#or take the stage and make it yours (since it's all you know) - like maxwell

[holy-loki]

the color blue in velvet goldmine (1998) 

[littlemisspascal]

Pomegranate Noir

Part of The Fox, The Mage, and The Cupboard

Pairing: Javi x Female Reader

Word Count: 1500+

Summary: You and Javi attend a Triple Frontier concert. There might be a slow dance or two.

Warnings: Magic AU with mages and familiars, Reader has a backstory but no name, worldbuilding, fluff, alcohol consumption, bar setting, additional notes at the end

Author Note: This little scene idea wouldn’t leave me alone so I had to write it. Takes place at some point after Fresh Cut Lilacs. Thank you everybody for the kind words of support 💜💜💜

(I know the gif says Mando but his precious curls are totally Fox!Javi’s vibes 💗)

Pomegranate Noir – Jo Malone London

Enliven the atmosphere with a warm and sensual glow. Juicy pomegranates and smoky Guaiac wood carried on the warm evening air.

~~~

The tables of Whiskey’s have been shoved against the walls to create a dance floor. Santi’s up front and center on the stage, strumming away on his acoustic guitar while he sings. To his left Benny’s got his own microphone, switching between providing backup vocals and blowing a couple melodious notes out of his harmonica. Behind them Will and Frankie complete the band with their own guitars, a second acoustic and a bass respectively, filling the bar’s atmosphere with folk music and the promise of an entertaining night.

The boys had teamed up with Javi to convince you to come, taking turns begging and pleading throughout the week until finally your resolve crumbled and you’d agreed. Your reluctance to attend their concert doesn’t stem from not liking Triple Frontier’s music—on the contrary, you think the four men are each tremendously talented—it’s just that the way the size of the crowd keeps increasing as their popularity grows makes you feel claustrophobic, threatening to trigger your anxiety. 

Tonight the crowd is a rambunctious one, energized by the quick-paced lyrics flying out of Santi and Benny’s harmonizing mouths. Your gaze sweeps across the room, watching village residents enjoying the music in their own unique way without much care about the judgment of anyone else in the room. 

Steve Murphy, a retired police detective from Rosedale, dances at the edge of the crowd without the faintest hint of rhythm, arms flailing about as if independent from his body. His wife, Connie, laughs as she dances alongside him, but anyone can see the obvious love shining brightly in her eyes. 

Nearby Maxwell Lord and Ezra Green have somehow choreographed a routine of their own design complete with synchronized hand movements and fancy footwork too fast for your eyes to make sense of all the steps. Your head tilts to one side, surprised at seeing the two men getting along when they’re usually stubbornly competing with each other over who can unearth the biggest fossil or shiniest treasure. 

Jack brings you your drink then, a pomegranate margarita with a perfectly round ice ball rattling around inside the glass. There’s something delightfully refreshing about the sweet tartness of the pomegranate juice mixed with the tequila and lime flavors, making it your usual drink of choice whenever you drop by the bar. Jack doesn’t linger long since concert nights bring in lots of thirsty customers, but he does offer you a wink before he goes. 

You hide your amused smirk behind the rim of your glass, completely immune to the bar owner’s flirtatious nature after years of hearing every smooth, hilarious, and downright cringe-worthy pick-up line he’s come up with. He’s the charming type, flirting with anybody who walks into Whiskey’s, but he’s also loyal as a dog, defending you against handsy drunks and making sure you leave in good spirits.

You tap your foot against the leg of the bar stool in time to the music, sipping your drink and enjoying the show. You’ve never been one to enjoy drawing attention to yourself, so you purposely keep your distance from the dance floor, content to remain a wallflower for the night.

A flash of Javi’s yellow eye glowing bright green in reaction to the stage lights has you sitting up straighter, trying to get a better view of your familiar. However, the effort is unnecessary when your next glimpse reveals him weaving around bodies in an effort to reach you, expression pinched with determination. 

You take another sip and then set your glass down on the counter at the same time he slings an arm over the back of your stool.

“There you are,” he greets, mouth close to your ear to be heard over the music. “What’re you doing over here? I’ve been looking all over for you.”

Rolling your eyes, you poke him in the arm. “Don’t act like you didn’t ditch me for the dance floor the second we walked through the door, foxy. And besides, we both know I hate cramped spaces.”

Javi grabs your glass and gives it an experimental sniff, then makes a face like the smell of pomegranate personally offended him. “Yeah, well,” he says, handing your drink back over. “That’s the weird thing about concerts. Lots of people really enjoy attending them.”

“Shut up, smartass,” you huff, lips unwittingly curling into a half-smile.

He smirks, ears wiggling almost playfully. “Do you wanna dance? I think we should dance.”

You blink at him, thinking surely you’ve misheard him, except then he sticks out an offering hand.

“Uh,” your voice comes out strangled-sounding, train of thought crashing into a ditch and leaving you helplessly fumbling for a response. “No. No, I think I’m good here.”

“Oh, c’mon, don’t be a stick in the mud. Dancing’s just moving your arms and legs to the rhythm of the song. You don’t even have to be good at it. Just look at Murph over there if you don’t believe me.”

You keep frowning and take a bigger gulp from your drink, stalling as much as you are seeking liquid courage. Javi’s eyes narrow, knowing exactly what you’re doing, but he keeps his hand outstretched, too much of a stubborn mule to surrender. 

“There are better dance partners than me, Javi,” you say finally, looking down at the last drops of ruby red liquid in your glass.

He surprises you by bending his knees, tilting his head at an almost comical angle in order to meet your gaze. “Of course there are,” he replies with blunt honesty, but before you can feel the sting of his remark he nudges his forehead against yours, lips tugging upwards into a fond smile. “But you’re my one and only mage. And unless you really, really don’t want to, then I’d like to dance with you.”

You swallow hard, heart performing a funny little flip. His face is so close you can feel his breath tickling yours, see hints of bright green attempting to overtake the natural yellow shade in his right eye. Nervousness twists in your stomach, but the good kind of nervousness. The kind that stems from excitement, from trying something new. 

“O-Okay,” you say, attempting and failing at sounding easygoing instead of jittery. Downing the last of your drink, you jerk your head affirmatively. “Let’s dance.”

Javi’s grin nearly splits his face in half. He grabs your hand, pulling you off your seat, and leads you out into the middle of the crowd. The sensation of a multitude of eyes watching your every movement has you wanting to flee back to the safety of the bar, but your familiar abruptly drops his arm to curl around your waist. You don’t know exactly what you’d been expecting when you agreed to come tonight, but being suddenly tugged closer towards Javi’s chest definitely hadn’t been in your top ten predictions. 

With one arm around your waist, he intertwines the fingers of his other hand with yours and now your palm is burning, strange sparks shooting up your nerve endings that aren’t entirely unpleasant. Clearing your throat, you awkwardly hold your free hand in the air for a moment before finally settling it in the space between his neck and shoulder. 

“You good?” Javi asks, eyes alight with amusement but his tone doesn’t have the slightest hint of mockery, genuinely asking about your wellbeing. You nod your head, tongue stuck to the roof of your mouth, and he squeezes your hand, slowly starting to rock you both from side to side.

You’re stiff at first, staring down at your feet and worrying about accidentally stepping on his, but Javi just keeps on swaying, mouthing along with the lyrics. Slowly, like one of your candles beginning to melt beneath the heat of a flame, you find yourself relaxing in his hold, mentally blocking out the numerous bodies and sounds surrounding you until the thudding of your heartbeat and Javi’s breathing are all that keep you anchored to reality. 

Triple Frontier starts up another song, a slower one this time, Santi crooning into the microphone in an almost haunting manner. The lyrics drift into your head and spin lazy circles, round and round like fish in a too small pond.

When you’re weary, feeling small.

When tears are in your eyes, I’ll dry them all.

Javi’s looking at you in that endearingly sweet way of his, the lines of his face soft, eyes glittering like gemstones in the dark. Beautiful, you think, but it feels too small of a definition, unable to capture his essence, all his complexities and qualities, the ones you’ve learned about and the ones yet to be discovered. 

Still, despite its limitations, there’s no denying the adjective suits him. Especially right here in this moment, smiling at you, oblivious to the effect he has on you.

You rest your temple against the side of Javi’s cheek, eyes fluttering shut, and the two of you just keep swaying back and forth as the music envelops your soul in a warm embrace, soothing away the last jagged edges of your anxiety until there’s no trace of it left. 

“Sail on, silver girl,” Javi sings along, raspy and low and yet every word cuts right through you, embedding themselves in your heart and taking root there, planning to stay long after this night’s over. “Your time has come to shine.”

~~~

Song -- Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel

Some foxes have an intense green glow in their eyes when reflecting light at night. Maybe it doesn’t make sense for Javi’s to glow with him being half-human, but this is a ✨ magic au ✨

[sfb123]

The Final Goodbye - Chapter 4 (Finale)

Book: The Royal Romance, Book 2

Pairing: Liam x Riley

All characters belong to Pixelberry.

Description: In a slight canon divergence from book 2, Riley reaches her breaking point with the engagement tour and decides to restart her life when the court gets to NYC. Can the rest of the group clear her name, and convince her to come back before it’s too late?

Catch Up Here

Rating: PG (I think there are a few swear words in there, very angsty, but otherwise pretty mild)

Word Count: 2,525 (sorry, this is like twice as long as the others, but it’s worth it, I promise!)

A/N: We’ve made it to the end of the story. I appreciate you all so much for indulging me in this. I guess, technically, this is my first completed series (I promise, I’ll get back to Sapere Aude and A Taste of Cordonia soon!), so that’s a pretty exciting milestone for me. I really hope that at the end of this, you consider it worth your time. 

I gush way too much over her, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop, because I’m truly blessed that we stumbled upon each other, so shout out @jessiembruno​ for all of your help with this, and with everything. I may have in person friends I go for walks with, but you’re still at the top of my list. 

Tags: Listed below. If you’d like to be added or removed, just let me know!

Maxwell, Drake, and Hana sat in silence on the couch in Riley’s hotel room, reflecting on the day’s events. Bertrand had told Maxwell that he found her, but nobody else had seen or heard from her since. They weren’t sure if she had seen Tariq’s statement, and were even less sure it would matter. 

Hana broke the silence. “I can’t believe we did it.”

“I can’t believe Riley isn’t here. We should all be victory dancing right now.” Maxwell replied. 

Drake patted Maxwell on the back. “She’ll be back, she has to be. There’s no way she went through all of this just to give up in the home stretch.”

There was a gentle knock at the door, all three of them jumped up in the hopes that it was Riley. Maxwell ran to answer it, revealing Liam on the other side. “Oh, Liam. Hey.” Maxwell stepped back, allowing Liam to enter. 

Unable to contain his grin, Liam entered the room and approached the group. “I had a feeling you all would come here. I came to see you as soon as I could.” He looked around, noticing that Riley wasn’t with them he turned back to Maxwell and noticed his nervous expression. “Where is the woman of the hour? I wanted to personally offer my congratulations.” His face fell as he noticed his friends fidgeting, unable to make eye contact with him. Even without his years of training, he was easily able to read the tone of the room. He knew something was wrong. 

“Liam...why don’t you sit down for a minute.” Drake placed a hand on his shoulder and attempted to guide him toward the couch. Liam shrugged him off. 

“No thank you Drake, I came to see Riley. If she’s not here, just tell me where she is and I will go to her.”

“We ah...we don’t know.” Drake awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, unable to meet Liam’s gaze. “This morning, after you left, Maxwell and I came to check on her and she wasn’t here. It looks like she never came back to the hotel last night.”

Liam felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He took a moment to compose himself, looking around the room at the sad faces of his friends. “She...she’s gone?” His voice barely above a whisper as he took a seat, afraid his legs were going to give out. “But you found Tariq, it’s over. Her name has been cleared. We finally have our chance to…” He dropped his head, cradling it in his hands. Hana sat beside him and wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulders. Drake and Maxwell looked at each other. Nobody knew what the next move was. 

Liam sat in silence, his mind reeling with countless thoughts. All of the things he should have said, should have done. From the coronation, where he should have called her name, despite everything; to the previous night when he should have run after her the second she stepped off that stage. Maybe if he had gotten to her, he could have convinced her to stay just a little longer. He was so focused on retracing his mistakes over the last several weeks, that he did not hear the sound of a throat clearing at the door. It did get the attention of everyone else in the room, however. Their heads all snapped over to see Riley leaning against the doorframe, an awkward smile spread across her face. “Hey guys, what did I miss?”

The sound of her voice broke him from his thoughts. He looked up, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. Watching as she addressed the room, he took note that she was not meeting his eyes. He was preparing himself for the heartbreak that was about to come. She was only here to get her things, he was sure of it. 

“Riley! You came back!” Maxwell ran to her full speed, pulling her into a hug so aggressive that her feet lifted off the ground. Once she was standing again, he pulled away and took her hand, rushing her toward the group. “What happened? We were afraid you were gone forever.” 

There was an apprehension in Riley’s face that they hadn’t seen since the early days of the social season as her eyes scanned the room. She was trying to collect her thoughts and explain herself without letting it all explode out of her at once. As her eyes traveled in Liam’s direction, she moved her attention to the floor. She was sure he was upset with her, and if she saw any kind of sadness or disappointment in his face, she knew she would completely lose it. She focused her attention back on Maxwell, “You thought I was gone, and you still went through all of that trouble to go get Tariq and get him to make a statement?”

“Of course we did. You’re our friend, and we promised to help you.” Maxwell replied. 

Riley took a shaky breath, trying to keep a handle on all of the emotions rushing through her at that moment. “I gave up on myself, and you guys kept fighting. I don’t think I will ever be able to thank you for that.” 

She approached her friends individually, hugging them and speaking softly to each. Liam’s heart raced as he watched her move closer and closer to him, afraid for what that moment would bring. As Riley and Hana separated, Liam stood from his spot on the couch, taking a deep breath, preparing himself for what was about to come. For the first time since she had arrived, Riley and Liam locked eyes. 

“Hi.” It was barely audible, but it was all Riley was able to choke out at that moment. 

“Hello Riley.” 

Tension filled the room as Liam and Riley stared into each other's eyes, each afraid to start the conversation. Drake, Maxwell, and Hana looked at eachother. “Alright, we’re going to take off. Brooks, good to have you back. We’ll see you in the morning.” 

Drake and Hana walked toward the door, while Maxwell approached Riley. “Celebratory field trip to Coney Island tomorrow, Little Blossom. It’s going to be great!”

“MAXWELL!” He jumped at the sound of Drake’s voice, and rushed out of the room. Shutting the door behind him. 

Liam decided to make the first move, he motioned toward the couch, “Would you like to sit?” Riley nodded and sat on the couch, turning her body so she was facing Liam, he did the same. “So...you left.” Riley nodded again, still struggling to speak. Liam needed to get the question out there, if this was going to be it, he needed to know now. “Do you...does that mean...have you changed your mind? About us?”

Riley’s eyes went wide, she wasn’t sure what to expect when they spoke, but she was not prepared to hear Liam question her love for him. “Liam, no! This wasn’t about us, about you even. It was about me.”

He reached for her hands as he took a brief sigh of relief. “Then talk to me Riley, what happened? Why did you leave?”

“It was just becoming too much, we were at that UN thing last night, another night where I had to watch her on your arm. She had sent me earlier in the day to pick up her wedding ring. I guess that was kind of like a reality check for me, that the wedding was coming. Time was running out. You’re supposed to be getting married in less than a week. Finding Tariq was starting to feel impossible. I was going to have to go back to Cordonia and watch you marry her. I know I told you that I would want to be in your life regardless, but as we got closer to a reality where I was going to have to live as your secret, I realized that I couldn’t do it. I can’t live my life like that, in a country where I have been ostracized, just to have little glimpses of a life with you. I love you more than anything, but I couldn’t live the rest of my life like that. I figured, since we’re already in New York, it would be easier to just break away now and try to restart.”

“Why didn’t you talk to me? Tell me you were feeling this way, we could have talked through it together. You just disappeared.” He brought a hand to her cheek, brushing away the tears that had fallen as she was speaking. 

“I couldn’t tell you, I wouldn’t have been able to follow through with it if I did. You would have looked at me with those eyes, and said all those beautiful words that make me all mushy inside and I would have agreed to anything you said.”

The tears Liam had been trying to hold back slowly began to break free with her confession. He never wanted her to feel forced into anything, especially not by him. This whole thing had been his fault. She didn’t feel like she could be open with him, or she felt like when she was, he would railroad her into choosing his wants and needs above her own. That was never the life he wanted for either of them. “Riley, I am so sorry. The last thing I ever want is for you to feel like you can’t talk to me. I know that it has been...difficult for us to find moments to truly connect, but I had hoped that in those moments, we were being the best versions of ourselves. I had no idea I was so far off.”

“Liam, remember during the social season, all of the times where we would sneak away, or you’d spend an extra couple of minutes with me? You would always tell me how you were being unfair to the other suitors, and you were breaking the rules.” He nodded, a small smile playing across his face at the memories of their time together. “Your feelings for me were making you do things that you never would have done before. That’s what this engagement tour has been for me. I made a promise to myself a long time ago that I would never be ‘the other woman’, I would never come in between someone else’s relationship…”

“But you were never…”

She put a hand up to stop him from finishing his sentence. “...I was never the other woman, because your heart belongs to me. I know, that was your way of rationalizing it, and I love you so much that I started seeing it that way too. I would make excuses, that it was only temporary until we found Tariq, that Madeline had told you it would be ok. And I know she did, but I shouldn't have been ok with it. I compromised who I was, who I have been my whole life, because of my feelings for you. That’s not ok.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “Liam, I want to be with you, more than anything, but not if you’re married to someone else. I deserve to be the only woman in your life, and on your arm, for show or otherwise. If you can’t give me that, I need to walk away.”

