her gaze on me. "Very likely because you already hooked up with Penny at the party. And, considering you're in love with her, I imagine you are feeling pretty shitty about the whole thing."

  I stared at my mother. "I don't know what you're talking about."

  The gaze she gave me sent a cold shiver up my spine. "Forgive me, Your Royal Majesty. But as I brought you into this world, please do not assume that I am an idiot. You think I don't know what happened in New York? You think I don't know how much you've changed? That I haven't noticed that you haven't been sleeping with every chambermaid in the palace? I also know Penny well. I've known her since she was little. Every time she sees me, the poor thing flushes and runs off in the other direction. And all of a sudden, she’s become the best Royal Guard to ever walk the planet. But there's a light dead inside of her. I'm guessing that has something to do with you."

  I swallowed hard. "Mother. You need to let it go. You don't know anything about it."

  She laughed, that high, peeling laughter of the inebriated or hysterical. "Oh I don't know anything about it? I lost a man that I have loved for years. Gone. There's talk that someone murdered him. There is talk that someone tried to murder you. So forgive me if I think your pettiness is, well, for lack of a better word petty. You're mad that she lied to you? Well too bad. Sometimes these things have to happen. That woman saved your life. Now you betray that by acting like a child?" She shook her head. "That is not the son I raised. That is not behavior befitting a king."

  "Oh, yeah? Dad might have been okay with it." Shit that was too far.

  His mother pushed to her feet. "You will not taint your father's memory by talking about things you do not understand."

  All I felt was despair and sorrow and regret at having angered her. "Mother—”

  She slapped her hand on the stone. "No. I am ashamed of you. Are you the son that I raised to treat every woman with respect? So you're a little bit angry. Boohoo. Yeah, she lied to you to save your life. I'm pretty sure you didn't tell her you were the prince. And while she knew it, it doesn’t change the fact that you deliberately kept it from her."

  I opened my mouth to speak, but she put up her hand to shut me up.

  "You're so upset about your father? That he had two other children? You don't know anything about it. Your father and I loved each other. It took us a while to get there, a long while. When we did, we were a team in everything. There were no secrets from me."

  "Were you ever jealous or angry with him?"

  "Not when I married him. I was in love with someone else then. But I wasn't allowed to have what I wanted. I was married off to someone I liked. Someone I thought was a good man. But I was, in essence, bartered. Never mind about love. We grew to love each other, and while it took a while, when it happened, it was the stuff of legends. You don't throw that away because you're angry or dejected."

  That shook me to the core. "I—I feel like I don't even know anything," I whispered. “It hurts so much.”

  "Your father was kind and honest. He wanted his children here. All of you. Lucas's mother wouldn't allow it. And Isla’s stepfather didn’t want to tell her about her heritage until she was older and your father felt it best to respect his wishes."

  I shook my head. “All this time, I've been so angry. I think he understood me, but it took me so long to see what he wanted me to learn. I was so cocky. I thought I had it all figured out.”

  “We all do that.”

  “I was going to give it all up. Give it to Lucas. I'm ashamed.”

  My mother nodded. “He knew.”

  I snapped my head up. “What? He knew?”

  "Of course. It wasn't a shock considering you wanted nothing of this monarchy. He understood you better than you know.”

  “And now it's mine.”

  I lifted my gaze to my mother's. "It's a role I take seriously, Mother."

  She nodded. "You will make a fine king. Mostly because you don't want it. You will make the throne what you want it to be." My mother chuckled. "You think we didn’t know our own son? You get this look when you’re feeling caged."

  "Why didn't you stop me?"

  "It wasn't our place to stop you. It was your place to grow and learn while you were looking."

  I shook my head. "I never wanted to be king, and I certainly didn't want it this way. But these are my people. I won't abandon them."

  "I didn't want it this way either. I would've liked for you to come around on your own. I would have liked you to bring your brother home on your own terms and show him your country. I wanted you to make the choice that you wanted to be king. Not like this.” She wiped a tear. “But however it happened, it looks good on you. At the very least you want to take care of your subjects."

  "I've always loved the people, these islands—my home. Len made this painting, back in New York. The moment I saw it, it made me homesick. I've never felt that way. I always felt like I needed to run away.”

  My mother nodded. "Sometimes you need to see a place through someone else's eyes before you can love it again."

  "What do I do?"

  My mother shrugged. "You're the king. You figure it out. The one thing you will not do is to torture that poor girl. I am forever in her debt. She kept my son alive."

