How To Be King

Jack didn't come from much, but if there was one thing he did have, it was a good heart. The same couldn't be said for his boss, however. So when the opportunity of a lifetime came along, of course he would take it. Though he could have never known just how far such business would take him.

Notes:

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Work Text:

Once upon a time…

Actually, no. Forget that. It’s been done far too many times. And this was not just any fairytale. For this was London, 1934. Hardly a long forgotten age in a nameless land in ambiguous times. And while many a child may love a good fairytale; the reality is a little less pleasant. There’s blood and there’s gore. There’s heartbreak and strife. Just ask the Grimm brothers. And of course, in reality, there’s a lot less magic than those old stories would have you believe. They’ve merely been reworded and reworked through many questionable translations as these tales migrated across mountains and deserts, oceans and jungles, to reach a new land in a new time to be adapted and told over and over again with new mistakes becoming their main features. How else would a Prince have to check even the most ugly and drastically different looking women compared to the beautiful one he spent a whole night with by checking if they fit a shoe? Good thing Cinderella was the only woman with that shoe size in all the land. Of course, the original version made much more sense, and many rewrites aimed to do the same.

So, this story does not begin with a magical self-opening book with carefully inscribed details of fantastical castles, vicious dragons, and fairy godmothers, but rather a much more dull and realistic beginning: a maths lesson. In a house that was much darker and dingier than any house with an owner of such opulence had any right to be. But this house was owned by a miserable man, who cared not for colour or light or joy. Instead, he liked order, cleanliness, and practicality. And while he did achieve such feats, it left guests to have a rather miserable experience if they ever had the displeasure of stepping beyond the threshold of the doorway. For William Weatherall Wilkins would only ever spread his hideously ostentatious peacock feathers of a fashion sense when he intended to impress others. And so today, while he worked to do a job he despised for people he hated even more, he made sure to wear his least favourite suit.

“Now, who can tell me what happens to this ‘+7X’ when we move it over to the other side?” The bored teacher stood before a class of a whopping two students who didn’t even need to be there. John and Annabel, probably the brightest students he’d ever had. And despite this usually being a good thing, their teacher didn’t have enough passion for his work to take advantage of this.

“It turns negative, sir, so you take it from the 13X which leaves 6X.” John answered.

“And then you move the -2 to the left to make it +2 and add it to the 10 to get 12. So, 12=6X.” Annabel added.

“Then divide each side by the largest common factor which is 6 so you get X=2. Then you go back to the other equation, put the two in place of the X’s and multiply them to get [(26+88)/-38]^2.”

“Good, good. And then what?”

“You do BIDMAS, so you do the 26+88 first, which is 114, divided by -38 is -3.”

“And then you square it, so you multiply it by itself and since it’s a negative it turns positive, so the final answer is 9.”

The two weren’t just smart, they were quick. They could do the maths in their head in seconds. And the same pattern followed their other subjects. Had he enjoyed his job more, he’d have found harder questions to challenge them, or accelerated their studies to tackle the harder topics that should have come later. But Mr Wilkins hated his job. He hated children, and he especially hated teaching children. And these children were the worst. Because they were so much smarter than he was at their age. And despite life giving them this added intelligence, it had also given them an extra boost by making them royal. The son and daughter of Prince Michael. The man who was currently next in line to the throne. They had the best life you could have, and to say Wilkins was a little jealous was an understatement.

He should have been a proper professor at a university. He should have been Dr Wilkins. But of course, he’d messed it up. He’d been so busy with his workload for his final thesis that he’d assumed he’d get away with it if he saved time by not actually conducting his experiment and instead made up the results. It wasn’t as if anyone would notice, right? Well apparently they did. When he processed the numbers, he had to put the raw process output in his appendix. And so, while his data looked fine in the results section where he didn’t need to give every number, the statistics in his appendix gave him away. He didn’t even think about it until it was pointed out. He was sent to the board for academic misconduct, who wouldn’t pity him. Not only did he fail the assignment, but he was kicked off the doctorate course all together. If they hadn’t noticed, he would have graduated that summer with his PhD. It was his final assignment, for god’s sake.

6 years of work down the drain, a waste of money, and all he had to show was a permanent stain on his record. Explaining why he didn’t graduate to his family was humiliating. But what university would risk taking him on as a student after that? Turns out, not many. The only ones that would were such awful institutions that it wasn’t worth the humiliation of studying there. He had three bachelors and two master’s degrees from Oxford, Cambridge, and St Andrews, and he wasn’t about to stain that by adding a PhD from Bedfordshire of all places. Even Sheffield would be better than that. Unfortunately, he’d been a full-time student for his PhD, so employers were always curious about the gap in his resume and would turn him away as soon as he explained. He simply refused to teach in a local school and wanted to do something significant. So, tutoring rich kids was the way to go. He did it for a few years until he had enough of a good reputation to be hired by the royal family. And now he was stuck teaching those stuck-up brats who didn’t even need him, all while knowing he could’ve been doing so much more had he not made such a mistake all those years ago.

“Well, yet again, you’ve finished the work for the day with plenty of time left. So go to the library and do your own research, I guess.” With a huff, Wilkins slumped into his chair, lighting up his cigar and pouring himself a glass of brandy. But when the children didn’t go, and instead, looked at him expectantly, he groaned. They’d only been doing maths for an hour, and while that should have taken three hours to get through, it was still only half a day’s work. So, while the children had gotten used to speeding through and finishing early, even this was a little extreme. In reality, he was supposed to be doing three hours of English. But when it came to reading poetry, theorising meanings meant a lot of discussion. Discussion that couldn’t be avoided or sped through like with maths. Which meant plenty of time for the children to show off how smart they were and no way to hurry them along.

Normally, he’d send them off to Miss Coyle’s place, who taught them music and art, but she’d been ill, and Mr Finch next door, the teacher of the twins’ younger brother, Georgie, was only qualified to teach at a primary school level. He often had to send the children to his own personal library to keep them occupied till the end of their school day because there simply wasn’t enough in the classroom to keep them entertained so often. But with 5 hours till they were meant to be leaving, he doubted they wanted to spend the entire time in the library. He sighed.

“Fine, read in the library for an hour. Find some poems and write some essays analysing the language choice. Then you can practice your music. I have a grand piano next door to the library, so you don’t have to try break into Coyle’s house. You know, you’ll have to do a lot of independent work when you get to university, so you might as well learn that skill now.”

“But we’re eleven.” Annabel started. “We’ve only just started secondary school. We’ve still got at least 7 years before university.” She was always too smart for her own good.

“And the time will fly by. So, get to it.” The twins huffed but did as they were told. They were smart and willing to debate, sure, but they didn’t misbehave.

The pair left in silence. But once they were out of the room, had the door shut, and were a safe distance down the hallway, they let their complaints be known.

“He’s such a bad teacher, it’s ridiculous!” Annabel huffed.

“I don’t know why we even bother.” John muttered, “He’s not teaching us anything. If anything, he just slows us down going over the easy stuff again and again and then leaving us to teach ourselves the hard stuff. The stuff that we actually need help with. If he spent time on that then maybe he’d be able to fill the time.”

“And have you noticed since we’ve started secondary we haven’t had a single English lesson? I bet Miss Coyle isn’t the one who’s meant to be teaching that, it’s him. He just can’t be bothered.”

“We should tell father,” John said with a sigh. “We need a decent teacher if we’re going to do well in our O-levels.”

“Can you imagine how bad it’ll be when we go to sixth form and university? We’ll be in a proper school instead of being with a tutor. If we’re being taught like this, then we’ll never cope in a proper classroom.”

“I miss Mr Finch. Georgie’s so lucky.” Indeed, he was. Though Georgie may not say so. The children’s tutors all taught out of their own homes rather than in the palace, to make sure the children didn’t get too used to spending all day in the one place. So, when the time came to start secondary teaching, the children started going to Mr Wilkins’ home instead of Finch’s. Georgie missed the three of them being together for school and was jealous of how little they had to do. But the twins were old enough to know that Georgie was the one getting the best education out of them all.

By the time they’d arrived at the library, they were both well and truly fed up. They entered the ornate room they’d seen a hundred times. And while it was beautiful and kept immaculately clean and tidy, it didn’t elicit the same awe when you knew you only got to go in there when your teacher couldn’t be bothered dealing with you. The shelves soared high with tomes that any bookworm would be desperate to have. Hell, he had a collection of signed Dickins books that John had spotted several weeks ago. But upon asking Wilkins, he didn’t appear familiar with any of Dickins’ work. So, he probably only bought them because he knew they were valuable. It really shouldn’t have come as a surprise that he didn’t like teaching English. The library wasn’t huge. Certainly not by the children’s standards. Afterall, the palace had the largest library in the world. But it was certainly enormous for a private home. At least the one at the palace saw use from scholars and researchers, too.

But the thing that John and Annabel had found the most amusing about this library in particular, was that every book was new. They’d never been opened and read once. When Wilkins became their teacher, he’d just moved to the area and with his new position came plenty of money. And despite the library having been empty for the first few weeks they were being taught there, one day, it was suddenly filled to the max with brand new books. And the few that weren’t new were old books that were ones that had been signed by the original authors when they came out all those years ago. Some of those books were ancient. And even despite that, they had clearly been well taken care of.

Between the two of them, John and Annabel worked on breaking in those books, and by now, they’d read every single one, some several times over. They’d analysed and annotated and there really wasn’t much else to be done. But in doing so, they’d noticed someone else was reading them, as they’d started at the other end of the library. They checked the books and asked Wilkins, but he clearly hadn’t read them. Which confused them, as Wilkins lived alone. It was only by accident that they one day came to find that one of the servants was reading them.

There wasn’t many to choose from, as Wilkins didn’t like having a particularly full house. He’d rather keep the staff to a minimum and have them double-up on jobs. Or triple-up, or quadruple-up. In reality, it was probably a lot more than that. The cook, Mrs Oakley, couldn’t read, so it couldn’t be her. And Amy the maid wasn’t allowed in the library. And the coachman, Mr Lee, had been fired, so it couldn’t be him. That only left the butler, Mr Hackney.

Mr Hackney was an odd one. While he was officially titled as being a butler, he did the work of a bodyguard, groundskeeper, handyman, personal shopper, maid, assistant cook, cleaner, and housekeeper on top of his regular duties. And since Mr Lee lost his job, he’d also been the coachman, too. It was tiring work, but it was a roof over his head and food on the table. So, he didn’t mind.

He’d explained to them that he’d been doing it to make up for having never gone to school. He’d never had enough money growing up to spend time in school. So, he was learning now. He was doing pretty well, and was about halfway through the library, but he struggled to understand some of the words in the books he read. So, he often sat with a dictionary at his side as he read. He wanted to teach Mrs Oakley to read at some point, too. So, the twins helped whenever they could, and Mr Hackney made sure to hang around the library whenever they were around.

When the twins got there, as usual, Mr Hackney was waiting for them, keeping busy with some half-hearted dusting to look busy while he read his book, just in case Wilkins happened to come by. He’d been working through a section of the library full of history, geography, and anthropology books, and he seemed to quite like them. He had the book propped up just enough to see the title.

‘Historic Theological Anthropology of Pre-Colonial South America, 5th Edition’

Looking up as the door opened, he smiled at the sight of them.

“Morning.” But then he did a double take as he checked his watch, “Gosh, you’re really early today.”

“Hello Mr Hackney.”

“How many times have I told you, you can call me Jack, you know?” The twins smiled.

“Sorry, Mr Wilkins is so strict about formalities that it can be hard to remember.”

“Not to worry. So, what’s got you coming round here so early today? I know you usually get through your lessons quick, but this is quick even for you.” The two groaned at the mere mention of their lessons.

“He couldn’t be bothered teaching us anymore today. I honestly don’t know why we bother.” Annabel grumbled.

“Yeesh, some tutor he is.”

“We’re basically teaching ourselves at this point.” John huffed. “I’m going to tell father when we get back. Literally any other tutor would be better than him.”

“And he keeps telling us to do independent research in here, when we’ve already read and studied every book in here. There’s nothing else to do.”

“Well, how about I tell you a story?” Jack suggested with a mischievous wink.

“But we’ve already read everything in here several times.”

“Not from one of these books.” Jack laughed, “I’ve worked in plenty of houses over the years, so I’ve read through many libraries. And with that, you get to know a good many stories.”

“Maybe you should be a librarian.” Annabel suggested, “Instead of working for mean-old Wilkins.”

“Maybe. Though I can’t imagine any libraries would take me.” Jack knew. He’d tried, after all. Working for someone like Wilkins isn’t the sort of thing that would be your first choice. “But in the meantime, what would you like to hear?” The twins were at a loss. When you read so many stories, it can be harder to think of what you haven’t seen.

“Ok,” Jack laughed, seeing their lost faces, “How about something more familiar but with a twist? Like a fairytale?”

“What possible twist could a fairytale have that hasn’t already been done?”

“Well, it’s not about what has or hasn’t been done, but what you have or haven’t heard. After all, I bet you haven’t heard the original Cinderella story.”

“Yes we have. The Grimm brother’s version.”