“Riley, my feelings for you have never changed, nor have my intentions. Now that the scandal is behind you, we can look forward to a future together, just the two of us. There are a few arrangements that need to be made, some conversations that I will need to have, but I need you to understand that everything is going to change from here. Our moment is right around the corner, if you can just stick with me a little longer.” 

There was a rawness and vulnerability in his eyes that caused Riley to completely break down. As she began sobbing, Liam pulled her to her chest, his own tears falling freely. They sat there for several moments, purging the emotions they had been working so hard to hold back.

When they pulled away, Liam held Riley’s face in his hands staring deeply, desperately into her eyes. “Please Riley, just bear with me until the court leaves New York. If you are not satisfied with where things stand at that time, I will completely understand and support your decision to stay here.”

Riley blinked away the last of her tears as she considered Liam’s proposition. She slowly nodded her head, which was still being cradled in Liam’s hands. “Ok.” 

He could barely hear the words escape her lips, but it was all he needed. Liam kissed the tear stains on each of her cheeks before placing a tender, lingering kiss on her lips. “I love you Riley, I love you so much. I promise, we’re going to get our forever.”

Riley wrapped her arms around Liam’s neck and pulled him into a tight embrace. He brought his arms around her, gently rubbing her back. “I love you too, Liam.” They sat in each other's arms, each comforting the other without saying a word. 

“I should head to my room and try to get some sleep.” Liam broke the silence, standing and extending his hand to Riley. “Walk me to the door?”

She nodded, taking his hand and standing, leading him to the door. “You could stay here if you wanted.” She looked at him coyly. 

“Riley my love, there is nothing I want more right now, but I can’t do that to you.” He brought her hand to his lips. “You’re right, you deserve to be the only woman in my life, and I am still technically engaged to Madeleine. I heard everything you said, and if anything more we’re to happen tonight, it wouldn’t be fair to you. To either of us. Just know that you will be the only thing on my mind until we are together again.” He leaned down, kissing her deeply, as he wrapped his free hand around her waist. 

“Will you at least come with us to Coney Island tomorrow?” She asked hopefully. 

“Only if you promise to ride with me on the Ferris wheel.”

She smiled, and Liam felt his heart skip a beat at the sight. It was at that moment that he knew they were going to be ok. “I think that can be arranged.”

He pulled her close for one last lingering hug. “Then I will be counting down the seconds.” He pulled away, kissing her on the cheek. “Goodnight, Riley.”

“Goodnight Liam.”

They shared a final smile before Liam exited the room, shutting the door behind him. Riley changed into her pajamas and got into bed. That night, she slept better than she had during the entire tour. She knew there was still a lot that needed to be figured out, and that it would likely be an uphill battle, but she was one step closer to walking up that hill hand in hand with Liam, and that’s all she had ever wanted in the first place.

Permatag:

@anjanettexcordonia @athena-penrose @bbrandy2002 @chemist-ana @choicesficwriterscreations @choiceskatie @cordonia-gothqueen @cordoniaqueensworld @emkay512​ @gabesmommie1130 @gkittylove99​ @hopelessromanticmonie​ @iaminlovewithtrr​ @jessiembruno​ @kat-tia801​ @khoicesbyk​ @kingliam2019​ @lucy-268​ @marshmallowsaremyfavorite​ @mile9213​ @mom2000aggie​ @pixie88​ @queenrileyrose​ @secretaryunpaid​ @sweatyrysconnoisseur​ @tessa-liam​ @theroyalheirshadowhunter​ @twinkleallnight​ @txemrn​

The Final Goodbye:

@ao719​​ @burnsoslow​​ @busywoman​​ @itsjustwinter​​ @ladyangel70​​ @mainstreetreader​​ @shanzay44​​

Liam x Riley:

@jared2612​​

Liam:

@amandablink​​

[ororowrites]

Scripted - Yahya x Black OC

Sweet Thang- Chapter 3

One-shot: By the Open Fire

Chapters: 1 2 

Warnings: Language

Word Count: 2,003

Two months later

Candace finished her last night at Dynasty and vowed to never return. She had collected enough money to support the remaining tuition payments, graduation fees and the application fee for Yale’s School of Drama. March had snuck upon her and her application was due in a month for the 2012-2013 school term. The process was daunting because this was the only M.F.A program she planned to apply to and she prayed this wasn’t a mistake. Yale was her dream school and though she was the type to have a plan B, C and Z, she was gambling on her resume and audition tapes.

Yahya had already made one visit to Los Angeles, since he met Candace at Dynasty. He was collecting unemployment and attending acting classes to get more experience to add to his resume. They had talked about his plan moving forward and Yahya was enjoying acting so much, he planned to apply to Yale as well. Candace had convinced him to live a little and follow his heart and talent. Even if his application was denied, he would have the experience and could apply to another program. During their acting class, Candace was surprised by Yahya’s natural talent in theatre. He deeply connected with the scripts and scenarios and she was in awe of how he could change his entire persona to fit the character. Candace wouldn’t admit it, but her attraction to Yahya was growing. Not only was he physically attractive, but his sensitivity and thoughtfulness made him appealing. He was also attracted to Candace and took his time getting to know her, while also respecting her space after her breakup. 

Another acting coach was in town and Yahya made the trip to LA to attend a session with Candace. It had been two weeks since his last visit and he was eager to get into another class and spend time with his friend. They decided to meet at Candace’s apartment and ride to their class together. 

“Do you think this man will make us cry on cue or what,” Candace joked, flipping on her turn signal to take the exit off the expressway. 

“It’s called the Degree of Emotion, I’m sure we’re crying in this class,” Yahya chuckled, scrolling through his email for job postings. Right now, he was living off of unemployment and his savings, he would need a job sooner rather than later. 

“I can’t cry on cue. It takes a bit of coaching to get me there. Hopefully this class can give me some pointers,” Candace revealed. 

Dr. Ben Mayer, renowned acting coach to many in the industry and professor at Julliard, was standing in the middle of the stage when the students arrived. As they walked into the class, he recited an excerpt from the Odyssey. His heavy voice carried throughout the theatre, capturing everyone’s attention before they reached their seats. Yahya grabbed Candace’s hand, helping her down the dark theatre stairs and to the front row. 

“Welcome to the Degree of Emotion. I’m Dr. Ben Mayer, your instructor for today. Please use the first two rows. Don’t be shy, I don’t bite,” the instructor ordered, pointing to the empty seats in front of the stage. “Today, I’ll be working with you on how to convey emotion with your voice, body language and expressions. Many that come into this field think showing emotion is only about crying or showing sadness onscreen or onstage. Emotion is more than that though. Anyone can be trained to cry on cue but what about that makes you feel like the character you’re portraying. Are you stepping into your character’s shoes or simply putting on a hat? Stepping into the shoes is more powerful and more fulfilling than putting on a hat. You walk in shoes and feel them out. So, I’m going to teach you how to do that.” 

For the second half of the class, the group split up into groups of two and practiced different scripts. Dr. Mayer watched each group and offered criticism and advice. Candace was in Yahya’s group and they were supposed to be performing a piece about a couple who hit a rough patch. She felt good about this particular script because of her recent breakup but to her surprise, her performance fell flat for Dr. Mayer. He told her she was wearing a hat instead of stepping into Charlotte’s shoes and she had a lot to work on when it came to emotional acting. 

That criticism stuck with Candace and ate at her for the remainder of the class. The second half of the course was in three weeks, where they would perform their scenes in front of their peers. 

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Yahya proposed as they walked to a near-by coffee shop. 

“I can handle criticism. It’s being told I don’t convey emotion that bugs me. No instructor has ever said that and here I am trying to get into Yale not conveying enough fuckin’ emotion,” Candace spat between her teeth. Being a perfectionist ended up being her downfall in many things. She believed in being perfect at her crafts, which is how she ended up in extra acting classes outside of her regular theatre courses. “Are my emotions not believable, Yah?” 

“That’s coming from one instructor. We all have different ways of approaching this acting thing. But if you want to work on it, I’m here for a couple of more days. We can practice. No biggie.”

“I don’t know why I’m this bothered about this shit. But I’m going to give his ass emotion next time,” she promised, tossing her curls behind her ear. 

-------

Trinity was out studying with some friends, leaving the apartment free for acting practice and a late brunch. Yahya was on fruit duty, while Candace made waffles and turkey bacon. 

“What do you think is holding you back,” Yahya questioned, glancing over at his acting partner who was concentrating on whisking the lumps out of her pancake mix. 

“Fear of failure. I think too much when it comes to certain scenes and end up closing myself off,” she replied after a few long seconds of silence. “That’s my only explanation. After all that stuff with Maxwell, it got worse, I guess.” 

“I did this class in San Fran and the instructor had us doing meditation before we got to the acting. Maybe you can try that when you have those hard scenes. It helped me because I get too into my own head at times, too,” he offered, wiping his hands on a towel. “For now.... I need you to relax.” 

Once Candace felt Yahya’s strong hands on her shoulders, she could have melted into a puddle in the middle of the kitchen floor. He massaged the tense muscles and rested his chin on top of her head. She hummed in relief, leaning back into his big body. 

“Instead of thinking about how you can hide Dr. Mayer’s body, think about how you can prove him wrong. Put all that anger into Charlotte because she needs you in order to come alive.” 

“Okay,” Candace sighed. 

“Let’s try meditation first,” he suggested, leading Candace to the living room. “Try to get you nice and relaxed before we start.” 

They meditated for ten minutes before returning to the kitchen to clear up counter space. 

“Ready?” Yahya nodded towards his scene partner and earned a nervous nod in response. 

Charlotte and Tyreik - TAKE ONE

“You’ve changed, Ty. Changed in ways you may not realize but I see it. Hell, I feel it too. When we supposedly make love and you aren’t present...you fill me up but you feel empty,” Candace spoke, shifting her weight from hip to hip. Playing Charlotte made her nervous for some reason. Maybe it was her own fear of opening up to another man after having her heart stomped to pieces by Maxwell. Like Charlotte, she no longer wanted to be a doormat to anyone, especially the opposite sex. 

“You sure you even know how to feel anymore,” Yahya replied, pretending to cut invisible vegetables on the cutting board. 

“Excuse me?” 

“You can’t stand here and tell me you feel a thing, Char. I’ve been trying to talk to you about our relationship for months. But you’re always busy or too tired. So yeah....I’ve changed.” 

The conversation was similar to one she had with Maxwell, except the roles were reversed. Like Yahya suggested, she dug deeper to find that spark that would turn on the switch. 

“Because you talk at me. Yelling isn’t talking and it won’t get my attention,” she shot back, narrowing her eyes. “And the only reason you’re even talking is because you feel guilty.” 

Yahya slammed his hands against the the cold, marble countertop, causing Candace to flinch. “Are we still stuck on that shit? I apologized, you accepted, it’s done. Stop bringing up old shit to hide your own insecurities.” 

“We.... then why are we pretending this is what we both want? If we’re this unhappy, why are we doing this,” she mumbled, her eyes falling down to her feet. 

“I don’t know. Maybe because we’re both afraid to let go of what’s familiar to us. I’m your first love and you’re my first long time relationship. Hard to let go of something you worked hard to keep going all these years.”

Dig deep, Candace. Thinking back to how she felt about Maxwell and his unborn child, Candace’s eyes began to water. “I want this to work, Ty. I really do,” she sniffed. Yahya’s eyes met hers and he tried to stay in character but he couldn’t hide how proud he was the moment he saw his advice working for Candace.  

“I do too. But you have to let go of shit if you claim you forgive me,” Yahya moved in closer, letting Candace know they were close to the kissing scene. 

“I’ll try,” she offered, her big, brown orbs searching his looking for a hint of Yahya. He rarely broke character, but there was an extra gleam in his eyes. This was the first time they had done anything outside of hugging. Yahya was respecting Candace’s space and allowing her to heal after her recent breakup.

 Her heart beat violently against her chest when Yahya’s cologne flooded her senses. His lips became Candace’s main focus as he closed the space between them and placed his mouth on hers. The kiss was brazen, making Candace’s knees weak. Yahya placed his hands on the counter, caging in Candace’s small frame. His 6′3 frame towered over her, forcing him to duck his head down to deepen the kiss when her tongue slid past his. Since that night at the club, he had been waiting to kiss Candace’s lips. Just as he thought, they were as soft as pillows and the urge to take things to the next level invaded his thoughts.

Heat rose to Candace’s cheeks before spreading down to her belly, meeting the butterflies that were already dancing. Their scripts were long forgotten and they were well past the point of blaming their actions on their characters. Candace’s fingers toyed with the hem of Yahya’s shirt. They were both breathless when they pulled a part and Candace didn’t give Yahya time to catch his thoughts before her lips were back on his, fighting for dominance. Yahya’s shirt ended up on the kitchen floor, exposing his sculpted but slender mid-section. It was dangerous, yet neither one of them stopped it. The sexual tension had been strong from the moment they met and given the current circumstances, it was boiling over. From the slight touches and long gazes, hormones were bound to get them in this predicament. Yahya’s lips left hers and traveled to her neck, where they stayed, creating love bites.

“Do you want me to stop,” he questioned, his baritone causing a vibration between their bodies. The thumping between her ears and thumping between her legs had Candace’s mind swimming in circles. 

Sorry for the wait and short chapter. We will get A LOT more Yahya and Candace in the next one though!

taglist: @blackburnbook @emjayewrites @just-peachee @chaneajoyyy​

[kaitycole]

I Hope

Summary: No one but Drake knows why he and Riley broke up, so what happens when Liam, Maxwell and Drake spot her three years later during their trip to New York?

Pairings: Drake x Riley (past tense)

Word Count: 1977

Warnings: PG-13? Mentions of cheating and alcohol

Song lyrics are from I Hope by Gabby Barrett. Highly recommend it!

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay? You don’t have to go out with us.” Liam asks Drake while he slips on his jacket.

Liam, Drake, and Maxwell had decided to return to New York as a pit stop to Liam’s diplomatic travels to Canada. They hadn’t been there since before his social season, when they went there for his bachelor party and met Riley. The shine of Riley wore off when they got back to Cordonia, it was no one’s fault, they just didn’t click well under the pressure of the court. However, she did pair well with Drake and through the social season, the two had a heated affair.

“I’ll be fine. It’s been almost three years.” Drake shrugs, grabbing his phone and keys. Riley and Drake didn’t try to hide their relationship from their friends so when they broke it off they told everyone. The details of what caused their break-up wasn’t public knowledge. No one pressed the issue either, but all wished both the best, especially Riley since she was heading back to the states.

“But she could be here.” Maxwell chimed in, he came off super supportive but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t miss his Little Blossom. He was the one who tried the hardest to learn why they split, wanted to know what happened that was so bad she wouldn’t even stay in Ramsford with him. But all she’d give him was a sad smile and the overused phrase, “Sometimes things just don’t work out.”

“I highly doubt it. Brooks had big dreams, she wouldn’t have stayed here.”

Knowing that they weren’t going to change his mind, they all head out with Bastien in tow. Originally, they decided to go to the bar they went and met Riley, but since it seemed to upset Drake, they opted to go to a western bar. They went to one in Cordonia on Drake’s birthday, but Maxwell was positive one in the US would be even better.

“This place already looks so awesome!�� Maxwell praises as they all slip into a booth and place a quick order of beer, burgers and fries.

Liam looks at a nearby flyer, “Seems like they’re gonna have some live entertainment tonight.”

The three of them are enjoying their meals, ordering an extra round of beers just as a crack of the microphone catches their attention.

“We hope everyone is enjoying their meals, let’s give a round of applause for tonight’s entertainment Riley Brooks!”

Maxwell and Liam share a look as the room fills with an applause while Drake’s face completely pales.

“I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.” Liam quickly says as Maxwell starts nodding, “exactly, I bet it’s a pretty common American name.” Drake doesn’t say anything, watching as Riley walks onto the stage, thanking the crowd for having her before she sits on the stool.

“This is one of my favorite songs from my debut album that will be releasing shortly.” She starts to strum the guitar that’s on her lap, the room instantly silencing, anxiously waiting.

“Holy shit! That’s Riley!” Maxwell exclaims and Liam just sits there, jaw almost on the ground.

As her lyrics start to flow through the room, several people begin swaying to the beat while the two royals share a look, glancing over to see Drake’s expression. However, Drake isn’t listening to the words, the sound of her voice takes him back to one of his favorite memories of their relationship.

I, I hope she makes you smile/ The way you made me smile on the other end of a phone In the middle of a highway driving alone/ Oh baby I, I hope you hear a song That makes you sing along and gets you thinking about her Then the last several miles turn into a blur, yeah

*                      * “Drake, stop!” Riley shouts, giggling as he picks her up, carrying her towards the couch. He plops her down on the couch before handing her a guitar. “What’s this?”

“I got you a new guitar.” They have only been together for a few months, but he couldn’t help himself. Her current guitar is aged, Riley couldn’t remember exactly when she got it, but it had to be at least seven years old, if not older. The neck of it was loose much like the fretboard, but for a cheap acoustic guitar, it still worked.

But Drake knows for someone who has the dream of becoming a musician, an old, worn, and cracked guitar just isn’t going to cut it. So the only rational choice he had was to buy her a replacement because her happiness makes him happy.

Her eyes light up, he could swear he sees stars in her eyes as she runs gently fingers across the surface, her fingers dipping as they follow the curve of the waist of the instrument. She turns it to sit flat on her lap, grazing the strings causing a small hum to fill the room.

