𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑡𝑜𝑛. ʙʀɪᴛɪsʜ ʀᴏʏᴀʟ ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ

23 ♔♕ 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲

𝟸𝟶𝟶𝟻.

Bella moved her weight from one leg to another as she stood waiting outside the door of the careers advisor.

She had told her tutor she didn't need to go. In fact, she had very firmly insisted that she didn't need to go. But yet here she was, stood waiting for a meeting about what her career would be.

Bella knew exactly what was going to happen. She had had her life planned since she was about 14. Well, actually, someone in the deepest darkest depths of St James's or Buckingham Palace had probably had her life planned out since she was born.

She wasn't going to go that way though. She might eventually end up at the point that the men in grey suits wanted her to be at. But she would not begin there.

Unlike her eldest brother, Bella wasn't destined for anything. She had the absolute best of both worlds. Privilege but no responsibility. Well, some responsibility. She was of course still the granddaughter of The Queen, daughter of the future King and sister of the future, future King. There was some duty instilled in her. But not the sort William had.

William who had had his life planned out since even before he was born. William whose life would be like the plan.

But Bella, Bella didn't have to follow a plan. She would of course. She wouldn't let her family down like that. She couldn't let her granny down like that. But it had been agreed. She, like her aunt, was going to have an equestrian career first, being a princess could come later.

"Come in, come in," The careers advisor pulled Bella from her trance. A small, middle aged man, he was already sweating profusely as he opened the door. He had been a new addition to the school after the previous advisor retired before Christmas, and rather unluckily for him Bella thought, this was his first time talking to her.

"um, you can, um, sit there if you like." He mumbled, doing a strange nod with his head as she wandered past him into the room and sat down at the seat he had pointed too. "Right, um, your royal Highness-"

"You don't have to call me that." Bella interrupted, trying her best to look calm and reassuring, "just Bella or Isabella, whatever you prefer."

"Oh, right, oh, okay, um...Isabella," He paused, appearing to almost test how her name sounded before continuing, "thank you for coming today."

"It's compulsory."

His face contorted at her rather deadpan remark, "Ye- , yes well, still, we do get some students who don't turn up."

Bella just nodded in reply, already regretting her decision to not go to a careers meeting previously.

"Right well, um, Mrs Turnbridge requested a meeting with you before she retired at Christmas because you haven't yet done anything about your application to university."

"That's because I'm not going."

Once again his face did that strange contorting thing, almost like all of his thoughts came out on his face at the same time, resulting is some rather remarkable facial acrobatics. An eyebrow there. A twitch of the eye there. If Bella hadn't have wanted to get through with the meeting as fast as possible, she might have tried to conduct some sort of experiment. What could she say to make that eyebrow go? Or what was it that made his lips press together so hard they almost disappeared?

"You...you're not going to university?" He asked, speaking the words almost as if it was an unlawful thing to say.

"No."