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."

Paulo nodded. "We need to put the army on high alert and be prepared for that. We need to make sure we're seen as strong during this time if an attack does happen. I'll meet with the Chief of Staff after the coronation to discuss it. You can join me if you'd like," he said to Eva.

She smiled and said, "Yeah. I'd love to."

Paulo leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on the lips and laid his forehead against hers, letting out an exhale. "I'm so glad I have you by my side to help me through this."

"I'm glad I'm by your side too," Eva said, holding his hand and letting out an exhale too.

They heard the Queen sniffle and Eva raised her head to see her eyes filled with tears.

"I wish your Dad could've been here to see you two so happy and working as a team like this. He would've been so happy for you," she choked out before getting up and walking to the door. She turned around and sniffled, saying, "I'll see you two at the coronation," before closing the door behind her.

Paulo looked down at his hands and said, "I still can't believe we're going to be crowned today. It's all happening so fast," he said, shaking his head in disbelief. "I'm going to be the King and you're going to be the Queen, today," he said, looking over at her with nervous eyes.

"Wow. I'm going to be the Queen today," she repeated, not even believing the words herself. "I thought we would have more time. A LOT more time."

"So did I," he said, letting out an exhale and leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He turned to look at her and said, "I'm only twenty two and you're only twenty one and we're going to have an entire country depending on us."

She thought it over as she rubbed his back and then said, "You know, it sounds scary right now, but I think you're going to be a great King. I have no doubt. We may be young, but like your Mom said, you've been preparing for this your whole life and so have I. We can do this Paulo."

He looked over at her, searching her face and looking into her eyes before he said, "Thank you. I needed to hear that," and he leaned in and gave her a soft kiss before letting out an exhale and wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into a hug.

There was a knock at the door and Eva got up and answered it. It was the beautician coming by to pick her up. She gave Paulo a kiss and told him bye before following them down the hall and downstairs to the castle's beauty salon where they had their equipment set up. 

A couple hours later Eva was standing in front of a long mirror with her hair and makeup looking beautiful. They had swept her long brown hair up into a sleek french twist with little diamonds pinned throughout, making her look very mature and elegant.

She stood there and studied her reflection and looked at the grown woman she had become when on the inside she still felt like a teenager. She couldn't believe she was going to be the Queen of a country at only twenty one and Paulo was going to be King at twenty two. She had been training since she was a little girl with all the knowledge and skills she would need to be a Queen some day but now that the day was actually here, she suddenly didn't feel prepared at all. It felt like so much responsibility and she didn't want to mess it up. She couldn't.

There was a knock at the door and her lady-in-waiting Martina said, "It's time your majesty. Paulo is waiting for you and the car is out front to transport the two of you to the Parliament building for the ceremony."

"Ok. Thank you Martina," she said taking a deep breath and shaking her hands to get rid of the nerves.

Martina smiled and said, "May I just say your majesty. I think you're going to be an exceptional Queen. Maybe the best one that Spain has ever had."

Eva smiled and walked over, giving her a hug. "Thank you Martina. You have no idea how much I needed to hear that right now. I'm so nervous."

"No need to be nervous dear. You'll do great," she stated decisively with a smile.

Eva followed Martina down the hall to another room where Paulo was already there waiting alone.

Martina said, "The car is out front when you two are ready. I'll give you some privacy," and then she walked out and closed the door behind her.

Paulo looked even more handsome than normal with his fresh haircut that thankfully wasn't too short. His hair still fell over his forehead just how she liked it and she looked at the official royal suit he was wearing with a sash and gold rope and pins and it reminded her of the day they first met.

She walked over to him and it was like he just now realized she was in the room. His mind had been a million miles away. When he saw her a warm smile spread across his face. It made her feel good to see the way his face brightened up when he saw her.

Paulo looked at her and said, "Wow. You look beautiful." 

She gave him a soft smile and said, "Thank you. I was just thinking you look really handsome. You look like a King."

He took a deep breath in and let it out. "I may look like one but I don't feel like one yet."

"You will," she said reassuringly, rubbing on his back.

She could tell by the look on his face that he was extremely nervous and that's when she realized she needed to stop showing how nervous she was and be strong for him. He needed her support right now to get through this. After losing his Dad, having to go through the stress of being crowned a King right after was a heavy burden for anyone to have to bear and she wanted to be there by his side to help him through it.