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Vic took a deep breath as she sat back in the saddle. “Whoa,” she said to Satan, and he obediently slowed from a canter to a walk as they arrived at the track into the forest at the far side of the castle grounds.
She turned her head to see Erin and her lovely white horse, Shimmer, slowing down next to them. Both the horses were breathing quickly after the exertion and Vic could feel the heat from Satan’s shiny black neck that was damp with sweat.
Vic could see the glint of binoculars ahead of them through the trees. It was the security team following the wife of Queen Alexandra as closely as they dared.
“So, Bodyguard, how are you coping with all this security?” Vic asked as the horses happily walked along the track recovering quickly from their canter.
“Ugh, I hate it. It is so invasive. It is so hard to have privacy. I mean, I’m so used to it from the other side. I used to be the security, so I know they have to do their job, but it is so hard to live with. They would be right here next to us if they had half a chance. I can’t live like that though. They know to keep their distance.” Erin sighed and looked serious.
“I still see you on alert, you know. You look like you are still a fucking bodyguard half the time rather than a princess.” Vic could see Erin’s eyes scanning the trees as they always used to.
“Oh, I might be a princess in name now, since marrying Alex, but I’ll always be a bodyguard in nature. I don’t think it ever goes away. It’s easier to relax when it is just me, but when I am out anywhere with Alex or the children, I can never relax, I am always looking for danger.”
“There isn’t much at the moment, though?” Vic was curious.
“Oh, no, nothing serious at the moment, the threat level is minimal. Our popularity ratings are through the roof since the birth of the kids. If there is one thing the British public love more than one royal baby, it is three royal babies.”
Vic laughed and snorted. “Hyzenthlay is fucking jealous of how famous your little ones are.”
Satan jumped sideways at a movement in the trees and Vic reacted quickly, “Easy, boy, you are alright.” She guided him back onto the track with pressure from her right leg and calmed him with a hand to his neck.
“She won’t be jealous when she is older. It isn’t a pressure I would wish on anyone, the pressure our children will have to grow up with. Alex knows it, she has lived with it her whole life, and luckily I think she has the right personality to handle it and I can only hope the children will be able to, too, when they are old enough to know they are heirs to the British throne.”
Satan snorted at another imaginary movement in the forest and Vic instinctively reassured him and pushed him on forwards. She had a real skill for giving confidence to a horse, and Satan was a horse that needed confidence at times amongst many other things. Shimmer, next to them, was perfectly mannered and never difficult. She was a lovely horse and perfect for Erin, but Vic was never envious. Satan was her kind of horse.
“Hyzenthlay looks so much like you now, Vic.”
Vic laughed, “And thank fuck for that! At least she doesn’t look like her fucking sperm donor. Don’t want to be seeing his face every day forever!”
“Can you call him that? A sperm donor?” Erin looked across at her.
“Well, I mean obviously, technically we had sex, but a one-night stand does not a father make. So, yeah, I think sperm donor works.”
“Do you ever hear anything from him now? The Duke of Leicester?”
“Fuck all. He married that model girl. He wants nothing to do with Hyzenthlay, and he doesn’t want his wife or anyone to know the truth, and that suits me fine. Obviously, I will be honest with Hyzenthlay when she grows up, then it can be her choice if she wants to seek him out or not, and I will support her either way. I can’t imagine she will get a very good reception and that bit breaks my heart a bit for her. But, she has me and I have her and I’ll always have her back whatever happens, and that is what matters. One parent who loves her as much as I do should be enough. I mean, I had two parents who didn’t give a fuck, so two parents is not necessarily any better than one.”
“What were your parents like when you were growing up? You never speak about them.” Erin had not asked her directly before. Vic knew that Alex knew about her upbringing and so Erin probably knew secondhand.
Vic sighed. Erin was probably her closest friend. She could be honest with her. “Well, we lived in a beautiful, big house surrounded by fields and stables and horses. My parents had a child because they wanted to continue the family name. Because I wasn’t a boy, my father was never interested. My mother was completely lacking in any maternal instinct and found pregnancy and birth such an inconvenience she vowed never to do it again. They got a nanny to look after me straight away, and I loved her and she cared for me, but I was only young when my mother found out that my father had been screwing the nanny and she got kicked out and replaced by another one. It was only a matter of time before he got caught fucking the next nanny and she got kicked out too. I soon learnt not to get attached to them because they would only end up leaving. We had dogs everywhere and horses. I spent my time with them. That’s the thing about animals, they have a loyalty that people just don’t. Then I was sent away to boarding school and that’s where I met Princess Alexandra—the start of a beautiful friendship. After boarding school, I lived with them a few more years and took full advantage of the immense wealth and privilege that allowed me to have the horses and have coaching from the very best and then eventually I made my own way with horses. I’ve not seen my parents in about fifteen years and I don’t plan to change that anytime soon.”
“I’m sorry, Vic.” Erin’s voice was full of warmth.
“Please, don’t fucking pity me. I’ve done fine out of it. Anyway, can we talk about something else?”
Erin smiled a watery sympathy smile and Vic hated it. This was precisely why she never spoke of her childhood because people felt sorry for her.
“Okay,” Erin sighed. “How is your love life?”
Vic laughed loudly. “Don’t make me fucking laugh, I’ll fall off this fucking horse.”
“Oh, come on, Vic. There are loads of options. You are surrounded by options! Men and women, anything you could want.”
“My love life is fucking dry as a desert. The last time I had sex was when my darling daughter was conceived. I am a mess all day every day covered in baby drool and puke. I’ve forgotten what it is like to feel sexy.”
Erin laughed. “I mean, I know I’m married, but it is kind of the same for us, too. There is so much to being a parent that it doesn’t leave much space for anything else.”
“Oh, please don’t fucking tell me you guys aren’t doing it! You two are my only hope in life. Your relationship is the only thing that gives me hope in a world full of shit!”
