Third In Line

Chapter Four - A Pleasant Morning Drive

When they were travelling across London at a comfortable speed, and the cameras didn't have a chance to catch them, Ellie could finally relax. The pavements were still crowded with people, but all they'd really see of her was a blur of red behind the glass. Even so, almost everyone outside of the car was straining to catch a glimpse of her.

She knew that a blurry picture of her was probably something that the public would cherish, or that most of the people in the crowd would be proudly boasting to their friends and families about how close they'd been to real life royalty, even if it was for only half a second.

It had been like this since before she could remember, and it was something she and her family had to deal with every time they were out in public. Even before she was born, Ellie was a global phenomenon, and many suggested she was the most famous child in modern history.

I never did anything to earn that fame, all I did was come into this world crying and screaming, and then wa la, I'm a global superstar

Will and Kate never let the fame go to her head, since it would overwhelm and destroy her if it did, but it was still something she had to carry along with her for the rest of her life. The intense media attention had somehow stayed away through her time in nursery and primary school, but when photographers starting sneaking into her third school when she was nine, her family knew it would only get worse. Ever since then her mother and various tutors had taught her at home, until she was due to go to boarding school next year.

Eventually Alex was taken out of school as well, since the media turned their attention to her after Ellie was taken out of the limelight. They would both be home schooled until they were old enough to go to boarding school, where they would hopefully get more privacy, as well as a proper education.

Will was a future monarch like her, but he was able to go to schools without the press harassing him when he was younger. Back in those days the press respected the family's privacy, but when it came to Ellie and Alex, many photographers didn't care about the hefty fine that came with intruding on their privacy.

She considered it a miracle that even with all the media intrusion, her parents had actually been able to give her and her sister a relatively private childhood.

When she felt the urge to thank them, her daydream ended and she realised her parents were in a desperately boring conversation about some future event they'd have to attend. She decided to turn around and talk to Ben, who always had a few stories to tell.

She turned as much as she could without leaving her seat, and rested her chin on the seat's headrest. Her dad adjusted appropriately for her to get comfortable, but otherwise continued his conversation with her mother. Ben glanced over his shoulder and gave her a brief smile before returning his gaze to the road.

She glanced at the crowds lining the streets. "They must be wondering why you're driving a bunch of nobodies around, Ben" she smirked.

Ben snickered quietly. "It's just one of my hobbies, for whenever I get time off from being an inter-galactic superstar." They chuckled together. Ellie could see her mother in the rear view mirror, probably wondering what they were laughing about.

"Hmmm, time off" Ellie said quietly "Sounds amazing"

"You had a whole day off yesterday," Ben reminded her.

."Yeah. One day. Before that we were going out every day for a week, and before that was the South America tour"

The mere mention of South America was enough for Ellie to remember the unbearable heat and humidity, and sweating so much that she thought she was in a sauna the entire time. When they finally got back to Britain, she was in paradise. The cold, miserable weather was like a soothing full body massage to her.

"I had a lovely time in South America" Ben grinned at her in the rear view mirror.

"You weren't the one trying on dresses all day before the President's ball" Ellie replied. She remembered travelling all over the city, looking through hundreds of stores. Most of the saleswomen practically offered her dresses and shoes for free, but she and her mother insisted on paying them.

"I remember" Ben grinned "Driving you, Alex and your mother around until we were almost out of fuel. The back of the car was jam-packed with hundreds of different coloured bags and boxes, and the three of you were so worked up about it" He was snickering once again.

"I looked like a big sweaty troll by the time we got to the party" she whined.

"You looked really pretty with your hair pinned up like that" he gave her a genuine smile.

"It was only pinned up like that to stop it from sticking to my neck"

"My mistake, Princess" he said with a smug grin on his face.

"Don't call me that!" she lightly punched his arm.

He began turning the wheel, and Ellie could immediately see the crowd grow deeper. Up ahead she could see a large gold and marble sculpture towering above the crowd, with people climbing on it to get higher. She didn't need to think twice about what the sculpture was, she knew it was the memorial outside the palace, and that they had finally arrived.

"Better turn back around Princess" Ben said urgently.

She rushed to do so, and didn't need reminding to put on her smile and start waving as the public and the media once again surrounded the car. Her parents still continued their boring chatter, totally calm and collected as they joined her in waving through the windows.

"The ceremonies don't start for ages, what are they all doing here so early?" she asked.

"Some have been camping out by the gates since yesterday" her mother was saying "I can see a tent or two right by the fence"

"I thought camping was supposed to be peaceful and quiet" she looked at her mother curiously.

We should go camping some time, get away from all this attention, just the family, she thought.

The gates opened as they approached, and they drove on through to the clear forecourt in front of the palace. She watched as the police and security struggled to hold back the crowds, but as the gate closed behind them and they drifted serenely across the red brick of the courtyard, the Palace standing imperiously above them, she felt that layer of armour returning to her once more.