#jasper and emmett and Eddie will be good big brothers

[supernatural-dreamer]

The Unnatural and Unexpected (Embry Call x Black! Reader) Pt. 5

A/N: Heyo! Annd we're back with another installment! This chapter shifts back to the Cullen's perspective and is a bit of a filler. AS a makeup from being away for so long.. I'm planning a dual update this weekend. A big thank you to everyone following with this story

As always, let me know your thoughts!

Cheers!

-Lauren

—

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Masterlist

—

Imagine being Embry’s imprint and tagging along with the wolves to their newborn training session. However, you’re always in for an unexpected surprise when you’re around Bella..

Under normal circumstances, Jasper is a very patient young man. Combat taught him the importance of it, as having none could have meant certain death. He uses it daily in order to control his bloodlust around humans. Although it has gotten easier over the years, it is still a  daily struggle for him. He also has to have some when using his empath abilities, otherwise he can wear himself out.

All of that self-control went out the window, the second he realized what he had done. It took every ounce of his patience for him NOT to go after you, to at the very least, to apologize to you. He already felt guilty, ashamed for putting you into this mess in the first place. Now, he had physically hurt you–badly. 

The minute the wolves disappeared into the trees, he felt himself get tossed onto the ground once more, albeit gentler this time. 

“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND? You are LUCKY that the dog got to you first because how dare you?” The ice blonde hair easily identified his second attacker as he rose to his feet once again.

Now standing upright, Jasper now notices his entire family is now present and looking at him. The wooden back porch was destroyed– a small broken piece of wood that was hanging on for dear life came crashing to the ground.

It was then he realized he was in some deep shit. 

The silence was broken only when Carlisle spoke in a stern, yet ambivalent tone, “Family meeting. Living room. Now.”

—

“Jasper, dear,” Esme begins after everyone is seated in the living room, taking her place next to her husband. “Care to explain why we had to break up a fight between you and a wolf or why my brand new porch is destroyed?”  She raises an eyebrow.

Sighing, he starts. “I ended up telling (YN) the truth. Embry came back and overheard our conversation. He phased and charged at me while (YN) was standing in front of me.” The ladies perked up at this. “I knocked her out of the way, probably into the porch railing accidentally,  before Embry and I fought-”  

“And so the porch was no more.” Emmett interjected, slightly amused. He groans as Rosalie elbows him in his side.  

After glaring  at his brother, Jasper continues. “Yes, then by the time you pulled us apart she was gone. Rosalie let her leave.” Confused, everyone turns to her.

“Wait a second,” Rosalie defends. “I also wanted her to stay to  let Carlisle have a look at her. But I couldn’t convince her. She was petrified, I had to let her go.  I had Emmett tail her home just to make sure she made it alright.” Her husband nodded in confirmation.

“If we made her stay, she still would’ve ran anyway, trust me.” Feeling slight daggers coming from her blonde “twin” brother, she turns to him. 

 “Regardless of how much you want to nitpick at my actions, it still wasn’t me that threw her off the porch.” Ouch. 

Sensing the rising tension in the room, Carlisle interjects. “Rosalie. That’s enough. But you also have a point.” He sighs, running a hand down his face. 

“How bad was she injured ?” Edward chimes in, crossing his arms leaning against the wall.

“She wasn’t looking too good. Adrenaline is a hell of a thing.” Looking at the inner turmoil on her brother’s face, Rosalie's tone softens.  

“The mutts aren’t going to be too happy about this.”

“Can you blame them? Eddie over here has Jake to deal with. Now, at least from their perspective, Jas is trying to steal Embry’s girl. You’re violating bro code in every way possible.” Emmett shakes his head.

“Regardless, I still have to talk to her and figure out what’s going on.  At least to apologize. I can’t just sit back here and do nothing. Or pretend like nothing happened.” Alice put a hand on her mate's shoulder.

“And that, you are right. But you have to give her some time, let her come to you and not a moment sooner. Your individual choices are now impacting all of us. Peace between us and the wolves is critical, especially with the newborns and Victoria on the horizon. We’re not doing ourselves any favors at this point. “ Esme glances at her husband,  nodding in agreement with her..

“What happened in the woods? Did you find anything?” Jasper inquires, completely forgetting the whole newborn issue for a moment.

“A couple of stray newborns. Found the one that broke into (Y/N)’s house. We’re in the clear.  At least for now.” Carlisle turns to Jasper.

“I understand your personal feelings, however, you need to tread lightly with this. It is clear that we’re going to have to deal with these newborns sooner rather than later. Messing with soul bonds is literally playing with fire. After all, that's also the reason Victoria is even an issue in the first place.”

 He turns to look at his youngest son. “The same goes for you too, Edward.”

“And to that, here’s what is going to happen. Jasper, you will leave (YN) alone until she reaches out to you and not a moment sooner. The rest of us will continue to be on silent rotation at Bella’s and (YN)’s houses, until she decides to continue coming around.

Jasper opens his mouth to speak but is easily silenced with a look from Rosalie.

“In the meantime, you will be rebuilding my porch. I just got it done.” Emmett sighs 

“I’ll get the wood.”

And so he did. Although the temptation was killing him, he had to admit having the distraction of putting the porch together did occupy him for a couple of days.

Well that, along with the watchful eye of Emmett and glares of Rosalie. Carlisle stopped by just to check in on you, as he knew good and well you weren't going to a hospital. Even Edward intruded on his thoughts from time to time, to keep him in line.

  One thing Jasper had to admit was that he was impressed that everyone else was, to varying degrees, protective of you, even from himself. Bella was not even accepted this fast by everyone. Rosalie STILL hadn’t fully come around with her yet.  At least if you ever decided to join the family, you would fit in just fine.

But that was wishful thinking on his part. At least for now.

The other thing that had him on edge was, eventually, he needed to talk to Alice. She had left a couple of days ago and she didn’t tell him where. But knowing his partner, he knew that a conversation would need to be had as soon as she returned—

Whether he wanted to or not.

tags: @fckwritersblock , @zoexme , @abluejay-comments , @solar2solstice ,

[itsinmydunah]

Title: WWE Smackdown

Rated: G

Words: 1290

Fandom: twilight rennaisance fic babayyyyy

———————————-

Summary: Bree may be tiny, but she is mighty.

A warning those who may be effected: mentions of past child abuse.

This one was a request from JaneMalfoy on ao3. So you have them to thank for this one, haha. I’m hoping I’ll be able to churn out more Bree fics with the same gusto. This fic is, as usual, also posted on my ao3.

Please be sure to tell me what you think!

————————————————

The sound of shattering ceramic has Bree cringing. She braces for a blow while stuttering out a hasty apology.

There’s dead (ha) silence throughout the house. No one is even fake-breathing.

“Bree, sweetheart, no one is going to do that here.” Bree peeks from beneath the heavy curtain of her hair. Esme is looking at her with kind and knowing eyes. The woman reaches out a hand slowly and tucks Bree’s hair behind her ear. Her touch is so gentle that Bree doesn’t even startle. “You never have to worry about someone hitting you or harming you. I promise,” Esme vows with an assertive tone.

“I—I didn’t mean to break it, Esme.” Bree believes the matriarch when she says no one will hurt her. From what she’s seen of this family in her short time with them, they don’t cross Esme. And more important than that, they are kind to each other. Even when Emmett ribs or mess around with Jasper and Edward, there is a line. No one hurts each other here. It’s not like the home she was raised in or the foster families she bounced from. Despite being ‘monsters’, they’re gentle. Especially to her.

“Oh, I know, baby. Don’t worry over it. We all broke many things in our early days. No matter what, you can’t be worse than Emmett.” Esme grins widely, nose crinkling as she teases her rowdiest son. Bree cracks a smile that grows even bigger when she hears an exclaimed ”hey!” from the upper floor.

“Yeah, don’t worry Bree. Carlisle makes sure Esme can have everything she wants. That vase wasn’t even an antique. I’m pretty sure it was just from Pottery Barn.” Bree tries not to let the thought of Pottery Barn being just a dispensable brand to anyone. She grew up with plastic chairs in the kitchen and a fold up table and was lucky to have season-appropriate clothes.

The Cullens’ wealth still boggles her mind. She was immediately given a closet-full of clothes by Alice and toiletries from Rosalie and a laptop from Jasper. They didn’t think anything of spending money on her, even in the very beginning. As much as she enjoys those things, she likes being able to regularly shower the most. And the hugs from Esme. And the calm, receptive presence of Carlisle. And the way they’re all so kind.

“If you’re sure,” Bree says doubtfully. She begins to pull herself out of her instinctive cower.

“1000%,” Esme assures. “Anyway, you’re pretty strong now yourself,” the woman winks.

“Sure, she’s strong, but she’s so tiny. Like, tinier than Alice!” Emmett booms. His raucousness has drawn the rest of the family from their rooms.

“Emmett, you know I can kick your ass,” Alice says, eyebrows set in a challenge.

Emmett tuts and waggles his finger. “No, no, no. You can evade me. Probably for days. But you cannot kick my ass. Not even close to the same thing.”

“It’s an important distinction.” Edward shrugs with a crooked grin. “But, actually, Emmett, you're not the strongest in the house right now.”

Bree cocks her head. Emmett certainly looks like the strongest one. Jasper is pretty stocky, too, though. Edward was lithe and fast, but not really one for brute strength. Rosalie was certainly formidable, but Bree didn’t think it could be her, either. Esme and Carlisle were simply too gentle to be the strongest ones.

“Edward means you, Bree.” Jasper offers. Bree blinks. Her? Not a chance! She was barely over five feet! Jasper must sense her confusion because he goes on to explain, “the human blood still in your body from your recent turning makes you stronger than any of us right now. And because you spent your early life drinking human blood you also have that as an advantage.”

Riley hadn’t told her any of this. She was still very unaware of a lot of aspects of being a vampire.

“I mean, I know that’s how its supposed to be, but look at her, Jas!” Emmett gestures towards Bree with exuberant hands. Bree looks down at her slight figure and skinny arms and has to agree with his assessment.

Jasper scoffs and shakes his head. “Newborns half the size of me could take me down before I was trained against them.”

“You’re telling me I could take Emmett down?” Bree inquires disbelievingly. She certainly felt stronger as a vampire than a human, but the very idea of taking down Emmett’s hulking mass is unthinkable. He’s easily 6’5”.

“If you can get a proper grip around him, yeah.” Jasper is grinning now like he knows what’s coming next. Alice is practically vibrating beside him.

“Well I won’t believe it until I see it,” Emmett says stubbornly. “Try me, short stack.” He holds out his arms and gestures for Bree to attack him.

“Emmett Cullen, not in my house you don’t.” Esme isn’t even in the room, but somehow she knows what’s happening. Bree shakes her head in wonder. This family is very in-tune with each other. It makes her undead heart a bit warmer.

“Yes, Esme,” Emmett intones like a begrudging child, “ Outside then, short stack.”

Emmett is already dashing to a cleared area behind the house. Bree looks at the others. They’re all bemused but unsurprised by the turn of events. They don’t seem concerned at all by Emmett’s determination to fight her. She knows that Emmett won’t hurt her, so she shrugs and follows him outside.

He’s already poised to attack when she gets to him. She tenses for a moment before lunging at him. She perches on his back and pushes down with all her might, sending him windmilling forward. A helpless cackle slips from her lips at the sight. She is strong!

“Oh, you’re sneaky!” Emmett booms, turning on his heel to bulldoze towards her.

She isn’t scared of Emmett. His open face is nothing like that of her father before he hit her. Emmett is smiling sunnily and laughing as he dodges her and tries to grab her waist. Bree can’t help the giggle that escapes her when she slips from his grasp. He looks so bewildered as she continues to evade his attacks. There’s the sound of Rosalie’s laughter in the background, but Bree doesn’t let herself be distracted. She hadn’t fought with the other newborns when they attacked the Cullens. It was an odd rush to get to use all the power given to her.

When Emmett finally gets his hands around her hips, she throws herself towards the ground and flips her center of gravity, sending him careening into the rocky bank beneath them.

“OHHHHH!!!!!! Em, she got you!!” Rosalie is full-body laughing now, bent over in mirth. The sight of this tiny girl flinging her huge husband over her body is just hilarious. Alice is grinning widely as Jasper guffaws at Emmett’s grumbling as he climbs up the bank. Edward is smirking. Esme, who came out to witness her son be put in his place by their newest addition, is also laughing.

“I did tell you she’d be able to,” Jasper reminds his brother who is picking leaves off his now-torn shirt.

“Yeah, yeah.” Emmett waves him off, narrowing his eyes at Bree. She grins, putting her hands on her hips and tossing her hair behind her shoulder. The much larger vampire shakes his head and breaks out into a good-natured laugh. “It won’t last forever though, short stack!” He scoops her up in a hug, twirling her. Bree shrieks and giggles, smacking his back but also clinging onto his shoulders.

She never imagined what it would be like to have a brother, but now it seems she will have a few brothers for the rest of eternity.

[panlight]

How do you think the saga would be different if every character (aside from 3 'bitches' 😒) wasn't written to immediately love and adore Bella?

I'd like to think Esme would be one of those 'no girl will ever be good enough for my son' mothers lol.

I think I would have liked Bella better, for one.

I don't know what it is about me, but I NEVER put myself in the main character's shoes. I don't know why. It's just not how I read or consume media. The main character, in my head, is just one of many characters and not my proxy, so books like Twilight that are, per word of the author, kind of designed with the main character as the reader proxy, a vessel through which the reader can experience the world, just don't work for me. I know I'm supposed to be thrilled by the attention Bella/I get from Edward, to be thrilled to be loved and welcomed by this rich, beautiful family; to be included in this group of boisterous, warm friends in La Push; to have this amazing perfect daughter I don't even have to raise; to get to be the best vampire ever.

But I don't read books that way, so the whole time I'm just like WHY is everyone bending over backwards for this girl? Why is everyone in love with her? Who IS she? I wasn't filling her in with my own personality and interests, I was waiting for her to be fleshed out (it took Midnight Sun for that to happen).

It just didn't feel realistic to me that everyone was 100% on board with Bella and protecting her and it was all no big deal and of course we'll do it, sweetie, and if they didn't, they were BAD. Rosalie is a monster for wondering if it's worth risking the whole family for this girl Edward has been dating for like two minutes. The wolves consistently show up for Bella when this is absolutely not their fight/not their problem and none of them have a problem with this apparently except Leah, who is framed as a 'bitter harpy.' Everyone at school wants to be besties with Bella the shiny new toy except for Lauren who, again, super bitch, apparently. Bella makes like zero effort to be friends with any of these human kids but they all still consider her a friend in Breaking Dawn and she just cuts them all out of her life and never thinks of or mentions them again; in New Moon, Jessica is ABSOLUTELY within her rights to cut off contact with Bella after that stunt at the movies where Bella approached that group of sketchy guys.

Alice is just like "yeah it must be hard to choose between Edward and Jacob!" like Edward isn't her brother and will be miserable for eternity if Bella picks the other guy. How on earth can Alice be neutral here and not be like "You're like a sister to me, but if you break my brother's heart I will never forgive you." It's so weird! The Cullens are apparently just not bothered at all by whatever she has going on with Jacob, none of them are skeptical or worried for Edward's sake that she's going to dump him? They're just 100% totally supportive?

Likewise the wolf pack is still willing to include her with things and be friends with her when she keeps choosing actual vampires over them? Why? Jacob didn't imprint on her. They aren't forced to hang out with her for Jacob's sake. I get their mission is to protect humans, but it seems more like Protect Bella than anything.

Leah shows up and yells at Bella for being selfish about Jacob, keeping him around when she knows it hurts him, and we're supposed to be mad at Leah for yelling at a pregnant lady rather than accept that maybe Leah has a point?

The idea that Esme might not think Bella is "good enough" for Edward is such a fun one. Rather than just "you are already a beloved daughter to me! Let me tell you my sad story and then we'll never meaningfully speak again!" maybe she's like "She seems nice Edward but Tanya can match you intellectually and musically and isn't a fragile human high school girl." Maybe Jasper is more vocally opposed to her presence like "I can't relax in my own home with this human girl around because I have to constantly fight the urge to kill her, maybe spend time with her somewhere else, Edward? Just because you seem to get off on torturing yourself needlessly doesn't mean the rest of us do."

Maybe Emmett is more on Rosalie's side? Not mean to Bella or anything but like "Rose ain't wrong about having this human around constantly putting us in danger, Eddie. I know you like her, but what about the rest of us? Is Ma or Pops or me getting killed by some nomads or wolves or the Volturi so you can stare dreamily at this girl really worth it?"

But none of these characters are allowed to experess anything like that because the fantasy IS that Bella is loved and accepted and instantly brought into this family, no questions asked (except Rosalie, whom no one seems to like).

It would help balance things more. And in a paradoxical way it would make Bella more likeable to me because there wouldn't be this weird bubble of protection and adoration around her. She'd feel more like a real person, a real character, when everyone else's "goodness" isn't dependent on whether they are Team Bella or not.

[legxllyblxndc]

otis’ birthday party || @foreverwednesday

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "So you're telling me the princess really comes down here and parties with us?" Georgia looked to Cora with a laugh, raising her eyebrows skeptically. She'd worked at the palace for a few months now, but this was the first time anything like this was happening and she found it hard to believe that any of the family would be coming down here to hang around the likes of them. "Is that even allowed?" She absolutely didn't mind - in fact, she almost wanted to see how the princess and the princes would be around this lot... But she couldn't see it happening. "I feel like I should've worn more clothes." She laughed. She was pretty excited to get to know everybody a little bit tonight, the people that had worked at palace for a long time all seemed like a little bit of a family.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis smiled as he looked around the room, shaking his head admiringly; he had no idea how they managed to pull it off so often, but he loved these secret little parties they managed to throw when the king and queen were away. Everybody there felt like a second family to Otis now - he and his father had been around the palace since he was a little boy, as crazy as it was it felt like home to him. He picked up his drink and walked over to Jaxon with a little grin. "So - you think they're going to manage to convince James to actually come tonight?" He chuckled. Everybody knew that James was the royal who fit in the least with the commoners, who found it the hardest to pretend like he didn't struggle being around them and actually knowing what to say.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "Okay - do I look good enough to make Eddie regret all of his life choices tonight?" Verity laughed, spinning around to show Caroline the full outfit. She and Edward were currently on an off period, but that didn't mean Verity didn't want to make him regret that. She had only really agreed to go to this thing tonight to make her point, to have some fun. She was usually around people like her; other socialites, other high class people. "Where are they even throwing the party?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. She'd heard that the younger royals were pretty lenient with the staff, but she hadn't imagined it went to this extent. She liked it, though. She thought it was a lot of fun.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James absolutely wasn't planning on attending the party tonight. He thought it was ridiculous: staff was staff, they weren't your friends and you absolutely didn't need to fraternise with them. But his parents were away, he didn't have any plans and he almost felt a sense of sadness at the idea of missing out when the others would be having so much fun... He thought he'd just have a little walk past the room, to see what was going on. For no other reason. He was pacing when he saw his brother walking down the hallway, raising an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you're entertaining this ridiculous gathering, Ed?" He frowned. "Mother and father would be furious if they knew."

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "This is insane..." Emmett laughed, keeping his voice to a whisper as he and Jasper walked through the palace. He liked the other, he'd gotten talking to him at lunch a couple of times and he thought he was a pretty cool guy. It still felt as though they weren't allowed to be doing this though, even though they had been told it was okay by the royals themselves. "What's their thing with Otis, anyway? Why's he get a big birthday party?" He laughed, shrugging his shoulders. He was so new to all of this, so new to the job and the ways of royal life but something told him tonight was going to be a night he'd remember forever. He was sure he'd only gotten invited because he'd been there when the others were talking about it, but he was excited nonetheless.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "It's honestly a relief to get to do my own hair sometimes." Alice laughed, looking over to Kiara as she finished curling the last strand of her hair. She so rarely was allowed to choose exactly how she looked, little gatherings like tonight were pretty much the only time. She knew Kiara was still pretty new to the country - and she knew that her parents were keen for her to get to know James - so she'd invited her to get ready with her before they went down to the party. "So, not to sound like a broken record - but you understand that my parents wouldn't be happy if they knew about this little gathering, right?" She raised an eyebrow. Alice had gotten a lot better at following the rules since her responsibilities had changed so drastically, but she wasn't going to stand in the way of things like this. Otis was a friend to them all... And she needed to let her hair down.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH joined the chat

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "Yes. That's exactly what is going to happen. The Princess is actually a lot of fun to be around." Cora smiled. She had been to a few parties like this - having worked at the palace for as long as she had done - and she always enjoyed getting to see the Princess and the Princes letting their hair down a little bit. She loved the royals but she thought that it might be a little hard being one of them. There was always so much pressure on them. She was sure that they needed to blow off a little steam more than most. "The King and Queen wouldn't really be happy about the idea of them being here with us but they're not going to find out, either." She shrugged her shoulders. She couldn't help but laugh a little as Georgia spoke, "Maybe. But you live and you learn, right? This is still a work event, even if it feels social." At least that was how Cora looked at it, anyway.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jaxon was nervous about tonight and he wasn't completely sure. He had spent so much time with Alice since her brothers death but things had been difficult now. They had always been forbidden but it was even more so now. She was going to be queen and she could not marry a commoner. Never mind a black commoner. He knew that she would be ridiculed and he didn't want to do that to her. He was trying to put that all to the back of his mind, though. He wanted to try and have a good night with Otis, to celebrate his friends birthday. "I think Edward can just about convince anyone to do what he wants them to do, don't you?" He chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "Are you looking forward to tonight?" He smiled, raising an eyebrow.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: As Caroline spoke, she reached out so that she could fix Veritys hair before she nodded her head. She smiled at her friend, "Now you do." She giggled. "He's going to regret every giving you the chance to walk away." If she was honest, Caroline was looking forward to seeing Otis. They hadn't really spoke since the last royal party and she wanted to see how he was doing, what was going on in his head. She was absolutely not going to let him get away with not talking to her tonight, she knew that for sure. "The ball room. Can you tell the King and Queen are away?" Caroline asked, raising an eyebrow. She knew that they wouldn't get away with throwing something like this for anyone - even for Otis. "Do you want to wait a little while before we go down?"

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Edward was never one to miss out on a party - even if it was one thrown by the servants. If he was honest, he preferred spending time with the staff than his siblings, if he was honest. He understood that Alice had a lot of pressure on her but he couldn't understand why James was the way that he was sometimes. It wasn't like the two of them were going to be the King, after all. Edward had only gotten worse with his partying since his brother had died. He missed his eldest brother a lot, though he tried not to think about it too much. "Of course I'm going." Edward laughed. He shrugged his shoulders at the mention of their parents, "well, they're not going to find out, right? Because you're coming with us?"

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jasper smiled at Emmett as he heard the other, "It's beautiful, right?" He had worked at the Palace for about a year now and he still wasn't over how gorgeous it was and how generous the king and queen were. He knew that this was going to be a lot of fun and these kinds of parties didn't happen all that often. They were for very special occasions and only when the king and queen weren't there. "Otis and his family have worked here for as long as anyone can remember. They're like an extension of his family" He smiled, nodding his head a little. He thought that it was pretty sweet that Otis and the family were close, though. "This will certainly be a decent night, though."

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "Are you serious? If I had someone to dress me and do my hair for me all the time, I'd absolutely take it." Kiara laughed as she looked at Alice, a smile on her face. Getting ready with the queen to be was certainly an honour and not one that she took lightly. She just hoped that James wouldn't be at the party, so it allowed her to have a little time to get to know people away from him. Her parents had been making sure that the pair saw one another as often as possible and it was winding her up so completely. "Of course." Kiara smiled, nodding her head. "But these things happen, right? And not all the time so it'll be fine." She shrugged. She just hoped that if they did find out, she wouldn't get the brunt of it.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "Really? I mean, she seems nice and all, but - I can't really imagine any of them being fun. Except maybe Edward." Georgia laughed, shrugging her shoulders. They had all read the stories, of course - although she tried not to pay much attention, she didn't think her employers would like it very much if she bought into all of the gossip. "Fuck... So it's like - risky even being here, then?" She asked. She wasn't going to leave, but she also wanted to know what the risks of being there were. She really couldn't lose this job, her family relied on the money she sent home and she knew she wouldn't find another one as good. "I guess so. Which is just - I mean, it's madness." She laughed. She found it pretty interesting, speaking to somebody who had worked at the palace for so long. "Are we still supposed to curtsey when they come in?" She asked with a quiet laugh. She didn't want to do something wrong and not get an invite back.

**** joined the chat 10 hours ago

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis had worked around Jaxon for long enough to be able to tell that he was a little on edge, but he wasn't about to ask why; he didn't feel as though the other would appreciate it and he respected that. "That is very true. If he puts his mind to it, he'll have James here in a heartbeat." He laughed, nodding his head in agreement. He didn't know how much fun the elder of the two brothers would have, though. "Of course I am! What's not to love about all of this?" He smiled. Otis had a huge amount of respect for the royal family, they had done so much for he and his father and he'd never forget it. He couldn't deny being especially excited to see Caroline, though - they hadn't spoken in a while and he knew it was for good reason, but he still missed her.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "Perfect." Verity laughed, pausing to look at her reflection in the mirror before she nodded happily. She knew that Edward was Caroline's cousin, but she thought their friendship meant more than that - she was her best friend, she would go to her with anything and vice versa. Verity knew that she didn't need to go to all of these lengths to make Edward want her, not when she had been the one to walk away - but she couldn't help it. She missed him... It had just been so hard. "The ballroom? Jesus, they're going all out tonight. They better hope none of the new staff decide to snitch." She raised an eyebrow. It had happened before, but she thought they were all a lot more careful now. "Absolutely. Fashionably late, right?" She laughed.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James couldn't understand why his siblings seemed so content with lowering themselves to be around the people they paid to serve them, why they allowed this kind of thing to go on constantly. He liked the servants, he didn't think any of them were bad people - but they weren't supposed to be friends. That was just the way things were. It annoyed him to know that Alice was planning on being there, especially - he didn't think the future queen should be cohorting with her staff, but he knew that saying that would only get him into hot water. He rolled his eyes as Edward spoke. "Says who?" He asked cooly. "I don't see what fun I could have hanging around the butlers and maids, pretending as though they aren't the people that shine our shoes." He shook his head.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "Yeah, I mean - I know we're here all the time, but there's something about seeing it when you're not actually at work that just makes it... I dunno. Even more impressive." Emmett laughed, shrugging his shoulders. His family would constantly ask about the palace; what it looked like, what the family themselves were like, what they ate. They wanted to know everything and he didn't blame them. It was all so interesting to him. "Really? So they're like... friends or something?" He smiled. He thought that was pretty special, if he was honest. "What's it like, having them at stuff like this? Doesn't it get awkward?" He asked. He couldn't imagine doing the Macarena next to one of His Royal Highnesses, but he supposed that was the fun part of it.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice smiled as Kiara spoke, nodding her head. She knew how spoiled she sounded, complaining about being looked after 24/7, but sometimes she would just really love to have a little bit more of her own identity. She loved getting to go to things like this and experiment with her hair and makeup, to wear things she wouldn't usually get to wear - she knew that eventually, she wouldn't be able to do that anymore. "Oh, sometimes it's brilliant. But sometimes I just wish they'd understand that I really am capable of putting my own hair in a ponytail." She laughed softly, shaking her head. "Yes, it'll be fine. Otis is a close family friend, he deserves to celebrate his birthday like this. And these parties are a lot of fun. You'll see." She smiled widely. In spite of everything, Alice just wanted to be able to speak to Jaxon tonight; they had been so close to having everything they wanted and now that it had been torn away, she missed him more than she could say.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH joined the chat

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jaxon was just glad that Otis hadn't asked him what was wrong. Mostly because he wouldn't know how to answer. The idea of anyone finding out about he and Alice was terrifying to him. He was sure that he would never get another job as good as this one. He didn't want to lose it. He'd worked hard to get where he was. He hated that he had even managed to do something that would put his job in jeopardy. "I don't know if that's a good or bad thing though, do you? He won't exactly be happy about being here." Jaxon shrugged his shoulders. He knew that they shouldn't speak about the Prince like that but this was a more of a social setting and he was sure that Otis wouldn't say anything. "Very fair. It's gonna. be a good night."

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Carolines loyalty would always be with Verity. She was her best friend and there was absolutely no way that she would ever tell Edward anything that she told her. Caroline loved her family but it was her found family, with her friends, that meant the most to her. If she was honest, the life of a member of the royal family wasn't something that she particularly enjoyed. She had never liked being told what to do and that absolutely went with who she was allowed to date. She thought that it was pretty obvious how much chemistry she and Otis had and she wished there was something they could do without putting his job at risk. "Even if they do, it's for Otis so I hardly think they'll mind." She shrugged. "Of course." She reached for her hip flask, then. "And we cannot go sober." She smiled before she took a drink and then handed it out to her friend.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Each of the children had been hit differently by the loss of their brother and - while he wouldn't admit it - Edward, especially, was struggling. Alfred was the person that everyone loved, that everyone turned to when they needed someone. And now he was gone. So he definitely didn't see anything wrong with letting his hair down a little, blowing off steam. It made him feel better, if he was completely honest. "I say." He laughed, shrugging his shoulders. "Well, you might not. But I think it's good to know the staff. And, besides, I hear that Kiara is getting ready with Alice. You wouldn't want to let her show you up, would you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "I guess that depends on your definition of fun." Cora smiled, shrugging her shoulders. "You'll see soon tonight. And then you get to make up your own mind about them all." She tried not to gossip about the family as much as possible. Of course she had heard things about Edward but she would never repeat them. She valued her job too much and she hoped that Georgia was the same. "For them. Not for us. It's their decision to be here, after all." She shrugged. Cora thought that the king and queen were reasonable enough that they would know that none of them could have possibly made the Princess and Princes do anything they didn't want to do. "No." She laughed, shaking her head. "They know what this is. They're joining us. We don't have to curtsy."

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jasper nodded a little as he listened to Emmett, "That makes sense. You don't get to take it all in when you're working, do you?" As the gardener, Jasper rarely got to go inside of the Palace anyway, so he was absolutely going to make the most of it now. He was glad that he had managed to make a friend in Emmett so quickly, too. His family rarely took interest in his work. They were the complete opposite of royalists and he knew that they were disappointed that he would take a job with them - even if it was the best one that he could get. "It can do. Particularly with James. But Edward is always good company." Jasper smiled, "You'll find it all out soon enough. I imagine it won't be long before they're all down here anyway."

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Although Kiara had someone to dress and do her hair for her, it was very rarely. Her family were wealthy but her father never saw the point in wasting money on things as frivolous as looks. Kiara had to make her own way and she didn't understand why Alice would complain when what she had was such a luxury. "Well, you get to do it now. So there are some times." She shrugged her shoulders a little. She was trying to make friends with Alice. Kiara knew that if she did, then she would be in good stead with James. But sometimes, she couldn't hide her jealousy. "What exactly happens at a party like this, though? Are we expected to dance with the servants?"