  I really fucked that up. "I didn't know that until I returned."

  My mother shrugged. "Now that you know, what are you going to do with that
information?"

  "Well, I was thinking I'd start with an apology. And then begging. Lots and lots of begging."

  "That's a good place to start. "

  * * *

  Sebastian

  The following morning, I studied my brother.

  “You look hung over. Why do you look hung over? I told you to get some rest last night.”

  Lucas rolled his eyes. “Sebastian, relax man, I’m not hung over. Did it ever occur to you that I might be nervous about this?”

  No, it hadn’t occurred to me. “Sorry. I just want this to go right, and I don’t want any hiccups or issues.”

  Lucas clapped my shoulder. “It’ll be fine. Look, at the end of the day, yeah, sure I’m a prince, but are you sure you want to do this?”

  I frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

  Lucas shoved his hands in his pockets and shifted from foot to foot. “Well, I mean, aren’t you a little worried? I’m a second son, or so it seems. You legitimize me and the people could be looking for a replacement.”

  “I’m not in the least worried. As a matter of fact, nine months ago, that’s exactly what I wanted. Right now, I just want you to have your birthright, and access to do whatever it is you want to do in the world. Obviously, I’ll keep you in anonymity as much as I can, but it’s yours. It was meant to be yours from the beginning. It’s what Dad wanted.”

  Lucas nodded and then suspiciously rubbed his nose. He wasn’t tearing up, was he? “Okay, as long as you’re sure. I’m just … I’m not used to things really going well, not with my mom and stuff. I’m always waiting for the other shoe to drop, I guess.”

  Was it my turn to reassure him? “This is real. I want to walk in those doors and make it happen. We more than likely have the votes. There are only a couple of people who may be undecided. For the most part, let me do the talking, because the truth is the truth. I have a certified letter from my father. It’ll be fine. But your life is going to change. Do you think you’re ready?”

  Lucas met my gaze then. “I don’t think anybody could be ready for a change like this.”

  I gave him a harsh chuckle. “Well, ready or not, here it comes. You walk in there a commoner, and you walk out a prince.”

  “Yeah well, let’s just see about that, shall we?”

  While Lucas was more cautious than I was, I knew there was only one option I was willing to accept. If I hadn’t been the perfect son in his life, I could at least make him proud in his death. Lucas would walk out of that room a prince. I would bet my crown on it.

  19

  Sebastian

  I tried to focus my brain on the task at hand as I surveyed the Regents Council. "As you know, it was my father's wish to change the laws regarding succession. But what you don't know is that there was a reason for this. My father, may he rest in peace, had two illegitimate children. One of whom I've made contact with, and the other one remains unaware of her lineage."

  I paused and waited for the shocked expressions.

  There were more than a few. Maybe some were better poker players than the others. This was the Regents Council. The members were privy to state secrets. Maybe they had known and they'd conspired to keep my brother and sister out of the palace?

  No. My father had been clear. No one knew, but maybe they’d suspected.

  "As many of you know, I introduced Lucas Newsome to you at the celebration for my birthday. He is my younger brother. If today's vote goes as planned, and I hope it will, he will become next in line to the throne if something were to happen to me.”

  That was Ethan’s cue. He opened the anterior door, and in walked my brother, all his calm, confident swagger gone. Back in New York it was as if nothing could touch him. Here, he was unsure. We were alike in so many ways.

  He came to stand next to me and there were a few gasps. Lucas fidgeted, and I could tell this whole thing made him uncomfortable. I could see it now. I'd been wrong to ever think that I could shuck my responsibility. I'd been wrong to think I could foist it onto Lucas. My brother loved to have a good time. Lucas had no idea the implications of the throne. It was my responsibility. It always had been. Maybe that's what my father had been trying to tell me all along.

  Bryce Thruston, at the end of the council table, leaned forward. "No disrespect, Your Majesty, but what makes you think we’re going to allow an illegitimate heir?"

  Sir Thruston had been on the Regents Council since my grandfather's reign, and he was decidedly old-school. I knew that he was going to be difficult. Lucky for me, I didn't actually need his vote. But I didn't want to drop that bomb on them just yet. I wanted to see how just how much opposition Lucas was going to face. And eventually my sister. Once we got through this whole mess with who might've hurt my father, I planned on contacting her right away.

