Princess Darrel Crawley | A Downton Abbey Fanfiction

Chapter Fifty-Three | Darrel & Sebastian

   When they returned to Buckingham Palace, Sebastian followed Darrel up to her bedroom. He stood in silence by the doorframe as she shrugged off her coat.
      "I know you're standing there," Darrel informed, as she hobbled around the room to unpack.
      "You said that we would talk when we returned," Sebastian reminded.
      "Sebastian..."
      "Please Darrel, I know that I made a mistake. But if you could take the time to listen to me..."
      "I don't feel like talking right now."
      "Alright...then when?"
      Darrel let out a heavy sigh, "I don't know."
      Sebastian entered the room, walked up to his fiancée and took her hand in his.
      "I'm so sorry," Sebastian declared.
      Darrel nodded but didn't say anything as Lily walked in and curtsied.
      "I apologize for the interruption Your Highnesses," she said. "I can come back later."
      "No, you can stay," Darrel assured. "You are not interrupting anything."
      "Very well ma'am."
      Darrel dropped Sebastian's hand as Lily continued unpacking for the princess.
      "Goodnight Sebastian," Darrel said, forcing a smile.
      The prince's eyes glistened with tears, but he forced himself to keep a straight face as he bowed.
      "Good evening your highness," Sebastian replied, and left the room.
      Darrel shut her eyes, willing herself not to cry. She walked over to the bed and sat down, taking in a deep breath.
      "Are you alright ma'am?" Lily asked.
      "Yes, thank you," Darrel nodded.
      "Can I get you anything?"
      "No, but thank you for the offer."
      Lily headed over to the closet, pulled out a nightgown and began to lay it on the bed when there was a knock on the door.
      "Who is it?" Darrel called.
      "The Duke of York," David replied.
      "Come in."
      David entered the bedroom and sunk into a bow.
      "Your Highness," he greeted.
      "I assume that you are here to lecture me about my running away," Darrel groaned.
      "Be grateful that I talked our mother out of coming herself."
      "I am. Thank you."
      "But we do need to talk...and you need to understand the gravity of this situation."
      Darrel turned to her maid, who was straightening various objects around the room.
      "Thank you Lily, that will be all for this evening," Darrel informed.
      "Very good. Your Highnesses," Lily curtsied and backed out of the room.
      Once the door closed, David pulled a chair over so that he could sit in front of his sister.
      "Do you have any idea how much chaos you caused?" The Duke demanded. "You are the Princess of Wales."
      "I know..." Darrel muttered.
      "Well as the Princess of Wales, you have certain responsibilities. When you act without thinking you threaten the future of our country as well as yourself."
      "I did not mean to be gone for so long. It was wrong of me to leave, but I needed a few hours to myself. But when I tried to leave yesterday, I injured myself," Darrel lied. "If Barrow had not passed by my hiding spot, I would still be there."
      "Do you not realize how large the Palace is?" David inquired. "Or how much land we have? There are places you can go to think without taking a train to Downton."
      "I wanted to be alone. I needed to be alone."
      David nodded and looked away for a moment. Darrel stared down at her hands. While she was glad that she did not have to speak to Their Majesties, she did not enjoy the conversation.
      "What is happening with you and Sebastian?" David asked.
      "Excuse me?" Darrel replied.
      "He's avoided you for days, he got drunk in public, and then you ran away. I'm assuming you had a fight about something, and JF won't tell me anything."
      "Is that why the two of you are not talking to each other?"
      "This isn't about me. Are the two of you alright?"
      "To be honest...I'm not sure."
      "What happened? You seemed so in love, it was almost too much for me."
      Darrel cracked an awkward smile, "We are in love...or at least I love him. But it's complicated."
      "Anything I can do to help?" David offered.
      "No, but thank you."
      "He didn't hurt you, did he? Because I don't care if he's the future King of Spain, or that JF is my closest friend; I'll kill him."
      "He didn't do anything," Darrel assured. "We need to talk and sort things out."
      "And then everything will be fine?" David assumed.
      "I hope so."
      "Well, I wish you luck."
      "Thank you."
      David got to his feet and straightened his suit. He placed the chair back where he found it then turned back to face his sister.
      "By the way, I assured our parents that this was a one-time occurrence since you're still adjusting. I said that you will never be this foolish again," he warned. "They agreed to not bring this up, but if you act out again, you may not be so lucky. I guarantee you that Father will have guards following you everywhere."
       "Thank you," Darrel nodded. "And it won't happen again."
      "Good. Well...have a good night."
      David bowed and left the room.