#drake x liam

[deb-1106]

Forever

Chapter 1

Rating: NSFW  (This Series contains mature themes, depictions of sexual acts including m/m, m/f, and m/m/f, and coarse language)

Pairing: Drake x Liam

Author’s Note: This series is set in an AU where Liam and Drake are in love with one another and there was never a conspiracy against Riley.  This has enough drama without all that Canon nonsense.  :)

Word Count:  2730

Liam heard the distinctive sound of Riley's musical laughter coming from somewhere in the great hall.  He stopped to listen, a smile playing across his lips.  She was such a breath of fresh air in the palace.  Her energy and joie de vivre was so infectious, it seemed as though no one was immune to her charms.  In fact, just yesterday he’d caught Bastien humming one of the pop tunes she loved so much.

Eager to see what was so delighting her, he followed the sound, stopping when he reached the library.  

He pushed the door open and peered inside, the smile fading quickly from his face as he took in the scene before him.

Drake sat in a wing-back chair by the fire, with Riley draped across his shoulder.  They had their heads pressed together as they laughed quietly.  They were so engrossed in one another that they hadn’t even noticed him.  

Liam cleared his throat loudly.  “Don’t you two look cozy.”

Startled, they looked up to find Liam leaning against the door frame gazing at them with a frown on his handsome face.  Riley stood and backed away, quickly putting distance between she and Drake.

“Liam.”  She said with a nervous smile, “You startled me.”

“So I see.”  He spoke to Riley, but his eyes never left Drake.

“We were just watching funny dog videos on my phone.  There’s one of this Corgi that can play piano.  I’ll play if for you…”

“Maybe another time, Lady Riley.” He interrupted, giving her a tight smile, “Right now I need a word with Drake.”  He returned his steely gaze to his friend, “Drake...if you wouldn’t mind.”

Without giving him a chance to respond, Liam turned on his heel and strode from the room.

Drake heaved a heavy sigh and pushed himself out of the chair.

“Well that sounded suspiciously like a royal command.”

“I’m so sorry, Drake.” Riley looked close to tears, “I don’t know what I was thinking.  I shouldn’t have been sitting so close to you.  It was... inappropriate.  I can only imagine what he’s thinking right now.”    

“Relax, Matheson.” He said giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze “I’ll handle it.  Don’t give it a second thought, okay.”

Riley bit her bottom lip anxiously and nodded.  

By the time Drake made it to the hallway, Liam was several feet ahead of him. Drake broke into a jog to catch up before falling into step beside the King.

“Liam…”

Liam held up his hand, silencing him instantly.   Drake snapped his mouth shut, sulking moodily as he followed Liam to his private chambers.

Liam swung the door open and motioned Drake in, slamming it behind them so hard that several pictures on the wall shook.

“SIT.” He commanded

Drake took a seat on the couch in the sitting area, leaning back and propping one ankle on the opposite knee.  

“So.” He drawled, raising a sardonic eyebrow, “Who pissed in your cheerios this morning?”

Liam shot Drake a quelling look as he crossed to the bar at the far end of the room.  He dropped some ice cubes into a tumbler and splashed a liberal amount of whiskey into the glass before returning to stand in front of Drake.

“I don’t suppose that’s for me.”

Their eyes locked and Liam raised the glass to his mouth, taking a long sip.

“Guess not.” Drake muttered.

“Would you like to explain to me what I walked in on just now?”  Liam’s tone was calm, but Drake could see the tell-tale tightening of his jaw.  He was pissed

He shrugged his shoulders meeting Liam’s icy stare with one of his own. “Just a couple friends watching dog videos, that’s all.”

“Is that so?”  Liam’s eyes narrowed slightly as he perched on the edge of his desk. “It was all just innocent fun?  Just friends...sitting by a romantic fire...hanging all over each other... watching YouTube videos?”

Drake cocked his head to the side and grinned at Liam.  “Are you seriously jealous right now?”

Liam gave a harsh laugh, “Of course not.”

“Good.  Because you realize how stupid that would be, right?”  Drake held his hand out and Liam passed the tumbler to him without thinking.

Drake took a sip of whiskey, studying Liam’s intently.  He seemed calmer now, his shoulders relaxed as he leaned back against his desk.

“If you’ll recall, you’re the one who told me to stick close to her.  To get her to trust me.”

“Apparently it’s working.” Liam said wryly

Drake’s face broke into wide grin, “You are jealous!”

The corner of Liam’s mouth twitched as he gave in to an embarrassed smile.  “Maybe just a little.”  

He pushed away from his desk and bent down to cup Drake's face in his hands, enjoying the familiar scrape of his beard against his palms.

“Maybe I don’t like the thought of sharing you with her.” Liam said softly as he guided Drakes lips to his.  He let out an audible sigh when he felt Drakes hand cup the back of his head, his fingers tangling in his hair as their tongues collided.  After a minute Drake pulled his head back and gazed into Liam’s eyes before falling back against the couch with a sigh.  

“You know, if anyone has a reason to be jealous these days, it’s me.”  He took another deep swallow of the amber liquid and handed the glass back to Liam. “This whole suitor situation is complete bullshit.”

“Drake...” Liam said gently. “We’ve discussed this.”

“Yeah Li...we’ve fucking talked it to death,” he said sharply. “That doesn’t make it suck any less.”

Liam hung his head.

“Do you have any idea how hard it is to watch those girls fawn over you.” Drake continued, his voice flat, “To watch you flirt with them, kiss them…”  He tilted his head back and sighed at the ceiling, “to listen to you fuck them.”

Liam winced and Drake couldn’t help a little smirk.  “You really should be more discreet.  You know what they’re calling you, right?”

Liam furrowed his brow and shook his head.  

“The Kinky King. Because of your penchant for fucking loudly in places where you know you’ll be caught.”

Liam had the grace to blush.  “You know why I do that.”

“Yeah, yeah.  I know.  To throw everyone off the trail.  To make sure that the courtly gossip focuses on your sexual encounters with the beautiful women of the court rather than your commoner best friend.”  Drake raked his fingers through his hair, his frustration apparent, “I get it.  But like I said, doesn’t make it suck any less.”

Liam leaned over and smoothed Drakes hair back into place, tugging on it a little until Drake looked up at him, his dark eyes clouded with sadness,  “I know this is hard on you, my love.” He said softly, his fingers stroking the back of his neck, “It’s hard for me too.”

“Then put an end to it!” Drake shouted, pulling away, “Marry Liv.  She knows about us and she’s fine with it.  It might even be fun.  I’ve fucked her, you’ve fucked her.  One big happy family, right?”

Liam was already shaking his head, “The people will never support a Nevrakis on the throne, you know this.  Cordonia is already far too unstable.  I need a Queen that will unify the country not plunge it into civil unrest.”

Drake slumped back against the couch in defeat.  Continuing this argument was pointless and he knew he’d never win anyway.  Liam was going to do the right thing, because that’s what Liam did.  He’d sacrifice his own personal happiness for the good of Cordonia.

They sat side by side on the couch, shoulders touching, knees bumping together as they passed the tumbler of whiskey back and forth.

“Damn Leo.” Liam mumbled, “This is all his fault.   If he hadn’t abdicated…”

“Jesus Liam...” Drake groaned, “Not this again.”

“But it’s true!  If Leo had stayed and claimed his birthright…”

“What would’ve changed?”  Drake said wearily, “A big fat nothing, that’s what.”

“That’s not true.  I wouldn’t be forced to marry...to produce heirs.  Everything would be different.”

Drake laughed. “Yeah?  You think we’d be able to be together, out in the open? The Prince and his gay, commoner lover?”  He shook his head, “It would never happen.  Not even if Leo was King.   You have to know that, Li.  What we have now is the best we can ever hope for.”

“It’s not fair.” Liam said softly.

“Nope, it isn’t. But when has life ever been fair?”

Liam stood and crossed to the bar to refill their glass.  On his way back, a picture on his desk caught his eye.  He picked it up and studied it for a minute before turning it around to show Drake.   “Do you remember this day?”

Drake didn’t even have to look to know what Liam was talking about.  It was a picture that Leo had taken of them the day they set sail on an epic adventure at sea.  The day Liam nearly drown.  They were standing side by side arms slung around each others shoulders, grinning like fools.

“Like it was yesterday.”

“You saved my life that day.”

Drake laughed.  “If I hadn’t dragged you out there when a storm was brewing, your life wouldn’t have needed saving.”

Liam smiled and placed the picture back where he found it before joining Drake on the couch again.

Liam gazed at Drake, studying the face he’d loved for more than half of his life.  He saw the little flecks of gold in his eyes that caught the light.   He knew how dark those eyes could turn when he was angry or troubled...or turned on. He ran his thumb over the small creases by his eyes that grew deeper when he smiled.  He hadn’t changed much over the years.  He was still every bit as handsome as he was when they were boys, maybe even more so now.

“Even then I knew I was in love with you.  But you had no idea.”

Drake laughed again. “Don’t kid yourself.  Subtlety has never been your strong suit.  I knew.”

Liam smiled, his eyes sparkling. “You just let me suffer then.”

Drake shifted his body, throwing his arm across the back of the couch as he leaned toward Liam, pressing their mouths together.  “I wasn’t sure how I felt about it yet.” He murmured against Liam’s lips.

The kiss was long and languid, with an underlying heat that could quickly ignite into a wildfire at any moment.  Reluctantly,  Liam pulled away, resting his forehead against Drakes for a moment before sitting back, an indulgent smile on his face. “When did you know?”

Drake smirked at him.  “Do you remember our first kiss?”

“How could I forget?” He said, a wistful expression flitting across his face.  “The summer we turned seventeen.  We were in Lythikos visiting Liv.”

Drake nodded. “She stole a bottle of 100 year old Nevarkis wine and we brought it down to the lake. We all got completely wasted and she convinced us to play truth or dare.”

Liam laughed, “That’s right!  The first of many over the years.”

“She dared you to kiss me.”

Liam nodded. “I never was one to back down from a dare.”  He quirked a brow at Drake, “Remember what happened next?”

Drake nodded and bit his bottom lip, trying to keep from laughing.  “Yeah...I...uh…”

“You fucking punched me.  Split my lip open.  I had to tell Bastien I tripped and landed on a rock.”

Drake smiled sheepishly.  “Yeah.  How many times are you going to make me apologize for that? You kind of sprung it on me.  I wasn’t ready.  I was young, confused…”

“Sleeping with Olivia....” Liam supplied helpfully.

“Yeah, there was that.”  Drake rubbed the back of his neck in agitation.

“And the next day” Liam continued, his voice suddenly thick with emotion, “You were gone.”

“Li…” Drake said softly, his eyes clouded with pain, “C’mon.  Don’t.”

“You ran away, Drake”

“I didn’t run away. I went to college.”

“You took off in the middle of the night and enrolled in a college 3000 miles away.  I call that running away.”

“Ok, Fine.  So maybe I ran.” Drake said with an exasperated sigh, “But I did it because I was really fucking confused.  My best friend kissed me...and I liked it.  I didn’t know what to do with that. All I knew is that up to that point, I was pretty damn into pussy.  I didn’t know what the fuck to do with the feelings I had for you.  So yeah...I ran."

“Don’t run again, Drake.”

“I'm not going anywhere.”

Liam reached out to stroke Drake’s stubble covered cheek tenderly.  “Promise?  Because I can see that this is taking a toll on you. I see you retreating...more than usual.”

Drake wouldn’t meet his eyes.

Liam punched him in the shoulder.

“OW!”  Drake glared at him rubbing the spot where a bruise was rapidly forming, “What the fuck was that for?”

“Tell me you aren’t going to leave again.”

“Fine, fine... I won’t leave.” he mumbled with a petulant scowl.

Liam rolled his eyes. “Now say it like you mean it.” He commanded

Drake reached out to yank Liam in for another blistering kiss, his fingers sinking into his hair as their mouths fused together. He curled his tongue around Liam’s and sucked gently, sending a jolt of desire racing through Liam’s body.  Liam brought his hands up to Drakes chest, the fingers of one hand grabbing onto Drake’s shirt while the other slid inside to roam over his tightly muscled abs.  Electricity crackled between them, as it always did, even after all these years.

After a minute Drake pulled his head back and looked down into Liam’s face.  

“I’m not fucking leaving.  I knew when I let Leo bring me back that I’d never find the strength to leave you again.  You’re my weakness, Li.  I love you.”

Liam smiled. “I love you too Drake. Forever.  I don’t want you to worry.  We’ll find a way to make this  work, okay?  I really think she might be the answer we’re looking for.”

“Riley?”

Liam nodded.  “We have a real connection.  I care about her...and I think she feels the same.  But I sense that she’s conflicted.  I think she’s falling for you too.”

“And...” Drake worried his bottom lip between his teeth for a minute before raising his eyes to Liam’s, “You’re okay with that?”

Liam nodded.  “It might work to our advantage.  If she feels some sort of affection for you she might be more willing to...turn a blind eye to our relationship.  She’d make an excellent Queen.  The people love her.  She young and vibrant and outgoing.  Her views and ideal are modern without being radical.  I think she’d be good for Cordonia.”

“I agree.”

“So I need you to help me convince her.”  

Drake’s brows drew together in a deep frown, “What are you suggesting, Li? Do you want me to seduce Riley?”

Liam threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh, “No, of course not.  Nothing so nefarious as that. Just keep doing what you’re doing.  She’s already drawn to you, not that I can blame her.” He reached out to brush a lock of chestnut hair from Drakes eyes, “You’re fairly irresistible when you want to be.”

“Heh. Irresistible huh?  Everyone else tells me I’m cranky.”

“Oh, you definitely are.”  Liam agreed with an affectionate smile, “But it’s endearing.”

“Do you think she’ll still want to be queen when she finds out about us?”

Liam ran his hand over his face and shrugged.  Finding out your betrothed is in love with someone else was usually a deal breaker under the best of circumstances.  Finding out that lover was another man, well...Liam was pragmatic enough to know that Riley may not respond well to the news.

“I don’t know.  But it will have to be a condition that she agrees to before we’re married.   If I do choose her as my queen, she’s going to have to know everything.  Because I’m not giving you up.  Not for her...not for Cordonia...not for anything.”

“What if she doesn’t agree?”

Liam gave a deep, shuddering sigh. “Then I suppose I accept Madeline’s proposed arrangement.”

[kingliam2019]

HELP

I've been going through my archives (hence all the old reblogs). I'm looking for a story where Liam and Drake are Lovers but Liam marries for the Crown and Country and Drakes moves to Texas, Liam follows him but see's him with a woman. Liam moves on with his life and both Liam and Drakes kids are at university in Texas ans Ellie arranges for a dinner to intro Jackson to her parents, not knowing who she is or who her parents are.

[resetmypatientviolence]

totally forgot I wrote a Drake x Liam fic.

Shits hot yet so angsty.

[dulusionalapocaliose]

I desperately need crazy unhinged bossgirl woman and their pathetic man representation. And by that I mean intelligent, ambitious, unhinged, disgustingly educated but hyperfeminine, that knows how to fight magnifically and are mad science smart queens that would do what is needed to get what they want and need, and their husband/boyfriend supporting and following them around like lovesick puppies.

[jerzwriter]

Why was it so hard to control himself when he was around her?

Love, baby. It's a killer.

He was sure it was obvious to everyone, but he couldn’t drag his gaze away from her. She managed to look sexy even while eating, how was that possible? Every thing she did was adorable.

Boys got it bad.

She was wearing a pair of incredibly short shorts and a Yankees t-shirt.

She is perfect. Just sayin'. lol

You’re still in love with Liam and he’s in love with you and he’s better for you than I am

It all comes down to this for him - this and his loyalty to his best friend. Ah, the angst!

His heart twisted. She loved him?

