San Myshuno
Senator Suites Penthouse
Six pairs of eyes were fixed on William—his father King Maximilian Cromwell’s, his grandfather Liam Cameron’s, his grandmother Vivien’s, his uncle Nicholas Cameron’s, his aunt Adrianna’s, and his cousin Ryan’s—all burning into his skin. Ryan then chuckled and patted William’s arm hard.
“Duuuuude, you are my idol, man! This is priceless! Of all the people, you would have been the last one I’d have pegged to take a girl to prom and then literally all the way afterwards down by the…”
“RYAN!” Nick called his son to order.
“What? You’re always in my ear about being nice to my cousins. Voila, I am being nice to my cousin William. He is now officially my hero. Who’d’ve thought that stick had it in him? No offense, bruh. You know I love you, but this is award-worthy! Did anyone call Uncle Chase with this gem? I think he was the last Cameron to get his naked ass on the front page of every news outlet worldwide while doing the dirty with Aunt Hailey in Avalon Park back when they were teens and …”
“RYAN! Go to your room, now, maleducato! Che Dio ti benedica, ma che pazienza ci vuole con te! Non so più cosa fare con te, testa dura!” Adrianna, his mother, ordered, slipping into her mother tongue with what clearly wasn’t terms of endearment for her child. (translations at the end of the chapter)
“Ma non è giusto, Mama! Non ho fatto niente di male! Perché devo andare in camera mia? Non è colpa mia se le cose vanno male!? Besides, it’s more interesting down here, especially since you took all my electronics connecting me to the outside world in an attempt to turn me into a better human being…”
“No kid, we gave up on trying to turn you into a good human being, we’re just trying to get you to 18 and then drive you out into the wilderness to set you free cos your mother, grandparents and I are long tired of your BS. Your punishment was because you tried to buy alcohol, you nitwit!” Nick snarled at his son.
“Oh my Gawd, Dad, seriously? Show me one teenager, just ONE normal, typical teenager who has NOT tried it, Dad! I mean, be real now!” Ryan argued back.
But it was Max who spoke.
“I’m pleased to inform you that I have never even thought of such an atrocious idea when I was your age, Ryan. Oh, you may not remember my father too well, if at all, for you were young when he was still alive, but I assure you, he would not have stood for such delinquent ideas. Not yours, but most certainly not my son’s. Truth be told, I can’t say what he would have done, but it wouldn’t have been pleasant.” King Maximilian, simply Uncle Max to Ryan, said pointedly.
“I have never gone near alcohol either…” his son, William, added sheepishly, but averted his eyes back to the floor when his father shot him a warning glare.
“Oh no, William, no, you went straight for the international headlines. It would be a thrill had you only tried to buy alcohol. That would have been bad enough, yet understandable, but THIS!? The Crown Prince, the heir to our kingdom, publicly caught in the most dubious of ways! What were you thinking? WERE you thinking?!” the king cut his son down to size, causing William to look as if he wanted to crawl into a matchbox.
“Excuse me, but back to my point. So? What’s your argument?! Both of you grew up in a palace where everything, including booze, flows freely. You don’t have to buy it; you just sneak downstairs when no one’s looking. That argument doesn’t fly,” Ryan retorted, glaring defiantly at the king of Henfordshire and William. “Besides, I specified ‘normal’ and ‘typical,’ and you two are anything but.”
“Ryan! That’s it! To your room, now!” Vivien Cameron, the teenagers’ grandmother and clear matriarch of the family, outranking even crowns, decided.
Ryan stood defiantly, crossing his arms. Vivien’s eyes narrowed, and some of those present gulped. They knew Ryan had gone too far and was about to feel his grandmother’s wrath.
Next, she had Ryan by the ear, the 17-year-old was taller than her so he had to bend down, whether he wanted to or not. While he screamed about child abuse and harassment, underlining his heritage of attorneys, she dragged him to the stairs and up them without ever letting go.
Once they were out of earshot, Liam smacked his mouth. “Guess he needed a reminder. Sorry, son, your kid might now have one ear slightly larger than the other. Collateral damage, just comb his hair over it,” he said, trying to suppress a chuckle, since the actual reason for this get-together was not funny.
