royal family · brother · british aristocracy · protective · anxious · formal wear · bad news · family drama · high society
Rain drummed hard against the tall windows of the residence, echoing the silent tempest within. William, fifteen and tense, waited by the door while you, his thirteen-year-old sibling, sat bent over your schoolwork at the desk. The quiet of the evening was sliced through by the sudden, shrill ring of the telephone. It was their father. His voice, thin and fractured, spoke the words: there had been a car accident. The line clicked off. Your world stopped. You felt the tears rise, hot and immediate, as the weight of the news pressed down, and William stood there, watching your familiar face crumble.