“Ah, now you see, they didn’t create the original. Those stories were old folk tales that have existed for thousands of years as hundreds of versions all over the world. Their version is just the earliest written version that’s still popular. Most kids fairytales are basically less gory versions of theirs. But the first Cinderella story is a heck of a lot older. So old she wasn’t even called Cinderella.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Seeing the children were intrigued, Jack leant forward with a smile as the twins pulled up some chairs to sit in front of him. “Some time in the late last century BC, a Greek guy called Strabo wrote down the original Cinderella. Apparently it was a folk tale even then that people told by word of mouth rather than books. So, lord only knows how old it really is. The story goes that a Greek slave woman called Rhodopis was bathing, when an eagle flew by and stole her sandal. And it flew all the way to Memphis with it and dropped it in the King’s lap. The King thought it was such a strange thing to happen, that it must have been fate. So, he sent his army out in all directions to find the sandal’s owner. And when they did, they brought Rhodopis back with them to marry the King and become the Queen of Memphis. Pretty cool, right?”

“Well, it makes more sense to use the shoe to find her than the other versions do.” John mused, “I always thought it was weird that the Prince spent a whole night with Cinderella but couldn’t remember what she looked like and just had to use the shoe. How the ugly stepsisters were considered long enough to even try the shoe is beyond me. Cinderella was supposed to be beautiful. I’d have been offended if I was her.” Jack laughed at that. He always found it amusing seeing how the children spoke. You could certainly tell they were royal.

“Speaking of Cinderella, maybe that’ll happen tonight!” Jack looked to Annabel in confusion,

“What do you mean?”

“Father’s arranged a masquerade ball tonight at the palace. Maybe he’ll find his own Cinderella.” Jack wasn’t quite sure what to say at that. Of course, the whole kingdom knew what happened to Princess Katherine, but it had only been a year ago. Jack certainly doubted that the Prince would be so keen to find love or remarry any time soon. Especially after being married for so long beforehand.

“Maybe you could come!” John suggested.

“I’m not so sure about that. I can’t imagine your father would be interested in having me there.”

“But isn’t it boring here? You barely get to talk to anyone.”

“It’s alright, I’ve got Amy and Mrs Oakley.” The children looked at him doubtfully.

“Right. Point taken.” Yes, everyone knew that Mrs Oakley wasn’t really the talkative sort. She didn’t really like having others in her kitchen unless they were there to work. And while she liked the idea of Jack teaching her some of the things from his books, she couldn’t stand talking to him for long enough to do so. And while Amy was lovely, she was mute and very busy. So, unless her hands were free, you couldn’t really talk to her. And of course, Wilkins wasn’t particularly keen on conversing with the help. So, when the children weren’t around on the weekends or other holidays, Jack could go for days without speaking to someone or hearing a human voice aside from his own.

“Well as much as I’d like to, your father doesn’t know me, and I imagine it’s supposed to be for important royals and politicians. Not just anyone, I’m afraid.”

“I suppose so.” Annabel sighed, “But maybe it’s for the best. Dad says we’re too young to go, so if you went, you’d be pretty bored without us.” The three broke down in a fit of giggles at that.

“I wonder who is coming, though.” Annabel pondered. She’d always been curious about the kinds of people who’d come to such parties. There was always so many. But foreign royals never made a big thing about going abroad to parties, and their family barely went abroad for such things. So presumably it was all aristocrats. What did aristocrats even do?

Across the city, within the palace, a conversation of the party’s attendants was in fact occurring. But not concerning aristocrats or foreign royalty, but the Queen.

Queen Jannette III.

“This all seems like a very convoluted plan, Michael.”

“Yes, but a brilliant one!”

Queen Jane and Prince Michael were seated in one of the many lounges discussing the plans for the night. Michael had been busy all day working on it but had only just decided to reveal his reasoning for the party to Jane despite the party being that very evening.

“Think about it, the press don’t know you’re back from that trip early, so nobody will expect you at the party. With a mask and your hair styled a little different to usual, nobody will recognise you. You don’t have to worry about people treating you different, you can relax and forget the royal protocol and etiquette for the night and meet someone.”

“Michael, did anyone tell you why I came back early?” Jane sighed. A terrorist group that had been causing trouble recently decided to try assassinating her while she was on a royal tour in north Africa. Needless to say, she’d been rather stressed out by the whole incident and so cut the trip short. But what with the heightened security that had been in place as a result, her return hadn’t been made public. As far as anyone knew, she was in Egypt at that very moment.

“Of course, I know, but when will there be a good time? This is a rare chance to meet someone without the whole Queen-thing hanging over you. All that’ll happen if you leave it, is you’ll waste a great opportunity, and in future, you’ll still find other reasons not to try. You’re always going to be busy. Try think of this as a way to unwind.” When Jane just sighed, he only pressed further. “Jane, you’re always saying how nice it would be to meet someone, get married and have kids to take the throne. Well, if you want to do all those things, then you need to start meeting people now. Otherwise, by the time you meet someone you like and get married, you’ll have hit menopause.”

It was true that Jane had said those things, but that didn’t make it any less difficult to meet people. Her last partner had turned into a nasty piece of work who was desperate for power and status. He was abusive, and the whole thing had been played out for the world to see. In a time when she just wanted privacy, the relationship was dragged into the public eye at every opportunity. She’d only been a Princess then, but it was humiliating. It was as if people wanted to mock her. Like they were saying, ‘look at how weak the future Queen is. She’s meant to lead the country, but she can’t even defend herself.’ Well, now that she was Queen, she couldn’t let such a humiliation befall her again. If she found a new partner, he needed to be for life. He needed to be kind and respectful. If not, it could put the status of the whole royal family at risk. So those were her options. Either do it perfectly, or not at all. Needless to say, it was hard to bring about the motivation to try in such circumstances.

“And besides,” Michael added, “People have been talking.”

“What on earth do you mean?”

“You know when you updated all the royal protocol?”

“Yes, it was dated and needed freshening up to better fit the times.”

“Do you remember how you changed the Prince-consort?”

“Yes, what of it?” Of course, she remembered. Jane had been considering what would happen when she eventually married, and so she pre-emptively changed the rules for the Prince-consort. Just so that it was already done for whenever she eventually did marry. She thought it was strange for a woman married to a King to be a Queen-consort, while a man was only a Prince-consort. So, she changed it to a King-consort. She would allow him to walk at the side of his wife, rather than keeping several steps behind her, and she relaxed the rules of public displays of affection. So long as nobody was doing anything overly crude, she saw no need for the requirement to be so prudish. She’d been updating all the royal protocol, not just that. And such rules would apply to future generations, especially Annabel. If Jane didn’t get an heir, she was the older twin by several minutes, so the throne would pass to Michael if he was still alive, and then on to her and down her bloodline.

“Well, people started getting ideas as to why you updated them at that moment. They think it was because you were updating them in preparation to announce your own engagement.”

“WHAT?!” Jane was astounded, and yet, in reality, she shouldn’t have been surprised. People always fell into two categories. They either didn’t care for the royals, or they were so obsessed that it was unhealthy. She could never understand the people who spent so long theorising about her life and intentions. Because to her, she was just a person in a family. Nothing special, she just had an unusual job. But that wasn’t how most people saw her. She was a figurehead. That was why it was so difficult to find love, and why so many had resorted to marrying their cousins. But Jane refused to do that. Most monarchs married before their coronation for that very reason. In fact, there were only two Queens who hadn’t done this: Mary I and Queen Victoria. But Mary had married another King, and Victoria had married a man she absolutely adored to an obsessive level. So that would make it a lot easier to make the marriage work. But Jane had no interest in any other current Kings, and certainly had nobody to obsess over. Her chances were with some obscure royals or aristocrats, and unfortunately, the many she had met were either incredibly dull and pompous, or related to her in some way. Jane and her family had always tried to be more casual and down to earth to better appeal to the public. And that meant other nobility thought they weren’t good enough, while regular people would think they were too fancy. And Jane now lay uncomfortably in that awkward limbo where she really stood no chance with anyone.

“I don’t know what you expect me to do, Michael. I can try, but it’s always the same kinds of people at these parties. And you know what they can be like. They’re good company for a party, but not marriage.”

“Well, I’ve tried this time to get some newer interesting people. I’ve got a lot of people who are famous actors, musicians, businessmen, scholars, and such. I’ve kept the nobility to a minimum. I always figured you’d be best marrying a commoner.”

“I wouldn’t call celebrities and millionaires particularly common.” Jane scoffed.

“To be fair, if there was ever a monarch to marry a working-class man, it would be you.” But then his smile fell. “But please promise me you’ll try tonight.” Jane thought about it. And to be honest, staying single wasn’t totally a good idea. Not only was there the lack of companionship that she definitely wanted, but people were already calling her a new virgin Queen and comparing her to Elizabeth. As a Queen, sexism was still something she had to face, especially in a royal family that historically championed Kings. She didn’t want to continue the idea that virginity somehow made her better at her job, or that she avoided relationships to be less emotional to make her more King-like as a Queen. She wouldn’t be viewed as some woman who had to avoid love because she was weak and would fawn over men to the point of distraction. Too many creeps coveted her virginity, as if her lack of marriage guaranteed she even was one. And she’d never let those creepy kind of royalists have their way.

“Alright. I’ll do my best. But I can’t guarantee anything will happen. I’m not desperate enough to be throwing myself at just anyone.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything like that.” He chuckled.

And so, the evening was set. As the royals prepared for the evening, across town, Jack was busy with his own racing thoughts.

He could’ve sworn he’d heard about a royal ball recently. Maybe the children had mentioned it in passing and he just hadn’t paid it any mind until today. But no. He had it in mind that someone had told him they were inviting some different sorts of people than they’d usually invite to such events. But the children hadn’t said anything about that. But then it hit him. Last week, someone had come with a letter and told Amy that Wilkins had been invited. Supposedly the royals decided to invite him as thanks for tutoring their children. But he would’ve thought the man would be making much more of a fuss if he was getting ready. He usually did.

Jack had been settled on his bed, relaxing for the evening. His room was a little bare, with exposed wooden beams, no wallpaper or paint, a creaky wooden floor and barely any space for anything. But it was warm enough that he wouldn’t freeze, even if it wasn’t enough to be comfortable. And he had enough furniture: a single bed, a wardrobe, and a small desk and chair, even if the wood was old and rotten, and ready to collapse at any moment. He wasn’t bothered. It was the only place where he could relax where Wilkins wouldn’t go. And lord knows that man could complain about anything. Only that very afternoon, he had screamed into Amy’s ear that his tea was cold, as if she was deaf rather than mute. And of course, he made his minimum of five daily threats towards Jack for many trivial misgivings. It was infuriating at times and depressing at others. But the man refused to venture into the areas devoted to the servants, so he was safe from harassment and guaranteed some privacy. Well, sort of.

A bell hanging over his bed began to ring. It was the bell that was wired up so Wilkins could ring it wherever he was in the house to call him. So, despite being supposed to have the evening off, Jack was back on duty to find Wilkins and serve. It took some doing, as, unlike in larger houses, the bell system had no way to indicate where the call had come from. So, Jack wandered the halls until he found the man in his study, whereupon he poked his head through the door to see him reading over some papers with a look of frustration.

“You called, sir.”

“Yes, I’ve ran out of brandy. Fetch me another bottle.” Jack was out of the room again only a moment later. Rushing to fetch the drink. Wilkins was never patient when it came to refilling his brandy. So, when he came back with a fresh bottle in record time, Jack wasn’t surprised to see Wilkins still wasn’t happy with him.

“Next time, hurry up, for god’s sake. I’m swamped with marking these brats’ work and I don’t need you making my life any harder.”

“Yes sir.” Cautiously, Jack approached the table with the bottle in hand and poured him a glass. But when Wilkins got a good look at him, his fury only grew.

“That’s that vile Armagnac brandy! I told you to throw that away!” He picked up the bottle and threw it across the room at the wall, causing it to shatter and spill all over the floor. Then, without warning, he grabbed Jack by the collar and yanked him towards him to scream directly into his ear, “Bring me the COGNAC!” And with a hard shove, pushed him towards the door.

Jack said nothing and simply rushed to get the new bottle. He of course remembered Wilkins telling him that he didn’t like the new brandy and had sent him out in the snow at midnight to get his usual. But in his rush, he must have taken the wrong one. They looked pretty similar after all. Knowing he could never be fast enough, Jack still did his best to get back as quickly as possible, literally sprinting to get the bottle and back even quicker than before. But that still wasn’t enough.

As soon as Jack stepped into the room, Wilkins was ready, grabbing him painfully by the ear and dragging him towards the desk.

“I told you to be bloody quick about it. What part of that do you not understand?!” Jack was certain he’d tear his ear off, entirely. But he pulled him back to the desk and didn’t let go. And when Jack didn’t immediately put the bottle down, he grabbed him by the wrist and forced it down. “LET GO!” And once he had done so, he gave him one last shove, knocking him to the floor alongside a flurry of papers, where he landed in the mess of shards of the Armagnac, slicing his hands to ribbons as he landed and pushed himself back up.

“Pick them up and then clean up that mess!” He barked, pointing to the remains of the Armagnac. “And you have five minutes to do it. GET TO IT!” Wilkins was a very cruel man, so he slumped back in his chair and poured himself a drink while watching Jack scramble around on the floor. By now, Jack was well and truly shaken, and trembled as he worked. Something Wilkins revelled in. He always liked having a dogsbody handy for him to kick down whenever he was frustrated. After all, he had nobody else to talk through his frustrations with, and he’d be fired if he dared to reprimand those royal brats.

As Jack gathered the papers, he did his best to organise the various items as he placed them neatly back on the desk.

“Here are the bills, student papers, unopened letters, and a party invitation.” Wilkins tensed at those words, sitting up properly.

