Sebastian hadn't originally cared who saw them hugging in that moment. When he heard a cough from one of Edward's bodyguards, he was brought back to reality. He quickly let go of Edward.
“There’s been some very bad news today,” he told him. “I wanted to speak to you in private.”
Edward’s bodyguards made themselves scarce and Sebastian led Edward to his office.
“The police are here. My mother didn’t die naturally, she was poisoned,” he told him.
A variety of emotions flicked across Edward’s face. Sebastian guessed that his face had been the same when the police officers had told him. Edward gave him a hug.
“Sorry about being an emotional wreck. I was also told I am technically the top suspect,” Sebastian said.
Edward drew back from the hug in indignation.
“You’re the last person I would suspect of murder,” he protested and went back to hugging him
Edward’s heart thudded in his chest. He was now very worried about Sebastian’s future. He didn’t want to see him arrested for something he didn’t do. He did his best to calm down so he could think everything through carefully. They had to have guessed he was in a romantic relationship with Sebastian from the marriage and were trying to trap him somehow. “I am happy to help with the investigation,” he answered carefully. “I just don’t think Prince Sebastian is the murderer.” “Why do you think that is the case?” Daniel asked evenly. “Prince Sebastian has always been the heir to the throne. He could have just waited for her to die naturally. There’s no need to murder her whilst he’s still a teenager,” Edward replied. “He’s also never shown any violent inclinations since I’ve met him.” The younger police officer slid a sheet of paper across to him. Edward saw it was an official royal document with Queen Annelise’s signature about setting up the go
Edward walked into the dining room the next morning for breakfast to find Sebastian there. He considered that to be a good thing as it meant that Sebastian hadn't been arrested yet.“Our outing is still on for this afternoon,” Sebastian told him when he sat down at the table. “Don’t bother wearing anything nice, we’re going incognito.”Edward was intrigued by the idea of an incognito date until he remembered Sebastian’s hat from their holiday.“Please tell me there’s no ugly hats involved,” he said.As there was no one else in the dining room, they were able to talk openly.“I will have to ask about hats. We’re having a picnic in a park,” Sebastian told him. “There’s going to be a ring of bodyguards around us so don’t try and make out with me. We’re going to be watched at all times.”The idea of having an afternoon outing didn’t
Sebastian’s nerves got the better of him during the night. He might be a master of public appearances, but his crowning ceremony was very different to anything he had ever done before. “You’ve rehearsed plenty of times,” Edward reminded him after noticing his shaking leg. “Everyone said you were perfect at the latest rehearsal.” “I know that,” he said with a frown. “I just can’t stop feeling nervous.” “If we were a normal couple in a house of our own, I would make you some chamomile tea to help you sleep,” Edward replied. Sebastian felt absolutely wide awake and not in the mood for sleeping. Edward had come to visit him in the night as he normally did. Sebastian was glad for his presence. “Let’s play a game,” he suggested. “It might tire both of us out.” “Strip poker?” Edward said with a wink. Sebastian knew that Edward currently had his mind in the gutter when he heard that comment. “I want to calm down,” he retorted.
Edward wanted to flee as soon as the first song was over and it was time for everyone else to dance. Sebastian kept his hand on his waist.“Remember that we will have to dance with other people if we split up,” Sebastian reminded him. “Let’s do a few dances and slip out when no one’s looking.”That suggestion was attractive. Edward put up with dancing a little more and was relieved when Sebastian’s hand finally dropped from his waist. That meant it was time to sneak away.They wove their way through the dancing couples. Sebastian led him to the balcony which was free of people. The night wind was cold, but it was welcome after the stifling heat of the ballroom.“You’re better at dancing now,” Sebastian commented. “It’s coming more naturally to you.”Edward was pleased to have a compliment about his dancing.“How many more hours is this dance party going to go
From the detective’s demeanour Sebastian knew he was still the top suspect for his mother’s murder. He resisted the urge to glare at Daniel. He was the king of Albion now. He had to act the part and not be tempted to do childish things. “I was wondering when I would hear more about the investigation,” he said. “Please take a seat.” Daniel took the offered chair and opened his notebook. “There has been a development. We tracked down the source of the ricin. The murderer obtained it off the internet from an underground ricin seller abroad in Switzerland. The seller was arrested for selling it and he had a ledger of his most recent clients. Busting that seller has led to a lot of arrests.” Sebastian waited for Daniel to get to the point. He felt that Daniel had come to tell him this information for a reason. “Surely if you know his most recent clients, then you have found the murderer?” he asked. Daniel cleared his throat.
