August stood at the window and saw the police car approaching on the tree-lined road.
He'd phoned the police saying he wanted to file a report about the sex tape that was recorded at their school and unsurprisingly they agreed to send two officers for him so they could take him to the station to make the report. He planned to make his statement at the police station with his stepfather present.
He turned on his phone again thinking he might like to say goodbye to Sara but he changed his mind and decided she would already know and probably didn't care that he was finally getting what he deserved. His phone immediately began to buzz as it came back on. He looked at the screen and hesitated, then decided he may as well get the conversation over with.
"Hej?" August spoke quietly in a controlled tone.
"August, you need to stop this now."
The Queen seemed surprisingly composed. She asked him to reconsider and let the Crown cover it up before it was too late so he would still have a good chance of becoming Crown Prince, especially if Wilhelm never decided to have an heir.
August was getting frustrated.
"I said that I didn't want the crown, so someone had better figure it out with Wilhelm or there won't be anyone to take over the throne. Your Majesty should be more careful how she treats people, especially her own family. Listen, I have to go meet with the police right now."
"What do you mean you don't want it?! You'd better reconsider this August! If you don't have the Royal Court to defend you, you could go to prison for years!"
"Maybe. I wonder though, what the public would think of a mother knowing who released her son's sex tape and not reporting it? That would be interesting information for the press, don't you think? Anyway, I don't want to keep them waiting..."
He smirked to himself and held the phone away from his ear. For a moment he listened to her panicked shouting "How dare you threaten me! We didn't report it to protect you and this is how you repay us?!" He put the phone back to his ear and responded.
"You were protecting yourselves and your image, and they knew they needed a backup." Then he took the phone away and pressed the red button to disconnect the call. He silenced the phone again.
________________
Wilhelm and Simon parted the curtains slightly to watch the police car park just in front of the school. They'd gone back downstairs to Wilhelm's room to wait and see what would happen. Suddenly they saw August pass by the window and make his way slowly but surely to greet the officers at the car.
The headmistress had made her way out with Göran to receive the police, or at least make a show of being unconcerned but puzzled by their presence at her school. They greeted her but informed her that they were simply escorting a student to make a statement at the police station. She quickly headed back inside when she realised there was nothing she could do.
Wilhelm and Simon watched, amazed, as August climbed into the back seat and was driven away.
Wilhelm suddenly felt his phone buzz in his pocket and pulled it out as they watched the car move away down the road. He looked at the screen.
"It's Jan Olof..." He looked at Simon still standing at the window and raised an eyebrow, questioning whether he should pick up or not.
Simon lifted his chin and said, "You should probably see what he wants?" Wilhelm answered the phone and put it on speaker so that Simon could hear everything clearly.
"Hej, Jan Olof..."
"Kronprinsen, god dag, I'm calling on behalf of Her Majesty. We've uh, been informed that there's been a turn of events at Hillerska." Wilhelm smirked slightly.
"Mmm, really?" Simon felt stressed but managed to smile at Wilhelm playing dumb with Jan Olof.
"Yes... And uh, Her Majesty feels that in light of these events, the Family should band together to support each other. Therefore she would like you to come to the Palace to discuss a strategy."
"Ah, I see. Can I speak to her now?"
Jan Olof put the Queen on the phone after a few minutes.
"Wilhelm, August has turned his back on us, which means he can no longer be your backup. So we need you to step up in your role as Crown Prince and show us that we can really depend on you."
Simon went and sat quietly on the bed, looking at Wilhelm, bewildered and not knowing how to react as he realised he was eavesdropping on a phone conversation with the Queen of Sweden.
"You know, I've gotten used to the idea of not being Crown Prince. I think I prefer to have the freedom to be myself and do what I want." There was a long silence where he could tell his mother was trying to control her temper.
"Wilhelm, snälla, your family needs you. We need you to honour your brother's memory and uphold our legacy. Please try to understand."
Wilhelm felt a pang of rage rise in him that his mother was still trying to use Erik to get him to do what she wanted. He started pacing very deliberately and slowly from one side of the room to the other. Simon watched him patiently but nervously with raised eyebrows and his hands on his lap, wondering what was coming next. Wilhelm sighed, gritted his teeth then pressed his lips together and closed his eyes for a moment. He decided that he couldn't lose his temper with her. He needed her too.
"I have conditions then." There was a moment's silence.
"What conditions, Wilhelm?" They could hear her sigh deeply on the other end of the line.
"I'll do events, speeches, state visits, appearances, whenever my presence is necessary, but I'm not going to lie anymore. If I don't like a statement, script or speech, I won't read it."
The Queen sighed and paused again. "Fine. But no more surprises. You have to tell us what you plan to say first."
"That's fine... My other condition..." he heard his mother scoff and it made him smirk at Simon, "...is that Simon has to be protected like one of the family."
"Mmm...How do you mean? Like give him personal security?"
"If it's necessary, but generally, no. There's...a problem with the school that I need you to fix."
Simon's eyes got wide as he listened to Wilhelm just lay everything bare to his mother. Wilhelm explained that there was a drug scandal that Simon was implicated in last term and that he needed her to "convince" the headmistress to make sure any evidence would go away and that Simon would be safe from expulsion or any other consequences.
It was the Queen's turn to sound exasperated now.
"Fine. I'll speak to her about it today but I don't want either of you associated with anything like this again... Is there anything else, Wilhelm?"
"Not for today, no."
He hung up with his mother, set his phone down on the desk and looked at Simon again, not sure what reaction to expect. Simon was completely shocked, wondering if this was a good idea. He remembered something Rosh had said to him:
"If you're gonna mess with these people and refuse to play dirty because you have a conscience, they're always gonna win...We just always assume we'll pay for our mistakes because we haven't got the money to make consequences disappear like they do."
He felt conflicted but couldn't help breathe a sigh of relief that this might no longer be hanging over his head. He stood up and put his arms around Wilhelm's neck, pulling him closer and feeling Wilhelm squeeze him back just as tightly.
They knew they had to prepare themselves for what was coming, now that everything was out, but they felt happy in being able to comfort each other, and confident that they could take everything on together.
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Season 3 Young Royals (Version 1)
फैनफिक्शनOur story picks up where we left off at Hillerska's 120 year Anniversary Jubilee to find out how everyone will react and what the fallout will be from the royal family, the press, and the public. Author's note: This is the first version in a series...
