A Royal Beginning [Book 1 of The English Lion]

LXXXIII. Winston

Sunday, 25th October 1936

I held a newspaper in my hand as I quickly made my way to Alexander's office in Kensington Palace, knowing that he is there as of this time of early evening. I knocked after arriving in front of his room.

"Come in," Alexander said blankly, and I opened the door before walking in. I closed it behind me before walking in, to find that he was reading a newspaper, and sipping a cup of Earl Grey. He glanced up at me before turning his attention back to his newspaper.

"Sit, Winston. You look like you're going to pass out," Alexander told me, and I just sat at the same table he was. I set the newspaper down onto the table. Alexander rang the bell and John walked in.

"Yes, sir?" He asked.

"Bring Winston a cup of...?" Alexander asked me.

"Earl Grey, please. Thank you," I replied and John nodded, bowed and left. I turned to Alexander.

"What do you think about it, hm?" I asked, referring to the event that took place earlier today.

"That we as a nation should prepare for war," Alexander replied casually, sipping his cup of tea. I just stared at him.

"Don't say 'I told you so', Alexander," I stated, before opening my copy of the newspaper as John walked in and bowed, before making his way and placed the cup of Earl Grey on the table not far from me.

"Thank you," I told him and he nodded, before bowing at Alexander and heading out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"Regius Obligatus has been preparing for over three years now. Agent recruitment has been skyrocketed, and what are we doing as a nation?" Alexander asked, slamming his copy of the newspaper down onto the table, knowing full well that he is going off on a rant. The table shook a bit when he did so. I looked at him, letting him get his rant out.

"Three years since Hitler became Chancellor, and it has been eighteen years since the Great War. We are now living in a time where we have asked the same question again!" Alexander yelled into thin air.

"What question?" I asked, as my curiosity peaked. Alexander turned to me, face hardened yet there was frustration in his eyes, considering that history is repeating itself, and it seems like - according to him - people never seems to be learning from the past.

"What will Germany do next," Alexander replied, simply stating it. The same question that I know too well from events prior to the Great War.

Wednesday, 25th November 1936

I made my way to Alexander's office, knowing that he knows what happened. This time, Regius Obligatus headquarters. When I arrived, I saw that there were several officers that were just leaving. I walked in and saw Alexander standing behind his desk, sipping a glass of Scotch. I closed the door behind me and made myself a glass of Scotch.

"So, an anti-Comintern pact between Germany and Japan. What do you make of that, hm?" I asked as I made close the bottle of Scotch with the lid. I take the glass of Scotch as I head to the sofa before sitting down, looking at the boy, waiting for an answer.

"First, the Axis alliance between Germany and Italy last month. Now, this," Alexander replied blankly, looking at the papers on his desk.

"I don't think the majority of the government officials except for you, papa, and His Majesty, King Francios would have to agree on the underlying tones of danger and the recurring motif of war here," Alexander told me.

"Hm, that is true," I replied, standing up and setting the glass down, "Well, I'm just here to see if you had heard of the anti-Comintern pact, that's all."

Alexander nodded and I left the office.

Thursday, 10th December 1936

Dear Diary,

Earlier today, I met with King Edward VIII as I have been informed two things: one, the courtship between Alexander and Princess Charlotte of Sweden has ended, and two, he will step down his role as king as it will be announced tomorrow. So, all in all, this year has gone from bad to worse both at home and abroad. I fear that war is now imminent and will happen sometime in the near future. Another war is something that is unrealistic, and impossible.

Talking about the courtship, I'm not sure how Isabelle will react to the news as it is obvious to the world that she has been smitten by Alexander, and it can be said the same with Alexander. There is no doubt that these two are in love, and there are a number of people that agree with me. With meetings in the previous months during Alexander's courtship with Charlotte, there are no mentions of Isabelle, and he is somehow different. Alexander had changed from being him to someone who is entirely different, and everyone is unsure to what had caused it. I believed it has to do something with the courtship.

-Winston