Bad Prince

  Bad Prince

  KM Pyne

  Copyright © 2019 by KM Pyne

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Thank you for believing in me and allowing me to share my stories with you all.

  Contents

  1. JAKE

  2. ELLIE

  3. JAKE

  4. ELLIE

  5. JAKE

  6. ELLIE

  7. JAKE

  8. ELLIE

  9. JAKE

  10. ELLIE

  EPILOGUE - ELLIE

  Acknowledgments

  Also by KM Pyne

  STALK KM PYNE

  Chapter One

  JAKE

  “A little discipline will be good for you,” Dad announces as he stands up from the dinner table. “I’m disappointed in you, Jake. You’re the future King of Sweden. You can’t disgrace the family like that.”

  “I only kissed Ana. What’s wrong with that?” I know what’s wrong with that, but I like to make him sweat and tell me himself.

  “What’s wrong with that? She’s an exotic dancer and you kissed her when she was half naked. In public.” He’s shaking his head.

  I smile, remembering what happened. We were at a royal ceremony and I was bored. The carriage I sat in with my parents and my sister, Felicia, pulled up outside the town hall. There was a crowd of people gathered to try and catch a glimpse of us. When I stared out the window, I spotted someone waving at me. It was Ana, a girl who used to work in our school. I liked her because she had spunk, and that was why I hopped out of the carriage and ran over to her. She ran at me and jumped to hug me, wrapping her legs and arms around me.

  The moment took over, and before I knew what was going on, she kissed me. In front of everyone. With tongues and everything. The next thing I knew, my Dad was pulling us apart and dragging me back to the carriage before I could disgrace him anymore.

  That was two weeks ago, and my whole life has changed since that day. And not for the better, I can assure you.

  “I’m not listening, Jake. My decision is final. You’re going to Brunswick College in Alaska.” He holds his hands up to stop me from talking. “No. It’s Brunswick all the way.”

  Brunswick School is a Grade A military school in Alaska, in the middle of nowhere. He’s mentioned it a few times, but I was hoping he didn’t really mean it. Everyone in our country is obligated to serve in the military for two years, or attend military school. I always hoped that, because of who I am, I could avoid it. Looks like that’s not going to happen now.

  “It was one kiss, for God’s sake.” I sit down on the chair, exasperated, and rest my head in my hands. “Just one kiss! It wasn’t even that good!” I’m screaming at him, not letting him leave the room.

  “My word is final. You’re leaving in the morning.”

  “What the..?” I stop myself before I swear, knowing how much my mum hates it. “Tomorrow?”

  “Yes. In the morning. Harold is going to help you pack. I’ll see you at breakfast.” Dad finally leaves the room.

  I get up from the chair and walk over to Mum. I take her hand in mine, and yes, I use my puppy dog eyes. I’m desperate. “Mum, please talk to him. I don’t want to go to Brunswick. I don’t even want to leave Sweden.”

  “I’ll try, Jakey, but I don’t think I’ll be able to change his mind. She puts her hand on my cheek. “You know what he’s like when he’s made his mind up about something.” She gets up from the table. “I love you. I don’t want you to leave either.” She leans down and kisses the top of my head. “You’ll be home for breaks.” She has unshed tears in her eyes, and I hate that I put them there. She looks like she wants to say something else, but she just turns and leaves the room.

  I lean my head onto the wall by the door she left through. I can’t believe Dad is doing this to me. Alaska. Who moves to Alaska? Surely everybody wants to leave Alaska, not move there.

  The door opens and a voice breaks into the silence. “Sir, your luggage is being delivered to your room. Do you care to oversee what is being packed? Harold is in there now, going through your clothes.”

  What the heck? “I don’t want him touching any of my things. I’ll be there in a few minutes. Tell him to wait.” The guard leaves and I’m left alone with my thoughts again.

  It wasn’t that good a kiss. It was totally not worth the fallout from it.

  I take one last look around the room before I leave and make my way back to my bedroom. When I get there, Harold is standing in front of my wardrobes, looking in them, waiting for the signal to resume packing.

  “Harold, I’ll pack my own clothes.”

  “No, sir. Your father asked me to do it. He wants to make sure you take the right attire and that you don’t disgrace the kingdom any more.” Harold doesn’t even look at me when he talks to me. He just turns towards the wardrobe and removes some of my clothes. I need to find a way to put my casual clothes in too, because he looks like he is only packing my dress suits.

  If I have to go to the ass end of nowhere, then I’m doing it in style. Maybe I can make this work for me. Either that or I’ll run away. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do.

  After finishing my packing, Harold leaves me to get the rest of my personal things. I put in some jeans, t-shirts, hoodies, and trainers. I dress for dinner, and when I sit down at the formal table with Mum and Dad, none of us talk. I’m too angry and I’m worried that I’ll tell Dad where to go. And he knows not to pressurise me. As soon as dinner is finished, I go back to my room and throw myself on my bed, screaming into my pillow.