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis couldn't imagine working anywhere but the palace; it had never been his overall plan, he had been to university to make something special of himself after all. But it almost felt as though he owed the royals his service, as though looking for something more than driving them around would mean he was ungrateful for everything they had done for him. He never wanted them to think of him that way. "You never know, he might start to enjoy himself when he gets here. Maybe we should've invited more girls." He chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. James always seemed to have more fun when he had somebody to charm, he noticed. He didn't seem that interesting in speaking to any of the staff. "Absolutely it is." He smiled. He couldn't wait for things to start properly, nights like these were some of Otis's favourites.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity thought that she and Caroline were probably closer to sisters than best friends; they had been to boarding school together, they'd basically grown up together and nothing could come in between that. Verity loved being able to dip in and out of this life; she was close enough to it that she was invited to the fun parts, the events and parties... But she didn't have to follow many of the protocols and that was the way she liked it. She laughed, holding her hand out for the flask. "Absolutely not. What's in here?" She raised an eyebrow, but she didn't wait for an answer before she took a big swig.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alfred and James had always had a bit of a complicated relationship, but that didn't mean he didn't miss his brother desperately. They had fought a lot, they had disagreed a lot... But he regretted all of that so deeply now and he was struggling with it more than he let on. "And since when do you tell me what to do, Ed?" He laughed, shaking his head. He and his younger brother got along well, but James didn't take orders from anybody. "She's not going to show me up by being there. In fact, her being there makes me more reluctant to join you all." He rolled his eyes. He was getting sick of his parents forcing this woman onto him.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Georgia had always had a pretty set opinion of the royals... and it hadn't been a great one, but she hadn't been able to turn down a job like this one when it had been offered to her. Not when it paid as much as it did. And since she'd started working at the palace, with the queen and the princess, her opinions of them had changed a little bit. They were so good to her, so kind to her. "I guess you're right, yeah." She laughed, nodding her head. She laughed along with the other girl though, pretty glad they weren't going to be curtsying and bowing tonight. "Hey, you wanna know something funny?" She laughed, raising an eyebrow as she looked down at the other girl.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "Exactly." Emmett grinned. He knew he'd made a few mistakes so far; he'd been told off on many occasions, but he really was trying. He wanted to be good, he wanted to do his best and he absolutely wanted to keep this job. "Yeah, he seems like he'd be good company." He laughed, nodding his head. They had all seen the pictures and headlines about Edward, after all - Emmett thought he seemed like a laugh. "You think the king and queen ever did this, when they were young?" He asked with a laugh.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice knew many people envied the life she and her siblings had and she understood completely; she was so fortunate, so privileged and she often felt terrible for wishing her life was different... But she couldn't help it. She would sacrifice all of it, if it meant she could be with the person she loved. She laughed as Kiara spoke, raising an eyebrow delicately. "We aren't expected to do anything, really. It's just a party. We have fun, we drink, we dance. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do." She smiled, shrugging her shoulders. She thought that was the fun of it - there were no expectations tonight.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: This job was too important. He knew that and he knew that most of the people who also worked there knew that. So Jaxon couldn't understand why he hadn't stayed away from Alice and the feelings he had for her from the very beginning. He knew that there was no escaping how he felt for her but there was no way he could act on them now. "And maybe that girl shouldn't have been Kiara." Jaxon chuckled. He had spent enough time around Alice to know that neither James nor the heiress were particularly happy with their parents antics. He wondered if they had something similar in line for Alice and he didn't know how to feel. He knew that it wasn't fair - to either of them - to cling onto that dream any longer.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Caroline didn't have siblings and so Verity was the closest that she would come to ever having them. She knew that they would always have each others backs and that was all that she had ever really wanted. She liked that they had one another. Especially when they had trouble with boys. Caroline had never really had an issue - not until recently. She didn't like that she had to keep things secret with her and Otis - even if they hadn't really began yet. She laughed as Verity took a sip before she had even told her what it was. "Vodka, of course." She shrugged. "It's the quickest way to get to where we obviously want to be." She laughed. There was less pressure on Caroline to be perfect - not like Alice, anyway - but she still felt that strain whenever she was out in public. "So, what's the plan with Eddy tonight, then?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "What is the aim?"

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: As the youngest, Edward had a lot less pressure than his older siblings. He was the third in line for the throne - now that Alfred was gone - and he knew that it would never get to him. Everyone knew that he was never going to be King and he liked it that way. The pressure of being a Prince was enough for him. He enjoyed his freedom too much. There was no way that the restraints of being King would be good for him. "No-one tells you what to do, James." Edward rolled his eyes. "Fine, don't join. But we'll have fun and you'll miss out because you can't get that stick out of your arse." Edward sighed. He loved his elder brother but sometimes, he thought that the other needed to let his hair down a little more. He needed to enjoy his life - surely Alfred showed them that it could get cut short at any moment.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Cora had never really been given the option of having her own opinion of the royals. It seemed like it was just a foregone conclusion that she would end up working for them and she hadn't really put up much of a fuss. She felt lucky to even have a job, if she was completely honest. She knew better than to try and question it. Which is why, when Emmett had kissed her, she had lost her mind a little bit. The idea that she could lose her job completely caused her to spin out. She tilted her head a little, though, as Georgia spoke and raised an eyebrow, "Of course." She laughed, leaning into the other a little.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jasper knew that this job was a massive learning curve. It wasn't something that was ever going to be completely easy but he hoped that Emmett would get there. He was sure that he would. Despite their image, the royals were actually pretty forgiving people. "He is. You'll see. I actually don't mind James as much as some of the others." He shrugged. He could understand why the other was a little tightly wound but he definitely didn't hold it against him. He laughed at the other and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sure that they must have."

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: The idea of partying with the servants felt completely foreign to Kiara. Her family had a few people that worked for them but she barely even knew their names - never mind being friends with them. She couldn't quite understand if but she was willing to go along with it if this was how things were here. She nodded, though, as Alice explain that it was just an ordinary party, like any other. "So you just mingle. Which are the ones that I need to look out for? Any gossip?" Kiara giggled. She wanted to know as much about these people before she went down to greet them.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: If Otis had any inkling that he and Jaxon were in similar boats, he would love to know he could talk to somebody about it; because not being able to say even a word about what had happened between he and Caroline was so difficult for him. It would be easier if there were no feelings involved, if it had been a one time thing - but he already knew that he felt deeply for her, he cared about her more than he should. And he didn't know how to get away from that. "Mm, very potentially, yeah." He laughed, nodding his head. "Crazy, isn't it? That he's the one they're trying to marry off first, rather than Alice. Although they probably think she has enough to deal with right now." He shrugged his shoulders. "I can't say I'd be too happy though, if I were him." He wanted to marry for love, when the time came and Otis knew he would - he couldn't imagine how it felt for either James or Kiara, having the decision totally taken away from them.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity had always been a fun over relationships kind of girl, she'd never really been with anybody she could see a future with until she'd met Edward - and whilst they were still so young and both of them just wanted to have fun, she had absolutely been able to see things between them lasting... But she didn't know if she wanted that life and when the papers had really started in on them, she hadn't been able to handle it. It didn't mean she'd wanted Edward to just let her walk away, though. "Of course. It's disgusting." She laughed, scrunching up her nose before she took another gulp and passed the flask back to her best friend. "I'm not quite sure yet. We'll just have to wait and see how I feel when I see him." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders. "Anymore canoodling with the servants tonight, hm?" She teased, nudging the girl with her elbow.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James had never had to face the pressure that his two elder siblings did, although he envied them for that. He wanted everything that came with being heir to the throne; he loved public engagements, he loved meeting people and being the face of the family. He wanted it, Alice didn't. How was it fair that she was the one who now got to take Alfred's place? "Exactly." He laughed. He didn't know why he was protesting so much when he absolutely knew he was going to end up going to the party, it was as though he wanted to make it known that he thought it was beneath him before he went in there. He raised an eyebrow as his brother spoke, folding his arms. "Well, maybe I'll come for a little bit... Just to make sure nobody is crossing the line." He shrugged his shoulders. He didn't think that was unfair, anyway. "Are you going in now?"

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Getting a job in the palace hadn't been easy and Georgia knew just how grateful her parents were; with the money she made here, they could all afford to live life a little bit more freely and she wasn't going to take that away from them. She didn't want to, anyway. She liked this job, she liked the people. She laughed as Cora spoke, leaning in slightly. "You know the gardener? The one over there?" She whispered, nodding over. "About a month before I started working here, I went home with him after a night out. Obviously I had no idea he worked here or anything and I haven't even spoken to him since, but - how awkward is that?" She chuckled, shaking her head.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Emmett was just grateful he had Cora around to show him the ropes a little bit, although he was pretty sure he'd messed that up now too. She had only been trying to help him, to get him better at his job and he'd crossed the line - he knew he had. He just thought she was beautiful, he'd thought she was giving him those vibes back, but he was obviously wrong. He wanted to talk to her tonight, outside of work, when it was all casual - just to apologise, to tell her he'd gotten the wrong end of the stick and he wanted them to still be friends. Outside of work, he had absolutely no problem getting girls, he'd always been pretty popular. He needed to keep in mind that he wasn't here for that. "Can't imagine it though, can you? The king scares the hell out of me." He admitted with a loud laugh.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Since she was a child, Alice had always known the people who worked for them extremely well - her parents had always made a point of seeing the staff as people, of appreciating the work they did and that had absolutely stuck with her as she'd gotten older. She couldn't imagine seeing somebody every day, being dressed by them and served by them and not even knowing their first name. It just made sense to her that when there were so many of them in the palace who were a similar age, they would all get along. "Exactly, you just mingle. Some of the staff are a lot of fun, you'll see." She laughed. "Oh, please. Of course there's gossip. Haven't you seen The Crown?" She teased, letting out a little laugh. "My brother Edward always seems to be at the centre of some kind of scandal, much to my parents frustration. I think his ex-girlfriend Verity is also going to be attending tonight."

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Even if Jaxon knew about Otis and Caroline, he still wouldn't tell him about he and Alice. It felt different. Caroline wasn't due to be Queen. She wasn't a child of the current King and Queen. Jaxon knew that he had to dampen his feelings, that he couldn't let them cloud him anymore but it was so hard. His heart skipped a beat every single time he saw her. He felt his heart drop into his stomach as he heard Otis mention Alice and the thought of her getting married to someone. he had no idea how he would be able to work with her when that happened. "Perhaps they think that James needs something to distract him." Jaxon muttered, shrugging his shoulders. "But, no. I don't think that I would, either."

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: A part of Caroline knew that the reason why she hadn't pursued things with Otis as much was because she knew that it would have to be everything, all at once, because of the status of it all. There was too much at risk for the two of them to just have a fling. She knew that her aunt and uncle wouldn't be happy about a staff member dating any of them - even if it was Otis. So she tried to keep him at arms length, as much as she could, anyway. "Fine, more for me then. If you're going to complain." Caroline laughed, shrugging her shoulders before she quickly took a swig of her drink. She nodded, though, as Verity continued. "That's what I like to hear." She laughed. She loved that her friend was able to keep her cousin on his toes. She rolled her eyes as the other spoke, "I'm regretting anything I ever told you about that."

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Edward had no idea how his eldest brother and sister had managed. He was sure that he would crack under the kind of pressure that the two of them had. He couldn't understand why it was something that James clearly craved. He didn't think that it was something to be desired. Edward wasn't stupid, he knew that they had a privileged life. He also knew that, that privilege came with a lot of pressure, a lot of eyes watching you. He couldn't do anything without it being news and it drove him completely mad. He couldn't help but laugh as James said he was going to come and he nodded his head. "Yes. Come on."

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Cora raised an eyebrow as she listened to Georgia and as she explained what had happened, she quickly turned to look at her, "With Jasper?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. She hadn't spoken to him much - she had never really had much need too. Although she wasn't quite convinced that Georgia had spoke to him that much either. "Well, yeah, that's not exactly the easiest thing." She laughed, shaking her head a little. "I'll tell you a secret in response -" She glanced from Jasper to Emmett before she shook her head a little. "He - the man with Jasper, Emmett - He kissed me a few weeks ago." She sighed, shaking her head a little. "And I had to turn him down."

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jasper had never really found himself in a situation with one of the other servants - at least not until Georgia started working there and that was before she had even started there. Now, though, Jasper really wasn't sure what to do. He didn't want to be rude and not talk to her but he also knew that he couldn't make things obvious. She was new. He didn't want to do something that might mess up the job for her - or for himself. Jasper laughed as he listened to Emmett and shook his head a little, "He's actually not that bad." He smiled. "He loves his garden, you know? We get to talk to him all the time about all sorts - bird watcher, is the king." He nodded.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Kiaras parents had been the complete opposite of Alices. They believed that a servant was just there to be served, nothing more. When she was a little younger, Kiara had caused a stir for her parents when they found her with one of the servant boys. He had been dismissed that very next day and she had never seen him again. That certainly taught her, her lesson about being seen with the staff, about being friendly with them. "We'll see." Kiara nodded. She was almost sure that James wouldn't like it and that made her want to do it even more. "Verity is the girl with the red hair, right?" She asked. "That's bound to cause a bit of drama." She chuckled.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Before he and Caroline had hooked up, Otis had been pretty sure his feelings were completely one sided - and that would've been almost easy to get over. He would've pushed them to aside, tried not to think about them and eventually they would've faded. But now... Now he knew that Caroline must feel something too, it was hard to think about anything else. Especially when he was around her. "They're probably right." He chuckled, nodding his head. "I never thought his would be the first wedding we'd all attend, though." He admitted. They had all assumed they'd be attending Alfred's wedding first, after all. "How do you find any time at all to meet people, though? Your job is - well, it's very full on. Isn't it?" He wasn't judging at all and that was clear by his tone, he was just curious. Otis found it hard enough and he was only the chauffeur, never mind somebody who had to provide twenty four hour care.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "I'm sure there'll be plenty to drink when we're down there." Verity laughed, rolling her eyes. She loved these parties, especially when the king and queen were away - they tended to go on until the early hours and they were always far more wild than anybody expected any of the royals to be. She smirked as her friend spoke, shrugging her shoulders. "I mean, it's not like the press are going to be around tonight, are they?" She laughed. Caroline knew everything about why Verity had walked away from the relationship, about why she couldn't cope. "First of all, no you're not - because you know I would've murdered you if you'd kept something like that from me." She laughed, shaking her head. "And secondly, I'm being serious. The last time you and this mystery man were drunk in the same room, you went home together. So just remember, I'll be watching." She giggled. She had a pretty good idea of who it was, but Caroline didn't want her to know - so she wouldn't know.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James didn't think he'd be as envious of his elder sister if she was as obvious of a leader as she needed to be; but it was quite clear to him that Alice didn't want this. She was only taking it in her stride because she needed to. And he couldn't help finding that frustrating. "I'm coming." He rolled his eyes as he looked at his brother, pushing open the door and walking in with a raised eyebrow. He didn't like seeing the servants in there without them, making themselves at home... But he knew he couldn't say anything about it. "What are we supposed to be drinking around here?" He asked. If Kiara was coming tonight, he needed a drink before they had to speak. Because for the past few weeks, the two of them had been forced to endure one another's company in basically every situation and he was already hating every second of it. She was beautiful, there was no denying that - but James was furious that his family had decided he was the one that needed to be made an example of.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "Yeah, with Jasper." Georgia laughed, shaking her head as she looked over at the other. "We just got chatting in the club and stayed out once our friends had gone home, I didn't even fucking think about - oh god, now I'm swearing. I mean to say I didn't even think about it when he said he worked here, I didn't even remember he'd said it until I saw him in the garden." She winced, shaking her head. She wasn't usually shy about her sex life, Georgia was an open person and she didn't have any shame about the odd one night stand - but she couldn't deny finding it awkward that the two of them hadn't even addressed the elephant in the room. "Oh, a secret for a secret? You're my kind of person." She laughed. "Turned him down? God, and he's gorgeous too. The no fraternising thing, right?" She raised an eyebrow.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Emmett had never meant to put Cora's job at risk - or his own - he just hadn't really realised how serious the no fraternising policy was until Cora had explained it to him. Until she'd pushed him away. He toed the line sometimes and was a little bit of a jack the lad, but he wasn't disrespectful enough to purposefully put somebody's job at risk. "Yeah?" He laughed, he'd never imagined the king as a garden lover. "Fucking hell, you've actually had a conversation with him? I swear, I freeze up and sound like an idiot everytime he says anything to me. And most of the time he's shouting at me to do things faster." He laughed. He much preferred serving the other royals.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice knew that her grandparents had been extremely strict - they would never have even allowed any conversation with their servants, never mind friendships. But her parents were different, they were kind and good and she hoped that people saw that - that they didn't just see them as the stiff and stern royals they were sometimes portrayed as. "You would absolutely tick my brother off if you did, if that sways your decision at all?" She giggled, raising an eyebrow. Alice loved her brother, but recently his attitude was really grating on her. She had so much to deal with, she didn't need James's envy playing on her mind too. She almost felt bad for Kiara, who had to spend so much time around him. "That's her. She's a wonderful girl, she really is. I always wanted them to make it work." She smiled. "Did you have a boyfriend, in Spain? Were you seeing anybody?" She asked curiously. Alice was a huge romantic, she always wanted to believe that everybody would find their true love at some point.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Not for the first time, Jaxon thought about what his life might be if he didn't work at the palace anymore. Because he didn't think that he would be able to be around Alice and watching her live her life. He loved her. And if things were different - if she wasn't the future queen - then he knew that they would be together. He knew that they would be together until they were old and that was something that he couldn't get his head wrapped around. He couldn't understand how he and Alice could love each other so deeply but not be allowed to be together. "No, me neither." Jaxon sighed. Everyone had struggled with the loss of Alfred but he wondered if it was worse for Otis - it could have so easily been him driving that car. "I don't." He chuckled, shaking his head. "Life is too busy. It's not important."

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "Oh, there definitely will be. But that's no fun." Caroline laughed, shrugging her shoulders. She thought that it was so fun to be able to talk to the servants when they weren't working. She had always been raised to treat everyone as a human being and that was how she treated the ones that worked at the palace. She would even call her dresser, one of her best friends. She felt so lucky to have people like that around her. "No. They're definitely not. So you guys will have complete reign." She laughed. She hoped that things worked out with Verity and Edward. She thought that they deserved it. Caroline shrugged her shoulders, "I suppose you're right. I couldn't have kept it from you, after all." She laughed. "We'll see what happens I guess." She shrugged her shoulders. Caroline wasn't stupid - she was sure that her best friend knew who she was talking about but she didn't want to be the one to mess things up for Otis.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: For most of his life, Edward had been the person to try and keep the peace between his siblings. He loved the three of them equally, in very different ways. His relationship with James was completely different to the one with Alice and he appreciated them both so much. Edward smiled as they moved into the ballroom. Quite the opposite to his brother - he loved seeing all of the servants there, making themselves at home. He thought that the Palace always needed more people around and so it was nice to see everyone there. "There's a drinks table over there." Edward smiled before he started over to it. "Hi. Happy birthday!" Edward smiled at Otis as they passed he and Jaxon.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "Well, there are certainly worse people, right?" Cora laughed. It was clear that none of the servants there were unattractive - Although some of them definitely weren't her type. "You don't have to worry about swearing." She muttered, shaking her head a little. "But that makes sense. I mean - why would you? Are you going to talk to him?" She asked. She had no idea what she would do in that situation. Cora smiled before she nodded her head. "I think we're firmly friends now because that's my kind of person." She laughed. She was glad to have a friend like Georgia on the staff. "He is." Cora nodded. "But I can't risk my job."

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: If Jasper had known that Georgia worked at the palace, he still probably would have done what he had done. Because he didn't see the point in the fraternising rule. He didn't see what business it was of the palace to determine how he and the others should live their lives. He wouldn't do anything that someone wasn't comfortable with, though. "Yeah!" Jasper smiled. "That's easily done. I was only able to start talking to him recently. I was completely tongue tied before that." He laughed before he shook his head a little. He had been completely intimidated by the king and queen when he first started.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Kiara couldn't help but laugh as Alice spoke and she shrugged her shoulders, "Well, I'm not saying that, that isn't a good enough contributing factor but..." She laughed again. she liked that Alice seemed to understand what she was thinking. The idea of an arranged marriage seemed completely insane to her and she couldn't understand how her parents were willing to let this happen. But she knew that she couldn't fight them. She knew that she couldn't disappoint them. "Well, if the future Queen of England wants them to make it work then they can hardly refuse, right?" she laughed, raising an eyebrow. She sighed as Alice questioned her and shook her head. "There was a boy I was seeing but nothing was set in stone."

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis wasn't sure how he would feel if he had to watch Caroline with another man, if she got into a serious relationship - he had to remind himself that it would absolutely happen at some point, that her family were probably already expecting her to find a husband sometime soon and he couldn't have anything to say about it. He knew he'd be jealous, but more than that he knew he'd be sad - because had she not been a princess, or had he not worked at the palace... He really thought they could've had a shot at something brilliant. It was hard to get it out of his head. "I suppose we'll just have to wait and see, though. I can't imagine anybody making James do something he doesn't want to do." He smiled slightly. "Really? That's... Very interesting. I would say that to a lot of people, it's the most important." He chuckled. He didn't know if he was one of those people or not, but he found it so interesting that Jaxon would say that.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity was definitely somebody who would be described as a party girl, but the parties she was usually found at were a little different to that. It was why she was so excited for tonight; it was a chance to have fun without worrying how you looked, without worrying what people were going to think of you. Everybody got to let their hair down a little bit. "Exactly." She laughed. The redhead definitely sounded more brave than she felt; she wasn't sure how it would be, seeing Edward. She hoped it was going to be okay, she hoped they could at least talk. She wasn't going to pretend she didn't miss him. "You couldn't keep anything from me, I swear I can read your mind at times." She giggled. She thought the same was true vice versa, too. The two of them didn't even need to speak to know what the other was thinking. "Oh, we will. We absolutely will." She laughed, standing up to smooth out her outfit quickly. "Are we fashionably late enough?" She smirked, raising an eyebrow.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James didn't think you could get four siblings more different than he and his; they were each so unique, such individuals and he thought it was probably why they all clashed quite often. Edward was often the peacemaker and James knew they needed it. "A drinks table?" He muttered, raising an eyebrow as he looked over to where his brother was indicating. He'd never been to anything like this before. He looked at Otis for a second, taking in the sight of the boy. "Hello Otis, hello Jaxon." He said firmly, nodding his head. The two of them were probably the members of staff he felt most comfortable around, he'd known them both for so long. "Happy birthday." He said finally, as though it had only just occurred to him that it was the appropriate thing to say. He wondered if this would be everybody that was attending.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: ''Oh yeah, I mean - I don't regret it or anything. And honestly I think the whole no fraternising thing is kind of crazy, like... What does it matter who we're sleeping with? But I'm not gonna put my job at risk." Georgia shrugged her shoulders. She wasn't going to deny that she still found Jasper really attractive; and if she hadn't been so distracted by everything that had been happening at home and with her job at the time, she probably would've made an effort to try and see him again. But then she'd gotten the job and it had apparently been out of the question. "What happened between you guys, then? I'm assuming he didn't just randomly try to kiss you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. She liked to know the gossip, she loved knowing everything that was going on behind the scenes. "Did you like him?"

OT AH JH VR EC GV: When Emmett had first heard about the rule, he kind of imagined it as something that was just there because it had to be. He didn't think anybody would actually pay attention to it. Not when everybody spent so much time around each other. The palace was such a full on job, he didn't know where they were supposed to find the time to meet anybody else. "Glad to know it isn't just me, then." He laughed loudly, nodding his head. "Maybe I'll actually be able to hold a conversation with him in a few months." He grinned. He didn't want to always come across as a tongue tied idiot, not when he'd witnessed people like Otis holding full conversations with the king. He'd even seen him make him laugh, on occasion.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "Everybody likes to annoy James, it's basically a requirement of setting foot in the palace." Alice laughed, nodding her head. When she and Alfred had been younger, they had pranked their middle brother all the time - much to his frustration. She missed her big brother so much, he had been her best friend and her confidant. She didn't have that anymore, not really. She had no doubt that if Alfie was still alive, she and Jaxon would be together right now and that was a hard pill to swallow. She couldn't bear the fact that she loved somebody with all her heart, but already knew they weren't going to be able to be together. She was going to be the queen, she knew exactly what people would say if she introduced Jaxon as a potential king - and she wouldn't put him through that. She loved him too much. "Oh, please don't." She chuckled softly as Kiara referred to her as the future Queen. "I'm just enjoying still being a Princess for now." She smiled, although it was a little weak. She was terrified every time she thought about the fact that she would one day be the queen. "Did you really like him?" She asked wistfully, looking over at the other. She loved hearing peoples love stories, although she was sometimes envious about how easy it seemed for them to be with the people they wanted.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: The rules around the royal family seemed completely insane to him, sometimes. They were just people, why should it matter who they dated? He wished that they could all just be able to do as they pleased. At least that meant that he and Alice could be together. Things could be better, then. He wondered if those rules would ever change. If Alfred was alive, Jaxon might think that it would. "That's very true. We'll see, I suppose." He shrugged his shoulders. He raised an eyebrow, though, as he heard James and Edward. "Hi. Welcome to the party." He smiled, already looking for Alice behind them.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Caroline had less pressure than Alice, James and Edward so it meant that she was able to do a lot more and get away with it. So when she and Caroline went to parties - and especially if Edward was there - she never even got a second glance and she liked that. She liked that she could fly under the radar and enjoy herself a little more. Caroline was glad that she didn't have the kind of relationship that Edward and Verity had though. She thought that she would be too jealous for that. The idea of Otis being with someone that wasn't her, was something that she never even wanted to think about. "I know you can. It's scary sometimes." She laughed, shaking her head a little. Caroline reached over to grab her phone and smiled as she saw the time. "I think we're late enough." Caroline smiled, nodding her head.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Edward sighed a little as James spoke. He understood why his brother was the way that he was. They were raised a certain way, after all. Everything was given to them, brought to them. They were handed everything on a silver platter. Edward had seen enough of the real world to understand that, that wasn't the case. And he enjoyed that. He enjoyed the freedom that the common man had. He chuckled, though, as he listened to James. "We're just going to grab a drink but I'm sure we will talk later." Edward smiled, nodding his head a little before he started towards the table again.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "I think it's more what happens when people break apart. They don't want anything to risk what might happen at work, if you can keep being professional, you know?" Cora asked, raising an eyebrow. She knew that she wouldn't be able to keep things strictly professional if things turned south with one of the other workers. She could understand the rule, she just didn't know how she felt about it, honestly. "I was helping him get to grips with things around here.." Cora shrugged. "And we got along really well. We were spending time together after work and - I dunno." She sighed before she shook her head. "I don't think it matters either way, does it?"

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jasper had been similar to Emmett when he had first started the job but it quickly became apparent how serious it was and he had never done anything to rock that boat. He never wanted too. The idea that he may have put his job at risk by sleeping with Georgia before he had even known she worked there was something completely mad to him. He smiled, though, and nodded his head. "I'm sure that you will. When you realise that he's just a regular person, like you and me." It felt weird to think of the king like that but he knew it was the truth.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "It's not a very hard thing to do either though, is it?" Kiara asked, raising an eyebrow. She knew that if her parents weren't forcing this on her, she wouldn't feel the way she did about James. She thought it was clear that he was an incredibly attractive man and that the chemistry between the two of them was too good to miss up on. She just hated the idea of being bossed about by her parents, of having to marry someone because her parents told her that they had too. "Do you hate the idea of becoming the queen?" She asked her softly. Because the idea of someone not liking that seemed so bizarre to Kiara. She sighed as Alice questioned thins, "Yes." She nodded. "So maybe that's what make things a little harder right now. With James. It's just hard to imagine that they want this when I don't think that I do." She shrugged.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis would never want to question anything the royals told him, but he couldn't help sometimes wondering whether or not the rules were just a little bit too strict. If it would really make the world of difference if Caroline were to be seen with somebody like him, a commoner. He had an Oxford education, he'd grown up around the royal family... But he knew he'd never be good enough and it was a bitter pill to swallow. He smiled as James and Edward approached them, letting out a quiet little laugh. "Oh, thank you. And thanks for letting us use the ballroom." He smiled, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah, we'll catch up later." He nodded. He always enjoyed the company of the younger prince and he was sure he would manage to drag out the fun side of his brother, too.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity had never felt any kind of pressure being Caroline's friend and she thought that was one, because the press never seemed to be interested in mere friendships and two because Caroline could get away with a lot more than any of the other royals could. She was used to publicity, with the career she'd chosen - but seeing her face splashed across every single newspaper everytime she and Edward would go anyway, reading horrific headlines about herself... Verity didn't think she was cut out for it. She laughed as she heard her friend, nodding her head. "Yeah, me too. Let's go." She grinned, pushing open the door of the room they had been getting ready in and starting to head down to where the ballroom was. She was in the palace so much, she knew her way around by now. She peeked her head around the door, laughing as she saw people already in there and walked in slowly.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James raised an eyebrow as Jaxon welcomed him into his own ballroom, but he held his tongue - he didn't think correcting the other would go down very well right now, it would only make things awkward and he felt awkward enough just being there. He headed over to the drinks table and looked at the choices they had in front of them, eventually opting for a whiskey, even though the kind he liked wasn't there. "What do you want?" He asked his brother, turning to him. He couldn't get it out of his head how much his parents would hate all of this, but he was also angry at them for forcing Kiara onto him constantly so he felt a little bit of vindication at the idea of being here behind their backs.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "Yeah, I get that part. But surely that's more of a matter of general professionalism? There are so many more ways to fall out with somebody than just by sleeping with them." Georgia laughed, shaking her head. She knew herself well enough to know she could remain professional in pretty much any circumstance, but it was quickly becoming clear to her how seriously people took the no fraternising rule and she didn't think she cared to be the one that rocked the boat. She shrugged her shoulders, taking a little sip of her drink. She listened to Cora's story with interest; she thought it was pretty sad that their friendship had taken a bit of a tumble because of the rule. "That's not why I asked." She laughed, rolling her eyes. "So are things awkward now?" She asked. Because really, she didn't see how that wasn't any different to things being awkward after a breakup.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "Yeah, probably." Emmett laughed, although if he was honest he could never see a time when he would think of the King of England as just a regular person. Personally, Emmett didn't think the royals would want to be thought of that way - if that was the case, they wouldn't act the way they did. He was happy to go along with it, though. It got him paid, after all. "So, how do things kick off around here? We just get a drink and wait, or should we be mingling?" He laughed. He knew he'd like to talk to Cora, but he just thought it might be awkward after everything that had happened recently, especially when they were both still sober.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "You're picking things up so quickly." Alice pointed out with a soft laugh. She loved her brother and it was clear she was only teasing, but it wasn't a lie - it absolutely wasn't hard to annoy James and everybody knew it. The blondes eyebrows shot up at Kiara's question, though - Alice knew she could never give the impression that she was anything but thrilled to become the queen one day and she'd been a little too relaxed already. "Not at all. It's an absolute - it's an honour. When my time comes, I'll take it gladly." She nodded her head. She had snapped into professional mode a little, knowing she couldn't let anything else slip. She nodded sympathetically at what the other was saying. "I can only imagine... It must be horrible, being told you can't be with the person you want to be with." She sighed. Alice knew that all too well, after all. "We should head down." She smiled, realising what time it was.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jaxon knew that he was never going to be the person for Alice and he was trying his hardest to distance himself from her a little - but when he had to look after her every single day, when he had to be around her all of the time, it was harder. He loved Alice. He hated that he had to pretend like he didn't. Jaxon had known that he had done the wrong thing as soon as he spoke to James but he wasn't about to take it back now. He knew that he couldn't bring more attention to it. He chuckled a little as the two of them walked away, "He seems less happy to be here than I thought he would." He whispered to his friend, watching the two of them walk away. "Do you think he'll even crack a smile tonight?"