🫠🫠🫠

“I love you, Riley. I love you so fucking much it hurts. καρδιά μου.”

AND YOU END IT WITH GREEK TO BOOT!!!! AAGGGH. Love it!

LOVED LOVED LOVED LOVED LOVED this chapter! AAAGGGH you did such a great job of conveying their inner thoughts and emotions, especially Drake! I love the "I'm in love and I don't know what to fucking do with this" trope, and this one was served beautifully!

Why did I wait so long to read this?????

I am literally dying to get to Hinge! lol

Complicated Part 5: Whiskey Confessions

Series: Complicated

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairings: Liam x Riley, Drake x Riley

Rating: M

Warnings: Language, adult themes

My other stuff: Master List.

Drake stood under the shower hoping the hot water pounding on his back and shoulders would wash all his guilt away. Last night he had come dangerously close to crossing a line that couldn’t be uncrossed.

As if Liam would feel any better about it knowing that you stopped just this side of that line, he thought to himself. Why was it so hard to control himself when he was around her? He shook his head as he turned the water off and stepped out, reaching for a towel. He knew what the problem was. The problem was that now, unlike before, she wanted him back. He groaned out loud at the thought, the memory of her body underneath him, her nails raking down his back. It had been much easier to resist his feelings when she hadn’t wanted him too.

He towel dried his hair then used his fingers to comb it. Two memories from the day kept running through his head. One of her kissing Liam in the hot tub. That one caused his chest to ache. He had wanted to stride over there and pull her into his arms. He reminded himself that she belonged with Liam, she was in love with Liam.

Keep reading

[tessa-liam]

Royal Adventures 

-Prologue- 

Book: Choices, The Royal Romance Series Finale +     A Smoke & Mirrors Series Alternate Universe

Pairing: King Liam Rys x F!MC Queen Riley Brooks-Rys OTP 

Rating: Teen, not beta’d-please excuse all errors    

Category: On-going series, fluff 

Warnings: a few swear words 

Most Characters belong to Pixelberry 

Music Inspiration: I Want It That Way, Backstreet Boys 

Series Inspiration: Royal Misadventures, A Smoke & Mirrors 1-shot 

Smoke & Mirrors Masterlist

My Main Masterlist

Series Premise: A collection of stories of the journey 12-year-old Crown Princess Eleanor Rys of Cordonia indertakes as she officially starts her Royal education. Tutors and advisors, that had been personally selected by Their Majesties King Liam Rys and Queen Riley Rys, were set to begin her royal lessons, and her days were packed full of knowledge. The young princess was a natural leader, and the King and Queen could not be more proud of their daughter.   

Royal Adventures 

-Prologue- 

Busy days turned into busy evenings when Ellie Rys enjoyed her free time. As a 12-year-old, her parents wanted her to enjoy her childhood as long as she could, but the Crown Princess' life was going to change forever when she would reach her coming of age, and she would be required to take her place at court, as her father had taken previously. 

Ellie knew her parents had a strong bond, and their love for one another was the reason their country had remained at peace for well over a decade. The Princess had always felt safe and secure, knowing she was loved and cherished. 

Ellie didn't have a typical royal upbringing and was a carefree and happy child.  Liam was more than happy that his children had an American mother as a role model, that grew up in a world of freedom.

She didn't have the same pressures that other royal children had, but the pressure would eventually start to mount in the next few years as she would grow older and need to learn more about the world and her duties of a future Queen.

Liam and Riley made it a point to ensure their kids were well-adjusted and had a happy childhood. 

They'd taken trips all over the world, and their favorite place was New York, where they'd visited during the last Christmas season. 

Ellie had seen the Rockefeller Center Tree, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and the Staten Island Ferry. However, what she enjoyed the most was the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Broadway musical 'Wicked'. 

She'd been mesmerized by the performances and sang along to the music. Liam and Riley couldn't help but chuckle at their daughter's enthusiasm. 

"What?" she'd asked innocently, with her big blue eyes and her cute dimples. 

"You remind me of myself at your age," Liam replied, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her close. 

"I can't wait until we go back to New York," she'd exclaimed, as the family flew back to Cordonia on their private jet.

"Me either, Princess, but we'll make sure you have many more happy memories at home," Liam said, and planted a kiss on the top of her head. 

*** 

Liam walked into his study, after he escorted Ellie to the royal library for her first royal lesson. As he watched his daughter attentively listen and interact with the history tutor, the pride he felt was all consuming. He couldn't believe his little girl was growing up so fast. It seemed like only yesterday when he and Riley were watching their newborn daughter take her first steps. 

It was later in the afternoon when he looked up from his laptop to see Riley's soft smile as she walked in and closed the door behind her. 

"Hello, love. How was Ellie's lesson?" Liam stood and walked around his desk to greet his wife with a kiss.

"It was great, Li ... she's a natural. The tutor was impressed." Riley grinned as Liam smiled wide.

"Of course, she is. She's a Rys." 

"She's just like her father. Always eager to learn new things," Riley teased, kissing him softly in return. 

"And her mother. Ellie has the heart of a fighter, and she's smart, brave, and kind." 

"I hope she's ready for all of this. It's a lot to handle."  Riley sighed, biting her lip.

"She will be. She's surrounded by love and support, and we will always be here for her." 

*** 

Ellie's first day was going well, until ....

Leo had a mischievous grin on his face as he crept towards the library. 

"Leo, what are you up to?" Maxwell asked as he noticed him peering through the gap between the double solid oak doors of the Royal library.

"SSHHH! ... You'll see," he replied in a hushed tone.

"Come on, man, don't pull anything stupid," Drake warned him as he walked up to join Maxwell.

"Just watch and learn, boys." 

Leo peeked through the space and saw the tutor reading a textbook to Ellie. He knew it would only be a few minutes before the lesson was over, and he had to act fast. 

He reached into his bag and pulled out a remote control.

Leo found a way to sneak a glitter bomb into the library without anyone noticing earlier in the day. He'd done it a million times at parties, and he knew it would create a big mess. 

"This is going to be epic," he muttered. 

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Drake whispered.

"Oh, come on, Drake, it's harmless. I've done this tons of times. Watch and learn, boys. " 

"Fine, we'll see," Maxwell shrugged. 

Leo took a deep breath, and with one flick of his wrist, the balloon was triggered and exploded with a loud pop.

As it burst, the glitter covered everything, and the sound of the balloon burst startled everyone. 

The tutor had a look of horror on her face, and Eleanor was shocked, standing up and moving quickly away from the table.

"Oh no," Leo whispered. 

"This is not what I was expecting. Shit." 

"Well, you better think of something quick," Drake shouted.

Through the gap in the door, Ellie spotted her uncle. Her brow furrowed, she pushed the heavy oak door forward.

"I can't believe you, Uncle Leo," Eleanor scowled, "you've ruined my first royal lesson." 

"I'm sorry, El, it was supposed to be a harmless prank." Leo looked at his neice regretfully.

"Well, you ruined everything. I can't even look at you right now. " 

"I'm so sorry. I was just trying to make things fun. I was always bored in these sessions, and I was just trying to lighten the mood." 

"You are the worst Uncle, ever, you know that?"

Leo raised his eyebrows and chuckled. "Oh, come on Ellie, you know it's all in good fun." Ellie was fuming, "Uncle Leo, you've made me feel awful, and I can't believe you would embarrass me like that."  

"Hey...hey, Ellie, don't be upset. You have nothing to be ashamed of." 

"Really? How can you say that after what you did? I want Daddy to be proud of me. I want it that way!" 

Crossing her arms, Ellie stared down her uncle, smirking, "wait till mom finds out!" 

"Wait, you wouldn't. Not your favorite uncle," Leo pleaded. 

"Maybe, maybe not, depends how you behave from now on." 

"Alright, I'll do anything, just don't tell your parents." 

"Anything?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"I will not be your servant again, though."  Leo thought back to an earlier prank gone wrong, and shuddered.

"Then don't mess with my lessons again! Deal?" 

"Deal."  Leo sighed.

Drake and Maxwell were speechless as they watched their friend and their niece, banter with each other.

"Wow, El, you've got your uncle Leo wrapped around your little finger."

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Max. I'm a reformed man." Leo admonished.

"Yeah, whatever you say, Leo." Drake snorted.

"Okay, okay, free drinks at the beer garden. Now ... are you two going to help me clean up or not?"

✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️

📌tagging my perma's in the notes❣️

📌please let me know if you would like to be tagged for this series❣️

[sebright]

WIP! aerial dogfight battles between dragon pawn and drakes would be fun, I think.

[cordonianroyalairlines]

Staking a Claim

Series: Cordonian Royal Airlines

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairings for series: Various

Pairing for this chapter: Riley x Drake

Word Count: 2,340

Rating: MA

Warnings for this chapter: Language mostly

A/N: This is for the @choicesholidays Valentine's Day prompts: "Be my fake date for a wedding."

The hair color is wrong for my Riley, but this image was perfect!

The copilot twisted around in his seat one too many times, craning his neck as if searching the cabin for something, jostling the pilot in the process.

Liam grunted in consternation. “Drake!”

Drake spun back around, “What?”

“What is your malfunction?”

“What do you mean?” Drake blinked at him in confusion.

“What do you mean what do I mean?” Liam grunted, “We haven’t made it through the preflight checklist because you keep turning around to stare into the cabin! What the hell is so interesting out there?”

“Nothing!” Drake rolled his shoulders, stared blankly out the cockpit window for a moment then turned back to Liam, “Can you see the guy in 12B?”

“What?” Liam’s head swiveled around and then back. “No. Why?”

Drake’s bottom lip protruded as he shook his head. “No reason.”

Liam watched him skeptically. Drake had been visibly agitated since he’d reported for duty. “There has to be a reason.”

“I…he just….he looks a little squirrely. You know what I mean? Untrustworthy.”

Liam’s eyes widened in alarm. “Is he a threat? Do we need to alert security? Did you see a weapon?” He whipped his head around quickly to try and get a good view of the man in 12B. “I can’t see anything. Riley’s blocking my view.”

“Is she talking to him?” Drake’s entire body moved just as Liam turned back around. Their heads collided with a resounding thwack.

“Ow! Fuck!” Liam grabbed his forehead.

“Sorry, sorry!”

“Seriously man, tell me what’s going on right now. I’m calling security!” Liam reached for the microphone but just as he got it to his mouth, Drake slapped it out of his hands.

“No!”

Liam watched in astonishment as the microphone flew out of his grip and hit the window then bounced off the dash. “Are you on drugs right now? Do I need to get another copilot?”

Drake gaped at him. “Seriously? When have I ever done drugs?”

“I don’t know man, but you’re acting really fucking weird.”

Hana ducked her head in to ask, “Are we almost ready? A couple of the passengers are getting antsy.”

“Which ones?” Drake asked.

Hana’s brows pulled together for a moment then smoothed out as she chuckled. “Oh. You know Riley’s ex is out there, don’t you?”

“What?” Drake’s eyes shot to Liam then back to Hana as he denied it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

A relieved breath whooshed out of Liam. At least he now knew Drake wasn’t on drugs and there wasn’t a terrorist on board. He stifled a laugh. “Sure you don’t.”

“I don’t!” Drake glared at them both.

Hana giggled as she backed out of the cockpit.

They finished the checklist and got airborne, but Drake’s agitation quickly returned. “Do you think he’s better looking than me?”

“Who?”

“The guy! In 12B.”

“How would I know?”

“You’re bisexual, right? You can judge that kind of thing.”

Liam scoffed. “First of all, I haven’t laid eyes on the guy. Second of all, I thought you didn’t care.”

“No, I don’t! I mean….just objectively speaking, out of curiosity….I overheard Hana call him eye candy. He can’t be that good-looking, can he?”

“I dunno Drake, Riley is a ten, so I imagine her ex is no slouch in the looks department either.”

“Great.” Drake huffed as he spun around in his seat again.

“Oh, for the love of God, just go look!”

“I can’t do that!”

“Why not?”

“Because then she’ll know I care!”

Liam cocked an eyebrow at him, “So you do care?”

“I mean she’ll think I care!”

“You’re really an idiot sometimes, you know that?”

“I don’t follow.”

“Of course you don’t.” Liam shook his head. “The only person you’re fooling is yourself. Put the rest of us out of our misery and just tell the girl that you like her already!”

“I’m not going out there.”

“Okay.”

Drake tapped his fingers on his knees for several seconds before jumping out of his seat. “I need to use the bathroom.”

“Sure you do.”

“I had a lot of coffee before we boarded.”

“Sure you did.”

“Fuck you. I’m going to take a piss.”

“Great. Tell Riley I said hi.”

Drake ignored him as he exited the cockpit and headed for the back of the plane where the restrooms were located. He slid his eyes sideways as he passed aisle 12 and scoffed to himself. The guy wasn’t that good-looking.

He was clean-shaven with a strong jawline, and raven hair swept back and gelled to perfection. Was that an Armani suit? How were his eyes that blue?

He slammed into the lavatory and locked the door to glare at himself in the highly polished silver surface of the mirror as he regarded his deep copper-colored eyes and messy, fly-away hair that barely saw a brush, much less hair gel. He ran a hand across the stubble dotting his jaw. It was a strong jawline, wasn’t it? Should he shave?

The guy in seat 12B looked like a CEO or something. Did she like that type? Drake was far more likely to be found in a tent than a boardroom. Did he even own a suit? He owned uniforms. Didn’t women like men in uniforms?

He made pretty good money as a first officer for Cordonian Royal Airlines.

Not CEO money.

“Fuck!” He spun and lashed out at the toilet. His foot connected to the stainless steel sending a sharp jolt of pain shooting up his leg.

There was a knock at the door. “Everything okay in there?”

Shit! It was Riley! “I’m fine. Dropped my…. Wallet…” Fuck, Walker! What the shit is wrong with you, man? Your wallet really?

“Are you sure because that didn’t sound like—”

“I said I’m fine!”

“Okay. Just let me know if—oh, excuse me what?”

From the other side of the door, a man’s voice murmured something he couldn’t make out then both people moved away.

Was that the ex talking to her? He forced himself to count to twenty so he didn’t just barrel out of the bathroom after them. He took several deep calming breaths like Max had tried to show him last time he had been upset about something. At least he thought it was what Max had done. At the time, he had mostly ignored him.

With an air of calm he most certainly did not feel, he exited the lavatory. His eyes went straight to seat 12B. Empty. He backtracked and ducked into the crew area.

Sure enough, there was Riley standing in the middle of the empty inflight catering kitchen talking to Mr. CEO.

All his jealousy evaporated in an instant as he took in her demeanor. Her arms were folded defensively across her chest and her face was furrowed into a frown. She was shaking her head as she leaned forward, her voice lowered but her entire body radiating her discomfort with the conversation.

The guy reached out and grabbed her arm.

She flinched away.

Oh hell no.

Drake didn’t remember moving but he was suddenly next to them, his hand wrapped firmly around the man's wrist. He flung the other man’s arm away from Riley and through gritted teeth asked, “Is there a problem here?”

The man gave him a startled look then annoyance flashed across his face. “We were just having a discussion.”

“Doesn’t look like the lady’s enjoying the conversation.”

“Mind your own business,” he shook his head dismissively and reached for her again, “Riley, if we could just talk privately—”

Drake intercepted the motion before he could touch her. “If you’re attached to that hand and wish to keep it, then I would strongly advise you against touching her again.”

He jerked his hand out of Drake’s grasp and rubbed his wrist. “Was that really necessary?”

Drake never took his eyes off the man as he leaned his body toward Riley, “Do you want to talk to this guy?”

“No.”

“But, Riley—”

“We have nothing to talk about, Nick!”

Drake angled his body so that he was blocking Riley from Nick’s view. He crossed his arms over his chest. “You heard her.”

