Unexpectedly Royal

by Jennifer Domenico

Delaney looks straight at him. “I will. When I accepted Lathan’s proposal, I accepted everything that goes with it.” She looks up at me with her sweet brown eyes, before looking back at my father. “Everything. Your Majesty, I fully understand what will be expected of my future children. Although my blood is not of Havendon by birth, it will be so by marriage, and my children will be. Lathan, this is a promise you can make.”

  My heart feels like it’s about to explode with love. I cannot believe how understanding and selfless she is.

  Geoffrey speaks again. “Do you, Prince Lathan Charles Phillip, promise to produce an heir to the throne, and to raise him or her with full allegiance to Havendon and no other?”

  Nodding, I answer. “I do.”

  “Do you, Prince Lathan Charles Phillip, from this day forward, agree to make every decision with Havendon’s best interest at heart?”

  “I do.”

  Geoffrey nods at my father. “With Your Majesty’s permission, I will proceed.”

  My father nods, and I notice how my mother’s face fills with anticipation.

  Geoffrey turns to me, as Gerard hands him the family Bible. I place my left hand on it and take a deep breath.

  “Prince Lathan Charles Phillip, by Palace Edict Fourteen, Amendment One, with these witnesses here today, you are hereby crowned, His Majesty, King Lathan of Havendon.”

  Surprisingly, my mother bursts into tears, which causes Delaney to react in the same way. My own tears cloud my eyes when I notice my father’s face red from the emotion of the moment. Trying to ground myself, I look at Arlan, a complete mistake since he has the same look my father does. Finally, I clear my throat.

  “I am honored. I will do my best until my dying breath.”

  We spend the next several minutes putting the official seal on numerous documents. Once that’s finished, I receive congratulatory handshakes from Gerard and Geoffrey before they excuse themselves. My mother hugs me, kissing my cheek several times and cupping my face between her hands.

  “From the moment I learned you lived in my womb, I have envisioned this moment. It is not the way I imagined. No, it is much happier. My husband lives. I did not have to say goodbye to one to welcome another, and for this reason, my heart is full.”

  “I am happy too, Mother.”

  My eyes shift to my father, who studies Delaney with an intense expression on his face. She notices and bows her head slightly.

  “Yes, Your Majesty?”

  “I researched how your children will be treated legally. They are American citizens regardless of what country they are born in. This is true?”

  “I really don’t know, sir. I’ve never researched it.”

  “I believe it is true. This means they could leave and move to America any time they wished.”

  “They won’t wish it,” she says.

  “How do you ensure this?”

  “Your Majesty, will all due respect, they will be born here, raised here in the palace. They will be princes or princesses and know from an early age the path they will follow. Will they see America? Yes, of course, it is where their mother is from, but they will love Havendon as much as their father does. As much as you do.”

  “What if they run off to America like Lathan did? What will you do?”

  “Dear, please,” my mother pleads softly.

  “These are necessary questions,” he replies.

  “What I will do, sir, is the same thing you and his mother did. I will love him or her and wait for them to understand they cannot leave Havendon for long. They will always be back.”

  My mother grins. “I’d like to see you come up with a retort for that, husband.”

  His lips break into a slight smirk. “A retort does not come. I am satisfied with your answer. I believe you understand what is expected and will instill this in your children.”

  “I will.”

  He bows his head slightly toward Lathan. “You have chosen wisely, Your Majesty.”

  “Father, please. I cannot bear to hear those words from your lips.”

  “At least I am alive to say them. As for your mother and I, we’re going away for a while. I wish to spend time with my lovely queen without the weight of the country on my shoulders.” He actually smiles. “That burden I now shift to you.”

  “Thank you?” I question as we laugh.

  “Before we go,” he continues. “I have something to say to Arlan.”

  “Yes, Father,” Arlan says.

  “I read your immigration proposal.” He paces slightly. “I’ve left it in your office for you to read, Lathan.” I nod as he continues. “I admit, initially, I was quite surprised.” Arlan opens his mouth to speak, but father stops him with a lifted hand. “I was surprised, but as I continued reading, I realized it was, in a word, brilliant.”