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: The idea of having that many people watching you absolutely wasn't something that Caroline wanted to think about. If she was honest, a small part of her thought that it could mean that she and Otis could still have something. It wasn't allowed but if people weren't paying attention to her as much, then maybe she could have what she wanted. She really, really hoped so. The thought of the two of them not even being able to try was something that she was struggling to get her head wrapped around. Caroline smiled as they pushed into the ballroom. "Look at everyone." She smiled as she looked around at the others. She had always loved fashion and she adored seeing what everyone wore to these kinds of things. "I love her outfit." She nodded over at Georgia.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: As soon as Jaxon welcomed he and James to the ballroom, he knew that his brother wouldn't like it but he was glad that he bit his tongue. Edward had always been a little closer to the servants than his elder siblings. He liked talking to them, learning their way of life. It was really, really nice. It was pretty interesting, if he was completely honest. He looked at the table before he grabbed a hold of the bottle of vodka. He poured himself a drink before he turned to look at the others, "So, are you at least going to try and have a good time?" He asked his brother.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "It is. But I suppose they're just trying to minimise any of that." Cora shrugged. She could understand it, she just wished that it wasn't the case. Things would be a lot easier right now if it wasn't. She thought that it was pretty clear that some people wouldn't handle that level of professionalism and others would thrive under it. Cora hated that things seemed to change now that she had turned Emmett down. She had still wanted to be friends. That definitely wasn't the problem. "Then why did you ask?" Cora countered, she just didn't see the point in answering the question, if she was honest. It could never actually happen. "Yeah, a little." She nodded. "But I think we'll be okay, eventually."

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jasper was just trying to make this job feel a little more normal. He didn't know how he would get over the fact that he worked in the palace if he thought of the King and Queen as that. This was almost a coping mechanism - they were just normal people. They had to be. "Well, it's completely up to you." He smiled, shrugging his shoulders. "We can grab a drink if you'd like or go and talk to people. It doesn't really matter either way." Jasper thought that things would become a little clearer soon, that they'd all just be able to have fun but the start of any party was always a little awkward.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "I'm a fast learner." Kiara laughed, shrugging her shoulders. It was a strange feeling when she knew that things would be so much different if she and James weren't being forced together. They were both too stubborn to be forced together, he thought. Kiara thought that Alices reaction was pretty interesting. Seeing the other girl go from friendly to professional in a matter of mere seconds was so interesting to her. She thought that, that came from being raised in this kind of world - she knew exactly what to do in order to make things right, to clean them up. "Of course." She muttered, nodding her head slightly. Kiara shrugged a little as the other girl continued. "It's difficult. This isn't exactly how I would've wanted to pick who I married." And she definitely didn't think that she and James would end up down the aisle. Kiara pulled herself up, nodding her head, "Lets go."

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis didn't think Jaxon needed to worry about what he'd said to James, because if he was honest he didn't think the prince was going to be happy no matter how they greeted him. The bottom line was, he didn't want to speak to them right now; he just hoped none of the other staff, the ones he really didn't know, would try and speak to him before he'd had at least a couple of drinks. "James wouldn't be anywhere he didn't want to be, right?" He shrugged as he looked to Jaxon. He thought they both knew him as well as each other. "So I guess we just have to assume that, on some level, he's chosen to be here. Maybe he just needs a little while to warm up." He laughed. He had to force himself not to stare over at Caroline as she walked in; she was beautiful, the kind of beautiful Otis often couldn't look away from and he thought she had a way of lighting up every room she walked into. It was so hard not to feel completely drawn to her.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity had grown up in the world of royalty; her parents were important figures, her father an Earl and she was very much used to standards and knowing how to do things properly, but even that hadn't prepared her for what people would say if they thought she was potentially going to become a part of the firm. The girls smiled matched Caroline's as she looked around; she just thought parties like this were so much fun and she could already tell they were going to have an amazing night. "Yeah, she looks incredible, doesn't she?" She nodded her head, looking over to Georgia. She thought the other girl was pretty new, she hadn't seen all that much of her but she thought she was gorgeous. "Okay. I need a drink." She chuckled, holding out her hand for her best friend to take before she started to walk over. She thought the drunker they all were, the more fun they were all going to have.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James took after his father in a lot of ways; his mother was softer and more gentle, she would let a lot of things slip although she was still very proper and elegant. His father was a good man, but there were certain ways he liked things done and he would make that clear to anybody that worked for him - James thought he was the same and that was why he hated anything that might pass as disrespect. He knew that if it was one of the less senior staff members, he would've said something; but he quite liked Jaxon and he knew his family did too. He looked up at his brother with a frown, raising an eyebrow. "This is me trying, Edward." He told him flatly. He knew he wasn't ever going to be as at ease with these people as his brother seemed to be. "What more do you want me to do?"

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James took after his father in a lot of ways; his mother was softer and more gentle, she would let a lot of things slip although she was still very proper and elegant. His father was a good man, but there were certain ways he liked things done and he would make that clear to anybody that worked for him - James thought he was the same and that was why he hated anything that might pass as disrespect. He knew that if it was one of the less senior staff members, he would've said something; but he quite liked Jaxon and he knew his family did too. He looked up at his brother with a frown, raising an eyebrow. "This is me trying, Edward." He told him flatly. He knew he wasn't ever going to be as at ease with these people as his brother seemed to be. "What more do you want me to do?"

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "Apparently so." Georgia nodded her head. She knew she shouldn't complain; the palace paid well, they were fed while they were there and many of the staff members even lived on-site. Georgia had stayed over in the servants quarters a couple of times herself, if she knew she needed to be there extremely early to get the Princess ready for an event. She just hated being told what she could and couldn't do with her personal life. "Because I wanted to know, that's all." She laughed, raising an eyebrow. She didn't want Cora to think she was a huge gossip or anything, but she'd just asked a simple question - she didn't think it had warranted that deep of an answer. "Yeah, I mean - it's not like you're gonna be able to just not see each other, is it? Friendships always get a bit awkward after something like that, but I'm sure you'll be fine." She smiled. She thought it would be a shame to lose a friendship.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: At first, Emmett hadn't even been sure he'd be serving the king and queen; the job had just been advertised as a butler and he imagined that all sorts of people dined in the palace. But he'd instantly started to be trained to serve the highest royals and he'd felt a lot of pressure; he still did. He was enjoying it a lot, though. "I think I'll probably grab a drink. You want one?" He asked, shrugging his shoulders. He thought that was always going to be a good shout at a party, especially because he could see the royals were starting to arrive and he didn't want to seem nervous. "That's Princess Caroline, right?" He nodded over to the Princess. He hadn't served her as much as the others and he knew she was a princess, he just wanted to make sure he wasn't getting her name wrong.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice never wanted to come across as only a Princess; she wanted people to know she had a personality, she was somebody as well as just being a part of the family... But sometimes it was easier to just be in royal mode, to be the person she'd been taught to be. You didn't give anything away that way. "Of course." She repeated with a regal smile, nodding her head. "No, I don't suppose it is. But - and I know you don't want to hear it - you and James aren't the worst match in the world. He really isn't so bad, once he stops putting on this... Facade." She sighed. She knew what her brother was doing and she wished he'd stop. She smiled and stood up, smoothing out her dress and holding the door open for Kiara, before she followed the girl and started to lead the way. Even though she saw him every single day, she already had butterflies at the thought of seeing Jaxon - she didn't think they would ever stop.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH joined the chat

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jaxon was well aware that Alice wasn't there yet. Every time that the door opened, his eyes would be drawn for it and he would be looking for her. He couldn't help himself. His breath caught in his throat every time. He couldn't shake how he felt about her and it was beginning to annoy him, now. He didn't understand why he couldn't just shake it. He knew that the two of them couldn't be together. There was no debate in it. He just hoped that he wouldn't feel like this for forever. "That's very true." Jaxon nodded. "I think he probably does. We'll see how things go." He chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. "Right, do you need another drink?" He asked the other with a smile.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Caroline couldn't help but smile a little wider as she spotted Otis. Of course she had known that he would be there but it was still nice to see him and she thought that he looked so nice. She knew that she couldn't be the one to go over to him, though. She couldn't be that obvious. Verity was the only one who knew that she had hooked up with someone in the palace but even her, she knew that she couldn't trust with this secret. It was too big. She had too much respect for Otis to risk his job like that. "So good." She agreed. Caroline loved when they had new people in the palace. She thought that it added such a needed sense of energy. "Do you? Or do you just want to be near Edward?" She laughed, raising an eyebrow but followed her friend over. She grabbed the pink gin and held it up, "Do you want some of this?"

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Edward didn't really think he was anything like either of his parents. He thought that they were both good people and looked up to them a lot but he absolutely felt like the black sheep. He knew that his father was pretty disappointed in the man that he had become just because he had been expecting someone like his brother. But Edward wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. He had never been that person and knew that he never would be. He shrugged his shoulders a little before he looked to James. "How would you be at a regular party? One that wasn't ran by servants?" He asked. Because Edward thought that, that was telling. He never saw a reason to behave differently around the servants as around people of his own class. Of course Edward had noticed Verity walking in and towards their direction but he was trying his hardest not to acknowledge it. He missed her but she had been the one to call it off and he refused to run after her.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "Still, it's a good job." Cora shrugged her shoulders. She thought that it would be pretty difficult to complain too much about it when she knew that they were treated fairly. She didn't think that many bosses would do something like this for one of their workers, anyway. She felt pretty lucky to have the job that she had, if she was completely honest. She knew that most people wouldn't say that. Cora nodded her head. She had always been a little closed off. She had never really liked the idea of getting close to someone when she wasn't completely sure on the other person. That was why what happened with Emmett had hurt. She liked him a lot but the fact that he had been willing to risk her job made her worry a little. "Yeah, we'll see." She smiled as she nodded her head a little. She hoped that her friendship with Emmett could get back to how it was before, anyway.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jasper didn't think that he could've started with a job like Emmetts, where he was serving and looking after the King and Queen. He thought that, that would be too much pressure. He had always liked gardening, though and the gardens at the palace were some of the most beautiful. He would have been a fool to not take a job like this. "I mean, that's a good start for a party." He chuckled, nodding his head a little before he started towards the drinks table. He was just glad that Otis had, had a hand in sorting all of this out because he would've hated to have to drink whatever the royals decided all night. He smiled as he looked at Caroline and Verity and nodded his head, "Yes. And that's Verity Rockefeller, Prince Edwards girlfriend - I think. At least they were together?" He could never keep up.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Kiara couldn't help but roll her eyes as she listened to Alice - it was almost a reflex. Because she had heard that from her parents time and time again. She and James looked so good together, they would work so well together. She had heard it all and she didn't like it - not one, little bit. "I've heard." She said, "But what do you mean? Facade?" She was so intrigued to see what it was that Alice thought about her brother. She figured that, that was an interesting perspective to have. "Thank you." Kiara muttered as she stepped into the hallway and down towards the ballroom.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis had no idea that anybody else was in a similar situation to the one he was in; he thought he was the only one who could be this unprofessional, the only one who would risk his job for the way he felt. He hated it. He liked Caroline, he wanted to be with her... But he would never want to lose the respect of a family that had done so much for him, never mind losing the job itself. "I'm sure he'll cheer up - that, or he'll leave." Otis shrugged his shoulders, letting out a little chuckle. "I do, I do need another drink." He smiled, draining what was left of the drink he was currently holding. He walked over to the able and bent down to take another beer from the cooler somebody had brought, straightening up and looking to Jaxon. "What will you have?"

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity absolutely had her suspicions about who Caroline had hooked up with; she couldn't imagine it being anybody but Otis, but she could tell her friend didn't want her to know who it was so she wasn't going to bring it up. She wasn't bitchy enough to potentially ruin somebody's job for no reason. She laughed and rolled her eyes at the girls accusation. "Is it really so hard to believe that I need a drink when we've just arrived at a party?" She laughed, shaking her head. "No. And I'm surprised you do." She laughed, raising an eyebrow before she reached for something a little bit more high class. She wasn't as snobby as some of the people around them, but she still had a pretty expensive taste.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James had always felt as though he was a little bit in the shadow of his siblings; Alice was the perfect Princess and Edward had always been the black sheep, the fun one of the family. Alfred was the future king. So what did that leave for James? He felt as though all he could do was prove that he was the perfect royal, he was everything he needed to be.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James had always felt as though he was a little bit in the shadow of his siblings; Alice was the perfect Princess and Edward had always been the black sheep, the fun one of the family. Alfred was the future king. So what did that leave for James? He felt as though all he could do was prove that he was the perfect royal, he was everything he needed to be. "Well, usually there'd be some kind of structure. Wouldn't there?" He raised an eyebrow. "Who would you usually speak with?" He asked his brother, shrugging his shoulders. He couldn't imagine making conversation with many of the people here, barring his cousin Caroline and her friend, who he was sure didn't want him hanging around them all night.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Georgia had done a lot of preparation before she had started her job at the palace; research on how to speak, how to behave, she knew so much about each of the different royals and it was all because she'd felt as though she needed to make a good impression. She just hoped it had worked. She assumed that getting an invite to something like this was an indication that it had, it seemed like a pretty small group. She wasn't totally sure how to be around Cora right now, it seemed as though the other had almost shut herself off a little bit and Georgia wasn't sure how to get the conversation rolling again. "You wanna go over and speak to them? Get rid of the elephant in the room a little bit?" She shrugged her shoulders. She thought it would probably make it all the more awkward if they just ignored the boys all night.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Emmett had done a lot of hospitality work; he'd worked in his family's restaurant since he'd been about fifteen, he'd done loads of cafe jobs or bar work on the side just to make a little bit of extra money but that didn't mean he'd been prepared for something like this. He felt like he was still learning, although he didn't want anybody to know that. He glanced over the drinks table to see what was on offer, glad there was actually some stuff on there that he'd seen before. He grabbed a glass and poured in some vodka, filling it up with coke and taking a gulp. "Oh yeah, of course. I've seen them in the papers." He nodded. He didn't make a habit of reading the paper, but he often saw his dad reading it on a morning when he set off for work.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice absolutely felt for her brother and Kiara, but she also didn't think her parents were going to actually force them into doing anything they didn't want to do - this was just a push in what they thought was the right direction. She was just dreading the inevitable day when they started to do the same to her. She'd had a couple of high profile boyfriends before, but nothing hard worked out and since she'd realised her feelings for Jaxon her love life hadn't been a topic in the press whatsoever... She knew she couldn't get away with it forever, though. "He's just a lot less grumpy than he likes people to believe." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders. She smiled as they got to the ballroom, opening the door daintily and looking around to see who was there. "I think we're the last to arrive." She laughed softly.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: If Jaxon could pick - his job or Alice - he would always pick her. The love that he had for her matched nothing that he had felt before and he truly didn't think that he would feel it again. She was everything that he could ever hoped to have fallen in love with - apart from her position in her family. The sad part was, she had been willing to risk it all for him too. They both wanted one another but it could never happen. The loss of another member of the royal family - even if it would be a metaphorical loss - was too much for anyone right now. And he knew that he would have to be content to see her marry another. He just didn't know how he would ever get to be okay with that. "And either way, it doesn't bother us." Jaxon shrugged, a small smile on his face. "I'll have the same." He nodded, reaching down to grab a drink. His breath caught in his throat as he spotted Alice walking in - she was even more beautiful than he could have anticipated. "Looks like everyones here!" He smiled.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Caroline had no idea what she would do if what had happened between her and Otis got out. She didn't care about her reputation. The fact that she had slept with a servant was the least of her worries but she knew that he could lose his job, his family could lose the respect that they had gained by the Royal family and that was the last thing that she wanted. She could be a little insensitive sometimes but she hated that she had risked Otis' livelihood like that - all because of a drink or two. "It's not. But I can still ask." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders. She rolled her eyes at Verity before she poured herself a drink. If she was honest, Caroline had never really found a taste for the fancier things in life.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "Do you really like those kinds of parties, though?" Edward asked, raising an eyebrow. He didn't. He thought that there was hardly room for any fun with all of that structure at a royal event. He much preferred events like this, where they could just enjoy themselves and act their age for once. He couldn't understand why his brother would prefer those kinds of events. "Depends how things are with Verity." He shrugged before he laughed a little. "But, I don't know - anyone really. Otis and Jaxon are a lot of fun. It's fun to make the new boy -" He nodded over to Emmett, "Squirm a little. Whoever you want to talk too, James, we can."

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Cora knew that her work at the palace had cut her off from a lot of life experience. She had never gone to university because she had known that she would have just ended up in the palace. She had never really had any kind of drive to try and find something else for her. This was just her life - and she was fine with that. But it had meant that she hadn't quite developed the social skills that a girl her age would normally have and she found it difficult to talk to other people her age sometimes. Cora looked over to Emmett and then back at Georgia before she nodded her head, "That sounds like a good idea. We can hardly ignore them." She chuckled before she shrugged her shoulders and started over to them. She just hoped that Emmett didn't mind.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Before Jasper had started working in the palace, he had gobbled up every little bit he could find about them. He would read the newspaper and take note of any time the King or Queen or Princes or Princess were mentioned. He wanted to know all about them because his family would never try. They had tried to persuade him out of the job but he just couldn't turn it down. It was too good of a job for someone of his age. "Yeah, most people have." He chuckled. "Do you know everyone here?" He asked, looking around the room. He wanted to help the other where he could. He remembered how daunting that first year had been, after all.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Of course Kiara knew that if she and James truly didn't want to get married, then their parents wouldn't make them but she had no idea how it would go down. She thought that her parents would never stop trying to push it until James had married someone else and - as headstrong as she liked to believe she was - she thought she might cave to the pressure before they gave up trying. "Well, I've yet to see that side of him." Kiara smiled, shrugging her shoulders a little. She hoped that she got too, though. She thought that she might like that side to him. "It's the Princesses job to arrive last." Kiara laughed, nodding her head.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: What Otis actually felt about the idea of the royals not being able to choose who they wanted to be with was very different to what he would admit to feeling; he would never be seen to speak against the royals, or to disagree with them... But he hated the idea that the family couldn't just marry for love, that status was also something that had to be considered. He thought he and Caroline would be a perfect pair, if it wasn't for that. "Exactly." He smiled, nodding his head. James was the royal he felt the least close to, if he was honest. If he didn't want to be there, it wasn't really any skin off his nose. He smiled as he heard Jaxon, looking up and nodding his head. "Oh, perfect! Now we can get properly started." He chuckled.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity didn't think that anybody who wasn't close to the firm would ever understand what it was truly like to be a part of it; she had grown up with Caroline as basically her sister and although she and Edward hadn't been together for years and years, she had been close enough to see the effect it had on him too. She thought both of their lives would be a lot easier if it weren't for all the rules, but she also knew that was never going to change. She laughed and filled up her drink with ice and tonic water, grabbing a stirrer and mixing it with a little smirk up to her best friend. "Even when I'm wearing heels, I feel like a dwarf compared to you." She laughed, rolling her eyes.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: If he was honest, James did like those kinds of parties - he liked knowing who he was surrounding himself with, he liked it when people tried to make good impressions on him and tried to impress him. He didn't think anybody here would be up to that. "Of course. And things are off at the moment, aren't they?" He laughed, raising an eyebrow. He never quite knew what was going on with his brother and Verity; it was why James preferred to keep his love life on the down low. "The new boy squirms enough as it is, every time he serves mum or dad he looks as though he's about to pass out." He laughed, shaking his head. "Alright, I'll play along. Just for tonight." He rolled his eyes. He didn't see much of a point of him being there if he wasn't willing to make a little bit of an effort, after all. He wondered if Kiara would speak to him, if they would have to communicate tonight.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Al.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice knew that her parents were aware of who Kiara's parents were and how hard they were striving to become a part of their family, so she was almost puzzled at times as to why they were pushing so hard for this relationship - but she assumed it was because they thought James needed to settle down soon, to stop being such a ladies man and Kiara's name really wasn't a bad one for him to be involved with. "Hopefully soon, then..." She smiled, although it was clear she was distracted - she always was when she saw Jaxon. She gave him a soft little smile, before she averted her gaze and turned back to Kiara. "Of course. Nobody is allowed to tell you you're late, when the party is in your own ballroom." She laughed, nodding her head. She already felt so excited, just by being there - these nights were always some of her favourites. When she and Jaxon had been on properly, she had loved them because it meant they could let go together a little bit - albeit subtly, he didn't have to be constantly on-guard. She wondered how things would be tonight.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jaxon already missed how things had been before. Before Alice was queen, they could have spent the entire night together and no-one would have batted an eyelid. They could have maybe even flirted a little. They could have been happy, together. Now, it seemed basically impossible. All eyes were on her, always. He nodded a little as Alice smiled to him and then turned to Otis again, "He's interesting, though, don't you think?" Jaxon asked, raising an eyebrow. "He's a lot of fun to watch." At least Jaxon thought so, anyway. James was unlike basically anyone that he had come across. "What do you want to do tonight, birthday boy?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked to the other with a smile.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Caroline struggled to understand how people were outside of the firm. She struggled to understand what people could actually be like, how they really were - how the 'real' people lived their lives. And she thought that, that would be part of the reason why she and Otis couldn't work. Because it would be too difficult when she had no real idea what his life was like. Caroline laughed loudly as she listened to Verity and shrugged her shoulders, "You should try growing a couple of inches then." She nudged her friend. "Besides, I would have thought you were used to it by now?"

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Edward wished that he could understand his big brother a little better than he currently did. He just wanted to understand what made the other tick, why he was the way that he was. Because Edward thought that James was such a good person but he couldn't understand why he was how he was. He wondered if it had to do with something about being the middle child. He had no real idea, if he was honest. "Things are definitely off." He nodded before he sighed. He missed Verity but he wasn't about to say that out loud. "That's very true. You'd have thought they would have trained him better." He laughed before he nodded. "Excellent!" Edward beamed.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Kiara didn't even notice the look that Alice had given to Jaxon - she had been too distracted by James. She wondered if he would talk to her or if he would be a little too stubborn - she figured that it would be the latter. "Hopefully." Kiara muttered, nodding. She was almost looking forward to seeing that side of him. She thought that it would be really interesting to see. "I didn't think that they would be. That's the fun part of all of this, isn't it?" She laughed before she raised an eyebrow. She would have thought that it would be just one of many bonuses, anyway.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Since Alfred had died, Otis had noticed the press on the royal family going up massively in every way - their every move was being reported, people wanted to know how they were handling it, what they were going to do. He thought it was awful - Alfred's death had been a big enough tragedy and now they also had to make sure they were dealing with it 'the right way' at all times. "Interesting is definitely one word for it." He laughed, nodding his head. He was clearly joking, though. "I think he'll open up soon." He smiled. "Oh, you know me. I'll go with the flow. That's the best thing about my birthday, I don't have to make any of the decisions." He laughed loudly.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity didn't think she had a very good grasp of how the other side lived their lives, but part of her also didn't think she needed to; she had respect for people, she was polite. She was charitable. That was enough. This was her life and she wasn't going to feel ashamed of it. "Trust me, I've tried." She giggled, shaking her head. "You'd think so, but somehow it never quite gives." She laughed with a shrug of her shoulders. "There aren't as many people here as usual, are there?" She commented, looking around. She quite liked that, though. She thought these things needed to be kept intimate for them to be fun.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James raised an eyebrow as his brother sighed; he might not be the most sympathetic of people, but he still wanted the best for his brother. "For now." He commented with a shrug of his shoulders. It was the best he could do in the way of sympathy, for now - and he really didn't think it would be very long until things were back on between his brother and Verity again. "Dad will get tired of him soon, honestly. You know how he hates people fussing around him." He laughed. It was why he wasn't surprised that he'd gotten Otis to start shadowing his father already; that way he'd be familiar by the time it came to him taking the job.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice really did want the best for her brother - she knew he'd struggled more than he'd let on with all the changes that had happened recently and she thought somebody like Kiara could be good for him, if he would only let her be. She felt almost guilty, for being the next in line for the throne... She knew she couldn't help it, but she also knew how much James wanted it. It seemed a shame, when it prevented her from doing so many things that she was desperate to do. "Would you like a drink, before we start mingling?" She laughed quietly, raising an eyebrow. She felt comfortable with pretty much everybody here and Alice absolutely loved that.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jaxon had noticed exactly what Otis had - the press swirling around the Royals and he thought that it was completely disgusting. He was in the middle of it all, with Alice, and he hated it. He had to always keep a professional head but, sometimes, he wished that he didn't have too. He hated the idea of people getting some kind of pleasure over the families pain. "Hopefully. Maybe we'll see a different side to him." He mused, shrugging his shoulders a little. He couldn't help but wonder, though. If there really was another side to the Prince they were all missing out on. "Of course." He laughed, nodding his head. "Alice!" Jaxon called over to the woman - absolutely using it as an excuse to talk to her. "What would you like to do tonight? Otis wants the rest of us to make his decisions"

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: If she and Otis were to work, Caroline knew that she had to be careful. She knew that she had to understand his world a little more than she did right now but when she had no idea how the two of them were for one another, nor did she know if she would be able to give up the life that she had - for him. Because she truly did think that, that was what it came down too. She had to be sure that she was willing to give up part of her life before she could give herself to him. She looked around before she shrugged her shoulders, "That's more fun, don't you think?"

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Edward nodded his head a little at James' comment. Because, really, he knew that. But he didn't like it. He wanted to be with Verity and the idea that she couldn't hack his life, - the papers, the publicity - was something that Eddie had no idea how to wrap his head around. Because he knew that the things she didn't like would never change. "And then it'll be the next one." Edward rolled his eyes. He got along with the staff and, really, he wanted to help Emmett but it was difficult when he seemed so worried about everything going on. He raised an eyebrow as he heard Jaxon call to Alice, "Is this everyone?" He asked, looking around at the others.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Kiara had no idea if things would go her parents way but she knew that they would never stop trying - Not until James had a wife and she was already fed up of it. She didn't understand why her parents couldn't understand that pushing them like they were, was not the way to go with things. It wasn't doing them any good. "That sounds good." Kiara smiled as she headed towards the drinks table. She raised an eyebrow as she looked up at James, nearby. "James." She smiled at him before she reached for one of the bottle of champagne, "Do you need a drink?" She asked him, before she looked back at Alice. She raised an eyebrow, asking her if she wanted some.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis was glad that he and Jaxon got on as well as they did; after the last few years, he probably considered the other his closest friend and he was glad for it because he couldn't imagine not having somebody that could relate to all the things he felt working for the royal family. He laughed as the other shouted the princess, but his focus was on the princes - he was sure they would come up with something outrageous for them to play. "I think that's everybody; I think we scared some of the new staff off." He laughed, nodding his head at Edward's question. They had invited a couple more people, but he understood them thinking it was a little risky to attend.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice smiled and shook her head as Kiara asked if she wanted any champagne; she wasn't much of a big fan, if she was honest although she knew she had to drink it on special occasions when they were seen to be celebrating. She took the bottle of vodka instead. She had been such a party girl when she was at university, she had been known for throwing wild parties and getting into trouble - it just felt so far away from where she was right now, even though it wasn't long ago. She looked up as she heard Jaxon shouting her name, a big smile rising to her face. "And that falls to me, does it?" She laughed, raising an eyebrow. Regardless, she picked up her now full glass and went over to join the boys. She could never resist being next to Jaxon.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity had no idea how seriously her friend was thinking about being with Otis; she assumed it had just been a fling, a one time thing - fun because it was something she wasn't allowed to do. She would be far more supportive if she knew that it was something real; she thought Caroline deserved to be with who she wanted, even if that person was the staff. "Mm, definitely more fun. We're going to find out some secrets tonight." She laughed, shaking her head. "Well, we should play a game. Birthdays are about being drunk and nobody seems drunk enough yet." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders as she heard that Otis wanted other people to make the decisions. She always thought it was funny, how people assumed that the royals didn't know how to party, when she had seen all of them being pretty wild at times. "What do you think Car, should we play something?" She smirked, knowing what her friends answer was going to be without even needing to ask.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James had always understood that his parents might have a say in who he ended up marrying, but he had never thought it would be at the age of twenty two - he thought he'd had a little more time to find somebody himself, to play the field a little bit more. Edward had far worse of a reputation than he did, but nobody was trying to calm him down after all. That was maybe why the whole situation annoyed him so very much. He looked up as he heard Kiara, an eyebrow raised in disdain. "Kiara." He replied. It wasn't that the girl had even done anything... It was just the situation he was so angry at. "No, I have one." He held up his glass. "Do you want me to open that?" He frowned, nodding to the bottle of champagne she was holding. He didn't want to be rude to her, after all.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jaxon definitely didn't think that he would come to a party like this if it wasn't for Otis. He was absolutely the closest friend that he had here a the palace and he wanted to be able to celebrate his friends birthday. He thought that, that was really important. Jaxon was raised by his father. It had just been the two of them - so he had come to see his friends as family. And that was absolutely what he saw in Otis - he was more like family now. "Well, you have the highest rank here, right? I think that the decision making should come down to you." He smiled. He liked that it was a smaller group. No-one would question the two of them talking that way.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: If she was honest, Caroline didn't really know if she was contemplating things with Otis as much as she was thinking into them - she just liked to know her options. The idea that she could be blind sided wasn't really one that she wanted to deal with, if she was completely honest. "Of course we are." Caroline laughed before she nodded her head. She would trust most of the people in that room - just not James. She knew that he wouldn't want to keep the secret of her and Otis so she didn't want any of them to find out. "We should absolutely play something." Caroline smiled, nodding her head, "But what do you think we should play, that's the real question?" She raised an eyebrow as she glanced to Verity before she looked over to Otis and tilted her head, "Any suggestions?" She asked, with a smile.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Edward knew that his party days were probably limited. He probably wouldn't get to play the field for too much longer. And he knew that, that meant that he and Verity would have to make a decision. But he thought that he was too young for any of that to happen any time soon. He thought his brother was too young as well but knew that, that wouldn't change much. Edward laughed as he listened to the others, quickly turning his attention to the others, rather than the conversation between Kiara and James. "It's not a party unless there's a game. You know that, V." He chuckled, raising an eyebrow as he looked at her. It was the first time he had spoken to her since they had broken up but he couldn't help himself.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Of course Kiara could understand James' position because she felt the same. She didn't like that her parents were so content with ruling her life. She thought that she would have the option of picking who she wanted to spend her life with. But they seemed to have completely different ideas now. And it annoyed her to no end. She looked down at the bottle before she looked up at him and nodded, "Yes." She held it out to him. "Please." Kiara actually really liked spending time with James - though she didn't particularly want anyone else to know that.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice didn't think anybody would ever question the familiarity between she and Jaxon, because they spent pretty much every single day together; it was one of the perks of him having such a job, nobody could ever expect them to act like strangers. It made it hard, though - having to spend so much time with a person she was so deeply in love with and yet never being able to act on it. "Oh, birthday boy outranks future queen any day. Everybody knows that." She giggled quietly, shaking her head. "And besides, I thought somebody was supposed to do all the dirty work for me?" She laughed, raising an eyebrow. She was joking, of course - Alice liked to be as independent as possible, something that had often gotten her into trouble when she was a little younger. It was why her family loved Jaxon so much, he had been one of the only people she would listen to back then.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "Me?" Otis laughed, raising an eyebrow. Things like this felt so normal, it was hard to forget that Caroline was a princess and he was just a commoner when they were all on such equal footing, like they were tonight. He knew he needed to remember, though. It was easy to lose his logic, especially once they'd all had a drink. "I mean, I think we have to go back to the classics, don't we? Ring of fire, truth or dare, never have I ever... All the good stuff." He laughed, shrugging his shoulders. He was sure they had enough alcohol to get them through the night and Otis genuinely trusted everybody there... Except maybe James. He loved that he was getting to speak to Caroline now though, even though it was in a group setting.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity was well aware that there would come a day when she and Edward wouldn't be able to keep up with their constant back and forth anymore, when he'd be forced to settle down and it might not be with her... She knew they'd have to make a decision and she really didn't know what she would do. These little breaks from the press and the scrutiny were so needed for her, she didn't know if she could live through it 24/7. She laughed as she heard him saying her name though, looking over with a nod. "I'm glad we're on the same page, then." She laughed, raising an eyebrow. "Surely it's got to be truth or dare, hasn't it?" She looked over to the youngest prince with a laugh and a shrug of her shoulders. She thought that made the most sense to start with.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James nodded and reached out to take the bottle from Kiara, opening the bottle almost expertly - he was very much used to it, after all. Although he knew he seemed a lot more uptight than his brother, he wasn't a stranger to some hard partying - it was just that he was used to partying with people just like him. He poured her a glass and then, for good measure, poured himself one too. "We'll have to drink it fast or it won't taste as nice." He laughed, shrugging his shoulders. He couldn't help but scowl slightly as he heard Jaxon saying his sister was the highest ranking there, but he quickly covered it and took a sip of his drink. "Party games? Really?" He muttered with a roll of his eyes.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jaxon hoped that no-one questioned he and Alice. He didn't like the idea of having to question how he was around her. He didn't think that there was anything wrong with the two of them being familiar with one another - especially when they spent so much time together. "That means just about everyone would outrank you once a year, do you really want that?" He laughed, raising an eyebrow. He couldn't help but smile at her, though. He was pretty much always smiling when he was looking at her. He thought that she was the most stunningly beautiful woman. He could hardly believe that someone like her would even be interested in someone like him. "Well, looks like we have our game." He laughed and, for good measure, grabbed himself and Otis another beer.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Caroline nodded her head, "Of course you." She smiled at him. She absolutely knew that if the two of them were just normal people, then they would have already tried to make a go of things. She liked him a lot and she wished that the two of them could have, had a chance to explore what they had. She thought it was clear that there was something there. Especially since plenty of people had made jokes about the two of them. "Excellent choices." She smiled before she moved to sit in the circle. "Come on, James!" She called over to her cousin, "You'll have a bit of fun, for a change."