Nick looked like he wanted to press the issue, but after taking in Drake’s stormy expression, thought better of it. He straightened his suit jacket with a sharp tug. “Fine. I’ll see you at the wedding. We’ll talk then.”

“You’re not coming to my sister’s wedding!”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you? I’ll be there as Clarissa’s plus one.”

Riley shook her head back and forth. “Seriously? When we were dating, you couldn’t stand her!”

A gloating smile crept across his face. “Jealous?”

“Why would I be jealous?”

“Because you’re not over me, Riley. If you were, you’d have bothered to line up a date for the wedding.”

“I—”

“She has a date for the wedding.” Drake cut in as he casually slung his arm around her shoulders.

Nick turned his gaze to Drake for a long, evaluating moment. “Are you the new boyfriend then?”

“Yep. And I’m only going to ask you once to return to your seat. If you don’t stop harassing the flight crew, I will land this plane and have security escort you off of it.”

Nick’s eyes widened slightly as he huffed out, “You wouldn’t dare!”

Riley ran her hand down Drake’s arm as she smirked at Nick, “He would. He’s very protective when it comes to me. I wouldn’t test him if I were you.”

“Whatever,” Nick bumped Drake’s shoulder as he shoved past them and exited the kitchen.

Drake’s arm was still around Riley as he turned his head to watch Nick leave. “Let me know if he bothers you again and I’ll—”

Riley spun on him in fury, her fists raining blows on his chest. “What the fuck did you just do, Drake?”

His hand flew to his chest. “Ow! What the hell, Riley? I just rescued you from that guy!”

“I didn’t need rescuing, Drake. I can handle Nick. He’s an asshole, but he’s not a serial killer or something!”

Drake scoffed with a shake of his head, “I think the phrase you’re looking for is thank you.”

“Oh yeah? Really?”

“Yeah, really!”

“Do you know what you just did? Do you?”

“Um…got the asshole ex-boyfriend to leave you alone?”

“No, you fucking jackass.” She slapped his arm. “You just told him that you’re my boyfriend and my date to my sister’s wedding!”

“So?”

“So?” She threw her arms up in the air. “So when I show up at the wedding with no date and no boyfriend he’ll know that was a lie and I’ll be humiliated!”

“Oh.”

“Yeah…oh!”

They stood in silence for a long moment, Drake rubbing his chest and Riley fuming. Then Drake quietly said, “I’ll go to the wedding with you.”

“What?”

“I mean….if you want me to.”

“I…”

“I did get you into this situation. Let me make it up to you by getting you out of it. One fake boyfriend slash date for sister’s wedding coming right up!”

All the fight went out of her as she took in the hopeful smile on his face. “I can’t ask you to do that, Drake.”

“Why not?”

“Because the wedding is on Valentine’s Day and I’m sure you already have plans. I can’t ask you to cancel—”

“Pfffftttt.” He waved a hand dismissively in the air. “I do not have plans for Valentine’s Day!”

“You don’t?”

Did she sound hopeful?

“No, I do not. No girlfriend, no friend with benefits, no romantic entanglements at all.”

Except with you.

A delighted smile broke out across her face. “Okay, then.”

“So, we’re good?”

She gave him a flirtatious smile as she flipped her hair and turned to leave. “We’re good.”

“Okay, good.”

He watched her walk away with a contented smile on his lips then followed her out of the kitchen and back to the front of the plane. He glowered at Nick as he passed aisle 12.

Nick returned the glare as he adjusted his headphones and slid down in the seat.

When he stepped onto the flight deck Liam greeted him with smug satisfaction. “That was the longest piss in the world.”

“Shut up.” He slid into the copilot seat without looking at his best friend.

“So how’d it go? Did you get a good look at her ex?”

“Um….yeah… he’s a pushy bastard. I had to tell him to keep his hands to himself and….”

“And?”

Drake released a long-suffering sigh knowing Liam was going to find out sooner or later. Riley would tell Max and Max would tell everyone else. “I’m going as her date to her sister’s wedding.”

“Wow! That’s quite a jump from ‘I don’t like her like that’.” Liam chortled gleefully.

Drake kept quiet but his foot started tapping nervously.

“Oh, shit, there’s more! What is it?” Liam prodded.

“Ah…”

“Don’t make me call Max and find out.”

“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath.

“Come on, what else?”

“It’s on Valentine’s Day,” he answered with a resigned sigh.

Liam practically danced out of his seat. “This is amazing! This is epic! Mr. I will never take a woman out on Valentine’s Day because that’s far too much pressure and it’s all about commercialization anyway is taking a woman out on Valentine’s Day. To her sister’s wedding!”

“Why does this make you so happy?”

“Because I get to say I told you so forever!”

“It’s not even a real date.”

“Sure it’s not.”

“It’s not!”

“Does she know that?”

“Yes! I just said I was her boyfriend so that Nick guy would stop—”

“Wait! Wait! You played the pretend boyfriend card to back off her ex?”

“Yeah…so?”

Liam threw his head back and belly laughed. “You are such a goner!”

Drake pressed his lips into a tight line and returned his attention to the control panel. He wanted to argue, he really did. But he couldn’t.

He was absolutely a goner.

And he was going to have to buy a suit.

Shit.

[masked-alien-lesbian]

Hana Lee x Raelyn

Tale as old as time

Song as old as rhyme

Beauty and the Beast

Legend has it that the old castle houses a fearsome beast. That is why no one is brave enough to approach the castle. But the beast wasn't always a beast. Once they were a Prince cursed by a witch. Years ago a princess came to court the prince but was surprised that the prince was not a man. Prince Raelyn offered her a rose but the cruel princess threw the rose back at them before unveiling herself to be actually a witch.

"For your trickery, I curse you to this beastly form. May you roam these halls alone, forever seeking the love you so long to have. Your appearance to match your true nature," the witch says before she turned the prince into an amalgamation of several wild animals. The witch's cruelty knew no bounds and the Prince's loved ones were cursed as well, bodies of flesh turned into everyday objects.

The prince, now a beast, shut out the whole world, in their despair retreated deep into the castle. For who could ever learn to love a beast?

Hana Lee ran to the one place she knew her parents and her fiancé would never find her. The beasts castle. Forced into a loveless arranged marriage, she runs away the night before her wedding. Once there she finds that the castle is not as abandoned as she thought. She finds friends in the cursed objects and a safe refuge from the outside world. Now if only she could thank the mysterious elusive master of the castle.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Thank you so much @sazanes! You're literally the best! 😁

[kristinamae093]

Ghosted

Ghosted - The Apple Banquet (Chapter 7)

Series Summary - Prince Liam fell for Riley Brooks hard and fast. A marriage filled with love and devotion was within his reach. But everything changed when she vanished just before the end of the social season. As everyone voices their concerns regarding her scandalous departure, a confession from an unlikely source turns Liam's world upside down and makes him question everything around him.

Book/Pairing - TRR - Liam x MC (Riley Brooks)

A/N1 - This AU starts right before the beginning of the engagement tour. There is a two-month lapse between the coronation and where we pick up, but we will stray from canon. Please excuse any errors found.

Characters belong to Pixelberry

The Apple Banquet was set to begin inside the ballroom of the Applewood Estate momentarily. The entire country was excited, as it was the first one to take place since Constantine wed Regina. All of the nobility gathered to witness the bride and groom share an apple from the year’s first harvest before the wedding.

The wedding, Liam scoffed at the thought. After they found all of Riley’s things a few days ago, he completely changed his view point on the scandal and her disappearance. He spent all this time believing she left to be with someone else, but he began to see the situation from a different light.

It seems the more he learns about Riley’s last night here, the more he believes she was forced away.

Liam learned of Riley retiring early from Maxwell, so they had a solid timeframe where someone could have gotten her out of the estate undetected and the maid to pack and move her things. He felt a sense of relief when the maid reiterated that she was not seen leaving with Tariq, but another man. Of course, he wished she would have been able to identify the unknown person, but in a way, his heart swelled knowing she didn’t leave with Tariq, although it opened a world of other unanswered questions.

Bastien had been searching for Tariq and Riley but had no luck in locating either thus far. The last trace of Riley was landing from her flight in New York, the morning after the Country Jamboree. From there, her trail runs cold. There was no trace of Tariq after his arrival to Applewood whatsoever; there wasn’t even a record of a car coming to pick him up from the estate that night. They had both simply vanished into thin air, like a ghost.

Without either of them, Liam was clueless as to how to proceed further. The few clues they had were just that, clues. There was nothing prominent enough to place blame anywhere. Riley's room had been cleared, not a trace to be found. Nothing was spotted outside, no predominant leads were found in the shed, aside from the dress and the piece of mail. Much to everyone's dismay, Bastien confirmed that he disposed of Riley's phone and the letter left in the room, so no comparison could be done. Liam took blame for everything and felt helpless, there was nothing more he could do; but he felt he had to put on his Kingly facade and continue as if nothing was amiss, at least for the time being.

However, Liam felt the time constricting on him. He was set to marry Madeleine in just a few short weeks, and he didn’t have a clue as to what he was going to do about that. Although he knew it was his duty to marry and produce heirs, he didn’t know if he could marry Madeleine just to appease the nobility, especially now that he knew someone potentially plotted to put her on the throne.

More than that, after they found Riley’s bloodied dress, Liam felt a renewed sense of urgency about locating her; he needed to see that she was unharmed. Of course he wanted nothing more than to hopefully bring her back and ultimately make her his Queen, but he didn’t want to get too far ahead of himself. Just seeing with his own two eyes that she is okay would suffice him, although it would break his heart all over again.

As Liam stood on the dias next to Madeleine greeting all of the court’s nobles, he couldn’t help but look at everyone as if they were a suspect. Although the maid said she saw Riley with a man in a suit, every single person there could have benefitted from getting rid of her; he was aware of the fact that Riley was a commoner and not everyone would be okay with having her as a Queen. Furthermore, Liam was sure it was a hired person who escorted Riley away; he knew his nobles were not stupid, but conniving and malicious. They wouldn’t risk getting their hands dirty, especially with something of that magnitude considering she would have been his selection. That meant the suspect list was open to all of the nobility at this point.

“Liam? Are you even listening to me?!” Madeleine snapped.

“No, I’m not.” Liam retorted. He realized the other nobles were lining up behind the double doors, a sure signal that they were about to be announced into the ballroom with his Father and Regina at the head. He turned away from Madeleine and headed toward the line of people. He took his position in the back of the procession, as tradition dictated. He squared his shoulders, stood to his full height, and waited.

“Penelope!” Madeleine snapped her fingers. “My train!”

Liam silently scoffed as he watched Penelope scurry over and take position behind Madeleine. He saw her struggling to keep up with Madeleine’s pace, but she never once let that train touch the ground.

As they reached Liam’s position, Madeleine shooed Penelope away before she turned to Liam. “Cute. I don’t know what your deal is but you need to knock it off.”

“Or what?” Liam snapped as he turned to face her.

“I’m sure I can think of something.”

“Are you threatening me?”

Madeleine indignantly laughed. “No, darling, whatever would make you think that?” She feigned innocence.

Liam stepped closer to her and lowered his voice to where only she could hear. “I told you, I'm not playing whatever game it is that you are trying to play. You'd do well to remember that you are not the Queen, not yet… I hold that power, so I would advise you to tread carefully, Countess.” He hissed through clenched teeth.

Liam found himself on edge; he was not in the mood to deal with Madeleine, or anyone else for that matter. This is the last place he wanted to be, and he was not about to let Madeleine try and boss him around or assert whatever dominance she thought she held over him.

Liam stood back up and adjusted his lapels. Madeleine’s face turned a hundred shades of crimson, but she returned her attention to the line in front of her. She attempted to thread her arm through Liam’s, but he pulled away. At a nod from the herald, the doors swung open and Liam strode inside with Madeleine walking closely beside him.

They were led by a servant to a banquet table adorned with a white lace tablecloth. A wooden stand sat in the middle of the table with a bright red cordonian ruby sitting atop it, beside the apple was a knife with a black handle and gold trim.

Liam took his position behind the table next to Madeleine and directed his attention to his father, who had taken place in front of the table with a champagne flute of cider in hand.

"The sharing of a Cordonian ruby dates back to the times of King Fabian. At that time, the King and Queen would not share cake when they wed, but instead a Cordonian ruby. The monarchy has since modernized, but this tradition is to honor those who have paved the way before us.

We gather here today to celebrate not only another year's bountiful harvest, but the matrimony that these two will share. Although no vows will be exchanged here today, the symbolism remains the same."

Constantine stopped his speech as applause filled the air. He waited for a few moments before he raised his hand to quiet the crowd and continued. "We have a bright future ahead of us as a country. I have no doubt in my mind that these two will lead us with distinction and grace, just as the Kings and Queens before them. We will not only thrive under their rule, but prosper." He lifted his glass in the air. "To King Liam and our soon to be Queen, Countess Madeleine."

The crowd all raised their glasses and echoed the former King's sentiments. Liam and Madeleine then each cut a slice from the apple and ate it to complete the needless ceremony. Liam grew up loving the Cordonian ruby and was incredibly proud of his heritage, but that particular apple tasted incredibly tart and bitter. It took all of his willpower not to scrunch his face as the tangy, sour flavor overcame his taste buds.

Liam was forced to stand for photographs with Madeleine before he could take a moment for himself. He didn't smile, but instead just started blankly into space past the camera. Madeleine was positioned at a slight angle in front of him and he made it a point to put as much space between them as he could and still get a 'natural’ looking portrait.

Once pictures were finished, Liam made a beeline for the bar and ordered himself a scotch on the rocks; he needed something to calm his dangerously high stress levels. As his drink was delivered to him, he felt a hand on his back. He turned around to find Drake. “How you holding up?”

“I’m not, Drake. I haven’t slept, I don’t want to be here. I need to be looking for them, for her; I have to find her.” Liam said before he downed his drink in one gulp and motioned to the bartender for another.

Drake stepped forward and signaled for a whiskey as the bartender refilled Liam’s glass. As he waited he addressed Liam. “I know this is hard on you especially. But, for now, you gotta just play along. Make ‘em think you’re really gonna go through with the wedding.”

“It's just around the corner. There's not a lot of time…”

“Don’t think about that. Right now, our focus is this investigation. We just need a little bit more to go off of, and we’re going to find it, Li. However, that means you gotta pretened to be a pretentious stick in the mud to appease all these ass wipes for a little bit…” Drake smirked as he took a sip from his drink and looked around the room.

Liam half-laughed. “I know you’re right. This is the best option, at least for now.” He shook his head and looked into his drink. “I’m just having a hard time being diplomatic when I know that someone very likely in this room is responsible for hurting the woman I love.”

Drake patted Liam on the back. “I know. But, just think, when all this is said and done and we figure out who did this, you’re gonna get to go full blown King on that mutherfucker! Goddamn I can’t wait for that!” Drake exclaimed with a huge smile on his face.

Liam laughed, for real this time. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so happy, even when I got you that international whiskey subscription for your birthday.”

“Man, I should order another one of those, that Hakushu Single Malt was to die for.” Drake responded as he took a drink of the whiskey in his hand, imagining it was the japanese liquor.

“Maybe when this is all said and done I can get you a whole case of that.” Liam chuckled when Drake’s eyes widened, but he soon sighed and looked out at the crowd in front of them. “I suppose I should circulate the room, pretend I want to be here. But thank you for lifting my spirits.”

“What I’m here for.” Drake replied as he lifted his glass to Liam, who returned the gesture and downed a large drink after. Liam shook his hand before he turned and made his way through the crowded room.

As he turned away, Liam saw some lesser nobles and the suitors he hadn’t chosen, minus Olivia, who was not yet joining the tour officially. At first glance, he noticed Lady Hana was not present. He was unsure if an invitation had been extended or not, but made a mental note to find out. He shook his head and looked away as he observed Penelope dabbing Madeleine’s mouth with a napkin. She trailed behind holding her drink, even going as far as bringing the glass to Madeleine's lips.

