The Crown Affair - 6. Chapter 6 - The Prince Defends Himself

Eighth day of the eleventh lumin (Kask-Lumin) 2025 of the modern calendar:

“Ssshhhh, Flowers,” Josh whispered, placing a finger over his lips. “I’ve only just gotten him to sleep.”

Mr Flowers was stunned beyond words to find both boys sitting on Josh’s bed, Max snugly wrapped up in Josh’s arms, fast asleep and snoring; it also appeared as though the prince had been crying.

“One minute, Flowers.” Josh gently laid Max on his bed, pulled the quilt over him, and then brushed a few loose hairs from the sleeping page’s forehead. Josh knelt down next to Max and whispered, “Sleep calmly, my friend.” Josh then kissed him on the forehead, and led Mr Flowers from his room, closing the door behind him with a gentle snick.

“Now Flowers, I assume there is a good reason why you flew into my room without so much as knocking?”

“Forgive me, Your Highness. Some of your earlier actions were relayed to the staff downstairs, along with the initial confrontation between you and Max in his room. Rumours concerning these events have been flying around below stairs, and they were very worrying. I was greatly concerned for Max’s safety.”

Josh looked up at Mr Flowers; being up close and personal for the first time, Josh was startled by the fact that Mr Flowers was even taller than King Kenneth was. Josh was also stunned at what he had just heard. Then seeing the complete absurdity of it, a small grin started forming, as Josh struggled with the inevitable. The inevitable won over his self-restraint and he started laughing; not just a childish giggle or two, but huge belly laughs that echoed throughout the palace. Mr Flowers visibly flushed at having his concern for his son being made a mockery of.

When he regained control of himself, Josh said, “I’m sorry, Flowers. I am not laughing at you . . . not exactly. Look at me; just how could I ever be a danger to anyone? I’ve never even as much as been in a fight.”

“Do not forget that you command the entire palace guard. You could easily have ordered one of them to do something to Max.”

The prince visibly paled at the suggestion that he could have arranged for something to be done to Max. “Why in the world would I want to do anything to hurt Max? I like him. He’s my friend.”

“I don’t know, but something occurred between the two of you an hour ago. Max was seen running from your room and he looked terrified. You then told one of the maids that you had something personal to attend to concerning Max; something that nobody else could deal with for you. Then about ten minutes after dinner had started, you were heard yelling and swearing at Max by no less than four members of the palace staff.”

“I admit that those events did happen, but they have been taken completely out of context. I will tell you everything that occurred, but first I want to know more about these rumours.”

After Mr Flowers had finished telling Josh about the rumours that were flying around amongst the staff, the prince’s initial reaction was to simply laugh them off, but he knew that he couldn’t just do that. He needed to set the record straight, to say nothing about putting a stop to the besmirching of his good name. He also needed to do this before his parents started hearing the rumours. Little did he know that it was already too late to close that particular barn door.

“Flowers, I want you to assemble all of the staff. I will speak with them once dinner is concluded.”

“Your Highness, perhaps it would be best if I spoke to the staff and inform them—”

Josh cut him off mid-sentence. “You seem to labouring under the impression that I was asking a favour of you. That was a royal command from the Prince of Salania to the number two butler.”

Mr Flowers was momentarily taken aback. Josh had been in the palace for three days and he had always seemed uncomfortable with the whole idea of the staff being subject to his whims, fancies, and orders; he was even still struggling to maintain protocol with his serving girl. However, Mr Flowers knew that someday the prince would realise that he was just that, the Prince of Salania.

Mr Flowers bowed to the prince and said, “Of course, Your Highness.”

Just as Mr Flowers was about to return to the dining room and inform the staff of the prince’s order, Josh placed a hand on his arm and stopped him. Josh smiled at the butler and said, “May I ask you something concerning palace protocol?”

“Of course you may.”

Josh informed Mr Flowers of what he was wondering about and whether it was permissible. Mr Flowers thought it over for a few minutes, and he then informed Josh that whilst he had never heard of anything exactly like that ever happening in Salania’s past, there had been similar occurrences. However, a decree from any member of the royal family, in any kingdom, is immutable, and it cannot be challenged by anyone.