“I love it.” Riley places it on the cushion next to her before throwing herself into Drake, wrapping her arms around his neck, peppering him with kisses as she thanks him over and over.

He laughs, kissing her back repeatedly before leaning back to look at her, “play me one of your songs.”

Her face flushes, she’s only ever played covers for him, too afraid to play something she wrote for him, not wanting to show that much vulnerability. She chews on the inside of her cheek, worried that he’ll hate it, scared that he would just tear it apart, but when she looks up and see his soft smile all that fear disappears.

*                      * I hope she comes along and wrecks every one of your plans/ I hope you spend your last dime to put a rock on her hand I hope she's wilder than your wildest dreams/ She's everything you're ever gonna need

“Earth to Drake, you still with us?” Maxwell waves his hand in front of Drake’s face.

“Oh, uh, yeah.” Drake shakes his head, “guess I zoned out a bit.” “I always knew Riley was talented, did she ever play this for you, Drake?” “No, must be one she wrote after she left.” “Wonder if we’ll finally know why the two of you broke up.” Maxwell looks at Drake who just ignores him.

And then I hope she cheats/ Like you did on me And then I hope she cheats/ Like you did on me

Drake pales as Maxwell and Liam go speechless, sharing an ‘oh shit’ expression. Suddenly they both wish they could unlearn this revelation, wanting to go back to the blissful ignorance they had these last three years.

“Guess that answers that.” Liam clears his throat before taking a sip of his now warm beer.

Maxwell finally picks his jaw off the ground, “maybe she dated someone else within the last three years.”

Yeah, babe, I hope she shows up in a 2 AM pic from her friend Hanging on to a guy and you just ain't him I hope you stay up all night all alone, waitin' by the phone/ And then she calls

Riley looks around the room, she feels most comfortable on stage, even when the emotions she’s letting out through her lyrics are painful. But when her eyes meet Drake’s, the guitar in her lap suddenly feels heavier than usual and the words slightly burn as they come out, her mind taking her back to the last time she saw him.

And baby, I, I hope you work it out/ Forgive and just about forget And take her on a first date again/ And when you lean in for a kiss

*                      * “Riley, won’t you even talk to me?” Drake reaches out, grabbing her wrist trying to stop her from walking out of the room.

“I don’t think there’s anything left to talk about!” She jerks her wrist out of his grip, storming out of the bedroom.

“I think there is.”

Drake’s following Riley as she makes her way through each room, snatching up her things as she shoves them in a bag. He continues to try to get her to just stop, to just listen to him because he’s confident that he can fix things even though Riley brushes off each attempt he makes.

She’s not crying anymore, even though her heart is still breaking each time he tries to defend himself. Her eyes are red and they sting but she won’t let that stop her because the only thing she wants is to get as far from Drake as she can. Her mind is racing as she grabs her belongings or at least the ones she needs now, knowing she can either get the rest later or just leave them there and replace them.

She whips around, staring Drake straight in the face, “no there isn’t. If you wanna talk so bad, call that bitch whose been blowing up your phone.” “I said I was sorry.” His classic puppy dog pout shows up, Riley biting down on her bottom lip, that face use to melt her heart, now not so much. “I meant it Riley, I am sorry.”

She shakes her head, slinging on of her bags over her shoulder, pulling the other one behind her as she gets to the door. She opens it, walking a few steps out before pulling the cliché of turning around for one final statement, “but you weren’t sorry before you got caught.”

*                      * And then I hope she cheats/ Like you did on me And then I hope she cheats/ Like you did on me

Drake’s standing outside the bar waiting for Riley to come out, he sent Maxwell and Liam back to the hotel without him. He told himself that if he ever got the chance, he’d take it, try to get her to listen to what he tried to tell her before.

“Riley!”

Her grip on the handle of her case tightens as she swallows down her nerves. She should’ve guessed that he’d linger though she’d have much rather seen Liam or Maxwell. Clenching her teeth, she turns around, facing the one person she never wanted to see again.

“It’s not safe to talk to strangers in New York, you know?”

“Don’t be like that Riley.” He steps closer to her, the street light illuminating her features.

“Be like what? I don’t know you anymore Drake.” She shakes her head, exhaling through her nose loudly, “if I even really knew you back then.”

“You did know me,” he reaches out for her, “I made a mistake and I just want to right that.”

Her hand feels odd in his now, almost as if the memory of it fitting seamlessly was just some made-up fantasy. When she first left, she was pissed and refused to disrespect herself by listening to any pathetic explanation, but when the first year passed, she started to wonder if she made a mistake. She often thought about what he might’ve said and maybe she had blown things out of proportion. Eventually she let go of her second-guessing, realizing that if it was meant to be then things would’ve turned out differently, using that anger to fuel her drive to become successful.

She smiles, squeezing his hand before letting it drop from hers. “It’s too late for that. I really do hope that you meet the right girl, she’s just not me.”

“Ri…” “Tell Max and Liam it was nice to see them and I hope things are well.” She turns, walking away from him just like she did years ago, but this time feeling more confident.

He runs his fingers through his hair, watching her leave again, just like last time regretting not being able to get her to stay.

Like you did on me

Perma tags: @gkittylove99  @sirbeepsalot  @texaskitten30​   @hopefulmoonobject​ @marshmallowsaremyfavorite​    

[f0rever15elf]

I Just Need Five Minutes: Part 1

Part 1 of the Maxwell Lord “I Just Need Five Minutes” Series: Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4, Part 5 (Coming soon) Pairing: Maxwell Lord x f!reader Wordcount: 2,325 Rating: G  Warnings: Death mentions Part 2 (Coming soon...)

Summary: Lord Corp has become the top business contender on the global stage, lead by none other than Maxwell Lord IV. His rise to glory has taken him from the lives of those he once loved, and you can only watch as he slips further and further out of reach. You had to stop it, before it was too late. You had to get inside. 

A/N: This story is going to call a little bit on the comic book backstory of Maxwell Lord IV, most of which can be found in his wiki article, if you’re interested. I’m excited to write for Maxwell, his character has so much potential. And hopefully this will tide me over since the movie release has been delayed again.

Masterlist  |  Ao3

He was a genius. Shrewd, cunning, and charismatic. His way with words had everyone coiled tightly around his finger; he could sell holy water to the Pope if he wanted to. And with that silver tongue, that guise he wore to stroke the egos of those who ate from his palm and were none the wiser, he continued to climb higher and higher. More and more power fell into his grasp.

But a glass can only hold so much, and as his brimmed and spilled over with power and influence, so did he lose his humanity.

“Maxwell...what have you done?”

~~~~

The sun shines brilliantly in the summer sky over the wide yard in front of the Lord estate. In the lush green grass, two children play, no more than five or six years old. A boy and a girl, giggling and laughing over jokes and stories told in funny voices. It is the picture of innocence, purity. The little girl picks up a flower from the small pile they had collected, tucking it behind her ear before finding a matching one, tucking it behind the boy’s.

“We match now!” she beams in a way only a child can. “It means that you and I will be together forever!” The boy blushes at her words, soft blonde hair blowing gently in the summer breeze. His face is gentle and kind, shy even as he watches her with bright brown eyes that shine in the light. Tentatively, he sticks out his hand to her, pinky finger extended.

“You gotta promise! It doesn’t work if you don’t promise!” His serious voice makes the girl giggle before she makes a serious face, wrapping her pinky around his tightly.

“I promise! Forever and ever.” The boy smiles and nods as she says so, repeating her words back to her before they both erupt into giggles. From the balcony, the mothers of the two children look on fondly over their cups of tea. The sound of the children laughing danced on the warm breeze, pleasant in their ears. If only things could stay like this forever.

~~~~

Your pinky twitches as you stand before the gilded doors of the Lord Building, looking up at its windows, blinding in the sunlight. You would get in. You had to. Things had been put into motion that you need to stop, but the only way to do so is from the inside. With a shake of your head and a sigh, your turn on your heel, heading down the street towards home. It seems that nearly every screen you pass on your way has Maxwell’s face on it, selling empty promises and loaded bargains. And every time you see his eyes, they look a little less like the boy you use to know.

~~~~

“Max can’t meet you today, dear,” your mother says, petting your hair. To an adult familiar with grief and loss, the tightness in her voice would betray the tumultuous emotions she feels. To you, she just sounds uncomfortable, and you tilt your head in confusion. Fourteen years doesn’t provide much time to become familiar with the concept of loss, so you shrug, saddened you wouldn’t get to see your friend today.

Gone were the days of sitting in the grass to play, tucking flowers into each other’s hair. Maxwell was always busy helping his father to run the family business, and you would go months without so much as a word from him before he would show up at your door with a lily, smiling that dimpled smile at you. Promises always poured from his lips that it wouldn’t be so long next time before he came to see you.

But today… Today would change everything. Today, Maxwell’s father died.

~~~~

The door to your apartment slams shut behind you with a thud, shutting out the hustle and bustle of Metropolis. It’s small, but cozy, filled with your plants to bring a little life to the drab living room and kitchen. Taking a seat in the living room, you pull out your computer from your bag as you flip on the TV. It’s Maxwell’s face again, smiling at you with the look of a used car salesman who swears he wants only the best for his favorite customer. You know it’s not a real smile. Maxwell has a dimple when he smiles, and this charade didn’t. You shake your head as his promises of whatever you want in this perfect future fill the room, your eyes refocusing on your laptop, refreshing your emails. One meeting...that was all you needed.

~~~~

You let out a frustrated sigh as the door slams closed, your mother letting out a cry of surprise at the sound before coming to find you, resting a concerned hand on your shoulder as you throw yourself onto the couch.

“He still won’t see you?” Her gentle words just cause your heart to ache further and you nod.

“His mom greeted me, invited me in and made me tea. We chatted, but as soon as I asked about Maxwell, she stood up and ushered me from the house, asking me to not come by anymore since I couldn’t seem to stop asking for him.” You turn to look at your mother, tears in your eyes. “Why won’t he see me, Mom? Did I do something wrong?” Your mother’s heart shatters at the broken light in your eyes. She knew how much Maxwell meant to you, and that having him refuse to see you was tearing you apart.

“My sweet, you’ve done nothing wrong. Maxwell has a lot of responsibility to take on now that he’s running his father’s company. He’s very busy and doesn’t have as much time to see friends as he use to.” She brushes your hair behind your ear with delicate fingers. “I’m sure he still cares about you.”

“I miss him, Mom. I miss my best friend. It’s been three years since I’ve seen him...” Seventeen years of life and you still struggle with keeping your emotions in check, especially when it comes to Maxwell.

“I know sweetheart...When the time is right, you will see him again…”

~~~~

The alert from your inbox pulls you from your reverie, your eyes refocusing on the screen. As they do, your heart stutters in your chest

‘To Whom It May Concern,

We graciously thank you for your interest in Lord Corp. Mr. Lord has personally reviewed your product and would like to arrange to meet you on Wednesday at 3 p.m. You will have thirty minutes to make your sales pitch and answer any questions he may have. The front desk will direct you when you arrive. Please bring a valid photo ID and copies of your pitch for convince. Do not be late, Mr. Lord’s time is incredibly valued.

Cordially,

Sam Preston

Personal Assistant to the CEO’

You had gotten it. That moment you needed on the inside...you had finally gotten it. A relieved smile graces your lips as you begin to amass your files. You had one shot at this, it had to be perfect.

~~~~

You stand alone in the cemetery as you watch the caretakers laying new sod over the fresh grave. Your heart feels hollow, and only the black lace veil conceals the tears streaming down your cheeks from the world around you. Today was beautiful; cool and still with the birds singing in the trees as the sun warmed the earth. It was too beautiful for a day filled with such grief.

As the caretakers pack up their tools, one stops to rest a hand on his shoulder, passing along his condolences before continuing on his way. You nod gratefully before kneeling beside the headstone. It is modest, small and simple with a delicate engraving of a singular rose by your mother’s name. Black-gloved fingers trace along each petal and letter, your shoulders shaking with silent cries. You were now well and truly alone.

You shouldn’t have had to be alone. He should have been there with you, you had made a promise to one another. You were there when his father passed, and his mother. He didn’t even have the time to attend his own mother’s funeral, but you did. You mourned for him as they lowered a woman close enough to be your second mother into the ground beside her husband. So why were you alone now?

Where are you Maxwell?

~~~~

Your hands work to smooth the front of your dress down before you enter the lobby of Lord Corp. Slate gray with a simple black belt that held nicely to your figure but didn’t reveal too much. Professional and classy, with a dash of sexy. Nothing beyond anything any self-respecting company owner would don. Head held high and the bag you specifically reserved for important business trips and meetings over your shoulder, you make your way inside, up to the front desk.

“Welcome to Lord Corp, where the future is yours, do you have an appointment?” The intern who greets you sounds like every last bit of his soul has been sapped from him, and you pity him. Giving him a sad smile, you nod, pulling out your ID.

“I do, at 3 pm with Mr. Lord.” You give him your name as he takes the card, looking you up in the system before nodding, handing you back your ID and a visitors badge which you quickly put around your neck.

“Lily Solutions, you’re still on schedule. I’ll have you head down the hall. Take your first left, you’ll find the elevators. Take it all the way to the top and have a seat on the bench outside the double doors at the end of the hall. Sam will come and get you when Mr. Lord is ready for you.” You smile sweetly at the young man, thanking him before following your instructions. Your ears pop on the way up and you grimace, pulling out the folder with your ‘sales pitch’ inside, flipping through to make sure everything is in order. As the doors slide open and you make your way down the hall, you sigh. This floor was so much more opulent than the ground floor and you feel so out of place. Floor to ceiling paintings like the walls, depicting grandiose battles. Priceless vases and sculptures sit along marble pedestals. It’s like walking through a museum rather than an office, and your jaw clenches as you think about how he had come to acquire some of these items. When you reach the bench, you take your seat and cross your ankles to wait, trying to calm your racing heart.

“Lily Solutions?” The voice that calls out for you immediately grates on your nerves, high pitched and nasally. Looking to your right, so you a man in a pressed navy blue suit make his way towards you, and you stand to meet him, taking his extended hand. “I am Sam Preston, Mr. Lord’s personal assistant. Did you bring your requested documents?” The way he looked down his nose at you makes your blood boil, but you paste on the sweetest smile you can, nodding as you hand over the folder.

“You’ll find copies of all requested articles inside, neatly labeled for yours and Mr. Lord’s personal convenience.” Sam makes a disinterested sound in the back of his throat, snapping the folder shut before checking his watch.

“Very good. This way.” He strides past you and as soon as he is in front of you, you drop the sweet smile. Maxwell, why hire someone like him? You shake your head as Sam opens the door at the end of the hall, getting your salesman smile in place. “Mr. Lord, your 3 o’clock is here from Lily Solutions.” Sam ushers you inside and you are taken aback once again at how over the top the design of the office is. Floor to ceiling windows line the whole back wall with arguably the best view in Metropolis and the curtains that hang every so often are of a rich red velvet with gold filigree.  The marble tiles cause the click of your heels to echo as you make your way to the center of the room beside Sam, your eyes locked on the man sitting at the large mahogany desk.

It’s been seventeen years since you last saw Maxwell, and your heart ached for the man who appraises you with shrewd and cunning eyes. With a wave of his hand, Sam nods, leaving the folder on the desk to make his way out of the room. The large oaken door closing echos ominously through the room as Maxwell stands, coming around his desk to face you, hands in his pockets. If he recognized you at all, he didn’t show it.

“Thank you for taking the time to meet with me, Mr. Lord. I realize your time is very valuable, so I won’t keep you long.” Maxwell chuckles humorlessly at your greetings, leaning back against his desk.

“You say that, but you bring me this fake, garbage company in an attempt for a sales pitch?” His voice is rough and hard as flint, no trace of that gentle sound he once had. “What game are you playing?”

“No game, sir.”

“I don’t believe you.” He pushes off of his desk, walking back around it. “Everyone has a game they play, and if you’re not going to tell me yours, I’ll have you escorted out.” When he picks up the phone, your heart leaps into your throat and you dart forward pressing down on the receiver, cutting it off. He glares at you in disbelief. The audacity, he thinks, is astounding and he would make sure you suffer for it.