  Arlan’s face lights up. “Brilliant?”

  “Indeed. If I was the King’s advisor, and I am, I would most certainly suggest he approve it.” He pats Arlan’s shoulder. “Excellent work. I am impressed.”

  Arlan beams with pride. “Thank you, Father.”

  He takes my mother’s hand in his and kisses it. “Now, all of you go away.”

  We all laugh as we walk out of the room and head back to Havendon House.

  “What are you doing the rest of the day?” I ask Arlan. “Do you wish to eat dinner with us?”

  “No, but thank you. I’m working on improving the wing I’m staying in.”

  “Improving?” Delaney asks.

  “Yes. I wanted to make some changes to the space based on things Fallyn spoke about. Apparently she is, and I quote, obsessed with the color teal. She loves peacocks, so I’m redecorating.”

  Delaney laughs. “She’s gonna love that and she’s definitely obsessed. When Fallyn loves something, she’s all in.”

  “As am I, so perhaps, we’ll make a fine match.”

  “I hope so,” Delaney says. “It would be wicked awesome if you guys were an item. She’s like a sister to me and you two are brothers, so, it’s perfect, really.”

  “I couldn’t agree more,” he says, then bowing, adds, “Your Majesty, madam, I bid you good evening.”

  I shake my head. “See you tomorrow.” We watch Arlan walk off then continue in the direction of our room. “It doesn’t feel quite real just yet.”

  Delaney looks up at me. “I bet.” She moves in front of me, stopping our progression. “You know what we should do tonight?”

  “Tell me, my darling.”

  “The same thing we do every night.” She wiggles her eyebrows. “Eat dinner, make love, and maybe watch a movie.”

  I tilt my head. “Okay.”

  “It will make you feel normal because you are. Your job title changed. You got a promotion. Granted, it’s pretty major, but if you think about it, that’s all that changed. So we’ll go home and do what we do. That’s how we’ll stay grounded.”

  I pull her into my arms and kiss her softly. “Splendid idea.”

  “I’m wicked smaht sometimes.”

  I burst into laughter. “All the time, my love. Let’s go home.”

  Almost a week later, Lathan, Arlan, and I wait on the tarmac for Fallyn to land. After talking to her this morning, I know she’s terrified, but also excited, pretty much how I felt coming here for good. For my part, I couldn’t be happier she’s coming. It’s been five months since I last saw her, and I’ve missed her.

  Lathan puts his arm around my shoulder as we watch Arlan pace in front of us.

  “Are you excited, my darling?”

  “Over the moon.”

  “I was thinking about what an interesting shift this has been. First me, alone in your country and finding you and Fallyn. Then you, alone in my country, with only me and Ophelia. Now we’re full circle, as Fallyn joins us, only she won’t be alone at all. She has you and me and Arlan.”

  “It is interesting, but I was never alone here. Even though I missed home and Fallyn, I never once felt lonely. The times when I was truly by myself wer
e good for me. I had time to do things like read and journal and take leisurely walks. The hustle and bustle of my life in Boston was stripped away, leaving me to look inward. It was those moments alone that I knew I had made the right decision.”

  “There is not an ounce of regret in you?”

  “Not a drop. I am so happy it astounds me sometimes. I love it here, but mostly, I love you so if you said we were moving to a shack in the desert I would happily go, as long as I’m with you.”

  He bends slightly to kiss me. “One of many reasons why I adore you so. I think you appreciate the comfort and opulence of the life I provide, but it’s not important to you.”

  “Only you are, my prince. I mean, yeah, it’s definitely nice, but if we moved back to my tiny shoebox apartment in Boston, I’d be fine with that. I just want to build my life with you, wherever and however that is.”

  “Even if you must be queen?” He laughs. “I imagine you never saw that coming.”

  “Not in my wildest dreams.” I glance at Arlan still nervously pacing. “It’s so weird to me to think that I’ll have that kind of title. I was still getting use to princess.”