Liam continued through the room, stopping on occasion to shake a hand and exchange pleasantries. He spotted his Father and Regina as they glided throughout the ballroom together. Even though Constantine hadn’t been given much time to live, he insisted on being present throughout the tour. Liam told him he didn’t need to accompany them on the entire route, but Constantine was stubborn and was outside with everyone else when it was time for the motorcade to leave the capitol.

As Liam made his way to the other side of the room, he noticed Bertrand and Maxwell in a secluded alcove. Bertrand waved his finger in Maxwell’s face and Maxwell had his gaze trained to the floor in front of him. Bertrand’s body was turned slightly away from Liam, but he could still see his reddened face and it appeared he spoke so fast he hadn't even stopped for a breath.

Liam decided he needed to intervene and walked toward the pair. He cleared his throat as he approached them. Bertrand turned with wide eyes and bowed to Liam.

“Is everything alright?” Liam asked.

“Oh, yes, of course Your Majesty. We were just discussing House business.” Bertrand replied as he slid his eyes over to Maxwell with an irritated expression.

“That’s not what appeared to be happening. It looks as though you were once again berating Maxwell when I specifically told you to lay off of him.”

“I understand that. However, I learned today from a potential business partner that Maxwell left the estate when he should have been awaiting their call! We didn't secure that deal because he decided he had something more important to do!” Bertrand exasperated as he kept his steely gaze trained on Maxwell.

Maxwell finally looked up to meet eyes with Liam. Liam knew that Maxwell snuck away from the estate to meet Drake and Olivia before the tour started; he also knew that Maxwell had not told Bertrand about their investigation, per Liam's request. Instead, he continued to let Bertrand berate him and place blame on him for their houses' tanked reputation and financial crisis.

What Liam saw in Maxwell’s gaze was complete devastation, he knew judging from his defeated expression he was starting to break. And Liam couldn’t blame him, he had put up with Bertrand's rants daily for months.

Although Liam wasn’t entirely sure if he should, he couldn’t bear to watch his friend be torn down to nothing and let it happen; it was time to set Bertrand straight.

Bertrand began again. “He’s continuously shown his irresponsibility! You can’t pick a suitor, you can’t answer a phone, what can you do, then?! I am this close to–”

“Enough.” Liam said in a quiet but stern tone as he held up his hand to stop Bertrand from his tirade.

“Forgive me, Your Majesty, I forget myself–”

“No. You are not going to berate Maxwell any longer as if this is his fault: it is not. As far as him missing your 'important' phone call, I happen to know where he was and who he was with, and that meeting was far more important, I assure you.” Liam bit out.

Bertrand grew confused. “What? I don’t understand, what meeting? Why didn’t you tell me about this meeting?” He asked Maxwell.

“I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone…” Maxwell quietly answered, avoiding eye contact.

“What does that even mean?!”

Liam quickly looked behind him to the crowded ballroom and decided it was too risky to talk there. He motioned for Maxwell and Bertrand to follow him and led them down a hallway close by. He stopped at a nondescript door and ushered them inside.

As he faced them, Liam addressed Bertrand, specifically. “Duke Beaumont, I’d first off like to say that you should be ashamed of how you’ve treated Maxwell as of recent. Let's not forget, you didn’t even select a suitor to begin with.”

“With all due respect, Your Majesty–”

Liam held up his hand to stop him. “I’m not interested in your excuses, nor your apologies. Those are not meant for me, anyway.” Liam looked to Maxwell with a sad expression, then back to Bertrand. “I just wanted you to understand that your King is incredibly disappointed in your horrific behavior, which you had no reason for.”

“No reason?! Sir, I have every reason to be upset! Maxwell brought that… that… harlot here and she–”

“You are two seconds away from finding yourself in the cells. I know you don’t know the truth, but I’d advise you to watch your tone.” Liam hissed through clenched teeth.

“The truth? What truth is there to know? We all know what happened–”

“I have officially opened an investigation into Lady Riley’s disappearance.”

Bertrand’s eyes bulged from the sockets. “D-Disapperance?!”

Liam told Bertrand about what they had learned so far and where they were at with the investigation, as well as his suspicions of Riley being forced to leave. He told him about the shed they found, as well as the bloodied dress and letter inside.

When Liam was finished, he and Maxwell watched as Bertrand slowly walked over to a chair and sunk himself down into it. He clasped his hands together and stared in front of him for a long while. Liam and Maxwell didn’t say a word, just observed as a plethora of emotions crossed Bertrand’s features.

Finally, Bertrand spoke. He kept his gaze to the floor in front of him, “So… she was set up?” he whispered.

“We believe so, yes.” Liam answered.

Bertrand broke into sobs. Maxwell quickly crossed the room and crouched in front of Bertrand. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but we’re going to figure this out! We’re going to fix this!” Maxwell promised him as tears of his own streamed down his face.

Bertrand shook his head and looked away from Maxwell. “While I’m upset she was set up, I’m mostly ashamed of how I’ve treated you since... I’ve blamed you and berated you this whole time, and you were never at fault. You never once challenged me in all the atrocious things I said about you, you just… allowed me to do it…” He tried to swallow the overwhelming lump in his throat and quietly asked, “Did you know about Lady Riley? This whole time?”

Maxwell shook his head and quietly responded, “I only found out before the tour, although I will admit I didn’t know when I snuck out.” He looked away. “I had my doubts about it though… But you were so mad at me and I didn’t want to make it worse.”

“Maxwell… I-I’m so sorry...” Bertrand shook his head as more tears flowed down his cheeks. “You didn’t deserve any of that treatment. I can’t believe I’ve acted this way…”

Maxwell inched closer. “It’s okay, Bertrand!”

“No, it’s not okay. I treated you so… maliciously, as if you weren’t my own flesh and blood.” Bertrand wiped at his cheeks and looked Maxwell directly in the eye. “I’ll never forgive myself.”

Maxwell leaned forward and embraced Bertrand; he squeezed him as tight as he could. Even though Maxwell was still indeed hurt from Bertrand’s harsh words, he didn’t want to see him beat himself up over it. All he wanted to do was to move forward and put this entire mess behind them. Ultimately, all Maxwell wanted was to clear his best friend’s name and bring her home to make the family complete again.

“I love you Bertrand, and if I forgive you, you have to forgive yourself. You’ve been under so much pressure since Dad got sick, and I know I’ve always added to your problems. And then to lose our suitor at the very end of the season…” Maxwell took a deep breath to steady himself and continued. “You were under a lot of stress, and it was technically my fault for bringing her here to begin with, so…”

“No.” Bertrand firmly said as he pulled himself from Maxwell’s embrace, “You are not to blame here whatsoever Maxwell… In fact, I may be more at fault here than you..." He took a deep breath and quietly said, "I – I'm afraid I may need to come clean about something…"

Maxwell immediately moved and stood next to Liam with a furrowed brow. Liam felt his heart rate increase and stepped forward instantly. "What do you mean?"

"I – I worry you may find out anyway during your investigation, and I feel after my other atrocious actions I may as well come clean and take my punishment."

Bertrand was suddenly yanked up from his seat by Liam's strong hands. Liam held Bertrand by the collar of his sweater and pulled his face to eye level, nearly lifting him off his feet. "What did you do?"

Maxwell stepped forward to intervene, but Bertrand held a hand out to stop him. As he spoke, his eyes never left Liam's steely gaze. "Don't. I deserve whatever may come." He took a deep breath and told them about going through Maxwell’s phone and selling the photos from Liam's bachelor party. Bertrand realized if Liam found out on his own, his fate would be ten times worse than whatever he would be facing now. To hopefully spare himself, he was willing to come clean.

The longer Bertrand spoke, the more Maxwell's shock intensified; he couldn't believe Bertrand stooped so low. Liam saw red; he yanked Bertrand closer and growled, "You fucking snake."

"I understand your anger, sir–"

"Did you do it? Did you set her up?" Liam slightly shook Bertrand. "Did you force her to leave?!"

Bertrand's eyes widened once more. "No! My indiscretions were toward the beginning of the social season, and I changed my view on her! I believed in her until–"

"Why? Why do it then?!" Liam shook Bertrand harder, audibly tearing his vest in the process, but Liam was quick to bunch up more fabric to keep his hold intact.

"I assumed she wouldn't last and I was desperate for the money." Bertrand quickly spat out.

"So you not only sold your suitor out, but you sold me out as well? For profit?" Bertrand didn't respond, only nodded his head with shame etched in his features.

At that moment, every single thing that happened over the past couple of days combined with this newly added betrayal sent Liam overboard. He tightened his grip on Bertrand’s vest and pulled, ripping it down the middle with ease and leaving it dangling like the jacket over it. Bertrand stumbled backwards but was given no time to react before a fist connected with his jaw, the popping sound echoing throughout the room. Bertrand dropped to the floor with a yelp cradling his face as he frantically prepared himself for the next blow. Maxwell wanted to help, but he was frozen in fear at seeing the look of pure rage in Liam's features.

Liam stared down at Bertrand through narrowed eyes with heavy breaths. "Your actions are making me question whether or not you are truly fit for the title of Duke. To not only exploit your suitor, but your future King?" He stalked toward Bertrand, who was scooting backward across the floor.

The moment was interrupted by a stern knock. Without notice the door swung open and Bastien rushed inside. He quickly approached Liam and said, “Sir, we need to get you to the safe room, now.” and placed his hand on him to begin leading him away.

“What, why?!” Liam questioned as he attempted to evade Bastien’s grip.

“There’s been a body found.”

Liam forcefully stomped his feet on the ground. “What?! Do you know who it was? What happened?”

“Sir, I don’t know a lot of information right now, but I have to get you to safety before I can go secure the area.”

“Where was it?”

Bastien remained silent for a long moment. He looked as if he didn’t want to answer, but once he saw Liam’s budding impatience he finally spoke. “The west grounds, sir.”

While Liam was locked away in the guarded safe room with Madeleine, her parents, Constantine and Regina, Olivia and Drake were on their way to examine the crime scene with Bastien. The royal family had a secured area inside all the major estates for this purpose, although houses were available nearby. However, those were only used in drastic scenarios such as terrorist threats or assassination attempts. Since there was no signs someone was attempting to target the nobility, Bastien assured them they would be safe there while he and the guard did an initial investigation.

Olivia was not yet ready to join the tour on an official standpoint. She knew the time would come when she would have to, but right now she was only stalking in the shadows looking for any kind of information. Only a select few knew of her presence and she intended to keep it that way until absolutely necessary.

Olivia went back and searched Riley’s room again to ensure nothing was missed and returned to the shed to retrieve the contaminated dress. As her initial shock faded, she realized that was a prominent clue laying right in front of their faces. She went back and grabbed the article at the start of the Apple Banquet while everyone was distracted. She intended to give the item to Bastien, but when he found her and informed her of the crime committed she sprung into action and followed along, the dress momentarily forgotten.

As they walked along the path she immediately realized where they were headed; the shed she had visited just a few hours prior where Riley's things were hidden. From the front, everything appeared as it was when Olivia visited the area. Her anxiety increased as Bastien approached the structure, but he veered to the left and led them to the back, which she was nowhere near during her earlier venture.

Guards scoured all around, some people in lab coats were taking pictures, multiple evidence markers lay on the ground near the area. As her eyes searched over the vicinity, she couldn’t help but feel like it seemed incredibly – tame, for what she was guessing had happened.

Propped against the back wall of the shed was a lifeless body. Upon first glance, the cause of death was undoubtedly clear; the victim's throat had been slashed nearly from ear to ear. Olivia grew up around weapons and knew exactly what kind of damage her skills could do. As she gazed upon the gruesome gash, she immediately knew that wound was deep and absolutely intentional; whoever did this did not hesitate whatsoever. Furthermore, the face was severely battered; both eyes were swollen shut and painted every shade of black, as well as a severely broken nose. She stared at the battered face for only a moment before a small gasp escaped Olivia as recognition swept over her; it was the maid they had spoken with only a few days prior.

Olivia’s widened eyes traveled down the body and she was unable to tell if there could be more wounds on the maid’s chest and abdomen, or if the coat of blood was due to her fatal injury. However, that’s where Olivia’s suspicions sky rocketed; the body was covered in a heavy layer of blood, but the ground around her had nothing.

“Walker, come here.” Olivia beckoned. Drake walked over to her with furrowed brows as Olivia stood. “Tell me I’m crazy, but there’s absolutely no blood around that body.”

“Huh…” Drake answered as he looked around. “You’re right. Hey Bas!” He hollered over his shoulder. Bastien appeared within an instant with a pen and pad in hand. “Have you noticed how there’s no blood here?”

“Hmm…” Bastien glanced down at the area with an unreadable expression before he nodded and wrote something down. “I’ve added it to my notes. Do be sure to let me know if you notice anything else. The more information we have, the sooner we can find an answer.”

“Are we just going to ignore the gigantic elephant in the room?" Olivia motioned to the shed. “This is no coincidence. Who this is, where she’s at, the fact that I'm certain this body was placed here specifically…”

Drake’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped. “Holy shit–”

Olivia rolled her eyes. “I’m going to start charging if I have to keep spelling everything out for you.”

Bastien spoke before Drake could retort, “I hadn’t made that connection; excellent work Duchess.”

Olivia raised an eyebrow and watched Bastien jot something yet again on his pad. “Okay, him I understand needing a preschool explanation, you on the other hand should’ve made that connection instantly.” She snapped as she continued to eye him critically.

Bastien was slightly taken back, but quickly recovered himself. “I understand your frustration. However, I’m becoming aware of developments at the same rate as you. I’m grateful for your assistance.” He bowed to her. As he stood he addressed the pair, “I’m going to secure the perimeter.”

Olivia watched him leave with narrowed eyes. He went over to a guard and spoke quietly then aimlessly walked around the area. Every now and again he would write something down, but otherwise he only made laps. She knew Bastien was senseless at times, but he almost seemed more so than normal.

For the first time, she took a good look around and again couldn’t help but notice how everything seemed conveniently placed. The yellow evidence markers were almost in a straight line in clustered areas. She approached one and bent down to observe and saw it was a wad of hair; not one single hair, a bunched up ball of long, dark hair. Another was simply a piece of gum; she was no criminal mastermind, but who in their right mind would spit their gum out in the middle of a vicious murder? Of course, it’s possible to be unrelated, but this area was practically of no use; that is until Riley’s things were shoved here. Regardless, Bastien still continued to search the area as if this was a normal crime scene and nothing was amiss.

As she scanned the area, the sudden realization of what was going on on a broader spectrum hit her; whoever orchestrated getting Madeleine on the throne was surely onto the fact that they were now asking questions. It was a silent agreement that whoever managed to remove the top two suitors from the social season was a powerful force, but it suddenly seemed much stronger and deadlier than before. This entire scene was pieced together to send a message; someone knew, and whoever it was was not happy about their venture for answers.

Olivia pulled Drake aside and spoke in a low, cautious tone. “We need to get out of here.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Look around, Drake! Even you have to notice something does not add up! This was fucking staged – someone is trying to send us a message.”

“We gotta tell Bas–”

“Why? So he can write it down?” Olivia rolled her eyes. “We need to plan our next steps… our next move has to be calculated.” She looked around with a nervous expression. As she did, her eyes landed on Bastien who simply nodded and returned to his grazing.

