FC – King Liam – Jenson Button (Pinterest image from google.plus for Hugo Boss)
FC – Lady Clara – Ciara – Pinterest image with no credits!
Hohenzollern Castle image from Pinterest (credit days Instagram!)
Dubrovnik, Croatia Darby Sawchuk (Dsphotographic.com)
Einstein quote Pinterest (canvas from bellahomeau on eBay)
Rating – This contains sensitive issues regarding Constantines death and Liam’s suffering following that, anxiety, grief, etc. Angsty McAngsterson.
Disclaimer – Characters are Pixelberry’s, not mine, this is just for fun & I don’t make any money from it.
Writer’s Notes – So there are a few recent TRR events that have happened that just don’t tie in with my Istvan and Viktoria writings… Basically they have now ended up in a really alternate universe lol – sorry you two…
Anyway the reason I’m wittering about this. I have a couple of fics I want to do, that do tie into the canon storyline. The first of which being Constantine getting a ceiling dropped on him. I get the redemption arc of him sacrificing himself to save his son’s life, but I feel like his poor son’s had enough to deal with over the years without harbouring guilt that his father died to save him… For shame PB, for shame. This is probably going to be maybe 8 parts long.
So after talking it out with the lovely @xxrainbowprincessxx, I have gone ahead and written this as Liam and Clara (MC) for the sake of differentiation between these and my two other main wee lovelies Istvan and Viktoria.
Hope that makes sense! And hope you enjoy friends – VP 💖
—
Liam stood silently, he swallowed hard; his throat was so dry. Everyone was staring at him, waiting for him to instruct them, to tell them what to do. Liam felt hot, he couldn’t formulate a sentence, the sound of his own heartbeat and the blood coursing through his veins singing in his ears, deafening him; he could see dust, the mountain of debris… He looked down at his hand, covered in scrapes where he’d dug through the rubble frantically to free his father…
“Liam? …Liam, baby?”
Liam jerked back exhaling sharply as Clara moved into his line of vision, touching his hand, he exclaimed
“What??”
She recoiled, blinking,
“Liam sorry, I didn’t mean…”
He stepped forward and wrapped her in a tight hug,
“Clara you startled me, I’m really sorry, I-I-”
Clara shushed him, stroking his back gently as Maxwell and Bastien exchanged a worried glance.
—
Even Clara had to admit that Madeleine had proved her worth today, she had arranged for all the press camped outside the palace to have short statement from Liam, followed by a Q&A session of no more than ten minutes. It meant that Liam would only be subject to press scrutiny for a very short period and in a very controlled environment. As Liam prepared to walk outside to the makeshift press area, he took deep breaths and Clara smoothed his lapels,
“I love you Liam, I’ll be right beside you ok. Let’s just get this over with…”
Liam pressed a worried kiss to the top of her head as he turned to walk out to the audience with Clara following behind him, flanked by Bastien, Mara and another two young security agents wearing earpieces.
No sooner were they outside than the cameras started flashing. Clara had become accustomed to being ‘papped’ during the Social Season, and even more so since accepting Liam’s proposal, but this was like a whole new experience, this was like walking onto the red carpet on Oscar night, there were a thousand bulbs going off simultaneously, the whir of the flash lamps peppered by the yells of the journalists trying to be the one who got their attention, that got them to answer a question…
“King Liam, King Liam!! Over here, Randy McClure, CNN, was it a terrorist attack King Liam?”
“King Liam, Lady Clara! Was the attack meant for you??”
“King Liam!! BBC News, Your Highness!! Do the palace have any leads on who was responsible for the attack??”
“King Liam, King Liam!! Was it the same terrorist group that assassinated your mother??”
Clara balked at the crudeness and savagery of the questioning, these bastards were out to get a story and they didn’t care who they hurt or broke to get it. She looked at Liam, his stoic façade never slipped. He’d been in training for this sort of intrusion his whole life, she supposed, but that didn’t make the line of questioning any less horrific. Clearly Madeleine agreed with Clara for once as she scowled and barked down her mic,
“SILENCE!! WILL YOU ALL QUIETEN DOWN?? I’VE ALREADY TOLD YOU, KING LIAM WILL ANSWER ANY SUITABLE QUESTIONS AFTER THE OFFICAL STATEMENT HAS BEEN GIVEN!!”
The rabble diminished as the journalists realised that Maddie meant business – the woman could sink ships with a mere glance Clara thought to herself – at least she was on their side this time!