“An invitation? What on earth are you talking about?”

“Someone came by with an invite to a masquerade ball while you were out. They gave it to Amy.”

“Well, she knows well and good that I don’t care for such events.” Wilkins huffed and slumped back in his chair again, “Throw it away, its only cluttering up the desk.”

“Really? I would’ve thought you’d have enjoyed a royal ball.”

“Royal?!” Jack wasn’t sure what to say, and simply held out the invitation to him with a shaky hand. Wilkins snatched the envelope from him without hesitation and ripped it open, quickly scanning it over. The ball started at 9pm. Of course he had to be there. This was his moment to finally get in with the nobility of the nation. The civilised. It would be perfect.

“You get on with cleaning up. I’m going to get ready.” And just for fun, Wilkins made sure to push past Jack as he went and stepped on his hand as he did so, pressing it against the glass shards.

He had the perfect thing to wear. A beautiful suit of gold velvet with fine dark satin lapels, and beautiful black and gold embroidery on the cuffs and lapels. He added red diamond cufflinks and a matching red diamond tree broach with a white bowtie. Once his hair was suitably tidy, and he had his cologne on, he fetched his mask. This was his go-to outfit for any masquerade party, and so his mask matched the outfit. He wore a black patterned metallic mask, with gold lace details, a small bunch of feathers at each side, and diamonds of red, yellow, black, and clear. He looked immaculate. And he had just been ready to set out before he remembered one important detail. He’d fired his chauffeur.

Who would take him?

Since Hackney was new to the role, he didn’t even have a proper chauffer’s uniform. And Wilkins wouldn’t be caught dead being seen out in public being driven by a man in rags.

“HACKNEY!” He heard heavy footsteps as his butler came running down the hall and down the stairs to the grand entrance where he stood waiting.

“Yes sir?”

“I need you to take me to this ball. So, you need to wear something smart. I know I haven’t gotten you a proper uniform yet so any suit you have will have to do.” Jack gulped, dreading Wilkins’ reaction to his response, already.

“But sir,” he said, “I don’t own any suits.” Wilkins only groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment before letting out a great huff.

“Right, then you’ll have to wear one of mine. Come on now.” Leading Jack to his bedroom, Wilkins found the only suit he was willing to share. It was an old plain black suit. But like everything he owned, it had been well kept. And so, being such a simple suit, it was perfect for him to wear as a chauffeur. Sure, it was a little fancier than a proper chauffeur uniform, but compared the extravagance of Wilkins’ clothing, he could certainly get away with it. It fit well, the only issue being that given Wilkins was slightly taller than Jack, the trouser legs were a bit too long. But not absurdly so. And they happened to be the same shoe size, so footwear wasn’t an issue either. And soon, Jack found himself fully accessorised in freshly polished shoes, cufflinks, and a bow tie.

But as he was just about to call it done, Wilkins spotted the state of his hands. They had been sliced to ribbons from all the glass. Some of the cuts were still bleeding. And so, he certainly looked a mess like that. Worryingly so.

“Ugh. I don’t want people thinking I mistreat you. People are getting really anal these days about how to treat servants with respect and whatnot. You’ll have to wear gloves.”

“I’m sorry, I only have gardening gloves, and they’re filthy.”

“I thought you’d say that. You’ll have to borrow some.” He sifted through his drawers and found a decent pair. They were stark white silk, with a simple embroidered pattern on the back and edge in silver. They were certainly the simplest pair he owned, to make sure he wasn’t overdressed, but they were still fancy. Still, it was hardly like anyone would notice gloves like they would a suit. So, they could get away with it. And they fit perfectly, even better than they had Wilkins despite them having been tailor made for him.

“Now, if you come back tonight with any of this damaged or missing, they’ll be hell to pay. You got that?”

“Yes sir.” Wilkins held a heavy stare for several long moments, as if he was waiting for Jack to crack. But he remained stoic. And once he was satisfied, turned away and headed to the door.

“Right then, come along.” He said with a whistle and a click of his fingers, calling him like a dog, “We’ve got to be there for 9 so we need to leave now.” And as much as Jack really wanted to go back to bed, he followed along, opening the front door for him, and leading him out to the front, where the carriage had been left. And after letting Wilkins in, got himself seated at the front.

Although Jack had experience driving for past employers, it was his first time taking Wilkins anywhere. So, he was rather nervous. But as it turned out, given that they were in public, he didn’t want to cause a scene and stayed silent the whole way. The peace was nice. And it was nice to have an excuse to leave the house.

It was easy enough to get to the palace, and as the gates were opened to let them in, Jack could hardly believe how extravagant it was. Unsure where he was going, he followed everyone else until he came across the area where the carriages were dropping people off. Jack quickly left his seat and rushed to open the door for Wilkins, who stepped out without acknowledging him. But he certainly did take interest as a royal footman approached Jack.

“Good evening sir. The parking space for carriages is around the side. And when you’re done, you can come inside. We have a room for the drivers, so you don’t have to wait in the cold.”

“Oh, thank you.” Jack said, genuinely surprised. Maybe the evening wouldn’t be so bad. And after speaking to a footman about where to go, Wilkins turned to Jack with a final note.

“I’ll be leaving at midnight. I want you to wait out here for me. You are not to go inside, or it’ll only delay me in getting home if I have to wait for someone to go fetch you.” Jack’s heart fell. Of course, Wilkins wouldn’t let him have a good night.

“Yes sir.”

And so, Jack did as he was told, climbing back onto the carriage, and driving it around the side, where he found all the others parked. It seemed nobody else had made any similar demands of their drivers, as the place was completely deserted. And it was no wonder. Being the middle of winter, it was freezing. And it was that awful biting cold that came just before snow. Hardly a time to be sitting outside. He considered sitting in the carriage, but it wasn’t much better. The carriage really was only suitable for a short trip in such temperatures and wasn’t insulated nearly enough to protect him from hypothermia for three whole hours.

“This is stupid.” He grumbled to himself. “Does he want me to freeze to death?! I don’t get it! Why does he hate me so much?” He was about to ask himself why Wilkins didn’t just fire him if he hated him, but that only brought about the question of why Jack stayed if he was so poorly treated. And both those questions had the same answer. Jack was desperate for money. He hadn’t been able to get work anywhere else and it was either that or be homeless. There were no other options, so if Wilkins paid him a pitifully low wage, he had to live with it. If he overworked him, then tough. If he beat him up, there was nothing he could do about it. And Wilkins knew that. Which was why he treated him the way he did. Because he was a cruel man, and he could get away with it. But it was hard to look for work elsewhere while working under Wilkins. Jack was in the house all the time serving him, and so couldn’t go out job hunting. If he were to leave his position, he’d be homeless until he found something new. If he ever found anything, that is. It was simply too risky. So, he was stuck. And now he was going to freeze.

He stayed for several minutes just feeling sorry for himself when he suddenly had a realisation. Wilkins would have no idea whether or not he stayed outside. So, he could just go in and then make sure he was back before Wilkins. And Wilkins had said himself that he was leaving at midnight. So, it was fool proof.

Cupping his hands to his mouth, he blew warm air to stave off the chill as he made his way back to the entrance. The footman hadn’t said anything about using any other entrance, so he assumed he just went in the same direction as the guests. As he made his way to the entrance and stepped inside, he seemed to be in the right place, seeing people heading up a grand staircase and down a hallway. But upon stepping in, he was quickly stopped by a member of staff.

“I’m sorry sir, but do you have a mask this evening?”

“No,” Jack answered, “I didn’t think I needed one.” It was rather strange for staff to have to dress up for the theme, too.

“Not to worry sir, come with me.” Jack, unsure what else to say, simply followed the man into a small room off to the side, as he chatted away the whole time.

“I’m afraid we’ve had quite the disaster with the invites. The company printing them only printed half and closed temporarily due to a strike. So, we had to source the rest from elsewhere. And in all the rush, they never added the detail that it’s a masquerade ball. So, you’re not the only one who didn’t know. About half the guests have had no idea.”

“Wow, sounds rough.” Jack said with a grin.

“Yes, quite. But no need to worry. We have a collection of spares to be borrowed for the evening.” The man said, directing him to a line of boxes of masks. “Just pick whichever one you’d like, and you can pop it in the collection box at the end of the evening.”

Jack wasted little time in choosing a mask, going for a simple black mask that covered his eyes and most of the right side of his face. It had a few gold details on it, but not much. So, it’s simplistic design fit better with the suit. And he figured it was probably best to leave the fancier masks for the proper guests.

“Thank you.”

“No problem at all, sir. Have a wonderful evening.”

Jack headed out, putting on the mask, and saw footmen guiding everyone towards the grand staircase, and so followed along. He didn’t even think how odd it was that a driver would be entering the same way as a guest. Or how odd it was that he’d be made to wear a mask, too. It was only when he approached the ballroom that he realised what he’d done.

The staff offered him a mask because they assumed he was a guest.

Most drivers would be wearing a proper uniform, not a formal suit, and since Jack hadn’t picked up on that early enough to correct them, they never questioned him. The fact that some of the guests wouldn’t have had masks could have only been a one in a million coincidence to have allowed him in. But now he, a measly driver, was standing among foreign dignitaries, politicians, nobility, celebrities, businessmen, and millionaires at a royal ball. Yeah, that was a weird one to get into. How the staff hadn’t asked to see an invite or checked his name was beyond him. But to be fair, they seemed frazzled enough with the mask situation already, and with the rush of people all arriving at once, it was no wonder they had forgotten to check everyone.

But as Jack stood there, he couldn’t help but find it thrilling and hilarious. And after a brief deliberation, he decided he might as well take advantage of this opportunity of a lifetime. When else could something like this happen? And Wilkins had been so awful recently, so why not treat himself behind his back? He deserved it. And so, with all the guilt free from his mind, Jack decided he may as well enjoy himself.

It was handy that Jack had worked for rich people before, as he knew well enough how masquerades worked. Everyone wore a mask and had to keep their identities secret. And at midnight, the masks came off and people revealed themselves. It was a fun way to get to meet new people and it meant nobody would need to know who Jack was. With Wilkins planning on leaving at midnight, presumably to avoid the revealing so nobody tried to actually make friends with him, Jack would leave well before he would be caught out. So as long as he avoided Wilkins during the party, he’d be alright. And with what he was wearing, Wilkins stood out a mile. Most people went for more neutral colours, so when the bright lump of gold walked in, he looked a prat. And Jack couldn’t help but laugh, as he made his way to the opposite side of the room to him.

The ballroom was beautifully lit by glowing chandeliers, and ornate flower arrangements were dotted around every pillar. Antique paintings adorned the walls with equally ornate couches dotted around the edge of the room for older guests to rest their feet. The crowd split up into countless groups of mingling guests, surrounding a dance floor full of people performing an elegant waltz to the live classical music being played from a small stage in the corner, as waiters wandered the hall, offering drinks and hors d'oeuvres. It was by far the most glamorous place he’d ever seen, and the fact he shouldn’t even have been there only made him all the more giddy.

Hanging around at the side of the room, Jack wasn’t especially sure what to do, but needn’t think for long as the evening was interrupted. At the far end of the ballroom was a large staircase that stopped to form a small standing area before continuing down to the ballroom floor. A member or staff stood there, and in a loud bellowing voice, called out,

“Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, his Royal Majesty, The Duke of York, Prince Michael.” The guests applauded as the band played his grand entrance, walking down the steps to the platform with the kind of practiced grace that one could only expect from a Prince. He bore a warm friendly smile as he looked over the crowd, clearly pleased with the turnout.

“Good evening, ladies, and gentlemen. First of all, I’d like to thank you all for coming. For tonight, is a very special night. Tonight, we will be bringing about a change in the royal family, as we want nothing more than to continuously expand our horizons. Among you are more than nobility and politicians. There are some who are truly incredible performers, musicians, actors, scholars, and all-round incredible minds. And tonight, we will be welcoming those from all walks of life to create new bonds and friendships with people we may normally never engage with. Tonight is about building bridges. And so, I hope you all enjoy and meet some new people, free of judgement, and assessed only by the quality of their character rather than their type of status. And when the masks come off at midnight, you may just be surprised by who you were talking to. So please, enjoy yourselves. And I will wish you all the best of nights.”

The crowd applauded him and quickly returned to milling about the place. Jack couldn’t help but watch the Prince, who was probably the most famous person he’d ever been in the same room as. It was so bizarre that he was even there, and Jack couldn’t help but get giggly about it. He took a moment to calm himself before turning away and attempting to converse with the other guests. He didn’t want to make a fool of himself even if people wouldn’t know who he was. So, Jack picked a person who was looking as equally lonely as himself and made his way over.

As time passed, booze was drunk, and food was eaten, Jack was really getting into the groove of things. He’d been part of group of men and women and as they spoke, they were all making attempts to guess what each other did for a living. They guessed Jack was either a businessman of some kind, a writer, or a comedian. Jack, however, was fairly certain that he was in the company of nobility. They didn’t just have posh southern accents; they spoke the Queen’s English. Like the sort of accents British people had in American films. And the only type that spoke like that in real life came from wealth of some kind. And their lack of talk of any interests made him think they didn’t have proper jobs. So that meant they were surely the aristocracy.

However, Jack was soon becoming bored with them. With the rules of the masquerade meaning that they couldn’t reveal much about themselves, these people were clearly at a loss of what to say. And Jack was becoming tired of the awkward silences. It might be time to move on and chat with someone new. He turned away for only a brief moment, looking around the room while the others were briefly distracted to try to spot an escape. And then he saw it. Saw her.

