Sebastian wasn’t sure that the decision he had made was the right one. For the sake of tradition and his arranged marriage, he should give the order to bring Edward back, but he didn’t feel it was right to.
Edward was clearly happy in Switzerland. He was studying what he wanted and would live a free life without restrictions. He was also afraid that Edward would hate him if he forced him to come back to Albion.
“Is that your final decision?” Ryan questioned.
“It is,” he confirmed. “Has Queen Annelise left it up to me then?”
It was normally a decision his mother would make, but the fact that Ryan had asked him suggested that his mother had delegated the responsibility to him. She had started to involve him more in decision making recently.
“She did. I will pass your reply back to her. Remember to go and say goodbye to her when you’re ready to leave.”
Ryan left the room. Sebasti
Edward sat down at the kitchen table to eat his breakfast. He had a lecture in an hour and the university was half an hour away by bus so he was keen to eat his breakfast very quickly.“There’s some major news from Albion,” his mother said suddenly. “The palace has announced that Queen Annelise died in the early hours of this morning.”Edward dropped his toast in shock. Hewould have never imagined that Queen Annelise would die so soon. She had been very full of life when he had met her.His parents exchanged looks. Edward picked up his slice of toast and carried on eating whilst he thought about Albion. The three of them never really talked about their past in Albion. They had assimilated to their new life in Switzerland quickly.Despite that, Albion and Sebastian were always somewhere in his mind.Sebastian couldn’t be doing too well at the moment. Queen Annelise’s death meant that he would become king at
Edward knew his freedom in Switzerland had come to a drastic end. Sebastian wasn’t coming to visit him for a casual coffee meeting, he was coming to drag him back to Albion.There was no denying he was Edward Grey. Sebastian knew exactly who he was. He wouldn’t be able to claim he was someone else.“Sebastian, what are you doing here?” he asked.The prince glanced at Mark who took the hint and quickly left the coffee shop at high speed. Edward had to admire the efficient operation. Someone had mapped out his schedule and established that he frequented the coffee shop after lectures, someone had arranged for customers to be kept away and Sebastian had come to lie in wait for him.“You can’t have missed what has been happening in Albion,” his husband said.Edward took a seat next to him. There was no getting away from Sebastian so he might as well take a seat. He also wanted to talk to him.“I am
Sebastian didn’t sleep much on his return flight to Albion, he had too much to think about. Edward’s willingness to cooperate had taken him by surprise. He had been expecting a lot of resistance. Maybe he could hope that Edward still loved him. It was strange to see Edward with different hair and less muscular. He looked happy and healthy in all the surveillance photos which made him feel a little bitter. The other students on Edward’s photography course had been asked about Edward or rather, Gabriel Dubois. He was popular and considered good looking, but had remained single the entire time. Sebastian had been relieved to hear that until he had met the barista of the coffee shop. He didn’t like the thought of anyone else having the chance to date Edward. A royal advisor appeared at his side. “Angela has sent through the schedule for Queen Annelise’s funeral. Would you like to look at it now?” Sebastian switched to work mode. He had a l
Edward was woken up in the morning by a knock at the door. He took a moment to realise that he was no longer in his bedroom in Switzerland, he was in the royal palace in Albion. “Who is it?” he asked sleepily. “It’s Bernadette, you have a meeting before breakfast at 8. I suggest you get up very soon.” Edward groaned. No one had mentioned that the meeting would be this early. It was 7:00am now. “I’ll get up,” he said sleepily. He heard Bernadette’s footsteps fade away and he pushed away the bedcovers. If the meeting was about his marriage it meant Sebastian would be there. He persuaded himself to get out of bed. The plane journey combined with the awkward dinnertime the previous evening had exhausted him. He had a quick shower and got dressed. His black roots were starting to show in his hairline again. He would have to ask if the royal advisors wanted him to have brown hair or his natural black hair. He wouldn’t mind going back to his
Edward checked that his camera had plenty of battery and loaded an empty memory card into the camera for his photoshoot. Sebastian had been visibly disappointed by the photoshoot request, but he had agreed to it eventually. “Remind me why I have to be your model again,” Sebastian requested when Edward walked into his office. “As I said before, the assignment is a male model photoshoot. You’re the only male I can use,” Edward explained. “I’m not allowed to socialise so I don’t know anyone else at university. If I use someone here like Ryan, everyone is going to wonder if I’m cheating on you. That means it has to be you.” Sebastian didn’t look entirely convinced, but he got up from his desk. “What do you want me to do?” “How much time do you have to spare?” Edward questioned. “Ideally I want to get all the photos at once.” “You can have an hour of Prince Sebastian, the male model,” his husband replied. Edward decided the be
They spent a long time wrapped up in each other. Edward was sad to notice how much time had passed when he checked his watch. “I think I should leave now,” he said. “You do have a lot of work to do.” Sebastian’s desk was littered with piles of paperwork. It was likely only to get worse when he became king. His husband pouted at him. “It feels unfair to part so soon. We’ve only just reconciled,” Sebastian’s pout changed into a smirk. “Did you want to visit me in my bedroom tonight?” Edward’s eyes narrowed. He did remember that they had been planning to sneak around at night a year ago. He just couldn’t see how it was possible. “How am I going to manage that without being seen? You never told me how we were going to manage it last time.” “There’s a secret passage,” Sebastian said simply. Edward wasn’t sure on whether or not to believe him. He remembered the secret room in the ballroom and the age of the palace. It was lik
“I think we also should stay together forever,” Sebastian agreed. “Don’t run away again.”Edward leaned in for a very quick kiss.“Thank you for my present. I don’t have anything to give you in return though.”It wasn’t like he was able to go out to buy anything. He was always trapped.“Your undying love in return feels fair,” Sebastian quipped.Edward nudged him. “You already have that. I just didn’t tell you.”Sebastian moved in for a kiss that became very deep and tongue filled. Edward was breathless by the time they parted.“I need to get back to work before Angela comes to find where I am,” Sebastian said. “There’s only one number in the phone. You’ll find it’s the most important one.”Sebastian left the library after readjusting his blond hair to its usual style. Edward took a moment to recover his
Rehearsals for the crowning ceremony started in full force the following day. Sebastian spent the morning being fitted for his formal clothes and trying on the crown. It was odd to feel the weight of the crown on his head. It was a lot heavier than it had looked on his mother’s head. The crown was gold and had emeralds on each peak. It was centuries old and had to be restored every few years. The original fur lining had been replaced with synthetic fur ten years before for a better public image. “How do I look?” he asked Edward when his husband turned up. Edward stared at him silently and gave him a thumbs up. “You look very kingly,” he said. “For someone who got a higher grade in creative writing than me, that wasn’t very imaginative,” Sebastian retorted. “Did you want to try it on?” “Am I even allowed to?” Edward asked and looked around nervously. Sebastian knew that the answer was likely no. He wasn’t bothered though