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Chapter Text

“Elizabeth, please!” pleaded Princess Margaret. 

It’s been ten days since the Queen’s husband, Prince Phillip left for a trip to Japan. 

It’s been ten days since Elizabeth has gotten a wink of sleep. With the absence of her husband, the queen had been overworking herself, ignoring the concerns of her sister. 

“Elizabeth! It’s been ten days! This isn’t healthy! At all!” 

Elizabeth looked over at her sister, the exhaustion evident in her eyes. 

“I’ll be fine , Margaret. Now excuse me, I have some paperwork to do. And-“

“But you need sleep!” Margaret begged. 

Elizabeth let out a weak, tired snort before walking into the bedroom, slamming the door, causing Margaret to flinch. Thank goodness her new niece-in-law, Diana wasn’t like that. Not that she had much time to get to know her after the wedding to her nephew, Charles, as the couple went on their honeymoon a week after the wedding. 

And that same day, Phillip went to Japan and now her sister wasn’t sleeping. 

“Mama?” Maragret  asked, turning to Queen Mother, who looked equally worried. 

“I know dear. I know”

Queen Elizabeth signed another paper. She couldn’t sleep, she had to work.

Suddenly she felt incredibly dizzy. Her head felt like it was getting spilt open. Her muscle ached. 

Then she collapsed. 

On August 14, 1981, Queen Elizabeth died of exhaustion. 

“Elizabeth?” Maragret asked, banging on the door. 

No response. 

“Elizabeth?!” Maragret begged. 

Still no response. 

Margaret sighed. Now she’d have to get someone to unlock the door. Great. 

Thankfully she found the key and opened the door. 

What she saw shocked her. 

Elizabeth, her older sister, the Queen of England, was dead. 

Maragret screamed. 

Chapter Text

Diana leaned against Charles.

The couple have only been married for seventeen days, but they were very happily so. The air was fresh at sea, with the gentle breeze ruffling their hair. The water was just as warm and small waves splashed against the yacht.

This was perfect, Diana thought to herself. She had her husband, which was all she needed, unless of course, she were to get pregnant.

She closed her eyes. The warmths of the sun, along with the soothing sounds of the waves, would lull her to sleep very often.

Charles looked down at her, his brown-blue eyes full of love and admiration.

“I love you, Diana” he told his wife, kissing her forehead.

Diana, already half-asleep, smiled slightly.

“Mmmm… love ya too Charlie”

Charles smiled at his wife. He loves her so much, it’s almost impossible for someone to love another like this.

After tomorrow , they’d spend another month in Scotland, before returning to England. As of now though, they were on the coast of Greece or Monaco.

He couldn’t wait to spend forever with Diana.

A few moments later, a member of the crew walked up to them.

“Your Royal Highness….” the man said… a hint of… sadness in his voice.

“Yes?” Charles asked, confused to what was happening.

“We must return to England as soon as possible.”

“Hmm?” asked Diana, who had opened one eye, the conversation waking her up.

“Yes… why must we return to England?” Charles questioned. This honeymoon was going perfectly, he got to spend every second of every day with his beloved wife and in his mind, that was the best thing ever.

“It’s the Queen, your highness. She’s dead”

“What?”

“She died, sir, of lack of sleep… her body was found at 3:00 this morning, by her younger sister, Princess Margaret. It’s appears the Queen hadn’t slept in the ten days since her husband, Prince Phillip, left for Japan. I’m deeply sorry for your loss, your majesty. But now you must prepare to be king… and return to England by tomorrow. Your people need you. Your family needs you. Your father especially…”

The messenger turned to Diana.

“And you, your highness, must prepare to become the queen.”