In a slim fitted mermaid tail gown in a deep navy blue and covered with lace and sequins. Beautiful honey blonde hair that tumbled to a bob, and the most gorgeous eyes. Wow. How her eyes sparkled. Glimmers of gold in her hazel eyes that stood out a mile. Her feathery lace mask blocked much of her face and Jack only wished he could’ve seen more. But the sugary sweet colour of her cotton candy cheeks and cherry red lips were certainly enough. Incredible. Absolutely incredible.

She seemed to be in a similar situation to Jack, moving on from the group she’d been with, with her hands drawn in towards her and her fingers twiddling anxiously as she scanned the room. It looked like she’d come alone and was feeling a little out of her depth being surrounded by so many strangers. And as she turned to look around, with Jack being the only other person looking her way, their eyes immediately locked.

Was his heart meant to do that?

He must have had an odd expression, as he could feel his face beginning to flush. And the lady must have been amused by this as her lips broke into a fond smile. He could see her weighing up her options, her eyes darting upwards as she pondered, before finally setting her heart on the decision to approach. Leaving Jack with little time to calm down again enough to be able to talk to her.

“Hi,” She smiled, “Sorry, I just noticed you across the room and thought I’d come say hello.” Jack laughed awkwardly, suddenly struggling to find the words to speak to this woman.

“I suppose I should be the one apologising for staring.” He laughed, awkwardly, “I was just looking around to see if anyone was on their own and then saw you.”

“Well, I am alone this evening. So, the company would certainly be nice.” She had a sly grin and Jack really wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say.

“Then company you’ll have.” He beamed. The lady seemed intrigued by him, which Jack figured was good enough to start with. He couldn’t quite tell so easily where she was from. Her accent suggested west London, and her accent was clearly posh. But it wasn’t Queen’s English, just all round pretty normal. So, there was no guarantee of her being nobility, though it wasn’t a completely ruled-out option. She was elegant and moved with fluid movements, and Jack couldn’t get over how sweet her laugh was. He just wanted to spend all night trying to say funny things so he could hear it again.

“So have you had a good night so far?” She asked.

“Yeah it’s been great. I’m pretty new to this sort of scene. It’s actually my first masquerade. I’ve only ever read about them in books.”

“Oh, well I hope you’re enjoying it.”

“Absolutely. I was chatting to a group, and we’ve all been having a game to figure out who’s who. Some of them were even taking bets, but I haven’t brought my wallet, so I had to stay out of that, unfortunately.” That was a lie. Of course, he had his wallet, he wouldn’t leave it unattended in Wilkins’ house. Lord knows what would happen to it. Jack simply couldn’t afford to be risking betting his meagre earnings on a one-in-a-million guess of their jobs.

“Well, what were the guesses?”

“I figured that they were all nobility. It’s the way they talk, you see. They seem to think I’m either an author or a comedian.”

“And are you?”

“Ah, well, you’ll have to wait to find that out, I’m afraid.” He said with a knowing wink and a cheeky grin. The charm seemed to be working as the lady blushed, her eyes darting between the floor and him as she smiled sweetly.

They continued to chat and with the help of wine, the two quickly got more comfortable with each other, laughing away to themselves as if they were the only ones in the room. With them having to avoid discussing their personal life, Jack fell back on the stories he had of other people he knew and places he’d seen. And before he knew it, they were discussing everything from mythology and fairytales to economics and politics. Admittedly, Jack didn’t know much about the latter two and so Jane led that charge, but she knew little of Jack’s stories, so it balanced out in the end. And something about the way she spoke was so fascinating that he just wanted to keep hearing her talk. Her way with words was beyond anything he was particularly used to.

As the music swelled and people cheered and applauded those dancing gracefully at the centre of the room, the lady in blue smiled and leant over to Jack with a smirk.

“It’s a bit loud in here, don’t you think? Why don’t we go for a wander and find somewhere a bit more private?”

“Are we even allowed? I can’t imagine the guards will take too kindly to people walking around the restricted areas of the palace.” The lady only smiled.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I have some connections to the royals, and I’ve recently had the pleasure of staying here as a guest. They won’t mind our wandering.” Jack remained unsure, wondering if this lady was perhaps simply exaggerating her relations to the royals for the sake of impressing him. But then she took his hand and whispered in his ear, all thoughts dissolved as a shiver ran down his spine.

“Come on, you know you want to.”

Jack was left unable to do much else but nod and allow himself to be led to the edge of the ballroom, where a smaller and much more discreet door than the main entrance stood. Pushing it open, they were faced with a smaller corridor leading through a winding maze of rooms and stairways. The palace really was a maze, but as the lady led him through, she walked with such confidence you’d think she’d walked the route a hundred times. And it was enough to convince Jack that maybe she did come here often, and that nobody would bother them. His theory was only confirmed further upon blatantly passing in front of a guard who raised his brows in a look of shock before tearing his eyes away from them and looking straight ahead, completely ignoring them, and making no attempt to halt their passage. And upon getting past him, the lady took two more turns, and then came to a large set of doors, which she swung open, revealing the private spot she had set her heart on:

The palace gardens.

A seemingly endless array of fauna bloomed in the night, only lit by the gentle glow of the gas lamps along the paths. Every colour of the rainbow was there and likely even more colours he’d never seen before, all arranged to the nth degree with trimmed bushes and flower artwork creating extravagant statues and images all through the garden. A small stream glistened in the moonlight as brilliantly as if it was filled with diamonds and as they approached, it was hard to focus on anything else. The way their reflections seemed to dance was like looking into a dream. A fantasy that Jack knew he could never have. Because as much as he liked this girl, he couldn’t even stay for the whole night.

But she didn’t seem to care or notice the way his face had fallen and pulled him along onto the small stone bridge across the bubbling stream.

“Here, this is a good spot.” She said, perching on the bridge wall and patting the space next to her. Jack quickly joined and looked up to the sky in wonder. The night was completely clear, with the moon looking so big and bright, he feared it might just crash into the earth. “I always love coming outside to look at the stars. I never really read much about them, though. Apparently there’s all sorts of things you can see, but I never understood how people drew the constellations. They just seem pretty random to me.”

Jack smiled, “Well I think it’s something to do with how the sun moves through them and which ones stay close together from our perspective. I can’t say I know much about that sort of thing, but I know they’ve all got good stories behind them.”

“Really?”

“Of course. And it’s the perfect night for it. They constellations are pretty clear tonight.” He looked around to figure out which ones were which before spotting one. “See that one?” He said, pointing his finger and tracing the shape of a cluster of stars as the lady leant in close to see.

“Yeah.”

“That’s taurus, it’s even got the horns, see?”

“So, it does.”

“Well, the Babylonians believed it was the bull of heaven and was released by Ishtar to fight Gilgamesh for revenge.” He pointed out another as the lady listened intently, “There’s Orion, he’s the loyal shepherd and then just next to him is the old man Perseus.”

“What’s their story?”

“Nobody really knows. There’s some myths that came along later, but nobody knows what the original Babylonian one was. But Gemini, over here,” he pointed again, “has a story. That’s supposedly two great twins representing of pair of minor Babylonian gods of doorways and the underworld. They would chop up the bodies of the dead as they passed through. People used to bury effigies of them under doors to act as gateway guardians.”

Next, he came to cancer, one that had been represented as many different creatures over the years, but was currently considered to be a crab, and then Leo the lion. One of the earliest recognised constellations. Being so old, nobody was sure of the story behind it, but thought it could Humbaba, another monster to attack Gilgamesh. Virgo was also in the sky, representing the god of grain, fertility, and compassion: Shala. Who was sometimes represented as a woman holding grain or holding a large double-headed mace. And then Aries was the farm worker and consort to Ishtar. There was a lot of other myths added to the constellations later and plenty of civilisations had their own versions. The Greeks, especially, who saw Aries as the golden lamb and Virgo as several gods but usually Demeter. And there was plenty more to spot that were visible at the time of year: Ursa major and minor, Canis major, Hercules, and Andromeda.

“And, if I’m not mistaken, then that dot right there,” He pointed to a faint star as the lady leant in even closer, “that’s mars.” The lady’s pupils were blown wide, taking it all in with wonder. Jack, however, was more focused on the incredible way the stars reflected in her eyes. Almost as if they contained the whole universe itself. It was incredible. She was incredible.

“Woah.” She breathed, “I never knew there was so much to know about stars.” She smiled fondly and looked down with a look of nostalgia. “You know, my father used to say they were the souls of people who’d passed on. And that those who’d been good people in life shone brighter than the rest.”

“That’s a beautiful way of looking at it. My father always said they were just embers that got stuck in the sky.” He laughed, “I used to spend hours as a boy lighting matches and throwing them in the air to try make a new star. Nearly set the house on fire once.” Breaking down into a fit of giggles, the lady reached out, slapping a hand onto his shoulder.

“That’s insane! Why on earth did you do that?”

“My father was very intent on me being able to change the world.” Jack chuckled, remembering his father’s rousing motivational speeches, “Sometimes I think I just took him too literally.”

“Eventually he told me to stop trying to make new things and just show people how good the things were that already existed. He always said that people didn’t appreciate the simple things enough.” He chuckled as another memory came to mind, “One day, when I was visiting my uncle’s farm, I noticed the pigs couldn’t look upwards so well. So, every night, I would go round and pick up all the pigs and tilt them back so they could get a proper look at the stars for the first time.” The lady never said it, but she envied those pigs. She couldn’t imagine what such an experience would be like. She’d always known the stars as long as she’d lived and couldn’t remember seeing them for the first time. Had she had the power, she would have erased her memory and had this strange man explain it all over again so she could experience it all like new. He was a very strange man to beguile her so suddenly. A very strange man indeed. But by no means was it unwelcome, not when he was so sweet.

She turned back to Jack with a warm expression and doting eyes. A smile played on her lips and a hand splayed over her heart,

“Sir, I don’t know who you are or what you do. But I can already see that you’re incredible. Absolutely incredible. The way you see the world is simply fascinating. And when tonight is over, I hope we can remain this close. I don’t think I could bear to lose your stories now that I’ve heard such a sample.”

“Ma’am, I’ve been called many things over the years, but incredible has never been on that list. So, it’s certainly nice to hear it coming from such a fine lady such as yourself. Thank you.”

For a brief moment, silence fell between them, and as if by magic, the two found themselves drawn to one another. Maybe it was the moonlight, or the drink, but it was as if they’d known each other for years. They didn’t even know each other’s names and yet something seemed to be bursting from inside their chests, longing to reach out to the other to hold them and never let go. To love them till the end of days. And maybe things would be different when they knew each other’s names and faces. Maybe they couldn’t remain united. But in their blissful ignorance in that moment, it was so easy to pretend the rest of the world didn’t exist. It just didn’t matter. Because they were together, and that was all either of them could ever need.

The kiss was soft and gentle. No fiery passion or raunchy desire. Only simple and sweet love, with a touch of apprehension for what would come next. Their hands intertwined and their bodies close, shielding one another from the evening chill. And as their hands reached up to rest against the face, or pulled each other closer by the waist, they did so with such care, they could have been holding the most delicate and precious thing in the world. And if you asked either of them, they’d likely say each other were the most precious.

But of course, reality waited for nobody. And suddenly, all across the palace, the clocks chimed 12 o’clock, jolting them back from their heaven.

“It’s midnight,” the lady whispered, in the scant space between their lips, “you know what that means?”

Midnight?

MIDNIGHT!!

A shock of panic rushed through Jack, who flinched back at the revelation. He was supposed to have left before midnight if he ever wanted to make it back to the coach in time.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry, I have to go.”

“What?!” She exclaimed, reaching out and hanging onto his hand, “Now?! But it’s time for the big reveal! We’re supposed to gather in the ballroom and see each other for the first time. Can’t you stay?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t. I’ve been here long enough already. I shouldn’t have even been here!”

“Surely it will be alright if you just stay a little longer.” She implored, desperately holding on. She couldn’t lose him after this.

“It’s not safe for me to stay!” And maybe that wasn’t really fair to say, but it was true. If he didn’t get back in time, there’d be hell to pay.

“What do you mean? Can’t you at least tell me your name before you go?”

“I’m sorry, but no. If he finds out I was here, he’ll be able to figure out who I was with and I can’t trust anyone would want to keep me a secret. Trust me, I’m not the kind of man to be impressed by. You wouldn’t think I’m worthy of going through that effort to hide me. And if he found out about us, well… let’s just say I’m not the most respectable of people. Our association would probably be enough to drag your name through the mud.” Jack said bitterly, standing and making his way back towards the palace.

“But when will I see you again?!” She asked, growing frantic as she followed.

“Probably never.”

“Never?!”

“I’m sorry, but it has to be this way.” But the lady wouldn’t take that for an answer. She held his wrist and tried to keep him from leaving. She couldn’t understand what could possibly need him to rush away so soon. They still had time left. She could at least help.

“Wait, stop. Who is he?” She asked, desperately trying anything to get him to stay and explain more. But he didn’t listen. Pulling away from her, Jack broke free from her grip. Not even noticing that as he did so, his hand slipped right out of his glove, leaving the lady still clutching it. But the lady noticed. And she noticed the state of his cut hand beneath. She implanted the image to her memory as a clue to how she’d find him. She would. She had to. She couldn’t just let him go after this. But she could do little else but watch as he disappeared into the maze of hallways in a flurry. And all in an instant, the lady in blue was left alone in the garden.