  As they went around the table one by one, I listened as members of the council either supported or rejected the claim that Lucas would have on the throne. My mother, of course, was most in favor, going so far as to squeeze Lucas’s hand as she spoke of my father’s wishes.

  Ashton, surprise, surprise, was the most opposed. “You think you can pass off your father’s bastard as a prince? You know the laws. He is not of royal blood. To be royal, you must come from royalty on both sides, which he does not. I’m not giving up my birthright so he can steal it out from under me. And for all we know, he’s an impostor. How do we know that this man is actually your brother? It’s easy enough to fake that sort of thing, birth records and such. I’ll bet anything if we look into his past, we’ll find he isn’t who he says he is. We need to have his blood tested. If only the king was still around to corroborate or we’d thought in advance to have his blood on file.”

  I narrowed my gaze at my cousin. “Considering I am here, we could test against mine. But my father, in his infinite wisdom, saw fit to have his blood on file at several labs between the island, the United States, and the UK.” While I was speaking, Ethan watched the members of the council carefully.

  “How can we really trust one of those labs? The monarchy has to be preserved and protected.”

  “And it will be. My father had concerns when he was putting up this change for a vote. He had several safeguards put in place to make sure his blood would be safe so we could prove paternity.”

  Several people around the room agreed that a blood test needed to happen. I had to hand it to Lucas; everything the people were saying about him, he took on the chin. He didn’t even flinch. But Ashton … Ashton at least earned himself a narrowed gaze, but Lucas still said nothing.

  “Am I to understand then, Cousin, that your vote is no? “

  “Absolutely a no. And who are we if we do not uphold our traditions? King Jackson, great as he was, saw that we needed our ties to Europe. That’s why he made sure that we needed to marry into royalty to keep the royal lines pure and to keep out the riffraff. I swear the old man is rolling in his grave right now just thinking about it … a bastard son on the throne.”

  I pushed myself to standing and glared him down. “Well, Cousin, need I remind you that I am the one on the throne, not Lucas. I’m just trying to assure him his birthright. I will also remind you that as soon as I marry and have a child, he then becomes my second in line, and so on and so forth, should I continue to have more children. So, I wouldn’t count myself any closer to the throne at any point in the future, if I were you.”

  The room went as silent as a tomb. Ashton looked like he might want to speak again, but he wisely kept his mouth shut. I began the vote and started to sweat.

  We were about evenly split by the time the vote went to Ethan, and the older man met my gaze.

  "As you know, I had the privilege of knowing your father well. As you also know, my family has been Royal Guard since the beginning. So I honor the old traditions. I honor the old ways of doing things on the Winston Isles. Tradition is to be honored." He nodded sagely. "But I do know that your father wanted you to be your own man. I know that he wanted to leave his very own legacy,
not just the legacy of the rulers before him. Because of this, I choose to vote with how your father would've wanted it." He turned his attention to Lucas. "I vote that we change succession laws. After all, you carry the blood of the royal line. You should have succession rights."

  I closed my eyes. Ethan had tipped the vote in my direction without me even needing to cast a vote. Thank God.

  I had the votes. I should have been happy. This was what my father had wanted. But it made me uneasy.

  When the meeting was over, Lucas stood and stared at me. "Holy fuck. Now what happens? Am I like an actual prince?"

  "Now we figure it out. Yes, you are an actual prince. We’ll need to have a ceremony, but we do need to lay groundwork. We’ll only be able to keep it out of the press for so long."

  Lucas rubbed the back of his neck. “I don't know about school. I can't have paparazzi parked on my doorstep. Not to mention every college coed wanting to be the next princess of the Winston Isles." He paused then reconsidered. "On second thought, that might not be so bad. But imagine if all the girls at Columbia knew I was a real live prince."

  "Yeah, I understand. It's not all it's cracked up to be. I'll keep your name out of it for as long as I can. Everyone here today will sign a nondisclosure agreement and be bound by a decree of silence. One thing though: you will have to take a Royal Guard with you back to New York."

  Lucas blinked at me. "Are you kidding?"

  I shook my head. "I'm afraid not. It's for your own safety, honestly. And we're going to have to ask that you take up a royal residence. We'll make it nondescript, somewhere in the city. But it'll enable us to set up the appropriate security."

  Lucas frowned. "But, it's not like people are trying to kill me."

  I gave him a level gaze. "But there will be now. People tried to kill me in New York. The same people who killed my father. Our father."