Chapter Text

Phillip layed in bed. It was 4:57 on August 15, and he was tired. He couldn’t wait to go home, to England, to the palace and see his wife again. Speaking of which, Elizabeth hadn’t called him at all that day and he was growing concerned. Now that he thinks about it, she only called him for 12 minutes yesterday. And now she hasn’t called him at all. He hopes she’s ok. She’s the queen after all, and if something happened to her… the country would be in chaos, even though his eldest son, Charles, was perfectly capable of leading it.  

He checked his watch. It was now 5:00, the time Elizabeth usually called him. He sat and waited. And waited. By the time he looked over at the clock, it was already 5:30. 

Just then, the phone rang and he got up, happy, thinking that his wife was calling him. He picked up the phone. 

“Good evening, darling.” he said, waiting for his wife’s response. 

Instead, someone else responded. 

“Hello, your majesty” the voice replied, sounding like the Royal physician. 

“If this is because Andrew got his head stuck in a bucket again , I want nothing to do with it. I want to talk to my wife, sir. Can you please hand the phone over to her? Now?”   

The doctor sighed. 

“Your majesty. The Queen has died…”

Phillip felt his heart drop. She couldn’t be dead. They were supposed to grow old together, become grandparents, watch their children get married, dote on their grandchildren…

“N-noo…” he stammered, trying to hold back tears. 

She couldn’t be dead. 

“I’m sorry, your majesty. It’s true.”

She can’t be dead. 

“H-how did this happen”

This has to be a nightmare. She can’t be dead. 

“Lack of sleep, your majesty”

He must be lying. She can’t be dead. 

He dropped the phone. 

She can’t be dead. 

S̸h̷e̴ ̷c̵a̴n̸t̵ ̷b̴e̶ ̶d̴e̷a̶d̵

He fell to the ground, crying yet in denial. 

₴ⱧɆ ₵₳₦’₮ ฿Ɇ ĐɆ₳Đ

His heart was slowly breaking into a million pieces. 

Š͉̻͈h_̸̴̡̧̪̣̣̞̠̥̪̫̭̘̻ͧ̆̇̄͊͌̑͆ͣ̍̾ͣ̀ͬ́͟͟͟͠͡͞͠ȩ̛͈͈̭̜̭ͯ̏͆̑̽͒̉̍̇͋̀̕̕̚͢_͉͊̚ c̜̘̼̺ͦä̛͔͈̻̠̥̝̭̝̘̲͍̱̪̻̖ͥ̓ͨ̎́́͗ͭ̇̓̉ͣ̏̿̒̃̈ͣͩ̔̂͆̓̌́͌ͭͩ͘͢n̘͕̲͂̽̄̉̐͘̕’̸̛̗̩͚̥̖̱ͦ͊̉͋̆̒͝͠͡_̡̟͕̖̞̪̹̃̀͗ͮ̏͗ͦͮ͊ͧ̿ţ̶̜̣̻͖̦̠̠͔̼̤̬̊ͬͬ́͊͌̀̐̎ͦͭ̽́̐̓ͅ b͕͙ͮe̛̠̜̲̦͑͊͆̓͞ d̵̴̶͎͙̦͚͔̫̘̳̺ͨ̒ͣ̾͛ͤ͆ͧ̏ͮ̽ͪ̽͘͘͜e̴̴͚͙̖̻̿ͣ̔̋̎ả̵̦͙̱̙̰̞̖̠̠͚͕͙͈͕ͪ̊̓ͫ̅̓͂̌͆̕͟d̴̷̶̵̛͉͔̙̱̤̖̫̙͎̲͖̓̋̑ͨ̈ͣ͐́͌ͫ̿́̎ͪ̋̄ͣ͂̊̕͟͜͡͠͝͡

Chapter Text

Note: Queen Mother is Eliza. 

She stared at her daughter’s body. Her daughter was dead… just like her husband. 

She missed him. George. He was handsome and kind. He had been a great king, but more importantly, he’d been a great father to Elizabeth and Margaret. 

When he died, she was devastated for weeks. Then she was angry. It was so fucking unfair. Her loving husband had died. Her daughter was made to be queen and hardly had any time to herself. To grieve like a normal fucking human being. 

