Eighteen years later…
Justin awoke to dogs barking and loud voices, arguing outside his apartment window. He pushed aside his thin blanket and stretched. The sun was beginning to rise and he knew his alarm would be going off any minute. He smiled, it was Monday.
The weekends were always hard for Justin to take. His father’s drinking and rage problems had become almost unbearable in the last few years. Monday meant that he could spend the next five days at school and away from the life he had come to know. He threw on a shirt and crawled out of bed and over to Olivia’s side of the room.
He had cried eight years ago when his parents had made him share a room with his newborn sister. Over the years he had grown used to it, and also used to being responsible for his little sister. After his mother ran off with the mailman, and his father had tried to drown himself in his alcohol, Justin was forced to grow up. Now he adored Olivia. She was all that he had left.
“Olivia, wake up and get ready for school. I‘m gonna go make us some breakfast,” he said, ruffling her hair.
Her eyelashes fluttered as she yawned and stretched. “I’ll have French toast, bacon, and eggs, with orange juice.”
He smiled down at her. This was always their game. Since they could never afford to have a meal like that, they liked to pretend that they were royalty and order the best anyway. “How about some oatmeal with water, Miss Olivia?”
He heard his dad’s rough voice echo through the small apartment, “Will you two shut up? I’m trying to sleep, d*mn it.”
The sound of a bottle crashing against the wall followed.
Justin and Olivia glanced at each other. “Livie, try to get ready fast today,” he whispered.
Across the kingdom…
A resounding knock was heard throughout the young prince’s room. “Your Highness, permission to enter?” came a voice from the other side.
Ryan groaned and pulled the Charmeuse satin sheets over his head. He hated Mondays.
Every Monday, he would have to hear all the things his parents had planned for him to accomplish for the week. It also meant reminding him of all the things he failed to accomplish last week, and proving to his family once again what a irresponsible leader he was turning out to be.
“Sir Ryan?” came the nagging voice again.
He sighed and rolled over. “Yes,” his deep voice called out. “Come in.”
A group of servants entered the enormous room, following William, the man whose job was to make sure Ryan knew what he was doing as a Prince.
“Good morning, Ryan. Breakfast will be served in fifteen minutes, so I think now is a good time to go over your schedule for the week. Does that please you?”
Ryan finally sat up and noticed all of the people scurrying around his room. One servant opened the curtains, which hung from floor to ceiling, and allowed the light to flood the room. “William, it would please me if I didn’t have a schedule. Go ahead, though. What do they say I must do today?”
“Today you will have your Piano lesson at eight. Tennis at ten thirty. Lunch at noon in the main dining hall with your father, your mother will be out for lunch. You’ll have a Calligraphy lesson at one, and a French lesson at three.”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “I’ve been taking French for twelve years now. I already know the bloody language.”
“Pardon, je ne suis pas intéressé,” (Sorry, I don’t care.) William said, glancing at his chart.
“C'est un gaspillage!” (It is a waste!) Ryan said, falling back into his pile of sheets. “Do I at least have the evening free? I’d like to go on a date.”
William laughed, “A date? Sorry, Your Highness, but it‘s unacceptable. You know your parents’ feelings about you with girls in the public eye, especially those without royalty. Besides, you are to attend your father’s political assembly this evening.”
Ryan was silent as William flipped the page of his schedule and continued. “If you‘re anxious to meet a girl, you should have no concerns. It says here that you and Princess Emma are going to have tea on Wednesday.”
Ryan shook his head. Tea?! All he wanted was for his parents to be okay with him going out with friends and girls like normal guys. He was tired of sneaking around all the time and taking them to a clubs and parties. With all of the security, it was inevitable that he would get caught. His parents had found out a few times and said that he was “too undisciplined and wild” for a prince. All he wanted was freedom to do what he wanted. Instead, he was “scheduled for tea”.
