For Forever (A FirstPrince Story)

Henry and Bea

10:30 pm

Henry woke up to the sound of a loud thump outside the room. All tiredness left his body. Henry's limbs laid on the bed. Something felt off.

Alex wasn't here.

Fuck. A part of Henry didn't want to get up from the bed. If he stayed in bed, he could pretend like Alex was in the bathroom. If he stayed in this bed, he could pretend like this day never happened.

He was snapped out of his delusion when he heard the sound of a female's scream. It was followed by the sound of loud sobbing. Henry had to know the truth now. He slowly climbed out of bed.

When Henry opened the door, he was immediately greeted by Shaan. "You should stay in here," Shaan said.

"Shaan, be honest with me," Henry said. "Is Alex okay?"

June and Nora emerged from their rooms and rushed down the hall. "Let me see Alex," Henry demanded.

"I can't let you do that," Shaan said.

That did nothing to calm Henry's nerves. Nothing could calm his nerves. "Let me see Alex," Henry repeated. "Is he okay?"

"You know I can't lie to you," Shaan responded. "I'm sorry."

The world stopped for Henry. He could vaguely hear Shaan's voice, but he couldn't pay attention to what Shaan was saying. Henry tried to move past Shaan, to see for himself that Alex was gone, but Shaan prevented him. Henry let out a scream like sob.

---

February 21st

1:40 am

Greenwich Mean Time

"We have received confirmation from an official White House source that, earlier tonight, Alex Claremont-Diaz, First Son of the United States, has died. The cause of death hasn't been released at this time. We send our best wishes to the First Family and everyone close to him."

Princess Beatrice of Wales didn't get a call from Deathcast because she's not dying today. She, along with the royal family minus Henry, were sat around a TV in a dark room. Queen Mary, who Catherine dragged from her bed when she heard the BBC was going to make an announcement, turned off the TV. Phillip turned on a lamp.

"I'm going to call Henry," Bea said. She went up to leave.

"I'm going back to bed," Mary responded. Her voice emotionless, but Bea didn't expect any more.

"The people will be expecting you to make a statement on the First Son's passing," Phillip explained.

"Why?" Mary asked. "He wasn't family. He and Henry weren't married. They weren't even engaged."

"With how the people saw him, he might as well have been royalty," Phillip said. "There are even people who'd rather see Alex and Henry as the next monarchs over me and Martha."

"Sometimes, people don't know what's best for them," Mary responded. "Your brother is included in that crowd. He's insisting he stays in America. I got into an argument with him earlier about it."

"You're seriously already hounding him to come home?" Beatrice asked. "He just received the news that the man he loved was dying."

"A marriage between them would've never realistically worked," Mary said.

Bea wanted to stand up for her younger brother, but she didn't get a chance to speak. "And why is that?" Phillip asked. "The people loved them. Henry was as serious about him as I am for Martha. The only person who seems to have a problem with their love is you."

"The royal family needs to be traditional," Mary said.

"Or maybe the royal family should change to reflect the values of the modern times," Phillip said.

"Why is everyone being so disrespectful to me today?" Mary asked.

"You started the disrespect," Phillip responded. "There's a family in morning, including your own grandson, and all you care about is upholding your ideas for what royalty should be."

"I will get the person who runs the official royal family social media account to make a post," Mary explained. "Will they make you happy?"

"The people will expect you to make the statement yourself," Phillip said. "You did it for distant cousins."

"That's because those people were actually family," Mary said.

"Family who we talked to at most, twice a year," Catherine added.

"We'll talk in the morning," Mary said. "I think we're all tired."

There wasn't going to be any more debate after that. They left the TV room. "I've never seen you stand up to gran," Bea whispered.

"I'm trying to focus on being a better brother," Phillip said. "Now, we need to get out of here. We need to get to Washington DC."

---

1: 30 pm

Eastern Standard Time

Henry needed to get out of the White House.

He couldn't sit in Alex's room alone. The White House was surrounded by press. Henry just wanted to be alone. So, he got Shaan to call him a plane to New York. After Henry said his goodbyes, it was off to the Brownstone.

Once again, the media would analyze his grieving process.

The Brownstone wasn't very private, but it was more private than the White House. He had been followed by some press, but Shaan promised he'd take care of it. "You don't have to stay,' Henry had said.

"I know, but you don't need to be fully alone," Shaan said.

"Thank you," Henry responded.

Now, Henry was sat in his room, his face buried in his hands. He was sobbing quiet loudly. Henry didn't care who heard him. This wasn't right. Alex should be here with him. They had won.

There was a knock on the door. "There's someone here to see you," Shaan said.

"Tell them I don't want to see anyone," Henry said.

"I really think you should just come out," Shaan said. Henry groaned, leaving the room. He couldn't even focus on who was there. He couldn't keep his emotions in check for once.

"I already said I'm not going to give you a bloody interview!"

"Henry-" that voice was familiar.

"Mum," Henry said. He finally focused, seeing his mother. Bea was with her, and, to Henry's utter shock, Phillip was with her too.

Catherine held her youngest child. "My apologies for yelling at you," Henry muttered.

"I get it," Catherine whispered. Bea joined in on the hug.

Phillip just stood behind them. "I'm not here as your future king," Phillip said. "I'm only here to be your big brother."

The tears, which had temporarily stopped, returned to his eyes. "I'm sorry I haven't been a good brother," Phillip said. "I'm going to try and be better now."

There was a beat of silence. "Come here," Henry requested. Henry felt himself melt into the love he was being given.