She missed her husband evey day. But of course, she wasn’t allowed to show her emotions. Because it was against the stupid, fucking  protocol. 

And now, her daughter, her pride and joy, was dead. Dead because her duties had overwhelmed her. Eliza hated it. Her daughter should outlive her by a least 20 years. 

But now she was dead and Eliza would never see her again. It hurt so much, she wished it wasn’t real. 

But it was, and she was never more angry at the world than she was now.  Her mother was dead, her father died, she was widowed at age 50 and now, at 79, her daughter is dead. Her beloved daughter, her pride, her first child, her child died before her. She already went through the worst pain a wife could go through with the death of her darling husband. And now, she was going through the worst pain a mother could go through. The death of a child, even if said child was 55, was absolutely heartbreaking. 

And Phillip… oh she couldn’t imagine how devastated her son-in-law was. They had been married for almost 34 years, she couldn’t imagine how broken he was inside. 

This world is awful. All the good people die tragically and young. My husband. My daughter. 

At least her granddaughter-in-law, Diana seemed sweet. Sometimes too sweet. The young princess was so sweet, that she could probably befriend a dam crocodile. But if Diana was that sweet, she’d probably die young. 

No. She would make sure Diana was protected, at all times. Diana wouldn’t die young. She’d live a long and healthy life, full of love with her husband. 

No one would die young again under her watch. Not if she could help it. 

Chapter Text

Phillip climbed into the airport, his legs barely holding his weight. 

She’s gone… no… no

Elizabeth couldn’t be dead. He loved her too much for that… right? They’d been married for 33, almost 34 years. They had four children together, Charles, their eldest, Anne, their only daughter, Andrew, who kept on getting his head stuck in buckets and Edward, the youngest. 

She can’t be dead… not yet at least.

Charles had gotten married. They had been so close to being able to see a grandchild. 

But now… they would never. She was dead and she was gone and he would never see her again

No. This is a nightmare. I’ll wake up and she’ll be there and we’ll be happy and we’ll see the birth of our grandchild. 

Phillip couldn’t accept his wife’s death.  They were soulmates and soulmates were meant to grow old together.  She had to be alive. She just had to. 

Just yesterday he had talked to her. God he already missed her so much. 

March, 20, 1980

The couple stood next to each other

“Charles is 22. And he still doesn’t have a girlfriend…” Phillip muttered 

Elizabeth nudged him

“Don’t worry, he’ll be fin-“

A that moment, a flash of blonde hair whizzed past, followed by a rather large group of kindergarten aged children. 

The blonde stopped and was tackled by all 13 children, who started laughing. The blonde, it seemed, was laughing too. 

The couple exchanged an amused look 

Charles rushed forward, but the blonde, a young woman who looked about 18 or 19, has already gotten free and was gently talking to one of the children. She pulled out  teddy bear. 

“I know you lost your favorite when your house caught on fire. So I got you a new one!” 

The boy smiled widely, hugging her tightly. 

“Thawnk you Miss Diana!”

The woman, who they supposed was named Diana hugged the boy back. 

“Of course Timmy!” Diana said, ruffling Timmy’s black hair, causing the boy to laugh. Charles smiled at his parents. 

“Hey… mom… hey dad… there’s something I want to tell you…”

He looked at Diana, blushing deeply. Phillip and Elizabeth caught on immediately. 

“She’s your girlfriend, isn’t she?” they asked in unison, causing the young prince’s face to turn completely red from embarrassment. 

“Uhh… yes… she’s very… kind and pretty and… she’s perfect…” Charles said, admiring Diana as she played tag with a 6 year old girl and a little kitten. 

Elizabeth nudged Phillip again. 

“See dear? I told you he’d find true love.”

Chapter Text

Charles and Diana landed back in London at 4:00 P.M. They immediately rushed to the palace, hopping in the first cab they could find. 

