Chapter 27 - Surprise Visit from the Queen

                                    

                                          
The next morning Eva was awakened by a loud knocking at the door. She opened her eyes slowly and blinked and she was cuddled up against Paulo's bare chest and he had his arms wrapped around her. She pushed against his arm to lift it and he groaned as he started to open his eyes.
"Who is it?" he called out hoarsely in his just waking up voice.
"It's your mother," she heard a loud feminine voice say from the other side of the door.
Eva's eyes shot open. "It's your Mother! The Queen! And I'm in my pajamas and you're in your underwear!"
"Hold on Mom. We're not dressed," Paulo called out and Eva smacked his arm in disbelief. "What? She'll probably be thrilled by that," he laughed.
She thought about it and laughed. "Yeah you're probably right."
She got up and slipped out of her nightgown, grabbing a random dress out of the closet and putting it on. She came out to see Paulo zipping up a pair of blue jeans, wearing a bright white t-shirt as he walked over and opened the door.
Queen Victoria walked in and said, "Good morning. There are some important things to discuss so I wanted to come here and tell you personally instead of sending a messenger."
"Sure Mom. Come on in and have a seat," Paulo said as he walked over to the sitting area and sat on the love seat. Eva came and sat next to him and Victoria took a seat on the chair across from them.
"I've been speaking with our royal advisors about a smooth transfer of power and they think we need to act immediately. Spain is without a King currently so we could be seen as weak at the moment which could make us a target for attack. They want to do the coronation ceremony today to crown you as King and Eva as Queen while Parliament is in session. That's at one o'clock. Paulo, I've already got the royal barber on the way to give you a haircut and shave and one of my royal beauticians will help you with your hair and makeup Eva."
Paulo took a deep breath in and let it out. "Wow. The coronation's going to be today? I'm going to be crowned King?"
He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees and put his head in his hands. "It's all just happening so fast. I'm still trying to process the fact that Dad's gone and now I'm going to be King and be in charge of ruling an entire country."
Eva rubbed on his back to comfort him.
"You've been preparing for this your whole life Paulo," his mother said softly, reaching out and laying her hand on one of his. 
"I know," he said with an exhale. "I just thought I had more time." 
She gave him a weak smile and said, "I know son. We all did."  
 He sat back on the couch and let out an exhale. "The people loved him so much. I don't know if I can fill his shoes."
Eva took his hand and said, "You don't have to fill his shoes Paulo. You're a different person and you'll be a different King than he was. No one expects you to be the same, but the people will love you just as much as they loved him if you think about what's best for them with every decision you make. Put yourself in their shoes and think about what impact your choices will have on their lives. If you do that, I guarantee they'll love you as much as they loved your Dad."
The Queen nodded and said, "Eva's spot on. You can do this son. I know you can. You're a good man just like your father was and I know you'll make the right decisions for Spain and they'll love you for it."
Eva looked over at the Queen and back to Paulo and said, "Your Mom was right when she said other countries might see Spain as weak right now without a King. And even when a new King is crowned, sometimes their enemies will do something to test the new King to find out how strong they are and what they can get away with, to figure out what kind of ruler they'll be."