Nine: Prince Aiden
1069 Words
Nine:
Prince Aiden
“You want to what?” My mother looked at me with complete and utter horror. We were sitting in her private parlor. It was entirely done in in dark green, with mahogany wood.
“I want her to live on campus,” I said.
Queen Moira shook her head. “No.”
“Why not?” I asked. “I know that there’s tradition. But Lucy’s a good girl. She’s not going to do anything that she shouldn’t.”
My mother scowled. “Do you know what’s going to happen if you let her stay on campus? She’s going to meet someone else. Someone’s going to date her, and then we’ll never see her again.”
“Ma, Lucy knows how Anam Cara works. She’d honor it.”
She shook her head. “Aiden, when Mallory died, you didn’t speak for a whole year. You locked yourself in your room. You were barely a person. Until Lucy came back. When she returned, there was something different for you. You had life again. You weren’t as angry. When she’s here, you’re better. When she’s not here…. you’re a ghost. I want my son back, not the ghost.”
“So, that’s a no on Lucy livin’ on campus then?” I asked.
“No,” the Queen answered, “she’s not going to be livin’ on campus. Especially not after you made that post. You announced to the world that you were in love with a girl. While there are countries crumbling, and we’ve got a war going on in the next country over. Even if I were okay with it, it would be a PR disaster nightmare if she stayed on campus and something happened.”
I sighed. “She’s not going to like this. She’s going to get angry at me.”
The Queen smiled. “Foreplay, my dear.”
I groaned. “Ma----”
She chuckled a little. “Oh, don’t play the part of the prude, Aiden. It’s unbecoming. I know all of your exploits. I’m the one that’s helped you cover up your messes from the tabloids for years. You can do some damage, and if grandchildren happen to come out of it beforehand then so be it.”
“Ma!” I exclaimed.
She smiled. “As for Mallory’s room, I thought it might be a nice gesture. But I can understand that it might be difficult for her. She lost Mallory too. I’ll move her room immediately. To the one right next to yours.”
“Ma!”
“Or right across. Yes, right across will be better. I’ll take care of it.” She glided from the parlor leaving me alone.
When she was gone, I stood and left. As I was about to leave, my cell phone rang. I glanced at the number and saw that it was one that it was one that I didn’t recognize. “Hello?” I asked.
“Hello, Princeling.” The voice was deep garbled, as though some kind of effect had been used to change it.
“Who is this?” I asked.
“That’s none of your concern. What is your concern is that you’re going to do what I say. Because if you don’t, you’re going to be in for a world of hurt. It would be such a shame to see that pretty little thing you’re courting strung up a tree like your sister.”
“Who the hell are you?” I demanded.
“There’s a treaty that’s going to be signed soon. A treaty between Coleum, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. The King is going to sign it. I need you to encourage him to abstain from signing it.”
“Abstain?” I said. “Why do you need Ireland to abstain?”
“That’s not important. What is important is that we know all about your pretty little girlfriend. What room she’ll be residing. Who her grandparents are. Who her parents are. I can find them at any given moment. And destroy her whole world. So, you’re going to do exactly what I say. Abstain from the treaty.”
The call disconnected, and I was left listening to nothing but the sound of dead air. I ran down the stairs of the palace, through the gardens, to the security center where our guards worked and lived.
“Finneas!” I shouted as I burst through the door.
He looked up from where he had been talking with our head of security, Collin O’ Grady. Collin O’ Grady was a tall man, with a round nose that had been broken twice in the line of duty, brown hair, and green eyes. “Your majesty,” Collin O’ Grady said.
I glanced from Collin back to Finneas. If I told Collin what had happened, there was a better chance that I could keep Lucy safe. But if I told Collin what had happened, he’d go to my father and Lucy might get sent away before I could finish Anam Cara. I couldn’t have that.
“I need to speak with Finneas. Alone,” I said.
Collin nodded. “Alright, then. Finneas, go with the Prince. We’ll finish our conversation later.”
Finneas searched my face, trying to find some evidence of what I was going to talk with him about. When he couldn’t, he followed after me. “What’s happened? Did Cronan hit on Lucy again? I told you, you might be a Prince, but it’s still not alright to beat a man to death.”
I shook my head. “No. It isn’t something as simple as that. I wish it were. There’s been a threat made.”
“Against you?” Finneas asked.
“Against Lucy,” I answered, “I got an anonymous call today. It told me there’s going to be a treaty signed to keep peace between England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Coleum.”
“I heard about that. Coleum is going to merge with Wales. It will be called New Wales.”
“Yes, and the caller wanted me to convince father to abstain from voting. Or else they would hurt Lucy. I need you to find out who made the call, and I’ll need your best guard for Lucy’s security detail.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes,” said Finneas, “nothin’s goin’ to happen to her, your highness. We’ll make sure that she’s safe.”
“Thank you, Finneas. Thank you.”
He patted me on the shoulder, then turned to go back inside. When he left, I went back through the garden. Like most palace gardens, ours had a maze. At the center of this maze, was a Celtic cross statue with a headstone for my sister. I knelt down before it.
“I won’t let it happen again, Mallory,” I said, tracing the letters of her name, “I promise.”
- Writer