“Maxwell, please.” His eyes flash at the use of his first name, something in the way it sounds in your voice bringing him to pause. “I just need five minutes.”

~~~~~

Taglist is open!  Requests are open!

[betterthebest]

Here We Go Again | An MJF Fanfiction

Status: *Not requested* Description: Bella was a teen wrestler working in the Indy circuit until an injury cost her her short career. She and MJF were friends turned lovers, turned strangers and friends again. What happens when she joins AEW to lead a faction with her ex? Will their history jeopardize their rekindled friendship?

A/N: This is an alternate universe (no covid :p) where MJF didn’t earn a spot in the inner circle. Hope you all enjoy my original story!

See also: (Part 1) ___________________________________________

Part 2 October 2020

Max called me out of the blue almost four years to the day we broke up. “I’m coming over, I have a plan.” He hung up before I could say anything. He came over with a plan, a contract, and Tony Khan. “You’re coming to AEW and we’re creating a faction,” Max grinned. “Wait, what?” I looked at him like he was crazy. This was the last thing that I thought would ever happen. “You heard me,” he held out a contract. I took the piece of paper in my hands and looked over at Tony. “Is this a prank?”  He laughed. “In two weeks, you’re coming out to Jacksonville. Put in your two weeks if you have a job” Tony said firmly. All three of us went over the plan. Being the leader of the faction is what convinced me to come back. I was apprehensive only cause I wouldn’t be able to wrestle. I went to work that night and did as Tony said. The next day Max came back to my house and we wrote out a promo. I had a talent for writing and any time I wrote a promo for myself, people loved it. I only did a few promos during my career since I’ve only been in one major company. We went over what I wrote three times that day. 

I had to rehearse for a few days at least to memorize. Two weeks passed and on that Monday, Max and I flew out to Florida. I ended up meeting with everyone I used to work with and it felt amazing. It was like time didn’t even pass with some of them. I ended up staying with Britt and Austin at their place. I didn’t want to intrude on them, but they both insisted I stay instead of paying for hotels. They were always the type of friends I could count on for anything. When Wednesday came, Britt and I drove to the arena. I prepared for the show by saying my promo to Britt to get her opinion. She loved it and said she was excited to hear it tonight. I dressed in black leggings and a black cropped long sleeve shirt. I changed out of my sneakers and borrowed black booties from Anna Jay in the locker room. She suggested I wear them. She’s the type of person that made anyone feel like a close friend. We talked by catering as the show went on. Later that night I met up with Max in the hallway before his match with Jericho. “You ready?” He said excitedly, trying to hype me up.  “I’m nervous, but I’m ready.” Millions of people were about to watch me live. The most I’ve talked to was an auditorium of 85 people. “You got this. Just focus on me, okay.” He placed his hand on my shoulder. He knew more than anyone that my anxiety could get the best of me. I nodded with a smile. “Oh and wear this.” He took a necklace out of his sweatpants pocket. It was the necklace he gave me for our six month anniversary. It had a single diamond on the chain. “You kept it.” I gave it back to him after we broke up. I wore it throughout our relationship, never taking it off until the day we broke up. “I did and I want you to have it back. I know we’re not together anymore, but you are my best friend.” I smiled a those words. He was still my best friend too and to hear him say that, made me so happy. I took the necklace from his hands and put it around my neck. “Looks great” Max said. He had to get ready to go to gorilla. He slipped his sweatpants off and tossed them onto a crate. “See you in 20 minutes,” he winked. I let out a chuckle and watched him walk away. I watched the match on a monitor in the back with a bunch of other people. My cue came when Max was about to hit his finisher. My music from 2016 played through the speakers. No one would recognize it besides Max which was the point. Max was distracted which caused him to lose. I stood on the ramp, arms across my chest. I got a mic from a stage hand. “Hi Maxwell, my love. Surprised to see me?” I paused, smirking. “You know, when I broke your heart...I felt nothing.” I chuckled. We wanted to pretend like our breakup was pure drama. I wanted to be seen just as heartless as his character is portrayed. “But now, looking at you in the ring, you look pathetic. I’m feeling very sorry” I said sarcastically. He stood up, Wardlow holding him up. “I have a proposition for you Maxwell.” I took small steps toward him. With my free hand I pushed my long black hair to my back. “I know you want to join a stable. We’ve worked so well together since we were 16.” I placed my hand over my heart. “Join me Maxwell, we’ll assemble a great team. Be my right hand man, what do you say?” He got a microphone. He pulled away from Wardlow and stepped outside the ropes, a couple feet from me. He leaned on the ropes before gaining his footing and takin a few steps forward. “On one condition.” He held up his finger. I nodded firmly. “We’re 50/50. You don’t control me, and I don’t control you. We both have a say in who is worthy to join. Deal?” He raised his brow at me waiting for my answer. I paused for a moment before answering. “50/50 you say?” He nodded and said yeah, but not into the mic. “You’ve got yourself a deal!” He smirked, “and Bella... Don’t interrupt my match again.” He was now inches from my face, bending slightly to look in my eyes. “You don’t control me,” I smirked. He nodded his head with a smirk of his own. Our foreheads touched. All of a sudden he grabbed the back of my head and went in for a kiss, but faked me out. I didn’t even pucker my lips. I was surprised since we didn’t go over that in our script. He walked away, laughing. Wardlow followed close behind. I turned and watched as he went up the ramp. The camera was behind me, closing in on the shot as that show faded to black. 

Once it ended, I went backstage running into Max’s arms. The adrenaline rush felt amazing. “That was awesome, I feel so alive.” He picked me up, spun me then put me back down on my feet.  “You were so good. I’m proud of you for getting back in the game.” “All thanks to you.” I smiled. We stared at each other for what felt like a lifetime. That faded when I heard Tony’s voice behind me. “Miss promo, that was great!” I turned around to see him and Cody.  “Glad you’re here” Cody shook my head. I had to control myself not to absolutely fangirl over him. I used to have a crush on Cody when I was 11. “Thank you. it felt amazing to finally do it after all my practice.” “I’m excited to see what you come up with next week,” Cody said and Tony nodded in agreement. Max put his arm around me, “she has a lot of ideas.” I looked up at him and smiled. He always knew how to make me feel important. He would go out of his way to lift my spirits whenever he could. And for the next few days Tony, Max and I consulted on the weeks to follow. Right now I have a year contract, but if all goes well I can sign more. I wanted that to happen for sure. I didn’t know what else I could do once this was over, but I tried not to think about it. I had to take it a week at a time and next week, I wanted to do something fun for the promo. I planned to find three pictures of Max and I when we were younger. One when we trained, one as close friends, and the last one during our relationship. “He’ll probably kill me, but it’s worth it,” I told Britt. I found the pictures on my phone in a backup folder from my old phones. I deleted a lot off of social media when we broke up. I deleted most of my wrestling pictures in a fit of rage one night. That was one of my regrets in life. It may seem small, but when wrestling is your life, it’s important.  I went back home to New York that Thursday night. Max drove me home where I still live with my family. “Wanna come in?” I asked Max before getting in the car. "Your food will get cold before you reach Long Island.” We picked up dinner on the way back. He laughed, “you’ve convinced me.” We got out of the car and got in the house through my separate entrance. We started eating right away, silence fell over us. He looked over at me when he finished. “Bold question,” he said out of the blue. “Go ahead,” I finished chewing my food. He never asked when he had a bold question, so this was odd.  “If we were to, you know, would that ruin things?” I swallowed hard. “Um, well it hasn’t ruined things before. We used to, you know at least once a week.” Max chuckled, “fair enough... But then again it took some years.” “But not because of that.” “Right, right.” We sat in silence for a few minutes before he spoke again. “Wanna do it?” He shrugged.  My eyes widened, “right now?” Max nodded, “I mean, we can wait.” “Sorry, I’m just shocked.” I let out a nervous laugh. “I don’t mind,” I said softly.  “Are you sure?” “Let’s go,” I stood up. Max stood, his eyes widened this time. “Really?” I walked towards my bed and sat on the edge. “You coming Friedman?” I don’t know what I was thinking. Is this a good idea? Probably not, but I wasn’t thinking with my brain. He most likely wasn’t either. He came over to me and took off his shirt. Seeing him with no shirt and sweats on did things to me. He reached out and grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head. “I don’t have abs anymore,” I said softly. He ran his hands up and down my sides, “still perfect.” He bent his head and brushed his lips against mine before locking them together. It felt nice to kiss him again. His arms wrapped around my body and he lifted me a little to push me back on the bed. He broke the kiss, “I missed that.” “Me too,” I smiled. That night was amazing. Memories flooded back. It was like we hadn’t missed a beat. Our bodies just molded together perfectly. We laid in bed, wrapped in blankets. Max held me close, his body heat radiating off on me. He would kiss my shoulder randomly from time to time. I always loved when he did that. “That felt great,” he said for the third time causing me to giggle. “It really did.” He spent the night with me. We went again before falling asleep. I fell asleep right away while in his arms. I will never forget that night.

[agent-whiskeys-sweetheart]

Your headcanons are awesome. If you're comfortable with it, can you write about how the boys would be with a pregnant partner? Like how they would worry or take care of her?

Yes, I am more than comfortable with it. I love this idea so I appreciate you for giving me an excuse to write about it! Thanks for sending in your request! Sorry it took so long. My account keeps freezing up. Enjoy! 💕

When you told Javi that you were pregnant he completely fell apart. He was so happy to start this new part of your lives together but he had never been so scared in all his life. In the midst of Escobar's reign of terror, he knew that the pregnant girlfriend of a DEA agent looked like a pretty good target. He set up a slew of safety precautions that were excessive but, he felt, necessary. He made sure that either himself or Steve accompanied you everywhere. You and Steve became pretty close during your pregnancy due to him being by your side half the time. Javi also taught you how to fire a gun. He didn't like the idea of you having to use it, but he would have rather been safe than sorry. He's super on edge all the time. When you feel yourself get nauseous he goes into full crisis mode. "Okay, it's happening. We have to get you to the hospital right now. How much pain are you in?" It makes you laugh. "Javi relax. I'm not giving birth. I'm just feeling a little nauseous." It doesn't calm his nerves. "You are? It's not the baby?" You take his hand. "I promise I'm not giving birth. I would say you'll be able to tell but obviously you won't." You ease him as much as possible, telling him what life is going to be like once you have the baby. He is great to have in the delivery room. He is super motivational and he holds you just right. When the baby is born, it's like every ounce of fear melts away. He feels like the missing piece of his life has finally fallen into place. In that moment he swears he would do anything for you and your new baby.

When Oberyn found out you were pregnant he was absolutely over the moon. He would hold dozens of extravagant banquets, inviting everyone in the seven kingdoms to come celebrate the life inside you. You are showered with beautiful gifts from the subjects of Dorne. They all come to see their princess and offer their congratulations. In the early stages of your pregnancy, Oberyn makes sweet love to you. He loves being inside you, whispering how good you feel. As the months pass you notice how big you're getting. Oberyn takes you to his maester who reports that you are perfectly healthy. Oberyn worships the ground that you walk on when you're pregnant. Every night he lays on your stomach and whispers sweet words to your child. He makes sure that you have everything you could ever want or need. It is the easiest going pregnancy you would ever have. When it's time to have your baby, he sits behind you with your head in his lap as the maester works. He rubs your temples and encourages you as you bring his child into the world. Once the baby is out you are about to relax when the maester tells you to keep pushing. You do as he instructs and when you're all finished he hands you not one but two beautiful little babies. You and Oberyn are absolutely ecstatic, each holding a baby, deciding on their names together.

Maxwell does like the idea of having a child with you. When you tell him he takes the rest of the day off work, since he does own the company. He takes you out to the most incredible dinner and then the theater to celebrate the next chapter in your lives. His father was extremely abusive to him so he swears that he will be better to your child. He buys you the most expensive gifts. Although half of it is things you'll never use, you thank him with a kiss. He hires several midwives to give you the absolute best care and advice. He also makes sure that you have the best doctors at your disposal in case anything happens. He personally attends Lamaze classes with you so he knows he's ready when the time comes for you to give birth. At night, as he is rubbing your stomach, he tells you about his childhood and explains that he wants your child's life to be different. He admits to wanting a little girl that he can spoil, so when your ultra sound reveals that's exactly what you're having he is ecstatic. When it's time for you to give birth he calls in a police escort to get you to the hospital as quickly as possible. In the delivery room, he shuts down for a moment before kicking into gear and doing all the things he was taught to do. The doctor hands your little girl to Maxwell and you can see his heart break a little with all the love he feels. He isn't used to this much feeling, but he lets it swallow him as he tells you how much he loves you.

Max does not respond the way you think he will when you tell him you're pregnant. "You're what? Are you sure? This for sure checks out?" Confused, you nod. "Yes. It's confirmed, Max. We're going to have a baby." He hugs you tightly. "I'm sorry, I'm really excited. I just didn't know it was possible for me to get you pregnant." You laugh as he begins to get more excited at the prospect. Throughout your whole pregnancy he is doing research to make sure everything is happening exactly how it is supposed to. He tries so hard to do everything right but it is really hard for him. When you complain about your weird cravings he has no idea how to cook for you. You tell him that you're aching all over and he doesn't understand how to help make you feel better. He gets especially scared of your mood swings. At the end of the day though, he cares about you and he is doing his best to be a good father and a good boyfriend. When it's time for you to give birth he is so damn freaked out. You start to push and you're screaming and he wants to just run out of the room. "What am I supposed to do?" Through deep breaths you tell him to hold your hand and encourage you. He does so until the baby is finally out. When he holds your son for the first time, he is really nervous. However, the moment your hand touches his and he looks in that baby's eyes he knows everything will be okay. He may not know what he's doing yet, but he is going to learn and give this baby an amazing life. He kisses you as he hands you the baby.

When you tell Jack you're pregnant he spins you in his arms and kisses your face a dozen times. He can't believe the love of his life has part of him inside her. He makes sure you know how much he loves you every day. As soon as he finds out, he parades you around Statesman headquarters to tell everyone. He also loves the way you look when you're pregnant. He admires your full hips and your rounder breasts. He thinks it is so sexy, especially because he knows it signifies that you are about to give birth to his baby. He waits on you hand and foot. Anything you need, he's got it covered. He makes sure you are always comfortable. When you try to go to work, he refuses to let you leave. He insists that you stay home and take care of yourself and the baby. You reluctantly oblige. He loves to discuss baby names with you. When it comes time for you to give birth, he is right behind you holding your hand. He kisses your sweat covered forehead and helps you through the pain. Finally, your sweet little boy comes into the world. He holds your new son, not realizing before now that he could feel so full and warm. A few days later, he stops you in the kitchen. "So ... ready to make another one yet?" At first he was joking but as soon as you were healed you both jumped right back on the wagon to try and expand your precious little family.

Tags: @pedrosdoll @sheerfreesia007 @readsalot73 @talesfromtheguild @zeldasayer @ohpedromypedro

[cordonian-literature]

The Aftermath - Ch. 9

Quality Time

SUMMARY: Liam gets a chance to talk with Gabriel and Eleanor

Word Count: ~5.5k

Warning: Mention of character death

A/N: this one’s a little longer, but is hopefully a bit uplifting compared to the previous chapters. 

*All characters belong to Pixelberry, except those that are unique to my story (I’ve also used some characters and fictional instances from Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch”)*

Catch up here!

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- Liam - 

The morning after they had bought gifts and candies for Gabriel and Eleanor, Liam and Drake were in the hotel trying to figure out which gifts would lighten the children up quickest.

Once they picked out the gifts Liam was going to give first, the limousine brings them to the hospital.

Drake’s phone rings after he steps out of the car. He looks at it for a moment, then puts it back in his pocket.

“Who is it?” Liam asks, looking back.

“It’s… uh… Jessica.”

“You should take it,” Liam advises. He wonders, I thought they were no longer together? The last time I heard about her was more than three months ago. Turning back to Drake, he goes, “Have you talked to her recently?”

“No, actually.” He takes his phone out of his pocket again and stares at it.

“She’s probably worried about where you are.”

Drake and Liam stare at each other for a moment. Finally, Drake nods stiffly. “I’ll see you up at Riley’s room?”

“Of course,” Liam says, and walks into the hospital.

All of the nurses and doctors on Riley’s floor knew Liam by now. They all wave and politely greet him. Liam finds himself melting back into stoic expressions through the uneasiness. Even though him and Riley had been properly re-introduced, she still didn’t remember enough for Liam to tell her how much she still meant to him. He did his best to keep his hopes up — now that Gabriel was in the picture, there was no way he was going to let his own worries and Charlotte Brooks’ aggressive behavior keep him from getting Riley back in his life. Liam consoled himself with the fact that all he had to do was wait for her memory to come back. After that, things would get easier.

He opens up Riley’s hospital room door to find Gabriel snuggled under Riley’s arm on the side of her bed, the doctor writing something on a clipboard, and another woman in a chair next to Eleanor.

They all turn to stare at him. “Hey, Liam,” Riley says, but there’s no emotion in it. There’s no hint of resentment or love or anything in between. He’s a stranger to her.

