Another way (Young Royals)

Recording

I had not been more proud than when I sat in the studio with the producers listening to Simon recording his first song. His voice was smooth and beautiful. The first time I heard him sing I had thought he must have been an angel walking on earth. I had never heard a more beautiful voice in my life. And now I had the privilege to hear that pretty voice every day if I wanted to. And I did. I was addicted to it. Hearing it. Feeling the vibrations against my body.

"He is really good," one of the producers said out loud. "Bjärstad has really been keeping this gem to themselves, huh?" The others in the recording team nodded. They all agreed.

"He is very young too. Imagine what he will sound like in ten years if this is how he sings at sixteen. We might have the next big star right here if he just gets the right support and the right songs," another one in the team said.

"You must be proud of him," a woman called Leah said and looked at me. I nodded. I was. Extremely.

"Believe me, I am," I said. She smiled.

"If I had a guy like that at my school I would fall in love with him too," Peter, who was the songwriter of the song Simon recorded, said. That made Leah laugh.

"Are you?" I began. I did not know how to ask him if what he had said meant that he was gay. Or well not straight at least.

"Gay?" he asked. I nodded. "It is okay. You can ask me that. And I am. I have been married to my husband for, let's see, 14 years now." I had noticed the wedding ring on his finger earlier.

"How long have you dated this songbird then?" Leah asked and gestured towards Simon who was still standing by the microphone singing.

"Since October last year," I said.

"Can I be nosy and ask who fell first?" she replied with a grin. Between me and Simon, that would have been me. What Simon had seen in me, an anxious snobby prince, was still something I had not figured out. But I was happy he did fall for me too. That he did not become the love I could never have.

"Me," I said and chuckled.

"How was that? I can't imagine the Queen was delighted by the fact that you date him," Peter asked me.

"What has the Queen to do with this, Peter?" Leah asked. She was American. She of course did not know I was an ex-royal.

"My mother is the Queen of Sweden," I explained. "And well she is not delighted that we see each other that way, no."

"Are you kidding with me now just because I am American?" Leah asked. I shook my head. "No way! You are a prince then?" I shook my head once again.

"I used to be," I said.

"Used to be? Not anymore?" Leah asked.

"I abdicated not long ago. I am tired of the royal traditions and not being able to just live my life," I said. "And I would have to break up with him if he pursued this career. It would not be suitable for a prince to date a pop star apparently."

"I hope you like your choices," Peter said. When I saw Simon look back at me behind the glass, I knew I would never regret it. Simon made a high note that made us all feel shivers down our spines, I was pretty sure. Angela, who took care of the recordings, made a sign to him to come back inside to the control room.

"That was really good," she told him as he walked in. "I want you to sing the second verse and that chorus again though. But rest a bit and have something to drink first." Simon nodded and took his water bottle out of his bag.

"Thank you," he said. I pulled him closer to me. The other people in the room were observing us. If we did not have an audience I would have kissed him. But I was a bit too shy to do so.

"You were amazing, baby," I told him quietly. He smiled a little. Touched my chin with his fingers.

"Thanks," he replied. Before I knew it, I had his lips against mine. Just for a moment. Like a tease for later. It made me want more, that was for sure.

"Are you ready for another session then?" Angela asked Simon and he nodded. He handed me the water bottle and went inside the recording room again.

"So was it worth giving up the crown and your whole legacy for this then?" Leah teased.

"Yeah," I said confidently. Just that little kiss would have been enough.     

Author's note

Here comes a shorter chapter. I hope you like it anyways. I have so much to do right now and I don't have too much time to update on this at the moment, but there will be more chapters to this, I promise. I am taking a course at uni that is super intense and I hang out more at school or at the legal firm that takes care of my training for the next ten weeks than I have spent at home recently I think. So if I disappear a bit this spring, I am just writing my first ever juridical submissions and learning how to plead in court. 

I hope you all have a nice spring!

A.A.