Blue Blood and Belgium Chocolate

|03| The Young

PRINCE LAURENT

The fifth in line

ON THE EVE of my tenth birthday, it dawned on me how little I meant in the line of succession.  

When Prince Adaliz turned 10, it was a very public affair. I hadn't been born then but I'd sat with my mother in the theater room on my ninth birthday and made her let me watch everyone's birthday so I could picture what mine would be like. Prince Adaliz's party had invited everyone from Royals to Prime Ministers to Lords and Ladies. The ballroom was flocked with people, and nothing had been replicated like it after. 

Adaliz spent time with the futures of the throne, and when he cut his cake. The room exploded into sounds with fireworks in the background.

Prince Daegan's 10th birthday was not as loud as Adaliz, not every royal turned up. Mostly it was everyone who was anyone in Belgium with a few of Daegan's favourite celebrities like Harrison Ford who came to wish Daegan happy birthday. 

Princess Fabianne's was just as exciting as Prince Adaliz. The video's showed her curtsying for a long time and three boys that fought to dance with her. Hers was very girlish with pink everything. She even managed to have three very pretty ribbons in her hair. 

Prince Jasper's birthday was one I remembered. We went to France for his, to visit Mother's family there. Mother's family was so excited, we used the royal ballroom and anyone who was of importance came. Like every year, Jasper's birthday was combined with Christmas festivities but the King of France brought out his 10th cake himself.

My 10th Birthday? My father was with the Greek King and Queen discussing Fabianne's possible marriage to their son. I didn't know that at that time, of course. I just knew he was on a very important meeting. He did plan on flying back but unfortunately, the weather conditions were bad.

My mother did ask if I was fine celebrating my birthday on the 21st of February. I lied, I said it was fine. It wasn't fine. Not really, but I saw how unpreturbed my siblings were and didn't want them to think less of me for caring that our father couldn't show up on my 10th birthday which felt big at the time more compared to my siblings.

It's not a big reveal at that age but as I grew, I noticed how different everyone was to me. Prince Adaliz graduated from College with a Masters in political science and immediately began sitting in at fathers meetings, having a voice in the council and becoming friendly with the Prime Minister. 

Prince Daegon graduated from College with a Degree in law, and immediately was sent to train to be a soldier. For the next ten years, all we heard was about how fantastic he was in the Belgium Military.

Princess Fabianne graduated from College with a Masters in Event Management, she helps our mother a lot and travels the world visiting Royals on her own. Which is a pretty big deal in our house because even when Adaliz visited the Royals, our father would insist on coming. 

Prince Jasper graduated with a Degree in Law and was continuing on to do his masters. We're all aware he plans on helping Adaliz rule, while officially Daegon would be his advisor, I knew Jasper wanted to help there as well if not marry into another Royal family. 

Then there's me, the youngest of five children. My feet are bare in the garden grass and I'm trying not to think of how everyone had some active role in the palace but me. I wanted to do Political Science like Adaliz or Law, but I lacked the credit score required to pursue Political Science and the willpower for law.