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: If Edward could change things for Verity, he probably would. He had never really said it to her but he truly thought that she was the love of his life but he knew that he couldn't put that on her. If she couldn't handle the pressure of the publicity then Edward knew he should probably let her go. He was just a little too selfish to let it happen. "It's the best place to start." He nodded his head in agreement before he moved to sit down. He smiled as he looked around at the others. "It's the Birthday boy to start, right?" Eddie asked.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Kiara thought that she and James were probably a little similar than what they thought - the two of them were used to partying with very different people than this group. But she thought that it would be a bit of fun to have a change of pace, she hoped so, anyway. Kiara nodded slightly as James poured her a glass, "Thank you." She muttered as she took the glass from him. She took a stop before she looked to the others. She rolled her eyes at the mention of the game but she wasn't going to be the only one to not place.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Jaxon had been around since Alice was eighteen, that was five years now - she thought that anybody who expected them not to be familiar with one another by now was just ridiculous. Her family trusted him so much and it was in those moments when she would question whether they would really be so angry if she told them that he was the one she loved... But she knew she had to shake those thoughts. It wasn't fair, not to Jaxon. "Except on my own birthday." She pointed out with a laugh, shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe it should just be this specific birthday boy, then." She smiled, holding her straw as she drank what was left of her drink and poured herself a new one, before the game started. She thought this was going to be a lot of fun.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis laughed as the game was decided on - he thought this one was always fun and it got people in the mood a little more. "Okay, but a new rule - if you take the dare, you have to drink. If you don't take the dare, you have to drink twice. Birthday rules." He grinned. He thought everybody here was too good at doing the dares, or saying the truths and he still wanted people to get drunk. He thought that everybody loosened up a little bit after a game or two. "I'm not gonna say no to that." He laughed, nodding over to Eddie. "I'll go with dare, then. Why not, right?" He laughed, shrugging his shoulders. He wondered who was going to dare him.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity knew she loved Edward, she wouldn't put up with the press at all if it wasn't for that - and she was sure he knew that, too. Without love, there'd be nothing to keep her going back. She just wished it were enough, she wished it would block it all out but it wouldn't - she wondered if it would ever get better and she prayed it would. She wanted to be with him, she wasn't ready to let their chances of being together go just yet. She moved to sit down with the rest of them, folding her legs underneath her. She loved games like this, she thought it was just a bit of harmless fun. "It's got to be a good one, too. The first one." She laughed, looking around the circle to see who'd be the first to dare Otis.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James didn't have anything against Kiara - he knew that if the two of them had met anywhere else, if it hadn't been orchestrated by his parents... He would've probably liked her a lot. She was exactly his type; beautiful and intelligent, fiery... But he would hate to prove his parents right at this point. "I know how to have fun." He snapped as his cousin called im over, but he rolled his eyes and went to sit down. He just thought games like this were childish, especially when they all knew each other already. He wasn't going to say that right now, though.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jaxon had seen the way that the press had torn Frankie to shreds when she and Alfred were dating. He had seen how they had destroyed her and he was pretty sure that if he and Alice ever decided to be together, it would be even worse for him. He was a commoner, after all. Frankie, at least, was upper class. She suited this family more than he ever would, he knew that. "Ah, of course. Then you're ruler of all." Jaxon laughed nodding his head. He thought that Alice was the most amazing person and he was so glad to be able to get to talk to one another now. "I don't think Otis will use the powers you're granting him properly." He laughed, shrugging his shoulders. He chuckled as he heard Otis and looked to the others, to see who would be the ones to do it.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "Are you trying to get us all drink?" Caroline asked, chuckling as she looked at Otis. She was almost hoping that the two of them could have a repeat of what happened last time but with there not being as many people there, she had no idea if they would or not. It would be too difficult to sneak away, she thought. "As long as everything that happens stays in this room - we might as well get the traditional ones out of the way.." She looked around at the others for a second before she spoke again. "I dare you to kiss the prettiest person here." Caroline smiled, raising an eyebrow. She almost wanted to see if he would kiss her or if he would chicken out and go for some sweet cop out instead. She hoped that he would go with what she wanted, though.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: As much as Edward hated to admit it, he knew that whoever he ended up with would have to be happy with the life that he led and that meant everything that came with it - the papers, the rumours - and he didn't know if Verity would ever care for any of that. Edward knew that he needed to settle down eventually but he didn't think that he was going to do that any time soon. He didn't want too. He was having too much fun and he didn't see why a 21 year old would have too. He nodded his head in agreement with Verity and was about to say what he thought the dare should be when Caroline spoke, "Looks like Car has her own ideas." He muttered before he laughed. He looked to Otis to see the others reation.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: The idea of marrying James was the furthest thing from her mind. She didn't want her parents to feel like they were right, like they could have that kind of control over her. But it was hard to deny how right they could be. Because, as she looked up at James, she knew that in another world, the two of them would get on like a house on fire. "Now, why would she believe something like that? "Kiara asked as she looked to James. She was pretty sure that James knew how to be a lot of fun. This party wasn't exactly her style but she had been told by her parents that she needed to make a good impression with the younger royals and so she knew that this was something that she had to appear at.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Before Alice had become heir to the throne, her main concern had been Jaxon and the way the media would treat him if they were to go out in the open with their relationship - they had all seen what had happened to Frankie and although she'd handled it like a champ, she didn't want that for Jaxon. Now, she knew it would be tenfold - because whoever she chose to marry would be on the throne, too. But Alice just couldn't imagine spending her life with anybody but Jaxon; she couldn't imagine loving anybody else, having a family with anybody else. "Mm, it might take him a little while to get used to, I agree." She laughed softly, nodding her head. She had never wanted to be the heir, she'd never dreamed of it the way her brother had - now she was faced with the inevitability of it happening and she was struggling to handle it. She laughed as she heard Caroline, watching Otis to see what he would do.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "Absolutely I am." Otis laughed, nodding his head enthusiastically. He wasn't sure how he would react if he thought there was a possibility of history repeating itself between he and Caroline; of course, he wanted it - but he also knew it would be stupid, he'd be risking his job once again and he didn't think he was okay with that. He laughed as he heard the dare. The answer, to Otis, was obvious; Caroline was the most beautiful person in any room to him, but he wasn't going to kiss her. He wasn't going to give anybody even a slight chance of guessing how he felt about her. Instead, he got up with a little laugh and moved over to Alice, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek before he sat down. He didn't think there was any denying her beauty, so he thought it was a pretty safe bet. "Caroline, truth or dare?" He laughed.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity laughed as she heard Caroline's dare - she was almost sure she knew exactly why her friend would ask that and she was definitely curious to see what Otis's response would be. She didn't think he'd be brave enough to kiss Caroline and as he walked over to Alice, she knew she was right. She was glad they were starting with the fun dares though, the silly ones that most people would turn their nose up at - she thought this was where all the fun was. Verity thought this was why she and Eddie made such a good pair - they were all about having fun and doing what they wanted, no matter how it looked to the people around them. She missed that, just being around him and having fun.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James had already read a couple of stories about he and Kiara; just the basic stuff, the things he'd expected. The two of them were spending a lot of time together, facts about Kiara and where she came from, who she was... It was like this every time he was seen with a new girl, but his parents had never been in on it before. "Because they're all under the impression that actually behaving like an adult means you can't have any fun." He rolled his eyes, looking to Kiara to see what she thought of what his cousin had said. He felt as though they were probably on similar pages; they liked to have fun, but they didn't like to look stupid whilst they were doing so.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jaxon thought that he was prepared for what would come if he and Alice ever told people of their relationship but he thought that it would never happen - and probably be worse than how he could ever imagine. "So I think you should just keep all the power for yourself. You suit it much more." Jaxon nodded a little. He couldn't help but feel a little jealous even at the kiss of Alices cheek. He had no idea how he was supposed to watch Alice find someone she loved, someone she wanted to marry. It all seemed pretty much impossible to him. He was already wondering if he needed to quit, if he needed to find something else to do. But the idea of letting down his father by doing that absolutely wasn't something that he wanted to do. He kept quiet, though, and turned his attention to Caroline.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Although Caroline was pretty sure that she knew Otis well enough to know that he wouldn't kiss her - she didn't like that he had kissed someone else, either. If the tables were turned, she thought that she would have kissed him. She tossed her hair over her shoulder, though and acted as though it didn't even bother her. Because she couldn't let anyone see that it did - she knew that. She chuckled as Otis returned the question and she shrugged, "Dare." She said - as though it was obvious. She took a gulp of her drink before she looked to Verity, assuming that her friend would be the one to ask her the dare. She knew that, if it was, it would be a good one, anyway. Caroline had always been a little bit of a dare devil - a party girl, as Alice had been before Alfred - so there was very little that she wouldn't actually do.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Edward chuckled as he saw Otis kiss his sisters cheek, "Well, that's a good way to get into the future queens good graces." He smiled. He thought that a game like this was the perfect way to blow away the cobwebs. It got rid of the us and them thing that they usually had with the servants. He liked that. He was pretty sure that, that was exactly what James didn't like, though. Edward wished that his brother could just let loose a little sometimes. In the rare occasions that he did, Edward thought that his brother could be a lot of fun. It was just hard to see that side of him.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Although she knew that she and James were being written about, Kiara hardly paid it much attention. She never saw any reason too. She knew that a lot of it would probably be her parents or the firm and so she knew that the things written would probably be good. She didn't particularly care about people perception of herself, though. She was more than happy without knowing that. "And what is behaving like an adult to you?" Kiara countered. "Because I see no problem in how they act. We're all young, right? Why not act like it?" She raised an eyebrow.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice laughed as Otis came over to kiss her on the cheek, shaking her head as he moved away from her - she absolutely took it as a compliment, but she knew he'd probably taken it as a bit of an easy way out. She couldn't imagine a compliment meaning anything unless it came from Jaxon, anyway - that was how things had been, since they had been together. She wasn't interested in anybody else. She knew that one day, she'd be expected to marry, to settle down and she had no idea how she'd do that if Jaxon was still her bodyguard. But she never wanted him to not be around. She turned back to him with a smile. "You think I suit the power?" She laughed, raising an eyebrow. She couldn't imagine how she was going to be as queen, she knew she still had so much more to learn. She was happy just being a princess for a little longer. She smiled over at her cousin; she definitely could've guessed that Caroline would pick dare and she admired her for it.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis wondered if it had bothered Caroline that he'd kissed somebody else... And he found himself almost wanting it to, he wanted her to be jealous over him and he knew that was just absolutely ridiculous. How could he expect a real life princess to be jealous over him, somebody who worked for her family? He hoped they would get more of a chance to talk later. He was already trying to think of a dare, but he knew it was probably expected that Verity would ask this one and he was sure she would come up with something good, too. He looked over at her with a little grin, raising an eyebrow. He had always liked seeing the two of them together, they seemed to have so much fun.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "He'll be knighted before we know it." Verity laughed as she heard Edward, nodding her head. She already knew she'd be asking Caroline about it all later, though - she wondered if her friend was jealous or not. She'd always found it weird that the princess didn't seem to have much of a love life; she had always been around boys, she'd always been popular and then it had suddenly... stopped. She'd never been close enough to her to ask why, though. She grinned as Caroline chose dare, pouting for a second as she thought and then laughing when one came to her. "Flash the person you're most attracted to. Everybody else has to close their eyes. So I'm trusting you'll actually do it." She laughed, smirking wickedly over at her best friend. She knew Caroline wouldn't back out, the two of them had always been willing to do pretty much anything.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James just wasn't sure he felt comfortable being in a situation where the staff felt as though it was okay to get that close to his sister, where everything felt so open... But he could only imagine how his cousin and brother would react if he got up and left now. He sighed, loosening his collar slightly and downing what was left of his drink. He knew he needed to open up a little. "Yeah, you're right. You're right." He nodded in response to Kiara. He didn't really think she was; he thought he and his family had a responsibility to behave a certain way, but tonight he was going to try and go along with what everybody wanted. He wasn't going to be called boring. "That's disgusting." He laughed as he heard Caroline's dare. He absolutely didn't want to even be in the room when she did that.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jaxon wished that he had someone that he could talk everything out between he and Alice. Because he hated the idea that he had to make any kind of decision before he could talk it through. He thought that things would be easier if he could do that. He could figure out if he and Alice were worth anything that came with it. A part of him wished that he could talk to Frankie - if he was honest. She was the only one that would truly understand but he could never put that on her now, not after everything that had happened. "Definitely." Jaxon smiled, nodding his head a little. He lent over to her a little then, making sure that the others were distracted enough, "But I think that you suit pretty much everything, Alice." He nodded, before he sat up properly. He laughed as he heard Veritys dare and glanced over to Otis. It was between the two of them, after all - with the others being her family.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Caroline couldn't help but laugh loudly as she heard Veritys dare, "Oh, it is such a good job that I had the vodka before this." She laughed a little more. As she heard James, though, she rolled her eyes, "Give it a rest. It's not like you're even goning to have to see it." Of course she knew the answer straight away. She thought that it was obvious - to her and Verity, anyway - that the answer was absolutely Otis. But she couldn't give him the satisfaction, not after he had kissed Alice over her. She stood up and moved over to Jaxon, "Alright, everyone else needs to close their eyes!" She laughed. She glanced around the group to make sure that their eyes were closed before she turned back to Jaxon and flashed him quickly. She had no problem with her body and she didn't particularly care about people seeing any part of her - she had almost been arrested once for doing exactly that.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "And we'll know the real reason for it." Edward laughed, nodding his head. He liked that Verity was there. That even though things weren't good between the two of them, they were still able to laugh and joke together. He thought that, that was a lot of fun. They could be friends. At least that way, he could have her in his life. He wanted her to always be in his life - in one way or another. He couldn't help but laugh at Veritys dare, "Well, that's one way to break the ice." He shook his head a little. "I agree with him on this one." He laughed as he looked to James and quickly closed his eyes when Caroline told him too. "James - I think it's your turn?"

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Although Kiara knew that things back at home was something a little different to how they were here - and she had been one of the ones to mingle with the servants when she wasn't allowed at home - she still thought that something like this was a little mad. Because people back at home would absolutely not do something like that. She didn't really think that James thought that she was right, though. She found it pretty interesting that he agreed with her for the sake of it. She rolled her eyes as she heard the dare. She absolutely wasn't drunk enough to be hearing something like that. And quickly turned to James as Eddie spoke to him.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: There was a reason that Alfred had been the one person Alice had confided in about her relationship with Jaxon, and that was because he understood at least partially what their concerns were - Alfred had always told her to go with her heart and Alice really thought she might've by now, if he was still alive. He was always her biggest supporter; he had been a romantic, like her. She couldn't help but smile as Jaxon whispered to her, although she knew she couldn't respond right now. Her smile fell slightly though, as Caroline picked him - she knew her cousin had no way of knowing, but she still hated it and it absolutely put her in a worse mood. Her face set slightly and she closed her eyes, clearly not finding it all very amusing. She had no idea how she would cope if Jaxon ever found the time to meet somebody else, if she watched him fall in love. She didn't think she could cope.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis knew Caroline well enough to know that she wasn't going to choose him after he'd kissed Alice and he already regretted it; because he hated the idea of anybody seeing her like that, of anybody thinking about her in that way. He closed his eyes, though - it was a part of the game, after all. His jaw set, slightly on edge about what he knew was happening, but he knew he couldn't make it too obvious. That was the whole point of things staying a secret, after all. He just hoped they moved on quickly after this.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity laughed, shrugging her shoulders. She didn't think the dare was that big of a deal - most of them in that room had been to boarding school or university, after all and things got a lot more wild there than they had ever gotten in any club she'd been to since. "You guys are pathetic, don't act like you haven't seen any before." She laughed as she heard the brothers, shaking her head. She knew that they were just joking though and she knew Caroline didn't care. She closed her eyes quickly, laughing just because she knew what would be happening right in front of them and she looked over to her best friend with a wink as she opened her eyes again.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James didn't think it was anywhere near late enough in the night for dares like that, but his cousin seemed to be pretty willing and he thought it was just a little desperate. He was sure he'd get into trouble for saying so, though. He raised an eyebrow as his brother said it was his turn, looking around the circle. He definitely wasn't drunk enough to choose dare yet, he knew that. "Truth." He shrugged his shoulders. He was sure they would try and get something good out of him.

**** joined the chat 63 minutes ago

JB JC KO CH CJ EH joined the chat

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jaxon had no idea if his feelings for Alice would ever go away - especially with the two of them spending every day together. That was what was so hard about all of this. He wished there was more that he could do. If he thought that it mattered, he would have fought for her. Jaxon wasn't sure where to look as Caroline came over to him and, if he was honest, he was glad when it was over. He couldn't help but glance to Alice, though. To see how she was reacting to that. He thought that he knew her well enough to know the slightest look on her face and he thought that it was clear that she wasn't happy. He wished that he could reassure her there was nothing to worry about. He turned his attention back to the game then, though.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: As Caroline sat back down, she didn't even glance at Otis. She didn't want him to know that she was thinking about him. Caroline thought that her feelings for Otis were pretty clear. She had never been someone who was able to keep how she felt at bay. She wore her heart on her sleeve and went with however she was feeling, despite how it looked. And it had worked for her so far. It was how she had ended up with Hugo for a little while and he was one of her best friends now. It just seemed harder, to her, when it came to Otis. It meant that everything would change so completely.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "She's our cousin. I think we're allowed to be a little pathetic about it." Edward laughed, shaking his head fondly. He liked that his cousin and Verity didn't seem to care, though. That the two of them were just up for a laugh. He thought that, that was bound to be a little fun for them. He turned his attention to his brother, though, and chuckled at his choice. He could have guessed that, that would be what it was. He glanced from his brother, to Kiara and back again, "How do you really feel about Kiara?" He asked. Because he figured that, that was the most obvious but if James was really honest, the most interesting, too.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Kiara thought that a game of truth or dare could be interesting. Despite being around for a little under a year, she still didn't really know anyone properly and a drinking game seemed the best way to learn all about them. She couldn't help but sigh a little, though, as Edward asked James about her and she tilted her head to look at the elder brother. She didn't think that he would particularly have anything nice to say, though and so she quickly took a gulp of her drink, waiting for the inevitable.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice knew she had no real business being annoyed at what had just happened between Caroline and Jaxon, but she couldn't help it. It was just another reminder that she had no control over what was going to happen to them, that they couldn't be together and so things like that were going to happen for the rest of their lives and they weren't going to be able to stop it. She wasn't even a jealous person, not really - but it was hard not to let it bother you, nobody was even allowed to know about your true feelings. She knew she couldn't make it too obvious, though and she picked up her drink and took a big gulp, turning her head to James to see what he was going to respond. She had a feeling it wasn't going to be good and she already felt bad for Kiara.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis thought things would be easier if he and Caroline had ever even just spoken about what was between them; at least then he'd know he wasn't going crazy, that there actually was something to think about. But right now, all they had was the fact that they'd slept together once and he had no idea if Caroline even still thought about it, or if it was just him that had caught some stupid kind of feelings and couldn't let them go. He didn't look at either Caroline or Jaxon, not particularly wanting to see either of their reactions. He raised an eyebrow as he heard what James had been asked, though. He thought it was pretty harsh, considering Kiara was sat right next to him - but he didn't doubt that the prince was going to give an honest answer.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "If you say so." Verity laughed, rolling her eyes fondly. The reason she thought that her and Edward's relationship had been different to any of the others she'd been in was because they had been friends first; they had always gotten along, they'd always had things in common and always been able to make each other laugh. She'd never had a relationship like that before him. She couldn't hold back a laugh as she heard the question and she covered her mouth with her hand, raising an eyebrow. "Ouch..." She muttered with a giggle, shaking her head as she looked over at James. She hoped he'd have at least some tact.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James had absolutely expected his question to be about Kiara, although he'd hoped people might be a little more creative than to just flat out ask how he felt about her. He was never going to be anything but truthful though, even though he knew how harsh it was going to sound. "I have no feelings towards her whatsoever, good or bad." He shrugged his shoulders. That was the truth of the matter - he hadn't really even let himself start getting to know the girl, because he was so angry at his parents for forcing this arrangement upon him that he wasn't entertaining the notion of it at all. Other than thinking she was beautiful, James wasn't really here nor there when it came to the girl. "Edward, truth or dare?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Although he was almost certain he knew what his brothers answer was going to be.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: If Jaxon thought that it would help, he would fight for Alice. He would tell the King and Queen that he loved her, he would risk his job for her, his fathers respect. He was willing. But he thought that it was clear that, that would make things worse, not better. Alices world was already in turmoil and the last thing that he wanted to do was to add to that. He wanted to make things easier for her, not harder. Jaxon sighed a little as he heard the question about Kiara - he didn't think that it was all that fair and it was that side of things, that he didn't particularly like about this game. Jaxon wasn't a push over. He was absolutely someone who could hold his own when need be. But he was a but of a gentle soul and he never saw the point in being mean just because.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Caroline had no idea how to bring up what had happened between her and Otis and that wasn't something that she was used too. She had no shame. She was glad that it happened. But she had no idea where that landed them. Because Caroline had no idea if she was willing to give up the life that she had for him and she knew that it wasn't fair to ask him to give up his. She wished there was a way the two of them could trial it but it seemed pretty impossible to her. How could they have something in secret when everyone knew who she was? She raised an eyebrow as she looked at Verity at the question. She didn't know Kiara well enough to know how she would react to something like that. "Well, don't sugarcoat it, James."