Equally trying not to laugh, his son Nick responded matter-of-factly, “As long as it helps him listen better I don’t care about facial symmetry,” and both snorted out laughter, even Nick’s wife Adrianna, called ‘Addy’, couldn’t help giggling.
“Good to see the mood has lightened up while I was gone raising YOUR child, Nick and Addy!” the returning Vivien hissed, entering like the uber-elegant superstar she had been and still was in her retirement from the stages of the world.
“Just tell me this, mom. Is our son still alive?” Nick got out, again trying hard not to chuckle, but when his father, Vivien’s husband Liam, failed in said attempt, Nick and Addy couldn’t stop laughing either.
“For now,” even Vivien had to laugh.
King Max cleared his throat, his voice trembling with a mix of anger and disappointment.
“Well, now that the evening’s entertainment is out of the way, could we get back to the topic on hand? A very serious topic at that. William, explain to me again how it could come to such a detrimental headline! How could you let this happen? Explain to me how the entire world is now fixated on such a scandalous image in connection with the House of Cromwell! Surely, that unclothed rear currently gracing every news outlet isn’t truly yours?!”
William’s face turned crimson. “I… I don’t know, Father… It was just a ahem… I didn’t mean for any of this to happen…”
“For heaven’s sake! William, is that your ass in the papers or not?! Let’s start with the facts,” his grandfather, Liam, demanded, his tone reflecting his years as a successful attorney.
William averted his eyes, nodding. “Yes, Grandpa. I am afraid that is, in fact, my… arse.”
“Oh, now we have my obscene heir cursing as well!? Thank you, Liam, for convincing me to let him take that … that … harlot to her prom! And now we have this mess! The reputation of our family is at stake, not to mention how humiliating that is to all of us. You must understand the gravity of your actions. What has gotten into you, my boy?!” Max roared angrily.
“She is NOT a harlot!” William exclaimed, shocking his father into silence, then added more composed. “Grace is NOT a harlot. If anything, I am. She was being proper. I’m the wretched one. It was I who got carried away, leading both of us astray. Blame me, not her!”
Both Liam and Nick burst into laughter, trying to hide it, wheezing and gasping.
Vivien’s tone was serious, even mildly annoyed. “I am sorry, what exactly are we doing here?”
King Maximilian turned to her, confused. “I beg your pardon? Vivien, this is about my son, the royal Crown Prince of Henfordshire, having been caught in an unspeakable situation by paparazzi.”
“Yes, thank you, Max, I am not senile. What I meant is, it sounded as if you were standing here in OUR home, accusing MY husband of recklessly putting our GRANDSON in this position!” Vivien’s eyes narrowed, glaring at him.
Maximilian felt uncomfortable. “Why no, of course I would not be so bold. I intended no offense, merely stated a fact. Had William not taken the young lady to her prom, this would never have happened, and the only reason William DID attend her prom with her was because Liam besieged me to allow it,” he backpedaled.
“Nonsense! Young love is passionate. If not at prom, they would have found another time and place to screw! Surely, you have not forgotten how a first love feels and what it does to a person’s heart, mind, body and occasionally morals? William is 16, nearing 17, not 6! Besides, Liam and I ARE William’s grandparents, and our lifestyle includes typical teen activities for our grandchildren, such as a prom. It is unfortunate that something unforeseeable happened, but such is life. Teens are still children, and children are not adults, therefore they can’t be held to the same standards. Accusations are unproductive. Instead, let’s discuss how to combat the media warfare with that smut? Considering he is still 16, it shouldn’t be so hard to get them to stop and remove all images ASAP, given there are strict laws regarding media and protection of minors as both, my lawyer husband and lawyer son will confirm. But it sounded like you are shaming your teen boy son for behaving like a TEEN BOY and I have a problem with that. Do you detect the irony here, or shall I be clearer?”
“No thank you, Vivien. I understand your notion on teens and on boys being boys, to which I would agree to a certain extend. But William isn’t just a teen boy. He is a king in the making. He is in whom I trust my legacy. An important one. Said legacy shouldn’t entail nudes of him publicly available, which he is acutely aware of. Wouldn’t you agree?” Maximilian attempted to relay his point.