Josh followed Mr Flowers down to the dining room. Josh’s parents had just finished eating and headed straight for him as soon they saw him in the hallway.

“Joshua, can we talk to you please.” Queen Maria had no smile for her son, nor did she even enquire as to what had kept him from dinner.

Josh quietly followed his parents into one of the small rooms off the main hallway.

“Josh, your father and I have heard some very disturbing rumours. The fact that there are rumours flying around concerning you is unsettling enough, but the content of the rumours is even more disturbing.”

King Kenneth took over from his wife. “Josh, you are the Prince of Salania. You must understand that your actions reflect on your mother and me. You must be beyond reproach. If there is any truth to these rumours you must tell us now.”

“By The fucking Great Serpent!” Josh walked over to the only window in the room and pressed his head against the snow season coolness of the glass.

He took a few deep breaths as he tried to calm his emotions. He knew that he needed to keep his rising anger under control, and exploding at his parents was not something he wanted to do. But damn it! How dare they even ask if the rumours were true! He knew in his heart that his aunt would never have had the temerity to even think such a thing, let alone ask him. That knowledge only served to make him miss her more.

“Mother! Father! The rumours are completely untrue! I realise that you have only known me for three days, but I would at least have thought that as the King and Queen of Salania, you would not have put quite so much stock in palace gossip!”

Josh saw the pain in his mother’s eyes when he pointed out that she barely knew him, but he continued unabated.

“I plan to address this matter with the staff, but the very fact that I am being asked to account for myself by the two people here who I thought would have had more faith in me is not only upsetting, but I find it deeply offensive.”

As he left the room, he turned to his mother, and just to twist the knife that little bit more, with as much venom as he could summon he added, “Aunt Mildrea would never have demeaned herself by even asking me.”

Kenneth and Maria looked at each other. They were completely speechless and utterly out of their depth. They had had a child for fourteen cycles, yet they had only been parents for three and a half days. They had both put in so much effort preparing for Josh’s arrival over the past five lumins. They had prepared his room, his staff, the palace, and even arranged a space for him at the Royal Academy. They had, unfortunately, completely forgotten the most important thing, to prepare themselves for his arrival.

Mr Flowers saw the flush in Josh’s cheeks and the sparkle in his eyes, and wondered exactly what could have possibly transpired behind the closed door. “I have told the staff to assemble in the servants’ hall downstairs. If you will follow me, Your Highness.”

Josh followed Mr Flowers below stairs, which was yet another bastion within the walls of the palace that the royal family rarely ventured. The servants’ hall was packed to the gills. Every single member of the palace household staff from the very top of the proverbial food chain (the housekeeper, Mrs Montjoy) right the way down to the two lowliest daily girls had been summoned. All ninety six of the inside housestaff were there; correction, ninety five, for Max Jacobs was, of course, still sleeping soundly in the prince’s bed.

In the prince’s bed! By The Great Serpent! Now there was a scandal and a half if there ever was one!

The entire palace guard had not been summoned, as they numbered nearly two hundred and fifty. Karl Nolsen, the Captain of the Guard, was the only guard present and he would report the events of this meeting to the troops under his command. The outside staff did not reside inside the palace, and as all of them had already been dismissed for the day, Mrs Montjoy would relay the outcome of this assembly to the Master of the Stables for dissemination amongst the outside servants.

The room was abuzz with whispered conversations. Each servant was trying to guess as to why Mr Flowers had them all assembled, for he had neither told them that the order had come from the prince nor had he revealed the nature of the bombshell that Prince Joshua was planning to drop from on high. This was also the first time in many cycles that the entire staff had been assembled in this fashion. The longest serving staff members knew that the last occasion was to announce the sudden death of Queen Maria’s parents some twenty cycles ago, and they deeply hoped that they would not be hearing a similar announcement.

For Mr Flowers to have assembled the entire staff, they all knew that something had to be up, and that it had to be something big. Most guessed that it could only mean that the terrible rumours concerning Max must be true, a few guessed that the summons was to announce the prince’s punishment for his actions. Only Mrs Montjoy and Mr Baxter, the two most senior of the palace servants, did not join in the speculation.

