The club was tightly cramped with people. It was pitch black except for the flashing lights. The sounds were blasting from the huge speakers. It did nothing to relieve Wills of his headache.
"I'm going to dance with Dev," Erin told Wills. "Are you going to be all right?"
"Yeah," Wills nodded. He took a place on one of the bar stool. "I'll just be here."
"Okay!" Erin called above the music.
Wills watched her leave. His head was pounding.
"Anything I can get you, mate?" the bartender asked.
"Do you have anything to get rid of a headache?" Wills asked half-joking; half-serious.
The man poured something into a thimble glass. "It'll get rid of your headache but it will give you an even worse one tomorrow," he warned.
Wills looked at the glass. The most he had was the glass of red wine he usually drank at lunch. And he never even finished it. Just a couple of sips. Wills lifted the glass and drank all its contents. "Give me another." he told the man.
The man shrugged and did as he was told.
Whatever was in the glass really did the trick. He couldn't feel his headache anymore. He couldn't feel anything anymore. The sounds were disjointed and everyone seemed to be saying something he couldn't understand. His eyes drifted to the dance floor where Erin and Devon were dancing. Devon was whispering something into Erin's ear which made her laugh. How I love her smile, Wills thought. He staggered slowly towards them.
"Wills," Erin looked up, surprised to see him on the dance floor. He had declined all her offers to dance with him before.
Devon placed his arm on Erin's waist. "C'mon, I love this song!"
Wills felt a burst of jealousy explode within him. He tore them apart. "Don't touch her," he told Devon.
"Wills, you're drunk," Erin said. She looked at the signs on his face worriedly.
Why did she have to look at him as though he had done something wrong? "I am not!" the words slurred as he said them.
"Ow! You're hurting me," Erin said as his grip tightened around her arm.
Devon stepped in. "Let go of her, mate. You're hurting her." he moved to pry Wills grasp.
Wills shoved him. "You don't touch me! I'm royalty."
Erin looked at the crowd. The took what he said as drunken babble. They experienced it every night. "Wills not here." she pleaded.
Devon placed a gentle arm on his shoulder and tried to lead him outside. "We're taking you home," he said as if he were talking to a child.
Wills took this as mockery. The last thing he remembered was punching Devon full force. Then he passed out.

Chapter Fourteen
"Thanks for helping me bring him here," Erin told Devon as she opened the door to the room Wills used.
Devon carried the body of the prince into the room and placed him on the bed. "It's okay," Devon told her.
"I'm really sorry about your eye," she bit her lower lip in concern. She reached to touched the blue area but drew back when Devon winced.
"It's not your fault," Devon told her. He cast a glance at Wills. "You better get the aspirin ready. He's going to have one heck of a headache tomorrow. I'll see you."
"See you," Erin replied back watching him leave. She heard the front door click indicating that it had locked. She turned her attention to Wills. She rubbed the temples of her forehead remembering the scene he caused at the disco. She needed to get herself some aspirin.
She walked over to the medicine cabinet. Her hand reached for the over the counter box but her eyes fell on the all too familiar orange prescription bottle. It had been half empty the last time she saw it on the Ferris wheel. She opened it. There were only four pills left in it.
"Erin," Wills moaned, from his place on the bed.
Erin reemerged in the bedroom. She looked at him.
Wills was awake. His eyes were bloodshot. His hair was a mess. His clothes wrinkled. And his face slack. He looked miserable. But even his awful appearance couldn't evoke sympathy from Erin.
She threw the bottle in his lap with all her might. She pointed to it. "You start clarifying yourself right now!" she demanded.
Wills lifted the bottle, even in the dark he knew what it was. He sighed, too tired to lie. "I'm sick."
Erin was confused. Of course he was sick. He just had pneumonia, right? Her mouth was dry as she asked, "What do you mean?"
He reached for her with his hand. He had struggled to get the words out. " I'm dying." He told her everything.
Erin placed her hands over her mouth as she listened quietly to the story. Tears sprung to her eyes. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. It couldn't happen. Not to her Wills. Not to the world's Wills. But then again, if Diana; Princess of Wales, can be taken so swiftly from an unassuming world, can't the same be said about her son? Erin looked into Wills's eyes, those blue eyes that she loved, and knew that what he was saying was more than possible. "You lied to me," the words left her in a rasp.
"I wanted to protect you." he said truthfully.
"And what if I walked into your room one day and found you dead!" she cried.
Wills said nothing.
Erin paced panickedly. "I'm calling your father," she announced.
Wills rose from the bed. "No. No, Erin," he came to her and embraced her tightly. "Sweet. Sweet Erin," He murmured in her hair. He kissed the top of her head. "Not that. Don't. Please, for me."
It would've been easy for her to believe him. To believe that he knew what he was doing. That this was all for the best. It would've all been so easy. "You're asking me to watch you die." Racking sobs came from her chest.
"It's my life," he said simply.
Erin got away from him. "It is. It is. And I'm not going to stand by and watch you give-up on it. If your mother was alive-"
Wills turned from her. "Don't bring my mum into this."
"If your mother was alive," Erin continued through her tears. "She would fight this disease with everything she's got and she would insist you do the same. You know she would!" She hugged Wills with all her might. "You can give this disease the world awareness it needs. And other people who have it, they'll be given the chance to fight it too. I don't want you to die. I don't want you to die..."
But Wills was immovable. "I've made my decision."
Erin pulled away from him slowly. She searched his face. "Then I can't help you." she said softly.
"I'm being realistic," he told her.
Erin shook her head. "No." she shook her head again. "You've given up." She fled from the house.