“I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”

Jack wasted no time in getting out of there. If he ran, he still stood a chance at beating Wilkins to the coach. Hell, maybe he’d actually enjoyed himself and decided to stay a little longer. Whatever the case, he said he wanted to be leaving around midnight, and with the clocks already slipping the hands past twelve by several minutes, he was running out of time.

He was lucky to remember the route back to the hall, and to avoid causing a scene, chose to speed walk from that point on. Slipping between masses of people all excitedly removing their masks and revealing themselves to new lifelong friends and lovers. That should have been him. He didn’t even get a chance to know her name. He should have never bothered coming as now he was only made more aware of the things he wanted that he could never have. Not as long as Mr Wilkins was alive.

Stepping back into the entrance hall, the area was free of staff. Jack slipped his mask off and dropped it back into the collection box, before making his way to the exit. And once free from the chance of being spotting by prying eyes, sprinted round the side of the palace to reach the coaches. There was no way he’d been beaten. Nobody had been making their way out of the ballroom or been in the entryway. Wilkins must have still been inside, surely.

But no. As Jack rounded the corner, there he stood. Fuming as he leant back against the vehicle with a look of pure restrained rage written all over his characteristic scowl.

“Oh, so there you are. I see you’ve finally bothered to show up, then, have you?”

“I’m sorry sir. I went to the bathroom but got lost. I would’ve been back before you got here, otherwise.” Jack spluttered, trying to make a believable lie on the spot.

“Oh, I certainly doubt that.” Jack looked confused. “Because I’ve been waiting here since ten o’clock. I got bored after an hour in there. And when I came out, you weren’t here. I told you to wait with the coach for this very reason, but no. Clearly that instruction was too difficult for someone like you to follow.” Jack shifted uncomfortably; his eyes trained to the floor in shame. “The first place I thought to check was that drivers’ lounge. But when I asked, you weren’t there either. So could it have been that you were the man I saw across the room in the ballroom?” Jack froze. How the hell did he know that?!

“I’m not an idiot, Hackney.” He sneered, walking slow laps around him like a prowling beast preparing to pounce on its helpless victim. “You were the only one in that place wearing white gloves. You stood out a mile. And with such a simple suit, too. And with how they were handing out masks at the door and not checking invites, it would be easy enough to get in, hm? I couldn’t believe you’d disobey me at first, so I never mentioned it when the party started. But when I realised you were missing I figured it must have been you. Well, when I came back in, I was just in time to see you running of with that woman in the blue dress. And I couldn’t follow you into that maze, so I came out here and waited.” Jack shuddered. He hadn’t realised Wilkins had been watching him so closely all evening.

“So, Hackney. Were you taking that woman away to sodomise her? You know, at her age, she was probably married. I have half a mind to go back in there and report you.”

“Sir, please. I can assure you we did no such thing! We simply went for a walk in the gardens. The party was too loud, so she wanted to hang out somewhere quieter. And she said she was alone, so there was no husband left behind.”

“Oh really? Is that the story you’re sticking to, then? Hackney, I pay you to be here. You have no right to run off and go partying on my time. If I tell you to do something, you do it! And certainly don’t think that you can get away with lying to my face!” He roared, before turning his back on Jack and tutting, as he walked back to the coach, “Using the bathroom? Hmph. Pathetic.”

“Now, come along. I have no intentions of causing a scene in public. We will discuss this further when we return.” Jack shuddered. He knew well what that meant. It’s exactly what happened to Mr Lee. The poor man could barely walk by the time he was fired.

Jack rushed to the coach, opening the door for Wilkins as quickly as he could, to avoid giving the man any more reasons to be angry with him. But of course, life wouldn’t be so kind to him. As when Jack raised his hand to open the door, Wilkins spotted something even Jack had yet to realise himself. Jack had no chance to move before Wilkins reached out and snatched his wrist in a bruising grip that was so rough, he could’ve sworn he’d snap the bone.

“Where on earth is your glove?” Jack only looked at his bare right hand in horror as the realisation dawned on him.

“I told you; you were borrowing clothes tonight so you mustn’t lose or damage anything or there’d be hell to pay! And you can’t even do that! I paid good money for those gloves, now they can’t be used again! That single glove is worth more than you make in a month!” He jabbed a finger at Jack’s chest, sneering savagely. “This will be coming out of your wages.”

“Yes sir. Sorry sir.” Wilkins took a moment just to observe him, clearly enjoying the look of fear in Jack’s eyes. But when he decided he’d had enough, he released Jack’s arm, shoving him backwards.

“Now hurry up and take me home. You say you’re sorry know, but you really will be sorry once I’m done with you.” Without another word, Jack took his place at the head of the coach and tried to catch his breath as Wilkins got settled inside. To say he was scared was an understatement. He knew what that man was capable of. He used to be a soldier for god’s sake!

Driving home, Jack made sure to go as slow as he could possibly get away with, determined to put off his impending doom for as long as possible. Shudders from the cold became indistinguishable from those of fear, and by the time they had returned, Jack was well and truly petrified.

“Come along now, Hackney. Hop to it.” Jack did exactly as he was told, opening the coach for Wilkins, and then getting the front door for him to, allowing his master to enter first. And as Jack crossed the threshold, and closed the door behind him, he could only brace himself for the impending hell storm.

Morning came, oblivious to Wilkins’ assault, and across the city under a perturbed grey sky, the Prince was getting very excited.

“JANE!” Prince Michael rushed into the lounge where his sister had made herself comfortable, head buried in a book and a cup of tea steaming on the table at her side. Michael’s shout startled her, and she flinched, dropping the book, and losing her page.

“Michael, do you really have to yell like that?” she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation.

“Sorry, but I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”

“Tell you what?”

“The guards said that last night you ran off to the garden with a guy from the ball!” Jane cringed, having not wanted to talk about it so soon. Yes it had been a good evening, but the ending somewhat spoiled it. She didn’t even get to know who the guy was.

“Look, I’d rather not talk about it.” She sighed.

“What? Why? Did something happen?” Michael immediately tensed as a million thoughts rushed through his mind of awful men taking advantage of her to try get her money and status. “He didn’t try to… do anything, did he?”

“No! Nothing like that.” She spluttered. And when Michael leant forward, clearly intent on hearing an explanation, she sighed in defeat.

“He was great. He was so funny, kind, and he seemed to know a lot about the world. He had all these stories, and it was lovely to just listen to his voice. He was perfect. And… I kissed him.”

“You kissed him?!”

“Look, I know it sounds extreme, but it made sense at the time.” And then came the question she was dreading the most.

“Who was he?” Jane paused, wondering how best to tell him. It was all so stupid, she felt ashamed to even admit it. How had she let him slip through her fingers like that without even knowing his name.

“That’s the thing. I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?! How?! I thought you talked to him all night.”

“When it got to midnight, he freaked out. He said he had to leave and that he shouldn’t have been there, and that he wasn’t respectable enough to be with me.”

“How strange? Maybe he was some sort of criminal?”

“I don’t think so. His suit was on the simple side, and he’d been wearing gloves all evening. But when I grabbed his hand to try get him to stay, one of his gloves slipped off and he didn’t notice. But his hand was sliced to ribbons. I can’t explain it. He said that it wasn’t safe to stay and there was someone who he couldn’t let find out. He said he could never see me again or we’d be in danger.” Jane sighed, feeling well and truly hopeless. “I think someone’s abusing him.”

Michael wasn’t sure what to say. He froze at the revelation and could only bring himself to watch Jane’s expressions to figure out how to react.

“Do you mean by a partner, or a boss, or…?”

“I don’t know. But he was afraid, he’d been hurt and was trying to hide it, and he didn’t think very highly of himself. I thought it was just because he wasn’t from nobility. But I’d bet any money it’s because whoever’s been mistreating him has been doing everything in their power to put him down.” The thought infuriated her. It wasn’t fair when he was so sweet.

“Jane, if this is true, then something must be done about it.” He looked to her with a fury burning in his eyes as strong as Jane’s, “You’re the Queen. This is your kingdom, and you have a duty to protect the people. And if you know a specific person who’s being treated like that, then it’s your duty to help him.”

“I know, but I don’t know how to find him.”

“Well, surely we can just look at the guest list, right? Hang on, I’ll be back in a bit.” Michael hurried out of the room and was gone for 15 minutes. When he got back, he had a stack of photographs in his hand.

“Right. This is everyone who was on the guest list. We just need to go through and narrow it down based on what you can remember he looked like. Then we can contact whoever’s left to figure out who you spoke to.” Jane groaned at the papers. There had to be about 500. But Michael was determined that they had to do something, and secretly, Jane liked the idea that maybe, if this abuser was out of the picture, she might be able to have a future with him.

The two set about their work immediately. They removed all the women on the list to start, and as Jane’s man had short hair, all the long haired men went, too. He had black hair, so all the blondes, brunettes, gingers, and greys were removed. Michael asked about eye colour, not expecting her to remember such a detail after only one evening, but Jane was certain he had brown eyes as she had spent so long admiring their warmth. He had light warm-toned skin, and so the palest and darkest shades were removed. Then everyone with facial scars or missing eyes were removed. And after everything, they were left with two. But there was a problem. One man had a thick beard, and the other had a goatee. Jane’s man had neither.

“Maybe he shaved?” Jane suggested.

“No, I spoke to them both last night, and they had the same facial hair then as they did in these photos.”

“Well, then he’s not here.” She huffed, dropping to slump against the back of the couch, head in her hands. “I don’t know why we bothered. He said he wasn’t meant to be there. Of course, he wouldn’t be on the guest list. He could be anyone!”

“Ok, calm down. Let’s think about this. This event was invite-only, so it’s not like the public knew. And it was a masquerade, so the people who did come would have had to have been very secretive about it so it wouldn’t get out that they were going and ruin the mystery of the whole thing. This guy would have had to have been very close to someone on the guest list. Someone probably snuck him in.”

“But everyone would have come in straight after being dropped at the door, and they’d have to have signed in. The door staff would have noticed if anyone else came by.”

“Not necessarily. Some of the invites went out without saying it was a masquerade. So, the staff were busy trying to hand out masks to guests before too many people would notice who they were. If someone came without a mask, they would have been so busy trying to get them in and put one on, they might not have checked the invites.” He looked through the invite list which had been ticked off for every guest who arrived. “Half the people on here were never ticked off, but I specifically remember speaking to them there. So, it’s entirely likely your guy came in like that.”

“But I doubt the staff who got him a mask would have found out his name, if they even remember who we’re talking about.”

“Yeah, we might be better talking to the guests and just ask if they let anyone in that wasn’t on the list.” As Michael started listing off possibilities, Jane was racking her own mind for ideas. It seemed unlikely that someone would bring somebody not on the guest list. Everyone who was initially invited was allowed a plus one who would be added to the guest list, mostly their partners. If the man she spoke to was the husband of one of the guests, did she really want to be trying to pursue a relationship with him? If she got together with a cheater, she was basically asking for him to have affair with someone else. But then it hit her.

“What if it was a driver?”

“How do you mean?”

“Well, who else would know best about the party but the person driving them there? And he was wearing a simple suit, so I doubt he was wealthy. We had a whole room for the drivers and none of them were on an official guest list. He could have been let in without an invitation that way and instead just gone to the party. The staff would’ve just thought he was a guest. After all, the whole evening was about inviting people who weren’t all nobility. So not everyone would have been so rich. That way he wouldn’t have stood out too much.”

“In that case, it would explain why he said he shouldn’t have been there. And he was probably worried about his boss finding out. But a driver wouldn’t have cut up hands like that.”

“Exactly! He’s being mistreated. That fear was more than a driver worried about getting in trouble. There’s plenty of people who still think it’s alright to abuse their staff to reprimand them. That must be it!”

“Then we should go ask for the list of drivers. They all gave their names when they went in, so the staff knew who to get when their masters asked for them to leave.”

“But he was at the party, not the lounge. They wouldn’t have his name.” Jane countered.

“Well, his master would have come by and asked for him when he was ready to leave, and there was probably some sort of fuss when they realised he wasn’t there. If we ask, they might remember what his name was and the name of his boss.” Jane liked that idea, and was up even before Michael, walking over to the telephone placed on a side table and rang down to the staff.

“Can you please send up whoever was managing the drivers’ lounge last night, please. Thank you.” The person on the other end assured her they’d have them over within a few minutes. And they were right. In two minutes, the member of staff had managed to race across the entire palace to their location and stepped in with a smile.

“Good afternoon, your majesty. How can I help?”

“Good afternoon Mr Rowe,” she said smiling, “Last night, we believe a man may have come to the lounge to get their driver, but they weren’t there. Is that true?”

“Yes, ma’am. At around 10pm, I believe. He ended up leaving on his own and said he’d wait for him outside. We never found the driver, but I heard from a guard that they met outside in the carriage parking and left together.”

“Perfect, do you remember their names?”

“Not very well, I’m afraid. The driver was called Jake Hartley, or something along those lines. The man asking for him, I can’t remember. I just remember it began with a W. I’m sorry ma’am, I wish I could be more of help, but it was very hectic last night. I was rather scatter brained.” Jane sighed. She had hoped he would have remembered for certain. It would have certainly been more useful to know the driver’s master for certain, as they would at least know which of the 500 guests to get in contact with.

“Would you remember his face if we showed you photos of the guests?” Michael asked.