By them time they arrived at the palace doors, it was already 4:30. The air was somber. The palace was draped in black. The color of mourning. 

There was no denying the queen was dead. Diana held Charles' hand, giving him a look of love, sympathy and reassurance. She made everything better just by being by his side. To him she was perfect in every way possible. 

When they entered the room… when he saw his mother’s body… he couldn’t help it. He cried. And Diana just held him, reassuring him that she loves him and that she’s there for him. 

He was beyond grateful for her presence in his life. She was his everything. And he was her’s. 

A loving couple…

Just like my parents…

Charles felt his heart sink. He couldn’t imagine how bad his father felt…

But he was about to find out. 

Prince Phillip arrived two hours after the newlyweds. And he didn’t look so good. 

His eyes were bloodshot from crying so much. There were bags under his eyes and he seemed to have aged ten years in less than six hours. 

When he saw his wife’s body… he let out a heartbreaking cry, before running to her side, burying his face in her hair. 

“Wake up! Please wake up lilibet… please… I need you…”  he begged, sobbing, not letting go. 

no response. 

“Please wake up. I need you. I love you. I love you so much it physically hurts…”

but no matter how much he begged, she didn’t wake up 

Chapter Text

Everyone else had left the room. 

But Phillip stayed behind. He wouldn’t accept she was dead. Because she couldn’t be dead, Elizabeth couldn’t be gone, not like this. 

“Come on darling, wake up. Come on, I know you can do it, I love you…” he kissed her forehead, hoping, praying, that she’d wake up, that this was just a bad dream, and they’d get to grow old together. 

But Elizabeth didn’t wake up. 

Diana woke up to a soft, wet tongue licking her face, furry paws kneeling her stomach and the smell of dog breath. 

She opened her eyes to see the 6 week old puppy, a German Shepherd named Blitz, looking up at her with puppy dog eyes, his head tilted to one side. 

Blitz was a wedding gift from Charles. Admittedly her favorite gift, sure she loved the jewelry and stuff, but this pup was so dang adorable that she couldn’t help but adore him.

“Hey bud. What’s up?”

The pup whimpered, looking out the window to the gardens. 

He needs to pee? Dang it, I forgot to get him those pee pads that Jane suggested. Well, guess I have to take him out. 

  She stayed in bed for a few more seconds, savoring the warmth, before getting up and grabbing his leash. 

“Come on boy. I’ll bring your favorite tennis ball!”

At the mention of tennis ball, Blitz hopped off of bed, using Charles’s face as a launching pad

“Ouch” Charles muttered in his sleep. Diana held back a snort. 

As she went out, Diana grabbed Blitz’s tennis ball as well as a whole gallon bag full of dog treats. She knew her pup would appreciate the gesture, although, it seemed, she was already the puppy’s favorite person (Charles being the second favorite)

Outside she could still she the light on in the window. Phillip was still there with the body. 

Diana couldn’t help but to feel bad for her father-in-law. Queen Elizabeth was the love of his life, losing her must be unimaginable. 

She hoped he’d get better, although she doubt he’d stop missing her.

Chapter Text

Blitz had just went inside the Charles came in. He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her forehead. 

“Morning darling… how’s your first day as the new Queen going?“

Diana let out a deep sigh. 

“I… it’s alright I guess. But I’m only 20 Charles.., I’m not sure I’m ready for this… good enough for this…”

Charles hugged her. 

“You’re good enough for me” he told her, burying his nose in her hair. They stayed like that for a moment, not realizing that Andrew had yet again got his head stuck in a bucket. 

Great. Diana thought. Just great. It’s barely 7 in the morning and things are already going downhill. 

Diana sighed, before walking over to Andrew. She grabbed the bucket and pulled on it as hard as she could. After a few minutes of struggle, it finally came off and Diana went fly across the room, Charles catching her in his arms. 