The phone was ringing.
Harry blindly searched for the phone. "Hello, Wills?" he grumbled.
"Tell me again Harry," a girl's voice said on the other line. 'That Wills has risen to every challenge he's faced."
The tone of her voice made him instantly awake. He turned on the light. "What? What happened? What do you mean? Is Wills all right?"
Erin wiped the tears from her eyes. She was glad Devon had given her the privacy to make this call. She didn't want him to see her like this. "No, Wills's not all right," Erin fought to keep her voice steady. "He's really sick and I think you need to come get him right away."
Harry ran to Charles' room. "Papa!" He urgently handed him the phone.
"Yes?"
Hearing Charles' voice made Erin remember the men at the amusement park. Wills's life is at stake.... How long are you going to deprive Charles of the presence of his son... If only she had known. Erin fought the new batch of tears. "Your Highness you need to come get your son right away."
"We're coming. We're out the door. Just give us your location."
Erin had to repeat the address twice since she was crying so hard. She hung up the phone. "You did the right thing. You did the right thing," she told herself. She brushed off the tears from her cheeks. "You did the right thing."

Chapter Fifteen
Erin looked out of the window of Devon's house.. The royal vehicles were outside and Harry was pacing the front porch. The security men were checking their watches as they waited for Charles to finish talking with his son.

Wills looked out the window. He could see Devon's house from where he sat. Erin was there he knew.
Charles sighed. He sat in the chair in front of him. He tried to understand. "Wills, why did you do it?"
Wills looked at his father. He thought long and hard before he answered. He wondered what words would be able to get the message across. He finally decided on, "I wanted to live before I die."
"I know what you're going through. And don't give me that 'oh, Papa' look because I have been there. You want to experience what it's like to live a normal life. But the fact that you're sick- it's the wrong time to do it."
"You're wrong, Papa," the hand near Wills's mouth formed into a fist. "The fact that I was sick made it the right time to do it."
"Wills-"
"Sixteen years," he cut Charles off. "Sixteen years I've been doing the same thing over and over. A public function here. A vacation in Greece or the Caribbean there. Same people. Same things. Have you ever heard the phrase that those you go around in the same circles don't go anywhere? That's me. That's us. I go around doing the same things over and over. And then I realize sixteen years is too short to live a life played like a broken record."
"Okay so we'll do different things. I promise," Charles vowed. "We'll go skydiving, gamble in Las Vegas, though that might cause some controversy. We'll- we'll moon London!"
"Papa," Wills blushed.
"You me and Harry. We'll moon London. After the treatment. We'll do it after the treatment," Charles pleaded with him, "Come home son."
Wills looked at him. After a moment's pause he conceded. "Okay, I'll going home." he sighed. "I'll go."
"Just between you and me," Charles leaned closer. "What was it like?"
Wills looked outside the window. He closed his eyes. He saw flashes of memory. Him getting into Erin's car... the amusement park... Erin throwing chips at him... the kiss... them doing the laundry... them building sandcastles... Erin's smile... Always, always there was Erin. "It was great. Wonderful." He thought of Erin. "Best time of my life."

