Chapter 2

two

ALEXANDER

A lex should be poring over the reports on his desk, speaking to people on the Royal Council, doing all the political things he should be doing after the morning's announcement. Yet, all he could do was stare out the window and think about his wife, and the child they'd lost, and the painful days and weeks and months that had followed.

He heard a click behind him and knew that was the door to the secret passage, so he swiveled in his chair. Usually, it was his father, or brothers, or even Rebecca, but today it was his mother.

At the worried look on her face, he stood and braced himself. Everything had been relatively fine when he'd seen her a few hours ago. "Mama, what's wrong?"

She walked over and took his hand. "I only want to say it once, I don't think I could manage it more than that. Call all your siblings. I want them all on video chat or in the room. Now. Quickly."

"Mama."

"There's no time. Hurry. "

"What about Papa?"

"He…he already knows."

"Is he all right?"

"Yes and no. Physically, he's fine. It's not that."

He wanted to ask more questions but could see his mother wasn't ready to answer them, so he held back. What the fuck had happened?

He quickly messaged everyone who was at the palace and asked them to come to his office quickly and quietly—Rebecca, his brother Nate and his wife Charlie, his twin sister Catharine and her fiancé Eddie, and his brother Marcello and his wife Grace.

Then he sent out a secure video conference link he'd set up to everyone else who wasn't in the palace—his sister Arianna and her husband Finn in Brazenbourg, his sister Sarah and her fiancé Rio in Italy, his brother Lorenzo and his fiancé Lily in Masillia, his brother Ethan and his love Anda in America, and his sister Carolina who was also in Masillia.

While they waited for everyone to arrive, he tried to comfort his mother, who had started silently crying. She was trying to be strong for them—something she'd done their whole lives—but this time, he gave her his strength instead and hugged her.

She was shorter than him, her dark blonde hair only reaching the middle of his chest, but she'd always seemed taller, if that made sense. She'd always seemed bigger, mightier, and just more. Even now, as a man in his late thirties, she still seemed that way.

As people entered the room—physically and virtually—his mother pulled back and wiped the tears away. She greeted everyone and reiterated she wouldn't share until everyone was together, though it took a good fifteen minutes and some follow-up calls and messages. Once everyone was there, his mother sat in his chair, Alex standing behind her, and began.

"We…" She took a deep breath. "We got some news today. It's your Nonna. She's passed away."

Stunned disbelief and denial swept the physical and virtual rooms. Alex couldn't believe it himself. She was gone? That active, vital woman?

"What?"

"Nonna?"

"She's not!" Sarah exclaimed on screen, while Rio tried to comfort her. "We just saw her last weekend! She was fine!" Sarah turned to Rio. "She's not really gone, is she?"

Rio whispered in Sarah's ear and held her closer, while Sarah shook her head.

Alex squeezed his mother's shoulder, and she gave him a small smile before continuing. "She passed in her sleep, but the servants and her assistant didn't realize until an hour or so ago. She often slept until very late in the morning or even early afternoon, so no one thought anything was amiss when she didn't wake at her usual time. Her doctor on the island confirmed it."

Alex couldn't help but think of Nonna's smile, which was a lot like his father's. She was so often smiling. "How's Papa doing?"

His mother shook her head. "Not well, as you can imagine. None of you were alive when your grandfather Charles died, but Gabriel pushed through because he had to take the throne. Now, he has the space to grieve the loss of his parent, but there's still so much to do."

She reached out a hand to Rebecca, who immediately took it. "I'm so sorry, my dear, but we'll need to announce it. If it could be avoided doing it on the same day as your announcement?—"

Rebecca shook her head. "Of course it must be announced. Please don't worry about me. Tell us what you need from us."

Alex pulled Rebecca close to him and wrapped an arm around her waist, needing her strength. There would be so much to do now, and he knew a lot would fall on him. "Has Corrado already started implementing the funeral plans?" His Nonna had already planned her funeral long ago, as had his parents; it was typical for ruling monarchs and their spouses to do so. Corrado, his father's chief-of-staff, would be the first to set the plans in motion.

His mother nodded. "He'll touch base with you as soon as I let him know that I informed all of you." She glanced at the screen. "You will all need to come back and be part of the funeral procession and proceedings, which should take place in about nine days." Nods and agreement echoed through the virtual room.

Alex glanced at everyone in the physical room. "We'll also need to completely redo the schedules for not only the next two weeks, but likely the next two months. Let's get all our chiefs-of-staff together to sort it out. Corrado, Tavin, and Mara can take the lead."