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Edward chuckled as he heard Verity and he smiled over at her, shrugging his shoulders a little. He didn't see the point in finding a more tactful way of asking. He thought that it got to the point straight away. He chuckled a little as he heard his brothers answer. He didn't know how honest his brother was being because Edward thought that it would be impossible to not have an opinion but he didn't feel the need to start a fight with his brother right now. "Do you even need to ask?" Edward asked, raising an eyebrow, "Dare." He nodded. He thought that truth was the more vulnerable one, if he was honest. You could get away with doing stupid shit on a dare. There was nowhere to hide with truth.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Although it wasn't particularly nice to hear, Kiara kept her face straight as James spoke. She wouldn't let anyone see if it effected her. She didn't think that James particularly understood that she had, had to pack up her entire life for him. She had, had to move across the world because her parents had convinced themselves that she was his perfect match. She had to leave everyone she loved behind. And she didn't think that James owed her but she thought that it might have been nice of him to at least try. She was beginning to think that it was never going to happen now, though.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice had toyed with the idea of just telling her parents exactly how she felt so many times; she'd planned out what she'd say, what the plan of action would be... But her parents had just lost Alfred. They had lost their eldest son. She didn't know if they could survive losing her, in their eyes, too. She knew that she would give up the throne for Jaxon, it was hardly even a question - but it wasn't that easy, it wasn't just her it would affect. She didn't think she could do that to the country. "James." Alice couldn't help but wince slightly as she heard James's response; she didn't think he fully understood the magnitude of Kiara's situation and she really felt for the girl. She looked over to her with a sympathetic smile.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: The hardest part was, Otis didn't think he and Caroline would be ready to jump into a full on relationship even if they were allowed to - he just wanted to be able to talk, to date... Like normal people would. To get to know each other properly. But he knew that was never going to be on the table. If they were ever going to say anything, they would need to be completely sure; but how could they ever be, when they weren't even allowed to go out together? He sighed as he heard James's answer to the question, he thought it was just a little needless. He wasn't going to be the one to say anything, though. He laughed as Edward picked dare - he had absolutely seen that one coming, he thought they all had. "Act like somebody in the room until your next question, but don't tell us who." He laughed, raising an eyebrow. He thought that one was pretty funny - and less dramatic than what James had just said.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity didn't see too much of a problem with what James had said; it was an honest answer to the question and if it were her, she'd rather hear that than something bad... But she also got that it was pretty harsh. She figured it was probably to be expected from James, though. The girl let out a laugh at Edward's dare - she thought stuff like that was funny, especially when most of them already knew each other so well. She was sure they'd all manage to guess who he was being pretty much right away. It was a bonus of there being such a small group. She looked over to Caroline with a raise of an eyebrow, silently asking how she felt about the Otis situation - she knew that Caroline would know what it meant.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James absolutely didn't understand just how much Kiara had given up to even be in this country and even more so, he didn't understand that he was the main reason for it. He had always been a pretty selfish person, but since his brother died it had been even worse - it was as though all he could think about was how it all affected him, even with this situation. He shrugged his shoulders as he heard his sister, as he saw the looks he got - he really didn't think his answer had been that bad. He couldn't help but laugh at Edward's dare though, watching his brother to see who he chose.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: If they told the King and Queen, Jaxon knew that it was up to Alice if she wanted to tell her parents or not. But he almost wished that she would. Because he thought that, that way it would get it over and done with. If they knew and fired him, then he wouldn't have to make the decision to quit. Jaxon couldn't help but wonder if things would be different if he did. Would she be more willing to tell them if he didn't work for them? He had no idea but he wished that there was a way that he could figure all of that out. He thought that it would be easier if he could know what would happen in those situations. "I like that dare." Jaxon chuckled, nodding his head a little as he looked to Otis.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Caroline liked to take her time before she got into a relationship. She was seen with boys regularly but she very rarely actually had a proper boyfriend. She liked to make sure that things would last before she gave them that commitment. She didn't think that she and Otis would ever have the ability to have that time and it made her so sad. She wanted to be able to give the two of them a chance, it just felt impossible right now. She shrugged her shoulders a little before she rolled her eyes as she caught the look from Verity. Caroline thought that it was pretty obvious - even more so to her friend now - who it was that she had slept with but she didn't mind Verity knowing.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Edward sometimes felt bad for his big brother. He thought that they all expected him to be different than the person that he actually was and he didn't think that, that was really fair. When Edward was always allowed to be the party boy he was. He knew that it was because James was the eldest boy now but he didn't know if that was enough of a reason. He wished that there was more that he could do for his brother. He wished that there was a way that he could understand him a little more. He laughed as Otis spoke and nodded his head a little, "Oh, I've been preparing for this my entire life!" He sat up a little straighter, looking over at his sister. "Hi. I'm Alice. It's a pleasure to meet up." He beamed, doing his best attempt at her voice.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Kiara didn't think that she would ever tell James what she had given up. She didn't want someone to feel pity on her and that be the reason why he change his mind but the fact that he refused to even try and get to know her wound her up. She refused to let him ruin the party for her, though. she wanted to have fun. And as she heard Edwards impression, she couldn't help but laugh. "That's not bad, you know?" she smiled as she looked from Edward, to Alice. "I think it's your turn." She chuckled. She wondered what the princess was going to pick.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice would tell her parents in a heartbeat if she didn't think it would have disastrous consequences for Jaxon; she was more than prepared for the backlash she'd face, the scrutiny she'd come under. But she wasn't prepared to put him through that, to make him face the worst storm the country would've seen in decades. She couldn't ask him to do that, she loved him too much. And if her parents asked her to give up her position, her title - would they ever forgive her for choosing to do so? She watched her youngest brother with a curious smile, wondering who he was going to pick - and burst out laughing as soon as his stance changed. She knew exactly who he was being. "Alice? You look a lot less pretty than you usually do." She teased, shrugging her shoulders as she watched him. She always found herself laughing around Edward. She hadn't even realised it had gotten to her turn, but she smiled and nodded her head. "I'll go with dare." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis had had a few girlfriends before, even a couple of serious ones and the reason those relationships had worked for as long as they had was because he'd properly gotten to know the girls first. He wondered if there was any way of that being he and Caroline, if they would ever be able to spend time one on one and actually get to know each other before making any decisions. He doubted it. "It's a good one, isn't it?" He laughed, looking to Jaxon - although he was slightly distracted. He'd definitely caught the look between Caroline and Verity and, not for the first time, he wondered if Caroline had said anything to her friend. He wished he had somebody he could talk to about it, that he had somebody who could give him advice on the situation he'd gotten himself into.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity nodded as Caroline shrugged her shoulders; it was a subtle nod, she didn't really think that anybody else would pick up on it, but she was just confirming to her best friend that they were on the same page. She had pretty much known it was Otis before, but she knew for sure now and she honestly didn't know why Caroline didn't just do whatever she wanted. She was sure the backlash wouldn't be so terrible, she wasn't under the same pressure as the others after all. Sure, there'd be some shock, but she didn't think that was a reason for Caroline not to do what she wanted; she didn't even consider the effect it could have on Otis's career. She let out a loud laugh as the impression of Alice started; she knew the girl wouldn't mind and that was why it was funny, she wasn't going to get salty about it. She was happy she picked dare though, wanting to keep the train going - she just wondered who it was going to be that dared the future queen. She certainly didn't want to do it.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James wasn't the most sympathetic of people, but even he would have a little bit of compassionate for Kiara if he'd known just how much she'd given up - he didn't think it would make him change his mind on their arrangement though, it wasn't about to make him get down on one knee. He was almost sure his brother was going to choose to do an impression of him, he knew he was probably the easiest to imitate and he was ready to be pissed off by it - but he found the impression of their older sister pretty funny and he couldn't help but laugh. James was surprised that Alice picked dare and he sort of regretted being the only one to pick truth, but he also didn't think he would've wanted any of the dares that had been picked so far. He wondered if he ought to try being a little nicer to Kiara tonight, she had clearly chosen to make an effort with him and he knew he must've been coming across even worse than he usually did.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jaxon knew that he would be prepared for anything that came his way if it meant that he could be with Alice. He was completely sure that he loved her and he wished that there was something that he could do to make her see that. As it stood, Jaxon didn't really think that Alice would be willing to risk her position because of him and it broke his heart a little. He could understand. She had just lost her brother and any more upset would be a lot. But it still hurt. He smiled as he looked over at Edward. He thought that it seemed pretty obvious who the impression was about before he even spoke. "It's uncanny." Jaxon laughed, shaking his head a little. He raised an eyebrow as Alice said dare. He didn't think that, that was something she would particularly pick but he thought it was fun, anyway.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Caroline didn't want to do anything that would upset Otis but she thought that he would expect Verity to know what had happened. She would tell the other girl pretty much everything, anyway. Verity was practically her sister. She thought that sisters told one another everyone. Of course she knew that she had pretty much confirmed to Verity that Otis had been the one that she had slept with and she couldn't help but glance at Otis with a look of guilt. The last thing she wanted was for him to get mad at her because of this. "Oh, what do you think, V?" Caroline asked, raising an eyebrow as Alice said dare. She thought that it would be a lot of fun but she had no idea where to start.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Edward thought that his siblings could both be a lot of fun but they just needed a bit of time to mellow out, to be themselves. He hoped that James would let the others see that. He loved his brother but it felt like he had completely closed up since Aldred died. He cheered as Alice picked dare. He thought that they led to a lot more fun. Things were so much more interesting this way. Truth was boring, there was nothing to really do with it. "See! She's not boring like you, James." Edward called, keeping up the impression. He looked between his siblings with a smile.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Kiara didn't expect James to change his opinion on her because he knew what she had given up but she thought that it would help. And she thought that it might mean that he would give her a chance. She knew that her parents were never going to be happy if James ended up with someone else. They would think of her as a failure. She smiled as Alice spoke and thought quickly, "Swap clothes with the boy of your choice." The girl smiled, trying her hardest. "You can change back before your next go." She thought that it would be a bit of fun and she liked that.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Since Alfred had died, Alice had noticed that a lot of people seemed to see her differently; without her even trying to change their opinions, they had instantly started to see her as the future queen and it felt like they expected a lot more from her. She knew they were surprised that she'd picked dare, but she didn't really know why - she thought it was just another sign of how differently people saw her now. She laughed as she heard Kiara, nodding her head. She wondered which boy would mind it the least - and who had the most chance of fitting into her dress. "Come on, Ed. You're already playing me, so - might as well commit to the theme." She giggled, shrugging her shoulders. "Give me your stuff first, you can have my dress when I've gotten changed." She laughed. She wasn't about to get changed right there, with both of her brothers sitting in front of her.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis wasn't particularly upset that Caroline seemed to have told her best friend about what had happened between them, but he did wish he could've known that more people knew than just the two of them. It was him that was at risk here, after all; and whilst he didn't think the royals would ever turn him away without a reference, he knew it didn't look good being dismissed by the palace and that was absolutely what would happen. He wondered that if he ever did leave, if he were to find a different job... Would it change things? Would it be more acceptable for he and Caroline to be together? And was he willing to do all of that, for what very well could turn out to be simply lust? He just wasn't sure. He laughed at the dare, looking over to Edward with a grin. "Oh man, you're going to look so pretty." He chuckled.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity had definitely noticed a change in the siblings since Alfred had died, even though she hadn't been that close to any of them but Edward - it was strange, she noticed the least change in him and she thought that was because he was stronger than most people seemed to give him credit for. If anything, she thought James was the one who was falling apart a little bit. She looked up to Caroline as she heard her name, opening her mouth to suggest something when Kiara beat her to the punch. "I like that one." She laughed, nodding her head. "He's absolutely going to tear that dress." She laughed, shaking her head - it was such a delicate piece of material and she thought any of the boys would struggle getting it on, but that was what was so funny about it. "Jaxon, I think it's your turn - truth or dare?" She laughed, raising an eyebrow.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James rolled his eyes as his brother called him boring once again. If he was honest, there was a little bit of him that resented Edward for being so effortlessly fun - everybody always wanted to be around him, he was always making them laugh or entertaining them with a story and that was never him. People seemed to prefer all of his siblings to him, actually. It bothered him more than he would ever let on. "You're not getting changed in here, Alice." He snapped at his sister, raising an eyebrow. He thought that just took it too far, he could already imagine what their parents would say. She was a girl after all, it was different for Edward or anybody else - she was supposed to behave like a lady. He thought she should've just chosen truth, like he had.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Alfred had been the peoples Prince. Everyone loved him, including Jaxon. The pair of them got on quite well - as well as one of the servants and the future King could get along, anyway. He had been just as sad as everyone else when he found out that the prince had died and he almost felt guilty that he felt even worse about it because of what it did to Alice. He knew that it was incredibly selfish. Jaxon couldn't help but laugh as he heard Alices dare and he nodded his head slightly as she picked Edward. He figured that that was probably the better choice out of all of them, after all. But as he heard Veritys voice, he raised an eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders. "I'll pick truth, please." He smiled. He didn't like the idea of doing a dare just yet. He didn't necessarily think that truth was easier but it was easier for him right now. He would probably pick dare later on, though.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: If Caroline thought, for a second, that Verity would say anything to anyone about her and Otis, then she would have never told her. But her best friend had absolutely kept worse secrets than this one for her and she knew, 100%, that she wouldn't tell anyone about what had happened. She loved that about hers and Veritys relationship. The longer the night went on, though, the more Caroline wished that she had the chance to talk to Otis. The two of them always had such a good time together and she wished that they could just spend a little more time together. "So pretty." She laughed, nodding her head in agreement with Otis. "Almost as pretty as Alice will look in that turtle neck." She smiled.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Although Edward was struggling with the loss of his brother, he also knew that he didn't have the option to spend too long dwelling on what had happened. His family needed someone to at least try and hold the fort - which didn't mean that he hadn't done his own grieving. He had spent a lot of time drinking in the first few months. He would go out most nights, just trying to get away from his family and the public and his thoughts . He missed his brother so much and he knew that his siblings did too. "I will not!" Edward laughed as Verity spoke. He stood up then, though, and quickly pulled off his jeans and top. He had no issue in stripping down to his boxers in front of the others and he wondered if his brother would.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Kiara smiled a little as Verity spoke, shrugging her shoulders slightly. She was trying her hardest to fit in with the others. She wanted to make friends here. At least, that way, if she and James didn't work out - like she suspected would be the case - then she would at least have moved over here for something. Kiara definitely thought that strong friendships were just as important as relationships. "And what's wrong with her getting changed here if Edward can?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Although Kiara tried her best with the rules of a 'lady', she definitely didn't like a lot of them.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "I wasn't planning on it James, calm down." Alice laughed, rolling her eyes as she looked over at her brother. It annoyed her that he treated her so differently to how he treated Edward, but she wasn't going to have that argument right now, in front of everybody there. She took her brothers clothes with a laugh and moved behind one of the many ballroom doors, pulling her dress over her head and sliding into Edward's jeans and top. She couldn't help but laugh at how big they were, pulling them up as much as she could before she walked back out. "I don't know, I think I pull it off?" She laughed, gesturing to the outfit before she sat back down. She threw the dress over to her brother. "Don't rip it, Eddie." She laughed, shaking her head.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis couldn't help laughing as Eddie stripped down right away, no questions asked - although he definitely noticed the difference in how that didn't seem to bother James, compared to how annoyed he'd been at the idea of Alice doing the same thing. He picked up his drink and took a sip, looking over to Caroline with a smile almost without being able to help himself. He laughed as Jaxon chose truth, though. "If you had to take a member of the palace on a date, staff included, which one would you pick?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity could only imagine how difficult it would be for Kiara to move here, knowing absolutely nobody and be pushed towards somebody as hard to get along with as James; when she and Eddie had first started seeing each other, James had been the one she was most intimidated by although that had faded quite quickly. She wanted to make a bit of effort with the girl, she could see her getting along with she and Caroline anyway. She smiled curiously at the question; she'd never gotten to know Jaxon much, so she had no idea who he'd pick. "His entire life is like being married to Alice, anyway." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders. She didn't think she could ever spend so much time around any one person like that.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James raised an eyebrow as Kiara challenged him, turning to her slightly. "It's different." He shrugged his shoulders. He didn't think that was so hard to understand, they all knew that the rules were different for people like them and especially for the women. He was pretty glad that Jaxon chose truth, that he wasn't the only one who had picked it anymore - although he wasn't a huge fan of the question. There was a strict no fraternising policy, after all. James was always trying to impress his parents, he always wanted to do right by them and in his head, upkeeping the rules even when they weren't around was one of the ways to do that.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jaxon raised an eyebrow as he heard Otis' question and it felt like his heart stopped. Because a part of him wondered if Otis knew something that he hadn't told him. Because if he did, then the two of them weren't as careful as he had led himself to believe and if Otis knew, who else did? But then he saw the look on his friends face and he was pretty sure that the other was just asking the question because it was interesting. He laughed as he heard Verity, "As much as you're right, I don't think I'm cut out to be a Prince." He shrugged but glanced at Alice, to see her reaction. "I think probably you, Verity." He smiled at her. He thought that it was an easier answer than Alice - and yet he still couldn't help but feel guilty.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "I couldn't imagine spending that much time with someone" Caroline laughed, shaking her head a little. She had a bodyguard but he wasn't always needed. It was different for her than the children of current monarchy. Her smiled fell, though, as she heard James. She couldn't believe someone of their age would think like that. "Oh, James, will you stop?" Caroline snapped, raising an eyebrow. "It's not different, is it? You're just sexist." She shrugged. Of course she knew that the way people treated her and Alice were different to how they treated James and Edward but she didn't think that it was fair. And Caroline was determined to break down some of those walls sooner rather than later.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Edward laughed, clapping his hands as his sister had come back and nodded, "You do! You can pull off anything, though, Al." He smiled at her. He thought that it was clear that his sister was beautiful, though. He had absolutely heard everything that his brother was saying but was choosing to ignore that. He didn't think that, that was his battle to fight. "I'm not going to rip it!" The youngest cried as he pulled on the dress. And he was right - though the dress was pulled tightly over his body. "I'm not sure that i can sit down...." He laughed, looking around at the others, as though asking for help.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Kiara shook her head slightly as James spoke. SHe could understand why he might think like that - that was how they were raised, after all. But she didn't like it. She didn't think that it made sense. Alice was a girl but she was also the future queen and to Kiara, that meant that she could do whatever it was that she pleased. "You look great, Alice." She smiled at the girl, nodding her head. She thought that Alice was effortlessly beautiful, that much was completely clear to anyone who looked at her.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: If it had been one of her brothers that asked the question, Alice would've been sure that they knew about her and Jaxon, that they hadn't been careful enough - but she didn't think there was any way Otis could know anything about them and even if he did, she didn't think he was spiteful enough to ask. She did feel sad, though as Jaxon said he didn't feel cut out to be a prince - she understood that, but it was never going to be an easy topic for them. She forced herself to smile as he picked Verity, looking over to the girl with a laugh. Alice absolutely noticed Jaxon glancing over at her and she gave him a reassuring little smile, too quick for anybody else to notice. She understood, of course - even if she didn't like it.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "I can't, either. Aren't you guys tired of each other by now?" Otis laughed teasingly, shaking his head. He thought Jaxon had the hardest job of them all now that Alice was in line for the throne, he was with her pretty much constantly. For obvious reasons, he was glad Caroline's security wasn't as intense. He couldn't help but smile as she called James out, he loved seeing this side of her and he thought it made sense that she was the only one to speak out the way she did. He absolutely found that attractive in her.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity laughed as Caroline called out her cousin, nodding her head in agreement. She thought it was pathetic how clearly misogynistic James was being; especially because he didn't even seem to think he was being unreasonable, he seemed to think it was totally justified. "I mean, technically that's a little bit of a cop-out, because I'm not a part of the palace, but - I'm definitely not going to turn down the compliment." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders as Jaxon picked her. She definitely thought he was good looking, although not quite as much her type personality wise. "Oh my god, you need to unzip it or you're going to end up flashing everybody." She laughed as she looked up at Eddie in the dress, shaking her head.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "Shut up, Caroline. It's not like anybody could've stopped you from flashing the room, is it? I just don't think it's very appropriate for Alice to be doing it, that's all. For obvious reasons." James snapped, rolling his eyes. He wasn't going to let everybody act like he was boring and old-fashioned for the whole night, when he was the only one there actually behaving like a royal. "For gods sake Edward, just sit down." He muttered. He was sick of the night already, he just wanted more people like them there. If he knew people like Hugo were going to turn up, he'd probably leave. He was in such a mood, he didn't know if he was going to be able to turn it around now.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: With the way that James behaved, Jaxon thought that it was clear that he wasn't cut out to be that kind of Prince. He didn't know if that was to change, if things would be different. He knew that they would be if Alfred was King, like he was supposed to be. Jaxon nodded slightly as he saw the smile from Verity. Because he was just glad that she wasn't offended by it. He thought that it was clear that it was her that he wanted to be with but he didn't want to give anyone the chance to guess. He shrugged his shoulders, laughing as Verity spoke, "Well, no-one else seems to have a problem." He laughed, though he was clearly joking with her. He really enjoyed the times when Verity was around. He thought that she was a lot of fun.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: If Carolines security was as tight as Alices, she knew that she would never survive it. She thought that it was too much for a young woman to have to deal with. But, then, Caroline didn't think that it particularly mattered as much when the bodyguard was Jaxon - he was easy on the eyes and fun to have around. Carolines were all boring, middle aged men. She was sick of it. She rolled her eyes as James spoke, "That's because I did what I wanted and it's up to Alice to do what she wants as well. Just because she's going to be the Queen doesn't mean that she had to become some stuck up snob, like you." Caroline loved her cousin but the two of them rarely saw eye to eye - especially after she had been with Hugo. He had made her feel so comfortable with how she viewed the world.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "What do you think, Alice?" Edward asked his sister, trying to speak over Caroline and James' fight. He hated when the two of them got like this. It wasn't unusual for Caroline to leave a family gathering after having argued with both his brother and father. It was usually great entertainment to, typically, boring events. But he didn't really know if right now was the time for it. "Are you trying to tell me you wouldn't enjoy that, V?" Edward raised an eyebrow. Things seemed good between the two of them and he was happy about that. He had missed her, he couldn't help it. "Help me!" Edward laughed as he turned his back to Verity.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Kiara couldn't help but feel a little awkward as the argument started. Although she was completely on Carolines side, she didn't think that a party like this was a good idea for the fight. She raised an eyebrow as she looked up at Alice, wondering if there was something that she could do. "Whose go is it?" The blonde asked, "Verity, is it yours?" She had a pretty good idea of what Verity would pick - judging by her reactions to the others and was trying to come up with something good for her already.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Like Edward, Alice usually just watched these arguments happen with almost amusement - she was on Caroline's side, of course, but she also didn't see much point in arguing with James when he got like this. Right now though, she just wanted them to stop; it was bringing down the mood of the party and nobody wanted that. She cleared her throat, looking over at the two of them. "Haven't the two of you had this discussion enough times to put it to bed for a few hours and allow everybody else to enjoy the party?" She asked, her voice calm but firm. She was trying to channel her older brother, she was trying to imagine how he would use his authority in this situation. She knew that James would've always listened to what Alfred said, she wondered if it would be the same for her.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Although he knew it wasn't really the place for an argument, Otis couldn't help but enjoy watching Caroline in her element; she was so powerful like this and she was completely dominating James in the argument, it was clear to them all. He wasn't surprised that Alice spoke up, although he wondered if either of them would actually listen to her. He was sure he wasn't the only one missing Alfred right now, he'd always had some kind of easy presence that diffused situations like this almost instantly. "Caroline, would you like another drink?" He asked her with a little smile, just doing his best to try and calm the situation down. He thought that if the argument went any further then one of them would end up leaving and he wasn't totally convinced that it would be James.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "Enjoy what? Going on a date with Jaxon, or being a part of the palace?" Verity laughed, raising her eyebrows jokingly as she looked over at Edward. Like him, it wasn't lost on her how nice it was that the two of them were getting along tonight; she knew it was probably dangerous territory, every time she was reminded of how much she enjoyed being around Edward it usually wasn't long before they ended up back together, but she wasn't thinking about that right now. She was still laughing as he asked for her help, though and she stood up to move behind him and lean up as far as she could. "Duck down, then! You're hopeless." She laughed, although she managed to reach the zip and tug it down a little. "That better?" She chuckled. Realising it was her go, she turned to Kiara. "Dare. Of course."

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James was more than used to arguments like this with his cousin, but he was in a worse mood than usual tonight and she was really managing to rile him up. "You always do what you wanted, that's the point. You wouldn't know how to behave properly if somebody paid you to do so." He shook his head. He hated how she and Edward risked the reputation of their family. "If being a stuck up snob means not embarrassing myself every chance I get, so be it!" He snapped, turning to face his sister as she spoke. He was so tempted to tell her to shut up as well, to stop trying to be Alfred - but he knew he had to listen to her, he had to do what she said. He scowled and turned away from them both for a second, picking up his drink.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Although Jaxon - like everyone - knew that Alfred would have been able to calm the situation in a matter of seconds, he still thought that Alice was doing the best that she could do. He didn't like the tension that had been caused and Jaxon thought it was clear just by looking at James that he wasn't happy tonight. He had no idea how to make things a little easier for her, a little better. Everyone knew that once James got an idea in his head, it was hard to shake it and he was almost sure that the same could be said with Caroline too. He nodded a little, though, as James turned away from Caroline. He thought that, that meant that the fight was over - at least for now. And that had to be good enough.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "Behave properly? Is that some kind of joke?" Caroline snapped, pretty much ignoring what Alice had to say. "We're barely even twenty years old, James! There is no behaving properly. Let us just enjoy ourselves and if you're that bothered, you can leave!" She rolled her eyes. There was no way that Caroline was going to leave Otis' birthday, though. She wanted to spend time with him and she hadn't managed to do that just yet. She smiled, though , as he spoke to her and nodded her head, "Yeah, I think that would be great." She beamed at him. She wasn't going to let James ruin the party for everyone.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "Me flashing everyone." Edward laughed, flashing her a smile. He thought that it was clear how much he liked Verity. And he refused to shy away from that. "Much better!" He nodded before he sat down next to Verity. The only way that Edward knew how to ease the tension right now, was by making Verity do something funny, "Alright, V." He smiled, as he turned to face her. "I dare you to take off your dress and run down the corridor and back." He smiled at her, "No-one is in but us, it's not even that big of a deal." He shrugged. There was no way he would have told her if there was even a chance of his mother and father finding out.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Kiara felt so much better as Alice was able to ease the tension a little bit. It was the best thing that she could think about, if she was honest. Because she thought that if James was going to bang on about how things were supposed to be, then he had to listen to Alice. "Do you really believe all of that? That there's one way for boys to behave and another for girls" She asked him because she was mostly curious. Kiara had definitely heard that from her parents but she hadn't really listened to it.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice didn't know if she'd expected James or Caroline to listen to her, but she was glad the argument at least seemed to die out a little. She had seen the two of them in screaming matches too many times and she didn't think tonight was the night for it. "Oh my god, Eddie!" She laughed loudly as she heard the dare; although she knew exactly what her brother was trying to do and she definitely appreciated. It wasn't like there was anybody but them and the staff in the palace, after all. With everybody distracted, she couldn't resist turning to Jaxon for a second, just wanting to see him. "You okay?" She asked softly, raising an eyebrow. She missed the days when they could be in a situation like this, but still know that they were together. It was so hard now, knowing they were technically supposed to stay away from each other.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis had no idea if Caroline even wanted to be distracted right now, but he was definitely going to give her the option - and he was glad when she took him up on it. He'd been around her at enough of these things to know what she liked to drink and he turned to grab it, pouring it all into a new glass and handing it over. "Not that I'm going to say this loud enough for him to hear, but... You absolutely won that argument." He chuckled, raising an eyebrow as he took a sip of his own drink. He thought she would already know that, but he wanted to tell her anyway. He laughed loudly as he heard Verity's dare - he wondered if she was going to do it or not.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "Like I'd need a game to get you to flash." Verity laughed, her smile matching Edward's as she shook her head at him. Times like this, it was hard to remember why she would walk away from their relationship - she wished she was strong enough to handle whatever was thrown her way, because she never had as much fun as she did when she was around the youngest prince. She raised an eyebrow as she realised it was him who was going to give her the dare, bursting out laughing as she heard what it is. "Nobody is in?" She confirmed, wanting to make sure. "Alright. James, don't have an aneurism." She chuckled, before she slid down her skirt and unbuttoned her top, handing them over to Edward before she moved over to the door. "The worst part of this is going to be the running." She laughed, before she took off down the corridor.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James so badly wanted to snap back to Caroline, to tell her that he was the one who actually had the right to live in the palace and that even if he did have to leave, it wasn't much of a chore to leave a party where the guest of honour was one of the servants. He had been told by his sister to stop, though and he knew he had to listen - even if he absolutely hated it. He raised an eyebrow as he heard Kiara, letting out a sigh. "I believe that's the way things are, yes. Whether or not I think that's the way it should be, that's a different matter. But that's how people like us are expected to behave and we're supposed to be the example people can lead by." He didn't think there was any argument to that. Really, James didn't think there were much difference between men and women... But that didn't mean he wasn't going to behave the way he was expected to.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH joined the chat 2 hours ago

- joined the chat 83 minutes ago

JB JC KO CH CJ EH was timed out 8 minutes ago

JB JC KO CH CJ EH joined the chat

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jaxon had been witness to some of the fights that Caroline had with her family and they were never very pretty. He wondered why she would try and start something when she knew it was never going to change their minds. He just thought that it was a waste of time - though he didn't know if it was really useful to say that out loud. He laughed along with the others as he heard Edwards dare. Though was quickly distracted. Jaxon smiled, despite himself, as Alice spoke to him and nodded his head. "Yeah, i'm good. Are you?" He missed her. Every time he spoke to her, he realised just how much.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: There wasn't ever really a fight that Caroline would back down from - not if it was something that she truly believed in. And the way women were treated as opposed to men was absolutely something that she was passionate about. She didn't think that she would ever understand why she and Alice were considered lesser than James and Edward. She smiled, though, as Otis spoke to her and nodded her head, "I know. I always win. His argument is never based on fact." She shrugged. A part of Caroline knew that continuing to fight with James like she was, was futile but that didn't mean that she was about to stop. "Well, it's the boys dream come true!" She laughed, as she looked at Verity. She cheered as her friend started the dare and quickly moved to the door to watch her.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "Well, considering how things are, you probably would." Edward shrugged his shoulders. He understood why Verity had walked away from their relationship. He couldn't blame her for it. But he wished that she hadn't. He wished that the two of them could make things work. Verity was one of his favourite people. And he wanted things to be good. He wished there was something he could do about the media. He laughed, though, as Verity spoke to his brother and nodded her head at her question. He loved how much she was up for a joke. He knew that a lot of people of their level were more like his brother, than them. "I knew you wouldn't like it." He laughed loudly, moving to stand beside Caroline.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Kiara was mostly just intrigued to see why James thought the way that he did. She didn't think that she could spend her life with someone who truly believed that women were the weaker sex and as he explained, she thought that she understood. "But you don't think that those ways are old fashioned? Out of date?" She asked him. "I get that they're how things are, how they've always been... but you don't think that it's time that they're challenged? Alice is going to be Queen. She'll be the highest position in the country and you expect her to behave lesser just because she's a woman?"

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Since being a child, Alice had always been taught not to argue or even to raise her voice in public - she had been taught to be elegant, classy and graceful, but sometimes she wanted to be a little bit more like Caroline, she wanted to say what she was really thinking. It wasn't that she was shy, because she absolutely wasn't - she just knew how she was expected to behave at all times. "Yeah, me too." She smiled softly, nodding her head. She would never stop missing Jaxon, even though they spent every day together - it wasn't the same as knowing that when they were alone, they could be them. The real them. Alice didn't think she'd ever stop missing that, she would give anything to have it back, even though it had been risky having that relationship right under her parents noses.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Outside of the palace, Otis was a lot more political than the King or Queen would assume him to be - he was never going to say anything insulting whilst he was in the palace, he was never going to risk anybody overhearing an opinion they wouldn't like... But outside of the palace, he was massively political and would often be found at rallies or speeches, he campaigned for what he believed was right. It was why Caroline's mind was one of the things he found so attractive about her. He loved that she would stand up for what she thought was right, regardless of what everybody else wanted her to do. He laughed as she said she always won, nodding his head. Otis couldn't help but laugh as he watched Verity, though. "How come it's always the two of you that end up with your clothes off?" He laughed, nudging Caroline gently.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity rolled her eyes at Edward's reminder that they weren't together; she just wanted to act as though everything was fine for tonight, she didn't want to think about it. Because really, all it would've taken was for his parents to put out a statement, to condemn the media for their treatment of the people who their children were dating... But they never had and she almost couldn't understand why. Why you would be so conscious of the way you were viewed, that you wouldn't try and protect your own children and the people they loved from the poison that was the media. She was laughing the entire time she ran down the corridor, the sound echoing off the walls and she was soon back in the room, shaking her head. "You're a terrible person. I can't believe I just ran past a picture of your great, great grandfather wearing this." She laughed, gesturing to her underwear before she held her hands out for her clothes. She'd never had an issue with body confidence, she was always up for a laugh.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "Of course I do. They are, everybody with half a brain knows that. But that's not what I'm saying." James shook his head; although he wouldn't admit to it, he quite liked that Kiara was taking the time to try and understand what he meant rather than just writing him off like his cousin did whenever he expressed an opinion. "The opinions are old fashioned and outdated, but they still exist. People still expect us to behave that way and whether they're challenged or not, there are always going to be people who think that it's wrong to behave otherwise. And we aren't the people who get to challenge it, we have to set the example and behave the way we're expected to, because that's what people want. We're supposed to be perfect." He nodded his head. He hoped that made any kind of sense. "I don't think Alice being a woman makes her any less than me or Edward. But you're lying if you say you don't think it means people expect different things from her." He shrugged his shoulders.

**** joined the chat 22 minutes ago

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jaxon nodded his head a little as she confirmed that she was okay. That was all that he really needed to know. All Jaxon wanted for Alice was for her to be happy. And he knew that he would never be able to give her that. She would have to sacrifice too much for the two of them to ever be together. Even if he didn't work for the palace, Jaxon knew that he would never be able to be with Alice. He could never be the Prince while she was Queen. He knew that her family, the public would never allow it. They just about accepted Frankie and she belonged to that world. "Whose go is it now?"

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Caroline knew that her family didn't approve of her politics. Her parents had absolutely hated when she was with Hugo. They thought that he was 'filling her head with rubbish'. When, really, it had all been there before. Hugo had just made her feel unafraid to actually tell the people around her how she felt, what she thought. She didn't think that it would be a bad thing but her parents acted as though it was the worst thing in the world. She had been to a few protests with Hugo but none since. She didn't have the courage to go on her own. "Because we're the two with the best sense of humour." Caroline laughed, shrugging her shoulders. "Besides, don't tell me that you're complaining?" She raised an eyebrow.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: There was no way that Edward was going to let Verity off the hook with it. She had been the one who had broken up with him and he was hurt. He wanted her to know that. Of course he understood why she had ended things but even so. It drove Edward mad that his parents wouldn't say anything. He'd even managed to convince his mother too, once but they were shut down by his dad. He couldn't understand why they were so against their children being happy. But he never saw to dwell on things. He didn't think that it made much of a difference to worry about them. "I am." Edward laughed, shrugging his shoulders. "He probably needed a bit of a laugh, anyway." Eddie smiled at her.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Kiara definitely didn't agree with James but she didn't think that he agreed with the rules either - at least not by what he was saying to her, anyway. She wanted to be able to listen and form her own, informed, decision before she said anything. "Then who should challenge it?" She asked him. "If not the people from the inside. How else would all of that be changed?" She sighed, a little, as he continued to explain himself, though. Because - for a split second - she felt a little sorry for him. He really believed what he was saying and she wished that she could do something to make him see that, that wasn't the case. "Isn't that exhausting, though? Being perfect all the time?" She asked him. "I mean, I like the idea of being perfect all the time but it's bloody hard to keep up."