“I got you darling” he said, pulling her to his chest. Diana blushed deeply. 

“Thank you Charles, I honestly don’t know what I would do without you”

“Same here Di. Same here.”

Phillip hadn’t slept at all that night. He couldn’t. He had to get her to wake up. She just had to wake up. He refused to accept the fact that she was gone. 

“Come on dear. I’m here now. You have to wake up, ok?”

But like every time, there was no response 

Chapter Text

1 week later

It was the day of Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. They had finally managed to remove her body from Phillip a few days ago, and the poor man had been staring out the window for the last three days, still in shock and denial from the death of his wife. 

Diana stepped in her funeral attire. Charles thought she was beautiful, even though it was his mother’s funeral . 

Diana’s dress reached down to her knees, and she wore black boots that covered the rest of her legs. The gloves she wore were black velvet and she wore a hat with black flowers embedded on it.

“Are you ready?”

Diana nodded, taking her husband's hand in her own as they walked into the black cab. It was an appropriately dreary day in London. The streets where draped in black, just like the people roaming the streets. 

At the funeral, Prince Phillip said the eulogy, which made sense as Elizabeth was his wife after all. The Duke stepped on to the podium, bags under his eyes, which were bloodshot from days of crying. 

“Dear citizens of the United Kingdom… so as many of you know… this is the funeral of our queen… my wife… the love of my life… she… was a remarkable woman… I… I… no… she’s alive… she has to be…” Phillip broke down, crying.

Diana turned to see Princess Margaret sobbing. Poor Margaret. Diana couldn’t imagine losing her sisters. Or brother. 

Margaret’s husband, Antony, snapped his head to his wife, anger blazing in his eyes. 

What was that for? Diana wondered. 

“You’re not to cry. It’s a sign of weakness” snarled Tony. Margaret winced at her husband’s tone. 

“Darling… I understand but she was my sister. M-my first friend…” 

Tony took another step to his wife. 

“I told you not. To. Cry. And you are expected to listen to me you.”

Margaret glared back at him. 

“Darling please. Just this onc-“

Tony’s fist made contact with Margaret’s face. Blood dripped from her nose. Tony lifted his hand again, only for Diana to push her way in front of Margaret. 

“Sir. Leave her alone. I’m… well, Charles is the king now, isn’t he? That makes me the queen. And… well, my first command as the new queen is for you to never lay a finger on this woman ever again. Do you understand ?”

Tony felt shocked. No one had ever stood up to him, and he’d never expected the sweet and shy Diana to be the first to do so. Charles looked at his wife with a look of admiration. 

Tony grumbled before storming off, muttering about “annoying princesses”.

Margaret looked up at Diana. 

“Thank you… your majesty…”

Diana smiles at her aunt in law. 

“Just call me Diana.”

Margaret smiled back at the young princess… the new queen. She felt bad for the way she treated her at first. It was obvious her nephew was deeply in love with Diana, and they made an amazing couple. Margaret had a feeling that the country was in good hands with those two, even if Charles was 32 and Diana was barely 20.

 But she was sure everything would be ok. 

Chapter Text

“Charles?”

Charles turned to his wife. 

“Yes darling?”

Diana looked up at him, a slight blush spreading through her cheeks.  She looked back down at her feet. 

“Well, I… uhh…” Diana trailed off, clearly nervous for what she was going to say next. Charles gentle took her hands in his own

“You know you can tell me anything my darling”

Diana took in a deep breath then blurted out what she had wanted to say for months now. 

“I want you to make love to me”

It was Charles’s turn to blush. He couldn’t deny how attractive his wife was. And he and her hadn’t made love since his mother’s tragic death, due to the stress of having to prepare for her funeral and the aftermath, not to mention Andrew was starting to get in trouble- trouble that was starting to be much worse than just getting his head stuck in buckets (even though just yesterday he had somehow gotten his head stuck in a tuba . Charles still didn’t know how that had happened.). 