"We'll also need to coordinate outfits and secure appropriate clothing for the funeral," Rebecca piped in. "We'll have the staff help with that too."

Alex nodded, then glanced at his computer. "We'll also need to talk about the weddings. I don't think we'll need to postpone, but…"

Sarah shook her head, and Alex knew she wasn't upset that her wedding might change; she'd been very close to Nonna and was still in shock. She was also pregnant and he hoped the news and the funeral didn't put too much stress on her, or on the other pregnant women in the family.

"I understand," Alex's younger twin Catharine said. "Of course, we'll do whatever you need."

"Thanks, Kitty Cat," Alex replied, using her nickname to comfort her from afar; her wedding was scheduled a few months after Sarah's.

"We all understand," Lorenzo added; he and Lily were scheduled to marry a few months after Cat and Eddie.

After finalizing more details, everyone online logged off to make travel arrangements, while those in the room chatted a little longer. He agreed to let the extended family know so they could make their travel plans, then their mother left to be with their father, and soon only Rebecca remained with him.

She looked up at him, one hand on his chest, the other cupping his face. He leaned into her touch and closed his eyes. No relationship before her had prepared him for all the ways her presence would make his life better. Like now, with a simple touch, he was comforted in a way he hadn't experienced before her .

She slipped her arms around him and settled her head against his chest. He wound his arms tight around her and rested his head against hers. They swayed gently for a while, just taking comfort in each other for the second time that day, but likely not the last.

Memories of his Nonna flipped through his head like pages in a book. Him as a young boy laughing at something she said, her scolding him for doing something naughty and unbecoming of his ‘station', her look of relief when he got back from each of his deployments with the army, her look of joy and surprise the day he asked if he could use her ring to propose to Rebecca.

Rebecca had spent less time with her, but she adored her all the same. He'd caught Rebecca looking at her ring more than once after his mother's announcement, and wondered if she'd always think of Nonna when she looked at it, since it had been Nonna's ring once. He wanted to ask, but right now wasn't the time. This moment was just for them before the hectic weeks that would follow.

At the knock on his door, they both took a deep breath and he opened his eyes again. Rebecca's were still closed, but he tilted her face up to his and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

She gave him a small smile and blinked, her eyes assessing him. "All right?"

He nodded. "Better. Thank you, darling. You always seem to know what I need."

The knock came again, followed by Tavin's voice. "Sir?"

"Just a minute, Tavin." Alex spoke low to Rebecca. "Are you all right?"

"As good as can be, I suppose. I'd better go. You need to tell Tavin and I need to inform Mara."

"I'm not sure when I'll be finished today."

"I know." She leaned up and kissed him again. "But we should try to do a family dinner. You'll all need it, and you can work in your home office afterwards."

She was right, as she often was.

"I'll let Tavin know."

"Good." She gave him another kiss, longer and deeper this time. "I love you."

"I love you, darling."

Her hands slid away from him, and he felt the loss of their warmth. With another soft smile, she headed for the passageway and disappeared.

He took another deep breath, rubbed his hands over his face a few times, and fortified himself, putting his royal mask back in place. "Come in, Tavin."

ALEXANDER

It was evening when Alex made an exhausted trek back to the Royal Wing. He headed first to his father's home office, then his parents' apartments when his father wasn't there. His mother answered the door and let him in.

He kissed his mother on each cheek, a traditional Vallerian greeting. He wouldn't usually do that, but it had been a rough day and Alex thought she might need it. "How is he?"

"Resting but he's not asleep. I think it will do him good to see you. See if you can get him to join dinner, even if he doesn't want to eat. I tried but…"

He didn't think he'd seen his mother look so tired before. "You could use some dinner and rest too. Don't overdo it."

She smiled and patted his cheek. "Thank you, Alexander. I'm okay though."

He nodded and headed for his parents' bedroom. Their apartments were a lot like his and Rebecca's but on a much larger scale. More rooms, more space, more, more, more…rooms certainly befitting the king and queen and all their children; they had all lived here until they'd become adults and received royal apartments of their own .

He knocked gently on the door. "Papa? It's Alex."

His father's voice was gruff and muffled from behind the door. "Come in, my son."

The door opened with a soft click and a slight creak. When he stepped inside, he searched for his father and found him not in the bed but relaxed in a chaise near the window, papers and a tablet in his lap, a coffee service and more papers on the table beside him. He had changed into his pajamas and there was a blanket over his lap, but he was decidedly not ‘resting' as his mother assumed.

Alex walked across the room and gave his father a kiss on each cheek too, then sat down and took his father's hand. He hadn't been able to see him all day, though they'd spoken several times on the phone to start implementing the funeral plans. "How are you managing, Papa?"

