The Prince And His Pauper

Chapter 5: Smoke gets in your eyes

Disclaimer:
This is purely a work of fiction. The names of persons, places, and organizations used in this chapter are for creative purposes only and in no way reflect real-life interactions and connections. All names used in this chapter are fictional and any similarities to any person living or otherwise are purely coincidental. Everything written in this chapter is just a product of the author's penchant for the dramatic and the creative.

"When will Winfred come out of hiding?" Queen Victoria asked Fred as she sat beside King Amado in their private receiving room. She has summoned both Fred and Eva to ask for updates on the runaway prince.

"He is not hiding, he is just maximizing his freedom," Eva replied in a tight tone and Fred reached for her hand under the coffee table to squeeze it reassuringly as if telling her that everything is under control.

"I didn't ask you, I am talking to my son," Victoria replied petulantly to which Amado just rolled his eyes in anticipation of another round of bickering between his wife and their daughter-in-law.

"And I am the mother of the person you are talking about," Eva tilted her chin up defiantly as she put emphasis on her relationship with Win.

"Unfortunately," Victoria commented snidely and Amado sighed in exasperation before shaking his head ruefully.

"Mom, Eva, can we act like adults for once?" Fred finally mediated to prevent the tension between the two ladies to escalate further.

"You spoil your wife too much, Fred. Look at how her stubbornness has rubbed off on your son," Victoria admonished her son pointedly as if he was an erring child.

"Win is his own person, you knew that from the beginning, Mom," Fred tried to reason out but Victoria just waved her hand dismissively at him.

"I know. That is why I took great pains in finding a suitable partner for him. Charlotte would surely put Win in his proper place," Victoria declared smugly and Eva immediately saw red.

"And where is his proper place, Mother?" Eva asked in a wary tone and Fred squeezed her hand harder in warning but she didn't even flinch.

"You know that Win is next in line to the throne once Fred becomes king," Victoria stated in a challenging tone while looking at Fred as if asking her son to put his wife in her proper place.

"Can you just give it to someone else? This is not the life I want for my son or for any of my children," Eva declared stubbornly as she pulled her hand away from Fred and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Are you saying that Fred will be giving up his status of being heir to the throne?" Amado asked in a tentative tone, refusing to let himself be drawn into the word war between the two spirited ladies.

"He doesn't have to but I refuse to have my children be dragged into the fate my husband narrowly escaped," Eva explained in a shaky tone since she still holds great respect for her father-in-law as he never looked down on her like her mother-in-law does.

"If Fred just listened to me, we wouldn't have this problem," Victoria mumbled loudly for everyone in the room to hear.

"Mom, can't we just let bygones be bygones for once? Bringing up the past won't change the present," Fred pleaded to his mother as he glanced at his father as if to ask for support.

"But we need this betrothal ceremony to push through as soon as possible!" Victoria insisted in an impatient tone.

"Victoria, Fred, and I have talked about this before and I don't think this is a good timing to hold an event with such pomp and pageantry. People are going through hard times right now as the transition from the former administration to the present has not been going smoothly," Amado explained in length and Fred let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.