  Lathan laughs. “Did you know you’ll be the second youngest queen to ever hold the crown. Many years ago, another was only twenty-one.”

  “Wow. Where you do fall?”

  “Fourth youngest.”

  “That’s kind of cool.”

  “It is.”

  Our eyes shift up when we hear the plane coming in. Arlan dives into the backseat, pulling out the bouquet of flowers he purchased for Fallyn, bringing a smile to my face.

  “His princess arrives,” Lathan says softly. “How do you think she’ll do?”

  “I think she’ll need both mine and Ophelia’s help. She’s less, um, let’s call it, compliant than I am. She’s more vocal about stuff. She’ll question everything, and then, of course, there’s the constant stream of F bombs we’ll have to manage.”

  “Actually, I think she’ll do just fine. You’ve just described my brother in a nutshell.”

  I chuckle. “Hopefully that flame that started in July continues. She told me he calls nearly every night.”

  “He told me the same. He is quite enraptured with her.”

  “Same for her.”

  As the plane lands and pulls to a stop nearby, Arlan turns back and grins. “She’s here.”

  “She is, brother.”

  “Aw, he looks like a kid on Christmas day.”

  “It’s very sweet, isn’t it?”

  “Very.”

  A few minutes later, the doors open and Fallyn comes into view at the top of the stairs. She pauses as her eyes adjust to the bright sunlight, her black hair blown around a bit by the slight breeze, then smiles and waves at all of us. As she descends the stairs, Arlan walks closer, waiting to give her the flowers, while Lathan and I wait to give them a moment of privacy. I smile as he pulls her into his arms, kissing her long and hard, then whispers something to her causing her to smile. She takes the flowers and kisses him again, then looks up and smiles at me.

  “Hey,” she says softly, then laughing, she throws her arms around me. “God, I missed you, girl.”

  “I missed you too. Welcome back.”

  Lathan offers a hug too and kisses her cheek. “Good to see you again.”

  “Thanks. You too.”

  “Well,” I start, “shall we get on to Havendon House? Olivia has prepared a lovely meal for us and I’ve asked to have it set out on the veranda.”

  Fallyn tilts her head at me. “Certainly, Your Highness.”

  I laugh. “Why’d you say that?”

  “Maybe you don’t notice how your speech has changed, but I do. I thought you were wicked propah before, but now you sound like them.”

  We all laugh as we walk to the car and get inside. “I guess it’s worn off on me.”

  “Maybe after enough time here, I’ll sound like that too.”

  Arlan nuzzles her cheek. “I hope not. I do so love how you speak now.”

  Fallyn smiles, gazing into his eyes. “Yeah?”

  “Absolutely.”

  They continue searching each other’s eyes, then surprisingly, fall into another passionate kiss. Sitting across from them, I watch for a second before looking at my prince.

  “Well, this is awkward.”

  Lathan grins. “You know what they say, my darling? If you can’t beat them…”

  As he moves closer for a kiss, I lean back and smile. “Join them.”

  After a moment of making out like teenagers, Arlan starts laughing. “Well, isn’t this a sight to be seen?”

  Fallyn’s cheeks blush, a rare occurrence, as she tucks her hair behind her ear.

  “We’re excited to see each other. Obvi.”

  “Obvi,” I repeat.

  Arlan tilts his head. “What the bloody hell does that mean?”

  We all laugh, as Fallyn pats his hand. “It means obviously, obvi.”

  He just shakes his head. “Clearly it wasn’t obvious to all of us.”

  “If Ophelia were here she’d be giggling her head off and saying, I like that,” I say, mimicking her accent as best I can.

  “You’re getting very good at this accent, my darling.”

  “She was always good at that,” Fallyn says. “She’s like the accent whisperer.”

  “Funny,” Lathan says.

  “She’s good at languages, accents, just words in general I guess.”

  “What are you good at?” Arlan asks.

  Fallyn grins. “Maybe you’ll find out soon.”

  Arlan leans close and whispers something in her ear, causing her to nod and smile. “Absolutely, Your Highness,” she says in nearly a whisper.