  In the morning, when it comes time to say goodbye, Dad pulls me into a hug. “It’s for the best, son. It might make you think twice about being so reckless in the future.”

  I ignore him. I climb inside the waiting state car and close the door. But at the last minute, a hand reaches in and opens the door. My mum slips inside and so does Harold. Great. Now I can’t get drunk or run away.

  “I want to come with you, Jakey. I need to see where you’re going to be for the next couple of years. Harold is escorting us so he can bring me home again. There’s a car behind us and in front of us which is full of your security detail.”

  “Great. Now you don’t even trust me. Well, this will be fun.” I turn to look out of the darkened window of my car. I don’t want to engage in any conversation right now.

  An hour later, we’re getting on a plane, which isn’t the private jet we’re used to travelling in. This just goes to show how pissed my dad is at me. Oh God. To top it off, we have to travel coach. No first class today. The only positive from this is that Mum hates travelling coach so it’s fun to watch her struggle with being squashed in with the other travellers. Every time she complains, I smile a little bit more.

  When we land, there’s a car waiting for us, and after Harold puts my luggage in the boot, he sits in the car beside me. It doesn’t take long to get there, and I watch out of the window as we drive through a large gate and up the long and windy driveway.

  There are trees lining the driveway, and all I can see is green. There are fields for miles; no running away from here. I can see guards with dogs patrolling the fence. Turning to Mum, I ask, “Is this a school or a prison?”

  “It will be good for you, Jakey. You’ll learn how to behave in public. No one knows who you are. You’re registered as Jake Wessex, and as far as anyone is concerned, you are an only child who needs a little direction in his life. No one knows you’re a prince. This will help you to prepare for your future.”

  “
I don’t want to prepare for my future.” If I could stamp my feet then I would. I know I’m being petulant, but all of this just sucks.

  “Jakey, stop being so stubborn. Have fun while you’re here. Do whatever it is normal teenage boys do at your age. You’re going to have more freedom here than you would at home. Use that to your advantage.”

  “That’s true.” My mind is racing with all the possibilities. I hope they’re not too strict and we can get out to meet some girls.

  “There’s one more thing.” Mum’s voice goes quiet and I know she has to tell me something that I won’t like. She won’t even look at me; she’s looking out the window instead.

  “What?”

  “When you graduate and come home, you’ll meet your wife.”

  “My what? What the fuck, Mum?”

  “Jakey, don’t swear. You know you will have an arranged marriage. Everyone in the royal lineage has an arranged marriage.”

  “No, I didn’t know that. You and Dad are cool, so I thought you wouldn’t make me marry someone I don’t know or love.”

  “We’ve never intimated anything different, Jakey. Your father and I have met a few families, and at the moment, it’s between two girls. We will keep you up to date with our decisions, but when you come home after graduation, we will introduce you to her. Enjoy your freedom now while you can.” She reaches out and pats my knee. I push her hand off and continue to stare out of the window, seething inside.

  Why is it taking so fucking long to get down this drive? It’s definitely going to be hard to run away from here, but believe me, I will try everything to run away from this school and my life. If Dad thought I was bad back home, then he won’t know what hits him when Jake Wessex starts Brunswick College.

  Chapter Two

  ELLIE

  This is my third year at St. Bernadette’s Girls’ Finishing School. I’ve hated each year so far, and this year is not shaping up to be any better. We were having problems in my country, and my parents took the decision to send me away to finish my education. I ended up here in Alaska. Nice place. Warm all year round - NOT.

  I remember my first day because it was horrific. My terribly posh accent didn’t help me in the slightest. The girls were all staring at me and trying to mock my accent. No one was nice to me and the fact that I’m extremely brainy didn’t help either. I wasn’t going to hide my personality and achievements from anyone. So, I persevered and got a couple of the girls to believe in me, and then we set up a secret society. The girls had to perform a ritual before being allowed to enter. We are extremely picky too; not everyone gets in.

  The secret society, called The Order of Silly Girls, has three main leaders and five girls who are lower down the pecking order. Mostly, we just hang out and have fun, but when we’re allowed off campus is when we start to have lots of fun. The new members are encouraged to shoplift when we go into town, and what they steal defines whether they climb the ranks or not. It’s not always the most expensive item, but the most coveted.

  Last year, while taking biology classes, we learnt about fermentation, and Alia and I had an Einstein moment. So, since then, we learnt everything there is to learn about home brewing. We decided to make our own alcohol. I learnt a lot about the right mix of sugars and yeast to make the best consistency and flavours.

  We’ve had dandelion wine in the spring, apple in the fall—this was more like a cider and a lot of the girls preferred that one. My favourite, and one that can be made all year round, is strawberry. We have strawberry patches in the school grounds, and the nuns never seem to notice them going missing. We pick punnets of them, deliver some of them to the kitchen, and then keep the rest. We found that was the best way to steal right under their noses.

