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A few days later, Darrel lay on the sofa in her sitting room, staring at the ceiling. She had not seen Sebastian in over two weeks, and at that point, she doubted that she would ever see him again. Over the past few days, she spiralled downwards to the point that she only left her room for meals. Darrel even sent a letter to William Turner to ask him to publish a story saying that she was ill so nobody would question her public absence. David discouraged her tactics since people would speculate about her health, whereas King George V congratulated her on her cleverness. However, Darrel did not care about either of their opinions. Whenever anyone addressed her, she would reply in as few words as possible. She barely ate, she did not sleep, and she spent all her time worrying about Sebastian. David tried to assure her that the fact that JF had not sent a letter informing her of Sebastian's arrest was a positive sign. But Darrel did not believe him and told the Duke of York not to bother her unless it was an emergency.
There was a knock on the door, but Darrel ignored it. She knew that if it was one of Their Majesties they would walk in without permission. If it was anyone else, she did not feel like speaking to them. Darrel did not bother to look towards the door as it opened.
"Elizabeth, come downstairs," David ordered. "Their Majesties want to see us in the drawing room."
Darrel did not answer and continued to look up at the ceiling. She sensed that the King and Queen would give her another lecture, and she was not in the mood to defend herself.
"Elizabeth, did you hear me?" David inquired.
"Yes," Darrel muttered.
"You need to come downstairs now. Their Majesties want to speak to us."
"Please, David. I cannot face them right now. Could you please make my excuses?"
"They will not believe any excuse unless you get the Royal Physician to say that you are ill. Which I am assuming that you are not."
Darrel let out a heavy sigh, but got up from her position on the couch and followed her brother downstairs.
The two siblings entered the drawing room where Their Majesties were waiting for them. However, Darrel's eyes went to the man sitting in the armchair next to them: Sebastian Carlos.
"Sebastian!" Darrel gasped, running over to her fiancé, ignoring all necessary formalities.
"Darrel," Sebastian smiled, getting to his feet and pulling her into a tight hug.
David stared at the couple in disbelief. Like Darrel, he believed something terrible happened in Spain, and Sebastian would never return to England. Although he never vocalized his worries because he did not want to make his sister sadder than she was already. He did not even realize that Sebastian was at Buckingham Palace. His father told him to get Darrel to go to the drawing room for some important matter.
"I...I can't believe you are here!" Darrel said as tears of happiness streamed down her face. "This does not feel real. Are you actually here?"
"Yes, my darling, I am here," Sebastian nodded.
"I love you so much."
"I love you too."
George V cleared his throat, causing the couple to pull apart. While he did not mind seeing the two of them reunite, he knew that it would take a while before they were ready to focus if he did not interrupt. Darrel turned to face Their Majesties but did not let go of Sebastian's hand.
"Well, I am glad you are back in England," Mary of Teck informed. "We were all worried that you were never returning."
"I did not expect to return either, ma'am," Sebastian replied.
"Now that you are back, you and Elizabeth must appear at a public event together," George V announced. "There have been enough rumours about the two of you ending your engagement, and recently a newspaper suggested that Sebastian fled England."
"Of course, sir."
"Well, now that we have a plan for the press, the two of you are excused. I am sure you have some catching up to do."
"Thank you, Your Majesties."
Sebastian bowed as Darrel curtsied, and they walked out of the drawing room, still hand-in-hand. Once they were gone, Mary of Teck let out an annoyed sigh.
"I cannot believe that Sebastian was allowed to stay in Spain for over a week!" She exclaimed.
"Did you want him to get arrested?" David snapped.
"Watch your tone, Edward."
"It is clear that you dislike Sebastian. However, he and Elizabeth are in love and they have been engaged for three years. At some point, you need to accept their relationship."
"Enough. You may leave us," George V informed.
"Your Majesties," David bowed, then left the room, shutting the door with more force than required.
"Edward has a point," the King nodded. "We had our chance to get Elizabeth to find another man. However, now that Sebastian is back, we must accept the inevitable. The two of them will marry."
"Nonsense," Mary of Teck scoffed. "We have not lost until they walk down the aisle. There is still a chance that Chadwick manages to marry her."
"I used to agree with your plan. However, now it seems cruel."
"Cruel? We are simply guiding her to marry the right man. Elizabeth is still young and she needs our help."
George V sighed, "I suppose that we are in too deep to withdraw our deal with Chadwick. However, I wish I had never agreed to your plan."
Before the Queen Consort could respond, her husband walked out of the drawing room.
When Darrel and Sebastian entered her sitting room, Sebastian hugged her tightly.
