Season 3 Young Royals (Version 1)

64.

Wilhelm and Simon spent almost all of their free time together, or with Felice, Madison, Rosh and Ayub especially. Felice and Ayub were becoming quite close but taking things slowly. Any time there was any sort of event within their group of friends, Simon knew that if he didn't notify Ayub himself, Felice definitely would.

Wilhelm and Simon were almost always in each other's presence at school. They began to get used to the idea of being noticed and their classmates speculating and gossiping about their relationship. They got used to being watched when they stood close and spoke to each other in whispers.

Wilhelm especially looked for any excuse to touch Simon's hands and hair, even in front of other students. They began to think of it as a game and would often do more than they normally would so that they could see the absurd reactions of their classmates.

More than once, only when he was alone, Simon had been approached by other students looking for gossip about he and Wilhelm. But Simon would normally just laugh at their questions and walk away, unless they were very intrusive or offensive. In those cases he would give some sassy retort about them not having anything more interesting to think about before he walked away.

School was generally going very well for both of them. Wilhelm was happier than he'd probably ever been and felt able to concentrate on what was more important at his age now that his mother had removed a lot of the pressure on him.

Simon was writing more music and being featured as a soloist pretty much constantly. He had even been invited to sing an original composition at the third years' graduation this year.

Wilhelm was as always extremely supportive and convinced that his boyfriend would eventually become more famous for his talent than for anything to do with Wilhelm.

Wilhelm knew he was Simon's biggest fan and often begged Simon to sing for him when they were alone in Simon's or his room. He loved reliving the moment when he fell in love with Simon, but he didn't say that out loud.

Wilhelm and Simon were also able to go out together into town with Wilhelm's bodyguards accompanying them.

Wilhelm had agreed to compromise on that with his mother considering how much attention they were receiving, and because he realised that she was correct in that not everyone meant them well.

They were able to spend plenty of time in Simon's house with Linda and Sara and that was where they still both felt the most at home.

However, Simon still had a lingering feeling that he didn't really know his sister anymore, and didn't know how much he could trust her. He hoped that the trust would come back with time but it remained to be seen.

Sara was still working on regaining Felice and Madison's trust as well. She had mostly given up on Stella and Fredrika for the moment but hoped that one day they could make peace, or that they may at least understand her with Felice's help.

There was some rumor that August's sentence might be reduced for good behavior, but he had finally made his settlement payment to Simon's family. Linda had put it into a trust for Simon so that he could choose what to use it for once he was eighteen. More importantly Simon felt that he would finally be able to put the whole thing behind him.

Wilhelm eventually admitted to his mother that he had met Lena and his nephew but she surprised him by saying that the bodyguards had figured it out and told her a while ago.

She also shockingly said that it was ok, and that she understood why he'd done it. She even asked if Wilhelm would tell Lena that she would like to meet them one day soon, and that she would like to apologize for her behavior but also for the behavior of the Court.

Wilhelm agreed but realised that keeping them a secret from the press was absolutely better for everyone.

He'd come to the conclusion that that kind of exposure made it too easy for people to profit off of and take advantage of them and their loved ones.

He began to understand even some of the worst decisions his mother had made. She was trying to protect her loved ones by lying and keeping secrets from those that might hurt them. It didn't excuse some of the terrible things she'd done, but he could see more objectively that she had often been misguided but thought she was doing what was best for her family in the end.

Wilhelm had in mind that he would speak to his mother about finding a new advisor to take over for Jan Olof based on the fact that Jan Olof didn't seem to have the ability to envision a more modern way forward for the Royal Family. Besides that, his old fashioned way of thinking would eventually become even more detrimental to the Family if he couldn't adapt to the way the world was changing around him.

Wilhelm had accepted his role as Crown Prince and for the time being expected he would be King when his mother was no longer able to fulfill her role as Queen or God forbid, because she had passed away.

If the issue of an heir to the throne hadn't been squared away by then, he thought, he would be in a position of authority to make important changes regarding succession, and therefore decided he wouldn't worry about it until the time came that it was absolutely necessary.

The reaction to their final interview had been almost overwhelmingly positive. It was clear that the Swedish people adored Wilhelm and were on his side. They found it endearing that he defended Simon and that they both clearly loved each other so much at such a young age.

Since the interview too, Wilhelm's mother had only made statements supporting the boys unequivocally and Wilhem could tell that it was not something Jan Olof ever would have advised her to do.

He felt supported by her and it made his life much easier. Another weight was off his shoulders.

He felt happy finally and looked forward to a future with Simon and the rest of his family.
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A/N:

For those who've made it this far, and before you read the final chapter, thanks for reading! I hope you've enjoyed it! I'm going to assume you have at least somewhat since you have now read over five hours of this if you didn't skip anything.

I started writing this thing around early November and finished on December 27th because I couldn't get all the ideas I had about season 3 out of my head, so I wrote them here.  I hope it was entertaining to read because I really had fun writing it!

I have other ideas that wouldn't work in this story, like what would happen if Sara actually reported August immediately, so I've started writing that in my new version of Season 3.