Chapter Four
"Please tell me we have more classes together?" William asked Florencia as he took a seat next to her.
Florencia looked at William and smirked.
"I hope not, or else I'll be a drill sergeant for you," Florencia answered.
"I thought you were already my drill sergeant and hello, Catherine," William said as he greeted Catherine who took a seat on the other side of Florencia.
"Hello, William," Catherine said as she pulled out her notebook.
Florencia stared at the extra students all lined up at the walls of the classroom staring at William.
"Looks like your fan club is excited to see you in action," Florencia teased William.
"Didn't this happen to you as well?" William asked.
Catherine giggled.
"Nope, I don't believe so. Catherine, did this same thing happen to me?" Florencia replied by asking Catherine a question.
"Only the first day but then Flo, showed them her first personality and they left her alone after that," Catherine explained to William.
"Welp, I can't do that," William said.
The Professor walked in.
"Quiet, please. Quiet, please! Good morning," The Professor said.
"Good morning," Everyone in the room said.
"I see we are standing room only this semester. I can only assume it is due to my incredibly riveting teaching style," The Professor joked.
Everyone laughed.
"This is Introduction to the Great Masters of the 19th Century. You will be put into groups of four, and each group will be responsible for presenting a comprehensive look at one artist. Some of you may have relatives whose portraits were painted by one of these well-known masters," The Professor said but everyone knew it was directed to William.
Once again everyone laughed.
Fred walks in with three guys chattering and takes a seat next to William.
"William, over here," Fred said.
William looks at Fred.
"This is Mark Sanders," Fred said, introducing William to Mark.
"Hi, Mark," William said.
"Hello," Mark said.
"And Simon Cornwall," Fred said, pointing to the guy next to Mark.
"Hello, Simon," William said.
"Hello," Simon said.
"Derek Rodgers you already know from Eton," Fred said.
"Hello, old boy. How are you?" William said.
"Hello, mate," Derek said.
"How are you?" William asked Derek.
"Good," Derek answered, looking William up and down. "You've put on weight," He added.
"Well, yeah," William said, not sure how to respond to the comment.
"Hey, William, does this happen everywhere you go?" Mark asked William.
"Usually. They'll get bored of me after about a week," William answered.
"Florencia had it easier, they got bored of her after about a day," Fred said.
"God, I hope not. I love being the center of attention," Simon said.
"You do know it's not you that they're looking at?" Florencia asked Simon.
"Allow me the delusion," Simon replied.
Florencia rolled her eyes.
"So, Wills, what clubs are you gonna join?" Fred asked William.
"I think water polo for now," William answered.
"Great idea. We can be co-captains," Fred said.
"Let's sign up today," William said.
"Really? You? You're gonna get up at the crack of dawn for practice?" Florencia asked William.
"Absolutely," William replied.
"Yeah, no, it's never gonna happen," Florencia said, laughing.
William scoffs.
That afternoon, the group is in the dining hall, discussing William's school life at Eton.
"One of our housemates at Eton sold photos and personal information on Wills to the tabloids," Derek said.
"It was a huge scandal at the time," Fred said.
"I remember that. That was awful," Florencia said.
"Yeah, and between us, he's still really paranoid about it," Fred said.
"Really?" Catherine asked.
"I want you to know that you can trust us," Simon told William.
"We have your back, and we will never sell information or pictures of you," Mark said.
"Thank you. Sorry. I just--" William paused.
"It must be difficult not knowing whom you can trust," Derek said.
"When I meet someone new who I'm not sure about, I tell them some lie about myself. Nothing huge, but something crazy enough so it'd be fodder for the tabloids. If they're particularly dodgy, I tell them a really big lie. And then if it turns up in the tabloids, I know who gave it to them," William said.
"That's clever," Catherine said.
"Yeah," William said.
"So I guess we should choose an artist to focus on and then meet and discuss how to proceed from there?" Florencia asked Catherine and William.
"Right. No-- Yeah, that's an excellent idea," William answered, focusing on Florencia's butterfly bracelet.
"Yeah," Catherine said.
"You still have it," William stated as he touched the bracelet.
Florencia looked down at the bracelet and smiled.
"Of course," She said.
"Did you give that to her?" Simon asked William.
William nods.
"Yeah for Christmas a couple years ago," William said.
"So, two were really close as kids then?" Catherine asked Florencia and William.
"So close, that everyone believed that they would get married," Fred answered instead of Florencia and William.
"Yeah, that's--I already have everyone's e-mail address, so I'll just send everyone a preliminary study schedule," Florencia said as she stood up from the table.
"Oh. All right," Catherine said.
"Yeah," Florencia said.
"If, uh-- Bye," William said as Florencia walked away from the table.
"So who's your favorite artist?" Catherine asked William.
"I like Monet and Cézanne," William answered.
Catherine clears her throat and leans into his ear as she looks at the four guys at their table.
"So, how long have you been in love with Florencia?" She asked him.
"Long enough for someone like you who barely knows me to notice, I guess," William answered.
Catherine nods.
"Do you plan on telling her?" Catherine asked him.
"Someday," William replied.
YOU ARE READING
When My Love Blooms ⚔︎ Prince William Fanfiction
Historical FictionWilliam ends up falling in love with the Florencia but she doesn't seem to be interested but when Florencia eventually does notice William and falls in love, William is faced with the decision of choosing between his duty and love. Started September...