"I am so glad to see you again," Sebastian informed.
"So am I," Darrel nodded. "I was so worried that I would never see you again. So what happened in Spain? Is your father all right?"
Sebastian was about to respond when he took in his fiancée's appearance. Darrel was significantly skinnier than the last time he saw her, and she was much paler.
"Are you all right?" Sebastian inquired. "You look ill; you should sit down."
"I'm fine," Darrel assured, although she let Sebastian guide her to an armchair.
"Are you sure that you are okay?"
"I am sure; you're back. Which means I am more than okay."
Sebastian smiled.
"So, what happened in Spain?" Darrel asked.
Sebastian sat down next to Darrel and spent the next half-hour explaining to his fiancée everything that happened in Spain. From arriving at the docks to visiting his father to being forced to leave. Darrel did her best not to interrupt, especially since she saw how difficult it was for Sebastian to talk about Spain. Instead, she held onto his hand and squeezed it every time he seemed to struggle with his story.
"I am so glad that your father forgave you," Darrel nodded once Sebastian finished.
"So am I," Sebastian replied. "Although the odd thing is that when I lived in Spain, I always felt as if my father did not like me. He would always lecture me and let me know how much of a disappointment I was to the Royal Family. However, after he forgave me...each time we spoke, he would treat me as his son. He asked me questions about me, you, and our life here. I wonder if his flu impacted his brain."
"Perhaps. Although it is more likely that when you were the prince, your father felt it was his responsibility to prepare you to become king. I am sure he always cared about you, but he thought it was more important to train you for the future."
Sebastian shrugged, "That is a very optimistic thought. Although I am unsure if that is true."
"Well, I think it is better to be optimistic. And I agree with what JF said about your mother. Parents do odd things when they care about their children."
The couple fell silent for a few minutes. Sebastian kept replaying all his encounters with his parents over the past few weeks. Meanwhile, Darrel applied her words of wisdom to her own situation. She realized why Robert tried to warn her against marrying Sebastian. She thought that it was because he did not trust her when in reality it was most likely because he cared about her. If King Manuel and Queen Sofía banned Sebastian from Spain because they loved Sebastian, then anything was possible.
"I miss Spain," Sebastian announced. "I knew it would be nice to return, but I did not realize how much I missed Spain until now."
"I know it has been hard for you," Darrel replied. "And I am so sorry you had to give up your home to be with me."
"JF told me that once he becomes King of Spain, he will lift my ban."
"That's good, right? I know that it is not ideal, but at least you know that someday you will be welcome in Spain."
Sebastian let go of Darrel's hand and stared down at the floor, "I am thinking about moving back to Spain once JF becomes king."
Darrel gasped, "What? What does that mean, Seb?"
"I miss Spain. And I feel that JF will need me once he becomes king."
"I am sure that he will be grateful for your support. And once your ban is over, I will support your loyalty to Spain and JF. Whenever you wish to return to Spain, I will not have a problem with it."
"No. I can't do that to you. You deserve to have a husband who is there for you."
"You will be there for me."
Sebastian let out a heavy sigh, "Darrel, if I decide to move back to Spain when JF's king, that means we will need to end our engagement."
"What?"
Darrel got up and went to sit in front of Sebastian. She took his hands into hers and stared at him until he looked up at her.
"Darrel, you know I love you," Sebastian whispered. "But, I cannot be here for you and in Spain to support JF at the same time. And, after everything that JF's done for me, I have to be there to support him when he takes the throne."
"I understand that, Seb," Darrel assured. "But that does not mean we have to end our engagement; you can do both."
"You deserve better than to have a husband who constantly leaves you."
"I do not care if you keep going to Spain. I just want you. I want to be your wife, that is what matters to me."
Sebastian shook his head, "You deserve better than that. It would be unfair to you. And I would not be able to live with myself, knowing that you would always be waiting for me to return to England. It would not be fair to you, and it would not be fair to JF."
A tear rolled down Darrel's cheek, so she pulled her hand away so she could wipe it away.
"I understand," Darrel sighed. "And I admire your loyalty to the people you care about."
"But I do care about you," Sebastian assured. "I love you."
"I know, and I love you too."
"I just need more time to think."
"Of course, take as long as you need. And I will respect any decision that you make."
"Thank you, my darling."
Sebastian kissed Darrel's cheek and then got up to leave the room. Darrel stayed on the floor, allowing her tears to stream down her face. She just got Sebastian back, and she did not want to lose him again.
Do you think Sebastian will break up with Darrel? Do you think that's the right decision?