Erin finished packing her bags to go home.
Devon knocked on the door. He handed her a white envelope. "This just came by special messenger."
Erin looked at it skeptically. "What is it?"
"Open it."
"You are cordially invited..." she read. "It's an invitation to Buckingham Palace. It's from Wills. There's some ball tonight. He's asking me to come."
"Will you?" Devon asked.
"My plane leaves for the States tomorrow," she reminded.
"Yeah, in the evening."
"Suppose I go. What am I going to say?" she wondered.
"I don't know. Maybe just good-bye."
"Yeah," Erin said quietly. her eyes fell on the dresser mirror which held the photographs they had taken at the booth. "Good-bye."

Wills looked around the room at the people in the room. He responded politely when someone approached him and asked him superficial questions. It was his re-introduction to society in a way. To the outside world it seemed as if he had stayed in Buckingham the last two months. Tomorrow the doctor from Switzerland was going to arrive. The people involved would do their best to keep things in secret and when they felt the public was ready for the news then they'll reveal all. But as of now. things had to be kept a secret.
"She hasn't arrived I checked," Harry told him.
Charles came over. "Are you feeling all right?" he asked Wills. "You're looking a little pale."
"Just a little heartbroken, Papa," Wills murmured.
"What?"
"Nothing. I'm fine." Wills said.
"Night isn't over yet." Harry said optimistically.

Erin stopped outside the closed doors and took a deep breath.
"I'll see you later," Devon said.
Erin looked at him . "You're leaving me?"
Devon gestured to the door. "This is something you have to do on your own."
Erin nodded.
Devon kissed her on the cheek. "You look beautiful. Call me if you need a ride back." He hoped the call would never come.

When Erin entered the room Wills noticed right away. The glow from the side lights highlighted her features mimicking moonlight. He watched as a footman took of her coat. she was wearing a long white dress very different from the shirts and jeans he saw her in. The dress was strapless showing off her bare shoulders. A smile played on his lips. Can heaven be personified? Then she could be it. He watched as Harry came and approached her. He wanted to approach her too but stood where he was. He was just content watching her.

"Hi, Harry," Erin greeted.
"I'm glad you could make it," Harry said shaking her hand. "Wills was hoping you'd come."
"How is he?" Erin asked.
"He's been doing fine. He really missed you."
"I missed him," Erin returned. "Where is Wills anyway?"
Harry looked behind him. "He was at that table a moment ago."
"He probably didn't want to see me." Erin said.
"No, he wanted to see you. " He looked uncomfortable as he tried to cover up his brother's absence. "Want to dance?"
Erin shrugged. "Sure."
Harry and her took the dance floor.

Wills watched in the shadows as boys cut in to ask her to dance. He watched as Harry took her around the room and introduced her to people. He watched as she met her father. He watched.

"Have you seen Wills tonight?" Charles asked.
"No, I haven't had the chance to- Harry, kept me occupied." Erin said
"Harry, have you seen Wills?" Charles asked as he passed by.
"Not recently."
He motioned a guard over. "Have you seen Wills lately?"
"He was at that corner over there watching this young lady. But in the last half hour, no."
"Hmmm," Charles murmured. "It's not like him to just leave a party-"
"Shoot!" Erin said. She knew where Wills was.