Mr Flowers entered the room and said, “Silence for His Highness, Prince Joshua of Salania.”

Josh entered the servants’ hall and got his first glimpse at the true size of the army of servants at the palace; there were a few faces he recognised, but many he didn’t. He actually doubted that many of them had even been introduced to him, as he knew that there were servants who were expected to perform their duties and never have the eyes of the family look upon them. A few of the servants continued to whisper in the back of the room.

“I will have silence!” Prince Joshua, who stood at five foot nothing, didn’t exactly present himself as an imposing individual, but the room quickly fell silent. It was probably more so as a result of the glare from Mr Flowers, who at six and a half foot and then some, was a far more intimidating figure than the diminutive prince could ever hope to be.

“I told Flowers to assemble all of you here to scotch these ridiculous rumours concerning Max Jacobs that a few of you here have seen fit to spread around the palace like horse manure. I am here to tell you that there is absolutely no truth to them, and the muckspreading had better cease and desist with immediate effect.”

Miss Perkins timidly raised a hand. The prince rolled his eyes, but indicated she may speak.

“Your Highness, if the rumours are untrue, may I ask where Master Jacobs is?”

“Not that it is any concern of yours, but at this moment in time Max is asleep in my bed.”

There were a few sharp intakes of breath amongst the younger staff. Some of the staff looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Captain Nolsen shook his head. Georgette Perkins was shocked beyond words. Only Mr Baxter and Mrs Montjoy betrayed absolutely no emotion over the announcement.

“He is unharmed,” Joshua continued, “yet you, Georgette, it would seem, placed your own little spin on the message I asked you to pass to my parents.”

Mr Flowers was already aware of how Miss Perkins had relayed a modified version of the message to him, and although the prince had made Mr Flowers promise not to chastise her over it, the number two butler still planned to make sure that the maid would never advance beyond her current station.

“Those of you who heard me shouting at Max up in the servant’s quarters believed I was yelling at him because I was angry. I was merely yelling so that he would hear me over his own crying.”

Miss Perkins raised her hand again.

The prince sighed inward, and closed his eyes. “Yes, Georgette?”

“Why was Max crying?”

“He was upset. A simple misunderstanding had occurred between us in my room, which Max became unnecessarily upset over. He believed that he would be in serious trouble over what had transpired, when in fact he was not.”

The prince hoped that would be the end of it, yet he saw a familiar hand raise up for a third time.

“Yes, again, Georgette?”

“What happened, may I ask?”

“You may ask, but that does not mean you will get an answer!” Gone was the nervous teenager, gone was the boy who struggled to get through breakfast, gone was the boy who hated using the word servant. He was the fucking Prince of Salania, and this was one time he needed to act the role. “I am here to tell all of you that these rumours will cease and desist with immediate effect. If Jacobs, Flowers or I hear any more of these rumours, then the person or people propagating them, will find themselves being charged with high treason against the Crown of Salania and they will face the full force of our judicial system!”

Josh took a few moments to compose himself. He looked over at Mr Flowers, who merely nodded that he should continue. The young prince took a deep breath as he steeled himself for any backlash from he was what about to say next.

“By my decree, on this day, the eighth day of Kask-Lumin in the year 2025 of the modern calendar, I have hereby granted my friend, Max Jacobs, the supreme privilege of addressing me by my proper name. Good evening to you all.”

Silence reigned in the servant’s hall, even Mrs Montjoy was at a rare loss for words. Mr Flowers and the prince left the stunned household staff to themselves. None of them had ever heard of such a thing coming to pass, and they all wondered just how this latest shake up to palace protocol would impact upon them.

As Mr Flowers and the prince entered the hallway from the backstairs, they saw King Kenneth waiting for them.

Kenneth spoke in what he hoped was a conciliatory tone, as he didn’t want Josh to explode again. “Josh, can we talk please?”

“I think we have already made our feelings perfectly clear, have we not?”

“Josh, please.”

Josh nodded. He then turned to Mr Flowers and said, “Flowers, please wait for me. We have things to discuss.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Josh then reluctantly followed his dad into one of the siderooms off the main hall.

Kenneth kept his voice calm and level. “Josh, your mother is very upset by what you said to her earlier.”