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice had never trusted anybody as much as she trusted Jaxon; she'd known he was the right choice as soon as she'd met him, but she'd never imagined just how deeply she'd fall in love with him. She'd often wondered what would've happened if she'd just never said anything, if she'd never confessed her feelings - would they have ever realised they were in love with each other? She thought they would've. "I think it's your go, Kiara." She smiled over at the other girl. It seemed a shame to interrupt when she and James finally seemed to be having a conversation, but she thought everybody else had been already. "Truth or dare?" She laughed, raising an eyebrow.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Despite having a streak of jealousy for the boy, Otis had always liked Hugo and even he'd been able to see that he and Caroline made a good couple. He'd been a breath of fresh air to have around the palace, he was one of the only people he'd seen that would actually challenge the family on their views - much to the kings distaste. "I'm not going to argue with that." He laughed, nodding his head. He thought Caroline and Verity were probably amongst the funniest there, whenever people were laughing it was usually at the two of them - or Edward. "Oh, absolutely not. I don't think anybody around here would be." He laughed. It was clear they were both beautiful girls, after all.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity thought that if the firm themselves were to say something, anything, about the way the media could be then they would be forced to tone it down at least a little bit; and if they hadn't been able to do that for she and Edward, she thought they might've at least done it for Francesca. But they hadn't and she just couldn't understand that. "Oh yeah, he definitely looked like it. I've made his century." She laughed jokingly, shaking her head. "Ooh, come on - dare, right?" She laughed over to Kiara, a little smile on her face. Obviously, it was down to the girl to choose what she wanted but she thought she seemed like she was more fun than picking truth.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "There are plenty of people that can challenge these things without it having to be us. Celebrities, activists, even politicians. It's not the job of the royal family to try and change things. We're a staple for the country, people they can look to." James raised an eyebrow. He knew his father wouldn't even be entertaining a conversation like this, but the fact that Kiara was so willing to listen to him and not just shout that he was wrong made him want to continue to speak to her. He was willing to listen to her, because she would listen to him. He shrugged his shoulders as she asked the next question. "We're used to it by now, it's what we've been raised to do." It was, of course, absolutely exhausting - sometimes James wasn't even sure he really knew who he was because he was so used to just being a royal. A prince.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: There would always be a thought of what might have happened if Jaxon had gone and trained up to go to the Olympics. He was skilled enough for it. And he had decided to pick a sure fire job over that - but it had given him Alice. He would never have changed anything because of that. Even the ache he felt for her now, he would always pick her. It was why he still worked for the palace. He didn't want to be somewhere else that would take him away from her. "This should be a really good one." Jaxon smiled, nodding his head slightly.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Even if Caroline and Hugo had stayed together, she knew that her family still wouldn't have been happy about it. Sure, he was a better match for her socially than Otis but she didn't think that it particularly mattered. Because she knew that the King didn't like Hugo. He didn't like how the other would try and change opinions around the palace. Caroline always thought that it was refreshing. "Good, because i'd know that you were lying." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders a little. Caroline smiled up at him for a second before she looked around the two of them, to make sure that no-one was looking, "Well, you could see that whenever you wanted." She shrugged before she took a sip of her drink.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Edward tried to give his parents the benefit of the doubt. He loved them. He thought that they had to be good people, deep down. But sometimes, they did things that he just couldn't understand. He had really liked Francesca and the way that the media had treated her was mind boggling to him - especially when his parents had done nothing to help. She was supposed to have been the future queen. He couldn't understand why they didn't do anything to help. "Did you feel his eyes watching you? I swear, I see the moving sometimes. "He laughed before he looked over at Kiara, curious about what she would pick.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "But you don't think that it would be better to come from you guys? You don't think people are more likely to listen?" Kiara asked him. Her tone was level, gentle. She didn't want to start a fight but she was pretty curious about what it was that he was thinking. She was about to say something more to him, when she heard her name from Alice. She looked over to the other girl and was about to ask for Truth - until she heard Verity. She chuckled at the girl and nodded her head, "Sure. Dare." She smiled. She wanted to make friends. She had to at least try. She just hoped that it wasn't something like Veritys. She didn't know how comfortable she would be with that one.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice was a big believer in romance, in soulmates and she genuinely did believe that even if Jaxon had never taken a job at the palace, they would've found each other in the end. She didn't think it was possible for two people to connect the way they had and not be meant for one another. She wished she could speak to her parents, like other people could - she wished she could ask them if it would make the situation better if Jaxon didn't work at the palace anymore, or if there was anything she could do that would allow them to be together. But she could only imagine their responses. She watched Kiara with a smile, wondering whether or not she had actually wanted to pick dare or if she just felt as though she had to now. She looked around, seeing who was going to provide the dare for her to do.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis thought that the rules around who the royal children should or shouldn't date were pretty outdated, if he was honest - it was as though they wanted to pretend there were no rules, but there were so many factors that made a person inappropriate and he just thought it was unfair. He laughed along with Caroline, nodding her head - although he was definitely a little bit shocked by what she said next. It was the first direct reference to anything being between them since it had happened. "I don't think that's directly true, do you?" He chuckled softly, raising an eyebrow. If that were true, he didn't think they'd be in this predicament.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "No, but I'm now gonna be scared to walk down that corridor on my own, every single time." Verity laughed, nodding her head. She and Caroline were rarely seen without each other, so even when she and Edward weren't together, Verity spent a fair amount of time in the palace anyway. It was how she'd first started to like Eddie, she'd been around him so much that it had been impossible for her not to notice just how well the two of them got along. She nodded approvingly as Kiara chose, pouting for a second as she thought about what she could give her. "Kiss the two people you think would be the best and worst in bed. Don't tell us which is which." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "I really don't." James shook his head. He meant it, too - he thought he and his family members trying to change things, behaving outrageously, was only going to piss people off and make them lose respect for them. It was never going to work. He looked up as he heard Kiara's name, though - and he was almost sure she was going to pick dare, so he wasn't surprised when he did. He sighed as he heard the dare, though; he thought that was just rude and no matter who she chose, they were all going to be guessing who was who in their heads. He folded his arms and watched, waiting to see who Kiara was going to choose.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Although Jaxon loved Alices romantic view of the world and how things could be - he thought that only someone with her level of privilege could think like that. Even when they had first discussed telling everyone about the two of them, Jaxon had thought that it was mad. Because he didn't think that there was any way that the King and Queen would accept him as a son in law, even when Alice wasn't to be Queen. He didn't want this to be the end of them but he was really starting to believe that it was. He thought that it would be impossible for it to not be. Jaxon looked over to Kiara with an amused smile as he waited for her to pick.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Caroline felt the same as Otis. She couldn't understand why there were so many rules when she was sure that a 'commoner' would do the palace and the entire royal family some good. It would bring in some much needed perspective. Caroline couldn't help but laugh as she saw the look on Otis' face and the girl shrugged her shoulders, "I think you only need to ask." But she knew what he meant. It wasn't like they could be open about what they were saying, how they might feel. It had been the first time that this was mentioned but Caroline liked that it was done in a jokey way. She thought that she had made how she felt pretty clear - without, really, having to say anything at all.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "You're welcome." Eddie beamed. He had been terrified of the palace when he had been little. The portraits of all of his dead ancestors freaked him out and he hardly ever went out in the corridors on his own. Now he was a little older and he knew how silly all of that was but it was fun to think about. He sometimes missed how simple things had been when he was younger. "That's a good one." Eddie laughed, nudging Verity. He loved Truth or Dare. He thought that it had been the perfect game to get everyones guard down a little, to make things a little more social and less 'us' and 'them'.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Kiara nodded her head slightly, "I understand that." She smiled fondly at him. She thought that, that one conversation with James made her see him in a different light than before. She understood him a little better. She liked that. Kiara laughed as she heard her dare, "Well, at least I don't have to tell people." She chuckled before she looked around at everyone. She got up then and moved over to Otis, reaching up to kiss his cheek gently. She looked around at the others for a second. Finally, she lent over to James, reaching to kiss him for a second. She mostly kissed him because she wanted to see how it would be.- but also because she thought that he would probably be quite good.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice hadn't stopped to consider how privileged her view on love really was; she was quite aware of it in every other sense of the word, but not when it came to love. Everything would always be easier for her. She just wished there was something, anything she could do. She knew it wouldn't be long before her parents expected her to find somebody and settle down, to provide them with future heirs. Alice laughed as she heard the dare, covering her mouth with her hand to hide it slightly. She wasn't sure who the girl would pick, as far as she knew she had no knowledge of how any of them in the room would be... But she chuckled as she picked her pair. She thought her brother would probably like that.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis thought the fact that Edward, out of all three Howard siblings, had been the one in the most serious relationship was a sure sign that the royals were just too strict - because he was the youngest, he was the playboy. But they had approved of Verity more than, it seemed, anybody the other two had tried to bring to the palace. He could only imagine the reaction if the king knew how he felt for Caroline, even though the two of them had always had a relatively good professional relationship. "I'll keep that in mind." He laughed quietly, nodding his head. It was the confirmation he needed that Caroline wanted it to happen again, just like he did. He laughed as Kiara came over and kissed him on the cheek, nodding his head. "I think that tells us everything we need to know, doesn't it?" He laughed loudly. He clearly didn't mind, though.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: With her father being an early, Verity had been in places like this since she was tiny and so a lot of the magic it possessed had been exposed to her pretty early on - she didn't feel intimidated by the beauty or the size, or by what it meant just to be in a place like this. "It is, isn't it?" She laughed, nodding her head. She chuckled as she saw who Kiara was picking, nodding her head with interest - she thought it was really interesting that she'd picked James. She thought she could probably guess which way around the pair was, but she wasn't about to ask - that ruined the fun of it all, she thought.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James felt as though he was probably the only sibling that upheld those views anymore, the views that were so important to his father and the rest of the family and he just felt as though maybe if he kept up with that then his father would one day see how hard he tried. He knew it was pathetic, it was embarrassing - but it was the truth. He raised an eyebrow as Kiara went over to kiss Otis, laughing slightly as she came over to him; he just hoped he'd gotten it right in his head, that he was the one who should be laughing and not the one who should be getting laughed at. He kissed her back quickly, smirking as she pulled away.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jaxon would never want to dampen Alices view on love - he just didn't think that he would ever be able to have the same. Jaxon had seen too much heartache - with his friends, his own father - to truly believe everything that Alice did. But he thought that it was a beautiful way to look at things, he really, really did. Jaxon had always struggled with optimism. He wasn't a grumpy person, not by any means, but he couldn't always look on the bright side of things. That was why Alice had been so refreshing for him. "Who would you pick?" He asked Alice, curiously. He knew that she didn't have to answer but he couldn't help but wonder. He thought that it would be pretty interesting, whoever it was.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Caroline was well aware that her parents had married for convenience, rather than love and she also knew that they wanted the same for her. They wanted to make sure that their daughter had a position, a title. And she knew that they would hate the idea of someone like Otis sweeping her off her feet. "Consider it a birthday gift." Caroline laughed, shrugging her shoulders. She was so glad that the two of them were able to talk for a little bit. She had missed speaking to him. Caroline had tended to avoid him since they slept together, not quite knowing what to say to him but it seemed like the vodka from earlier had finally caught up to her. "It might do. But she doesn't know what she's talking about if she picked James, so.."

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Although Edward wasn't against it, he knew how lucky he was to have fallen in love with someone who was part of the world that he came from, who his parents approved off. Edward had always thought that it would have been him who let the side down. That his mother and father would have to deal with him dating some girl that he had met in a club. But that simply wasn't the case. He nodded in agreement with Verity, a small smile on his face. "Can we swap back now, alice?" Edward asked him sister, having almost forgotten that he was still wearing her dress.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Kiara wondered if James ever listened when he and Caroline when the two of them fought or if it went in one ear and out the other. She didn't think that she really did much listening when someone was shouting at her, anyway. Kiara smiled and rolled her eyes a little as she pulled away from James. It was a good kiss, she thought, and she hoped that he felt that too. At least that was the start now. "Are we back to the beginning again?" She asked, looking around at the others - at anyone but James for a second.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice definitely considered herself an optimist, she had always tried to look on the bright side of things - although the past six months had made it hard for her. Losing Alfred had been the worst, but everything that had come along with that had taken its toll too. She couldn't help but laugh quietly at Jaxon's question, looking up at him with an amused little smile. "Well, I think I have it easier than most." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders. "I already know who's best and for worst, well - seeing as I'm obviously not putting my brothers anywhere in the equation, it would have to be Otis." She laughed. "What about you?"

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis couldn't imagine marrying somebody because it looked good, or because you know you were supposed to. His parents were madly in love, even now and whilst they definitely struggled sometimes, they always had each other. He wanted that for himself, too. He wanted his kids to know how in love their parents were. "Oh, I absolutely will." He chuckled, nodding his head. What he'd been drinking was definitely having an effect now, otherwise he'd never be so brazen with the princess. He knew that. "I'm glad you think so, Car..." He said softly, a little smile on his face. He just liked knowing she didn't regret it, that she didn't think she'd made a mistake.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity absolutely thought you should be with who you loved, regardless of their class or status - but she had never really considered it when it came to the royal family, because it just seemed as though it was an unspoken rule that you wouldn't. She didn't think it would ever go down well. Even though she had been portrayed terribly, she had been made out to be somebody she absolutely wasn't - Edward's parents had been accepting of her because of where she came from. She laughed as Edward asked his sister to switch, pulling a sad face. "Aw, you mean we don't get to see you in the green silk dress for the whole night?" She chuckled, looking over as Alice agreed to swap back with her brother.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James pretty much shut down as soon as somebody started to shout at him, or accuse him of something - he was never going to listen to that or take any note, so Kiara was probably one of the only people that had managed to get through to him in quite some time. It was absolutely a good kiss, if they hadn't been in the middle of everybody else then James would've probably been tempted to carry it on. He knew he couldn't, though. "I think so." He laughed, nodding his head. "Alice, did you say that Frankie was going to join us?" He asked his sister, raising an eyebrow. He thought he remembered her saying something about more people earlier on in the night.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jaxon smiled proudly as Alice spoke, absolutely knowing who she was referring too. "Yeah, I know who the best is too." He nodded. "Maybe Caroline for the worst? Or is that mean, considering she's your cousin." He laughed, shaking his head slightly. Jaxon thought that all of that was pretty interesting to muse about, though, because it was all so subjective. No-one really knew who was the best or worst of any of it. "Frankies coming?" Jaxon asked, smiling slightly. He had always gotten along well with Francesca but he hadn't seen much of her since she stopped coming around to the palace. He was definitely looking forward to seeing her.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: There were some days when Caroline thought - to hell with it. SHe thought that she would renounce all titles and leave the family, for good. But then she would get too scared. Because the idea of leaving her mum and dad was too much for her to bare. The idea of losing her cousins - the people who were close enough they might as well be her siblings - was too much. That was what she was afraid of. To Caroline, it was like a choice of Otis and the future family they could have, or her real family. And she had no idea which way to turn. "Of course." She smiled, nodding her head. "Oh, yeah. Hugos coming in a bit too. I hope that's okay?" She asked, as she looked up at Otis. She had been talking about the party when he was there and she hadn't want her friend to feel left out.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: It was part of the reason why Edward liked the title of 'party boy'. At least this way, if he was spotted with someone that he shouldn't have been with, then he could put it down to the fact that he was drunk or that he was just having a fun time. Nothing seemed as big of a deal when he was like that. He laughed as he heard Verity and shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe if you're lucky, i'll let you see me in it later." He said before he burst out laughing. He was having such a good night and he hoped that it continued. He hoped that this was the start of James having a better time, too.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Kiara liked that she and James were able to talk about something, even for a little while. And it was something important, she thought. She liked to know that James wasn't a complete monster - not like he seemed to want to make himself out to be. A part of her wondered if James would have kissed her for longer if the two of them weren't in the ballroom, with everyone else. And she hoped the two of them got a little bit of time to be alone for a little while. Kiara had yet to meet Frankie but she had heard a lot about her. Everyone knew about the Princes girlfriend.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice smiled as Jaxon returned the sentiment, unable to help the soft laughter that came out; when she thought about just how much they'd kept from the people around them it was almost unbelievable that nobody had ever suspected they had feelings for each other. "I'd be more concerned if you'd said she was the best, so." She chuckled, shrugging her shoulders. She looked up as she heard her brother, nodding her head. "Yeah, she said she might stop by, but she's out with - um, she's out with Beatrice." She nodded her head. She didn't know if that was going to be awkward for Edward or Verity, she hoped it wasn't going to be. She missed Frankie, she thought it would be nice to have her around again.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: *continued* "Can I have the dress back first?" Alice asked her brother with a laugh, holding out her hand. "Oh, perfect! Kit said he might make an appearance, too." She smiled. She liked that their little group was growing a bit.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis thought that asking Caroline to give up basically everything before they even knew if the two of them were going to work out was just too much, it was too much to even think about never mind to go ahead with right now. He wished things were different, but he knew they weren't. And he knew he needed to try and get past the way he felt, to make everything a bit easier. He smiled and nodded as Caroline asked if Hugo could come; he knew it was his party, but he was never going to say people couldn't come over to the palace, it wasn't his say at all. "Yeah, the more the merrier." He smiled. He couldn't help feeling a little flash of jealousy, though. He knew it was ridiculous, when they weren't even together, but he couldn't help it. Caroline and Hugo always got along so well.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity thought you could get away with a lot when you had the reputation of being the fun one, of being a partier - you were allowed to make mistakes, you could put it down to the lifestyle and laugh it off. She couldn't imagine how it felt to be one of the people who had to think so carefully about everything they did, somebody who took things seriously all the time. She didn't think she could ever be like that. "Oh, well that would just make my night." She laughed loudly, shaking her head as she looked over at Edward. She liked hearing that more people were going to join them, she thought it always made it more of a party when there were a few more of them, although she was already having a lot of fun with just this little group.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James nodded as his sister confirmed that Francesca and Beatrice would be coming, but he wasn't sure how he felt about it - his brother still didn't know what had happened between he and Beatrice just after they'd broken up and he didn't think he wanted him to. Really, James had no idea why he'd even done it; he thought part of him just wanted to prove that he could do what he wanted, that he could be the fun one too. But he didn't want to fall out with his brother like that, not now. "Are you kidding?" He groaned as Caroline said Hugo was coming over. He couldn't stand the other man, he thought he was a ridiculous person and he could never bear to listen to what he had to say.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jaxon knew that if anyone found out about he and Alice, then he would lose his job. Because he had kept this a secret from everyone and he knew what a big secret it was. He understood that this was life changing and he still couldn't believe that he had allowed himself to risk it all for Alice. He thought that she was worth it though. "Very fair." He countered, nodding his head slightly. He nodded his head a little as Alice confirmed that Frankie would be there. He had no idea how things would be with Edward and Beatrice but he didn't think that it particularly mattered. "Well, looks like we'll have a good group." He smiled.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Caroline thought that it was important for her and Otis to be able to talk about what had happened between them. Because, if he was, she was willing to try and get to know him a little better in private, in secret. She knew that it would be hard but she knew that she would regret it, if they didn't try. And she hoped that he felt the same way as her. If they didn't try to get to know one another, to see if this was worth it, she thought that they would both wonder 'what is'. "Okay, perfect." She smiled. Though it quickly fell as she heard James and she turned to face him, raising an eyebrow, "Are you joking?" She asked him. "What? You have a problem? I don't particularly like Kit but he's your friend and he's coming anywhere and I'm not complaining so why don't you just shut up?"

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "I knew that it would." Eddie smiled, nodding his head. He liked when he and Verity were like this. It was fun. It was nice and comfortable. And he wished that they could be like it all of the time. "Oh yeah, yeah." Edward laughed at his sister and quickly pulled the dress up and off of him. "Beatrice is coming?" Edward asked, looking to his big sister as he handed her the dress. He hadn't seen much of his ex girlfriend since she had screamed at him about kissing Verity. He hadn't meant to hurt her and had definitely intended on telling her - he just never got round to it.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: If she was honest, Kiara was pretty excited about meeting the new people. She thought that she had heard a lot about them so it would be nice to be able to meet them in person. She had no idea what to expect with Frankie. Everyone there seemed to like her but she had no idea what the girl was actually like - it wasn't like the media had a consistent view on her, after all.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: ** a couple of hours later **

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "Whose bright idea was it to invite her?" Verity whispered to Caroline with a laugh, shaking her head as she looked over to Beatrice. She had nothing against the girl, she really didn't - but that didn't mean it wasn't awkward and she didn't know why anybody would think of bringing her along, when they knew both she and Edward were going to be there. "Thank god we got truth or dare out of the way earlier." She rolled her eyes. They were all pretty drunk by now, so Verity didn't feel nearly as awkward as she could, although it was obviously still not the best situation. "Also, are you going to tell me what you and Edward were speaking about earlier, or am I just gonna have to guess?" She laughed, nudging her friend. She had absolutely seen them whispering and she wanted to know what it was about.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "I'm so glad you turned up, honestly." James rolled his eyes as he looked to Kit, shaking his head slightly. He needed somebody at the party that was a little bit more like him, somebody that was actually his friend rather than somebody who was forced to be around him. "I can't believe Caroline invited that pretentious prick, as well." He looked over to Hugo. As usual, he seemed to be commanding the attention of the room, making everything about himself. He thought it was rather embarrassing. "Don't you think it's a little bit strange, hosting a party for one of the servants?" He asked. He hoped he wasn't alone in thinking that, because even though he was a little more drunk and finding it easier to bare, he still didn't think it felt totally normal.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: These parties at the palace had always been some of Hugo's favourite things when he and Caroline were together; he found himself getting along with the staff a lot more than he got along with most of the snobs in the palace anyway, this was far more his kind of scene. He'd spoken to most people already, he'd spent most of the night with Caroline but now he thought it was probably an idea to start chatting to the people he hadn't spoken to yet. "Beatrice Calvert." He chuckled as he walked past the girl at the drinks station, raising an eyebrow. "I couldn't imagine there's anywhere on earth you'd least rather be than here -- and yet here you are." He found it really interesting that she would willingly come here after everything Edward had done, but he was definitely interested in finding out what had brought her there.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Frankie had only been to the palace once in the months since Alfred had passed away and that was just after the funeral, to pay her respects to the king and queen properly; but when she'd been invited tonight, she'd found it hard to say no. These little parties had always been something Alfie loved and she didn't think she could turn down going, knowing how much he would've loved it. She couldn't shake how strange it felt, though - she was almost expecting him to walk through the door any minute, lighting up the room like he always did. She'd busied herself making talk with his siblings and some of the others, but it almost felt tiring. She grabbed herself a drink and moved over to sit down, smiling when she realised that it was Jaxon she'd sat next to. "Long time no see." She chuckled, looking over to him. "How are you doing?"

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis was having such a great birthday, especially with the addition of the people that had just arrived and he was definitely more than a little drunk after the many rounds of truth or dare they'd played. He was ready to enjoy the rest of his night though and he absolutely didn't think they were done with playing games, especially not with Caroline and Verity around. He couldn't help noticing that Kiara seemed ever so slightly on the outside though, especially since James's friend had arrived. He wasn't the type of person who could let anybody be left out, especially at something like this and so he moved over with a beaming smile. "Hey! Are you having a good night?" He smiled, raising an eyebrow. "This must all be so weird for you, do you know who everybody is?" He asked curiously, looking at their newest arrivals.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "I really had no idea she was going to bring Beatrice until it was too late, I swear." Alice told her youngest brother apologetically, for the fifth time that night. She hadn't wanted to make things awkward for him at all; she'd just really wanted Frankie to know that she could still attend things like this, that they still wanted her there even now that Alfred was gone. Frankie hadn't said that she'd been out with Beatrice until a couple of hours before the party, when it was too late to tell her that it might make things awkward. "It's not so bad though, is it? There haven't been any screaming matches this time, anyway." She chuckled softly, giving her brother a teasing nudge. She didn't judge him for what had happened there, that was his business - but she had definitely felt for Bea at the time, she couldn't deny that much.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "I think she was with Frankie when Alice invited her. You know what Alice is like." Caroline shrugged her shoulders. If it was her, Caroline wouldn't have invited Beatrice just because - never mind if it was polite or not. She couldn't understand why Alice thought that her being here was a good idea. And she definitely couldn't understand why Beatrice would even show up if she didn't want to be around Edward and Verity. "God, yeah. Could you imagine? That would be hell." She muttered, rolling her eyes. Although Caroline hoped that, that wouldn't be the end of the games. She thought that there was more fun to be had yet. Caroline laughed as Verity shrugged her shoulders, "I think I wanna hear what you think we were talking about, instead."

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Kit chuckled as he listened to James and shrugged his shoulders, "Just call me your knight in shining armour." Although he didn't particularly like the idea of celebrating one of the staffs birthday, he wasn't someone who would turn down a party. Especially if it meant that he got to spend time with the Howards. They'd all been friends for such a long time now. "There has to be someone who has to act the fool. Enjoy him making an idiot of himself." Kit muttered as he glanced over at Hugo. He didn't understand the fuss about the other, if he was completely honest. He thought that he was a bit of a dick. "It's definitely strange." Kit nodded. There was no way that his family would do it and he didn't understand why the Royals were. "That's the kind of monarchy Alice is gonna want to rule though, isn't it?"

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: When the party had been suggested, there had been a second when Beatrice wasn't going to go. She knew that it meant that she would have to see Edward and Verity and she didn't particularly want that - but she also didn't want them to see her as weak, either. If they knew that she had been invited and picked not to go, then she was sure that they would think that they had won. She wouldn't give them that satisfaction. She laughed as she heard Hugo though and turned to face him, "Hugo Kennedy!" She called to him, with a smile. She'd always enjoyed talking to Hugo. He was like a breath of fresh air, sometimes. "Well, you know me. I like to be unpredictable." She laughed before she shrugged her shoulders.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: Jaxon missed having Frankie around the palace. He thought that she was one of the kindest people and it had been a pleasure whenever he had been around her. He could understand why she wasn't there anymore, though. Because why would she? It wasn't like she had a reason for it anymore and he could imagine that it was a little too difficult. He smiled, though, as he heard her voice and turned so that he could look at her. He took a sip of his drink and nodded his head, "Yeah, it's good to see you, Frankie." He chuckled. "I'm good though. Busy, as always. How've you been doing?"

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: While Kiara was definitely glad that she had been invited to the party, she didn't particularly think that there were many people there that she got along with, that she could speak too. She liked Alice but she didn't want to feel like she had to put up with her all night and James was busy with Kit now. She had just sat on her own, away from the others, a small smile on her face, when Otis came over to her. "Hey. I don't think I said yet but happy birthday." She smiled at him. She thought that it was nice that he would come over to talk to her, though. "I know of everyone." She laughed. "But that's about it." She shrugged. "I bet you know all of the secrets?" She asked, raising an eyebrow before she laughed.

JB JC KO CH CJ EH: "It's fine, Alice." Edward sighed, shaking his head a little. He didn't like the idea of his ex girlfriend being there - especially when he had cheated on her - but he wasn't going to make a big deal out of it. He knew his sister well enough to know that she wouldn't have done anything like this to be spiteful. Edward just had no idea how to be around Beatrice anymore. They'd had a lot of fun together but that was long gone, now. "There's time, Al." Edward laughed, shaking his head a little. He was mostly joking, though. He didn't think the girls would start anything - he hoped not, anyway. "Are you having a good night, though?"

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "She's far too nice for her own good." Verity shook her head. She thought that was something the older girl would have to snap out of before she became queen, otherwise people were just going to walk all over her. More than that, though, Verity didn't really understand why Beatrice would want to be here in the first place - she wondered if it would make things more awkward if the two of them spoke, or if it would clear the air a little bit. "Absolute hell. We should definitely play something, though. Something fun." She smiled devilishly, eyes twinkling as she thought about all the possibilities they had. She laughed loudly, shaking her head. "God, you're such a tease. Just tell me! I take it he's the -- he's the guy?" She lowered her voice for the last part, she loved Caroline too much to ever give away her secret, even accidentally.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "I would never, but you'll know that I'm thinking it deep down." James chuckled, nodding his head. He didn't feel as out of his depth now that Kit was there and he knew they had similar opinions, that they would both find it strange to be there with the staff and trying to act as though it was normal. "Mm, and it always seems to be him. Class clown. I think he's compensating for something." He rolled his eyes. James and Hugo had gotten into more arguments than he could even count, even his father had walked away from the table once. He couldn't stand him. "I think so, unfortunately... She's too soft. Things like this won't fly when she takes the throne, so I just hope she's grown up a bit by then." He shook his head. He knew it was harsh, Alice had already grown up so much since Alfred had died, but he didn't think it was enough.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Hugo was never going to turn down a party like this; he and Caroline had ended on excellent terms, she was still one of his closest friends and so he was never going to pass up the opportunity to spend time with her and the others. He always had the most fun around them. He laughed as Beatrice repeated his full name back to him, nodding his head in approval. "Oh, of course. Colour me surprised." He beamed, resting against the wall next to her as he spoke. He had an easy confidence in the palace, he had been there a lot already. "So you're not finding it painstakingly awkward, then? Being around the two of them?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He considered both Edward and Verity as friends of his, but he didn't think he could be around them if he was Beatrice.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: For a long time, Frankie had assumed that her life would be the palace - she and Alfred had been in talks with the firm about when he was going to propose, they had been advising them on the best times to do so, on what would happen... And then all of a sudden he'd been gone and so had every single plan she'd had for the future. It was the hardest thing she'd ever had to wrap her head around and being here now was a huge reminder of that. She wanted to be okay with it though, she wanted to be able to be there. "Of course you are. You're the most dedicated bodyguard anybody's ever had. I hope they're giving you a bonus." She laughed teasingly, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm - yeah, I'm okay. I'm doing okay." She smiled, nodding her head. There was no point going into the truth, she thought; this was a party, after all.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Just out of pure interest, Otis had done a little bit of research when he'd heard that Kiara was moving over to the UK to meet with Prince James. He knew how much she'd had to give up and he could only imagine how awful it was for her to be here, knowing that her entire social life depended on potentially marrying this one man. "Oh, thank you! Honestly, I kind of keep forgetting that's why we're all here. But I'm not complaining about that, because twenty four feels extremely old." He chuckled, shaking his head. He nodded as Kiara confirmed that she at least knew who everybody was. "Oh, I know some. Perks of the job, you find out far more than you ever bargained for." He laughed, nodding his head.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice nodded her head. She knew her brother was easygoing and that he wouldn't really mind, but she just didn't want him to think she'd kept the fact that Beatrice was going to be in attendance from him. She remembered just how big the to-do in the papers had been, when everything had gone down between Beatrice and her brother - it had been every single front page, every single headline. She knew it was selfish, but it had absolutely made her think about how big the uproar would be if she and Jaxon were to come out with their relationship. "Oh, do you think? We should be on-guard, then." She laughed. She hoped that there wouldn't be any arguments tonight, though. "I am. It's... It's different now, isn't it?" She sighed, raising an eyebrow. "But it's still good."