Tags (please let me know if you'd like added or removed): @choicesficwriterscreations @ao719 @txemrn @imashybish @queenrileyrose @kingliam2019 @riseandshinelittleblossom @dcbbw @tessa-liam @twinkleallnight @amandablink @cordonia-gothqueen @sfb123 @jared2612 @harleybeaumont @bebepac @charlotteg234 @busywoman @malblk21 @angelasscribbles @bascmve01 @iaminlovewithtrr @hopelessromanticmonie @mysticalfangirl @umccall71 @fuckitweball0000 @differenttyphoonwerewolf @lovingchoices14 @emersyn-in-cordonia @aussiegurl1234 @karahalloway @the0afnan

[deb-1106]

Forever

Chapter 6

Rating: M  (This Series contains mature themes, depictions of sexual acts both m/m and m/f and coarse language)

Pairing: Drake x Liam, Drake x Riley

Author’s Note: This series is set in an AU where Liam and Drake are in love with one another and there was never a conspiracy against Riley.  This has enough drama without all that Canon nonsense.  :)

Word Count: 5700

Shivering slightly against the cool night air, Drake stood outside Riley’s bedroom door knocking gently.

“C’mon Matheson.  I know you’re in there.  Please let me in.”

He thought he heard muffled sobs coming from the other side of the door, but she didn’t answer him.

“Riley…” He pleaded, “Please.  I’m not leaving until you talk to me.”

Silence

“Come on. It’ll be morning soon.  I’m just in my underwear out here.”  He rubbed his hands over his arms, trying to warm up.  ”It’s really cold.”  

Dead air

“If one of the maids finds me, she’ll be scarred for life.’

More silence

“Just think of the scandal it’ll cause.  I can see the headlines now.  “King’s best friend found half naked outside suitors bedroom door.”

Still nothing.

Sighing, Drake leaned his forehead and the palm of his hand against the door.

“Okay...have it your way.  When you’re ready to talk, I’ll be right here, waiting...freezing my ass off...but don’t worry about me.”

Drake turned and slid down the door, bringing his knees up and resting his forearms on them.  He leaned his head back, banging it against the door a couple times before dropping it onto his arms.

Fuck!  

He’d been afraid something like this would happen. He and Liam had even talked about it.  They both knew going into tonight that they needed to make it all about Riley, and not about them.  It was imperative that she feel special, included, and needed ...if this arrangement had any chance of working.

And they couldn’t fucking do it.

With a frustrated groan, Drake scrubbed his face in his hands.  He didn’t blame Riley for running out on them.  Anyone in her place would’ve done the same damn thing!

He didn’t know low long he’d been sitting outside Rileys door.  All the knew was that by the time he heard the deadbolt disengage, he was chilled to the bone and his left butt-cheek had gone completely numb.

He pushed himself hurriedly to his feet just in time to see the door open a crack as Riley peered out into the hallway.

When she saw him standing there, she sighed,  

“You’re still here.” she said wearily, turning and leaving the door open.

He followed her inside, closing the door behind them.

She’d changed out of Liam’s shirt and was now dressed in a pair of leggings and an over-sized sweatshirt.  Her hair was pulled into a loose ponytail and her face scrubbed clean of make-up.  She looked so lost and miserable, huddled in the middle of her bed, with her knees pulled protectively to her chest.  

“I’m so sorry.” Drake began, holding his hands out in supplication, “I don’t know what else to say.  I’m just really, really sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for.”  Riley replied, her eyes filling with tears, “I’m the one who should be sorry.  I don’t know why I ever thought there was room for me in your relationship.”

“Because there is.” Drake insisted urgently,  “You just have to give it a little more time.  It’s a whole new dynamic and it’s going to take us all a little while to get used to it, that’s all.”

“Time isn’t going to change anything, and you know it!” She cried, her voice rising in pitch, “Liam will never love me the way he loves you.”

“You’re wrong.”  The words left his mouth automatically, but even as they did, he could taste the lie on his tongue.

Riley gave a harsh laugh, “It’s okay Drake. We both know it's true  I thought I was okay with it, but after tonight…”  She shook her head, “I just felt so...used.”

She stopped and pressed her hand over her mouth, unable to continue.

“Riley…” Drake reached for her but she moved out of his reach,

“How can I marry someone knowing that I’ll never come first to him?” She shook her head, “How can I marry someone who calls out your name when he’s making love to me?”

The tears started again and she didn’t bother trying to stop them this time.  She buried her face in her hands and gave herself over to them.

Drake sat on the bed next to her and pulled her into a comforting embrace, cradling her head to his chest as she wept.

“Liam does love you.” He murmured into her hair, “I know he does.”

“Maybe.” All the anger drained from her body, leaving her feeling sad, just desperately sad.

“But he’ll always love you more.”  She looked up at him, her beautiful blue eyes clouded with pain, “And you’ll always love him more.”

Drake tightened his arms around her, but didn’t try to deny it this time.

“I want more than that, Drake.” She continued, “I want to marry a man who loves me and puts me first.  I want to be the most important person in his life.  I deserve that.”  

She looked up at him, her beautiful face, pale and tear-streaked, “It’s not selfish of me to want that, right?”

Drake tucked her head under his chin, stroking her hair gently

“No.” He whispered, “Of course it isn't.”

He held her, stroking her back gently until her tears finally stopped.  He brought his hand to her face, gently wiping at the last of her tears with his thumb.

“You can have that Riley.  You can have that with Liam.”  

She started to shake her head, but Drake caught her chin between his fingers, stilling it.

“You can.” He insisted, “You’re good for Liam.  You’re good for Cordonia.  You’re the Queen this country needs.  Don’t throw that all away because of this.”

“But I just told you…”

“Listen to what I’m telling you, Riley.”  Drake said insistently, his eyes burning into hers, “This won’t be an issue ever again.  I promise you that.  You’ll marry Liam, and be the best Queen Cordonia has ever known.  You’ll fill up the palace with little princes and princesses and you’ll be happier than you ever dreamed possible.  If you give Liam the family he’s always wanted, you’ll become his entire world, and he’ll forget he ever knew me.  I promise you that.”

“You can’t make that kind of promise.”

“Yes I can.” He reached out to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear with a soft smile, “I’m going to take myself out of the equation.”

Riley stood quickly, shaking her head, “What does that mean, Drake?  Take yourself out of the equation?”

“I’m going to leave.”

Riley’s eyes grew wide as she stared at him in disbelief. “No.  Drake you can’t do that.”

“It’s okay.” He said, rubbing her arm soothingly, “I’ve been thinking about it for a while now.  But after tonight, it’s become painfully obvious I can’t stay.”

Riley shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks, “Drake, no...Please.  This isn’t the answer.”

“I’ve made up my mind, Matheson.  You and Liam need a fighting chance, and you won’t get that while I’m still here.  I have to go.”

She threw her arms around Drake’s neck, hugging him tightly.  “But I don’t want you to leave!  I’ll miss you so much.”

Drake held her close, burying his face in her hair as she clung to him. “I know, me too.”

Finally he pulled away and kissed her gently on the forehead.

“You’re going to get your fairytale ending, Riley. You deserve nothing less.”

*****************************************************

King Liam’s office was a beehive of activity this morning.  Bastien and Mara stood conversing quietly in the corner as they awaited their audience with the King.  Liam’s personal secretary, Helene stood at his side with an armful of papers requiring his signature.  She dropped the stack in front of him, tapping it impatiently with her pen to get his attention.  But at this moment he was completely focused on Lord Heyward, who was spreading a set of detailed blueprints across his desk.  

Drake stood quietly in the doorway waiting for his opportunity to have a word with Liam, but as more and more people entered and exited the room, he started to grow restless.

“Liam.” He said.

The King looked up briefly and noticed Drake standing across the room.

He nodded a greeting before returning his attention to Lord Heyward, tapping the plans in front of him with his pointer finger, “And what here?”

“A new retaining wall, your Majesty.  It will stretch from here…” he placed his finger on the blueprint and dragged it across the page, “To here. Reinforced with steel rebar.  It will hold for a thousand years, if not longer.”

Liam nodded his approval.

“Your Highness, please...” Helene said with a dramatic sigh, as she pushed the papers toward him, “ If you would just give me a moment of your undivided attention...”

“Liam.” Drake repeated, a little louder this time.

Liam met his eyes and frowned slightly.  It was unlike Drake to disturb him when he was working.  

Helene waved a contract in front of Liam’s face.  With a frustrated sigh, he snatched it from her hand, scrawled his name across the bottom and handed it back to her.

He held up one finger in Drakes direction as Helene handed him another page.

“I’m leaving.” 

“Oh?”  

Without looking up, Liam signed his name and slid the paper across the table to Helene before reaching for the next, “Where are you going?”

“I don’t know.”

At that, Liam raised his head, his brow furrowed.  “When will you be back?”

Drake squared his shoulders. “I won’t.”

Liam narrowed his eyes and the two engaged in a tense staring contest for several minutes until Lord Heyward’s voice shattered the silence.  

“Your majesty, If you’ll just sign off on the orders.  We need to submit the plan by...”

“Leave us.” Liam said tersely.

“But sir…”

“GET OUT.”  He commanded, his eyes never leaving Drake. “ALL OF YOU.”

Helene sucked in her breath.  She knew that tone and didn’t to be anywhere nearby when the King lost his temper.  She gathered her papers and scurried quickly to the door.

Bastien cleared his throat.  “Mara, Lord Heyward. If you would be so kind…”  

He held the door open until they both passed through.  Giving Liam a quick bow, he exited, closing the door behind him,  leaving Liam and Drake alone.

“What do you mean you’re not coming back?”  Liam’s tone was calm but Drake could see the anger boiling just under the surface.

Drake tilted his chin up, readying for battle.  He’d made his decision.  He wasn’t backing down.

“It’s time, Liam, we both know it.  Don’t fight me on this.”

Liam stood slowly and walked to the front of his desk.  He leaned back against it, his arms crossed over his chest as he scowled at Drake.

“Is this about the other night...with Riley?”

“She was devastated, Liam.

“Yes, I realize.  And I’m sorry for it.  It was a moment of weakness.  It won’t happen again.”

“You’re right.  It won’t.  Because I won’t be there next time.”

“So you’re running away again, is that it?”

Drake sighed in agitation, “I’m not running away…”

“After promising me that you wouldn’t!”  He pounded the desk with his fist, “You fucking promised me, Drake!”

“I’m not running!” Drake exploded, “I’m just... leaving.”

“You’re a coward!  You’re a liar and a fucking coward!” Liam turned his back and ran his fingers roughly through his hair as he fought to control his rising panic.

“You know it’s for the best.” Drake said quietly,

Liam gave a harsh laugh. “Do I?”

“Yeah, Li...you do.  Riley doesn’t want this, and who the hell can blame her?  She shouldn’t have to share her husband.”

“We’re not wed yet.”

“But you will be.” Drake said sharply

Liam crossed his arms over his chest, glaring down at the floor in silence.

“You know you’re being  unfair to her. She deserves the fairytale you promised her.  She deserves a happy marriage to a man who adores her and puts her first always.  A husband who loves and cherishes her above everything and everyone else.  She’ll never have that if I stay.”

Finally Liam lifted his head, his eyes full of pain and uncertainty.   “I don’t know if I can be that man.”

“You can.” Drake said firmly, “As long as I’ve known you, you’ve wanted nothing more than to get married and have children.  It’s time.”

“But I…”

“Just stop, Liam!” Drake shouted, raking his fingers through his hair.  “Fuck!  You’re making this so goddamn hard.”

“Good. It should be fucking hard on you!”

Drake whirled on him, his eyes wild, “Do you really think this is easy for me?  You think this is what I want?”

“If you don’t want to leave, then...don’t!” Liam shouted back at him.

They stood face to face, chests heaving as they glared at each other.  

Finally Drake turned away with a growl of frustration. He stalked across the room to the window, staring out across the grounds of the only home he’d ever known.  

Why couldn’t Liam see it was killing him to have to do this?  Why did he have to be so fucking resistant?  

“Please, Drake.”  Liam whispered, his voice cracking with emotion, “Please don’t leave.”

“If I stay...” Drake turned from the window slowly, his eyes nearly black with emotion as they burned into Liam, “ You will lose Riley. Do you understand that?”

Liam hung his head

“Don’t lose Riley over this, Liam.  She’s your future. She’s Cordonia’s future.”

Liam shook his head, refusing to meet Drake’s steely gaze. “I don’t want a future if you’re not in it.”

“Grow the fuck up, Liam!”  Drake exploded, “I was never going to be your future and you know that as well as I do!  We always knew there’d come a day when this had to end.  We’re not kids anymore, Li.  It’s time to stop pretending we can have it all.  We can't.”

“Why not?” Liam whispered.

“Because that’s not how life works.”

“So you want me to let you go... for Riley.”

“No.” Drake snapped, “I want you to let me go because you’re the fucking King of Cordonia and your duty is to your people first.   You’ve been forgetting that for too long.”  

Liam’s eyes narrowed his jaw tightened, as Drakes words hit a raw nerve.  He knew very well what was expected of him.  The day Leo abdicated, Liam’s path was etched in stone and there was no deviating from that path.  He knew it, but he loathed being reminded of it.

Drake noticed the tension in Liam’s expression and softened his tone. “Your subjects need a King and a Queen, princes and princesses, a stable royal family to look to.  Riley loves you and I know you care for her.  Don’t be a fool, Liam. Marry her.  Start a family with her.  Be happy with her.”

“But I love you.”

Drake sighed heavily, trying to ease the tightness in his chest. “And I love you.  You know I do.  But it’s not enough anymore.”

“I don’t want you to leave.” Liam said quietly, unable to meet Drakes gaze for fear that he’d completely lose control of his emotions.  

Finally he swallowed down the lump in his throat and turned his sorrow-filled eyes to Drake.  

“I’m begging you” he whispered, “Don’t leave.”

Drake closed his eyes and fought against a wave of pain so strong it threatened to break his resolve completely.

He forced himself to picture Rileys tear-stained face and drew strength from it.

“I have to.”

Liam tilted his head upwards, staring unseeingly at the ceiling for several long minutes.  Finally, he looked back at Drake, his expression impassive.  

He straightened his posture, drew his shoulders back and clasped his hands behind his back as his kingly veneer dropped firmly into place

“When will you take your leave?” He asked formally.

Drakes brow furrowed at Liam’s sudden change of demeanor.

“Tomorrow.”

Liam nodded and returned to his desk.  He sat and turned his attention back to the papers on his desk.  

“Very well then.”

“Liam…”

“You know your way out.” Liam snapped dismissively, as he went back to studying the blueprints in front of him.

Drake let out a harsh laugh. “It’s gonna be like that, huh?”

Liam didn’t respond.  

“Is this really how you want to leave things?”

“I’m not leaving things at all.” Liam snapped, glaring up at him for just a second before turning back to his work, “You are.”

Frustrated, hurt and pissed as hell, Drake strode across the room and yanked the door open forcefully.

“Drake?”

Liam’s voice stopped him.  Drake turned slowly to face his best friend, the love of his life…

“Yes?”

“Send Helene and Lord Heyward back in, would you?”

Drake heart dropped as his anger surged.  With a clenched jaw, he gave a brief nod and walked out.

As soon as he heard the door close, Liam’s shoulders slumped forward and he buried his face in his hands.

********************

Drake snapped his suitcase shut and nodded to Bastien.  “That’s the last of it.”

Bastien motioned to one of the guards who grabbed the bag and disappeared into the hallway.

Drake stood awkwardly in front of Bastien, staring at the floor for a moment before raising his eyes.

“This is harder than I thought it was going to be.” Drake said with a wry smile, “I kinda feel like I’m saying goodbye to my Dad all over again.”

Bastien shook his head, as he reached out to grasp Drakes arms firmly. “No.  I’m still here.  If you ever need anything...anything at all...I’m just a phone call away, alright?”

“Thanks, Bas. That means a lot.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed,”  Bastien paused, giving Drake a wry smile, “I’m not very good with emotional stuff, so bear with me, okay?”