The doctor motions Liam out of the room, the shopping bags still in his hand.

“Your Majesty,” the doctor says. “We’ve good news. Since the kids have been bringing in some photographs for the past few days, Riley’s gotten some of her memory back.”

Liam takes in a sharp breath. “Does she…?”

“No, she doesn’t remember you or any of your friends. In fact, there’s still a significant part of her life that she can’t recall. Like the trip to Europe you all mentioned, her wedding, her son’s birth, though she does remember the early stages of her daughter’s life and each of her children's birthdates.”

“That’s good to hear.” Tears and disappointment well at the edges of Liam’s eyes, but he easily keeps them in as though it’s second nature.

“We understand that it isn’t much,” the doctor continues, “but she’s making wonderful progress. She knows enough about her daily life for her to be able to function properly around other people and in society. But there will be certain skills that she’ll have to relearn. Like how to cook some recipes she may have memorized, how to play sports, dancing, and some hobbies.”

“Understandable,” Liam states. He sees Drake from the corner of his eye, who comes to stand next to Liam.

“We plan on discharging her later today, there’s just some more paperwork to be filled out. She’s going to need crutches and a wheelchair due to her leg injury, though we suspect that it’ll fully heal within the next three weeks, but only if she mostly stays off of it. We’re still going to have her come in for weekly check-ups though. ”

“Of course. I will do everything in my power to make sure she sees a full recovery.”

The doctor smiles. “Oh, and… just to let you know, when you and your friends try to re-teach her everything or try to jog her memory, stressing her out has the tendency to reverse the whole process.”

“Is that a permanent side effect?” Drake butts in. “If you stress her out she starts forgetting things?”

“No, it’ll likely go away once she fully recovers, but it never hurts to be extra careful.”

Liam thanks the doctor and then turns back to Riley’s door. They step back inside, where Gabriel and Eleanor are laughing at something the mysterious woman said.

Everyone stops laughing and notices the two men standing at the door. The woman stands and extends her hand out to Liam.

“Oh, hi! You must be Drake? Or Liam? No… Maxwell?”

Drake unsuccessfully stifles a chuckle.

“I am Liam, yes.” He shakes the woman’s hand, who goes red. “This is Drake.”

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! I’m Rowan, Gabriel and Eleanor’s Godmother!”

“Nice to meet you.” Drake holds out his hand.

The room falls quiet and everyone looks between one another.

“Um…,” Rowan begins. “I’m going to go check in with the doctor about the paperwork and everything… so I’ll be back later.” She ruffles Eleanor’s hair on her way out.

“And I’ll go call Maxwell,” Drake declares. “Figure out where the Beaumonts are.”

Once the two of them are gone, Riley, Gabriel, and Eleanor stare at Liam. He’s been holding in his words and feelings for so long that Liam can barely contain it any longer. There’s so many things he wants to tell each of them, but he doesn’t want to stress Riley nor does he want to overwhelm the children.

Eleanor points at the large bag Liam still holds. “What’s in there?” she asks.

“I have gifts for you two.” Liam reaches into the bag, and pulls out two gift-wrapped Lego sets. Gabriel and Eleanor don’t move out of their seats, so he leans over the foot of Riley’s bed to hand it to them.

“Thank you,” they say.

“I also have candy for you both.” At that, their heads perk up. He goes into the bag and pulls out a smaller bag. I hope what Drake said about gummy candy was true, he thinks.

Liam takes out sour gummy worms and regular gummy bears.

“Which one do you like, Ella?” Liam hopes that he isn’t overstepping by using her nickname, but he didn’t want the girl to think that he was favoring Gabriel over her.

She shakes her head slightly, but in a small voice says, “I don’t like sour candy.”

“Gabe does,” Riley states, and the children smile at their mother’s words. Liam’s own heart swells as well; it was getting easier for Gabriel and Eleanor. He didn’t want them experiencing heartache over their mother. That was something Liam would not wish on any child, especially not ones he’s begun considering his own.

Liam hands each of them a pouch and they go about eating their snacks, their new toys momentarily forgotten.

Riley’s arm is still over Gabriel. She looks up at Liam, and they stare at each other awkwardly. He has a difficult time holding in the words that he’s so desperate to tell her — he wanted to do it away from the children, or at least not until he got a chance to talk to them separately.

He takes a deep breath, about to say something to her, but then they break eye contact when Gabriel starts coughing. Riley rubs a hand along his back, and Liam leans in to make sure he’s not choking.

Once he stops, Riley takes the bag of candy from him. “Maybe stay away from the sour candy for a bit?”

Gabriel nods, and Eleanor stands to pour some of her candy into her brother’s hands. Riley fusses over Gabriel for a few more moments, pushing a lock of hair off of his forehead and wiping some tears from his cheek.

“The doctor told me that your health has improved?” Liam breaks the silence.

She turns back towards him. “Yeah, thankfully. I feel a little bit like myself again. I mean… for the most part at least. When I think back on my life before I had Ella, it feels so… empty and blurry. Like I’m trying to look at some abstract painting in heavy fog, but I don’t know that it’s abstract, or if it’s even a painting.”

“Understandable,” he states. “It’s a difficult process.”

“Unfortunately it is.” She sighs. “I feel like there’s so much that I need to get back so I can solve all these problems. Like with you and your friends. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful that you all came to check in on me, and I’m sorry that I don’t remember your roles in my life. My mother told me about everything with Gabriel and you…. I just want to say that I’m so sorry—.”

Liam holds up a hand, stopping her. “Please, you have nothing to be sorry for.” Though there is a large part of him that feels betrayed by Riley for everything that she’s done and kept from him, he won’t allow her to feel guilty. After all, it was I who put her in this situation. I could have stopped it. I could have given her a better life. One that we could share. I should have done the right thing in the beginning.

She smiles at him, and then Charlotte Brooks comes into the room, followed by the doctor.

“We’re ready to bring you home!” Charlotte says. Once she sees Liam, her face sours, but the woman brings her attention back to her grandchildren. They’re told to get their things and wait outside while the doctor examines their Mama, and Charlotte sends Liam a look that gets him following after the children.

Rowan is on the other side of the door. She collects Gabriel and Eleanor in her arms, and shoots Liam a sympathetic smile.

“Don’t be intimidated by Riley’s mom. She’s been overprotective of Gabey and Ellie ever since everything that’s happened to Riley.”

Liam gives her a tight smile, and her shoulders tense.

“Wait, I didn’t mean to blame you or anything! Just that… you know, she was… internationally shamed… ended up pregnant and alone after what she thought was supposed to be the best decision of her life.”

“I understand your meaning. I’m not exactly proud of how I allowed our relationship to continue. I should have given her what she deserved from the start.”

“I’m sure Riley would appreciate you saying that.”

Wanting to change the subject, Liam asks, “How long have you known Riley?”

“Oh! Her, Theo, and I all met in high school. Theo went to college in Cali, which is where he met their Godfather.” She squeezes Gabriel and Eleanor, who are still in her arms.

“Where is he now?”

“He’s in Italy at the moment. He and Theo ran the company together. He focused more on international outreach while Theo was the CEO.”

“We were supposed to go visit him last week,” Gabriel adds.

“I see.” Liam and the children regard one another, and before he can say anything else, Maxwell comes rushing over with Drake and the Beaumonts trailing behind.

“Hello there, baby blossoms!” he calls to them. They smile at their new nicknames. Liam feels a small fire in his heart. How is Maxwell able to get them to like him so quickly? What am I doing wrong?

Savannah and Drake walk up to their little group, with Bartie trailing behind. They notice Rowan first, and her and Savannah are introduced. “Hey, you two!” Savannah turns towards the children. “How’re you guys holding up?”

“Good,” Gabriel mumbles.

“Don’t know if you guys have met Bartie yet.” She pats her sons head. “You guys are all about the same age, right?”

“Nice to meet you.” Bartie holds out hand towards Eleanor, who stares at it for a moment before reluctantly shaking it. He repeats the process with Gabriel.

Bertrand walks up to the group, excusing himself for his tardiness, claiming he was on an important phone call. Him and Rowan are introduced. Before anyone can say anything more, the doctor opens up Riley’s door.

“We’re going to get her the wheelchair and crutches, then she’ll be free to go,” the doctor informs. She looks between Charlotte and Liam to add, “if there are any problems or concerns, please don’t hesitate to call.”

They nod and give their thanks, and Charlotte turns to the group. “I’m going to go call the driver. Make sure he’ll be down there when it’s time to leave.”

“Please, ma’am,” Liam says. “My car and driver are downstairs. We’d be happy to bring her back to her home.”

“Yes,” Bertrand continues. “We don’t mean to intrude, but we simply wish to make sure that Lady Riley returns home safely and that there are no further complications to her health.”

Mrs. Brooks opens her mouth to refuse the offer, but Rowan speaks up and says, “That’d be great. I’m sure Riley and the kids will like the company.”

Charlotte gives Rowan a brief look but says nothing.

A few hours later, Rowan declares that she will be bringing the children to get something to eat and then will take them back home. She offers to bring Bartie with, but he nervously shakes his head. Once Maxwell suggests that they both go, Bartie agrees.

Liam contemplated going along as well; he was desperately trying to find a way to talk to the children. He could see the anxiety pool in their eyes whenever he came near. Liam wanted to assure them that he would not harm them, and that he cared about their well-being.

But he decided to stay with Riley, silently hoping that the more time they spent near each other the chances of her remembering him would increase.

A few hours later, Riley is wheeled out of her room. Liam insists on pushing her chair. Charlotte carries her daughter’s things in a bag, while Drake walks slightly ahead of them with the crutches, opening doors and pushing buttons.

Once they reach the car, Riley attempts to stand. Her mother holds out a hand to her, but Liam protests.

“Please, let me,” he says. He puts one arm under Riley’s knees and wraps his other arm around her back, gently picking her up and placing her in the car. He’s almost shocked of how light she feels, but relishes being this close to her again. Riley blushes and thanks him, but she doesn’t meet his eyes.

The drive towards the penthouse is quiet. Liam, Riley, and Charlotte avoid looking at each other, while Bertrand, Savannah, and Drake looked between them expectantly.

Outside Riley’s building, Liam helps her back onto her wheelchair.

“I better learn how to use those crutches,” Riley says as Liam wheels her into the lobby. “Don’t want you breaking your back having to carry me everywhere.” She gives a nervous chuckle.

“Don’t worry about it,” Liam tells her. “It’s nothing. Really.”

She shoots him a grateful smile.

No one talks during the ride up the elevator either. Once they reach the floor, Charlotte gets out first and leads the way down the hall.

Once they enter the penthouse, Liam wheels Riley towards the couches. He gives a quick glance around the lavishly decorated room, noticing pictures of when Gabriel and Eleanor were babes and toddlers. There were some of Riley, giving a wide smile to the person on the other side of the camera. There were some with Gabriel and Eleanor with a man Liam assumed to be Theodore. His heart clenched again. If he had done the right thing all those years ago, that could’ve been him in those pictures with them.

Liam turns back to Riley, picking her up and placing her on the couch. Him and Drake look around for pillows to give her. She blushes again and thanks them.

Rowan, Maxwell, and the kids appear from another room. While Gabriel and Eleanor go to greet their mother, Rowan announces that she brought dinner for everyone, which is in the kitchen.

Everyone eats in the dining room except for Riley, her mother, and Rowan who sit together and talk quietly.

When everyone’s finished eating, the Beaumonts bid their farewells and leave, Drake following them hesitantly, looking back at Riley all the while.

Charlotte pulls Liam to the side, out of earshot from Riley and the kids.

“Liam, I understand that you’re worried about Riley’s well-being,” Charlotte beings through slightly clenched teeth. “But understand that this is my daughter we’re talking about. You’ve wronged her and her children once before, and I’m not going to let that happen again… but I won’t stop you from being a father to Gabriel.”

Liam nods. “Of course. I regret any harm I’ve brought Riley, and will make it my duty to make sure that neither her or the children are ever wronged in such a way again.”

She scans his face for a moment. “Alright, then. I don’t have anything to lend you for the night. It would be better if you came back in the morning.”

Liam gives her his thanks. He offers to help Riley into her room, but the women say that they’ll manage. As much as he wishes he could stay, he says his goodbyes and leaves.

And though physically he’s back in his hotel room, with Drake on the other side of the wall, he feels a string connecting his heart to Riley, Gabriel, and Eleanor: where he feels like he’s meant to be. Liam falls asleep that night with a heavy sense of emptiness in his chest.

…

Around 7 o’clock the next morning, Liam is awake and ready to leave. He contemplates waking Drake and bringing him along, but decides to let him rest and text him his whereabouts later.  

When he knocks on the door to their home and no one opens, Liam is worried that he may have arrived too early. Finally, Rowan opens it. “Hey, there! Come on in.” She steps to the side and allows him to enter. “Riley isn’t awake yet, but I think this is around the time the kids usually get up.” She watches him as he looks around the living room, his eyes resting on different pictures of Riley and Gabriel. “Also could we... talk for a moment?”

He turns his head, concerned. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, no, it’s nothing like that,” she says. “I just wanted to let you know that… Gabe and Ellie are a little… I don’t know… shy… around you? I guess you could say? And I just… feel really bad for them you know? Like, Riley was their rock… I mean she was an amazing mom. Like sometimes I wish she was my mom. This one time when they all went to Central Park, Gabe fell and had to get a lot of stitches on his forehead, and it was not good looking. Like… he had that monstrosity on his head for a month. Anyway, some kids at school teased him about it. It was borderline bullying. Theo was the one who ended up complaining to the teacher, but man… when Riley found out, I kid you not she was about to beat up a couple six-year-olds. We calmed her down and she ended up talking to Gabe about it, but he experienced such a confidence boost after that. Like… he ended up standing up for himself and all that. We were so proud of him.”

Liam smiles at her words, a vague familiarity in it. “Heh. Riley has a tendency to inspire the people around her.”

“She really does.” Rowans twiddles her thumbs for a few seconds, then starts again. “Anyway… what I wanted to tell you was that I think it would be best if you talked to them. In private. About… you being Gabe’s dad and what that means since Theo’s outta the picture and Riley’s not doing so good.”

He nods. “I’ve meant to, but I don’t want to be too direct with them. And I don’t want to upset Mrs. Brooks either.”

“Oh! I know!” she exclaims. “Why don’t you take them out to breakfast? Like, right now? Riley’s mom isn’t up yet, so she can’t stop you… and if she wakes up I’ll do my best to keep her from getting mad.”

“Yes, that sounds like a wonderful idea. As long as the children are alright with it?”

“Oh, I’m sure they’ll be fine. Pretty sure they need some answers badly. I’ll go get them ready!” She runs off.

Liam walks around the living room while he waits, staring at snapshots of Riley’s life with Theodore. He wondered if her smiles and her joy were genuine. He wondered if after the pictures had been taken, or even before, did she think of him? Did she wonder how he was doing? Did she check Cordonian news just to see him, the same way that he would pull up old articles of her during the social season just so he wouldn’t forget what she looked like? Did she ever look back on that photo of them together on top of the Eiffel Tower, or had she deleted it?

He finds himself following framed pictures into a small hallway. There are many doors, some opened, some closed. He knows this isn’t where the bedrooms are, since Rowan had ran off in the other direction. The door closest to him is open, so he pokes his head in.

It’s a study. The desk is on the far side of the room, facing Liam. There’s an open laptop, a neat pile of papers, and a few more framed photographs. Behind the desk is a large window overlooking the city. Liam steps into the room, walking towards the window. He takes a moment to regard the city, looking down at the fast paced people. Turning back towards the desk, he sees pictures of only Gabriel and Eleanor. A flash of envy and hatred runs through Liam’s viens. Who did Theodore think he was, acting as a father to Liam’s son? And then fathering another child with the woman that Liam loved, and then not keeping a picture of her on his desk? He looks up from the table, and his breath catches. Oh.

A large portrait of Riley graced the other wall. Whoever sat in the desk would see the portrait at all times of the day. In the painting, Riley wore a wedding dress. He imagined seeing her walking down the aisle in it, and he swallowed a lump in his throat. She carried a bouquet of what could either be peonies or roses. Behind her was a beautiful expanse of colorful trees that accentuated the beauty of her dress. They had an autumn wedding.

He walks towards the portrait, eager to be closer to the mere essense of her, when he hears voices from the direction of the living room. Liam walks out, plastering a smile over his face.

“Ready to go?” he says to them. They nod their heads, and Liam is glad to see smiles on their faces.

In the elevator, he wonders if he should attempt small talk on them, but Gabriel speaks up and asks, “Where are we going?”

Dumbfounded, Liam says, “Oh. I didn’t think about that. Where do you usually go to get breakfast?” Liam wishes he had asked Drake the name of the restaurant he had got the bagels from.

“The kitchen,” Eleanor states plainly, her smile gone.

Gabriel chuckles. “When Mom doesn’t cook, we got Dunkin Donuts sometimes.”

“Is that nearby?” Liam asks.

“Uh… I know there’s a lot of them close to us, but I don’t really know where they are.”

“Oh!” Eleanor exclaims, suddenly enthusiastic. “Can we go to the Petty Cookie Dean?”

“Of… course…?” Liam thinks he misheard her.

“She means Le Pain Quotidien,” Gabriel explains. “It’s Mom’s and Aunt Rowan’s favorite place.”

“Oh, is it French?” Liam asks, glad to have finally started a conversation.

“Um….” Gabriel shrugs. “I don’t think so, but they have croissants.”

“Chocolate ones, too!” Eleanor speaks up.

“I can’t wait,” Liam exclaims.

“Can we take the subway?!” Eleanor asks, looking up at him. He notices how much her features look like Riley’s: everything from the tilt of her chin to the small hairs on the top of her forehead. Her dark green eyes were the only contrasting thing between them.

“Actually, I have a driver and a car waiting downstairs,” he tells them.