They walked into their shared bedroom. They had moved into what used to be the room of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip. The couple had made many changes to the room since the death of the queen. The walls, which were once covered in flowered wallpaper, were now painted a pretty pastel pink. Andrew, being annoying as always, had said it was childish and stupid. Charles had argued that Diana had the right to choose what color the walls were. After all, he had chose for the bed sheets to be his favorite color, so it was only fair his wife got to choose the wall color. 

The floors were still wood, but were a darker shade of oak than the ones that Elizabeth had. 

The bed now had blue- gray covers and comforters, while the pillows were also gray with a tint of a nice brown. Diana had asked for the nightstand ,vanity and dresser to be painted a very light brown, making them look like they were made of birch instead of oak. 

The curtains, which were at one point made of Crêpe and were a dark brown, were replaced with ones that were made of velvet and were a dark gray. The carpets were the same color. 

Diana sat on the bed, smiling seductively at her husband. 

“Come on Charlie . I know you want me” she told him, winking. 

Charles smiled back at her before climbing on top of her. 

A week later . 

Diana looked at the test. Positive. 

“Charles…?” Diana said, peeping her head out of the bathroom door nervously.

“Yes my darling?”

Diana took in a deep breath. 

“I am pregnant”

Charles’s face lit up immediately. He loved his wife dearly, despite the fact they’ve only been married for about 2 months. He wrapped his arms around her. 

“I love you”

“I love you too”

Chapter Text

A week later 

The couple were in the kitchens. They had been bored and had decided to make some chocolate chip cookies together. 

Admittedly, Charles didn’t really like baking. But what he did like was spending time with his wife, and he couldn’t say no to the look of excitement on her face. 

Diana smiled up at him, tilting her head cheerfully, as she took down the ingredients from the cupboards, while Charles got the bowls and other needed tools out. 

Halfway through making their delicious desserts, Diana fed him a few chocolate chips, and he retaliated by feeding her two. 

Diana giggled before grabbing a handful of flour and throwing it at him. Charles chuckled and threw some at her too. Diana shrieked playfully before throwing a bunch of sugar at him. 

“Gotcha!” she teased him, kissing him on the cheek. 

“You already did my love” Charles laughed, ruffling his wife’s hair. 

“Hey! I work hard making my hair nice!” Diana pouted dramatically, playfully sticking her tongue out at him. 

“You already have about a pound of flour in it,” Charles joked. “But I think it looks good on you”

Diana playfully rolled her eyes 

“Come on Charles, you’d think I’d look good in one of those inflatable dinosaur costume” she jokes, nudging his shoulder with her forehead. 

He pulled her closer, kissing her forehead. 

“You do look good in anything, Cariad aur”

Diana leaned into him, before throwing another handful of flour at him

“Sneak attack my love!”

Their game lasted about an hour, before they got tired. They put the cookies in the oven and they sat down, Diana sitting in his lap. 

“I love you Charles.” Diana told him, giving him a peck on the lips. 

“I love you too sweetheart.” Charles got up and took the cookies out of the oven. This was his mother’s recipe, passed down through his grandmother’s family. 

He hoped she would have been proud of him, her oldest son, and his beloved wife 

Chapter Text

December 31, 1981

“Charlesssss! I want to see the fireworks!” 

“I know my darling but what if it’s too cold out for you? The baby! What if you get frostbite? Or hypothermia? Or-“ 

Diana cut him off with a kiss, causing him to blush. 

She’s so beautiful . 

“Charles. I’ll be fine. Please?” she added, giving him her best puppy dog eyes, effectively melting the new king’s heart, all his defenses dropping. 

“Alright dear. Just bundle up, ok?”

It was snowing outside. The once brown hills were white and snow glistened everywhere. There had been a blizzard last night, leaving about 4 feets of snow on the palace grounds. 