Drake nodded and steeled himself.  He wasn’t great with emotional stuff either and lately there’d been way too much of it for his tastes.  Still, Bastien had been a surrogate father to him, so if he had something he wanted to say, Drake owed him the chance to get it off his chest.

Bastien reached out to place his hand on Drake’s shoulder, squeezing gently. “It’s been my honor to look out for you these past years.  To watch you grow from an angry little boy with a chip on his shoulder the size of the Aegean Sea, into the man you are today has been the greatest honor of my life.  I couldn’t be more proud of you.”  He cleared his throat and nodded his head, “I just wanted you to know that.”

Drake reached out to pull Bastien into a tight hug

“I love you too.”

Bastien nodded again and gave him a solid thump on the back before releasing him. “I’ll miss you, son.”

Drake grinned back at him.  “I’ll miss you too, Dad.”

Bastien gave him a final pat on the arm before motioning to the door, “I believe there are a few more people downstairs waiting to bid you farewell.”

Drake stopped dead in his tracks and let out aloud groan

He’d really been hoping to slip out quietly without any fuss.  He’d thought...hoped that given Liam’s reaction yesterday that he’d be allowed to do just that.  

But it had been wishful thinking.

FUCK!

Drake took a deep breath before stoically marching down the hallway and descending the main staircase into the Grand Hall where much to his dismay, he found half of the Kingdom lined up to see him off.

“Drake!”  A sobbing Maxwell threw his arms around Drake’s waist, holding tightly.  

With a long suffering sigh, Drake gave his back a quick pat.

“Ok Beaumont.” Drake grasped him firmly by the shoulders and pushed him away, “Dial back the waterworks, would you?”  

“I just can’t believe you’re leaving us!  If I had more notice, I could’ve thrown you a going away party that would’ve made every Beaumont Bash in pale in comparison!”

“Which is precisely why I didn’t do that.”  Drake said dryly, “This…” he indicated the crowd of people in the Grand Hall, “Is exactly what I was trying to avoid.”

“But everyone’s going to miss you!  You wouldn’t begrudge us the chance to see you off by skulking out in the middle of the night, would you?”

“Damn.  You’re right...that’s exactly what I should’ve done.”

“I’m gonna miss you like crazy, buddy!

Drake rolled his eyes as Maxwell gave him another bone crushing hug.  

He was surprisingly strong for a skinny little dude.

Finally Maxwell released him and Drake turned to scan the crowd, looking for one person in particular.  When he didn’t see her signature flaming hair, he frowned.

Big surprise. She couldn’t even be bothered to show up to say goodbye.

For the next twenty minutes Drake slowly, painfully made his way through the throng of well-wishers, receiving kisses from the ladies and handshakes and pats on the back from the men.

Finally, he found himself standing in front of Liam and Riley.

Liam stood ramrod straight, with his hands clasped tightly behind his back, looking every inch the stoic King of Cordonia.

But Drake knew better.  

He could see the dark circles under his eyes, the way his  mouth twitched at the corner, just a little bit as he held himself in check.  Drake was sure Liam was grateful today for the years of countenance training his parents had forced upon him.  

Beside him stood Riley, her eyes red rimmed, biting her bottom lip to stop it from quivering.  Drake felt something inside of him crack and closed his eyes for just a moment.  

He refused to shed a single fucking tear today.  Wasn’t happening.

“Riley.” He said roughly.  

Throwing decorum to the wind, Riley launched herself at him and he caught her in a tight embrace, burying his face in her hair and inhaling her scent for what he knew was the last time.

“Be happy, okay?”  

Riley nodded her head against his neck.

“Take care of him for me.”  He whispered.  

Riley’s arms tightened around him and she sobbed into his chest until he gave her a gentle shake, a reminder of who and where she was.  She took a deep shuddering breath and pulled herself together.

“Ok,” She whispered, “I’m ok.”

Drake released her and she took a step back with a small embarrassed laugh.  “I’m going to miss you so much.”  She said with a bright smile that didn’t reach her eyes.  “Good luck, Drake.  Please come back and visit us soon.”

She felt she had to say the words, even though she knew in her heart once he left, she’d never see him again.

Drake gave her a nod and a warm smile before steeling himself to face Liam.

Liam held out his hand stiffly.   

Drake took a deep breath and grasped it.

“You will be sorely missed.” Liam said, his voice carefully controlled. “Cordonia won’t be the same without you.”

“I think Cordonia will survive.” Drake said dryly as he pulled his hand from Liam’s.

“Thanks for everything, Your Majesty.  It’s been an honor and a privilege.”

He turned abruptly and started for the door, when he felt Liam’s hand on his shoulder.

“Let me walk you out.”

“You don’t need to do that.” Drake said icily

“Yes,  Drake...I do.”

They walked side by side to the large double doors.  Two pages opened the doors and they walked outside.

Liam turned to the members of the court and the Kingsguard who’d  followed them.

“That will be all.” He said firmly, “You’re dismissed.  

Everyone quickly filed back inside except for Riley, who remained standing by the door as Liam and Drake walked slowly down the stone steps toward the circular driveway.

Drake groaned when he saw the car his suitcases were being loaded into.

“A fucking Limo?”

Liam smiled, “And a Royal motorcade.”

“This is…” Drake rubbed his hand over his face as he looked at the black cars with t Cordonian flags flying in the breeze, “Excessive and ...ridiculous.”

“I couldn’t let you leave without rolling out the red carpet.”  Liam’s reached out to put his hand on Drake’s shoulder, “It’s the very least I could do.”

Drake squinted up into the sun before finally looking at Liam.  

“None of this is necessary.  You didn’t need to come out here.  You said everything you needed to say yesterday.”

No.”  Liam’s vehement reply startled Drake and he looked up to see that Liam’s composure had snapped.  There were tears glistening in his eyes as he spoke. “Yesterday I was angry.  I was hurt and... blinded by pride.  Your King dismissed you last night…” Liam paused as he felt his emotions threaten to overwhelm him.  

He took a deep breath to compose himself.  

“Today I stand here as your best friend...the man who loves you…who will always love you.  The man who is going to miss you every single minute that you’re gone.”

“Fuck Liam.” Drake said, shaking his head, “Don’t.  Please just don’t fucking do this right now.”

Liam’s fingers tightened on Drake's arm “I’m going to ask you...no, beg you...one more time, Drake.  Please don’t leave..  Please.”

“I have to.  It’s the only way.  You know it’s true. ” Drake’s eyes bore into his, “You know it.”

Liam looked up to the sky, his eyes clouded with sorrow as he raked his fingers through his hair.  “I’m sorry, Drake.  For everything.  I’m sorry it has to be like this.”  

Liam reached out to place his hand on the back of Drake's neck, pulling him close until their foreheads were pressed together as they mourned a life they would never have together.

Riley watched them from the palace doors, tears streaming down her face.  

“I love you.” Liam whispered, pressing his cheek against Drakes, savoring the feeling of his stubble scraping against his skin.  “Forever.”  

“I love you, Li.” Drake repeated, “Forever.”

Liam ruffled Drake’s hair affectionately and released him, taking a step backward.

“Safe Travels, my friend.”

Drake gave him a crooked grin before climbing into the waiting limo.

Once inside, Drake reached out and raised the dark privacy glass that separated him from his driver.  With a deep sigh he leaned his head back against the cool leather seat, closed his eyes and finally allowed the tears to come.

Liam stood in the driveway and watched until the Limo was out of sight.  He sensed Riley beside him, but said nothing.  

She reached out to place her hand on his arm.

“Liam, are you okay?” She asked gently.

He turned his head and looked down at her for a moment, his expression unreadable.  Without a word, he jerked his arm from her touch and turned, striding purposefully back into the palace.

****************************

Drake stood at the ticket counter of the Cordonian Airport, hands jammed into the front pockets of his jeans as he contemplated the flight board in front of him.

“You weren’t really planning on leaving without saying goodbye, were you?”

A small smile curved Drake’s lips, but he didn’t turn around. “I should’ve known I couldn’t escape from you that easily.”

He looked down to find a set of blood red, manicured nails on his arm.

“What are you doing here, Liv?” He asked dryly, “I hope you’re not going to try and talk me out of leaving.”

“God, no. Why in the world would I do that?” She replied.  

Drake turned his head to stare into her emerald eyes.”Really?”

“This is long overdue.�� She said matter-of-factly, “I’ll never understand why you stayed as long as you did.”

Without answering, Drake turned back to the flight board. Olivia stood quietly next to him as she perused it as well

“So where are we going?”

Drake cocked an eyebrow at her, “We?”

Olivia gave him a slow smile. “You didn’t think I’d let you run away all by yourself, did you?”

Drake raised his brows.  “Why in the world would you want to go anywhere with me.  In case you’ve forgotten, you hate me.”

Olivia gave him a slow, sexy smirk. “You have your talents.”

Drake laughed at that.  

“I’ve never hated you.”

“You just hated my common blood.”

“Maybe in the beginning.  But I got over that once I saw your cock.”

He turned to her again, a slight smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.  “And you give really good head for a nobel.”

“See?” She said with a laugh as she leaned her head on his shoulder, “Common ground.”

“I guess.” He turned to brush his lips across the top of her head

“We actually have quite a lot in common, you know.”

“C’mon, Livvie,” he said, bumping her with his shoulder, “You and I couldn’t be more different, and you know it.”

She shrugged her dainty shoulders.  “I used to believe that.  But now I see that we’re not so different at all.”

“Yeah...okay.”

“We’re both outcasts.”

Drake gave a slight incline of his head

“We’re both in love with the same man, and neither of us can have him.”

Drake turned to look at her, noting the sadness in her eyes.

“Yeah,” He said softly, “We do have that in common.”

“And...we’re both incredibly attractive, a little unpredictable and we both drink entirely too much.”  She winked at him to ease the heaviness that settled around them.

Drake grinned.  “You’re right.  I was wrong.  We’re practically the same person.”

Olivia leaned against him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they both stared up at the flights leaving Cordonia .

“So where do a couple of fucked up cast-offs like us go to start over?”

“I don’t know.” Olivia said, looking at him out of the corner of her eye, a saucy smirk on her pouty red lips, “What are you qualified to do when your only job description for the last seven years has been Royal Boy Toy?”

Drake let out a loud bark of laughter.  Only Olivia could get away with saying something like that to him.

“Hmmmm.”  Drake studied the outgoing flights listed on the flight board in front of them.  

His eyes lit up mischievously and he pointed. “Right there.  11:45 flight to Amsterdam.  Maybe I can sell my body in the red light district.”

Olivia made a show of looking him up and down, noting how his tight white T-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders and the way his jeans rode low on his hips.  

She remembered vividly what his body looked like under those clothes.  

“You could do well for yourself there, I think.” She agreed with a smirk, “But I think you can do better.”

She looked up at the flight board.  “1:15 flight to Barcelona.”

She turned to Drake, “You’d look quite dashing in a matador’s traje de luces.”

Drake smirked.  “You just want to see me gored, don’t you?  Spain is one of the most beautiful and romantic countries in the world, and you went straight for carnage.”

“It’s in my DNA, darling.” She winked at him.

“Ok, if romance is what you’re after…” Olivia scanned the flight board once again.  “Paris, France...10:35 flight.”

She turned back to him and smiled, “The City of Lights?”

Drake shrugged. “My French is pretty rusty.”

“How’s your German?  Munich at 12:05?”

“My German is even worse than my French.”

Olivia placed her hand on his arm and gazed up at him, her eyes filled with tenderness, “Drake, look at me.”

He turned and gazed down into her beautiful, concerned eyes and gave her a sad smile.

“What kind of life do you want to find for yourself out there?”

Drake shrugged. “Something simple.  Quiet. Peaceful.  I just want to go someplace and be happy, Liv.  But I don’t know if that place exists for me.”

Olivia, reached out to stroke his hair back from his eyes.  “Trust me?” She asked softly

Drake nodded.

Olivia pressed a kiss to his cheek.  “Go to the lounge and get us some drinks.  Leave this to me.”

Drake smiled and hoisted his leather carry on strap over his shoulder.  “I can’t wait.”

Drake settled himself into a plush leather chair in the VIP lounge and ordered a round of drinks.  He was sipping his whiskey when Olivia appeared and sat across from him, slapping two tickets on the table in front of them.

She brought her glass of red wine to her lips with a satisfied smirk.

Drake looked down, then up at her, his brow furrowed.  “Really?”

Olivia nodded.  “I think it’s time you went home.”

His face broke into a slow smile.  “You’re going to come to Texas with me?”  

He laughed, his eyes shining with amusement, “Sorry.  I just can’t picture you on the back of a horse, out in the sun all day, or... Jesus, mucking out stalls.”  

He started laughing again.

“Oh, Good lord, no!”  Olivia wrinkled her nose in distaste as she took another sip of wine.  

She pushed the second ticket toward him.  “I’m going to Paris.”

He looked up at her in surprise.  Her tone was light, but her eyes told him a very different story.

“I think it's about time we each wrote our own happy ending, don’t you?”

Drake nodded slowly, “Yeah...I guess it is.”

Just then they heard a garbled voice over the intercom

Olivia turned to Drake with a sad smile. “My flight is boarding.”

Drake stood and pulled her into his arms.  They held each other tightly for a minute until Olivia pulled away, wiping at a tear with a small laugh.  

“Ugh.  Look what you’ve made me do.  If my mascara runs, I’ll murder you with my bare hands.”

Drake smiled.  “You look perfect Livvy, just like always.”

“Will you come visit me?” She asked suddenly, her eyes shining with unshed tears, “We can stroll along the Seine, sip coffee in one of those quaint little outdoor cafes, make love all day and all night and just forget about the world for a while...”

“Just try and keep me away.”

She bit her bottom lip and nodded

“Until then.”  She placed her hand on his cheek, smiling tenderly.  “You take care of yourself, Drake Walker.  Despite all instincts to the contrary...I adore you.”

Drake turned his face into her hand and pressed his lips against her palm before pulling away.

“Love you too, Livvie.  Au revoir, mon ami.”

[fadingreveries]

The Royal Romance, Bk1 Ch2: Welcome to Cordonia (Pt. 4)

Click here for the TRR retelling series masterlist for more chapters! 🏰

Story Summary: In this novel-style retelling of TRR, beloved scenes with original commentary from the Choices stories including your favourite group of royals and friends will be expanded upon. Contains extended commentary and scenes from the original story, in-depth descriptions of bonus scenes, and premium choices and outfits.

Chapter Synopsis: Riley travels to Cordonia, but what will await her there?

Word Count:

Disclaimer: All rights to original commentary, scenes, and characters from The Royal Romance series reserved to Choices and Pixelberry Studios. No copyright infringement intended.

~ ~ ~

After quickly unpacking a few of her belongings, Riley made her way out of her assigned room on a mission to explore the palace boutique’s options. Luckily for her, Maxwell had told her that the store was located on the ground floor near the front entrance.

A few minutes later, Riley pushed past the doors into the boutique. The soft pink walls contrasted nicely with the brown mahogany floors and the light gray floor rug covering the entire ground. A silver chandelier with bell-shaped glass shades hung directly in the middle of the room. Several mannequins dressed in various formal attire for men and women were scattered across the rooms.

Absentmindedly, Riley brushed her hand against the silk and satin dresses placed on one of many racks on display. The closest she had ever gotten to seeing such beautiful formal dresses was outside display windows of luxury stores on her way to school and work.

“Oh!” A girl yelped out, stepping out of a changing room and holding a dress.

Startled with the sudden voice, Riley looked over her shoulder to see who it was. However, when she noticed that the girl was only dressed in her underwear, Riley quickly turned back around. While she felt a hint of excitement to meet new people up close and personal, this wasn’t exactly what she had in mind.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” Riley apologized, feeling embarrassed at seeing a stranger looking so vulnerable. “I didn’t realize someone was already here. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have just barged in.”