“I can try, but he was still wearing his mask at the time. I saw him taking it off as he left, but by that point I wasn’t at the right angle to see his whole face.”

Michael looked to Jane, clearly a little tired of their search already, and really not wanting to have to go through all 500 photos again.

“Do we not have any other way to identify him?” Michael asked, an idea striking him, “Didn’t you say he left his glove?”

“Yes. Of course!” rushing to her purse, Jane picked it up off the coffee table and unclasped it. She’d picked up the glove, wondering if she might see him again if he came back for her to return it. After all, it looked like it was rather expensive. And losing one of a pair is much more infuriating than losing both, when you’ve still got one of those gloves reminding you that it’s still perfectly good but still can’t be used alone.

“There might be a name on the inside.” Michael reasoned. Taking the glove and looking inside.

Jane was right about his hands. They must have been cut up horribly, as the inside of the glove was covered in patches of blood, particularly on the palms. The glove looked far too fancy to belong to the driver, but Michael already had an idea about that. If he had been wearing a suit that fitted with the ball, then he clearly wasn’t wearing a proper driver’s uniform. He might have only just been hired or something. So, he would have probably borrowed the suit and with his hands such a state, the gloves too. There didn’t appear to be any name inside, but then he found an area of the hem that hadn’t been stitched down. And when he tugged it down, revealed the name written in pen inside. Of course, any stitched or written label would have been visible through the glove. Putting it on the hem would have avoided that. And there it was.

“Property of W. W. Wilkins.” Michael read. “That’s the owner of the gloves.

“Wilkins! Yes, that’s the fellow who came by last night.” Mr Rowe beamed.

“So, it’s his driver that we need, now.” She pondered. Wilkins, being his boss, was probably the abuser. “Thank you Mr Rowe, you can go, now.”

“Yes, ma’am.” As Mr Rowe left, Jane turned to Michael who was reading through the guest list once more.

“I knew it! I was certain I recognised that name.”

“What is it?” Jane asked, moving to sit beside him.

“William Weatherall Wilkins. That’s his full name.” When Jane didn’t react, he elaborated, “That’s John and Annabel’s tutor. They’ve been complaining about him recently. Apparently he’s a very bitter and miserable man, who can’t be bothered teaching. I’ve been looking into getting them someone else. From what they’ve said, I wouldn’t be surprised if he abuses his staff.”

“And what about the children? Has he done anything to them?”

“I did ask when they said he had such a foul attitude. They seemed to think he’d be much worse with them if they weren’t royals. So, he’s not done anything to them except be rather useless. If he’s been that bitter to them, it wouldn’t surprise me if he does much worse to people below him.”

“Do you think the children would know him? They do have their lessons at his house.”

“I doubt it. They’ve never mentioned any of his staff before, and I highly doubt they would have come into contact with his driver of all people. A maid would be a reasonable guess, but not a driver.”

“Well do you have Wilkins’ number, then?” Jane asked, determination in her eyes, “I think it’s about time we give him a call.”

By now, the sun was soaring high as the city cruised through the afternoon. But despite being almost 2pm, one particular citizen hadn’t yet risen.

In an ice cold bedroom, Jack lay in a state of unconsciousness that could only be blamed on Wilkins. The single basement window in his room faced west, so had no view of the sunrise. And instead, as midday came and went, and the sun travelled further west to where it would set, beams of light were beginning to stream through the window and across his face, finally rousing the man.

Jack groaned, cracking his eyes open only to squint at the glare, and pressed his arm over his eyes. He didn’t even remember going to bed, and he was sore all over. In an ideal world, he would have just had a nasty hangover after a great night out. But this was not an ideal world, and the bruises all over him were a testament to that. He was half tempted to let himself fall back to sleep, but Jack hadn’t had a lie in once in all the years he’d worked for Wilkins. And he highly doubted his boss would let him rest now, especially after the disaster of last night. And so, against every nerve in his body screaming to rest, Jack forced himself to sit, right at the moment the door opened. His heart almost stopped until he let out a breath of relief at who walked in.

“Oh, so you’re not dead. That’s good.” Jack looked in surprise as Mrs Oakley walked into the room. The cook was carrying a tray with a mug of tea and a plate of toast. “Wilkins really did a number on you. You were barely conscious by the end of it. It took both Amy and I about ten minutes to drag you back here. I thought you’d never wake up.” She passed him the tea and set the toast on the bedside table. “Here, get this down you.”

“What time is it?” Jack asked.

“Quarter past 2.” And upon seeing Jack’s shocked expression, added, “Yeah, I know. We’ve managed to pick up the slack and Wilkins hasn’t asked for you specifically yet, so I don’t think he knows you’ve been asleep.”

“Hang on, he didn’t fire me?” Whenever Wilkins had gone ballistic enough to attack his staff like that, it was because it was the final straw. They were always fired after that. That’s what happened to Mr Lee. Maybe Jack had blacked out before he had the chance and was just waiting for him to wake up again.

“No, he didn’t. But you know what he’s like.” She said, “he doesn’t like having lots of staff around, so the ones he does have need to be able to do multiple jobs. And you’re our Jack of all trades. He’d be scuppered without you. That’s why he’s probably going to lie for you to the police.”

Wait, what?!

“Police?”

“Yeah. Wilkins had a phone call from the palace today, saying they found that glove. So, it’s not going to have to come out of your wages now.” She smirked, “But the call came from the Queen’s personal secretary. Wilkins reckons they found out that you weren’t on the guest list. That girl you were shacking up with probably reported you.”

“How do you know about all that?!” Jack asked, blushing furiously.

“Wilkins was ranting to himself for hours after he finished with you.” She laughed, “And you know what he’s like. We could hear him through the walls. Still,” she continued, “he wouldn’t get rid of you. And he was talking about how he should report you, but never did. He knows you’d be arrested. Trespassing on palace grounds isn’t exactly a small crime.”

“But it was an accident.”

“Sure. And it was an accident when you stayed there for three hours and shacked up with that bird. You’re lucky he’s sticking up for you at all. I wouldn’t piss him off any further, so make sure you’re ready if he calls you today.” Jack just nodded, relaxing back against the headboard for a moment. He really didn’t want to have to deal with Wilkins again, or ever.

“Now, come on, get that down you.” She said, gesturing to the tea and toast. “If you take too long with it you’re not going to get a chance at all before Wilkins starts giving you things to do.”

As for Wilkins, he was busy theorising. He wasn’t an idiot. And Mrs Oakley had been right. As furious as he was with Jack, he didn’t want to lose him. He was the only person he’d ever employed who knew how to do just about any job he could ask of him. Not to mention, he was incredibly desperate for cash and would never leave him even despite the abuse. But the only reason Wilkins could possibly come up with for the Queen’s personal secretary to call about returning the glove, was that they had found out that Jack had been there without an invite. And in that case, since they hadn’t said they’d post the glove to him or invited him to collect it, Wilkins quickly realised they would likely be sending over a police officer with the glove so they could arrest Jack, too.

But despite this, there wasn’t a whole lot that could be done, and so, Wilkins sat for several long hours that day doing very little of value. He didn’t speak to anyone, he didn’t call upon his butler (he didn’t particularly want to see him at all), and just let his staff get along with all their regular daily duties. And thankfully, they were happy to leave him be, as well. It was only every so often, he would call upon the maid as she passed the lounge and asked to fetch him another cup of tea.

It was almost 4 in the afternoon, whilst waiting for another of these refills, that his streak of nothingness was broken. With a ring of the bell, Wilkins tensed in his place at the shrill noise, but made no effort to move from where he sat in the lounge. Amy seemed to appear from nowhere and Wilkins could just about see her through the archway across the hall answering the door. Everything appeared to be normal, until she got the door open and saw who was standing there. Ever the professional, most wouldn’t have noticed her reaction, but Wilkins recognised the widening of her eyes and the halted gasp as she got a good look at them. There was a quiet conversation, and Wilkins could just about make out the voice of their visitor. A woman, no doubt. But he couldn’t understand who. You certainly didn’t see many women in the police these days, and if it was the Queen’s secretary who phoned, Wilkins wouldn’t have been able to recognise her, nevermind Amy.

“Of course, ma’am. Right this way.”

Amy stepped back towards the lounge, leading a woman through alongside a pair of other men standing behind her. And as they entered the room and Wilkins finally got a decent view of them, his heart stopped.

“Sir, Queen Jannette.” The Queen stood with an air of grace and power despite merely standing as a guest within his home. Her fitted blazer and long skirt coloured a regal striped, emerald green, with a black cloak over it throwing a large tuft of fur over one shoulder. She wore a wide brimmed black hat, which was adorned in white and cream flowers, worn at a slight tilt allowing her to easily hide her face with a single turn of the head. The men who accompanied her appeared to be a pair of grenadier guards, wearing their more practical short caps rather than the ceremonial bearskin hats Wilkins was accustomed to seeing. But thanks to the insignia each hat bore, it was clear to Wilkins that the pair were colour sergeants. Both armed to the teeth with fully loaded guns should anyone take a chance at assaulting the monarch.

Despite her rather intimidating entourage, the Queen bore a pleasant smile as she entered.

“Good afternoon, Mr Wilkins.”

“Your majesty,” Wilkins breathed, “please have a seat,” he spluttered, gesturing to the armchair opposite his own. “What brings you here today?” Heart in his throat, Wilkins could only imagine what disaster was coming his way. That damned man must have managed to commit treason for the monarch herself to get involved like this.

“Well, my main purpose was to return this glove.” She said simply, taking Wilkins’ white embroidered glove from her purse and passing it to him, whereupon he set it down on the arm of the chair.

“Oh, wow. Thank you ma’am. I must say, though, this all seems a little much just to be returning a glove. I thought it would have been posted, instead. I didn’t expect your personal secretary and yourself to be handling such trivial matters.”

“Yes, well I don’t, usually. As a matter of fact, I have another reason to need to see you beyond the glove. Though since the jobs were connected I thought I may as well handle both.”

Yep, here it comes.

“Fair enough. So, what’s this other job.”

“Last night, Mr Wilkins, you came to the royal masquerade. But what I hope yourself and everyone else failed to realise is that I was in fact in attendance. I returned early from my royal tour for unrelated reasons and attended in secret. Whereupon I spoke to a man wearing these gloves, who left before I was able to know his name. And I wish to speak to him again.”

‘I wish to speak to him again.’ What was that supposed to mean?! Was it good or bad or something else entirely?! He shuddered at the thought and tried to think of what to do. Jack was a pathetically low class man who wouldn’t stand a chance in the face of the crown. But Wilkins? He may have a shot at getting out of things. He had the money, the status, and the royal connections to save himself if he were to take the fall instead. He could brush the whole thing off as a mistake, and both he and his butler would be free from future persecution, and Wilkins wouldn’t lose his most valuable worker.

“Well, your majesty, that would be me. I must say, I never realised I was in your presence. You must forgive me if I said anything out of place. I would have been much more cautious had I known who you were at the time.” The Queen gave him an odd look and a smile, seemingly surprised but entertained by his admission. And with a dignified laugh, said,

“Wilkins, that’s hilarious.”

“I wasn’t joking.” The Queen stopped laughing and looked at his imploring face awkwardly, her smile slowly falling as she realised he was being entirely serious. She sighed in disappointment.

“Mr Wilkins, I know we were wearing masks last night, but that doesn’t mean it was impossible to see certain features. I know the man I’m looking for. He had a completely different voice for starters, was somewhat shorter than you, clean shaven, had brown eyes, and had black hair rather than your blonde. I came to you because your name was on the glove, and I assumed you could tell me who you lent them to.” Wilkins, feeling ever the prat, shrank back in his seat at her stern words, as he tried to rack his brains for another story that would derail her search.

“Well, I’m afraid, as a matter of fact that I lost those gloves several months ago at a formal engagement in Penzance for Allantide with my family. So, unless someone from that party found it and happened to be travelling from Cornwall for the ball, then I can’t say I know who it’s been passed through to get it all the way to your palace.”

“Mr Wilkins, I can see the matching glove over there on that end table.” She said, gesturing across the room to where the glove had been left since Jack took it off last night. “You don’t think I’d believe that in a house as pristine and tidy as this, that you would allow a single glove to be left gathering dust on that table for several months, do you?”

“Well as a matter of fact it has. I’ve regularly had it out to take to the tailors to find a copy to make them a pair, but as the embroidery is so detailed, I’ve yet to find a match. So, I’ve left it there for the sake of practicality.”

“And yet the man I spoke to had a matching pair?”

“I’m sure he just commissioned a tailor to make him a copy.”

“Yet after so long, you haven’t done the same?”

“No! My tailor doesn’t do commissioned embroidery pieces as he hasn’t such a skill, and I don’t trust the other local tailors to do it without charging extortionate prices. It’s not worth all that hassle for a pair I hardly wear, and I certainly have no intentions of sending it across the country for a cheaper price.” Wilkins spluttered, turning red as he forgot to allow himself a chance to breathe. “Look, nevermind the glove itself. The point is that I have no idea who could have collected it to wear at your party. I thank you for returning it so I can now use them again, but if that is all you wanted to discuss, then I’m afraid I cannot be of help to you. Thank you for coming. My maid will see you out.” He looked to Amy who nodded and turned to the trio to for them to follow. Only, as the Queen failed to break her intimidating gaze with Wilkins, none of them moved.