Charles turned around for a moment and Diana was suddenly no where to be seen. 

Charles started to panic. Not her. He already lost his mother. He can’t lose Diana too. 

“Diana? Diana! Diana!”

Suddenly he was tackled to the ground, arms wrapping around his waist.

“Ha! I got you!” Diana shouted, scrambling to her feet and throwing a snowball at him. Charles playfully growled, grabbing a handful of snow and throwing it at her. 

“Two can play at the game sweetheart” he teased. 

“Not if I outrun you!” Diana teased back, blowing a raspberry before running off, but he eventually caught up to her, scooping her up into his arms, before gently dropping her in the snow. 

“Let’s build a snowman darling” Charles suggested, pulling her in for a soft kiss. 

“And a snowwoman!” Diana added.  “A couple. Just like us.” she finished, smiling at her husband. 

“Of course my darling. And a little snow child. Like the one in your stomach” Charles whispered, rubbing her belly. 

And with that, they kissed. 

Chapter Text

Margaret wasn’t sure why she didn’t like Diana at first. Maybe it was because she was young or because she instantly became popular. 

But she knew the real reason. She didn’t think it was fair that Charles got to marry the woman he loved, that her sister allowed it, while she also exiled the man Margaret was in love with. 

The marriage between her and Antony was a nightmare, at least for Margaret. Antony was kind to her for the first 3 years of their marriage. After Sarah’s birth, everything went downhill. 

It had started with simple grates of disdain. She had simply dismissed it had him being annoyed at something she was saying or doing- so she just stayed still and silent around Tony. 

Then the verbal abuse started around 1966. 

“YOU STUPID BIRCH!”  yelled Tony, causing Maragret to flinch. She accidentally dropped a pen and now he was fuming. 

“I’m sorry…”

No one had noticed. No one had cared. Not even when the physical abuse had started.

 No one asked her about the bruises. She had covered them in public, but no one had asked. Tony had acted caring in front of the family, so no one would suspect a thing. They’d never believe that he was as abusive as he was.  

And then Charles got to marry the woman of his dreams while she lived with her nightmare of a marriage. Margaret tried to hold it back, but she secretly resented the young Princess just for existing.

And then, at her sister’s funeral, Diana had stood up for her. For the first time, someone defended her from Tony. Someone noticed the abuse and did something about it. 

February 28, 1982

“You did it again!” Tony shouted. 

She didn’t flinch anymore. She was so used to it after all. 

“I’m sorr-“ she didn’t get to finish the sentence, as Tony had slapped her harder than he ever had before. Paint shot through her face, as she tried and failed to hold back tears. 

“SHUT UP!” he yelled, slapping her even harder. Maragret fell back, panic rising in her chest, fearing for her life until-

“Haven’t I already warned you?” 

Diana stepped out from the door, her eyes gleaming with anger. Tony backed away, shooting Diana a look of hatred. 

“This is none of your business princess ”

Diana walked towards him, more confident than she had ever been. 

“I’m about to become Queen. And it is my business. She’s a part of my family now, or I’m a part of her family. As the Queen, I can make you stop this behavior right now or you will be punished.”

Tony’s eyes flickered, then he let out an angry sigh. 

“Fine. But don’t think that this is over” 

Tony shot one last disdainful look at Diana, then stormed out. Diana glared back at him before turning to Margaret. 

“You don’t love him… I know about your true lov-“

Margaret cut her off. 

“I-it doesn’t matter. He was exiled…”

Diana helped her up, smiling at her. 

“Not for longer. The moment I become Queen, I’ll end his exile. If you want, I’ll exile Tony instead. You’d be safe. You’d get to marry the man you love. Do you want that? You deserve it. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to be loved.”

Margaret smiled back at the soon to be queen. 

“I would like that. More than anything. Thank you, Diana”

Diana smiled sweetly at her. 

“It’s not a problem”

For the first time in her life, things were looking up for Maragret.