The Royals and The Baby

back again (48)

The king's been gone for almost an hour now. The three of us are out on one of the balconies. William's sitting on the bench with Rose in his arms. Every now and then he tickles her, making her squeal and squirm.

I smile at them for a moment before returning my attention to the book I'm reading about Australia's history.

A knock sounds on the glass doors of the balcony, making me look up from the book. The door slides back and a housemaid brings me my coffee which I asked for.

"Thank you." I say as I lift the cup off the tray that she has balanced on her hand. I remember having to do that numerous times when I was a waitress.

I sigh at the memory and take a sip. Before I can swallow it, William's phone starts to ring.

He balances the phone of his shoulder so that both his arms are free to hold Rose.

"Hey!" He greets whoever's calling.

After listening for a moment or two, he replies and then ends the call.

"I have to go, father needs me." He says, getting up and handing Rose to me.

"Is everything alright?" I ask, looking up at him.

He nods. "Yeah. I need to sign a couple of papers."

"Oh!" I say. "Well, you'd better get going then."

"Yeah." He sighs and then bends down to kiss Rose on the cheek and then giving me a goodbye kiss he leaves.

The moment the doors close after him, Rose starts to cry.

"Aww! Hey! Do you miss daddy already?" I coo, holding her against my shoulder and kissing her head.

She stops crying and then minutes later falls asleep in my arms. I finish my coffee before taking Rose inside. Once I get to my room, I settle her in her crib and then make myself comfortable in an armchair to continue reading the book.

By the time I look up from the book, it's been one whole hour since William left. I fold the page to mark it and then put it on the coffee table before getting up and checking on Rose and then I go into the bathroom to splash some water on my face.

Just as I'm stepping out my phone starts to ring. I pick it up from the bed and check the caller ID. It's William.

"Hi!" I greet him, answering the call.

"Is everything fine at the palace?" He asks and I can hear sirens on his end.

"Yeah. Why? William, is something wrong?" I ask, panicking.

"Thank God." He whispers. "I need you to listen to me, alright."

"Okay." I reply, trembling with fear now.

"There's an escort waiting for you outside, they know where to come. Leave as soon as you can." He explains.

"But what about Rose? Should I bring her too?" I ask him, walking towards her crib.

"No. Leave her at the palace. It's the safest place right now." He says.

A few tears spill out. "William what's going on? I'm scared."

His voice softens at once. "Hey! Listen to me, I need you to calm down, alright? Please for me. I need you right now."

The way he says that makes me panic even more.

"Will?" I whisper into the phone but then I realize that he's ended the call.

I call the only person I can think of right now. She picks up almost at once.