𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑡𝑜𝑛. ʙʀɪᴛɪsʜ ʀᴏʏᴀʟ ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ

29 ♔♕ 𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗺𝘀

~ 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟶 ~

The sound of the heel of her riding boots clacking against the marble floor reverberated around her. Bella had missed Kensington Palace.

It was where she used to live. Then her mum died and she spent more time at Highgrove and Windsor than anywhere else. She was permanently at Windsor now. Well, as permanent as she could get.

But it was nice, to be back at Kensington. It was full of memories. Lots and lots of memories.

With a light push from her, the door to her brother's new office swung open. Grabbing onto the door so that she also swung with it, she moved her head round it, a huge grin on her face as she entered the office.

"You wanted to see me?"

"I'm sure Peters would swing for you if he saw you swinging on the door like that." William chided softly, she could tell he only half meant it though, the lift of the corners of his mouth said as much.

"Oh well." Bella grinned back, shrugging as she relaxed into the chair opposite William, "comfy," she noted, wriggling around so she could properly relax in it.

"Never change Bella." Her brother grinned at her, chuckling as he watched her.

"Change?" She screwed up her face at that, "oh no thank you, me and change are not good friends...now, no offence but what's this about, I got up at half 5 so that I could get the horses done early for this, better be something important."

"It is." He said softly. Reaching into a side draw, William pulled out a small black velvet box and placed it in front of her.

Bella just frowned back at him, reaching forward to open the box up.

"Oh." Her words fell out in a sigh as she gazed at the Sapphire and Diamond ring in front of her, the ring that still managed to take her breath away.

Swallowing thickly, she cleared her throat, looking back up to her brother with a brief smile, "you've finally decided to get on with it then?"

"Yes."

"Good...she's very lucky."

"It's yours Bella."

She shook her head at that, still staring down at the ring in her hands.

"It is...I know you said when, when it happened, that you didn't want it...but it is yours."

Bella felt oddly calm as she held the ring in her hands. Her mother's engagement ring. It hadn't exactly been left to her as such, it was just that the vast majority of her mother's jewellery was given to Bella.

She watched, almost as if it wasn't her doing it, as she placed the ring onto her ring finger, watching it slide down and take its place, "a perfect fit," she whispered under her breath.

It may have been a perfect fit.

But it felt odd. It felt heavy on her hand, unusual, foreign. It felt like she was lying.

This wasn't her ring. No, it never would be. This was her mother's engagement ring. It wasn't meant for her.

"I can't wear it William." Her voice sounded hoarse, heavy with emotion as she spoke. Looking back up to her brother, she slipped the ring off, handing it back to him with slightly shaky hands.

Taking a deep breath, she gently stroked the sapphire for what would probably be the last time, "this ring," she began, her face brightening as the emotion washed away, "this ring is fit for a Queen..."

Standing up, she smiled at her brother before walking back over to the door she had previously swung in on. Taking one last glance at the ring that would now have a new purpose again, she smirked, finding that teasing and cheeky nature she had just walked in with,

"And I, am but a mere Princess."

♔♕

"They want to do a documentary."

"Yes ma'am."

"About me."

"Yes."

"Why?"

Ignoring the chuckle that went round the room at her words, Bella fixed her gaze on their communications secretary, waiting for him to answer her question.

With one glance at Bella, the smile had fallen from his face and he had sat upright in his sight, regaining the propriety he had briefly lost. "Oh you're serious."

"Of course I'm serious Mr. Perkins, I don't make it a habit of mine to go around asking stupid questions."

"Well, then, your Royal Highness...I suppose it's because the public are terribly interested in you and, and it would cover the European Championships which you are hopeful will go well and -"

"When you say public Ed, I thought this was going to be all about me riding?"

"It's is your Royal Highness." Bella finally removed her gaze from her now squirming private secretary to the representative from the BBC who had been brave enough, or rather pulled the short straw, to turn up to the meeting.

"But it is hoped," the man continued, "that this will raise interest into Equestrianism."

"By following me around with cameras for," she looked down at her notes, tapping her pen on the notepad as she found the number, "nine months."

The men around her swallowed thickly at her words, a few of them loosening their ties slightly as she looked at them all.

"I'll think about it."

If she had been a vain person then Bell might have thought that there had been a deep sigh of relief at her words. As it were, she simply stood and began to collect her belongings. Watching with a tiny smile as they stood with her, a few of them wavering slightly as they waited for her to leave.

She was almost positive she heard a faint whisper of, "I told you it was a bloody stupid idea to ask her to do it," as she left.

♔♕

𝗔/𝗡: 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘀𝗻𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗲𝘁𝘀! 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀!

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀? 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗶 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁!

𝗔𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗺𝘁 𝗼𝗳 '𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀'! 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲!