𝐀𝐍 𝐔𝐍𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐃 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐬

xx || ᴀʟɪʙɪꜱ

"I know you bitches can hear me!" Astrid shouted, her voice echoing off the plain grey walls of the interrogation room, "And once you get your pussy asses in here you're going to be so fucking sorry for arresting me! I am the Princess, dammit!"

Astrid breathed a sigh of frustration. She had been stripped of her phone and watch, so she was unsure how long she had been locked in the interrogation room for. She was beginning to go stir crazy.

The room was almost completely bare, with only two metal chairs and a matching metal table being placed in the center of the room. Well, the chairs used to be placed uniformly by the table; Astrid had thrown one of them in anger. It now sat upturned in the far corner.

She clenched and unclenched her fingers tightly. She tried to focus on the physical feelings of that instead of throwing another chair at the wall.

When were the cops going to come in? It wasn't that she was anxious because she did it; she wasn't even in the country when Erik died, so she had no idea how the cops were going to spin the story to weigh it on her. No, she was anxious because she was unsure how this was going to go.

It could be a mistake. That was always a possibility. But it could also be intentional. Was August responsible? He was only arrested yesterday, so it was a possibility he was still being held in the same police station.

Before Astrid could become completely lost inside her thoughts, the dull metal door swung open, revealing a uniformed police officer and none other than the Queen of Sweden herself.

Astrid frowned. "Just fucking leave in me here," She said. She was really not in the mood to deal with the Queen right now.

The Queen merely smiled. "Please, dear Astrid. Sit with me". Astrid plopped down onto the ground where she stood, crossing her legs beneath herself neatly. She looked to the Queen expectantly. "We're sitting in an interrogation room right now and you're going to act like a child?" The Queen asked.

"What are you doing here, Queen?" Astrid asked, raising an eyebrow, "How'd you even know I've been arrested?"

"It's all over the news, naïve daughter of mine," The Queen replied simply, which caused Astrid to furrow her brow, "it wasn't difficult to find out where they had taken you". Astrid was beyond confused now. While she might not be related to the royal family by blood, her title as 'The People's Princess' was enough to get her her own clean up team. She was surprised this situation had even made the papers; typically, the royal family worked more swiftly than that.

"I'm not your daughter," Astrid pointed out, "So what. You here to mock me or get me out? Because if it's the first option, just leave now. I didn't do it, but we both already know that".

The Queen smiled knowingly. "I'm here to get you out," She said in a promising tone, "But I also have one little thing to discuss with you before we leave here".

Uh no, Astrid thought to herself.

"August has gotten into some trouble recently. Trouble which you conducted. Did you know he's sitting in the room right next door?" The Queen asked, Astrid pursing her lips but not wanting to show how much that pissed her off, "So this is what's going to happen - and before you start complaining about the whole situation, I just want to remind you that you brought this on yourself when you decided to call the police on August".

"He deserved it".

"When you're right to leave here, you will leave with August by your side. It will be your first appearance as an engaged couple, so make it look believable. Wedding details are yet to be figured out, but don't worry, my child. It will only be a short engagement". As the Queen spoke, Astrid had risen from her place on the ground, leaning against the cool metal table.

"If you think, even more a moment, that I would ever consider marrying that son of a bitch, you have another thing coming," Astrid snarled, "I would rather shoot myself then have to deal with him again. I don't give a shit if this is your version of a cover up; I'll take the hits to my reputation over that asshole".

"It's not your reputation on the line here, it's Erik's. You have disgraced his memory, brought distrust upon the Monarchy. You are to fix your mistakes, Astrid. It's the price of being a Princess," The Queen explained.

"I didn't kill him," Astrid countered.

"You have an alibi to back that up, Princess?" The Queen asked, in the same tone which Astrid uses to address her. Astrid's finger rubbed against the silver ring which was situated on her ring finger. When she didn't reply, the Queen continued. "That's what I thought. You will act as if this engagement is everything you've ever wanted, and you will be polite and kind about it. August is in a lot of trouble because of you. Fix your mistakes, for god sakes".

The Queen rose from her chair, turned her back on Astrid and walked out over the threshold which separated the interrogation room from the rest of the police station. The door was forced closed behind her, the lock turning into place. Astrid flinched as the noise echoed through the room.

She looked down at the ring. She and Jasmine had gone and picked it out of Jasmine's luggage; the ring Jasmine wore was one of Astrid's. It felt as if it was burning on her finger, a reminder of the promise she had made to Jasmine.

Dammit, she thought to herself.

She was unsure how to fix this. 

*                *                *

(990 words)

THANK YOU FOR 5K READS AND 300+ VOTES!!