  I hate this school, but I’m making the most of my time here. We have to go to mass every day. I think it’s ridiculous as I’m not religious and don’t believe in anything they teach us. And what’s with the all-girl part? Why can’t we be co-ed?

  I know what will happen. When we’re introduced to boys, we will go mental and probably all get pregnant straight away. The nuns practically tell us we’ll get pregnant just by looking at boys. Not that there’s any chance of us mixing with any soon. St. Bernadette’s is like a fortress in the middle of a sea of green grass. We are in the middle of nowhere and the nearest town is an hour away on the bus. Thirty minutes of that is the time it takes to get off our land.

  It’s Monday morning and we’re on our way to our first assembly of the week. “Hey, do you think we’ll be able to get out this week?” I ask Alia. “I’m feeling a little claustrophobic.”

  “I hope so. If we all do well in our tests then they might let us out. You know we’re capable, we just have to apply ourselves.” She laughs. We sometimes dumb ourselves down just for fun.

  “Come along, girls.” Sister Magdalene is standing at the door to the great hall. “Don’t take all day.”

  “Yes, Miss,” we all say as we hurry past her.

  “God, I hate her,” Alia moans. “She’s always picking on me.”

  “They all pick on me, so think yourself lucky.”

  When everyone is sitting down, Mother Jude stands on the stage in front of us all. “Good morning, girls. We have some news today which you might like. As you know, we like to take part in competitive sports. Our school is recognised both for our sporting ability and our knowledge. We rank in the top three schools in our country. This is a great achievement and one of which we are proud.”

  “I wish she’d just get on with it,” I whisper. “We know all of this.”

  “This year, we are going to do something different. There is an Olympiad for school children that we wish to join. Unfortunately, we have not been able to attend in previous years as the competition is co-ed. As you are all aware, this school is single sex. This year, we are proposing to team together with Brunswick College to create a team.”

  Everyone in the room starts talking. There are whispers, clapping hands, and lots of giggle. This is exactly what we shouldn’t be doing if we want this to work. I nudge Alia. “Tell everyone to be quiet. We don’t want the nuns to think we’re excited about this.” Alia turns to the next person and whispers to her. It’s then a game of Chinese whispers as everyone stops talking and just looks to the front of the great hall.

  “We understand this is something new, and we are trialling it this year to see if it will work. We will be holding weekly competitions between St. Bernadette’s and Brunswick to find the best of the best, and then they will be joined together as a team to represent both academic establishments.”

  I can’t believe what I’m hearing. The stuffy nuns are going to let us mix with boys. This is fantastic news, and my interest has shot up. It’s not a good idea at all. We are all starved of male attention, and I know that as soon as we see boys, we will be misbehaving.

  The school will do anything to win another trophy. They have already won cases and cases of them, so one more would be great. I’m a trophy, but they don’t know that. I had to change my name when I started this school to avoid any repercussions of the conflict of my country. As far as anyone knows, I’m Ellie Masters, only daughter of two hard-working parents who don’t get to see me often. If only they knew the truth.

  When I was at home, I had private tutors, and I knew everything that I’ve been taught here in the last two years. I’m way ahead of everyone else and have had to dumb down a bit to settle in.

  “The first competition will be held on Friday this week at St. Bernadette’s. It will be on English Literature, from medieval through to present. There will be extra lessons on literature held during the week. We will select the suitable candidates and let you know individually. Let the games begin,” Mother Jude says, clapping her hands.

  The rest of the assembly flies past, but I can’t think of anything else other than that there are boys coming to our school. I’ve missed out on being a normal child growing up, and then when I was shipped over here, I missed out again and came
to an all-girls school. I’m very excited about meeting the boys and I wonder if they feel the same way about us.

  Looks like we’ll be studying while drinking our strawberry wine this semester.

  Whatever happens, bring it on!

  Chapter Three

  JAKE

  The commandant of cadets is waiting for us in the reception area when we arrive, and while he talks to mum, Harold and I bring my bags in. The commandant looks at my luggage, raises an eyebrow, and then continues talking to mum.

  When they’ve finished, Mum comes over and hugs me. “Be good, Jakey. We want to be proud of you. I’ll miss you so much.”

  I hug her back, but can’t bring myself to tell her I’ll miss her too. Her news in the car has brought my life to an abrupt end. I don’t know what to say or think anymore.

  I step back and watch her and Harold walk out of the school. The commandant picks up one of my bags and I struggle to pick up the rest as he walks up the stairs. I follow him.

  He knocks on a door at the top. “Dominic, come out here and escort the new guy to his room please.”

  It’s an order, not a request. The door opens and I can only guess that the guy is Dominic. He stands to attention and says, “Yes, sir.”

  “Room 213, please.” Turning to me, the commandant hands me some papers. “These are the school rules. You will receive more in the morning when you show up at the administration office to find out what classes you’re taking. See you tomorrow.” He dumps my bag, turns, and walks down the stairs.

  I look at Dominic and hold out my hand. “I’m Jake. Pleased to meet you.”