The Destitute Queen || h.s. au

50. Liam

     I nervously knock on Uncle Albert's door, and take a deep breath as I wait for him to answer. After a few moments, he opens the door and greets me with a smile.

     "Hello, Liam!" He cheerily says. Albert has always been in high spirits. "Come on in."

     I grin and walk into his room. "Hi, Uncle."

     "You're twenty-five now, you don't need to call me 'Uncle' like you did when you were a young boy," he chuckles.

     "Right," I nod. Once I'm in the room, my nerves return to me. "I was hoping we could talk for a little bit."

     He gestures for me to sit at the small table in the corner of his room, and I take the nearest seat. He sits across from me and rests his elbows on the table.

     Then, he warmly smiles. "I still can't believe how much you've grown since the last time I saw you. You were only eighteen, I think. Look at you now, twenty-five and the father of two beautiful children."

     "Thank you," I smile, thinking about my wonderful little girls. "How's Haytham?"

     "He's well," Albert nods. Haytham is his six-year-old adopted son, whose mother was a good friend of Albert's. Apparently, she passed away when Haytham was only a year old, so Albert decided to care for him. I haven't met him yet but, from the way Albert's eyes light up at the mere mention of him, I can assume he's an amazing child. "He's got quite a mouth on him, though. Stubborn, like his mother was."

     "I wish I could meet him someday," I say.

     He sighs. "I would've loved to bring him here, but the journey is too much for a little boy. Took me a week by carriage to get here from Alba, he's too young for such a long journey yet. Maybe when he's older, I'll bring him."

     "I bet you miss him," I tell him, and he nods with a smile.

     "I can't wait to get back to him. I'm actually planning on leaving tomorrow," Albert replies. "That is, if your father stops pushing for me to give up my throne and stay here."

     His words remind me of why I came here in the first place. But, I can't bring myself to ask him to give Alba to Louis just so I can keep Prue and our baby a secret. If I don't do as Louis says, then Father will surely send Prue away when he finds out, and I can't let that happen. I just wish there was a way out of this.

     "Um," I start. "I need your help with something."

     "Alright," he nods. "What is it?"

     "Well, you see," I clear my throat, leaning forward. "I'm sort of being blackmailed. I have a secret, and Louis is using it against me."

     "What does he want you to do?" Albert furrows his brows.

     I sigh, and look away from him. "He wants me to convince Father to give him Alba, or a spot on his Royal Court. He'd prefer to have Alba, though. If he doesn't have either by the end of this year, then he's going to tell Father my secret."

     "Oh," he leans back in his chair. "I see. Well, I'm sorry to say that I just can't give up my throne."

     "Oh, I don't want you to give it up," I assure him truthfully. He's a good leader, and he has a lot of love for his kingdom. Not to mention how much his people love him back. "There isn't anyone more fit to be the ruler of Alba than you are. Father's feeding lies to the Royal Court, telling them that you're not ruling the kingdom wisely, but that's far from the truth. I'm merely asking you what I should do about the situation."