Eleanor pouts and looks away from him. Liam suddenly feels like he’s failed them. He didn’t want to go in the subway because he was afraid that he would get lost, and would therefore lose the children as well.

“If you two know how to get there,” he speaks up, not wanting to disappoint them, “then we can use the subway.”

“Okay!” Eleanor exclaims in an adorably high pitched voice that reminds Liam of a small squeaky toy. The elevator doors open, and she leads them out of the building. They pass by Bastien, who is holding the car door open. Liam shakes his head when they walk by, and Bastien respectfully nods.

She leads them down a flight of stairs in the middle of the street. There are large crowds of people coming in and out, and Liam puts a hand on each of their shoulders. They walk down until they reach a row of turnstiles.

“You have to swipe your MetroCard through that thing,” Gabriel directs.

“Where do I get a... MetroCard?” Liam asks, looking around to see people pulling cards out of their pockets and walking through the turnstiles.

“It’s okay, I have one.” Gabriel pulls a yellow card out from his pocket. He swipes the card and pushes himself and his sister through, then hands the card back to Liam.

He swipes the card and pushes, but the turnstile doesn’t budge. He swipes again, and when it doesn’t work for the third time, someone from behind Liam swipes their card and slightly nudges him forward. He goes through smoothly and turns to say thank you, but they’ve already walked on.

Gabriel takes the card back from Liam. “Sometimes people do that.” Eleanor walks down another flight of stairs and they follow.

The sound of the train running past deafens Liam’s ears for a moment, and he can’t hear anything else. Gabriel and Eleanor stop walking, so Liam stands beside them.

Many children carrying backpacks pass by with adults trailing behind them. Gabriel and Eleanor wave at them. The other children wave back, and their parents send tight smiles in Liam’s direction. A little girl comes over to quickly hug Eleanor before getting on a train that arrived on the right side of the station.

Liam motions towards it, silently asking if they should get on, but they both shake their heads.

When the train leaves and he can hear himself think again, Liam asks them, “Did you know those children?”

They both nod. “We go to the same school as them.”

“Ah, I see.... Do you both know which train we’re supposed to go on?”

“We have to get on four or five or six and then we get off around eighty sixth street,” Gabriel explains.

“And then we have to walk a little bit,” Eleanor continues.

They turn back towards the train tracks, and an elderly man approaches Liam, who protectively puts a hand on each of the children’s shoulders.

“Excuse me, sir?” the old man says. “Do you know how I could get to the bus terminal?”

Before Liam gets a chance to say he doesn’t know, Eleanor asks him, “Port Authority?”

The old man looks down at her and nods.

They both walk out of Liam’s grasp and lead the man towards a large poster in the middle of the station. 

“Port Authority is over here,” Gabriel directs, pointing towards the edge of the map. “And then we’re over here.” He points towards a space next to Central Park.

“These are the train names!” Eleanor adds, pointing towards small letters next to the colorful lines.

“Thank you, tiny humans,” the old man says, who focuses his attention on further examining the map. 

“When did you two learn how to navigate the subway?” Liam asks them, slightly impressed.

“Ella doesn’t know that much yet, but Dad taught me when I was her age. It’s just memorization, but most of the time you need the map. Dad said that even if we drive everywhere we should still know the basics.” Liam feels Gabriel’s shoulders tense and jump up. “I mean! I mean my not… dad.”

Liam laughs a little and Eleanor does, too. “It’s alright,” Liam tries to reassure him. “You don’t have to worry about what you call him or I. You can refer to me with whatever you feel comfortable with.” He hopes that his words ease Gabriel.

After a few moments, Liam’s phone rings. He takes it out to check that it’s a call from Olivia. “Hello?” he answers.

“Hello, Liam,” she greets. 

“Olivia, is everything alright?” Liam glances at the children, who are staring up at him. 

“There’s something important you need to—.” The train arrives, and he can’t hear her voice through the noise.

When the train stops, Gabriel and Eleanor walk in. Liam follows. “Olivia, could you repeat what you said?”

She doesn’t answer him, and the line goes quiet. He looks down at his phone to make sure she hasn’t hung up on him. 

“Phones don’t work in the subway sometimes,” Eleanor informs him. 

Liam decides to call Olivia later. 

When they reach their stop, the children stand, and Eleanor grabs Liam’s hand, pulling him out of his seat and out the train.

Gabriel and Eleanor expertly lead Liam down loud streets and into a cozy cafe.

They wait in line, and when it comes their turn, Eleanor asks for mini pancakes and orange juice, while Gabriel settles for oatmeal with berries and apple juice. They look over at Liam, waiting for him to give an order. He looks around and asks for a croissant with a cup of coffee.

Liam pays, adding in a tip, and they’re told to take a seat.

Gabriel immediately picks up a conversation. “So... Grandma said that you’re from Europe?” 

“Yes,” Liam answers. “I live in Cordonia.”

“Do you have a business job like Daddy?” Eleanor questions. “Lots of Mama and Daddy’s friends were business people.”

“I have a government position as a job.”

“Does Cordonia have a president?” Eleanor continues. “Do you work for the president?”

Liam chuckles. “No, actually. They have a king.”

“What’s his name?” Gabriel interrogates.

He laughs again, wondering if he should tell them the full truth. In a low voice he says, “I am the king.” For the first time in his life, he hopes that the title will impress them. He wants them to ask more questions so they can each get to know one another.

Instead, they stare at him. Eleanor squints. “You’re lying,” she claims.

“I... I swear I’m not!” Liam claims, taken aback.

“You’re not a king!” she exclaims. “Kings wear fancy outfits and crowns!”

He lowers his voice, hoping that no one heard her and would notice Liam. “I promise you, I’m not lying. I’ll bring you to Cordonia one day and prove it to you.”

At that, their faces fall. Liam almost asks them what’s wrong before the waiter comes and puts their food and drinks in front of them.

The children take a few bites of their food, eyes downcast. Liam wonders what he said wrong.

In a small voice, Eleanor asks, “Are you gonna only bring Gabe back with you?”

Liam takes a moment to consider her words. Are they worried that I might separate them?

“Of course not,” he reassures them. “If your mother agrees… then I would like to bring the three of you back with me. But I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to.”

“What about Grandma?” Gabriel asks.

“If she wants to come as well, then she can come.” He smiles at them, and the worry leaves their faces. He hopes that he’s addressed all of their concerns, but doesn’t pester them to ask more questions; the happier and less stressed they seem, the more Liam’s joy increases.

For the rest of the meal, Liam lets the children talk about their friends at school and stories from their dance and soccer classes. The smiles on their faces are contagious, and soon Liam is laughing with them. Once it’s time to leave, Liam asks them if they know where they could get cronuts from, so they can bring some back for Riley. When they shake their heads, he grabs three chocolate croissants for Riley, Gabe, and Ella, then allow the children to lead him back to their home.

[andy-loves-corgis]

All of The Lights - Ch 9 (TRR AU)

Book: The Royal Romance

Pairing: lots of pining.

Rating: M (I can’t make them not curse I guess…).

Word count: ~ 4,000

Notes: I’m a bitch and I have no right to ask for forgiveness, only thank those who are still putting up with my bullshit!

WARNING: Read the Prologue! Every chapter has TWO timelines, Before (about a year before the Prologue) and After (two years after the prologue), if you don’t pay attention to that you might get confused!

Iris

And I would give up forever to touch you

BEFORE

There were voices muffled by the clatter of pans and cutlery at the kitchens, but somehow Savannah’s voice seemed to rise above all the noise pointing at the TV.

“Just look at her.”

Drake did, it was a sequence of pictures from the past couple of weeks, all the royal functions Riley attended alongside Liam, Leo, and Madeleine; the three women on the morning show were analyzing if Riley was there with Liam or just as a maid of honor for Madeleine. In each photo Riley sported her noble grin, he knew it was the fake one because when she smiled fully you could spot the smallest of dimples on her cheeks.

“She looks miserable.” Savannah continued looking for his reaction.

“No, she doesn’t” Drake brushed her off and finished his orange juice in one big gulp before getting up. “Riley is a big girl; she can make her own decisions.”

“Are you going already? I thought you didn’t have classes at all today”

“Well, first…” he kissed the top of her head “… I still work, and Liam texted me to meet him this morning.”

“Oh, because you’re soooooo important!” Savannah laughed rolling her eyes.

Drake pushed another croissant in his mouth and left the kitchens, feeling in the air that the cold was preparing to go away. The competition season would start soon, and he would hate to wake up in the early hours of the morning – as he used to during this events-, to cold weather. He spotted Liam with his black zip-up jacket waiting for him, with a couple of men from the Royal Guard; Drake took his time to pull up the sleeves of his hoodie.

“Hey. Thought you wanted to talk” Drake said greeting his friend.

“I need to blow off some steam, thought it would be good to go for a run. Are you out of shape?” Liam teased.

“As I remember, we did the Army training together, I was the fastest on our squad.”

“Nah, I let you win,” Liam said, and Drake laughed.

“Start running, then. Your highness.” Drake challenged him with a smirk.

After 20 laps, Drake notices signs of fatigue in Liam.

“Come on!” Drake teased, turning on his back but still running ahead of Liam.

“Jesus, what are you made of, Walker?” Liam laughed, throwing his head back almost in exhaustion.

“Whiskey and one-night-stands.” Drake laughed and stopped as soon as they reached their starting point, both leaning on the wall to even their breaths.

“Yeah, about that…” the prince took a big gulp of water from his bottle and turned to his best friend. “What happened at Leo’s bachelor party?”

Drake looked puzzled.

“Did you blackout?”

“No, not at all, actually” Drake knew Liam was trying to keep it cool, but he could see right through him. “You were alone with Riley for some time… did she say anything?”

“Liam, I spend a lot of time alone with Riley, I really can’t see your point…”

“Did something happen?” Liam wasn’t bothering to hide anymore.

Blinking a few times, Drake finally understood where the conversation was heading.

“I won’t bother to answer you, Liam.” Drake stopped leaning on the wall “Riley and I were friends since we were kids.”

“You know she’s completely off-limits, right? Even if we wore broken up, it’s Bro Code.” Liam tried to sound casual.

“Like when you slept with Erika?” the color was drained from Liam’s face when Drake finished his remark.

“You already know what happened” his answer was strained. “She was playing you and took advantage of the fact that I had too much to drink that night after a fight with Riley.”

Drake preferred to believe his longest friend.

“It doesn’t change the fact that I caught both of you naked in bed and never told Riley, that alone could remind you the WE are friends too.” Liam stayed silent after this. “I don’t know if my answer was enough for you, but I have work to do.”

“I… forget what I said, Riley has been weirdly good-behaved, she just makes me unsure…”

“That’s… your problem, Liam.

Drake shrugged and shook his head. He knew he shouldn’t give the literal back to the prince, but it wasn’t like he could handle another minute of awkwardness.

Concentrating was hard in the first hour, he kept reliving the moment where he opened the door of the room Erika was staying, how she was curled up on Liam’s chest. The surprised look on her face, from her to Liam; how she begged for forgiveness.

After three hours he figured he wouldn’t get any work done, so he decided to find Riley and see if she wanted a ride to Valtoria, he was scheduled to select the horses there for the next competition; he wasn’t surprised to find her along with Savannah at the dancing studio.

“I thought I smelled Tiger Balm,” he said as soon as he opened the door. “Should you be doing that already?”

Savannah was sitting on the ground with 3 pairs of ballet shoes and a sewing kit; Riley was right across her in a perfect split.

“You always liked the smell” Riley smiled dodging his question. “See… if you sew an elastic instead of silk, it will allow you more movements.”

“What are all these shoes?” Drake asked.

“Riley gave them to me so I could practice for the presentation” Savannah gave him a toothy grin.

Drake side-eyed Riley, the girl just clenched her jaw, sat back, and got up.

“Oh my, I just forgot I had to meet Maxwell… See you soon, bye!” Savannah exclaimed sensing the change in the atmosphere.

Drake waited until he heard the door closing behind his sister

“We had an agreement on gifts,” he said to her back as she pretended to look for something on her gym bag; he heard the clinking sound of her painkillers shaking in their bottle, she shouldn’t have been training so soon.

A long exhale followed.

“I bought them to myself, but it doesn’t seem like I’m going to wear them anytime soon, does it?” she was in a sour mood grabbing the orange bottle more forcefully than she should.

“I’ll count them as birthday gifts.”

“They are just fucking ballet shoes, Drake!” she turned with her jaw clenched, her blue eyes glimmering. “Helping Savannah is literally the only thing I’m holding onto right now.”

Her fists were balled on the side of her body and her whole frame was slightly shaking.

“Riley” Drake changed to a much softer tone. “Is everything alright?”

She closed her eyes for a second too long.

“Define ‘alright’.”

Drake didn’t say anything else, his hands just circled both of her upper arms and pulled her to his embrace, he felt in his chest as she inhaled and exhaled deeply, containing her tears. Even as a child, Riley hated crying in front of anyone.

“Hey, New York is just around the corner, ok?” Drake said and a sob escaped her mouth. “Soon you’ll be oceans away.”

Her sobbing was uncontrollable now.

“I’m not going.” Her voice was muffled by his chest.

“Wait… what happened?” he took a step back and his heart clenched at the sight of her watery eyes.

“I burned my acceptance letter two weeks ago, it was just bullshit, Drake. Everyone knows I can’t escape this place.” She forcefully wiped a tear that rolled down her cheek.

A small part of him, a part he would hardly acknowledge, was relieved to hear she wasn’t leaving; although, there was another part of him that was dying to see her like that. He always imagined Riley as an exotic bird inside a golden cage.

“You shouldn’t have done that!” he pulled her back to his arms and kissed the top of her head. “Things are going to be fine; I can’t tell you how, but they will, even if I have to make them be, ok?”

She sniffed on his chest.

“´k”

“Hey, let me take you back to Valtoria tonight, I’m headed there anyway” he moved back just a little to see her quickly drying her eyes.

“Yeah, that would be good, thanks.” She gave him a small smile.

“Be ready at 6 pm”

Drake left the room with a strange feeling at the pit of his stomach. Getting back to his office, he tried to concentrate on the paperwork for the next competition; stopping a little early than 6, he scrolled through his Instagram and something caught his attention, a smile spread on his face as he realized how he could lift Riley’s mood.

For some unknown reason, his legs were shaking while he waited for her outside his truck, it got worse once he saw her leaving the castle, wearing just jeans and no makeup on.

“Ready?” she asked, she sounded a little more cheerful than in the afternoon.

“Yeah” he opened the door and helped her hop in his Silverado.

As he drove far from the palace she seemed to relax, even more, concentrated on the changing blue sky as the night fell.

“We’ll need to stop somewhere first…” Drake started uncertain, regretting his words as soon as he said them.

“Where are we going?” she looked at him puzzled. “Are you gonna kill me and dispose of my body in the woods?”

Drake rolled his eyes and threw his cellphone on her lap.

“Sometimes I think I should…” he joked but stopped to study her face as a crease appeared between her brows.

“Are you serious?” she looked at him suspiciously. “Is this a prank? You would NEVER do this…”

“I can head right to Valt…”

“NO NO, we’re going” she reached for the steering wheel.

“You’re a danger even in the passenger seat, York” Drake pretended to slap her hand; he couldn’t help but smile at her excitement.

He parked his truck in front of the Wood Wheel and Riley hopped off the car like a child anxious to get into the park.

“Am I allowed to record?” she asked grinning.

“No” he stated, pulling his guitar from behind his seat. “I’m only doing this because I hate owing you.”

“Whatever you say, Walker…”

Getting inside, they were welcomed by the smell of Al’s greasy fries, loud chatter, and someone finishing a song on the makeshift stage at the right corner.

“Look if it isn’t my favorite costumer and again, he brought his girl that knows how to drink.” Al greeted them from the counter.

“Al doesn’t understand the term ‘friends’” he threw Riley an unapologetic look and she shrugged, making a beeline to the bar and grabbing a glass of wine for her and whisky for him.

“Drake’s gonna sing today!” Riley stated excited sitting on the stool.

“Oh, is he?” Al looked at him puzzled as Drake rested his guitar on the floor.

“I lost a bet” he mumbled grabbing his glass.

Al snorted, cleaning another glass.

“I have a free slot in half an hour, I’ll be waiting” Al mocked him.

After his second glass, he felt more at ease, especially after watching Riley chat cheerfully with Al, the remnants of her sadness not showing anymore.

“Ohhhh, it’s your turn, I’m so excited! I’ll get to check another one of the items on my bucket list for this year!” Riley clapped unable to contain her excitement.

Drake exhaled loudly and turned to grab his guitar when he felt Riley’s small hands on his biceps.

“Hey” her voice was hoarse, maybe for all the wine, she was drinking. “It’s going to be great.”

“It’s pretty packed, isn’t it?” Drake averted his eyes to all the occupied tables in front of the stage.

“It doesn’t matter, pretend it’s just us. Like we’ve done a hundred times”

He nodded and gulped despite all the encouragement from Riley.

Trying not to look at anyone on the tables, he silently sat on the stool with his guitar and adjusted his microphone.

“Hum, hello everyone. My name is Drake and I lost a bet.” The crowd laughed and brown eyes met ocean blue.

With a sigh, his fingers hit the strings.

I've been roaming around Always looking down at all I see Painted faces, fill the places I can't reach

You know that I could use somebody You know that I could use somebody

Someone like you, and all you know, and how you speak

 He tried to focus solely on his fingers hitting the strings, the hot light above him, muffling any sound of the crowd singing along, or the way his heart skipped a beat by his unconscious choice of song.

 Off in the night, while you live it up, I'm off to sleep Waging wars to shape the poet and the beat I hope it's gonna make you notice I hope it's gonna make you notice

Someone like me

 Although it wasn’t a matter of someone, more of a matter of somewhere, some other reality, because, in this one, this was just a song, it had to be just a song.

Drake finished the last notes with everyone in the bar singing along and clapping after he finished, completely flushed, and not from his whiskey.

“You were AMAZING!” Riley almost shrieked in excitement. “this was the best night EVER! God, I want to pee… wait a minute and we can go.”

Riley didn’t let him say anything before rushing to the bathroom.

“Your girlfriend is something else!” Al laughed pouring him some whisky.

“I’ve already told you, she’s not my girlfriend.” He drank half of his shot in a big gulp.