Sebastian knew Edward was right. Getting too invested in the case was not helping himself or his stress levels.Waiting for new leads was the only thing he could do. There were other people to investigate the case.He just had a strange feeling in his stomach that he couldn’t pinpoint. Then he got it.“I think some of what I’m feeling is guilt,” he said. “I benefited from someone else murdering my mother. I became the king and inherited her power and money.”He had grown up knowing he would become the king of Albion someday. He had never held any feelings of dread, hate or love towards his future role. It was just something that was set to happen. His desire to become king had become stronger after meeting Edward.Then he had ascended to the throne at 19, a lot sooner than he had expected and only a year after his desire to become king had increased. It felt like if he hadn’t had those feelings, his mother
Sebastian returned to the palace from his meeting to find Bernadette waiting for him by the entrance.“King Sebastian, I’ve arranged for a car to take you to the hospital,” she told him. “I thought you would want to check on Edward.”Sebastian felt his heart skip a beat.“Why is Edward in hospital?”“There was an accident at his university. He took a minor hit to the head. The doctors at the hospital can give you a better briefing than me. The news has only just got to me.”The car that Bernadette had arranged pulled up outside and she gestured for him to get in. Sebastian took the hint and rushed over to it. He would have to wait for a full briefing when he got to the hospital. Until then he would just have to worry.He checked his phone to see if there was anything from Edward. There was a text from the morning saying that he missed him. After that there was nothing. He didn’t eve
Edward knew perfectly well that something strange was going on. Sebastian had been staying close to him since he had come downstairs.Normally Sebastian wasn’t free to spend time with him during the day. He had seen the piles of paperwork in person so he knew Sebastian was a very busy person.He had also noticed enough odd behaviour from his bodyguards to work out that the flower pot landing on his head wasn’t an accident. They had been too clingy at the hospital.The odds of a flower pot falling on his head by accident were very low.It couldn’t have been an accident and that was why Sebastian was keeping very close to him. His head twinged with pain and he decided he would analyse everything when his head was in a better condition.He knew he was very lucky to have come away from the incident with no brain damage.“What’s for dinner?” he asked.It was odd to look forward to food at the palace after weeks of bland food. The food had been really good since Sebastian had ordered for a m
Edward reached out and moved a stray hair on Sebastian's head back into place and looked around them in contentment.It was now June and the sun was shining in the sky. It felt everything had aligned for the perfect wedding. The gardens looked beautiful in the sunlight and it brought back his happy memories of frolicking around in the gardens with Sebastian during their courting days.“Let’s get married,” he said.They walked down the aisle slowly. The aisle was one of the stone pathways in the garden that had been lined with arches of flowers. Their guests were sitting on chairs on either side of the archways and there were not many of them.On Edward’s side there were his parents and his bodyguards. Sebastian’s side consisted of royal staff and the prime minister as he didn’t have any relations that would be invited to the wedding.They reached the archbishop as the music stopped. Unlike the heavy and tense mood in the cathedral, the mood was light in the gardens and Edward didn’t fe
Edward tried to hide his shock. He had never expected this to be Sebastian’s surprise for him.It added up with the clues he had been given. Abolishing the marriage match tradition was a major change as the tradition was so synonymous with Albion. It was no wonder Sebastian had needed to negotiate with the prime minister.“It’s a tradition that has become less necessary over the years,” Sebastian said. “After meeting my fiancé, I came to realise that the marriage tradition only benefits the royal family and it’s wholly unfair for the matched person to never have a say in the marriage.”Edward kept his face in check as there were cameras filming him at the moment. He wanted to smile widely, but he restrained himself. He could express his gratitude later on in private.“I understand that it is a tradition that has been going on for a long time and the country is proud of its traditions, but I think this
Their second holiday together considerably had less problems than the first one. Edward didn’t wear out Sebastian by dragging him out on exhausting hikes, he didn’t have enough stamina for a hike himself.Instead of long hikes, they went on short walks and watched the sunset every afternoon. It was a very serene holiday.They also didn’t get married in secret again.The days slowly drifted by and then it was their last night. Edward took the bowl of popcorn out of the microwave and carried it to the living room where Sebastian was waiting on the sofa.“What are we watching tonight?” Edward asked and sat down with the bowl of popcorn.Sebastian took a piece before answering.“I found this badly reviewed film about a prince marrying a normal citizen. It’s considered to be bad in a legendary way. I thought it would be fun for us to watch as we know how royal things work.”“It will als