Wills was in the process of packing when the door to his room opened.
"Getting yourself 'kidnapped' again?" Erin asked.
"I told my father I would come. I never said I would stay."
"Wow! At this intense moment you can still play word games," Erin walked to his side. "A lot of things go with you when you leave. The chance of awakening the world to this disease. The future of England. A lot of people lay their dreams and wishes in you. And you leave without explanation. How can you be so selfish?"
Wills shrugged. "Maybe it's about time I am selfish. It's always been: do this for the world. Do this for England. Maybe it's about time I think about myself. What I want. And I don't want this." He took a deep breath. "Say I will survive this. I'll live with the treatment for over three years and I'll manage to beat this thing. Then what? I'll go back to being 'the prince'. The life I need to live but not the life I want to live. I'm sorry Erin , but even you're not worth it."
Erin closed her eyes and waited for the sting of the words to subside. "I may not be worth it." she said. "But I know somebody who is."
She opened the door and let Harry in.

"She's right you know," Harry told Wills when they were alone.
"About what?" Wills asked.
"You being selfish," Harry said. "Everything."
Wills let out a breath as he shut his suitcase. "Get out of my way Harry," he warned, walking for the door.
Harry blocked it. "No."
"I said get out of my way."
"I heard you the first time. And again: NO," Harry stood his ground. He was just as stubborn.
Wills shrugged, trying to brush past him.
Harry shoved him. Wills shoved him back. They wrestled. Harry gave him a punch to the jaw. Wills stayed on his place on the floor. He touched his lips. Blood. He could taste it. "What did you do that for? Are you crazy!"
"I'm not the one who's throwing my life away," Harry shot out.
Wills turned on the desk lamp. He blotted the wound with a handkerchief. He sat down on the chair, exhausted.
Harry looked at him. "What are you thinking?"
Wills was silent. His eyes just darted around the room.
Harry sat on the bed across from him. "Do you know what this will do to Papa? Losing you after we lost mum?" he let out a sigh. "Do you know what it's going to do to me?"
Wills scratched the arm of the chair. "Don't bring mum into this."
Harry paused. He looked at Wills. "That's it, isn't it? This is reminding you of when we lost mum."
"Shut up, Harry!"
"My goodness," Harry saw it clearly. "You're not being selfish. You're scared."
Wills turned away.
"You don't want to go through with the procedure because it will acknowledged that we can get sick too. We're royal enough not to have a normal life. But we're mortal enough to die. You're so scared you can't even see straight."
Wills's said nothing and Harry knew that all he said was true.
"Wills, I'm scared too." He thought for the right words. "Go through with this procedure. I'll be with you all the way."
Wills looked at the floor. "What would be the point? Like you said: I might die anyway."
"At least I know you bothered to fight."
Wills's eyes met his. He tried not to cry. He didn't know the tears were already there.

Erin paced outside the closed door. If only it wasn't so quiet inside.
The door opened.
"Harry..."
"He's staying." he said simply.
Erin hugged him. "Thank you."
Wills opened the door further. "Erin," he called to her.
Erin hugged Harry once more, then stepped inside. She closed the door behind her. "So what did he say that made you change your mind?"
"He said what you said." He smiled a little. " Plus he told me he was looking forward to Papa's promise of mooning England so... I have to stay." he joked mildly.
"Well, I'm glad you're staying."
"So am I," Wills expressed. He found himself meaning it.
"I told Devon that I came here to say good -bye. So I'm going to say it. Good-bye." she moved toward the door.
"Erin, Wait-"Wills saw her turn back. "About what I said-"
Erin shook her head. "I know you didn't mean to hurt me." She touched the knob.
Wills's hand was on top of hers. "There's another thing."
Erin held her breath. "What is it?"
"Will you sleep with me tonight?" Wills asked.
Erin blushed intensely. "Will-"
"I'm not asking for a certain three letter word. I'm asking you to sleep next to me fully clothed," he paused. "I want to know what it's like to hold a the woman I love in my arms before I die." He managed to say the word.
He just said he loved her.
"Will you do that for me?" he asked.
She looked into his eyes. No malice. No hidden intentions. No secrets. "Of course, Wills."
"Good night Erin." Wills said holding her tightly.
Erin pillowed her head on his chest. "Good night. Your Highness."
And Wills slept holding Erin in his arms.

THE END