It's funny, but I had no sense of living without aim

The day before you came...

– The Day Before You Came by ABBA

December 31, 1984

King William III of England positively hated tragedy, and he was most devastated when Forrest Rymand and his beautiful wife, Lerina, died on their country property of Craigowan Lodge in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was just six days after the Christmas holidays, and Forrest Rymand, one of his top businessmen, along with his wife, were spending the holidays with them. Their son, Sky, was visiting his maternal grandparents, Lionel and Poppy, in their home in County Clare, Ireland, for the first part of the holidays, while Forrest and Lerina took care of some paperwork for His Majesty the King.

While William and Forrest talked business, Queen Alexandra entertained Lerina in her parlor on the other side of the house. Both ladies were pregnant; the queen with her third child and Lerina her second, and both discussed child-rearing and whatnot. Edward, Prince of Wales, alongside his younger brother, James, Duke of York, were ten and seven that Christmas, and were tucked away in their beds long ago. Queen Alexandra confided in Lerina how it had been difficult to become pregnant for a third time, and Lerina, as any mother would be, listened sympathetically, not only because she was Queen Consort of the United Kingdom, but because they were old friends as well. She had been selected to be a lady in waiting to Her Majesty when she was still Princess of Wales, and newly married to her husband, now King William III.

The parlor was wonderfully decorated, with an impressively decorated spruce nearby the white marble mantel fireplace, which boasted a family portrait of King William and Queen Alexandra, with the Prince of Wales standing proudly behind his father, and the Duke of York behind his mother. It had been painted the summer before, and was quite an addition to the little parlor in Scotland. There were also various pieces of artwork by established painters that Her Majesty favored—da Vinci, Waterhouse, Vermeer, and Raphael among them—along with several drawings made by Edward and James. Lerina knew that each incoming Queen Consort since the House of Stuart had been established in 1603 had a parlor to themselves in each of the official royal residences, and was permitted to decorate it to her own tastes.

"I hope that this baby is a girl," Queen Alexandra said wistfully to Lerina, a small smile upon her pale face; it had been a difficult pregnancy for her, as she was thirty-one years of age now, and had had two sons quite quickly into the marriage. "I have done my duty and provided England with what it wants—a future king, and a brother, should something happen to our dear Edward and sweet James could..." She shook her head, her blue eyes filling with tears as she cupped her swollen belly. "I can only hope that it is a girl this time..."

"Do you have any names picked out, ma'am?" Lerina asked softly.

Alexandra smiled slowly at Lerina. "Rina, darling, I've told you—when we are alone, please call me Allie. All my sisters called me that growing up," she said softly.

Lerina flushed. "Sorry, Allie," she whispered, although she smiled back.

Alexandra waved it away; close friends were hard to come by, as many individuals simply wanted her favor. The House of Stuart had been on the thrones of England and Scotland for nearly four hundred years, after all, and, as its Queen Consort, she knew entirely well that she needed to keep those loyal friends she did have close. "Do you experience much heat, even though it is terribly cold outside right now?" she asked, moving her thick, red hair over onto her opposite pale shoulder.

Lerina smiled at that, her hazel eyes gleaming. "Oh, yes, of course," she replied. "It was like that with Sky as well..."

"How is Sky doing?" Alexandra asked; Sky was a lovely boy, really, and although her Edward and James liked him, they were a bit too far apart in age from the five-year-old to be truly suitable playmates for one another.

"Sky is marvelous; he's with Mum and Dad for this bit of the holidays. We thought he was a bit too young to sit still during the formal dinners and whatnot," Lerina explained.

Alexandra nodded in understanding; although the Rymand family was quite well off, Sky likely wouldn't be held to the same standards as her boys, which came with the territory of the titles of Prince of Wales and Duke of York. "Your parents were always so lovely," she said softly. "Do send them my love when you see them next, will you?"

Lerina nodded. "Of course, Allie," she responded, for the feeling was mutual.

William and Forrest arrived in the parlor a quarter of an hour later, with Forrest informing Lerina that it was time to go. Lerina, however, looked outside the parlor window, noticing that a blizzard was coming on, and became reluctant. Alexandra, too, was worried for their friends, which prompted William to step in.

"You are more than welcome to stay until the blizzard lets up," he said quickly.

Forrest smiled at the king. "Thank you, William, but Lerina and I must be going. We're due to return our borrowed car tomorrow morning to catch our train back to London. I'll leave Lerina there to rest, and then I'll be off to fetch Sky. We promised we'd spend the New Year together, you see," he explained.