With Riley’s back turned, the girl quickly draped the curtain of the changing room over her body to cover herself. Only her head poked out, a sign she was eager to invite Riley into a conversation.

“Oh, it’s no problem at all. To be honest, I didn’t have an appointment. I forgot to book one before my flight landed a few hours ago but thought I would peruse down here before it became too crowded,” the girl sheepishly replied, making Riley turn around to see her friendly smile. “I’m Hana. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Pleasantly surprised with the girl’s bright kindness to a stranger like her, Riley gave a smile in return. “You too. My name’s Riley.”

“I suppose you’re also here to prepare for the Masquerade tonight,” Hana replied, before disappearing behind the curtain to pull on the dress she was holding. “Since you’re here and not already dressed, I must assume that you’re just like me… searching desperately for something to wear.”

“More or less,” Riley replied, with a relaxed laugh. Her neck craned around to catch short glimpses of the dresses in the boutique, wondering how on earth she would be able to narrow it down with the surprising variety.

“The seamstress seems to be running late, but I can show you around! The boutique has the most exquisite gowns. Quite a few of them were shipped just this morning,” Hana answered, pulling the curtain to the side. “Let me just zip this dress up and we can look for one for you!”

Walking to a floor-length mirror, Hana faced her reflection to note her appearance. There was an immense amount of pressure on her from her parents to make a good first impression on the nobility during the court’s social season. She took a deep breath, examining the rose gold laced bodice with rhinestones and a matching floor-length satin skirt.

Her hands arched around her back, trying to get a firm grasp on the tiny zipper. Replaying her parents’ never-ending lectures in her mind about securing the hand of the prince, she felt a slight tremble in her grip and found herself unable to zip herself in the dress. What was she going to do if she failed to secure his attention?

“Need a hand?” Riley offered, admiring how confident and poised Hana looked in front of the mirror with her masquerade outfit.

With a relieved laugh, Hana answered, “That would be amazing.”

Making her way behind Hana, Riley grasped hold of the zipper and slid it all the way up. On a nearby side table, Hana picked up a salmon pink mask with gold accents that matched her dress perfectly. She carefully settled it on her face, making her happily sigh with a satisfied smile.

Turning to face Riley with a grin, Hana complimented, “Thank you. It’s a pity that not many girls here are like you.”

“Helpful?” Riley asked, a smile on her face at Hana’s comment.

“Genuinely nice,” Hana explained, with a simple knowing nod. “It would make the social season much less intimidating if we were here to converse as ladies instead of constantly viewing each other as competition.”

If Drake was right about the ruthlessness of noble ladies, it seemed Riley had found a rare ally in her. Unbeknownst to her, Hana held the same sentiments. Most ladies would secretly turn their noses up at her out of jealousy, let alone help her—something Hana was used to growing up as a noble.

Hana spun for Riley, her full skirts twirling as she giggled. “Ah, this dress is perfect! Now, what about you? One must have a mask for the Masquerade!”The two girls perused through racks of dresses, holding up possible options to the other for a second opinion. Ten minutes later, Hana’s eyes widened in excitement as she pulled two garment bags from a rack. “Have you seen the angel costume? You’d look amazing in white,” Hana suggested, eagerly holding up the white dress in her right hand and the other dress in her left hand. “Or there’s also a red one, if you’re feeling more devilish.”

“I’ll take a look.” Riley giggled, as Hana handed her both garment bags.

Inside a dressing room, Riley eyed the first costume meant to resemble a sultry devil. The crimson red colour of the strapless dress was striking along with sections made of mesh lace fabric highlighting embroidered patterns. Along with the dress were two devil horn accessories and a bold black mask with sparkling rhinestones.

Ultimately, Riley decided on the angel costume that Hana first suggested. It was much simpler with its draped off shoulder straps, a sweetheart neckline, and a shimmery sparkle that brightened the pure white colour. After stepping out of the changing room, Riley fixed the matching halo accessory on top of her head and plucked a detailed silver mask off of the table.

“How do I look?” Riley asked with a smile, giving a little twirl similar to the one Hana had done moments ago.

Hana’s face brightened up, as she grinned and the two made their way out of the boutique. “Heavenly! A costume as angelic as the girl wearing it.”

~ ~ ~

Click here for the TRR retelling series masterlist for more chapters! 🏰

Tag list: @kingliam2019 @princess-geek @karahalloway @tessa-liam @twinkleallnight @tinkie1973

[prettyboisteveharrington]

So I’m rewriting the royal romance book two and I’m like wow look at all these things I can add but also wow I want more moments between Drake and MC or moments that end differently and no fic has so far pulled me in so I’m going to do it myself 😤

[angelasscribbles]

Savage Love Chapter 39: We Have a Plan

Series: Savage Love

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairings: Riley x Liam, Riley x Drake

Rating: R         

Warnings: Mature themes

Word Count: 3,094

My other stuff: Master List.

Naked, and still struggling to catch my breath, I glanced up at the man I’d just agreed to marry.

Liam stared down at me with such utter devotion in his gaze that it sent butterflies exploding through me.

It also terrified me.

There had been no romantic proposal or declaration of undying love.

I had agreed to marry him to keep him alive. Our discussion about how that would work and what it would look like had been interrupted by a vigorous bout of lovemaking when the electricity that always snapped between us exploded, the potent mix of physical passion and intense emotion as we danced around the topic of my unspoken feelings for him cumulating in the physical expression of everything that I could not bring myself to express verbally.

Not yet.

I needed to ensure his survival first.

“Move into my room.”

“I don’t know if that’s the best idea…”

“Why not? You spend almost every other night in here, anyway.”

“That’s true, but…”

The knowledge that the rest of those nights were spent with Drake hung in the air between us.

He rolled off me and sat up, swinging his legs off the edge of the bed. “I’m not asking you to end your relationship with Drake. Just so we’re clear.”

“No?”

He turned his head back to make direct eye contact as he answered. “No.”

I found nothing but sincerity in his determined gaze. “Even after we’re married?”

“Even after.”

“Really?” I raised my eyebrows skeptically.

“Really.” He fixed me with a determined gaze. “We have a thing here called a Cordonian Arrangement. It’s an official codicil to the marriage contract that allows for an open relationship with no negative consequences to either party in the event of a divorce.”

“And you’d agree to that?”

“Of course, I would. I want you to be happy. I want Drake to be happy. I want to be happy. This seems like the best way to accomplish all of those goals.”

I stared at him for several heartbeats as I took that in. Then I nodded. “All right.”

The weight of the crown dropped away from his expression as that boyish grin I first saw in New York appeared. “Alright, you’ll move in with me?”

“I’ll consider it,” I told him as I got up and started collecting my clothes.

“Do you really have to rush off? We could order some food and—”

“I think you know that I have to go talk to Drake now. He can’t find out about our plan from anyone else.”

“Yes, I understand.” He ran a hand along his jawline with a sigh. “Listen. I know this isn’t a traditional love story. I know you’re only marrying me to keep me safe.”

I turned to eye him suspiciously because I could hear the “but” in his voice. “But?”

He rewarded me with that smile that could light the entire country. “But you do love me, or you would leave safeguarding my life to the King’s Guard.”

I felt dismay sweep through me. “Liam, this isn’t some fairy tale where love conquers all.”

“Isn’t it?” He stood and took my hand. “All I’m saying is that it’s okay if you don’t say it out loud. I love you and I’ll say it enough for both of us.”

“Liam…” He deserved to have someone tell him they loved him. He deserved to be told how amazing he was. He deserved all the romance and the fairy tale ending.

“It’s okay, Riley, I get it. Catch the bad guys first. Romance later. Go. I have things I need to be doing, anyway. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

I didn’t have to go far. Drake’s room was just down the hall from Liam’s. He opened the door, surprise and happiness lighting his features when he saw me. “Riley! Come in!”

I walked into the room and straight into his arms. He wrapped me in a tight embrace and buried his nose in my hair. “Damn, I missed you.”

“It’s only been two days,” I laughed.

“That’s two days too many.” His arms tightened around me before dropping away. “Now, tell me about Hidar.”

“I’ll tell you everything, but first I want to know how you’re handling the news about having a sister you never knew existed.”

“I….” he looked lost, an expression I’d never seen on his face before. With a great sigh, he raked a hand through his hair and shook his head. “It’s a lot. I mean… do I tell my mom? Does she already know? I have no idea how I’m supposed to approach this.”

“Hey.” I took his hand in mine. “You don’t have to figure it out alone, okay?”

“Thank you.” He squeezed my palm. “Having you on my side means a lot to me.”

I returned the squeeze with a smile. “Always.” I realized with sudden clarity that I meant that. I wanted to be there for him as much as I wanted to be there for Liam. My determination to leave after wrapping the case up had been slowly dwindling, day by day, without me even noticing.

He looked like he wanted to say something more, but after a brief hesitation, he released my hand and gestured to the couch. “Please, have a seat and tell me how the mission went.”

We exchanged details of our respective missions. Drake ended his story by expressing frustration with Nick. “It’s like he didn’t even care that Rico got away!”

“Well, he accomplished his goal, and that’s all that matters to him.”

Drake looked at me in astonishment. “He loved you, Riley. Maybe still does. How can he not care about the threat to your life?”

“I’m not sure he loved me as much as he loved the idea of having a wife and a family. He projected a lot of shit onto me that was never actually about me.”

Drake nodded. “Yeah, I got that from my conversation with him.”

“Oh?” The corners of my lips quirked up. “You discussed me with him?”

“No!” His eyes widened in panic for a second, and then he blew out a loud breath. “Okay, yeah, I did.”

“It’s okay,” I laughed. “I would have done the same thing in your place.”

He brightened at that confession. “Yeah?”

I bumped him with my shoulder. “Yeah.”              

He was silent for a long moment as he pinched the skin between his thumb and index finger on his left hand with his right hand, a gesture I’d come to associate with nervousness on his part.

“What is it?” I prompted.

“It’s just that there’s only a few days left in the social season and—”

“Yes, I wanted to talk to you about that.” I interrupted him. If he were about to make some declaration of love or beg me to stay, I needed to stop him. It was now a moot point. “I’m not leaving at the end of the social season.”

I don’t think he could have looked more surprised if an alien had just landed on the front lawn. It took him a few seconds to collect himself. His gaze pierced me to my very soul. “I’m not complaining about you hanging around longer, but why? What’s changed?”

“The mission has expanded.”

“In what way?”

“I think we can take the whole thing down. And it’s imperative that we do.”

“Why is that?”

“You have to realize by now that even if we take down the local faction, Liam will still be in danger. Via Imperii leadership wants Cordonia’s coffers.”

“We’ll up our border security. Make it harder for them to get a foothold here again—”

“We have to take down the whole thing. It’s the only way to keep Liam safe.”

“Okay….” He studied me carefully, trying to figure out where this was going. “I’m not disagreeing, but unless I’m missing something, we don’t have what we need to take the whole thing down and he’s going to be in danger from the local faction the moment he chooses anyone other than Madeleine at the selection ceremony. So that’s the biggest, most immediate threat. Taking them down will keep him safe for now and give us time to figure out how to counteract any future threats.”

“I have a plan for that. I know how to keep him safe from the local faction and buy us time to take down the whole thing.”

“How?”

“Simple. I’m going to marry him.”

“What?” Shock flashed across his face, followed by anger as he jumped up from his seat and thundered, “The fucking hell you are!”

I followed him to my feet. I locked my jaw and thrust my chin out defiantly as I tried to make him understand. “Drake. Listen. He has to pick a wife in less than a week! He won’t choose Madeleine. If he picks anyone other than her or me, they’re going to kill him!”

“They’re going to try—”

I arched an eyebrow at him. “And you’re okay with that?”

“Of course not! But—”

“But nothing! If we don’t take down the whole thing, then all we’re doing is postponing it. The Via Imperii will eventually regain a foothold in Cordonia. If he marries me, it buys us the time we need to take the entire thing down. It’s the only way to keep him safe and you know it.”

“We could—” he paused, his expression making it obvious that he was spinning through scenarios in his head. “Or maybe….. If we…. Okay, what if…. fuck!”

Bingo. The moment he realized I was right.

He stared at me with desperation in his eyes. “There has to be another way!”

“There’s not.” I knew it. He knew it.

His shoulders slumped in defeat. “What does this mean for us?”

“Nothing,” I assured him as I stepped closer and took his hands in mine. “I’m marrying him to keep him safe. He’s already agreed to a Cordonian Arrangement.”

The desperation in his eyes was replaced with a sliver of hope. “So, does this mean that you’re staying at court after the case wraps up?”

“What?”

“Surely you know that the moment your picture is plastered in newspapers all over the world as the future Queen of Cordonia, your career in the GIA is over. Have you thought about that?”

“Of course I’ve thought about it! It’s all I’ve thought about since I opened my big mouth and blurted it out!”

“You can take it back....”

“I can’t... and I don’t think I want to.”

“Do you…. Love him?”

I could tell how hard it was for him to ask that question, and I knew that the question he really wanted to ask wasn’t if I loved Liam, but if I loved him.

It was time for me to stop being a coward and face my feelings.

I reached up and touched his face as I answered. “This is a complicated situation. I have feelings for both of you that I never saw coming. Liam seems genuinely okay with me having a relationship with both of you. How do you feel about that?”

Of all the reactions I had expected at this moment, amusement wasn’t one of them.

He grinned at me with nothing but happiness shining from his eyes. “Did you just admit to having feelings for me?”

A sound that was half laugh and half scoff escaped me. “That’s what you got out of that?”

He grabbed me around the waist and tugged me closer. “That’s the important part!”

Then he was kissing me and every question I had was answered, every doubt erased.

“Mm-hm,” I murmured as I leaned into him.

We both moved our bodies closer to the other. His hands caressed my face and shoulders. His fingers traced down my back as mine threaded through his hair. He released my lips so he could nip and lick along my collarbone. I arched my body into him in encouragement.

His phone chimed, and he froze. “Shit!” He rested his forehead against mine as he expressed a few colorful opinions about the interruption and the character of his commanding officer.

“It’s okay, I have a couple of phone calls to make anyway,” I told him as I struggled to disentangle myself from him. “We can continue this later.”

“Continuing this is the only thing on my priority list,” He assured me as he returned the text.

“Don’t let your boss hear you say that!”

“I don’t give a damn who hears it!” He returned his phone to his pocket and lunged at me for one last kiss before hurrying out the door to a meeting that I had made him late for.

Alone in his room, I decided there was no time like the present. I took a deep breath as I punched in the familiar phone number.

My boss wasn’t as understanding as Drake had been. “I understand your concerns, Agent Brooks, but the social season ends in four days! We have everything we need to take down the Cordonian branch right now.”

“I need just a little more time and we can take down the whole thing! Isn’t that what we’re all about? Taking down the bad guys?”

“Of course. But once the social season is over, you’ll have no more reason to remain in Cordonia. You’ll have no cover.”

“Oh, I will.”

“I’m listening.”

I filled her in on my plan. She was less than thrilled with my ideas, to put it mildly. “Absolutely not!”

“If you’ll calm down—”

“Don’t tell me to calm down! I’m telling you no! You cannot marry him for the love of God!”

“Why not?”

“You know why not! Right now, the social season is just local news. An engagement will be bigger news, and an actual royal wedding will be broadcast across the globe! You’ll be compromised! Your face will be splashed on newspapers everywhere! You’ll be worthless as an agent!”

“That’s not true—”

“It is true! You’ll be too recognizable to work undercover.”

“Are you saying you’d fire me?”

“I’m saying, at the very least, we’d have to pull you from fieldwork. We can’t, and we won’t, send a compromised agent into the field. Not only would it compromise you, but it would also endanger every agent working with you and you know it! We won’t allow that, and neither will any other agency. You do this, and your career is over, at least as a field agent.”

