If the Crown Fits (Completed)

Chapter Nine

Alice's POV:

My heart beat quickens and sweat beads my forehead. It is hard to sit there as your crazy uncle presses a gun against the love of your life's head.
"Why?" I cry unable to take all of this drama much longer. Why do all bad things have to happen to me?
"That crown is mine you filthy girl! No one is going to take that away from me!" he screams. His hands are shaking furiously and if he even tried to shoot a bullet would probably just hit the floor.
"Why is the throne so important to you?" I ask. He shouts in frustration.
"You stupid girl, don't you get it?! I have nothing else! I had to kill my way to the throne just to be satisfied!"
I gasp. He is responsible for my parents' murder! And the rest of my family's mysterious deaths.
"You! You ruined my childhood! You took away everything from me for your throne?" I scream. This man is a monster.
"You paid Lenora, didn't you?" I say inwardly cursing myself for not realizing sooner. He just grins.
"Indeed," he chuckles. "And now, to take the most important thing of all. And next, maybe even that little friend of yours..."
"You leave Jackson and Jasmine out of this! This is between you and me." I demand.
"All will be well if you give up the throne," he says with a smug smirk.
"For everyone to continue suffering under a ruler like you? Nonsense!" I say taken aback. He thinks I'm that stupid?
"All well, I will give you thirty seconds to say your goodbyes then," he says looking at his cuticles.
I rush over to Jackson and the flood gates open again. He grabs my hands in his and I immediately kiss him. He holds me as if he'll never let go.
"The lives of the many or more important than the lives of the few," Jackson whispers. I nod and he smiles softly at mw, brushing away my tear with his thumb.
"I can't live without you," I say and my voice cracks. He shakes his head.
"You can and you will. Do it for your parents, the people...and me," he says and I immediately think back to that night.
"Time's up," Uncle Jerry says before pulling me up and shoving me away. I scream for him to stop but he just grins at me.
"I love you, Julia. I love you, Alice," Jackson whispers. As soon as he pulls the trigger, I close my eyes. I hear two groans of pain and thuds on the ground, and a gasp. I feel arms around me and immediately hit and scratch at him.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" I cry.
"Julia, stop! It's me!" Jackson yells. I stop and open my eyes to see him gazing down at me. I jump into his arms and hug him tightly, causing him to fall back onto the bed. I kiss him all over his face.
"How are you okay?" I ask confused.
"Harry jumped in front of me and took the bullet and he shot Jerry at the same time. Both of them are dead," Jackson says quietly with a blank expression on his face.
"The Kerrington line has ended," I whisper, unable to believe it.
"Harry saved us," Jackson whispers, unable to believe it either.
***
Their funerals were short, sweet, and to the point. We gave them memorials in the palace garden with the rest of the royal family and I now have to prepare for my coronation which is to take place tomorrow.
I have been out in the gardens sitting on the bench facing Harry's stone for the past half hour. I can't get over the fact that after everything, he saved the man I loved and gave his life for him.
"Thank you," I whisper and the only response I get is the breeze blowing through my hair.
"There you are," I hear Jackson call and I turn to see him with a goofy grin on his face. I can't help but smile back. He's so cute.
He sits down next to me and immediately takes my hand and I squeeze it extra tightly.
"Are you ready for your coronation tomorrow?" Jackson asks.
"Training for this day my whole life couldn't have prepared me for tomorrow," I say with a laugh. Jackson laughs too and I shiver as the breeze blows again.
"Here," Jackson says placing his coat over my arms. I roll my eyes.
"How cliché," I reply. He grins at me again.
"So what happens after the coronation then?" he asks.
"Well, I take up my duties as queen?" I say confused. He knows this.
"No. I meant what happens to us," he says thoughtfully.
"Oh," is all I can say.
"I don't know," I say after some time. "What I do know however is that I cannot lose you. When I thought you were dead yesterday, it felt like my heart exploded. I never want to have to feel that again."
"You don't have to," Jackson says. I turn to him and surprise and he stands up. He gets in front of me and kneels down onto one knee. I gasp as he removes a velvet box from his pocket. He opens it to reveal a ring with a reddish-pink gem in the center, a garret, my birthstone. The exact same ring he gave me four years ago.
"Julia, Alice, whoever you decide to be, we have been through many things together. I have always loved you and will never stop. So after everything, I think we can make it to the end. So will you help me in accomplishing that goal by saying you will marry me?"
"Yes. Yes! YES!" I screech excitedly. His grin widens as he slips the ring onto my finger. I grab him by the collar and pull his lips onto mine. My hands find his hair and his my waist. Our kiss deepens and I drop my hands to his shoulders. His hands slowly lower and I break away, his eyes boring into mine with such an intensity and passion like never before. Without a word, we go to my room and continue where we left off, and I know that in his arms and with him, the man I love, my Jackson, is where I am supposed to be.
***
So the last chapter is next and then the epilogue. It has been a real fun journey and even though no one reads this story anyway, I still am glad to have this story out. It will be the first one I finish and publish and hopefully the first of many. I need more supporters please. But anyway, there are no more cliffhangers! Yay! But now the drama is solved and all that is left is who Alice/Julia decides to be. I can't wait to see how the whole story turns out when it's finished! So please comment, vote, add, and read my story!
Lots of love for ya!
XOXO,
~SB~