JC KH KO CH EH BC (JB JC KO CH CJ EH) joined the chat

JC KH KO CH EH BC: "She is. But we always knew that she was the nice one." Caroline laughed. She loved her cousin but sometimes, she thought that she was a little soft and, like Verity, she thought that Alice needed to toughen up a little before she was officially the queen. She wasn't going to hate on Beatrice, though. She didn't think that it was fair to want to chance her away from somewhere that she had always been welcome - Caroline just thought that it was a little weird. "Oooh, what do you think?" Caroline asked, raising an eyebrow. she knew that if she and Verity were to suggest one, then they had to make it good. She laughed as she heard Verity question it but she nodded her head, "And we were kind of talking about that." She shrugged. Because she thought that it was pretty much that. She didn't think that Verity needed to know the specifics.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: "It's alright." Kit laughed, shrugging his shoulders. "I know you're thinking it. I'm secure enough to not need to hear it." He smiled at his friend. Kit had been around the palace enough to feel completely comfortable there. He thought of it as a second home, if he was completely honest. And James felt like a brother to him. Kit had been raised on his own so it only made sense that his best friend was closer to a brother. "That must be it. He uses that mouth to scare the girls away." He chuckled, rolling his eyes. Kit nodded as he listened to James, "Well, from what my parents tell me, they're hoping that she'll have someone by her side, soon. To keep her in line." He had been told everything that his parents and the Howards were planning and he had no idea how much Alice would like it - or not.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: Beatrice wished that she had, had a nice break up with Edward - like Hugo and Caroline obviously had. But they hadn't. Because Edward didn't even have the balls to end things with her. She, honestly, thought that she would have reacted better if he had just ended things. She would have had more respect for him if he had just told her about the kiss. It was the way that she had found out that had really hurt her. She definitely wanted to talk to Verity about it. Not to fight with her - but because she wanted to understand why she wouldn't have told her. "Good. That's the kind of reaction I like." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders a little. "I have to get used to seeing them at events, don't I?" Beatrice asked, raising an eyebrow. They were all in the same world. She would have to grow used to seeing them all of the time. "Why? Do you find it awkward that I'm here?" She countered.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: Although Jaxon had known that it was unusual, he and Frankie had gotten along quite well. They had been good friends while she was at the palace. She was probably one of the kindest people. And he absolutely missed seeing her around. If Alfred was still around, he probably would have told Frankie about what was happening with he and Alice. He probably would have gone to her with some advice. He didn't see the point in risking things anymore. He laughed, a little awkwardly, as Frankie spoke and he nodded his head, "I'm happy enough, don't worry." He smiled at her. He had no idea if Frankie was truly telling the truth but he wasn't about to say anything about that. He didn't think that she had to talk about what had happened if she didn't want too. "How is work going? Your art and stuff?" He asked her, with a smile. Just trying to find something that she could talk about. He had missed talking to her.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: Back home, people stopped when Kiara walked into a room. They made sure that she had someone, that she always had attention and that just wasn't the case since she moved here. She knew no-one and it was so hard for her. She had no idea how to properly settle in here. It felt so difficult to her but she was trying. She was really trying. And she felt much better after the conversation that she and James had, had earlier. "Twenty four isn't that old." Kiara laughed, shaking her head fondly. "I think it'll be a good age." She nodded. She had no idea if it was true but she thought that it might be nice for him. "Any that you care to share?" Kiara asked, raising an eyebrow before she laughed.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: Edward didn't mind Beatrice being there as long as she didn't start something with Verity. He didn't think that, that would be fair. He had been the one to do something, after all. Verity just went along with it. And if the papers hadn't said something about it, then he would have. He never meant to keep it a secret from her. As mean as it sounded, though, Edward thought that he would always pick Verity. He loved her. Why should he have to be with someone else? Beatrice had just been a time waster, a distraction after his brother. He knew that, that hadn't been fair, though. He nodded as his sister spoke, "It's bound to be different, Alice." He sighed. Because he didn't really want to talk about his brother. He couldn't. "Just have fun."

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "It had to be one of you, didn't it?" Verity laughed teasingly, nudging her friend to show that she was joking. In their own way, she thought all of the Howard's were nice people, but Alice absolutely had the softest nature. Verity was glad she wasn't like that, she didn't want anybody to ever think they could take her for a fool. It wasn't that she had bad feelings towards Beatrice; she knew that what they had done was wrong and she felt bad for hurting the girl, but she also didn't want to drag up the past anymore. What was done, was done. "Something that's going to cause a little stir. OH!" She laughed as the perfect game came to her, clapping her hands excitedly. "Seven minutes in heaven. But we choose the pairs." She laughed, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "Of course you were. Floozy." She laughed, rolling her eyes - although she was quite clearly playing. She loved that her friend was getting a chance to do what she wanted, to speak to Otis properly.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "Sure you are." James laughed, nodding his head. With their fathers growing up alongside one another, he and Kit had always been close and James thought he was probably closer to the other than he had ever been to Alfred or Edward. The two of them had always gotten along better with each other than they had with him. Kit was somebody who understood him a little bit more. "I don't know how he's even allowed in here anymore, my father can't stand the man." He rolled his eyes. His father had always been a close friend of the Prime Ministers, they'd gone to school together and he was not Hugo's biggest fan by a long shot. He raised an eyebrow as Kit spoke about his sister; he hadn't heard anything of the sort yet, but he quite liked the idea of that. If Kit was insinuating that it was going to be him, that their parents had planned something like they had for he and Kiara... He thought Alice could do a lot worse than Kit. "And you think you're up to the job, do you?" He chuckled, nudging his friend. "I wouldn't mind that, you know. Having you as my brother." He laughed, nodding his head.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Hugo felt for both sides of the relationship with Bea and Edward, if he was honest - because he couldn't imagine how humiliating it had been for Beatrice to find out about the cheating the way she had, but he also knew how relentless the press were towards Edward and he didn't imagine he would've had much of a chance to tell her about the kiss even if he'd wanted to. "Well, you can count on me to provide you with the desired reaction anytime." He laughed, nodding his head. "I suppose you do. That's one of the things about the company we tend to keep, isn't it? Everybody ends up with each other and we all just have to deal with it." He chuckled. He knew he'd be okay seeing Caroline with somebody else, as long as it was somebody that made her happy. "Not at all. On the contrary, I'm happy you're here." He told her, shrugging his shoulders with a charming little smirk.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Frankie had always made an effort to speak to the staff the same way she'd speak to anybody else around the palace; in her house, the staff had always been a part of the family and that was absolutely how Alfred had treated them all too. They had often spoken about how things would change when the two of them took over, how much nicer it would be for the people that worked there, how the rules would change. She and Jaxon got along because they were similar people, she liked speaking to him - she didn't think their jobs made a shred of difference to that. "I'm glad, I really am." She smiled as Jaxon said he was happy. "Are you still living here?" She asked curiously. "I haven't done much painting, if I'm honest. I'm getting back into it, though. Or trying to." She laughed, nodding her head. She'd found it hard to get into a creative mindset with everything that had happened. "I think being here will help. I thought it was going to be hard, but it's - almost nice. Strange, but nice." She smiled, looking around the room for a second.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis really didn't think that it would take Kiara very long to fit in, to find her people and make a good impression - but he imagined that these first few days around the palace and all of these new people were going to be a pretty difficult adjustment period. "Don't you think? They say twenty five is when it all starts to go downhill and I just don't think I'm ready for that to happen in a year." He chuckled, shaking his head. He was talking nonsense because he was a little drunk, but he hoped Kiara didn't mind. "I hope so. Maybe this is my year." He chuckled. "Oh, well that all depends on what you'd like to know. Who do you think has some interesting secrets?" He chuckled.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice knew her brother well enough to believe that he would never want to hurt somebody intentionally, he just got carried away with the lifestyle he lived and people got hurt in the process. She didn't think it made it okay, but it didn't make him a bad person. She thought Edward was one of the best people she knew, he was so caring and good when he wanted to be. "No, I know." She smiled sadly, nodding her head in agreement. She knew he didn't want to talk about Alfred, but she found that hard - because he was on her mind so often and she would love to speak to her siblings about him, but she knew neither of them wanted to. She missed Alfred so much. "I am having fun, I promise." She told him. "Are you?"

JC KH KO CH EH BC: "And at least this way, it's the future Queen." Caroline laughed. Other than James, she thought that the Howards were probably a good bunch - especially as far as Royal families went. She didn't think that there was a world that she and James got a long, though. it just wasn't going to happen. Caroline could understand a little more why the King was the way that he was. But she didn't understand why someone as young and James would act like he did. It wound her up no end. Her eyes went wide at her friends suggestion but she quickly nodded her head, "Yes! That's perfect!" She laughed. "So who do we pair?" She raised an eyebrow. Because Caroline definitely thought that, that was the most interesting party. "Mhm, that's me . A massive slut." Caroline laughed, shrugging her shoulders. She hoped that this was the start of something with Otis, though.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: Kit laughed as he listened to James and nodded his head slightly. It had been a no brainer that he and James were going to be friends. They had grown up together so it made sense to him that they would be friends. It wasn't like they had particularly had any choice. Kit got along well with Aldred and Edward but it was nowhere near as close as he had become with James over the years. "Well, your father isn't here tonight, is he? I suppose anything goes." Kit shrugged his shoulders. He couldn't blame him for not liking Hugo, if he was honest. Kit thought it was all well and good to think like that but to be as vocal about it - especially to a man such as the king - was just asking for trouble. He chuckled as he heard James and nodded his head, "You and I both know that I am." He smiled. "We don't know what will happen, yet. Alice still has to agree."

JC KH KO CH EH BC: When Beatrice had woken up the morning that the story had broke, she was awoken by her phone ringing. One of her friends ringing to see if she had seen it yet. And the feeling that she felt in the pit of her stomach when she saw her boyfriend kissing someone else splashed across the front page was enough for her to feel like she couldn't trust someone else again. Bea had always struggled with trust and Edward had destroyed that for her now. "I'll make sure to remember that." Beatrice smiled, nodding her head. "Exactly. It's not like I could avoid either of them for forever so I may as well get it over with." She shrugged. She would have hated to have to bump into them at some event. At least this way, she got to decide when it was. "Good. I'm happy you're here too." She smiled, nodding her head a little.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: For a brief moment, Jaxon had thought that things would change. He had thought that, with Alfred on the throne, things would get easier - For he and Alice, for the other servants. And when the eldest Howard child had died, that dream was gone. He loved Alice and he thought that she was one of the most incredible people but he didn't think that she was willing to push the boat out like her elder brother would have. When Jaxon mourned Alfred, he mourned everything that they had lost as well. He could only imagine that, that feeling was even worse for Frankie. "I am, yeah. My dad still doesn't particularly enjoy sleeping at home home so... it's easier." He shrugged. Since his mother had died, Jaxos father had spent more time at the palace than at home so when Jaxon started working there, it was just easier for him to live there too. He nodded, though, as Frankie spoke, "Yeah, I get that." He sighed. "It's like facing your fears, right?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Because he thought that coming back here must feel pretty daunting.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: Kiara wanted to find her friends. She wanted to find some decent people to have her back. And she hoped that she had found that with some of them there. She liked Verity and Alice, that was for sure. She smiled as she listened to Otis and she looked up at him, nodding her head slightly. "Oh - but I heard people say life begins at thirty so.." Kiara shrugged her shoulders before she laughed a little. She liked this stage of a party - when people were drunk and just enjoying themselves, not overthinking anything. "I think they all do." She laughed. "How about you tell me what you know about James?" She asked. She figured it made sense to start there, after all.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: The bollocking that Edward had received by his father after he had seen what had happened with he and Verity was absolutely one for the ages. He didn't think that his father had forgiven him for that disappointment, even now. And he wasn't sure that he ever actually would. Edward really hoped that his sister didn't think that he was a bad person, though. He hadn't meant to hurt Beatrice. It had just happened. Edward just couldn't bring himself to talk about his brother because he missed him too much. The pain hurt too much to think about. "Okay. Good." Edward nodded. The last thing that he would have wanted was to cause any upset to his sister. "Yeah, I am."

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "I still can't believe it, you know? That Alice is to be the queen." Verity shook her head. It was something none of them had seen coming and she didn't think she'd ever forget the night that Alfred had died, that they had all found out. "I think James rather fancied it for himself, don't you? Being heir to the throne. Just the look he gets on his face when anybody discusses it." She mused. She wouldn't say this aloud to many other people, but she and Caroline discussed basically everything together. "Well, obviously we pair you with Otis. That's not a question." She laughed, raising her eyebrows. "Oh, I knew it. But that's why we're friends, isn't it? It takes one to know one, or whatever they say." She laughed loudly. They had both been called that name at points, especially after the pictures of she and Edward had been published and it was one of the things Verity barely cared about anymore. It was an archaic word, she thought - one that she wouldn't give the power to bother her. She liked sex, she liked being in control of herself. What woman her age didn't?

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James thought that he and Kit were probably quite like their fathers, where it counted, so it made sense that the two of them got along as well as they did. He wasn't a sappy person and he would never go deep into his feelings, but he appreciated having a friend like him. "No, he isn't - and thank god, because the poor man would suffer a heart attack if he saw us in here plying the staff with alcohol." He rolled his eyes, although it was accompanied with a little laugh. He knew just how angry the king would be if he ever found out about this gathering. He laughed at Kit's assurance, nodding his head. "That's what I thought you would say." He smiled. He thought Kit would be a brilliant match for his sister. "Well, I can't see why she wouldn't. The two of you have always gotten along. She's going to need somebody strong by her side, when the time comes." He didn't think his sister would be able to manage it on her own.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Hugo had the papers delivered to his room every morning by the maid, he liked to catch up on what was happening or what people were talking about before he went about his day - and he had absolutely been shocked to see the pictures of Edward and Verity, to read the story of what had happened. He hadn't been close enough to Beatrice to reach out to her, but he definitely felt for her. He thought everybody had, in that moment. "You should. It's a rare offer." He laughed, nodding his head. "I don't believe they're together anymore either, so - tonight shouldn't be so bad." He shrugged his shoulders. He wondered if that made it worse for Bea, tha it had all seemingly been for nothing. "I'm glad to hear it." He smirked, finishing his drink and nodding over to the table. "Should we refresh our drinks?" he raised an eyebrow.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alfred had never revealed to Frankie what his sister had told him; that she was in a love with a member of the staff, that she wanted to pursue a relationship with him... He was a loyal brother and he wouldn't have done that to his siblings, but if he had then Frankie would've absolutely done what she could to help. To assure them that whatever happened, if they really loved each other, it would be worth it. It had been for her, after all. She nodded as Jaxon explained why he lived at the palace. "No, that absolutely makes sense. It must be terribly hard for him." She sighed softly. "And I suppose it makes it easier for you, anyway? Being here?" She thought that when you were needed as often as Jaxon was, it made sense for him to be here all the time. "Mm. I suppose it is, a little bit. Yeah." She smiled almost sadly. "He loved these parties, didn't he?" She chuckled quietly.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis didn't think Kiara was the type of person who would struggle to find friends at all; she was intelligent and beautiful and she seemed to enjoy a good party, so he was sure she'd fit right in with the likes of Caroline and Verity - Alice, too. "Oh, brilliant - so I have six years to go until it really kicks in, then." He laughed, nodding his head happily. "James..." He mused, thinking for a second. He didn't want to get himself into any trouble by discussing the Prince's private business, but he didn't see any harm in saying what was already public. "James like to keep things quite private. I'd say he's probably the most private out of all the siblings. He's had a couple of girlfriends over the past few years, but he's managed to keep them out of the press which is a feat in itself." He smiled, raising an eyebrow.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: "It's crazy, isn't it?" Caroline asked, sighing sadly. She missed her eldest cousin. There was just something about Alfred that made him adored by every single person that was around him and Caroline was no exception. she thought that her cousin was magnificent. He was the person that she would go to if she needed someone and she thought that he would have made a fantastic King. "Oh, of course he did." She rolled her eyes. "If Alice accidentally falls down the stairs, it's totally him who did it." She knew that, that sounded horrible but she also knew that Verity wouldn't care. "Oh, isn't it?" Caroline laughed, shaking her head a little. She definitely wasn't going to complain about spending more time with him, that was for sure. "Exactly. Got to keep my fellow harlot close." She laughed, nudging her friend. There were a lot of words that meant nothing to Caroline anymore - that was just one of them .

JC KH KO CH EH BC: Kit would never understand why people who were raised the same as he and James, would think differently to them. He thought that they were extremely lucky to be raised like they were and he could never understand why some people - like Caroline - would turn their nose up at that. Why they would condemn the life they led at every moment. "Those two are barely staff at this point though, are they?" He raised an eyebrow as he gestured to Jaxon and Otis. He thought that everyone knew that the two of them were more like family to the royals at this point. It felt a little strange to Kit, though. Kit nodded his head in agreement with James, "That's what our parents seem to think too and I agree." He liked Alice well enough. He thought that spending his life with her wouldn't be a terrible thing.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: While Beatrice had really liked Edward, it was more the humiliation that had truly got her the most. Everyone knew that he had cheated on her, that she hadn't been enough to keep him to stay. And she had grown colder because of that. Beatrice was known as a bit of a hot head, as a bit of a bitch but underneath all of that, she was a pretty sweet person. She loved with her whole heart and Edward had betrayed that love. She almost didn't want to give her heart to anyone else - though she knew it was probably inevitable. "So what made you offer it to me? Is it a pity offer?" She laughed, raising an eyebrow as she looked up at him. "We'll see." Beatrice commented. She didn't even know if she would have preferred them being together still or not. "Absolutely. I need at least three more drinks in me about an hour ago so I am in desperate need of another."

JC KH KO CH EH BC: If Jaxon knew that Alfred had known about he and Alice, he wasn't sure how he would feel. Because he thought that Alfred was a good person but he was going to be the king. Surely the new king couldn't be seen as endorsing a relationship between the Princess and one of the workers? He wished that Frankie had known, though. Jaxon thought that she might know how to make him feel a little better. Jaxon nodded his head, slightly. "We've pretty much always lived here, haven't we? It just makes sense to him now." He shrugged. The house was basically a shrine to his mother. His father hadn't redecorated, moved her things out. It was difficult for both of them to be there. "Exactly. I don't know when Alice will need me." He shrugged. He always liked to be close by - so he was ready. Jaxon smiled, slightly, as Frankie spoke about Alfred and he nodded. "He did. He was always a lot of fun."

JC KH KO CH EH BC: Kiara thought that a party like this was pretty interesting and she was definitely excited about getting to know them all a little better. She just hoped that it wouldn't be long before she felt settled in. Because right now, she absolutely didn't and she didn't like that feeling. "Hey, at least you've got something to aim for, right?" She laughed, raising an eyebrow. She tilted her head a little as she looked up at Otis and nodded her head slightly, "Yes, that's what I've kind of gathered." She smiled. She didn't understand how he had managed to get his girlfriends to fly under the radar but he thought that it was a good thing about James. She thought that meant that he had respect for the girls he was with - though she had no idea if that was the truth or not. "So, what's the most interesting secret you have?" SHe laughed.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: The bollocking that Edward had received by his father after he had seen what had happened with he and Verity was absolutely one for the ages. He didn't think that his father had forgiven him for that disappointment, even now. And he wasn't sure that he ever actually would. Edward really hoped that his sister didn't think that he was a bad person, though. He hadn't meant to hurt Beatrice. It had just happened. Edward just couldn't bring himself to talk about his brother because he missed him too much. The pain hurt too much to think about. "Okay. Good." Edward nodded. The last thing that he would have wanted was to cause any upset to his sister. "Yeah, I am."

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "Really fucking crazy." Verity sighed. She didn't think there was a person around that hadn't loved Alfred and known he was going to be an incredible king; she had no doubts that Alice would be brilliant, but she had to wonder if it was all something the girl had even wanted in the first place. It was a lot, your whole life changing at twenty three. "It wouldn't surprise me at all." She laughed loudly, shaking her head. "God, the idea of James as the ruler of all actually kind of gives me the creeps." She raised an eyebrow. "We're like a package deal, aren't we?" She chuckled, nudging the girl back. The two of them always knew how to have the best time together, regardless of where they were.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James didn't think he'd really been raised with any room to form his own opinions, so it baffled him when he saw his cousins or siblings going against what their parents had taught them and making a big stink about it. It just seemed very disrespectful to him. Like Kit, James believed they were lucky to live in the world they did, to have the things they had. "That's true, if it had to be anybody I suppose I'm glad it's the two of them." He nodded. Jaxon and Otis were absolutely a part of the family by now, even in his parents eyes. "I quite agree, too. My parents wouldn't even put the idea forwards if they didn't think it was what was best for Alice and the country." He nodded his head. "Does she know about it yet?" He thought the sooner things got moving, the better.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Hugo wasn't the kind of person to get easily embarrassed; he'd made a whole career out of standing up against his father and ridiculing his policies, if he was going to be easily embarrassed then he never could've done that - because the far right absolutely fought back against him, they very much didn't have nice things to say about him. Even so, he thought he'd be pretty humiliated if he'd ever been put in Beatrice's situation. "It might be. Or maybe I just like to switch it up every now and again." He laughed, shrugging his shoulders. He'd always been a bit of a natural flirt and Beatrice was undeniably beautiful, so he was having a good time messing around with her tonight. "I have no idea what that means, but I'm always down for a night of heavy drinking, so - let's go." He laughed, walking over to the drinks table and making sure that Bea was following him. He poured himself another drink and turned to her. "What are you drinking?"

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Although Frankie would never wish anything bad on the current king and queen, she couldn't help having been excited for when it was Alfred's turn - because things would've been so different, he was going to be an entirely different kind of ruler and she thought it was something the country desperately needed. "I guess it's more like a home to you than anywhere else now, isn't it?" She smiled, raising an eyebrow. She wondered if Jaxon planned to do this job forever, or if he'd thought about what he might do when the time came for him to leave. She nodded her head. "Well, you're very dedicated." She smiled. She thought the family were lucky to have him, if she was honest - any security she'd had over the years had always been older, stoic and emotionless and not wanting to make an emotional connection whatsoever. "Yeah, he was." She smiled, letting out the tiniest of sighs.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: "Oh yeah, I'll be counting down the days until my thirtieth now." Otis laughed, nodding his head. When he was younger, he'd always assumed he'd be doing something amazing by twenty five - and he loved his job at the palace, but he had no idea if it was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. He felt so much loyalty and gratitude towards the family, he would never want to let them down... But he had stopped finding the job as rewarding a little while ago. He had a degree, he had so many ideas and he just didn't feel as though he was getting to use them. But he didn't think he could let the family down by deciding he wanted to do something else. "It's a skill, honestly. He keeps everything very private. Although the two of you have had some press, haven't you?" He raised an eyebrow. He couldn't help but laugh at Kiara's question. "I think it might be best leaving the secrets for you to find out. I could get in trouble, telling you everything I know." He laughed.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice had absolutely heard the telling off Edward got from their father after the scandal had broken; it been almost impossible not to hear and ever since, she didn't think their father had really been the same with Edward. In his eyes, scandal like that brought shame on the whole family and that was never going to go down well. As far as Alice was concerned, she thought her brother was just a young boy in love who'd made a silly mistake. She knew he'd never meant to hurt anybody. She nodded as Edward spoke; she understood why he didn't want to speak about Alfred, but it was still hard. The only person she could really speak about him with these days was Jaxon and even they didn't get much time on their own anymore. "Good, I'm glad! I can't believe James has stuck around for this long." She laughed softly.

- was timed out 49 minutes ago

- joined the chat 49 minutes ago

JC KH KO CH EH BC: The night that Alfred had died was absolutely not one that Caroline would forget. And she didn't think that any of her loved ones would either. Seeing his fave on the front page for the following days just made things harder, she thought. Caroline hadn't spoke to Frankie yet. She hadn't really spoke to her much since Alfred died. She wasn't really sure what to say to her. "It's a terrifying thought, isn't it? I literally couldn't think of anything worse." Caroline thought that the monarchy needed change. It didn't need someone that was basically a carbon copy of the current one. "Of course we are. Everyone knows that." She shrugged, a smile on her face. Verity was her longest and most dearest friend. She had been there for her through everything.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: As usual, Kit thought the same as James. The way that they had all been raised, left very little for them to be able to form their own opinions, their own thoughts. He couldn't understand how there was still some people who were so against their way of life. He didn't get why they would fight against it when he was sure that, if they were left to their own devices, they would falter. "Exactly. That's better than nothing, I suppose." He shrugged his shoulders. Though Kit didn't know if he particularly believed that. He didn't think this was the place for the servants, though. "That's exactly it. And Alice will have to see that too." He nodded. Because he didn't think that there was a way for anyone to disagree that Alice needed someone by her side, someone who understood what it was like to be in that position of power. "Not yet. I think they're going to tell her soon, though."

JC KH KO CH EH BC: Beatrice worked hard for her reputation. She thought that it was important for a girl of her level to have a good one. She knew that someone like Eddie would never think about it like that, though. He didn't have to worry. There was no chance of him ever ending up along and a very slim chance of his reputation being ruined due to vicious rumours by the press. She definitely didn't think that a woman would be able to get away with how Hugo acted. She thought he was a breath of fresh air but she wouldn't be able to do that. "I guess I'll have to keep on my toes around you, then." She laughed, rolling her eyes. She was enjoying herself already and she knew that a lot of that had to do with Hugo. "It means that I need to be drunk. ASAP. You up for the challenge?" Bea asked him, raising an eyebrow before she laughed. "Dealers choice." She shrugged. Beatrices only aim for tonight was to get drunk and have a good time. She hoped that Hugo was up for that too.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: The idea that Frankie could've been queen was one that Jaxon really wished would have happened. He thought that she would have been an incredible queen. She was fair and kind and he thought that, that was the start to what would make a fantastic queen. He was heartbroken now that, that was gone. He knew Alice would be just as good at the actual job but he thought that having a black woman on the throne would've been incredible. "Yeah, exactly. I barely know anything else." He smiled fondly, shrugging his shoulders. He was just glad that the King and Queen had been as nice to his family as they had been. "It's good to see you here, Frankie, though. I - You were missed." He nodded.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: "See, silver linings!" Kiara laughed. She knew that they were being a little silly but she liked that. She felt so much more at ease after talking to Otis than she had done before. She thought that this was so lovely. Kiara had always been a pretty curious person and she couldn't help but be curious about what brought Otis to the palace, why he started to work there instead of doing something else. She liked to learn about other people and their lives. "Except from you, right? I'm sure that you know everything? You've been here a long time, right?" She laughed, raising an eyebrow. She nodded, though, as he turned the question to her, "We have. Though I don't really know what they have to write about." She didn't think that there had been anything interesting enough to write about as of yet. "Ah, that's no fun." She laughed.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: Edward knew that he was never going to be on good terms with his father. They would be civil, he was sure, but that was it. He just couldn't understand why his father refused to see how he felt. He thought that it was clear that he loved Verity and that it was a moment of weakness that he kissed her before telling Beatrice. He didn't know what more his father wanted him to say or do. Edward laughed as he looked over to his older brother, shrugging his shoulders, "Only because Kits here. They're like two peas in a pod."

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity had been around the palace a lot in those days, it had been a time when she and Edward were probably at their most serious - but that was one night she wished she hadn't been around for. She wished she hadn't had to see the king and queen being told that their eldest son had passed away, she wished she hadn't had to see the faces of some of the people she loved most as they realised what had happened. She would never forget the quiet that had passed through the entire palace in that moment. "The stuff of nightmares, really." She laughed, nodding her head. She thought it was absolutely time for a change, one she hoped Alice would bring when her time came. "What do you say, then? We give everybody a little bit longer and then force them into playing a game?" She chuckled, raising an eyebrow. She didn't think anybody would be too opposed, anyway.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James felt as though he and his siblings had been given pretty much anything they could ever have wanted; so why couldn't they just be the people their parents wanted them to be in return for that? He nodded his head. "Well, it's a damn sight better than partying with the kitchen staff, isn't it." He rolled his eyes. He didn't think he'd be able to be here if he was expected to share a drink with the people who would be serving his breakfast come tomorrow. "She will. She'll see sense." James couldn't see a better outcome for any of them, than Alice and Kit being married and Kit being the future royal consort. "They should. It wouldn't be a bad idea to get things moving rather quickly." He shrugged his shoulders. He almost wanted something to take the heat away from he and Kiara; if Alice were to be married, maybe his mother and father would forget about his arrangement for just a little while.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Hugo didn't think there was much in a reputation, not in their world - some of the people with the best reputations had done the worst things and vice versa. He knew he didn't have the best reputation in the eyes of his father and the people around him, but quite the opposite amongst the people he called his friends and loved ones. He knew he was quite privileged to be able to think like that, though; it was different for women, bad reputations could ruin them and he did understand that. "You absolutely should do that. Shouldn't be hard for a ballerina, hm?" He chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "Of course I am. I'm disappointed you have to ask." He laughed, before he poured Beatrice the same drink he'd poured himself and handed it over. He was a rum drinker; it was something his father had always detested, which made him love it even more.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Frankie had never been one of those people who grew up dreaming of being in the royal family; she had gone to school with people that did, girls that were brought up to be a Princess, to take matters into their own hands and become the wife of the heir. It had never been her, though; she was just a girl that had fallen in love and tried to take everything that came with that in her stride. "There are worse places to live, I'm sure." She smiled. The palace had always seemed too big to her, she thought the more people there were to fill it up the better. She smiled as Jaxon said she'd been missed; it was nice to hear, especially from him because she knew it was genuine that way. "Thank you. I've - it's been really strange not being here, but... You understand why?" She sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "It's very nice to see you all again, though." She smiled.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis had always had a little bit of a silly streak, but he definitely hadn't thought somebody like Kiara would go along with it and he loved that she was. It was his favourite things about these parties, it loosened everybody up a little bit and you got to see a side of people you might not usually see. "Oh no, I'm sure there are things that even I don't know." He laughed, shaking his head. "I've been here for a long time, but the prince doesn't really make a habit of telling me everything that goes on in his life." He smiled, shrugging his shoulders. He wouldn't expect him to, either. "No, I suppose they're just happy to have anything to write about him for a change." He laughed. "It's a lot of fun, it means you have to do some investigating of your own." He grinned widely.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice had never been particularly close to either of her parents, but she'd never been at odds with either of them the way that Edward could be with their father - whilst they were civil most of the time, she had seen them row so many times and she wished they could just soften a little. That they could treat their children the way parents were supposed to. To love them and nurture them, rather than just push them to be better royals, to look better to the public. She knew that when she was a mother, she was determined for her children to know how much she loved them. She laughed as Edward spoke about James and Kit, nodding her head. "Mum and dad have been mentioning Kit an awful lot recently. I think they're hoping I'll take the hint and beg him to marry me or something." She chuckled, shaking her head. She knew her parents wouldn't be patient forever, but she'd hoped she had a little more time yet.

JC KH KO CH EH BC joined the chat 2 minutes ago

JC KH KO CH EH BC: Caroline never wanted to have to bare witness to that kind of quiet that passed after Alfred again. The way they had all felt after that was too much. She had adored her big cousin. He was her first friend, he was the person she would turn too when she needed someone. And it was so hard to know that she'd never see him again. She was still trying to get her head wrapped around it. "Alice won't let him, though. I mean - Surely she knows that he wouldn't be good?" She raised an eyebrow. Caroline knew that it was a difficult thing to take on but she was sure that Alice would be amazing. "Not too much longer. I think we all need something to do." She laughed, nodding her head. If she was honest, she was eager to get a little time alone with Otis.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: Kit couldn't understand why some of the family didn't seem to act like they should. He couldn't understand why Caroline would be with someone like Hugo and agree with his views. He didn't get why they would think that the life that they led was that bad. "Absolutely it is. And that's just about it." Kit chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. His family had a staff that was much smaller than that of the palace but Kit absolutely didn't think that he would be partying with any of them. Kit nodded, "That's what I thought too." He nodded. Kit had no idea how Alice would react - he hoped that it would be positive. Of course he knew that marrying someone you didn't love wasn't the aim but he thought that he could bring himself to love Alice. "Is that just because you can't stand the idea of getting to know Kiara?" He asked, raising an eyebrow before he laughed.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: While Beatrice knew that people knowing her would help with her career, she didn't know how much the company would like it if she got too much bad press. It was the only reason that she hadn't completely blown up at Edward when she had seen what had happened. She had worked hard with her career and she wasn't going to let anyone ruin that for her. Bea laughed as Hugo spoke and rolled her eyes, "You'd think, wouldn't you?" She raised an eyebrow. She was actually really enjoying spending time with Hugo. Beatrice wasn't particularly political so she didn't really understand a lot of what Hugo would talk about so she didn't really have an opinion on him due to all of that. Her father certainly did, though. "I just wanted to make sure. Didn't want you to let me down." Beatrice laughed, shrugging her shoulders a little.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: When Jaxon had heard that the Prince was bringing home a girlfriend, he had never expected it to be someone like Frankie - though he was absolutely thrilled that she was the person that she was. He thought that she would've been such a breath of fresh air and he absolutely missed seeing Frankie around the palace. Jaxon smiled and nodded his head, "I'm certainly not complaining." He chuckled. "But that's not my style anyway, is it? You know me." He smiled at her. Jaxon took things as it came, always. "Of course. Yeah, we all do." Jaxon nodded. He definitely would never blame Frankie for not wanting to be anywhere near the palace. "This is the perfect thing to welcome you back, as well."

