Young Royals: Part 2

Chapter 12: Simon

Saturday had finally arrived. Simon could feel a ball just sitting in his gut. Breathe. Breathe. He said to himself.

At 12:00 on the dot, Wilhelm knocked on the door. As soon as Simon opened the door, Wilhelm walked in, closed the door, and gave him a hug, kissing his forehead.

"Hey," said Wilhelm.

Simon could feel his heart melt. "Hey," he replied.

"Want me to look through what you packed before we head out?" asked Wilhelm.

"Nah, I got it. Two casual, two more formal. And a bathing suit," answered Simon.

Wilhelm laughed. "Nice. Never know when you're going to need a bathing suit."

Wilhelm called out to Simon's mom, "See you on Sunday, Linda. I promise I'll take good care of him!"

"Have fun, boys!" she replied from the kitchen.

And with that, Wilhelm picked up Simon's bag, loaded it into the trunk of the car, and settled in for the hour-long drive to Stockholm.

"So, um, what do your parents know about me?" asked Simon, sheepishly.

"Well, they know you're gay, I'm pretty sure."

"Ha. Ha," Simon said, rolling his eyes.

"Honestly, I have no idea how much they know about you. They were definitely not giving me the 20 Questions about you or anything. This is like the first time they've done anything about this situation other than focus on how to smooth it over. For them, perception is everything. I hope they show some interest in you, but I think every question is just going to be them sizing up how much they can trust you and how much of a risk you are to the 'Monarchy' as a whole. I mean, they'll be nice and all, but I don't know how much real interest they're going to show in you as a person."

"Wow, tell me how it's really gonna be, why don't you?"

"Figure it's better to have low expectations!" Wilhelm replied with a grin.

"Well, they're as sunk as the Titanic now," said Simon, punching Wilhelm in the stomach.

It suddenly occurred to Simon that he hadn't told Wilhelm about his news.

"Hey, so you're not gonna believe this. You know my sister, Sara? You're never going to believe who she's dating."

"Felice?" joked Wilhelm.

"Ha. No. August. Like, your cousin, August."

"Fuck me. What?!" exclaimed Wilhelm, who looked like he'd just been punched.

"Right?! I know. She just came home last night and announced it at dinner. Apparently, it's been in the works for like ages."

"I just...can't believe it. Sara?! Why would August be interested in Sara. The only thing that matters to him is blood line. This is too bizarre."

"We thought so too, but she is head over heels," muttered Simon with a sigh.

He and his mom had made her repeat it about twelve times the night before just so they could be sure they hadn't misheard. For his part, Simon had a bad premonition about this whole thing. His mom didn't know enough to be worried yet.

"Just, if you hear anything, can you let me know? I just really don't want her to get taken advantage of, especially by that asswipe."

"You know he's the one that took the video of us, right? He's so sick," muttered Wilhelm, his face turning dark and cold.

Simon's eyes snapped to Wilhelm, "I'm sorry, what?! He's the guy?! How do you know?"

"Oh, shit. You didn't know? I figured it would be like common knowledge. I know loads of ways. First, Felice figured it out by the dead pixels on his phone. Then, I called my mom to tell her, and she actually said she'd known for days. I'm guessing those IT people who came by last semester figured it out. Yeah. I kind of blew up on him at the end of last term. It was such such a shitshow."

"Fuck. August? Gotta tell you, I didn't think he had it in him. Do you know why?! I mean, I know he's an asshole, but that's a different level of low to out your own cousin."

"Seriously. I straight up asked him and all he said was, like, 'I'm sorry'. It was bullshit. My guess is that he had, like, his pride wounded when some people found out about his money issues, and then he already didn't like you? I dunno. But, his family didn't even come to any of the gatherings at the palace this Christmas or anything. And it's basically unheard of for someone to pass on an invitation."

"Did he get punished?" asked Simon, who was still trying to wrap his head around all of this information.

"Not from what I've heard. The headmistress moved him to a different house than me, which was really understanding of her, but other than that, nothing. Here's the deal. Realistically, since we're both minors and he's over 18, technically this would be a felony pornography charge. But, my mom, she doesn't want to tarnish the name of anyone within the royal family, so they're just letting the whole thing slide. And I'm guessing they told the school to do the same thing."

Rubbing his forehead Wilhelm sighed, "I literally still can't believe it. I could kill August, sure, but let's get real, he's a teenager. But my mom? She's the fucking queen. And she did absolutely nothing. I'm her son, for Christ's sake."

"That is so fucked up. Man, this is really going to be a visit..."

"Yep. Welcome to the family, where the bones in the closet never really go away. They just pile up."

What had he just gotten himself into?