“Mr Wilkins, I do not appreciate being lied to. I have plenty of reason to believe that the person I’m looking for lives in this very house.” Defeatedly, Wilkins slumped in his seat with a petulant scowl.

“Well, I don’t have a son if that’s what you’re implying.”

“No, I have reason to believe the man I spoke to, was your driver.”

“Well, I don’t have a driver,” Wilkins said quickly, “I fired him last week. Mr Lee, he was called. A young Asian man, who would fit your description. Clean shaven, shorter than me, dark hair, brown eyes. Yes, as it turned out, he had been stealing watches, silverware, anything of value he could fit in his pockets, really. So, I fired him and haven’t heard from him since.” Well, that technically wasn’t a lie. He did have a driver whom he fired for that very reason. Though the things he had claimed Mr Lee to have stolen were not true. As it turned out, Amy had moved the various items to be stored away in various cabinets throughout the house, as Wilkins had bought newer and more expensive replacements. Amy had simply put them in the more accessible drawers and tucked away the older items for safekeeping, so they didn’t clutter up the place. Wilkins just forgot that he told her to do that and assumed they had been stolen.

At the time, he had only accused Mr Lee because he was a new hire and he simply trusted his other staff more. There had been no evidence to confirm guilt or innocence either way, or to have even considered him a suspect, anyway. But Wilkins had been angry at the time and it was a good excuse to let that rage out. And a few days after firing the driver, he’d found his “missing” items, so there was nothing to worry about. But he refused to look a fool and try to apologise to Mr Lee or hire him back, so he didn’t bother reporting him to the police like he originally intended but left it at that.

So, it wasn’t a lie, it just wasn’t the whole truth. But she didn’t need to know about the unofficial roles of his butler.

“You say you don’t have a driver, but my footmen who saw your personal chauffer driven carriage would say otherwise.”

“Well, they’re wrong about that.”

“Are you accusing my men of lying, Mr Wilkins?” Sensing a flare of anger emanating from her, Wilkins backpedalled,

“Of course not, ma’am. I simply mean they don’t know the whole truth. If you had let me finish, I was about to say that I had borrowed the driver from my neighbour for the evening.” He came up with the explanation so quickly, he didn’t even think about it. But while for 99% of people, that would have been a perfectly reasonable thing to say, in Wilkins case, it wasn’t. As Wilkins home was the only residential building on the entire street, that was why he’d moved there in the first place. The ground floor of each building for a mile all around was shops and then full of storage and offices on the floors above, with the only exceptions being the hotels, embassies, and dedicated office buildings. It was convenient for any shopping trip he may need, while being perfect to avoid interaction with neighbours, as there was never anyone who was in the area regularly enough to grow to recognise him when they passed. So, he didn’t have any neighbours to be borrowing drivers from. And the Queen recognised this, too. But she was tired of stating the obvious, only sighing in frustration, pinching the bridge of her nose, and taking a moment to regain her composure before she began to speak again.

“You and I both know that isn’t true, Mr Wilkins. You told the man managing the driver’s lounge that the man who had taken you to the ball had been working with you for nearly ten years. So, I know this wasn’t even someone you’ve recently hired. How do I even know you fired Mr Lee?” Wilkins was infuriated, he hated people even insinuating that he was a liar, no matter how true it was. So given this was something that really was true, it only aggravated him further.

“You know because I have all the paperwork to prove the termination of his employment, including the cessation of the payment of his wages!” He stomped over to a desk across the room, picked up a binder on the built in shelf, before rummaging through it and finding the papers, handing them to Queen much rougher than he really ought to have done to someone who literally had two personal armed guards from the country’s most senior military regiment.

She looked through the papers and realised he was being truthful, and the scowl on her face showed she wasn’t best pleased about that. But his moment of triumph was quickly cut short by her next question,

“Well, if that’s the case, then what staff do you have? Clearly you have this maid, but I don’t believe that would be all in a house as large as this, even if you are alone. I’m sure you’d enjoy some male company, hm?” Wilkins huffed, turning back to his binder.

“And you’ll see for sure that I have no driver.”

“Well, if you’ve fired your driver and haven’t had a chance to hire anyone else, then I would imagine someone else may be acting as a stand in. Living alone, I can’t imagine there are too many specialist servants. But perhaps a groundskeeper,” She said, watching his expression closely, “or a butler.” Wilkins halted for only a fraction of a second, but it was enough to give him away.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” She said with a knowing smirk, “Well in that case, it might be helpful to know that, according to my footman, the man has a name along the lines of Jake Hartley. So, if you’re butler goes by that or a similar name, then that would be good to know.” Wilkins froze completely this time, quickly glancing up at the Queen who’s sly grin had only grown. She could see right through him and knew exactly who she was looking for. Still, Wilkins had always been a fighter, and he wasn’t about to give away his best worker just yet.

“I don’t have anyone by that name or anything similar. Whatever your footman heard, he heard wrong.”

“Then show me that ledger and prove it.”

“I do not appreciate being called a liar, your majesty, by you or anyone else.”

“I am not calling you a liar; I simply need to see your proof to be certain. You wouldn’t deny that to the crown court so why deny it to the crown itself?”

“Because this is clearly a personal matter and therefore I am under no legal obligation to reveal the identity of anyone under my employment!” At that, the guards took a defensive stance, ready to defend the Queen as Wilkins became more of a threat. Only, the Queen didn’t seem to care, and instead held up a hand to signal them to stand down, clearly not concerned by Wilkins’ behaviour.

“And how are you so certain of that? I haven’t even told you why I need to see him.” She said, remaining calm and seated despite Wilkins raising his voice.

“Because every crime committed in this country directly against the royal family has gone through the courts and legal system as any other case would. You may be able to accelerate the process, but no monarch has ever barged into a supposed criminal’s place of residence merely to speak with him. Ergo, this is a personal matter, and you have no right to be here.”

“Actually, as the crown and head of this country’s legal system, I have every right.”

“You cannot go barging into people’s homes demanding personal information without legal cause!” At this, the Queen stood, having grown tired of this man trying to talk down to her where she sat, and in doing so, the guards once more took a defensive stance that she made no attempt to halt. Instead, she stepped closer to Wilkins,

“Even if by your logic that were true, I still do have every right to be here, as not only do I need to speak to him, but part of my reasoning as to why, is because I have reason to believe that you have been abusing him and potentially other members of your domestic staff, too. And given how much you’ve given me the run around with your story, and how you’re suddenly afraid to show me your current staff list, despite having been perfectly comfortable to show your previous staff, it’s becoming clearer to me by the second that regardless of whether or not you’ve been lying to me, you are certainly refusing to tell me the full truth. So, Mr Wilkins, I will give you one more chance to tell me the name of your butler, or so help me God, I will send my men to search every inch of this house and find him myself! Do I make myself clear?”

Wilkins paused, unsure what to say but refusing to back down, even still. His expression only hardened, as did the Queen’s, and when Wilkins tensed and learnt forward, she only retaliated by relaxing her own muscles and defiantly crossing her arms. It was one thing to talk to him like that, but the thing that irked him the most was how, despite her anger, she always acted as if she was in control, as if she was better than him and had better things to be doing than arguing with him.

She wouldn’t allow herself to get too emotional and despite having raised her voice somewhat and speaking in a frighteningly stern tone, she remained stoic in appearance and regal in her power, while Wilkins may very well have just looked like a rabid dog frothing at the mouth in his fury. Had she been any other woman, he’d have had his hands around her throat already and would make her regret speaking to him like that. But there was no point in that. She, like every other royal, had been given specialist SAS training and had served for many years in the military. Certainly, longer than himself. She could easily defend herself than she may have done in her youth, but even if that wasn’t the case, her guard would have him stone dead before he could even lay a finger on her. He could never win that fight. But if Wilkins was one thing, it was proud. And in the face of overwhelming odds, he would be ashamed to have backed down. Against a woman so indignant and unbothered by his berating, he only was encouraged further to continue.

“How dare you accuse me of abusing my staff! I am doing everything in my power to protect their identity from a monarch who’s clearly abusing her power to stalk and harass people. So, what if you spoke to one of my staff at that bloody party! Have you considered the fact that he left without telling you his name because he didn’t want to speak to you again?! If he chose to leave like that, then that was his choice, and you have no right to be hunting him down like that!”

“He made it very clear when he left that he was doing so out of fear of being found out. I wondered why he was so afraid of someone knowing he was there. But it’s clear now that he was afraid of you. And with the state of his blood covered hands, I’m not surprised!”

“What sort of disgrace are you?! I have been an upstanding member of this country for my entire 45 years of life. I have tutored your own niece and nephew with the upmost zeal and without incident. And while you’re fine with using me for your heirs education, you think it’s acceptable to suddenly accuse me of abuse when it suits you to get your own way?! You’re a joke, and a pathetic woman like you should not be given such power to run this damn country!”

“You watch your tone Mr Wilkins. I can assure you, you’re already under investigation for your poor education of the children. And rest assured, that if I find that you’ve been abusing your staff, I’ll make damn sure that you face a child abuse investigation, too. And if you’re found to have committed any wrongdoing against them, I’ll have you trialled for treason. Do not make the mistake in thinking I am unaware of your past, Mr Wilkins. I have background checks done on every member in my employment. I am well aware of how you lost out on your PhD, but I had hoped your reputation as an educator had proven your growth since then. Clearly you’re still just as slippery as always. You always need to win the argument and be the smartest in the room, and you must always find some trickery to do so. But trust me, Mr Wilkins, those tricks won’t work on me. So,

WHERE. IS. HE?!”

Wilkins had not answer, but he wouldn’t stop talking. He didn’t care about Jack anymore. At this point, it was personal, and he was prepared to continue slinging mud until he qualified for a treason charge. He didn’t care. He just wanted to shut her up and rub it in her face. But of course, that was interrupted, as the tea he had forgotten he had even asked for, finally arrived. Only this time, Amy was not the one to deliver it. With the argument in full swing, she had scurried off to the kitchen to hide. So, this time, it was Jack. And in moment of thoughtless ire, he let himself finally display just how furious he was, physically.

“Your tea, sir.”

“NOT NOW HACKNEY!” Before he realised what he had done, he slammed his hand against the tray, knocking it to the floor and taking the man with it. And as cups shattered on the floor, boiling tea splashed out all over Jack, scalding him. The butler immediately righted himself, scrambling on the floor to collect the broken shards and clean up the tea with a rag from his pocket before it had a chance to stain the rug.

“Leave it and go!” He bellowed, panicking as he saw the look of understanding in the Queen’s eyes. He reached out with his boot, trying to nudge Jack away from the mess and back out of the room, but in his own desperate panic and Jack’s continuous and frantic motion, the boot collided with much more force than intended, directly against his stomach, winding him.

“Enough!” The Queen barked, halting everyone in the room, even Wilkins, who just didn’t know what else could be done. “Guards, arrest him. I will not stand by and watch this any longer.”

The guards left into action, rushing Wilkins on each side, and grabbing his arms in a bruising grip, showing his hands behind his back. And despite struggling with all his might, he simply couldn’t break free. And once he finally gave up and admitted defeat, the Queen stepped closer with a mixed look of disappointment and amusement at his predicament.

“So, you’ve finally decided to show me your true colours, hm? And to think, all I had asked was the name of this fine fellow here.” She said, gesturing towards Jack where he still knelt on the floor, head down, petrified and confused as to what on earth was going on.

“Look, I know you want to arrest him for trespassing at the party or for whatever inappropriate behaviour he showed you, but I can assure you that I have already punished him for that crime.” He pleaded, nodding to gesture towards the bruises mottling Jack’s skin. “If you need me to do more, I can oversee any punishment you see fit. But he’s a good worker, and one I can always rely on, and he serves more use in this house than he could ever do from a noose.” Jack tensed at the mention of execution, finding himself fighting the urge to run, knowing the guards would easily catch him and make his punishment all the more painful.

The Queen looked to each of her guards in turn, clearly uninterested in what Wilkins had to say.

“Take him out into the hall. I’ll deal with him later. Right now, I need to speak to Mr Hackney, here.”

“Deny everything, Hackney! Don’t give them anything! This conniving bitch will only use it against you later!” The guards hushed him, with vague threats that if he didn’t shut up, they’d make him. And upon dragging out of the room and far enough down the hall that he was out of sight, he gave up and finally fell silent. Jack wasn’t sure what to do and remained frozen to his spot knelt on the floor, even as Jane stepped towards him and offered him her hand.

“Are you alright?” Jack took it and stumbled up on shaking legs.

“Yeah, thanks.” He muttered quickly, glancing up for only a moment before fixing his eyes firmly on the floor. Somehow it felt rude to even look at her directly, as if he was really that low of a human compared to her. But when he tried to step back to a more polite distance and retract his hand, she only held firmer as she inspected the wounds.

“Good heavens…” turning his hand over, she delicately ran her thumb over his bruised knuckles and cracked skin. Then, quickly turning to where Wilkins had left the glove on the armchair, she picked it up and turned back to Jack. And with great care, she gently slipped the glove over his hand. He may have had the hair, the eyes, the voice, and the hands, but the moment she slipped that glove on, she remembered exactly how it had felt to hold his hand that night. And she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, this was him.

“Wow…” she breathed, “It really is you.” She looked up at him in wonder and as she took in his features, her own turned to that of concern as she reached out to his face. He flinched as she approached, but made no attempt to pull away, as her fingers carefully brushed over his cheekbone, taking it all in.