The next week for Edward was mostly about his physiotherapy sessions in the morning and resting for the rest of the day.His bullet wound was healing up well and the royal doctor had told him that the scar would heal well.He enjoyed his peaceful time, but he was also aware that it was like living in a bubble. He had no idea what was going on outside of the palace.For all he knew the media was trashing the royal family. The arrests of the two princes would not have been good PR for the royal family. He wanted to know what was happening outside of the palace gates. Despite his desire to know, he was deliberately avoiding looking up anything on the internet in case his name was involved.Bernadette walked past the sitting room and he sprang up. She always had answers to all PR related questions.“You want to know about how the royal family is doing in the news?” she asked after he told her his troubles. “But you’re worried about seeing articles about yourself so you’re avoiding taking a
Edward stared at Sebastian in surprise. He hadn’t been expecting this at all.“Why are you giving me this choice?” he questioned.“I drew you into a dangerous and unfair world when I went to the government office to get my match last year,” Sebastian told him. “You’ve been threatened and have received serious injuries because of your association with me. I can’t sit here and let it happen again. You didn’t have a choice last year, but I will give you one now.”The silence between them was long.Edward didn’t know how to answer the question. When he had first been forced into the complicated world of the royal family, he would have loved to have a chance to step away from it. Now that he was much more deeply involved, he wasn’t as willing to leave.He appreciated that Sebastian wanted to give him the choice now. If the situation was reversed, he would have done the same for Sebastian.If he stepped away from royal matters now, he would be leaving Sebastian to steer through any future pr
Edward cleared his throat and managed to speak.“...Don’t cry…”He tried to move his hand and found that there was an IV in his arm that was preventing him from moving his hand without feeling pain.“I’ll stop in a moment,” Sebastian promised him. “I need to tell the doctors that you’ve woken up.”Sebastian pressed the button above his bed and Edward assessed the situation from what he could see. He was hooked up to a heart monitor, there was an IV in his arm and another tube that he was unsure about. He must be in intensive care. That made sense, he had been shot after all.A team of doctors quickly arrived and took control of the situation. Edward lost sight of Sebastian and was poked and prodded by the doctors and was asked a lot of questions that he did his best to answer with his croaky voice.Eventually the examination came to an end and Sebastian was able to sit at his
Sebastian watched in horror as the bullet hit Edward’s chest and his prone body sank against him. Sebastian caught him immediately and laid him on the ground with care. He didn’t care who was watching anymore.He heard lots of shouts and screams that sounded like they were coming from far away. Edward’s eyes were closed and his breathing was laboured. Sebastian feared the worst.Their happiness couldn’t end on their wedding day.Someone in a paramedic uniform moved him gently to the side and a group of paramedics formed a circle around Edward. Sebastian could only stand and watch as Edward was moved to a stretcher and was rushed back up the aisle.This wasn’t how their wedding day was supposed to go.“I’ll take you to the hospital,” a voice at his side said.Sebastian turned to see Bernadette next to him. She always knew what to do so he let her lead him out of the cathedral. There were still crowds of people outside who were now panicking, likely due to the sound of the shot and the s
Edward smiled at his future husband and gave him a light kiss. Sebastian responded quickly.“Did you want to stay for a little longer?” Sebastian asked.“I do want to look like I have had some sleep,” Edward replied. “There’s only so much that makeup can cover up.”He got off the bed and shared a brief kiss with Sebastian. It was tempting to stay, but he knew they could be more open about their relationship after the wedding.He walked back through the secret passageway. Now that he had gone through it so many times, he didn’t pay much attention to what direction he was following. He had always had a rough idea of where he was. Edward came to a stop when he picked up the sounds of someone talking. It was an odd time for people to still be up talking.He put his ear to the wall in an effort to pick something up. It worked to some degree, he was able to hear some words.“....Cathedral… sniper… vows… fire escape… assassination…”Edward frowned. The voice sounded like Vincent. It made sen
Sebastian realised that it would be a good time to let go of Edward. There were plenty of people around and if they remained hugging, it would look suspicious.“I now feel that my present to you isn’t going to live up to the same standard,” he said and let go of him.He took a look at the photo frame again and knew that he could find a good place for it. Christmas was often considered a time for families to gather and knowing that this was his first Christmas without his mother had felt sad.It appeared that Edward had been able to perceive that and had decided to give him a family photo of his new family. It was a perfect present.He put the photo frame down carefully and passed over his present to Edward. It was the camera lens Edward had asked for.“It is still a good present,” Edward told him. “It was what I wanted.”The rest of Christmas day went without any issues. Vincent and Conrad didn&rsquo