JC KH KO CH EH BC: Kiara rarely let people see this side of her. She was supposed to be something and this silly side absolutely wasn't what she was expected to be. She felt like she could let loose a little more, now, though - after she had, had a few drinks. She was at that night stage of drunk, where she wasn't drunk but she wasn't far off. "Well, I think you're going to be pretty close." Kiara laughed, shrugging her shoulders. "Somehow I can't imagine James telling anyone everything. He's too guarded for that, isn't he?" She raised an eyebrow as she glanced over at the Prince. Kiara really wanted to get to know him but it seemed pretty impossible. "Yes, I think that's probably it." Kiara nodded. "I'm not sure that I have the subtlety needed to discover peoples secrets."

JC KH KO CH EH BC: Edward really tried with his father. He really tried to make things okay but it was difficult. Because he didn't actually think that he and his father would ever actually get along. He thought that they were too different. But Edward didn't want to settle down yet. He didn't want to become a copy of his father like his older brother was. Edward couldn't understand why his father would try and celebrate his childrens differences, rather than being frustrated by them. Eddie raised an eyebrow as he heard Alice and turned to look at his sister, "They've been doing what?" He asked her, shaking his head. "Do they not think that you can find someone yourself? I mean - Kits fine. But he's not exactly made for you, is he?"

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Verity nodded her head in agreement with her sister. "I can't see Alice allowing him to get anywhere near the throne, regardless. What on earth would make her turn it down?" She shook her head. She thought Alice abdicating for any reason might well kill the king on the spot; it had already been enough for the country when she took over as the heir apparent, never mind if it then got passed on to James. She laughed as Caroline spoke, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, is that so? Or do you just want to spend more time with your beloved?" She teased, rolling her eyes exaggeratedly. She knew things weren't quite that serious between Caroline and Otis, but she was almost sure her friend wanted an excuse to spend time with him and she didn't blame her.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: James knew that these kinds of parties were tradition for his siblings, but this had been one of the first he'd ever actually joined; he had no idea that his parents had probably joined parties just like this when they were younger, that they went back centuries. Whenever James thought of his parents, he thought of the people they were now. "The two of you should spend some time together, it might bring her around to the idea." He shrugged his shoulders. James had never thought about marrying for love, not really - it didn't seem as though his parents had, nor many of the people around him and he was almost under the impression that marrying for love was a fairytale... Something that didn't ever really happen. He laughed loudly as Kit spoke, raising an eyebrow. "That might be part of the reason, but not all of it." He chuckled, shaking his head. He thought it would definitely take the heat off him a little bit.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Hugo had always been told that all press was good press, it was never bad to have your name out there - but he knew the same didn't apply for Beatrice and the career she'd chosen. He laughed along with the girl, nodding his head. He'd never spent much time around her before, but he wasn't having a bad time at all. When he was around these kinds of people, he found they either loved him or hated him - it was hard to find somebody ambivalent, like Beatrice seemed to be and it was quite refreshing, he found. "Oh, I would never. Not intentionally, anyway." He chuckled, shaking his head before he took a sip of his drink.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Being around the palace had always been quite strange for Frankie; she'd known she absolutely wasn't what the king and queen had been expecting and they'd certainly had their reservations at first, but they'd never really treated her with anything but kindness. She knew she was lucky to have the kind of background she did, or she didn't think they would've accepted her as easily. "Of course not. I don't think I've ever heard you complain." She laughed, shaking her head. She thought they were similar in that aspect, they put up with what they got. Always. "That's what I thought. The queen has been nice enough to invite me to a whole manner of different balls and parties, but it's - I don't have anything to go to them for, you know? Something like this, where everybody gets to talk and catch up... This is what I missed." She smiled.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Otis liked to think he had a pretty calming energy, at least he thought people usually seemed pretty calm around him and it was definitely nice to see. Especially when it came to somebody like Kiara, who always seemed to be putting on some kind of act - although he thought that many people in this room seemed to do that when they were around other people. "Yes, he's very guarded. I think he confides in his friend, though - that's Kit, the one he's standing with. Or sometimes with Edward." He shrugged his shoulders. He smiled as Kiara spoke though, shaking his head. "I think you'd surprise yourself, you know? I mean, who knows - he might tell you them voluntarily. You guys are expected to get pretty close, after all." He shrugged. He knew he'd hate the idea of an arranged marriage and he couldn't help wondering how Kiara felt about it all.

OT AH JH VR EC GV: Alice wished that their father would try a little more to get along with Edward, to make a little bit of effort to understand him - although she didn't really think he understood any of his children very well. The idea that times were moving, things were different and his children were living in a totally different world to the one he grew up in seemed to be lost on him. She laughed as Eddie spoke, nodding her head. "I know. I think they think I don't notice what they're doing, but it's very transparent." She chuckled. She had never even imagined how serious her parents were about it. "He's wonderful, but I really don't think we'd make a great pair. I don't understand the rush, I'm only twenty three." She sighed, shaking her head.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: Caroline shrugged her shoulders as she looked to Verity, "Who knows. Love? You know that she's always been a massive romantic at heart." She shrugged. She thought that Alice would do basically anything for love and she was almost certain she would do anything if it meant that she could be with the person that she loved. Caroline admired that about Alice, though. She thought that her cousin would always stay true to who she was. Caroline laughed before she rolled her eyes, "Yes, that's exactly it." She commented, her tone completely sarcastic. "I just wanna shake things up. It's getting stale." She laughed before she shrugged her shoulders.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: While Kit wasn't under the impression that his parents would have been saints at their age but he didn't particularly like to think about it. Because he thought that it was easier to think that they were the same people that they had always been. The idea of them having a life outside of being just their parents seemed to foreign to him. Kit nodded his head, "I was already thinking the same thing. We'll see how that goes down, though." He shrugged his shoulders. He was sure that Alice wouldn't be happy if she heard but he hoped that she would at least entertain the idea. "I know you too well." Kit laughed, nodding his head a little.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: Beatrice knew that it seemed pretty vain to care about how she appeared to people but she thought that it was needed. Because the idea of her losing out a part because of something that had been printed in the press was something that she did not want to think about. She was glad to have gotten talking with Hugo though. She thought that he was a lot of a fun, already. She took a sip of her drink as Hugo spoke and nodded her head slightly, "That's good to hear." She chuckled. Beatrice tilted her head as she looked up at Hugo, "So, you got to quiz me - what brought you here, Hugo?" She asked him, a small smile on her face.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: If Frankie had also been working class, then Jaxon might have felt better about everything with Alice. If Frankie had been working class and had been accepted, he would have felt like it was easier for him. He knew that, that wasn't something that Frankie should have expected but he almost couldn't help but wish it. The idea that Frankie was only accepted because of her background was absolutely not foreign to him. "It's not my job to complain." He chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. Jaxon always thought it was better to try and stay positive. He didn't see the point in wasting energy complaining. "It's too much." Jaxon nodded in agreement. "You're welcome any time, Frankie. To the palace, I mean. I'd always love to see you around here." He smiled.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: Kiara had never really been sure of who she actually was. She just knew the girl that she was supposed to be and she thought that those two things were completely different. Kiara nodded as she looked over to Kit and James and then back at Otis, "Everyone needs that friend, right?" She raised an eyebrow. She thought that it was important. And she thought that, that was part of the reason why Kiara was struggling. She didn't have that person. "Yeah. We are." Kiara sighed. She was under no impression that she would find love but she thought that the idea of having all of that taken away from her was too much. She wanted someone to love and to love her - but it seemed like it was just never going to happen.

JC KH KO CH EH BC: Edward listened to Alice before he sighed a little. He tried to be the happy go lucky boy. He tried to let things slide off his back but this just seemed like a step too far to him. He didn't understand why his parents were so hell bent on ruling over their childrens lives. "First James and Kiara and now you and Kit? It's just - It's not fair." He sighed, shaking his head. "And why? What's the point." Edward really wished that he and his siblings could make their own decisions. He wished that they could be their own people. Although his father didn't like how he lived his life, he was left to his own devices but he had to wonder for how long.

[cullen-collective]

Do you have any headcanons for ed, jasper and emmett.

I mean only a thousand.

Alice jokingly started calling them "Pale Jonas Brothers" but jokes on her now they're a band.

Edward sings and plays keys (duh), Jasper is guitar (yee haw), and Emmett plays the drums ("You mean I just HIT THEM?!")

They're actually pretty good, but they only play for vampire audiences. Aro requested them for his birthday but the boys were conveniently attending someone's (Emmett's) fourth wedding.

They have inside jokes that no one else is allowed to know about. If you tell, you're out of the band. This is serious business. No one can know why they all giggle at the word "australopithecus."

They play Dungeons and Dragons once a week. They let Carlisle DM because firstly, his British accent lends itself to the role, and secondly, they all want to play.

Edward is a bard, Emmett is a barbarian, and Jasper is a rogue.

Emmett got them all hooked on trashy romance novels and Edward's entire perception of sex was shaped by them, which worked out fairly well for him during his honeymoon.

Although his dirty talk was just plain awkward, and Bella pokes fun (lovingly) at it to this day.

Jasper shows up to band practice and DnD and hunting trips looking absolutely ridiculous because he lets Alice do whatever she wants to with his clothes, hair, and face.

The other guys try to make fun of him, but he could genuinely care less how he looks so it's very ineffective.

He figures he's only got to impress Alice, and she's the one who did this to him, so who cares?

Emmett likes to do "boys only" hunting trips, just so they can talk about girls. The many hours spent searching for bears are punctuated by his constant questions.

"Rosalie only likes about four people and only loves like eight and there's a lot of overlap. What makes us special?"

I don't know man, I'm only on one list there."

Jasper's favorite sport is football (TEXAS) and they go to night games together to watch the Cowboys get decimated. Jasper sulks but Edward and Emmett just like the atmosphere.

Edward helped Emmett with his anniversary gift one year. For the last year, he wrote down each and every one of Emmett's adoring thoughts toward Rosalie throughout the day, and presented Emmett with the notebooks to give her.

Jasper wanted help writing a song for Alice, and Edward walked him through it.

The boys go big for Mother's Day and Father's Day. This year they dragged home all of Esme's favorite foods and organized a hunt for her, as well as having a literal truckload of flowers delivered. Carlisle got new medical equipment and a goofy #2 Dad tie.

Edward has the #1 Dad version.

The five of them, including Jake and Seth, take Ness out whenever they can, even though she's grown now.

They go to amusement parks, street fairs, they take her shopping, they take her snorkeling, they essentially do whatever the hell she wants.

Jasper and Emmett play pranks on Edward almost daily.

Some are small, they hide some of his things, they leave fake messages from Bella, they convince him that chaps are all the rage now.

Some a large, they shaving cream the entire cottage, they read his journal in front of the entire cafeteria, they follow him around in giant bat costumes saying "Eddie's a VAMPIRE, ask me HOW!"

Before Bella, whenever Edward was in a funk, they'd take him out for a baseball game or a hunt, and despite their jokes, they listened and helped Edward wherever they could.

They can all be heard screaming "bros before hos!" as they head out for DnD, a hunt, a game, band practice, anything.

They were once found screaming Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle" in the middle (get it, heh) of the forest.

[evilqueen91]

Silent Scream- Chapter 1

The bright lights lit up the large city gym like a beacon in the night. Five am and people were already lifting weights or working on cardio. A yoga class was being held in a small room that was sound proofed so the loud clanks of gym equipment couldn't be heard. Hustle and bustle of early morning risers ready to get an exercise in before the day really starts.

Rosalie Hale stood beside her brother Emmett as he did thirty reps with a fifty pound weight. Not like he needed it, he was already built like a brick shit house but he liked to keep it that way. He had sucked her into early morning work outs as payback for all the mornings that he has woken up with hangovers and as a way for them to see each other every day.

And she is okay with that.

She leaned on the weight machine and scouted the room. One of the bonuses of being this early is she could stalk the other women without having to feel anything. She was a predator that found her prey in the women that spend time in the gym. She'd find one that she found attractive and have a little fun with her. The next day she'd be on the hunt again.

The gym is like a revolving door of women that had low self esteem or have too high of a level of self esteem, thinking they are better than anyone else but still couldn't reject her. She preyed on the weaker women because it was just for fun and never the same woman twice. One and done.

The last actual relationship she had was in high school. The boy she was dating, Royce King, she didn't love him. Hell if she could have she would have dated one of her teachers, the sexy female biology teacher. Royce was an alcoholic and complete jerk but he was captain of the football team and she was head cheerleader. It was the thing to do but when she would refuse sex with him he would get angry. They never had sex and she broke up with him, of course he bragged that he broke up with her but he never told anyone that it was because she refused to have sex with him.

As her eyes scanned the room she spotted the gorgeous woman she's been watching for months. The woman came in slightly overweight but now…Holy shit!

The gorgeous woman didn't look the same. Her muscles bulged as she worked to lift the dumbbell almost as big as Emmett’s. A sheen of sweat covered her body as the muscles rolled and flexed from her movements. She had become very toned and every muscle was defined perfectly, also slightly shorter than most in the large room. She sat the dumbbell down and lifted her black muscle shirt from the bottom, exposing her amazing rock hard looking abdominal muscles, to wipe the sweat from her forehead.

Her mouth began to water as she watched the woman bend in half and stretch her back. Her tight blue jeans framed her ass as she bent over and the material pulled tight. Rosalie swallowed hard as heat shot down her spine and dropped right into her lace panties. A throb began between her thighs as thoughts of her grabbing the woman's hips and jerking her back into her own pelvis crossed her mind.

"You're drooling Rose." Emmett laughed as he followed his sisters line of sight.

She quickly reached to wipe her mouth and found no drool but had to swallow what had built up in her mouth hungrily. She couldn't pull her eyes away from the gorgeous brunette as she spoke to her brother.

"Fuck you."

His booming laughter made her smile slightly as he said, "You mean fuck her, right?"

She scoffed but still stared at the woman across the long room. As Emmett greeted his friends Rosalie began her slow predator like movements towards the now standing brunette. She slowed as a tall male with dark blonde hair and dark blue eyes handed her a water bottle.

She couldn't help but watch as the woman took a drink and nodded at the man. She approached the machine next to the two and began her workout slower than usual to catch the attention of the brunette.

Now that she was closer she could clearly see the very defined muscle tone and another wave of arousal nearly knocked her off her feet, it being a good thing she was already sitting.

The male had a very southern drawl, "How you doin today?"

The woman shrugged and focused on what she was doing. He sighed and reached out to her. She flinched back and Rosalie instantly tensed, ready to attack the guy for trying to touch her.

A short petite woman twirled over to them, "Jasper leave your sister alone." She grabbed his hand and pulled him into a kiss. She was shorter than the brunette that Rosalie had her eye on and seemed almost hyper. She asked, "Jazz where's your brother? Victoria will be here in a few minutes."

Jasper stared at the object of her desire and sighed, "Eddie will be here in a minute. He's running late."

A tall wild haired red head walked in with skin tight tights and a sports bra. Her breasts were nearly popping out of her bra and oddly enough Rosalie didn't care. What she wanted, rather who she wanted was the very silent brunette that she hasn't even gotten to see her face yet.

The red head asked, "Where is that man? Alice I swear I'm going to kill you for ever hooking us up."

Alice and Jasper laughed and Alice said, "Oh please Vicky. You love your husband and you know it."

Victoria threw a stray strand of her vibrant red hair over her shoulder with a grin, "Yes but he is the reason I've had to start coming to the gym at ungodly hours of the morning."

Jasper chuckled, "Well then you two should have used a little round piece of rubber to stop from having kids at twenty three."

Victoria slapped his arm and Alice laughed as she grabbed the brunettes hips. Rosalie tensed again wanting the little pixie to let go of her brunette. She breathed even and slow to calm the sudden rage that had come to a boil quickly.

"Come on Bella. Smile! It's the first time we've all been together in a long time." Alice shook the brunette.

The brunette turned and Rosalie gasped. This gorgeous human being had THE most amazing bright icy blue eyes she has ever seen. Her face was soft and her cheeks were to defined, sunken in almost. Her eyes had dark circles and there was so much pain in them that Rosalie's heart skipped a beat.

Alice smiled at her and Jasper slung an arm around her shoulders, "Little sister I'm gonna make you smile whether you like it or not."

Alice giggled, "Jazz you should watch what you say."

Jasper kissed Alice, "I do it just for you Darlin'." He pulled her against his body.

"Get a room. You two are far worse than Vic and I." A guy with bronze hair wrapped his arms around the red head from behind. He was a few inches taller than her and a few inches shorter than his blonde brother.

Jasper snorted, "Hey. When you two were engaged it was like watching two dogs hump in the front yard. We are NOT that bad."

Victoria smiled, "Face it Edward they don't have it in 'em."

Rosalie watched the brunette shrink, completely forgotten by her siblings. She slipped towards the locker room and Rosalie followed after her. She sat on the bench in front of an open locker as Rosalie leaned against the wall.

"Rough night?" Rosalie asked in a smooth voice.

The brunette's head jerked up and those icy blue eyes stared at her, startled. She didn't answer.

Rosalie sat on the bench next to her, "Silent type?"

The brunette shifted uncomfortably but shook her head.

"Ah. Just don't like to talk then?"

Nod.

Rosalie thought for a moment, trying to decide how to have a conversation with someone who refused to talk.

"Those your siblings out there?" She asked softly.

Nod.

"I'm Rosalie Hale."

Rosalie watched the girls eyes widen just a bit in surprise.

"So you've heard of me?"

The brunette nodded her head then slid slightly away from her.

Rosalie frowned, "Bad things?"

The girl shook her head.

"I know I'm a Federal Agent but I shouldn't invoke fear." Rosalie tried to lighten the mood but the girl seemed extremely nervous.

The door opened and the girl jumped up quickly as Alice and Victoria walked in. They went to her and Alice said softly, "What's up Bella? You just disappeared on us."

Victoria glanced at me and frowned, "Who are you?"

Rosalie stood up, "Rosalie Hale."

She seemed to wince and Alice practically shoved Bella out of the locker room as she said, "Stay away from her. She hasn't done anything wrong."

Victoria followed after them and Rosalie frowned before moving into action. She caught Victoria's wrist and pulled her back into the locker room, pushing her against the wall.

"Why is she afraid of me?"

Victoria shook her head sadly, "It's complicated. Bella is young, only nineteen, and her brothers are very protective. Bella's just going through some things right now."

"Like what?" Rosalie snapped.

She didn't like the fact that this girl reacted so strongly to her and not in a good way. She had been so scared that she was frozen stiff and unable to move.

Victoria sighed, "You're a Fed so I can't say. I'm sorry but you just saying hi could get Bella killed so please stay away from her."

With that Victoria pushed Rosalie away and quickly left the room. Rosalie walked back out to the large room with exercise equipment and found Bella standing with her family. Her brothers were crowding her and had looks of pure rage directed right at Rosalie.

Rosalie made her way to her brother and fellow FBI agent, "That girl I'm after?"

He subtly glanced at the group before looking back at his sister, "Thought she was a woman?" He grinned but the hard look on her face made him turn serious, "What about her?"

"She's nineteen. The red head Victoria is her sister-in-law. They walked in when I was trying to talk to the girl. When I gave her my name she freaked. She froze with pure fear. Her sister-in-law said that Bella could get killed just by me saying hi to her."

He frowned, "So she knew you somehow? Do you recognize any of them?"

Rosalie shook her head, "No but, Emmett this girl was dripping with fear at my name. I've never seen someone act like that before."

He nodded as their group of friends gathered around. All of them were fellow FBI agents and they had all known each other since the academy. They all glanced at the other group and shook their heads. None of them knew any of them.

Emmett slipped out side to catch license plates as they left and she quickly changed in the locker room. Outside she found Emmett on his phone. He looked up at his sister, "Meet me in my office. I'm having the plates run now."

Rosalie Hale is gorgeous, this she knew. Men and women wanted her desperately and the other women who didn't want her wanted to be her. Her confidence could come off as arrogance if you didn't know her and her sarcasm had to be taken with a grain of salt. She didn't do relationships but instead preferred one night stands where she did the fucking and did not get fucked. She would never let anyone have that control over her. She wanted and needed that control. No one could have control over her.

She walked into the eighth floor of the Federal building and bypassed her office to go straight to her brothers office. He glanced up at her and grinned.

"You found something?" She asked as she sat in front of his desk.

He nodded and placed files on his desk, picking up one to hand to her, "Jasper Cullen. Oldest of the three. Adopted by Dr and Dr Cullen. He finished medical school top of his class. Biological parents are dead, car accident when he was two. Clean as a whistle and engaged to Mary Alice Brandon. They've been together since freshman year of high school."

Rosalie was not impressed as Emmett handed her another file, "Edward Anthony Cullen. Born to Doctor and Doctor Cullen. The middle child. Married Victoria Mason junior year of high school. They have three children."

Rosalie interrupted her brother, "She was pregnant in high school?"

Emmett chuckled and nodded, "Yep. Their oldest is six. They also have a four and two year old. He'll be twenty four in May. He is currently in college for Architecture and works at his mothers office. He's following in mommy's footsteps."

Rosalie chuckled feeling a bit more impressed with Edward Cullen as she took another file.

"Victoria Cullen, age twenty four. Married to Edward Cullen. She's majoring in Law. Top of her class and graduating early and with honors. Works at a law firm as their up and coming top attorney."

Rosalie had to admit she was impressed. Victoria married her high school sweet heart after getting knocked up and they are definitely happily married. She's not only juggling kids and college but she's a very young top attorney, and by looking at her file it was with a firm that was very good at what they do. She had heard of the firm but it didn't handle many criminal cases that she was aware of. Rosalie was starting to feel a bit insecure as she tossed the file on top of the other ones she'd already looked at.

She took another file from Emmett, "Mary Alice Brandon. From a very wealthy family in Biloxi, Mississippi. As far as I can tell she cut all ties with them when she became a runaway as a freshman in high school. She has a diploma from the Cullen's high school but not much else. She's in college majoring in Law also. She's right behind Victoria and I bet that competition is why they are good friends. She's engaged to Jasper Cullen who she's been with since she joined their high school as a freshman."

"Why did she run from her family?"

Emmett shook his head angrily, "They were trying to put her into an insane asylum claiming her to be possessed. They didn't like her friends and some people commented that her parents were mentally abusive." He looked ready to murder someone.

Rosalie knew how he felt. Their father had been the most physically and mentally abusive person they had ever known. She had lost count of the number of times they had been beaten black and blue and couldn't even make it to school for days at a time. She sat the file down carefully and took the next one he held out. His murderous look darkened to a point she had never seen it before.

"Born Isabella Marie Swan. Now Isabella Marie Cullen. Adopted by Dr and Dr Cullen. Biological mother, Renee Swan is dead. Biological father, Charles Swan is in prison for killing her and necrophilia, physical child abuse, attempted murder of his daughter, sexual abuse of his daughter, rape of a child under twelve. The list goes on."

The glass Emmett was holding shattered in his hand as his thoughts turned dark. He ached to get his hands on Charles Swan and have him alone for a few hours. He had nearly blown a vein when he had first read the file and the police reports of what that little girl had gone through. He had seen the scars that were visible around the black muscle shirt she had been wearing that morning at the gym but he had never expected something so disturbing. And yet she had survived it all. She was there and alive but at what cost?

"She's nineteen now will be twenty on Friday October 13th. She's also a medical anomaly. The report says she was born fully female but with male genitalia. It was stated by her father in court that she's a freak so no one should care what happens to her."

Rosalie frowned as she came to the last page of the police report, "That son of a bitch. She's not a freak! She can't help how she was born!" When she calmed she asked, "There's no more?"

Emmett shook his head, "Nothing about her schooling or what she's doing. Not even a living address. The address on her license is the adopted parent’s home. I couldn't even find any friends or class mates. Isabella Cullen is a mystery to the FBI and CIA. I had Jessica try to find something when I hit a dead end. Nothing. The girl is invisible."

Rosalie sat back in her chair and stared at Isabella's picture in the file. It was her driver’s license photo. It looked less haunted than she did this morning and Rosalie couldn't help but wonder about her. She needed to know how Isabella had known her name but there was no way she could get to her with her siblings around. She desperately wanted to know who Isabella Cullen is and that in and of itself frightened her but what scared her even more….

Why did she want to know this girl so badly and why was she drawn to her so intensely?

[bella-edward-cullen]

Do you have any headcanons about the Cullens :)?

Okay so I have a lot of these so imma go by character lol

EDWARD * Edward is obviously like super edgy especially before Bella * He definitely went to bars and poetry reading to sulk * The garage days for sure had some underground music * I think Emmett would play the guitar and Alice the tambourine jasper on drums and rose either singing or completely rejecting the band. * So Edward also knows how to play the electric piano. * Esme and Carlisle love listening to them even if some songs r terrible. * Edward has a diary no one can tell me otherwise * Someday after Bella and him r married and he’s busy with ness Bella definitely finds his diary * She is super nice about it and makes sure to never tell Emmett Bc he would never stop making fun of him. (It’s super embarrassing) * Edward loves to play with ness and take his family out on trips. * Jacob grows on Edward but there is some fights for sure * “I DONT WANT NESS ON A MOTORCYCLE” * “DUDE SHE CANT EVEN GET INJURED” * “I DONT CARE ITS NOT SAFE FOR HER” * He’s very overprotective * That’s it for Eddie boy

ROSE * She likes to go to big makeup stores. * Each town know her and Alice to be big spenders when they’re out shopping together * Emmett comes with to tell her how good she looks (he genuinely likes it) * She absolutely adores iPhone and could easily become a makeup YouTuber or instagramer * She loves to see everyone comment on how beautiful she is* She loves dressing ness up and buying her clothes * She teaches Ness to have a lot of self confidence * Boys always gawk at the family when they’re out together

EMMETT * Emmett just 100% goes with the flow of everything. * He for sure joined a fraternity at some point and rose hated it * All the sorority girls tried to get at him but he always refused and would show them rose* Rose often came made out with him and left just to mark her territory * All his frat brothers were hoping she would dump him so they could get a shot at her. * He wanted to major in medical science but once things started getting blood into them he had to switch majors. * Probably sports advertisement or something with sports * He’s a total dude bro * Rose definitely taught him how to do hair tho * He’s hella good at braiding and doing makeup for rose and Alice * He’s not ashamed of it at all * “Yes I do my girls hair. Can you even see her bro! I’d do anything to keep her happy” * That’s it for now lol

ALICE * Alice is basically an open book * After Edward and Bella’s wedding she decided she wanted to be a wedding planner for a while * And damn she is efficient * She still shops for the family including ness and jacob now * Jacob hates it but ness makes him wear it * Alice is still a big spender and loves all her nice things * She defiantly donates all her old clothes too (and her families even if they aren’t done with it) * She’s big on volunteer work and helping others. * She’s just a really good person honestly

Jasper!!! * Jasper loves Alice like a lot * He will tag along and do anything she asks * He brings her flowers all the time and gifts he thinks she will like. * He always try’s to surprise her but obviously it never works * They r like completely in love * Jasper tells ness stories about the war * Ness doesn’t really like them but she listens anyway * Jasper gets very passionate when talking about things he likes and went through * He makes sure everyone knows they’re worth it * He also trains super hard to wrestle Emmett and beat everyone in baseball

Renesmee * got her dad’s edginess when she was mentally a teenage * Defiantly rebelled but got away with nothing Bc come on look at her family * Jacob for sure helped her rebel * She went cliff diving once and Bella and Edward lost it * “REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME!!!” * “Mom dad chill seriously, no big deal” * Alice gets very bothered Bc she can’t see ness’s future * Ness loves that * She spends a lot of time with the pack and the Cullen’s r very on edge about it * Ness gets catcalled a lot * Like A LOT * and boys always try and get her number and jacob is always very mad about it * “Jacob chill out. It means nothing” * “Not me me Ness!” * He’s very sensitive. * Ness is extremely smart and invents things all the time. * Once she’s about adult age her and jacob get married and have some crazy kids * The Cullen’s r very excited to be grandparents. * Jacob and ness kinda brought down a lot of tension between the pack and the Cullen’s * They even got rid of the treaty line Bc they trusted them now after the whole volturi thing. * Ness was happy to be the peace bringer * In her rebellion times she may have eaten a person or two and everyone was mad. * She did it outside of town tho * The pack reamed her, jacob reamed her, her parents reamed her, the rest of the family reamed her* To say the least it was only one time. * She actually felt very bad about it and sulked like Edward. * The family eventually moved and jacob came with them * She has a very full and happy life like a normal teenage to adult girl * She eventually dies and the whole family is heartbroken * Jacob was too and soon died after her * It was a devastating loss after all those years.

Carlisle and esme * very happy with their new life * Bella and Ness really completed the family * Eventually someone else will join their coven again * Esme just loves to have her family grow * There isn’t many problems In the household when everyone is vegetarian * Esme defiantly goes to the hospitals Carlisle works at to mark her territory * All the nurses crush on Carlisle * Carlisle is too oblivious with his work to notice them* Carlisle is very emotional when someone dies in his hospital * Esme always comforts him* Sometimes ness does too

Bella * spends a lot of nights with Edward * They definitely finish their honeymoon at isle Esme after Ness is full grown * Sometimes Bella forgets Renesmee at Charlie’s * Charlie stop asking questions but knows something weird is happening* He still loves them no matter what * Bella snoops a lot and does a lot of research because she loves learning about her new world. * She often teaches Ness these things * She fights with Emmett a lot (playfully) and she wins everything within the first year but Emmett starts winning more in the second * Bella is very upset about this * Ness loves watching them fight * Ness challenges Emmett eventually and ness is actually quite strong * Emmett and Ness start wresting a lot more until Ness beats him once * Emmett was super impressed * Bella gets nervous every time she fights a vampire even though she is just as strong * Bella and Edward always try and protect her even when she is being rebellious * Rose Alice and Bella all get very close and often go out to brunch with ness. * Endless catcalls honestly * Bella still gets confused when it’s at her Bc she forgets that she is beautiful. * She always expects it at her family

Thanks for the ask and I’ll do more requests like this in this format if you guys want. My asks r always open ❤️ sorry it’s so long and has like a million typos lmao 😂