Season 3 Young Royals (Version 1)

34. Rosh's game

That Tuesday night Wilhelm and Felice snuck out past the gatehouse and made their way quickly to the bus stop, timing it as closely as possible so they wouldn't be waiting long.

Luckily they were able to board the bus without anyone taking much notice of them or Wilhelm being recognized. They sat near the back where they would draw less attention. Luckily as well, the bus was nearly empty apart from about five other passengers who were all sat near the front and seemed completely disinterested in the two boarding school kids.

Wilhelm knew he really couldn't be photographed or filmed this time out. Now that he was the Crown Prince, sneaking out was much more problematic. If he got noticed, he'd never be able to sneak out again because the guards would probably be stationed back at his room to make sure he didn't. At the moment he wanted to try and feel like a normal person, like the last time he'd met Simon for Rosh's match.

As they watched the landscape shift from forest to countryside to town from the rear of the bus, Wille told Felice about the conversation he'd had with his mother when he finally called her back at the weekend.

She'd told him that he wouldn't be needed for appearances or interviews unless he decided to follow protocol and the scripts that they'd given him. He asked her if that meant August was taking over now. She said that she'd warned him and he'd decided to test it so these were the consequences.

He asked her again if she really felt fine going along with this terrible idea and she repeated her concern that if they didn't do this it would mean the end of the Royal Family as they knew it, and jeopardize their whole system of government...
Which confused Wilhelm...Because he knew it just wasn't true, and wondered why she thought she could lie to him about it, or if she actually believed it herself.

The first time she'd said it he thought it sounded wrong. He'd always assumed their role was mostly ceremonial and traditional, so he researched it to be sure...and yes, the Royal Family might change, but their system of government would be absolutely fine. He saw that the Swedish Royal Family had no executive power, played no role in governmental decision making; Royal assent wasn't even necessary to pass laws, and the Prime minister appointed and dismissed other ministers... Besides that, every ceremonial role that the monarch performed could probably be performed by almost any other government official with no difficulty whatsoever. The monarch was nothing more than a figurehead.

So...It was all symbolism, ceremony, and tradition. Again, traditions that were never thought through or evaluated to decide if they were good or bad. And to say that not having a successor to the throne would actually jeopardize their whole system of government was ridiculous, so he couldn't take her seriously after that.

His upbringing had only ever emphasized how integral the Royal Family's role was to the country, not how absolutely unnecessary they actually were.

However, Wilhelm also knew that if by some strange circumstance August became the ruling monarch any time soon, he would actually be immune to criminal charges, at least while he was king.

As it was, the Royal Court would back August and likely get any charges dropped anyway, but he felt they still needed to try, so that people would at least know what he'd done.

Something else that worried him was that Simon might be wrong about the drugs they'd found on Alexander.

It was exactly like August to lie about something like that to save himself but Wilhelm didn't want to be the one decide to take that risk.

Felice listened intently but didn't have much advice to offer for such a complicated and crazy situation. She thought that really it seemed it was up to Simon and the rest would have to work itself out. There was no guarantee it would go their way, but she agreed with Wilhelm that they had to expose August.

"But while we're still on this side of things, before it all goes even crazier, we should go have fun while we still can, and worry about this tomorrow." she added, encouraging him not to let it ruin his time as a "normal person".

Wilhelm was bundled up with his thick, colorful scarf even though the weather had warmed up. It could hide his face somewhat, and he knew it could ruin their evening if he were recognized.

They got off the bus where Simon and Ayub were already waiting for them. They all greeted each other with genuine glee and hugs, a slightly longer one for Wilhelm and Simon. The game wouldn't start for another hour and a half so they decided to go walking for a bit.

Wilhelm had already told Simon about his conversation with his mother at school on Monday and they could both feel the time for a decision becoming critical. They both felt the need to make the best of the little time they had left before their lives changes even more. They'd escaped from the guards, from the school, from August, from Wilhelm's family and everything that went with it, at least for tonight.

They decided to walk along the river for a while, Wilhelm and Simon holding hands behind Felice and Ayub who were chatting excitedly about pastimes and finding more points in common. Mostly that they both loved laughing and having fun.

"I used to horseback ride but honestly, I was shit at it. Turns out I'm great at shooting guns though." They both laughed at this assessment of her skills.

Wilhelm curled his hand around Simon's slightly smaller hand and looked at him from time to time as they walked, enjoying just being with him and their closest friends.