“What has he done to you?” She mumbled. Indeed, he was a mess, with a black eyes, broken nose, sprained wrist, cracked ribs, and serious bruising all over his body to the point that standing up straight was enough to cause him pain. But despite Jane’s delicate touch, Jack did not relax, and flinched back suddenly in the way only someone who had been recently beaten could. She smiled in an attempt to calm him, though he failed to relax, instead, he backed away from her touch as she followed, until he was trapped against the unlit fireplace.

“It’s ok. You don’t need to be afraid. I have no intention of harming you.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go to that party, but the doormen gave me a mask and told me to go in and I only realised they thought I was a guest when I got the ball, and I felt awkward trying to tell them at that point. I didn’t recognise you so I’m sorry for anything I said or for being too forward. I promise I would have behaved differently if I knew it was you, I’m so so sorry.” The words came out too fast for him to even realise what he was saying. He’d only just about figured out what was going on from the part of the argument he was present for and what he could hear through the walls. And after what Mrs Oakley told him earlier, he was certain he was about to be arrested.

“It’s alright, I’ve no plan of arresting you or anything like that. I understand that our meeting was due to an innocent mistake, but I hope you don’t mind me saying, that it’s a mistake I really appreciated. I had a lovely time with you, and I was sad to see you go so soon, especially given how frightened you seemed. That’s why I had to find you. I wanted to make sure you were alright.” The tension in Jack’s body eased at that, and he finally smiled.

“Well, thank you for looking out for me, your majesty.”

“Oh please,” Jane scoffed, “After last night, you can call me Jane. There’s no need to be so formal.” Jack could only laugh in disbelief and realised he had been right; she was even more beautiful in person. “So, now that I’ve found you again, will you finally tell me your name?” Jack laughed again.

“It’s Jack. Jack Hackney.”

“Well Jack Hackney, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“You know,” he smiled awkwardly, “I didn’t think you’d care to meet me so much knowing who I really am. I didn’t think you’d like talking with a tutor’s dogsbody.”

“Oh, Jack. The whole point of that ball was to get to know someone by their character instead of judging them on status. And you well and truly blew me away.” Her smile fell somewhat as she continued, “I’ve never really been able to get very close to people without them treating me differently for my status. That’s why I went to that party. But I think a lot of the aristocrats saw through it and recognised me. Even all the celebrities who had no experience with royalty figured me out. I think it must just be a thing once you get to a certain height in society. But you, you were different. I don’t know whether you had your suspicions, but you were so casual and there was no attempt to be uptight with etiquette, just simple manners, and good humour. And you made that night magical.”

“Well, I have to say, I’m glad I didn’t know you at the time. I would have definitely panicked otherwise.” The pair laughed, “But I guess with neither of us knowing who each other were turned out pretty good. I was certainly a lot more confident talking how I usually do, you seemed a lot more laid back for what I’d expect a Queen to be like, too. It was great. And I hope the kiss wasn’t too forward. I’m not usually like that on the first date.”

“Jack, there’s nothing to worry about. The kiss was great. And…if you’d like… I wouldn’t be opposed to more of that sort of thing in the future.”

Jack’s heart stuttered in his chest. She didn’t mean that, did she? He thought this was merely her solving the mystery, finally getting some closure for everything after he’d left so suddenly. Of course, he had fancied her, but he didn’t expect it to actually go anywhere. He certainly didn’t expect her to suggest it, either. He could’ve sworn she’d just see it as the magic of the party, the booze, and the good cheer. Nothing more than small fling at a party where they couldn’t find any better company from anyone else. He just couldn’t believe she’d actually like him back.

“I wouldn’t be opposed, either. I didn’t think you’d want to, though.”

“Of course, I would. How could I not when you’re the one person who isn’t afraid to be yourself with me? You’re the only one who’s shown me there true colours and still been beautiful. I couldn’t bear to lose that.” She could feel herself getting emotional, and while she wouldn’t usually mind, she was wary that Wilkins and the guard were likely still listening in. They simply didn’t have the privacy for her to say everything she wanted to say. And so instead, she came to her next point.

“Jack, I simply can’t leave in good conscious if I leave you here with him. You deserve to be able to live and work in safety, with no threat of being beaten for every slight misdemeanour. You all do.” She said, gesturing vaguely in reference to the other staff. “I’ll be having Wilkins arrested, because he can’t get away with this, and especially not if he’s been abusing the children. And while that’ll get you away from him, I know it will also put you out of work. I could find you all places to work instead if you’d like, but as for you Jack…” she paused, taking a moment to gather the courage to continue, as she reached out to hold his hands reassuringly, “I wanted to invite you to come to the palace… as a guest.”

Jack’s heart may as well have stopped at that, unable to comprehend what she had proposed. And as he stumbled to find any sort of intelligent response, all he could seem to produce where random noises of shocked stupor, as his brain simply wasn’t processing enough to figure out how he even felt about the idea. And, seeing this, Jane panicked,

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I could just help you get employed elsewhere if that’s what you’d rather do. As much as I’d love you to come with me, this is all your choice to make.”

They say that the first thing that comes to mind is your heart’s true desire, before your brain has the chance to worry about practicality and hazards. So, when the first response jumped to Jack’s lips, he decided to do the same thing that had gotten him to that party in the first place and followed his heart.

“Of course, Jane. I’d love to go with you.” For a moment, just saying it left him feeling weightless. His heart soared as Jane’s features split into a grin. A rush of giddy excitement flooded his veins as Jane stepped in closer, and smiling the whole time, leant in to kiss him. This time, the apprehension all but melted away, and even despite being aware of how drastically powerful she was, Jack felt no fear as his hands settled on her waist and held her closer. With a gentle hand, he tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear, as her own hands ran lovingly over his ribs.

“HACKNEY! What the hell are you telling-” Wilkins’ sudden shout was cut off by a guard’s hand clamped over his mouth. But it was enough to remind the two of them whose company they were in.

“Right,” she cleared her throat awkwardly, having forgotten about the men standing in the hall. “Excuse me for a moment.” Briefly, she stepped out into the hall, Jack following a few paces behind.

The sight of Wilkins was one to behold: being restrained by the guards and yet still bright red in fury. As soon as he saw the pair, he tensed and straightened up, refusing to appear as if he had been sulking, regardless of how true it was. And similarly, Jane let her expression fall back to that of a Queen rather than the excited woman she was underneath. As they approached, Mrs Oakley and Amy made themselves known, as they stepped into the hall to finally see for sure what was going on.

“Mr Wilkins is to be incarcerated pending this investigation into the abuse of his staff and any potential abuse to the children he teaches or has taught. I will leave that to the pair of you to deal with.”

“WHAT?!” Wilkins bellowed, furiously kicking and squirming to free himself. However, it was no use. The guards were simply too strong. “And what about him?!”

“Mr Hackney will be staying as a guest at the palace. As for the remainder of your staff,” she said, looking towards the cook and maid, “they will remain here until they are assigned a new place of work, which will be organised by the palace, too.” She couldn’t help the pleased smile in seeing their shocked expressions and giddy excitement as the pair looked between each other and laughed.

“You can’t do that! They’re my employees!”

“Mr Wilkins, you have already enacted one assault in my presence and basically confirmed at least one past assault thanks to the state of you butler. And in the case of the children, while it’s illegal to fail to send a child to school, it is also illegal for the teacher to fail to provide a substantial education, especially one who has been specifically paid by a family to do so. And if you have been found to have harmed their heirs as you have done your staff, not only will you be tried for child abuse, but treason, as well. So, you’re going to be spending a substantial amount of time in prison, your assets frozen and since you won’t be making any income to pay your staff, they’ll have to go, too, when the investigation is over.” Wilkins shrank back, unable to argue. He would either have to lose his employees or have his savings eaten through to pay their wages when they wouldn’t even be working. The reality was beginning to dawn on him finally, though, and it soon became difficult to worry about such trivial things over his future behind bars.

“Right then, that’s settled.”

From there, Jane organised her guards to take Wilkins to the nearest police station to be dealt with and had a new pair of guards arrive to assist in getting Jack to the palace. There wasn’t a lot to move, but Jane was surprised to see the state of the room. Stone walls and flooring with almost no heating and a drafty window was hardly a comfortable way to live. The large furniture came with the room, so the desk, bed, chair, wardrobe, mirror, and bedside table were left. So, there was very little in the end to actually be moved. A week’s worth of clothing, toiletries, and a few books were the most of it. In the end, his whole life was packed into a single suitcase, and he was saying his goodbyes to Amy and Mrs Oakley.

“Don’t forget us, will you? Once you’re living all high and mighty? Remember to write.”

“Of course, I will. We’ve been here so long; I couldn’t forget you guys so easily.”

“Are you going to marry her?” Amy signed. Jack paused for a moment, briefly considering his answer, and looking to Jane, considering if she knew sign language as he wasn’t sure he wanted her to know his answer.

“I hope so. I do like her a lot.” He signed, leaning forward for emphasis. But he heard Jane chuckle at that and looked over to see her sign back.

“I know what you’re saying.” Amy only grinned like she was supressing a giggle as Jack blushed bright red. Only, despite his fears she would be put off by his feelings, she added, “I wouldn’t be opposed.” His heart may as well have just stopped at hearing that, but despite the odds, it kept going. And with their final farewells, Jane, Jack, and the guards left for the carriage outside, loaded up, and set off, waving to Amy and Mrs Oakley as they went.

All the while, Jack couldn’t decide what he was feeling. It was his first time in a carriage that he wasn’t driving himself. And many of the city streets they passed through were ones he’d rarely if ever seen. Even in the moments where they didn’t speak, Jane couldn’t help but admire the wonder in his eyes as he in turn admired the view outside. It was nice to know she could give him the same wonder he had given her. They arrived at the palace only a short time later, where Jack couldn’t help but admire the lavishly decorated walls around him. They entered through a different way from where they had last night at the ball, so there was no familiarity to keep Jack from being completely dumbstruck by the views before him, as Jane stepped forward with an all too pleased grin,

“Welcome home, Jack.”

From there, well, it was all like a dream, really. Jack spent the first few weeks healing his wounds and learning his way around the palace, taking time to adjust to the new lifestyle. The investigation came swiftly, allowing Jane to meet the mysterious Mr Lee for the first time, as well as seeing Amy and Mrs Oakley again, and meeting the long list of previous staff that had been beaten and fired over the years for increasingly silly reasons. It was easy to gather enough evidence for the conviction, as Wilkins could hardly deny the reems of eyewitness testimony and medical records that had piled up over the years. And while he wasn’t found to have abused or endangered the children (whom had since been provided with a much more efficient tutor), allowing him to narrowly avoid child abuse and treason convictions, he was found to have failed in his role as a teacher. So with so many assaults and being sued for his breach of contract and failure to provide education, he was soon behind bars and without money.

Amy and Mrs Oakley were originally going to be heading off to whichever household needed them, but as it turned out, there were some job openings at the palace, and when offered the positions and the hefty salary, the two both agreed to join. And they were especially surprised by just how nice it was to be treated with respect by your employers.

As for Jack, life was very different. He soon met the very same Prince he witnessed introduce the ball, who surprisingly was able to vaguely recall having seen Jack at the party once he’d seen him and been told how he’d been dressed on the night. Jack had been rather concerned that Michael wouldn’t have approved him being in the palace. So had been rather surprised to know that he had been the one to urge Jane into looking for him, even after learning he wasn’t of high class. And the children were of course ecstatic to see their friend moving into the palace. If anything, it was nice to have at least some familiar faces around.

But the thing that Jack had hoped for but never expected to come true was that of his relationship with Jane. And who would have guessed that when two people who were meant to be are living together, it provides plenty of new opportunities to get to know each other further that they would have never had, otherwise. Acquaintances turned to friends turned to crushes turned to a couple. They were officially dating after a month and two years later, started thinking about going a step further.

Jack had no idea that as Queen, Jane was required to be the one to propose in whatever relationship she had. And as a result, they both made preparations to propose and left them with the rather hilarious and sweet moment when they proposed. They happened to have been abroad at the time, and after several of their appointments were cancelled, they were left with what was essentially a short holiday. And they had both had the same idea that it was the perfect opportunity to do it. So, when they both had a surprise for each other, they finally decided to turn away from each other and turn back on the count of 3 with their surprise. Needless to say, that when you both pull out an engagement ring, it easily answers each other’s question.

And with the wedding the following year, Jack officially became the King-consort. And the children made no hesitation in comparing their new uncle to Cinderella, of course. But this was by no means the end of their fairytale, as for many years they ruled over the land. Jack never forgot his roots and kept Jane humble, while she taught him everything he needed to know about leading a country. The citizens fell in love with Jack, calling him the “people’s king”, and together, Jack and Jane led the nation into a golden age of prosperity that lasted their whole lives. And while many would say “till death do us part”, even when that time came, they were reunited in the beyond. Because even after death, their love never waned. And they never set eyes on another.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was their true happily ever after.

The end.

Notes:

So... hi. I know people joke about Ao3 writers leaving for really extreme reasons but I never expected that to actually happen. I won't go into detail, but basically 2022 was a hot mess, and so finding the motivation to write was a real pain. But now most of the stuff has been dealt with, and things are getting easier again, so I figured I should come back to it after all. I've got a lot of plans for what I'm doing next, and am intending on going back to uploading either weekly or fortnightly. But preferably weekly if my uni schedule allows it. And we can just pretend I didn't just completely disappear for a whole year lol. Anyway, hoped you enjoyed the fic! :)

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How To Be King

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