“Ok, but have you told her?” Al looked at him mischievously. “Because she was sitting right there where you are, looking at you like a lost puppy crazy to follow you home.”

“She’s not remotely interest… Hey York! Should we go?”

Riley was back with a half-drunk smile.

“Sure!”

The ride to Valtoria was peaceful, a recomforting silence with the radio buzzing old songs while Riley closed her eyes feeling the chilly night air on her face.

Drake parked his car on the west wing of her estate, where she could get inside by the kitchen door and he would be just a short walk from the staff’s rooms. He made sure to help her out of the car, not prepared to be that close to her.

“Thank you for this night” her voice was above a whisper.

“That’s what best friends are for” he winked and for a split of a second, he thought he saw her smile falter.

“Yeah you’re a great friend” she kissed his cheek for a second too long. “Good night, Drake.”

“Good night, Riley.”

He watched as she moved towards the entrance, turning to glance at him before entering, a pang in his chest hit him heard. He hoped he was having a heart attack.

AFTER

“No! You’re not putting any animal down without me saying so!” Drake almost shouted on the phone, Yanis, one of his assistants pretended he wasn’t witnessing the awkward moment. “You’re going to wait for me to get there then we talk. Bye!”

Drake almost threw his phone on the table and exhaled loudly.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, what happened?”

Yanis fidgeted on his seat.

“Hum, Lady Riley was here a while ago, she said she needed some files”

Shit, he forgot to hand them to her.

“Damn, if you see her, tell her I’ll have them delivered to her quarters today.

“She actually asked you to meet her at 3 pm, somewhere called South Wing.”

“Yeah, ok, anything else?” the boy just shook his head and got up as fast as he could.

Drake exhaled again; he didn’t want to scare the boy. He was one of the good ones sent from the company that now took care of the Royal horses.

He remembered how was to enter his office again after everything happened. Drake actually couldn’t remember how one thing led to another; how coming back from the hospital turned to join the taskforce against The Sons of Earth, then sharing a whiskey with Liam when they finally caught the bastards. Applying again for his job as an official Royal Veterinarian, now to a company, not Liam.

Everything got back to normal. Then she came back.

He gave up on his report and decided to do some handwork to pass the time.

 Riley’s back came into view as soon as his feet reached the grass; she seemed too absorbed by the view in front of her to notice Drake getting closer.

“Hey,” he said, and she was startled by his voice.

“Ohmygod… sorry, my mind was elsewhere.” She shook her head.

He followed her eyes to the window, they were facing the south wing of the castle, right beside the grand ballroom, the wing housed the conservatory and a dance studio, where right now a bunch of noble preteens were having a ballet class.

“Do you still dance?” Drake caught himself asking.

Riley chuckled and shook her head.

“I don’t dance at all.”

“At all? I pretty much saw you waltzing a couple of times since you came back.” She turned her head to face him and gave him half a smile.

“Waltzing is like shaking hands, you do it because you have to.”

“So, you’re telling me that you haven’t gone out clubbing in NY?” Drake questioned almost amused.

“Well, it was considered risky behavior for a person like me” she let the sentence hang in the air. “But yeah, I barely danced two songs in the past two years.” She shrugged like it was no big deal.

Drake stayed silent for long seconds, thinking through the sentence he wanted to say.

“You should do it; I know there’s a part of you dying to.”

He didn’t mean it to sound so personal, he just couldn’t help it; Riley blushed and looked at her feet before clearing her throat.

“Did you get her last address?” she changed the subject.

“Oh yeah, here it is” he offered her a folder with the little information he had gathered on Savannah’s whereabouts. “you’re not paying anything for it, right?”

“No, I beat up a PI at poker in New York and he owed me a favor for letting him go in his car.” She laughed to herself.

“Why does this story sound so much like bullshit?”

“His name is Damien Nazario, he was there with his girlfriend and another weird couple, you can look up for him online.” She smirked, “And for the record, I’m really good at poker.”

“So… poker wasn’t risky behavior?”

“We need to beat our vices one at a time, Walker” she laughed a little more truthfully. “So… that was another thing I wanted to talk to you about.”

Drake tensed.

“I went to the Wood Wheel yesterday and ended up bumping on Cassidy” Drake’s stomach clenched and Riley blushed from the awkwardness of the situation “Sorry, I didn’t know she was your girlfriend, she seems really nice though… hum, I obviously didn’t say anything and…”

She started twisting her fingers.

“And…?”

Riley sighed and leaned on the window,

“Look, I know it’s too much to ask, but no one never knew we were together…” it was almost painful to have the words together thrown at him. “well, aside from some people in the court… but, we could pretend it never happened so I wouldn’t lose my favorite bar.”

“You want me to lie to my girlfriend?” Drake rose a brow to her.

“No, I’m just asking for you not to blatantly tell her” he held his gaze on her shameful eyes. “Look, Wood Wheel is the only place I can drink without being bothered by people knowing me or paparazzi showing up. If she asks you, you do what you want to do, but think for a moment that we can bury whatever happened to us and just move on. This is the perfect chance.”

Whatever happened to us. Ouch.

“Okay… It’s not like I would want her to find out.”

Riley nodded not looking directly at him.

“Well… I got to go and email this stuff to Damien; I’ll tell you as soon as he gives me a lead.” Riley tried to brush off the awkwardness with a half-smile.

“Okay” Drake silently answered.

Returning to his office he got his phone back, noticing there were a couple of calls from Cassidy.

“Hey, Cass,” he said as soon as she picked up.

“Hey, Drake! How’s your day going?”

“Pretty normal, how about you?”

“Well…” she started and he heard the sound of the pans behind her. “the Chef is a little moody today, but the movement is low, not many tourists, so I’m now consuming Cordonian gossip.

“Oh… why?”

“I mean, in Greece we don’t have an ‘active’ Royal Family, sometimes I even forgot they existed, but here they are like celebrities.”

“Hum” Drake huffed not wanting to get to this conversation so soon. “Most of them are just assholes with money.”

“About that… Is ‘Lady Bitch’ related to Riley York?”

There it was.

“Yes, she’s her mother. Why?”

“Oh, I met Lady Riley yesterday… at Wood Wheel.” She finished like it was a surprise to find the noble there. “It seems like Al knows her, he even let her go out for a smoke with a glass on her hands.”

“I saw her there a couple of times in the past, before…. The whole thing”

Before I pulled her half-dead body from the ocean.

“Do you know her? She dated Prince Liam, you’re friends with him, right?”

“Yeah, I know her, everyone kind of know each other, is a small circle.”

That was safe.

“Hope she comes back to the bar when is our night, she looks like she tips well.” She laughed and he tried to follow. “Oh, I gotta go, Matt is calling me. Bye!”

“Bye…”

The rest of his shift was spent reliving the conversation.

He exhaled loudly. Drake didn’t like lying, and it felt like he was lying all the time, even if Cassidy would never think about Riley and him being anything but acquaintances; if he was being true to himself, he had been feeling close to suffocating ever since Riley came back, things were simpler then, now everything was gray, except for one of those exotic blue-ish flowers that always caught his eyes on the way back to his room.

Not even the chilly air of the garden was calming his nerves, then he noticed a light that wasn’t supposed to be there, the south wing was usually dark by that time at night, the only other times he recalled someone using it at was way back…

When Riley still danced.

He stopped dead in tracks near the window, watching as she executed a triple spin, only to stumble on her feet; he could see her frustration, her brows joined as some strands of hair fell from her bun to her face. Giving up, she sat on the floor and started to untie her shoes, she gave a long sigh when the music coming from the speakers changed drastically.

The sweet strings from Dramarama’s cover filled the room; she looked as surprised as him, they used to hear that song at full volume in his car right when he started driving. Now barefoot on the wooden floor, she got up and started to shake her shoulders timidly, then her hips followed… her legs and her arms.

 Do you wanna eat? Do you wanna sleep? Do you wanna drown?

Just settle down, settle down, settle down.

I’ll give you candy, give you diamonds, give you pills

I’ll give you anything you want. Hundred-dollar bills.

The song related morbidly to her, but it seemed to give her strength, totally lost on the beat; jumping around and biting her lips she untied her hair and let it fall loose shaking her head.

It was when a full-blown smile took over her face, with dimples and all.

Seeing those little dimples on the corner of her mouth as she smiled to the roof with her head thrown back, swaying hips and arms, he remembered why storms were named after people.

.

I just love you guys!

@saivilo​; @kimmiedoo5​; @pug-bitch​; @bee1arw​; @laurmillen​; @axwalker​​; @world-of-dreams-and-muse​; @rtinaz​​; @iplaydrake​​; @notoriouscs​​; @mind-reader1​​; @annekebbphotography​​; @walkerismychoice​​;  @tmarie82; @blackwidow2721; @thequeenchoices; @missameliep; @jovialyouthmusic; @perksof-everything; @choicesmacmakes; @carabeth @drakenazario; @drakesensworld; @moneyfordiamonds; @ao719; @lynne1993; @ilovedrakewalker23; @msjpuddleduck; @drakewalkerisreal; @violinist3121; @wannabemc2; @gibbles82; @furiousherringoperatortoad; @jens-diamondchoices; @rainbowsinthestorm​; @fromthedeskofpaisleybleakmore; @emceesynonymroll; @addictedtodrakefanfic; @texaskitten30; @dcbbw; @i-bloody-love-drake-walker; @mom2000aggie;

[argylemnwrites]

Fight or Flight - Chapter 5: Judgement

Pairing: Drake Walker x MC (Riley Liu)

Book: The Royal Heir (canon divergent from the end of book 2)

Word Count: ~3800

Rating: PG

Summary: Three hours since The Walker Absconding

Author’s Note: Remember in TRR3 when Hana planned to move in to Valtoria, even if not romanced? Well, even though canon seems to have forgotten this fact, I still remember it. Thus, in this series, Hana lives permanently at Valtoria, just in a separate wing from the Walkers.

This series follows the Walkers, their friends, and Cordonia as a whole after they flee the country with their daughter during Barthelemy Beaumont’s attempted coup. To catch up on this series, check out it’s masterlist. (link can be found via my bio - sorry, Tumblr is once again not putting my posts with links in tag searches)

“I’m sorry. But we aren’t risking coming back.”

Hana glanced up from the phone as Drake’s words cut through the room. She’d been preparing for this, mentally steeling herself for the confirmation. It still was shocking, though. How quickly everything was changing… for all of them.

She tried to read Olivia’s expression. She was expecting more fire and rage than she witnessed across her face, but instead she mainly saw exhaustion as her eyes fluttered closed for a brief moment and she let out a heavy breath through her nose. Certainly, some anger was visible. Her jaw was clenched and her red fingernails clutched the edge of Liam’s desk so tightly that Hana was concerned that she would damage the finish.

Seeing Olivia’s manicure prompted Hana to glance down at her own fingernails, painted a pale gold with just a bit of sparkle. She and Riley had watched a few rom coms last night as they did their fingers and toes, a tradition that had started back during Liam’s engagement tour. Riley had selected a shocking neon lime green this time, telling Hana she liked to keep the other nobles on their toes. Well, she had certainly done that today.

“I suppose you aren’t interested in hearing how terrible of an idea this is,” Olivia sighed out, interrupting Hana’s thoughts.

“Not really.”

“Well, I won’t be able to stop the treason charges. And you’ll be clearly guilty of the kidnapping, so I don’t know how you see this panning out here, Walker.”

There was a slight pause before Drake responded, “Uhhh… do we know who will be charging us with kidnapping yet?”

“You mean, are you going to force the hand of the man who has been with you through everything, who considers you his closest friend, or rather, who considers you to be his brother, to be the one who calls for your arrest?” Olivia’s voice was thick with malice and judgement, but her face was calm and calculated. Hana realized she wasn’t actually experiencing the emotions she was attempting to convey, at least nowhere near that intensely. She was trying to intentionally guilt Drake into agreeing to her original plan.

There was no response for several tense seconds. Hana began to wonder if Drake had hung up on them, but eventually, his voice came through the speaker of Olivia’s phone. “Yeah, that’s what I’m asking.”

Olivia grimaced slightly before answering, “We don’t know yet. A High Court justice will have to set up an emergency hearing to see who will hold power going forward. That hasn’t happened yet.”

“Okay… How’s… how’s Liam doing?”

“He’s fairly stressed, Drake. It’s a lot to handle - fighting a surprise coup, particularly when your allies start abandoning you and making a run for it.”

“Olivia… I…. I’m sorry. Can you tell him that?”

Olivia’s eyes rolled up in her head. She clearly wasn’t swaying him like she’d hoped she’d be able to do. “Tell me, Drake. Was this your brilliant plan, or was it your wife’s?”

“No.” Drake’s voice took on a sudden edge, clear even over speaker phone. “You are not going to try and divide us here. This is our family. You don’t get to judge the decisions we’ve made.”

“Okay, so obviously this was Riley’s idea. Put her on the phone.”

“No. She doesn’t have to listen to this shit.”

“She’s a grown woman. She doesn’t need you to play big, strong protector here. So hand her your damn phone.”

Hana wasn’t sure what tactics Olivia was planning to use to sway Riley, but if they were anything like the ones she’d tried on Drake, she knew it could turn ugly. Drake was more likely to internalize the pain Olivia threw at him, but Riley had a tendency to lash out. The last thing that needed to happen was to have Riley and Olivia devolve into bitter screaming.

“Wait!” Hana said, “Let me talk to Riley, Drake.”

Olivia raised an eyebrow, but didn’t object as a muffled, “Hana wants to talk to you,” drifted through the phone. There were a few seconds of rustling before Riley’s voice came across loud and clear.

“Hana?” She sounded a bit frail, almost as if she’d been crying. Hana couldn’t recall ever having seen her cry.

“Hi, Riley. How are you?”

“Not gonna lie; things have been better.”

Well, at least she still had some of her humor. “Look, sweetie. I just want to make sure you and Drake and Bridget are doing what’s best, okay? I want to be able to help you, in whatever ways you need.”

“Hana, I’m sorry. But we can’t come back. If Barthelemy comes out of this with the power of the Crown, there might not be a way to stop him from taking my daughter, and I can’t take that chance.”

Olivia opened her mouth to retort, but Hana shook her head vigorously. Riley fought back when she felt backed into a corner. It was essential to keep her from going on the defensive.

“Okay. Well, I don’t know how much help I’ll be able to provide you if you’re on the run. Are you sure you can’t come back and we can fight this together, like we always have done?”

She heard a little sniffle before Riley spoke again, “No… Hana, I’m sorry. She’s not your kid, and I just… I need to keep her away from all the assholes trying to take her from me.”

Hana closed her eyes and swallowed. It was obvious that Riley was not willing to consider alternatives, and she was stubborn enough that Hana knew she wasn’t going to get anywhere. With her last hope of being able to reunite their little found family completely shattered, Hana switched the focus of her conversation.

“I understand, Riley. You and Drake focus on keeping your little girl safe, okay? I’ll take care of the corgis and anything else you need me to handle at the estate.”

“Thank you, Hana,” Riley sighed, the relief evident in her voice.

“Well, I guess there’s nothing left for us to discuss at this point,” Olivia said, massaging her forehead with one hand. “Only answer your phones for either Hana or me at this point. We have to figure out how much to tell Liam, okay?”

“Why wouldn’t you tell him-”

“Riley, do you want to get charged with treason and have extradition orders sent out across the EU for your kidnapping today, or would you like a little time before that happens?”

Riley gave no response, but Olivia took her silence as agreement. “That is why Liam can’t know right now. But Hana and I will be in touch. Got it?”

“Yes.”

“Do not answer your phones for anyone other than the two of us. Understood?”

“Understood.”

“Excellent. Goodbye.”

“Bye, Ol-” but Olivia ended the call before Riley could even finish saying goodbye. She let out a sigh and tipped her head back in her chair.

“Well… That was about what I expected,” she breathed out before looking at Hana. “Obviously, not a word of any of this to anyone until we get through the judicial hearing and figure out how much power Liam holds here.”

Hana nodded. She understood the need for secrecy at this point. What she didn’t understand was why Olivia was including her so fully in the entire process. “Why me?”

“Hmmm?”

“Why did you want me here for this?”

“Because two of us should know. This isn’t the sort of thing that goes well with only one person scrambling to keep things covered up. It makes that person look very guilty and shady. So, I needed someone here. Liam would be obligated to act, and Maxwell is a shitty liar, so that left you.”

The implications of her statement raced through Hana’s mind. “You think I’m a good liar?”

Olivia shrugged, “I think you can keep your cool better than Maxwell, that’s for sure. And maybe a few years ago I would have said ‘no,’ but now… I think you can probably keep up a convincing enough poker face.” And at that, she picked up her phone and started typing quickly.

“What are you doing?”

Olivia didn’t take her eyes off the screen as she kept typing. “I’m telling Ray he should buy them some basic supplies, you know, clothing, food, toiletries, that sort of thing, before he heads back. I’m letting him know I’ll reimburse those expenses.”

“Seriously?”

She gave another little shrug. “You heard them. I think they are being idiots, but there’s not going to be any way to change their minds at this point. So it’s time to move on to planning next stages. Once their disappearance is fully noticed, it’ll be a lot harder to help them. But for now, we just have to do what we can.” 

Hana smiled at Olivia’s generosity. She knew she was right. Going forward - if Barthelemy succeeded - their group would likely be subject to increased surveillance due to their known close connections with Drake and Riley. And while Hana hoped that Liam’s lawyers might be able to put a stop to things, waiting to find out if that was the case would likely be too late. There were steps that needed to be taken now.

“I need to get to Valtoria, don’t I?” she asked. Olivia had an employee with them now, but Hana knew that her permanent residence at Valtoria would grant her opportunities to act without much suspicion, at least at the moment.

Olivia raised an eyebrow at her. “You up for that?”

Hana gave her a crisp nod. “It will go better if I can get things taken care of before anyone official comes looking for them there, won’t it?”

“Absolutely. You have a way to get there?”

She shook her head. “I mean, I know how to drive, but I don’t have a vehicle here.”

Olivia was silent for a few seconds, her eyes rolling up and darting back and forth. “You guys came via limo, right?”

She nodded. Given that it was the start of the Social Season, they’d used a limo service, even with Drake grumbling that they should have just taken their own car. He probably wanted that car even more at the moment. 