“Now.”
Madeleine smiled beatifically at the throng of reporters as if she hadn’t just balled them out,
“Thank you all for coming. I understand that you are keen to find out the facts surrounding last night’s tragedy. King Liam has an official statement prepared. After which you will submit your questions to me in an orderly manner and if I deem them appropriate, King Liam will answer. Are we all clear on that ladies and gentlemen? If so, let’s begin.”
As Liam stepped forward, the eyes of the world were upon him and he had to maintain his composure: Cordonia was under his rule, his people were depending on him, he couldn’t let his father down, not now. The pressure surging around Liam felt like it might cause him to implode. But he could feel his fiancée’s warm brown eyes boring into him, willing him on as he stared down the lenses of a thousand scavengers. He adjusted his posture, staring out into the media, his back straight, shoulders back, his strong jaw slightly raised to portray an air of both confidence and defiance. He inhaled deeply and began to speak in a measured tone,
“As you are already aware, an explosion rocked the Cordonian Royal Palace last night during an annual event, causing considerable damage to that part of the building. Sadly my father, Constantine, Former King of Cordonia, was caught up in the explosion and lost his life last night. There were no other fatalities or serious injuries. No organisation has yet stepped forward to claim this shocking despicable act of terrorism, but Cordonia’s security forces have been working through the night and are currently closing in on them. Cordonia is a safe nation which I am proud to rule, my top priority is that our people are safe and do not go about their lives in fear. That is exactly what terrorists aim to achieve with their cowardly actions. These animals will be found and dealt with appropriately. In the mean time I would appreciate your support in allowing my stepmother privacy to grieve for her husband and to allow our security team to carry out their jobs. Thank you.”
The rabble from the journalists began again. Liam stepped aside to allow Madeleine to move to the front to deal with them, he hated all of this and the crown was paying her enough that he was happy to let her get on with it… His eyes met Clara’s and she mouthed, ‘You did great’, as emotion flickered in his eyes, noticeable to no one but her, a falter in the composed public persona used for this sort of scenario that his father had pushed him to carve out so perfectly since he was eight years old.
Clara felt her heart break as she looked at her fiancé: the truth was, anyone else who had just had a family member killed in front of their eyes would be hidden away from the world, grieving privately, crying tears of shock and anger, being looked after by loved ones during the worst moments of their life, but here Liam was, addressing the worlds media, dressed to the nines, his voice both authoritative and reassuring. He was no different from any other human being, Clara reasoned, but his birth right thrust him into this position where he had to be something else, something almost robotic, pushing down the way she knew all too well that he was really feeling inside. It was cruel. And it was certainly unhealthy. All she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him, run her fingers through his soft fair hair, love him and lay kisses on his tearstained skin, protecting him until his broken heart mended…
Madeleine came back to Liam with a sheet of questions that she deemed appropriate, telling him that she had scored through the sensational and intrusive ones. Liam scanned the list and nodded at her curtly, deciding he wouldn’t answer half of what she’d left in, he resumed his position at the front of the crowd.
“I cannot reveal the name of the group we suspect in relation to this attack, it could hamper investigations, and I’m not willing to take that risk.
I can confirm that this truly was a terrorist attack, there is no cover up on substandard workmanship within the palace, we are not trying to avoid any sort of lawsuit regarding public liability. As my father was the only person killed, that notion doesn’t even make sense and is quite frankly offensive.
I can confirm that myself, my fiancée Lady Clara, my stepmother and my brother Leo, we’re all present at the event.
We are not presently working with intelligence agencies from any foreign countries.
There is no indication that this was an ‘inside job’ – palace staff go through a rigorous screening process.
There will be a day of national mourning for Former King Constantine, date to be confirmed, likely the day of his funeral, which I can confirm will be a state affair.
Lady Clara and I will absolutely not be postponing our wedding in light of yesterday’s events.
I think that’s enough Q&A ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your time, I have a security briefing to attend.”
Liam nodded his head at the journalists as the cameras started flashing over and over again. He turned to Bastien who whirred the security team into action, clearing the way for Liam and Clara to move back into the palace. As Liam fell into step with her, Clara caught his large hand in hers softly. She felt Liam squeeze her fingers gently in return, a heavy breath leaving his chest that he didn’t realise he’d been holding in, at the simple human, loving gesture from his wife-to-be.
—
TBC – VP 💖