William grimaced, knowing just how determined Forrest was, but a further look from Alexandra was all he needed. "I must insist, Forrest..."

But Forrest, again, shook his head. "No, really," he said immediately, draping Lerina's winter coat around her shoulders, "we'll be all right."

It was William and Alexandra together who heard the screech, followed by smashing, of their car not five minutes later. William himself, plus several trusted servants, hurried outside the Scottish estate, taking in the damage, seeing that both Forrest and Lerina were dead on impact. While Alexandra, having already gone up to bed, her nerves making it altogether worse, looked out the bedroom window. She saw their official physician assessing the damage, and her legs trembled, knowing entirely well what had happened.

Alexandra's knees gave out, and she let out a cry of anguish as she felt her third pregnancy leaving her body. Her maids tried to help her remain calm, but it was no use. Alexandra wept once it was all over, but it was a squalling sound that she heard half an hour later which brought her back. Looking up as her bedroom door opened, she spotted William, holding a hastily-wrapped something, and peered through the darkness at him.

"Alexandra..." William whispered as she switched on the light, "the baby lived. Forrest and Lerina's daughter lived."

Alexandra's heart went to her throat, tears momentarily blinding her vision. "May I see her?" she whispered, and the baby was promptly handed over to her. "Goodness, you're beautiful... I'm just so sorry you didn't get to meet our daughter..." Alexandra raised her eyes towards her husband with a soft sigh. "I'm sorry that I couldn't..."

William shook his head. "It's not your fault, darling," he assured her, perching upon the edge of the bed. "You know... Only the servants here know about our baby and the Rymand's baby... It wouldn't be too much trouble to..."

"To what?" Alexandra asked, her voice trembling.

William stared at his wife. "I will only ask you this once, my love, and, if your answer is 'no', we will never speak of it again."

Alexandra swallowed. "Ask me," she whispered.

"If you say 'yes', I will order our servants to keep quiet about your stillbirth. That means no announcement to the papers, magazines, or anything like that. We would pass off the infant we lost as the Rymand baby, and this little girl..." William leaned forward, gently caressing the chubby cheek of the infant in Alexandra's arms. "...will be raised as our own, as the Princess Royal of England."

Alexandra's eyes widened at William's idea. "How could we even manage it?" she whispered, shaking her head. "We're bound to find out..."

"I am the king, and you are my queen," William responded simply. "If one of the servants even attempts to talk, we will simply claim that they are in violation of their contract."

Alexandra grimaced. "William, some of them have families to feed..."

"Which is why they will think twice before saying anything against us," William replied. "We will give Forrest and Lerina the best funeral non-royals can have. We will bury our baby with them, and no one would be any the wiser."

Alexandra trembled; she had loved William since they were teenagers, and had seen a hint of madness in his own mother, Queen Dowager Elizabeth of Denmark, but never thought that her beloved William would ever succumb to madness... "There are still Lerina's parents to consider here, William," she whispered. "They could take her away from us..."

William shook his head. "We shall consult with our official barrister of the House of Stuart to assist in covering everything up, alongside Dr. Bettencourt, and all the servants currently in our employ here. We will arrange a private adoption of this little one, my love, and not one person in the public eye will be any the wiser. Think of it, darling," he went on, as Alexandra looked back down at the precious baby girl in her arms, "the baby girl you always wanted. Doesn't that count for something?"

"But, even by adopting her, William, she would never truly be ours," Alexandra said. "She is not of royal, or even noble, blood. While that doesn't matter to me, can you honestly tell me that you would love her, just as she is?"

William nodded. "I can," he assured his wife. "And, besides, we've got Edward and James, so it isn't as if this little one, precious as she is, would ever inherit the throne."

Alexandra soothed the baby as she cried out, feeling her milk coming in, grimacing at the dual sensations she felt—guilt, for deceiving everyone, and desire for a complete family, with the daughter she always wanted. Trembling, she lowered her nightgown and fed the little girl, whose large, luminescent eyes stared up at her, sealing her fate.

"Alexandra?" William asked, watching the goings-on.

Alexandra locked eyes with her husband; she didn't know if it was her delirium at losing one of her closest friends or her baby daughter in a span of an hour, but she also knew that she couldn't stop the next word from escaping her lips. "Yes," she whispered back.