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Wilhelm tapped out a rhythm on his phone, waiting to get to dinner at the palace. He’d hung out with Felice earlier and as a result, was running slightly late. Well, slightly late for his mother; he’d get there in time, but anything even slightly out of order Wilhelm a scolding from Kristina.
Wilhelm already knew that his mother would scold him for this, but he’d already made his peace with that. He wasn’t the perfect crown prince like Erik once was, nowhere near it, but he got the job done. That was all that mattered anyway.
He was startled out of his stupor by a song he could just barely hear coming from the speakers of the car. His heart nearly stopped once he recognized the voice echoing in the vehicle. He hadn’t heard it in years, but Wilhelm could pick out that voice in a second. He’d spent hours thinking of it, too many nights dreaming of that melodic voice.
Simon.
He strained his ears to try and make out more of it. Simon’s gentle vocals tugged at his heartstrings the exact same way they did years ago.
He’d been disheartened when Simon hadn’t returned to Hillerska after Christmas break. Wille’d selfishly hoped that he would see Simon even from afar, maybe even share a tentative friendship, but that hope had died the moment he’d seen the empty spot in the choir, the voice of the new soloist grating against the hole Simon left behind.
Sara had surprisingly become a boarder that semester, never losing an opportunity to shoot Wilhelm a glare out of the corner of her eye whenever they saw each other. The next few months had been nothing short of a disaster, the loss of Simon aching like a physical wound.
Felice had been a huge help during those months. She stayed with him whenever he moped, and would gently calm him when he got too worked up.
He’d always regretted what he did to Simon, letting the crown get in the way of the only thing that made him happy. Wilhelm wasn’t naive enough to think that pain would ever go away; completely the opposite, as while the years had passed Simon’s absence had only become more and more prominent despite only being in his life for a short few months.
Wilhelm had thought he’d never hear of Simon again, as he assumed just showing up at Simon’s house wouldn’t exactly be welcome and whenever he and Sara ended up in the same room, she didn’t exactly have any sympathy for him.
Even so, the pain had somewhat dulled, but Wilhelm always knew that his heart hadn’t been his to give for a long time. People(his mother) had tried(and failed) to get him to go on dates with other people, but it never worked.
They weren’t Simon.
Even after all those years, his heart still belonged to Simon.
Wille hadn’t ever thought that he would see the light Simon brought to the people around him ever again, never thought he would hear the gentle melody of his laugh except for in his dreams.
He hadn’t ever expected to hear Simon’s voice echoing from the speakers of the very car he was in.
Wilhelm could just barely make out the words Simon was singing, and he focused all of his brain to listen to every syllable he sang. Simon’s voice had changed slightly, gaining a deeper tone, but it still held traces of the choirboy Wille had once known.
As he listened, Wille was reminded of the first time he’d hear Simon sing. His first day at Hillerska had been nothing short of horrible, at least for him, but when he heard Simon’s voice, all the bad suddenly disappeared.
A similar effect happened now. Wilhelm felt warmth course through the top of his head down to the tips of his toes, the kind of warmth he hadn’t felt in years. Something bloomed in Wille’s chest, the soft uncurling of the flower that had died in Simon’s absence.
The song ended, and Wilhelm took out his phone and frantically searched, typing out Simon’s name.
Results appeared immediately, and Wille clicked on the first one. It was an article that depicted Simon’s career and breakthrough in the music industry. He had a whole album, apparently, and Wille saved it so he could listen to it later.
Someone cleared their throat, and Wilhelm looked up to see Malin staring at him with a worried look.
“We’re here, Your Highness.”
Wilhelm nodded and straightened himself so that he looked less of a mess. As he walked over to the palace, his mind raced. Even though nothing had really changed, somehow it felt like everything had. Simon might never speak to him again, but now Wille could hear his voice whenever he wanted.