At Your Service- A Royalty Solangelo AU

Chapter 19

The roar of the crowd was the first thing to reach him as he trailed down the corridor to the balcony. He was a few paces behind Luke, so when the general stopped at the doors, he still walked for a moment longer. When Will came to rest next to him, he waited anxiously for Luke to swing the doors open but that did not happen. Instead, Luke turned to him with a small trace of tears in his eyes. 

"I'm so happy for you, you know that?" He whispered. 

Will smiled back at his old friend, clasping him on the shoulder firmly. "I know. You always are so good about that." 

A small painful expression glinted over his face, but it was gone just as fast as it came on.  "Don't forget me when you're famous."

He pulled the general into a hug, and felt strong arms squeeze him back. "Love you, dude. And I promise I won't. Don't plan on going anywhere since I will of course need my right hand man with me."

Luke's face broke into a mischievous grin, and he nodded towards the door. "Shall we?" 

"We shall"

The doors bowed open, and Will felt a hand on his back which gently shoved him through. Stepping out onto the long balcony, he could hear the crowd much clearer now, though could barely make them out from the distance he was standing. His mother awaited him at the edge of the balcony, dressed beautiful as ever in a long golden gown whose train spilled behind her across the floor. Opening her arms, she beckoned him closer. He obliged, crossing the long walk to the edge quickly, and feeling her comforting embrace welcome him. When he pulled back, he could now see the crowd below him. 

Thousands of people had flooded the courtyard, all craning their necks up to the balcony where the family stood. He was still in the shadows, so it was unlikely they saw him, their gaze instead transfixed on a member of the royal court who was speaking. 

"Welcome, Hele, to our announcement ceremony. As you all are aware, our King Apollo, blessed be, is in a poor state of health. Though he is expected to make full recovery, at his wishes, we gather here today to celebrate our Prince, the newest member of the royal line. Someday, he shall take the throne of his great father, and it is our honor today to present him to you." 

His mother squeezed his hand comfortingly. Suddenly he was a little kid again, looking at his mother for safety, her being his guiding light with all things royalty. It was his last few moments of being undeclared, being out of the scornful watch of the public eye. But it was his last few moments of being a kid, he was finally going to be able to change. 

"I now present you, Prince William Andrew Solace, first descendant of the royal bloodline."

He cast one more glance at his mom who smiled brightly at him. "Make them proud, William." 

With a nod, he stepped out into the sunlight and the crowd went wild. He could see them now, the individual faces all looking up at him. They were cheering his name, his name. 

"You may want to speak a couple words to them, your highness." The royal court member whispered to him. 

Taking a deep breath in, he stepped over to the microphone which was teetering on the edge of a podium. Addressing the crowd, he grimaced at hearing his own voice projected across the courtyard, but he continued. 

"Thank you everyone for being here today. I have grown up in this palace everyday, watching this incredible nation from afar. Each of you is an amazing person, all contributing to this kingdom in a way that is unique to you, and I cannot begin to thank you enough for your selfless actions. It is my father's guidance that has led to this prosperity that we now enjoy, and I can only hope to do the same- to continue that legacy- when the time comes. But for now, I will enjoy getting to know this kingdom for all that makes it so wonderful before I take on the title as King. Once again, thank you for trusting me as your first prince, I promise I will not let you down."

He stepped back from the microphone, giving a big wave to the crowd who continued to roar following his speech. Then, as quickly as he was out there, he left. 

The rest of the people on the balcony fell in behind him, all slipping back through the doors and into the palace. He slid down the wall and finally breathed out, realizing he had been holding his breath since the speech. 

In an instant, his mother was beside him, doting on him like she always did. 

"You are so amazing, you made your father and I very proud today. It looked like you had been doing that all your life," Her eyes sparkled with pride as she looked at him. 

"That was probably the most stressful moment of my life," He breathed out, getting a laugh from his mother. 

"It comes with time, honey. They did seem to love you very much, you will make a great King someday."

His stomach lurched at the comment, even though he knew that she did not mean it that way. But deep down he could feel it too, that someday was getting very close. The reason the ceremony had been so rushed was because everyone knew they would be needing a new king soon. 

Instead, he just smiled up at her. "Thank you, mom, for everything."

"Absolutely, my dear." She placed a kiss on the top of his head which he leaned into "I do miss you when you're gone, but you are so brave for this. You make us very proud dear." 

"I miss you too mom." He echoed, and she looked at him lovingly with eyes he had grown to miss in the past weeks he had been gone. 

"Good. Now go, I hear your Aruman general is waking up and it would be best if you were there when he did." 

He nodded, accepting her gracefully extended hand to help himself up. After one final hug with his mom, he headed back down the corridor, leaving his hele life behind once more.