His Majesty (Slide Away)

58.

"She had a panic attack, Paul..." John spoke, sadly, staring out into anxiously the grass ahead.

The boys were, yet again, sat on the bench next to Pyramus' garden, staring out into the distance. Pyramus and Thisbe were running around in the patch of grass and small bushes infront of them, chasing eachother around.

It was the day after Christmas, and they boys had been catching up on the night before. John hoped that 'catching up' with Paul would be the best way to tell him about the main elephant in his brain. He was going to be King 'by the end' of the new year. He had waited for the right time to tell Paul.

"And she way saying all of these things... Like worrying things. She said she will never forgive herself, and she will never move on." John explained. "I mean... When she first started saying these things I thought it was none of my business, but this is really affecting her. I feel like recently the two of us have grown closer, and to see her suffering this much... God. I mean, she really needs to relax, Macca. Any stress on her heart and that's it, we could lose her."

"Maybe you should talk to her. Tell her that we support her no matter what. Maybe take her out to watch horse riding like she used to do, distract her?" Paul suggested. "She needs something else to think about."

"I know, and I would, but it's not just that I don't think she would agree to it, it's that even if she did, the doctor says she has to really take it slow in order to go to the coronation..." John looked at his hands. "I mean, it's in two weeks."

"Yeah." Paul nodded, understandingly. "You should still probably have that talk though..."

"Hm." John nodded, trying to think of a way to bring in the 'big news' to this conversation. "And about talking..."

Way to terrify him, John.

"What?" Paul asked, giving John a look of fear.

"Nono it's nothing bad..." John immediately spoke, placing a comforting hand on Paul's arm. "Just, well... Yesterday, before lunch, Mimi spoke to me. She said that... Well, she told me that she was going to abdicate."

"What?!" Paul spoke, shocked. His eyes had shot open and his mouth had fallen agape.

"Yeah."

"What on earth... Wait- what, really?" Paul asked, rushing each word out.

"Yes."

Paul turned to look ahead of him, mouth still open and eyes still wide.

"Huh..." He clearly couldn't believe it. "But... But she's..."

"She's sick, Paul. Not just physically, but mentally. She even admitted to me that she can't continue." John spoke, sighing slightly. "She seems to think it's my turn to take over... And said that by the end of the New Year, I will be King of Aquitaine..."

"Shit, John..." He turned to look at John. "Okay, you really must talk to her."

"What? Don't you like the idea of me being King."

"Of course I do, John. It's just that... Well, abdicating isn't just a quick decision. It takes weeks if not months of weighing up and thinking about. I mean, is Mimi even sure she wants this? Like, has she been thinking about it for months?"

"She says that she hasn't felt she had been doing her duties as Queen since Uncle George passed. His death really broke her, Paul..." John spoke. "These are not just my words, some are hers too, but a lot do the Kingdom has lost their admiration for Mimi. She stopped the Omega rights movement, because she 'couldn't continue it the way George had', she seemed to be selfish and lacked when it came to empathy..."