“No, I would not. You have been trying to modernize that whole royalty bit, to which I applaud. So, be modern. A young, handsome prince would raise more eyebrows if he WOULDN’T chase tail, like a normal, modern boy would. So William is bored to tears by the type of girls you keep throwing at him, and having met some of them myself, I can’t help but understand why. So, he looked elsewhere and found not just someone captivating, but also someone who brought out his passionate side. Being teens, they made a mistake. Ground him or something and let’s focus on things we can control. I do not have a way-back machine, do you?”
“Surely, my son wouldn’t have to display his bare rear end publicly shielding an equally unclothed young lady on a PUBLIC Ferris wheel ride at a PUBLIC fairground of all places to reveal his sexual tendencies are, in fact, those of a straight man. There have to be more palatable ways to be a modern royal! If there really was no way for them to bridle their lusty moment, could they not at least have chosen a more private location?! Is that too much to ask?!”
“Max, with all due respect, but I have on good authority you should not be the one to throw the first rock here, considering William’s mother is my daughter and we have always been very close, she confides in me, so I happen to know for a fact that my sweet youngest granddaughter Veronica wasn’t exactly conceived in the marital bedroom either, but rather in passionate moments during a horseback ride with your wife, so your outburst is rather hypocritical of you, huh?”
“On the contrary, Vivien. Unlike my son, Aria-Grace and I were discreet enough to not fall prey to headline-hungry paparazzi, not to mention his mother and I are married and have been for quite some time, ergo, passionate behavior is rather desirable, as it’s well known to help keep the spark of love alive,” Max retorted, pausing to wrinkle his forehead before turning to his son. “You didn’t elope, did you?”
“What?! No, of course not, Father!” William exclaimed, looking genuinely offended.
Max was visibly relieved. “Oh, thank God for that. At least a little light at the end of this dark tunnel.”
“Oh, dear Lord! Max, I am not a fan of what the kid has done either, it is MY good name too affected by his public moment of passion, and I am just as embarrassed as the rest of us, but I haven’t forgotten how young love feels. Personally, I prefer a passionate descendant over some robotic zombie any day. And don’t you think William already had plenty of punishment? Everyone saw your son’s naked butt. You think that is something he thrives on? I am hard-pressed to think of a more humiliating punishment for his moral misjudgment. Get off his back, would you? Let it go, Max. Hug your son, because trust me, he took the news harder than you! Imagine this mishap had happened to you, and then multiply it tenfold as he’s a teen boy.” Vivien said, gently stroking her grandson William’s cheek.
His father pondered her words, his expression gradually softening. Max was perpetually torn between the numerous, rigid royal protocols and his deep love for his family, reluctant to impose the same restrictions on them that he had endured growing up.
“Oh, I daresay you’re right, Vivien. What’s done is done; all we can do now is manage the repercussions. William has suffered enough indignity already. Come here, my wayward son,” Max said, drawing his son into a warm embrace.
“Her name is Miss Grace Harper, Papa, and she is wonderful,” William said, his voice filled with admiration.
“She better be, for she is now officially your girlfriend,” Max shrugged.
“Oh, so you are fine with it then?” William asked, surprised.
“I don’t have a choice. If I were to publicly admit I knew nothing about the young lady and that she isn’t even your serious girlfriend, it would be devastating, making us into a laughing stock. At least this could be perceived as young love turned passionate, a little too passionate, arguably, but still better than the alternatives. So, when may I be introduced to the young lady? She is from a decent family, I hope?” Max inquired, trying to regain control of the situation.
“Umm, yes, that’s another problem. What makes all this so much worse is that at the point the photo was taken, Grace was blissfully unaware of who I truly am. She believes I am simply Will. Just Will,” William confessed, his voice tinged with worry.
“Oh dear! She doesn’t have odd-coloured hair, or a buzz cut, does she?!” Max frowned at the thought of adding such perceived trespasses to the royal house. His brother-in-law shook his head and responded.
“She’s a little freckle-faced redhead, but I conferred with my teenage son who is known for his refined taste in girls, and he deemed her ‘definitely doable’, which in adult speak translates to ‘very pretty’.”