His father squeezed his hand, then let go to hand him some papers. "These came through from the Council before my mother's death was announced. I'm afraid I'm not in the right space to deal with them diplomatically, so perhaps you could take care of it."

"Of course." Alex glanced through the papers and wasn't surprised. It was another bullshit initiative that was meant to remove healthcare protections for people who needed it most, while the richest wouldn't be affected. These kinds of proposals came through a few times during each Council session, but the timing of it would make it easy to dismiss.

As a royal family, particularly one who actually governed as well, it was a balancing act. They needed the support of the rich because of their power and influence, but the majority of Vallerians weren't in that position. Creating a strong and lasting middle-class was one of Alex's goals, though his father had made some strides towards that too. Proposals like this had to be squashed tactfully.

"It's nothing we haven't seen before, Papa. I swear they must take the previous proposals and change a few words to make a new one."

"I know, and the timing should work in our favour. We can easily pause the Council session for mourning. "

Alex nodded. "Yes, I'll take care of it. I'm sorry, I should have thought of that earlier myself."

His father patted his arm. "Don't worry, my son. I have no doubt you or your staff would have realized it eventually. I'm merely trying to clear out anything pending."

Alex messaged Tavin to set up a Council meeting for tomorrow morning. "Send me anything you don't want to deal with, Papa. I can delegate to the others if needed."

"Thank you. I was planning on asking for your help anyway, and this makes it easier. I've asked your mother to offload some of her work to Rebecca, but she thought I should check with you first."

"She should ask Rebecca, not me."

"I know, and your mother will reach out to her, but I'm sure this morning was a shock to her. Your mother has been giving her more responsibility of late, and she wants to make sure she isn't overwhelmed already. Rebecca isn't the type to complain, but she might have said something to you."

Not always . "She hasn't said anything to me, but I don't think she's feeling overworked. I've seen her when she has been overly stressed, and she isn't like that now. On my way out, I'll let Mama know she can contact her. You know Rebecca wants to help in any way she can."

His father nodded and sighed. "She was a good choice, my son."

The back of Alex's neck prickled. Where was his father going with this? "I don't know that falling in love with her was a choice, Papa."

"Well, perhaps falling in love isn't a choice, but staying in love is one. You could have let your feelings fade, made a different choice and not pursued her at all. Even after you pursued her, either of you could have made the choice not to work at it, or to grow apart instead of growing and learning together. Love is choosing each other every day, choosing to work at it, choosing to want it, even through the rough times. "

Alex couldn't deny that, but his father's words weren't about him and Rebecca. "Is there something going on with you and Mama?"

His father waved that away. "No, no. Nothing like that. I was thinking about my own parents. They really loved each other, and they had some very trying times."

"Not to mention a very trying son and heir, from the stories Nonna used to tell me. You didn't ‘calm down' until you met Mama, according to her."

His father smiled. "Oh, yes, I did have my share of fun, though my parents never saw it that way. I never thought about that until you became a teenager, of course. You were so different from me at that age."

"I took after Mama and was more…restrained, or cautious if you prefer. Cat took after you, I'm guessing, and was far more social."

"Yes, I suppose that's true, though my siblings were far worse than me in their own ways. I was still too hard on you."

A warmth spread through his body, a feeling of finally being understood and his pain acknowledged. "I understood why, even though I didn't like it. I was more upset at how everyone else got away with so much worse than anything I did. I suppose it made me more…I don't know, afraid to try things or open myself up to people, specifically women, though being royal also fed into that. I was so worried about doing something wrong. I still am in some respects."

His father took his hand and squeezed it. "I'm sorry, my son."

Alex set the papers aside and put his other hand over their joined ones. "I appreciate your apology, but I'm not hurt by it anymore. Don't worry yourself over that."

His father nodded just as his phone buzzed with a message. They let go so he could read it. "Corrado would like a meeting after dinner to finalize some details."

"Would you rather wait until morning? Or I can take the meeting for you?"

His father sighed. "Yes, would you? I…I'm… "

"It's all right, Papa. I'll handle it. If I need your input, I'll find you in the morning, all right?"

His father nodded.

"I do think we should all have dinner together, if you're up for it. Once everyone gets here, it will be much more chaotic."

"I think I'll eat in my rooms tonight, but thank you."

They said their goodbyes, Alex giving him more cheek kisses before leaving. After touching base with his mother about dinner and about Rebecca's workload, Alex headed back through the Royal Wing to find his wife. Maybe time alone with each other was better, a night of calm before the storm of relatives arrived.