“It’s the only way to keep him safe and infiltrate Via Imperii leadership.”

“Brooks, I mean it, do not do this!”

“I’m doing it. So, tell the team to stand down. Please! If you take down the local branch, my cover is blown. I’m marrying him, regardless. You may as well take the win I’m offering you. I can deliver the entire organization. Give me another week.”

Barton was silent for so long that I thought the connection had been lost. Defeat and a note of awe were in her voice when she finally answered. “Fine. One more week. I never thought I’d see the day Riley Brooks leveraged her career over a man.”

“It’s the only way to keep him safe long enough to get what I need to take down the Via Imperii.”

“Right.” I could hear the smirk in her voice from across the Atlantic. “That’s your only concern.”

I chose to let that go and thanked her for giving me another week. It should be all I needed. It had to be all I needed because Rico was still out there somewhere and the moment the engagement was announced, there was nothing stopping him from leaking my actual job to the press. We needed to be ready to breach within hours of the announcement. Preferably before.

Fortunately, my impending engagement to Liam also gave me the bargaining chip I needed to infiltrate the highest level of the Via Imperii.

I lifted the phone that was still in my hand and dialed Sigrid’s direct line. She sounded both annoyed and impressed. “How did you get my private number?”

“Did you forget who my aunt is?”

“What do you want?”

“I wanted to let you know that though it won’t be official until the selection ceremony, Liam has gotten down on one knee and proposed to me.” I crossed my legs as I spoke, getting into character. I let the entitlement drip off my words. “You should see the diamond. It’s exquisite!”

That piqued her interest. “Forget the diamond, have you seen the marriage contract?”

“I’m holding it in my hands right now.” I lied.

“How much access does it give you to the finances?”

“Plenty.”

“How much influence does it give you over policy decisions?”

“Liam is still the monarch with final decision making power on everything. But don’t worry, I can sway his decisions in the correct direction.”

“You’re very confident in yourself.”

“I am.”

“I hope it’s well founded confidence.”

“It is. But as you know, Liam is very devoted to the people of Cordonia, so swaying him to see our side of things is going to take a little effort. I’m up for the job, but I need to know what I’m getting out of it.”

I could hear the suspicion dripping like venom from her words. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…” I paused for dramatic effect. “If you want access to Cordonia’s bottomless coffers, I need something in return.”

“You’re already a member in good standing. What more do you want?”

“This is a lot of money we’re talking about. I want some input into how it’s spent. I think that’s reasonable.”

“You want a leadership position.” I heard the surprise in her tone, tinged with a hint of awe.

She had underestimated me.

“I do.”

“And what makes you think I’m in a position to make that happen?”

“Come on, Sigrid, there’s no way that a woman as driven and intelligent as you isn’t in the upper echelons of this thing. Do you really expect me to believe that you’re bowing down to someone like Eirik Midsommar?”

There was a long pause as she considered how much to trust me. I had appealed to her ego, and it worked “Fine. I’ll set everything up. Be here in two days, with the signed and notarized marriage contract in your hands, and we’ll talk.”

“Great. See you in two days.”

She hung up on me without saying goodbye. I didn’t care. Everything was falling perfectly into place.

[tessa-liam]

Turning the Page

Before I called You Mine

Chapter 16

Choices, The Royal Romance, The Royal Heir AU

Series Premise: As Riley Brooks journeys through life as a single parent in New York City, an epiphany strikes as she contemplates the future for herself and her two-year-old son.

Turning the Page Series Masterlist, My Complete Masterlist

Main pairing: Liam Rys x F!OC Riley Brooks

All characters belong to Pixelberry Studios, except William Brooks (Rys) and Matteo Magro, who both belong to this series.

Category: On-going series, contains angst/fluff/depression. Cross-over fic with Choices, Perfect Match.

Rating: M 🔞 - Warnings – Series will have crude language, weapons, NSFW material – not Beta’d - please excuse all errors.

Words: 2.8k

Before I Called You Mine Chapter 16

Chapter Summary: Liam and Riley celebrate their engagement in Paris, France. Leo confronts Madeleine as she arrives unannounced at the palace. Drake and Maxwell, along with Bastien, take William and Bartie to the Eiffel Tower.

Title and Music Inspiration:

I Get to Love You, Ruelle

A/N1: In this alternate universe, after King Constantine orchestrates two individual scandals to humiliate and entrap Riley Brooks and Olivia Nevrakis in shame, Madeleine Amaranth secures her position as the Queen of Cordonia. Riley, as the King’s mistress and Olivia, in self-imposed exile. Tariq is never found.

A/N2: Damien Nazario has been assigned as William’s personal bodyguard. (Series cross-over with ‘Perfect Match’)

‘One look at you, my whole life falls in line...

I prayed for you, before I called you mine...

Oh I, can’t believe it’s true, sometimes...

Oh I, can’t believe it’s true.’

The Suite Impériale at the Ritz, Paris, France

Riley’s P.O.V.

As soon as the door closed behind us, the lock clicked into place leaving the King's guardsmen outside in the hall to stand on guard for their King. Not wasting any time, Liam wrapped his powerful arms around my waist, snugly pulling me flush to his hard body. Tilting my head up, his lips crash with mine as he kissed me, softly at first, then more urgently. My hands moved to his hair, to his broad shoulders, to his hips, pulling him even closer. His fingers danced across my skin, and I shivered.

His kisses leave my lips and travel down the column of my neck, and across my collarbone. My eyes flutter closed as his lips and tongue and teeth explore my skin. I'm lost in the sensation, his touch.

His masculine scent envelopes me ... and possesses me.

I run my hands up under his shirt, feeling his taut, chiseled physique.

He pulled away and gazed down at me. I look up and meet his gaze. He smiles.

"What?" I coyly simpered.

"You're just so beautiful," he says, his voice low and husky.

I can't help but blush.

"I want you," he says. "More than anything."

"Then take me," I reply, lasciviously.

I feel his fingers reaching for the zipper on the back of my dress. He slowly slides it down, then slips the straps off of my shoulders, my dress pooled around my feet. He looks down at my breasts, his eyes dark with desire. Watching me intently.

"What?” I respond with a soft purr.

"I have waited so long ... fantasized about ... making love to you as my fiancé. And now, you are finally mine.”

My breath hitched at his intensity.

"You're so gorgeous," he continued. "Every inch of you."

He took my hand leading me towards the bed.

He laid me on the bed gently and kissed me deeply, his hands roaming my body. He moved his lips down to my breasts, taking a nipple in his mouth. I gasp as his tongue swirls around the sensitive bud. He moved to the other breast, and continues to suck and lick, making me moan.

He moved lower, kissing and licking my stomach, then lower, until his teeth tugged my lace thong down between my legs and off. Teasing me more, he made his way back up the inside of my thighs, licking and marking my skin, until I'm writhing beneath him. His large hands spread my thighs, my core exposed to his attention. He brings me to the edge, as his lips and tongue circle and suck my core as it spasms in ecstasy. Moving back up, he trails a featherlight touch with his hand back up my body to my neck, gently palming my throat. Kissing me deeply, he pulled back and rolled onto his back, pulling me on top of him.

"I need to watch you, love."

Taking his cue, I straddled him and slowly sank down onto him. He groaned deeply as he filled me, his hands gripped my hips tightly and I can't help but moan, my back arching backward in pleasure.

Thrusting into me, he filled me over and over again.

"Fuck, Riley," he groaned.

He reached up and cupped my breasts in his hands, teasing and squeezing my nipples. The sensations making me gasp.

"Liam..." I cry out.

"Come for me," he says, his voice strained but commanding.

"I... I'm going to come," I gasp.

"Yes, Riley, come for me," he repeats.

His words send me over the edge. My body trembled as the sensation crashed over me. He continud to thrust, and then his body tensed as he fell over the edge with a deep groan.

We lie there, our bodies entwined, after I lift up to lay down beside him. Liam wrapped his arms around me and held me close.

"I love you," he whispered, kissing my temple.

"I love you, too."

He kissed the top of my head. "Marry me," he pleads.

I laugh. "I already said yes, silly."

"I know, but I want to hear you say it again," he grinned.

I sit up and look at him. "Liam, I will marry you. I can't wait to be your wife."

He grins. "Good."

He pulls me down back into his arms, enveloping me as we both fall asleep, content and happy.

I am the luckiest girl in the world.

Cordonian Royal Palace

"Hello, Madeleine. What a surprise," Leo said, his voice laced with sarcasm. He watched her quickly step toward him.

"Leo," she said curtly, her tone cold and distant. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Obviously," he said, matching her icy tone.

"I was looking for Liam," she declared. "Do you know where he is?"

"Why are you looking for my brother?"

"It's none of your business, Leo."

"Actually, it is," he retorted, his eyes narrowing. "Anything that affects my brother's reign is my business."

"This has nothing to do with his reign," she countered, her frustration mounting.

"Then why are you looking for him?"

"I told you, it's none of your business," she snarled, her fists clenching at her sides.

"Maybe not," he said calmly, crossing his arms, blocking her path with his muscled and toned tall frame. "But if it has something to do with the Cordonian monarchy, then I have a right to know."

"I am part of the Cordonian monarchy," she spat. "So, unless you want to get on my bad side, I suggest you stop asking questions and just tell me where Liam is."

"Liam is in Italy, with his fiancé."

Madeleine's eyes widened.

"Fiancé?"

"Yes," he replied, a smirk tugging at his lips at her shocked expression. "Liam is engaged."

"To whom?" she demanded, her heart pounding in her chest.

"The same woman who was the front-runner for the crown during his social season," he replied, enjoying watching the shock and anger flash across her face.

"That bitch!" Madeleine hissed, her jaw clenched.

"Now, now, Madeleine," he taunted, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "That's no way to speak about the future Queen of Cordonia."

"She will never be the Queen of Cordonia," she growled, her body trembling with rage.

"Well, I suppose that's up to Liam," he said, the smirk still playing on his lips.

"I'm the Queen of Cordonia," she snapped. "And I will not allow some commoner to steal the throne from me."

"That's not really up to you," he said, his gaze challenging her. "If I remember correctly... he tossed your ass out of his life and Cordonia."

"Don't test me, Leo," she sparred, her voice dangerously low. "You will not like the results."

"Is that a threat, Madeleine?"

"No, it's a promise," she said, her eyes burning with anger.

"Whatever," he replied curtly, waving his hand dismissively. "You're wasting your time here. Liam is gone, and you're not going to find him. He's out of your reach."

"I will not give up," she said, her chin lifting defiantly.

"Then you're a fool," he said, his tone bored. "You can't compete with Riley. She has everything you don't."

"And what is that exactly?"

"She has his heart, for starters," he said, his gaze cold and unwavering.

"Love is for fools," she sneered.

"May..be," he said, his expression darkening. "But that's the one thing you'll never have. And you'll never be able to take it from Riley."

"I'll take everything else," she snorted, her voice filled with venom.

The Suite Impériale at the Ritz, Paris, France

Liam's naked form was a sight to behold. His broad shoulders, muscular back, and toned arms and thighs were a testament to his strength and power.

Riley couldn't help but stare as he walked towards the bathroom, his ass tight and toned. Her eyes followed him as he disappeared behind the bathroom door, the sound of the shower starting moments later.

She sat up in bed, her body tingling with desire. She couldn't believe how lucky she was to have him as her husband to be, and she was thankful for the many blessings she had been given so far.

As she heard the shower turn on, she slipped out of bed and crept into the bathroom, her body naked and ready. She pushed open the shower door and stepped inside, her eyes fixed on Liam's backside.

He turned, a surprised, but delighted look on his face.

"Riley..."

She moved towards him and into the shower, wrapping her arms around his waist and kissing his wet and soapy chest.

"I couldn't wait," she whispered.

He chuckled, his hands running over her wet skin.

"I'm glad you didn't," he replied, his voice husky.

He pulled her close, his lips finding hers. The water ran down their bodies, the steam rising around them. They kissed passionately, their bodies pressed together.

Riley moaned as Liam's hands moved over her breasts, her nipples hardening beneath his touch.

Through the water that was streaming down her face Riley kissed her way down his neck. She felt him growing hard against her stomach, and she reached down to wrap her fingers around his length.

"Fuck, Riley..." he groaned, his fingers digging into her ass.

She stroked him, his length thick and hard in her hand. She knew she could make him come with her hand, but she wanted more.

"Liam," she said, looking up at him coquettishly.

Riley slowly slid down to her knees, shamelessly, down the rippling planes of his stomach as her hands felt his muscled thighs. She licked a stripe along his length, eliciting a low growl from Liam.

"Fuck, Riley... that feels so good," he said, his voice low and husky as he slid past her lips.

* Le Café Petit Gourmand

Bartie and William looked through the window of the café, their mouths watering at the sight of the pastries and sweets on display.

"Are you guys hungry?" Maxwell asked.

"Yes!" they both exclaimed.

Maxwell laughed and led them inside. The three of them walked up to the counter, and the boys each picked out a treat.

"Mmm," William hummed, taking a bite of his pastry.

"This is so good," Bartie said, licking icing off his fingers.

Drake, Maxwell and Bastien all smiled at the boys' enjoyment.

"So, where are we headed next?" Drake asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

"We should visit the Eiffel tower," Maxwell replied. "It's the best view of the city."

"Okay," Drake said. "But, we need to get back to the hotel in a few hours." Drake looked at Bastien for confirmation.

"His Majesty, wanted the Royal jet ready for 5 p.m. to return to Cordonia," Bastien responded.

"See, we have time," Maxwell replied.

After finishing their pastries and coffee, the group headed towards the Eiffel tower.

The Eiffel Tower was a majestic sight, towering over the city and dominating the skyline. It was a popular tourist attraction, and the lines were long, but Bastien arranged a few shortcuts, and the boys made it to the top without waiting in line for too long.

The view was breathtaking, and the boys stood at the railing, looking out over the city.

"Wow," Bartie breathed.

"It's beautiful," William agreed.

"I wish my mother and Bertrand were here," Bartie said, a little wistful.

"I'm sure they're having a good time," Maxwell replied. "But, we'll tell them about it when we get back."

"Speaking of time, we should head back to the hotel," Drake said.

They rode the elevator back down and made their way back to the hotel.

Bastien's phone beeped as he received a text.

"His Majesty has instructed me to return William to his suite," Bastien announced.

"Alright, see you soon, kid," Drake said.

"Bye, Uncle Drake," William replied, giving him a hug.

"See you on the jet," Maxwell said, ruffling his hair.

Bartie waved as they headed for the elevator.

William and Bastien rode the elevator to the presidential suite. Bastien escorted him to his door, knocking once.

Damien smiled as he held the door open for the young prince.

"Hi, Damien," William said.

"Prince William," Damien bowed slightly. "I'm glad to see you returned safely."

"I had fun," William replied, smiling.

"But I am ready to go home now."

Damen smiled watching William run crashing into Liam, as he held his son in his arms.

'I get to love you

It's the best thing that I'll ever do

I get to love you

It's a promise I'm making to you'

Thank you for reading, tags are in the comments. Please let me know if you would like to be added or removed from tags.

@choicesficwriterscreations @choicescommunityevents

[sebright]

Before Kraus sees Liam's primordial, draconic form-which comes later after he gets dragonsplague, he gets thrown lean scraps of info here and there pushing that his pawn is teetering somewhere in the realm of 'peculiar' for a nomad, at least from what he understands of them (which at this point, early in their travels, is very little.) Liam gets used to wearing his glasses that help mitigate bright light, and tends to wear them all the time regardless of when, his nighttime vision is well tuned for darkness and he's quite comfortable reading in it.

Below are roughs for a drake possession moment later that ends up being a not good very bad time for everyone involved.