“You went to see Grace?!” William stared at his uncle, horrified, who shrugged.
“Of course I did. Since your grandpa already went and had interesting things to say about her, I got curious.” Nick pointed at his father, so William turned to his grandfather.
“You went there too!? To her shop? You saw Grace?!” William exclaimed; his eyes wide with surprise.
“You kidding, kid? I wanted to see the girl who got your panties in a bunch. I approve,” Liam snickered.
“We went too,” Adrianna, William’s aunt, shrugged, smiling, pointing back and forth between herself and her mother-in-law Vivien, who also shrugged.
“Oh, my… did any of you tell her who you were? That you know me?” William asked, his voice tinged with anxiety.
“Nah, we’re not rookies. We were on our best behavior, I even bought some books,” Liam grinned.
“Gotta say, didn’t even realize we had a secondhand bookstore this close. I bought some stuff there too,” his uncle snickered at him.
“So did we…” Vivien added with a smile.
“You all cannot be serious! This is utterly mortifying,” William exclaimed, his cheeks flushing as he buried his face in his hands. “Why on earth would you do such a thing? I shall never live this down! Grace is no fool. I am certain she sensed something was amiss. If she doesn’t already despise me for my rouse, she surely will now!”
His father patted his shoulder, trying to comfort him. “At least her book shop turned a profit this month.”
Everyone laughed, and even the young prince couldn’t help a chuckle, when his cousin peeked in the room.
“I heard laughter, does that mean we are all happy and fluffy again? Can I come back then? It’s hella boring upstairs without my social media. I’d rather spend time with you guys,” Ryan said, leaning against the doorframe.
“Oh, thanks a bunch, son. So glad your family still ranks higher than staring blankly at walls. Keep trying, everyone; maybe one day we can at least beat Facebook,” Nick exclaimed, rolling his eyes.
“Very funny, Dad. So, can I stay, or will Grandma break out the medieval torture devices from her youth?” Ryan quipped, landing an age joke that could sometimes set her off, depending on her mood. Clearly, her earlier handling of him hadn’t left any lasting grudges.
“Back in my youth, Ryan, we didn’t need torture devices. We learned how to use just ourselves to torture others. You know, back when we rode dinosaurs everywhere,” Vivien retorted with a smirk.
“No need to remind me,” Ryan grimaced.
“Yeah, keep that up Ryan, and I might drag you into moments of doom by your other ear next, kid, considering I’m older than your grandmother. I get you got jokes, kid, but keep them holstered for now. Gotta miss the good old dino express though. Rather than get stuck in endless traffic just trying to get from one end of town to the other, you just made sure you rode the biggest dino and just had them eat whatever was in the way,” Liam chuckled.
“And yes, you brat, you may stay,” Vivien said, shaking her head with a smile.
“Cool, thanks, Gramma. So, what has the family council decided? Shall William live, or was his first time also his last?” Ryan nudged his cousin playfully.
“His first will have been YOUR last if you don’t keep that cookie trap shut immediately!” Nick warned, shaking his index finger at his son.
“Ryan, seriously, must you?” William shot pleading glares at his cousin.
“Must I? Did he just say that? Did you seriously ask me if I MUST? Of COURSE I MUST, dude. It’s my duty as a fellow teen boy to make it as public and ridicule it plenty when a fellow teen becomes a man. Not like my help is needed, since you can’t turn on a TV without being blinded by your full moon, Your Highness. I bet it’s all over social media too, but I wouldn’t know, because my parents decided to keep me in oblivion here,” Ryan teased, grinning.
At this moment, his uncle, King Max, wrapped his arm around Ryan’s shoulder. “Ryan, why don’t you tell us about your undoubtedly vast experiences with the fairer sex then? Since we’ve sufficiently discussed my son, maybe it should be YOUR turn now? I can’t visit here as much as I might like to, so I am sure I missed a lot. Please, supply me with the highlights then.”
“Do what now?” Ryan wondered, confused.
“He wants to hear your nookie tales, kid, the censored highlight reel only, please,” his grandfather Liam clarified, chuckling.
