A Royal Accident (A British Royal Family Fanfiction)

Adult Alice

Alice

It was July of 2021, when I finished school at Millfield. Mummy, Pa, George, Charlotte, Grandma and Grandad all came to my graduation from school on the final day of term. Everyone commented on how sweet George and Charlotte were and how beautifully behaved as well. As I had been the Head Girl at school for the last year, there were certain speeches I had to give and awards I had to present.

I gave a speech about the school and how it had become a home to me over the last seven years. How much I would miss everything and everyone, particularly the stables and the swimming pool, as this was probably where I spent most of my time. I talked about my housemistress, who had been the same lady for the last seven years and about how she had never seen jodhpurs as muddy as mine. Before at the end, I finally finished with,

"I know that I will go on to make a lot of speeches similar to this in my career. But I hope that each and every one of you sat here now will remember this one. Because I hope you all remember this place, this school and how exceptional it is and how exceptional the people here are. Not just the buildings and the facilities, but the people, the people who have made this place the beating heart that it is today. No amount of money could buy you what this school has, and I hope that will remain the same forever. So everyone gets the Millfield that I got, the best place on earth."

After the ceremony, we had drinks on the lawn with all of our friends and teachers. It gave me an opportunity to introduce Freddie to my grandparents. Mummy and Pa had met him, when he stayed at our house earlier on in the summer, but Grandma and Grandad hadn't met him yet. And I hadn't met Freddie's parents, only his brothers, who were in the school as well. There's something a little scary about meeting your boyfriend's parents, but it's slightly more nerve wracking when they have known who you are for the past eighteen years.

"I remember sitting with you, in your highchair and people coming over to the house that Papa and I lived in, and you just watching as they went past, usually with broccoli squashed into your face or something." Mummy said, as she stroked my hair against my head as she lay in my bed beside me.

"I remember when Louis used to get his food everywhere like that." I said as I giggled.

"He still does." Mummy replied, before a silence fell in the room. "I remember first going to university and meeting Daddy and feeling so scared about all the big changes that were ahead. And then I remember having you, and going back with you, and none of that fear about university was there anymore."

"So you're saying that I should have a baby?" I joked.

"No, no, you know what I mean though." Mummy shot back quickly and I nodded my head. "I just mean that the world didn't seem so scary when you were there, all my fear was channelled into you, I was so scared of what your future held and that I would fail you, that the world for me didn't feel scary anymore." she explained.

"You know that you never needed to worry, about failing me, you couldn't have done it, even if you tried." I told her.

"Alice Wales, something you should learn to never say to any mother is not to worry. It's in our nature to worry, that's what we do, it's what makes us who we are. I suppose Papa and I just never wanted to show you how worried we always were about you." Mummy said. "We wanted you to be strong and bold and brave and not held back by our fears for you. We tried so hard to hide that from you, so you never worried about it yourself. But now, you're an adult, and I guess it's important to know how we feel and what we thought was right and wrong when we were raising you. It's our job to teach you that."

"I never even knew." I said quietly, nestling my head closer into the crook of her arm.

"And that was exactly what we wanted. We knew how scary the world could be but we didn't want you growing up thinking everything was so terrifying, so as much as we never lied to you, we also protected you as much as we could from the world outside, without showing you our worries and without stopping you from doing anything. We knew you were going to get hurt eventually, and we just had to be there to catch you, when you fell." She stopped, stroked my hair and then kissed my head. "And now, now that you're going to university and you're leaving home, we can't protect you anymore and you have to figure out the world for yourself. And even though we won't be there, we will always be there, to catch you if you fall, and that will never change, I promise you, always and forever my Alice Wales."