  A little while later, we pull up in front of Havendon House, and once we come to a stop, exit the car. Fallyn stretches her neck looking up at the massive house.

  “Home sweet home,” she says, winking at me.

  “Yep.”

  “When do you move into the big house?”

  Glancing at Lathan, I shrug. “I imagine not for a while.”

  “We will stay here until my father…” Lathan nods, not finishing the sentence. He doesn’t have to. We all know what it means.

  “Well,” Fallyn says, chuckling, “This place isn’t too shabby.”

  “Definitely not,” I agree, also laughing. “Arlan can show you to your room where you can freshen up, and then we’ll meet down on the veranda in about an hour if that works?”

  Fallyn looks up at Arlan, who watches her adoringly. “Does that work?”

  Tilting his head, he smiles. “I suppose I can share you with others for a bit.”

  I smile, watching the interaction, noticing how much softer and sweeter Arlan is around Fallyn. Without her, he’s sarcastic, fun, and always witty, but he’s completely putty in her hands. Cute.

  “Can I talk to you real quick?” she asks me.

  “Of course.”

  “Ah, our cue, brother,” Lathan says. “We’ll check on dinner.”

  “Thank you,” I say, then turning to Fallyn. “What’s up?”

  “I just want to know if I have my own room or not. Do you know?”

  I shrug. “I assume you have your own room. Arlan handled everything. Why?”

  She glances over her shoulder. “When I talked to him this morning, he said he hoped now I that I was coming back, we could have a relationship like you do. I asked him what that meant, but he was vague about it.” She leans closer. “I think he’s really serious about me already.”

  I nod. “Lathan said as much. How do you feel about that?”

  “Honestly? I’m scared shitless. I haven’t been in a relationship, like, forever, ya know? What if I screw it up?”

  I smile, remembering how I felt when I realized I had feelings for Lathan. “Do you like him, Fallyn?”

  “Yeah. A lot.”

  “Would you like to have a relationship with him?”

  She nods. “Definitely.”
/>
  “Then my advice is the same I received from you. Go with it. See where it takes you. Just follow your heart and everything will be okay. He’s a totally different person when you’re around. He’s sweet, relaxed, romantic. He really, really likes you.” I smile rubbing her arm. “He might even be in love with you.”

  “See, that feels weird to me. Like, I only hung around him a few days, and other than phone calls, that’s all there’s been.”

  “But you like him too. It’s not different. Maybe he’s just more expressive with his feelings.” Sliding my hands up and down her arms, I continue. “You’re here now and that’s great. You can spend all the time you need getting to know each other, so just stay in that space and enjoy it for what it is.”

  Her eyes tear up. “Okay, the truth is, I think I love him too.”

  I smile and rub her arm. “I think that’s amazing. You deserve a great guy and he is one. He deserves someone who loves him for who is and isn’t hung up on his brother. He’s literally almost never had that.”

  “I know. He told me. I don’t get it. He’s so hot and sweet and smart.” She smiles. “He’s my dream guy.”

  I nod. “Yeah, he is, and you’re his dream in return.” I lean forward to kiss her cheek. “I am so happy you’re here now. I feel like everything is complete. You being in love with a guy, here with me, I really don’t know how much better my life could get.”

  “I’m happy too.”

  “May we come back?” I hear Lathan’s voice behind me.

  “Yeah,” I say. “Go freshen up and spend some time with Arlan. I’ll see you for dinner.”

  “K.”

  I watch as Arlan escorts her up the stairs, while Lathan stands beside me with his arm around my waist.

  “Everything alright?” he asks.

  Looking up at him, I smile. “Everything’s perfect.”

  The next morning after a quick shower and getting dressed, I walk down the hall to see Fallyn. After knocking on the door, I hear rustling, laughing, then the door opens and Arlan is smiling at me wearing only boxer shorts.

  “Morning.”

  “Uh, hi. Am I interrupting?”

  “Indeed you are. May I have her another hour?”

  I peek over his shoulder as Fallyn, holding a sheet over her naked form, waves at me from the bed.