“Yes, Ryan, do tell. Who? How many? How often? When? Where? How?” William chimed in, giving his bigmouthed cousin a taste of his own medicine.
“Oh, please, William. Too many to count! It would take hours, and trust me, there’s no PG version for you lot!” Ryan shot back with a dramatic eye roll and a mischievous grin.
“Oh, come on, Ryan. Do spill the beans! We’re all ears,” William teased, leaning in closer.
Ryan was clearly uncomfortable, pulling away from his uncle while shoving his cousin William away. But the young Crown Prince, with a devilish smile, came right back, instigating more.
“Alright, alright. But only if you promise not to faint from shock. Better yet, I’ll have you sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement and a release form in case you end up with a heart attack over how intense it all is,” Ryan quipped, smirking.
“Faint? From what, the intense manure smell,” William retorted, crossing his arms.
“Whatever. Believe it or not, I don’t even care. Let’s just say, my experiences are the stuff of legends. You wouldn’t believe half of it even if I told you,” Ryan said, winking.
“You got that right. Legends? Fairy tales is more like it,” William laughed. “I bet you’re just making it all up.”
“Yup, I am team William here. No way, kiddo. If I had to bet on it, I’d put all my money on pure as driven snow, Ryan,” Liam laughed, patting both boys’ shoulders.
The two teen boys continued bickering among themselves, started swatting at each other, their shoving turning into light, playful wrestling. Ryan took off for the stairs, with a mischievous glint in his eye, and William followed hot on his heels.
With a sigh, Max turned back to the others, and Nick patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, they’re just being boys, no real fighting.”
“Yes, I know, which is why I allowed it. I grew up with a younger brother myself. We’re royals, not machines,” Max replied.
“Younger brother, ha. Lucky dog. I grew up with a younger sister, which is MUCH worse. SO much worse,” Nick laughed.
“No need to tell me, for I married her,” Max retorted dryly, inciting the next round of laughter.
“Careful, that is my daughter, you two are talking about, my sweet little girl,” Vivien playfully warned.
“And she takes after her mother, so much for ‘sweet’, my foot,” Liam added, receiving a playful swat from his giggling wife.
With a fading smile, King Maximilian sighed.
“Well, speaking of my darling wife, I must call Aria-Grace to discuss my findings and the next steps with this mess. She had to stay behind because of our daughters. I am also more than eager to meet the young lady in question, so it won’t be too much of a fib when I release a press statement pretending I knew about her all along. Oh dear, what has my kingdom come to? My oldest daughter, the Princess Royale, is clearly a little too enamoured for my taste with a stableboy, while my only son, the Crown Prince, takes naughty Ferris wheel rides with young ladies whose sheer existence I have been blissfully unaware of until now. There was a time in our family’s history where this alone would suffice as grounds for immediate nuptials. Obviously, I won’t take it that far, but apparently, I will have to answer to my people, and the world, about the wondrous union of my esteemed son and some mystery teen girl at some secondhand bookshop of all places. I wonder if I should sit William down privately first. I hate to be so insensitive, but I have to know how far that dilemma went. Were they interrupted prior to or after completing the unspeakable act?” Max pondered aloud.
“Does it really matter? At some point, everyone had their first time, some younger and some later on. Just let it go. Personally, I really don’t want to know such details about my son’s private life, unless he comes to me himself with it. Addy and I did our part hammering the birds and bees talk into his skull the first time I noticed a certain glint in his eye about any female. That is all a parent can do, because we won’t be there when it actually happens, so we have to trust our upbringing,” Nick said, raising an eyebrow.
“I’ll say it matters! A Crown Prince being photographed by paparazzi in a state of undress with a young lady is horrifying but is not known to cause unplanned pregnancies…” Max left the rest unspoken.
Author's Note:
Adrianna's expression of anger in Italian while attempting to send Ryan to his room translates to "You rude boy! God bless you, but what patience it takes with you! I don’t know what to do with you anymore, you hard-headed boy!" to which Ryan responded "But it’s not fair, Mama! I didn’t do anything wrong! Why do I have to go to my room? It’s not my fault if things go wrong!”
EchoesOfLegacy 