“And I am upset by what the both of you said to me!” Josh slowly walked to the far side of the room. He could feel his anger bubbling to the surface.

“You must understand that we had to ask.”

‘One . . . two . . . three,’ Josh counted to himself, and then took a deep breath.

‘Four . . . five . . . six.’ Another deep breath.

Josh could feel himself calming down. ‘Seven . . . eight . . . nine.’ A third deep breath. It was an old trick his aunt had taught him when he was about six, and for a child whose emotions were close to the surface, it was a very useful trick.

“And you must understand, Father,” Josh replied, much more calmly, “that Aunt Mildrea would never have demeaned herself, or me, by asking. Aunt Mildrea knows me far more intimately than you or Mother does, and I accept that you do not yet know me that well, that however does not forgive what Mother or you asked me.”

“Be that as it may, your mother is upset and I believe it would help if you apologised.”

“With all due respect to you Father, I will apologise for speaking the truth when the Ten Hells freeze over! If I did something wrong I would apologise, however, I did nothing wrong. Now, my friend is upstairs, and I need to check on him.”

“What do you mean your friend is upstairs? What friend?”

“I mean Max. He is currently asleep in my bed.”

Kenneth was almost floored by this. “But . . . the rumours?”

“Exactly, Father!” Josh’s anger rushed to the surface, much too quickly for him to control. He tried to calm himself down using the breathing trick his aunt had taught him, but was only half-successful. “The rumours that you and Mother would seem so eager to choose to believe! The rumours that you and Mother were so afraid were true! It is amazing what little faith the both of you have in my aunt, the sister of the Queen of Salania, the younger daughter of our late sovereigns, to raise me correctly. Max and I have quickly become friends, and I would never, I could never, do anything to hurt him.”

“So what exactly happened?”

“The specifics do not concern you or Mother. Under palace protocol, as my personal aide Max’s welfare is my concern, and my concern alone. Suffice to say, that I have granted him permission to address me by my proper name.”

“You’ve done what! You have no such authority!”

“On the contrary, Father. In accordance with precedence set down by Her Supreme Majesty Queen Adrianette of Salania in the year 1311 of the modern calendar, Max has been granted permission to use my proper name. I believe that it would now be best if I were to take my leave, before one of us ends up saying something the other may come to regret.”

Josh stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him for good measure, leaving King Kenneth pondering over how he and Maria had handled this situation. Their first real task as parents and they had well and truly fucked it up.

Josh almost walked straight into Mr Flowers, whom he forgot was still waiting. “Your Highness, may I ask if you plan to fill me in as to what happened between you and Max?”

“Of course.”

The two walked into the second parlour on the ground floor of the palace. Josh indicated that Mr Flowers should sit down.

“Would you care for a drink, Flowers?”

“I shouldn’t while I am still on duty.”

“Flowers, you appear unwell. I am therefore relieving you of your evening responsibilities. Now, would you care for a drink?”

Mr Flowers nodded as he yielded to the inevitable. “Thank you, Your Highness. Just a small one.”

Josh grabbed two glasses from the drinks trolley. He put a couple of ice cubes into each glass, and poured a small amount of a reddish coloured liquid into each glass. Josh took a seat across from Mr Flowers and handed him one of the glasses.

Mr Flowers took a sip from his glass. As the liquorice taste hit the back of his throat, he shook his head and smiled at the prince. “Rosepetal Nectar.”

“What?” Josh shrugged his shoulders and grinned. “You didn’t really expect the fourteen cycle old Prince of Salania to serve you with alcohol, did you?”

In a rare moment of jocularity, Mr Flowers said, “With everything that has occurred today Your Highness, nothing would surprise me.”

Josh sat down in the chair opposite Mr Flowers. “Now where do I begin?”

Josh took a sip of his own drink, and thought back over the events of the past couple of hours. He inwardly cringed as the memory of him first walking into Max’s room in the servants’ quarters quickly bubbled to the surface of his mind; his stomach turned over as the revulsion swept through him. He pushed that memory as deep into the back of his mind as he could, and then felt a flood of warmth as he recalled the way he felt as Max fell asleep in his arms.

You can discuss the story here