“Right,” Olivia continued, “Call up the company you used and tell them someone from the Valtoria party is ill and that you’d like to move up the pick up to as soon as possible. Make sure you act like you have a migraine or something for the ride so you don’t cause immediate suspicion with that story.

“When you get home, be subtle where you can. Don’t hide routine documents that center around Valtoria’s day to day functioning. Just grab their personal documents. And only gather up a small chunk of their personal belongings. Obviously, it’s a judgement call on what to pack away, but try not to make it obvious that items are missing - leave their quarters looking lived in. Will the staff question your presence in their private rooms?”

Hana shook her head. “The staff are all gone. Drake and Riley hate having them there, so they pretty much always give them the day off if they are coming to the capital.”

“I never thought I would say this, but god bless Drake Walker and his unrefined ways. Do you have somewhere you can stash their things where they won’t be found until we figure out how to get them to them quietly?”

“I think so.”

“No, Hana. You need to know so. Because Liam can’t afford to have any more of his allies clearly committing criminal activity today, and if you are found to have been aiding them in their ‘kidnapping,’ well then…”

“I understand, Olivia. I’ll make sure things aren’t found.”

“Good. Well, we both have jobs to do, I guess.”

Hana took that as a dismissal. She stood, smoothing the wrinkles out of her dress as she walked out of Liam’s office. “Good luck, Olivia.”

“Same to you, Hana. Same to you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time a justice of the High Court had been summoned, legal briefs submitted, and an emergency session called, it was nearly 10:30 pm. Liam was hungry and more than ready for this day to be over, but he sat still at the prosecution desk in the courtroom, dressed in his regalia. He hoped it sent a clear message that this title was still his.

The courthouse was eerily quiet at this hour, and both teams had brought limited personnel. At each desk were two lawyers, plus the official named parties on the case - Barthelemy and Liam himself. The gallery was nearly empty as well, with only Olivia, Bertrand, and Maxwell seated on Liam’s side of the courtroom and Adelaide and Landon on the other. Kiara was not in attendance. He wondered where she was and what she might be doing instead of coming to this hearing. He also wondered if Barthelemy’s team had noticed the absence of Drake and Riley in a similar fashion. All he could hope was that they assumed that it was too late for them to be here with Bridget.

The case was being heard by Lilith Questa, a woman in her late 60s and the second longest serving of the five justices on the High Court. High Justice Questa wasn’t the most favorable justice from Liam’s perspective, but she wasn’t the least favorable either. She had served on the High Court since Liam was a teenager, and she often took a no-nonsense stance in the decisions she wrote. She usually erred on the side of strict adherence to the letter of the law, which should help them, but had little patience for bureaucratic red tape and nobility that tried to squirm through loopholes. He wasn’t sure if that would hurt his side or Barthelemy’s side more. Realistically, it probably meant she would have limited patience for both camps.

“Please stand for High Justice Lilith Questa, Representative of Our King’s Court.”

In spite of the usher’s instructions, Liam remained firmly seated in his chair as the justice walked in, clearly still shrugging on her robes over jeans and a sweatshirt, her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail instead of her usual bun. This might be her court, but all the courts were technically his. All justices represented him and his law. Reigning monarchs were in fact the only ones not required to rise in Cordonian courtrooms, and he was not going to give so clear a visual signal that his power was in question by standing for the justice. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the defense desk. Barthelemy also remained in his chair.

“This is an emergency hearing of the High Court in the matter of His Majesty, King Liam, versus Lord Barthelemy Beaumont. All parties have been sworn in, Your Honor,” said the court’s usher.

The justice nodded as she sank into her seat, the rest of the room returning to their chairs a moment later. “Alright, let’s get things started here. It’s late, and someone needs to be running this country,” she quipped, fanning out a stack of papers on the bench in front of her. “I’ve read your briefings. His Majesty is arguing that the vote conducted by the Conventus Nobilis is invalid because it was called by an improper party, is that correct?”

Liam felt a little jolt of relief. The fact that she still referred to him as “His Majesty” was a likely indication that she was siding with him. He could tell Diana, the head of his legal team, had noticed that as well as tension fell from her shoulders as she stood to address the justice. He didn’t want to count his apples before they ripened, but this was a very good sign.

“Yes, Your Honor. The statutes pertaining to the Conventus Nobilis clearly state that only the head of a major noble house may call such a session. Lord Barthelemy Beaumont does not hold that title.”

“I’m inclined to agree with His Majesty’s lawyers here,” High Justice Questa said with a little nod, her eyes roving over papers as she spoke. “Lord Beaumont, doesn’t the fact that I am addressing you a ‘lord’ and not ‘duke’ tend to indicate that you are not the head of House Beaumont?”

“Your Honor,” said Charles, the lawyer representing Barthelemy, as he stood, “Barthelemy has been gradually resuming duties as head of House Beaumont as he has recovered his health over the past year. In fact, Duke Beaumont is set to travel to the States to visit his in-laws for the entire Social Season, and he signed documentation handing over all daily duties to my client here. I’ve included that document in my briefing.”

“Yes, I saw that. However, the fact that the Conventus Nobilis hasn’t been called in several hundred years would indicate to me that it doesn’t exactly fall under ‘daily duties,’ Charles.”

“Be that as it may, Your Honor, Cordonia has a long established precedent of dividing official duties of the noble houses between members of that house as they see fit, and that document we provided does afford Barthelemy Beaumont the powers of head of household while Duke Beaumont is unavailable.”

The justice looked up from her papers at that, eyes staring down the occupants of the defense desk with a withering intensity. “Charles, can you tell me who is the man seated behind His Majesty?” she asked, gesturing to the gallery seating behind Liam.

Charles turned and looked, pausing for a moment before he responded, “That would be Duke Beaumont, Your Honor.”

“So, he’s clearly not unavailable,” she said, raising her eyebrows and shaking her head, “but nice try.”

Liam kept his face neutral, but he wanted to grin so badly. He heard a tiny little snort behind him, likely Olivia revelling in High Justice Questa’s snide little exercise. It was becoming painfully clear that she viewed this whole endeavor as a waste of her time and resented having to appear for this emergency session at all.

“Lord Beaumont recused himself from the vote!” Charles cried out in obvious frustration with the way this hearing was proceeding. 

“Yes, but the vote was never proper and should not have occurred. And in fact, Lord Beaumont wasn’t the only one who did not have the right to be there. The records submitted by both parties indicate that Lady Kiara Theron voted for House Theron, and while Duke Theron may have relinquished some of his duties to his daughter to facilitate an upcoming formal transition of power, participation in the Conventus Nobilis cannot be assigned to anyone other than the proper head of house.

“As far as I can see it, this is a clear case of an improper summoning of the Conventus Nobilis. Therefore, any actions taken by that body are not recognized by the High Court of Cordonia. I find in favor of His Majesty. This matter is now closed.” And with a bang of her gavel, High Justice Questa rose from her bench, gathered up her papers, and swept out of the courtroom. This time, Barthelemy stood with the rest of the room.

Diana turned to face Liam once the door swung shut behind the justice. “Congratulations, Your Majesty!”

He gave her a gentle smile. “It’s you and your team who deserve the congratulations. You compiled all the briefs in record time.”

She bowed her head slightly as she accepted the compliment. “Is there anything else you require from my team tonight?”

Liam glanced over to the defense team. Barthelemy was conferring with Adelaide, frantic whispers being exchanged between the two. After a moment, he gestured towards Landon, who stood up and joined them.

Liam felt a tap on his arm, so he turned his attention towards Olivia. Her eyes were locked on the same brewing conversation. “He’s still scheming,” she said, a scowl etched across her face. “I bet he’s convincing one of them to call the Conventus Nobilis again for another vote since he can’t.”

He knew she was probably right. It was unlikely, after all, that a coup would be halted this easily. “I’m inclined to agree. Bertrand, I’m afraid I’m going to ask you to postpone your trip to Texas. I need your vote.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” Bertrand said with a solemn nod.

“It’ll be Hakim instead of Kiara voting. Maybe we could flip him?” mused Olivia.

Liam shook his head. “Maybe, but it seems unlikely Lady Kiara and him didn’t discuss how she would be voting for their house. It may be worth a chance, but contacting him should wait until morning at this point.”

Olivia nodded in agreement, but at that moment, Landon came over and approached Bertrand and Olivia. “Duke Beaumont, Duchess Nevrakis, I’m calling a meeting of the Conventus Nobilis tomorrow at the palace. This is your formal notification. Do you understand?”

“I do,” said Bertrand, hesitating for just a moment before shaking Landon’s offered hand.

“Oh, I’ll be there,” said Olivia, merely raising an eyebrow when Landon reached out to shake her hand, forcing him to awkwardly drop his arm and turn away after a few moments.

Liam let out a sigh. “I’m afraid I’ll still be requiring your team this evening, Diana.”

She gave him a small little smile and nodded. “Of course, Your Majesty. We’ll reconvene in Lady Olivia’s quarters?”

“Sounds perfect. How about I bring some late night sustenance for your lawyers?”

“Oh, you don’t need to do that-”

“I insist. I know I’m starving, and I’m guessing your team feels similarly.”

As Diana thanked him and left to return to the palace, Liam turned to Olivia tilting his head to the side. She stepped a few meters away from Bertrand and Maxwell, watching to see if they were paying attention out of the corner of her eye, but as far as Liam could tell, they were wrapped up in their own conversation.

“Did you speak to Drake and Riley?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

“I did,” she replied, but her tone and her expression revealed nothing else.

“And?”

“They are safe.”

Liam’s heart sank. The fact that she was refusing to divulge more information was essentially proof that Drake had fled the country with Riley and Bridget. A wave of loneliness and isolation washed over him, but he quickly tried to squash it down. He still had Olivia and Maxwell and Bertrand and Hana. He needed to handle this rationally. “Anything else I should know from your conversation?”

There was a brief pause before Olivia answered, “Not at this point, I don’t think. You should just focus on working with your lawyers to prepare a case for tomorrow, when the no confidence vote will likely be legitimate.”

He swallowed roughly, and she must have noticed, because she reached out and squeezed his hand while giving him a sad little smile. Taking a deep breath, he nodded at her. “Come on; we need to return to the palace. We have a Crown to save.”

Permatag:  @walkerswhiskeygirl   @riley--walker  @bebepac @ravenpuff02 @oofchoices @octobereighth @drakewalker04 @kimmiedoo5  @mfackenthal  @thequeenofcronuts  

The Royal Romance/The Royal Heir: @ao719 @mskaneko @katedrakeohd @jovialyouthmusic @marshmallowsandfire @axwalker @kingliam2019 @sirbeepsalot @texaskitten30 @princessleac1 @ladyangel70 @dcbbw @yaushie

Drake x MC: @drakeandcamilleofvaltoria  @iplaydrake @gibbles82 @drakewalkerisreal @notoriouscs  @drakesensworld @drake-colt-lover-99

Fight or Flight: @masterofbluff @burnsoslow @bobasheebaby @shz256 @iaminlovewithtrr​

[waywardodysseys]

Risky Behavior - Oneshot

Pairing: Pedro Pascal x female reader

Warnings: teasing, fingering, cussing

Requested? Yes from this ask - Ok like not to be full on but like I could imagine Pedro using his fingers under the table at the award show 👀👀👀🥵

Author’s note: none?!; enjoy!!!

~   ~   ~

Pedro sees you out of the corner of his eye on the silver carpet outside of the Shrine Auditorium. You’re dressed in a curve hugging, floor sweeping, thigh-high split black dress. Your Y/H/C hair is wavy. Pedro knows you don’t like to put much effort into wearing your hair up, you always prefer it down – so did he because he likes running his fingers through those soft Y/H/C locks.

You smile at the cameras when the photographers say your name, when they tell you to look one way, or another. You place a hand on your hip and give a sultry stare. That sultry stare made men grovel, but Pedro knew your body more than the men who drooled after you, knew your body well enough to know how to make you melt like butter under his touch. You belonged to him, he belonged to you. Pedro and you had been keeping your relationship under wraps for nearly a year and now you both were at an event together. In front of an enormous crowd, in front of cameras.

“Pedro?” His assistant’s voice cuts through the noise.

Pedro keeps his eyes on you. “What?”

“Entertainment Tonight wants a quick interview with you and Y/N. Is that okay? Her assistant says it’s fine as long as you are fine with it.”

Pedro nods, “yeah. It’s fine.”

Minutes later Pedro is standing centimeters from you on ET’s platform stage. He can smell your gardenia and lavender perfume. That scent covers his bedsheets, intoxicates him when he nuzzles your neck and inhales that scent. It’s a scent he’ll never forget, a scent he never wants to tire of.

Pedro smiles at you. “Y/N.”

“Pedro.” You say simply back to him.

“Alright,” Keltie Knight begins, “we have Pedro Pascal and Y/F/N Y/L/N here. You two work together on The Mandalorian. Are you still trying to get over the fact people are already clamoring for more Baby Yoda? And to see the Mandalorian be a single dad?”

Pedro laughs, “Baby Yoda makes the show. Well besides all of the crew and cast.”

“We are shooting season two here and there. I think people will be in for an amazing journey as they watch the Mandalorian be a single father to Baby Yoda,” you answer.

“Now there are rumors, Pedro,” Keltie pauses, “you could be in the Marvel Universe. And Y/N here, is already in the Marvel Universe. She going to pull any strings for you?”

Pedro looks at you then back at Keltie. He shrugs, “if she thinks I’m a good fit. Hopefully.”

“Y/N? Anything you could give us?” Keltie asks.

You smile, “no. Pedro’s already great as a masked Mandalorian, not sure if the world needs him to be under a mask again. I mean,” you lightly touch his face, “who’d want to keep this face hidden away?!”

Pedro’s body heats up at your light touch. His fingers ache to touch you in return.

You lightly place your hand on his shoulder, then run your hand down his arm. Your fingers graze his. You feel his thumb rub over your wrist before you tuck your hand away.

“Pedro could you give us anything about Wonder Woman 1984?” Keltie asks.

Pedro grins, “if I said anything they’ll come after me! I don’t want that to happen!”

“At least we know you are playing Maxwell Lord.” Keltie states.

“Correct.” Pedro replies.

“Alright you two, thank you for stopping by.” Keltie says with a smile.

“You’re welcome,” you and Pedro say at the same time.

Pedro watches as your assistant drags you off to another interview. His own assistant tells him it’s time for him to go inside. The SAG people need him backstage for a quick overview of what he’s going to be doing.

Pedro watches as you smile and nod at another interviewer. He sees your eyes lift and find him. He sees the sly smile you give, and he gives you one in return. Pedro couldn’t wait to see you inside.

-------

Inside the auditorium Pedro finally takes a seat at his table. Everybody is mingling as the lights begin to indicate five minutes before the program is about to begin. Pedro eyes the crowd, trying to find you. He finally lands his eyes on you as you make your way past Laura Dern, Reese Witherspoon.

He watches you walk toward him in a dress he can’t wait to unzip and take off because he wants to devour and touch the skin the fabric is hiding. Your curves, your moans, your intimate touches on his skin belonged to him.

“Y/N.” Pedro whispers. His voice is lathered with lust and desire. 

“Pedro,” you grin as you take a seat next to him.

“Mi amor. Necesito tocarte.”

His voice, his accent. He knows talking in Spanish will send a heatwave to your core.

You lean over, brush your lips against his ear. “I need your hands on me Pedro. Please.”

Pedro inwardly moans, mumbles a “fuck” under his breath. Without bringing attention to himself, he moves his chair closer to you as he slides his hand over your bare skin along the slit of your dress. You move some of the material over your lap, hiding his hand.

His touch is light, he feels the goosebumps covering your flesh. He then reaches your core, and you are without panties. Pedro shifts in his seat as his cock hardens instantly.

You bite your lip as Pedro’s fingers stroke your folds, opening them slowly, inserting one finger then two. He moves them slowly up and find your clit. You grab hold onto the table as he begins circling your sensitive nub slowly.

You look around the table. All eyes are on the stage. None on you and Pedro’s naughtiness, or risky behavior. You turn your head and brush your lips against his ears. “Keep going Pedro.”

He turns and looks at you. You Y/E/C eyes are looking into his coffee colored ones.

No one else matters in this moment as Pedro begins circling your clit faster.

Fuck!, your mind screams.

Your fingers grasp the table, your knuckles turning white then Pedro withdrawals his hand just as fast.

He leans over and places a chaste kiss on your lips.

“I want you craving my touch all night mi amor. I’m not giving into you just yet.”

You watch him leave. He knows you enjoy you watching him walk away because of his ass. It’s all yours. You grab it all the time – at home, out and about, during sex. Pedro Pascal is all yours. You moan inwardly at the thought of you both going home tonight and fucking each other like crazy.

Pedro walks on stage with Sophie in his goddamn glasses. You look at him with pure carnal lust and desire.

Mine!, is all your mind screams as your fingers ache to touch him, your mouth aches to kiss him.

He sees the look you give him. Pedro winks at you, knowing full well he is going to have you melting like butter when he returns to the table. He wants to take the risk; he wants to see you cum at his touch in public. He doesn’t care about the others; he cares about you.

Pedro decides to keep his glasses on as he walks back to the table and takes his seat next to you.

You reach out with your hand; you stroke his cheek with a finger. You press your lips against his ear. “I’m ready for more.”

He looks at you as he shoves his hand under your dress. “You. Are. Mine.”

“You shouldn’t be tempting me with your glasses Pedro,” you smirk then inwardly moan as his fingers slide into your pussy.

Pedro’s thumb finds your clit and begins rubbing it slowly. He watches as your fingers grasp the table. “Keep your legs uncrossed mi tentadora,” he hisses as you begin to cross them under the table.

You bite your lip, look down at your fingers. Your knuckles are turning white from the amount of pressure you are applying to the table. “Fuck,” you half moan, half whisper.

Your orgasm is building quickly inside of you. Pedro’s not going to stop until you’ve come undone, until you’ve melted like butter under his touch. You always melted like butter under his touch, ever since the first time he touched you with his mouth, his tongue, his hands.

You think about his hard, thick cock entering your pussy slowly. Filling your depths completely. Your hand snakes under the table. You touch his groin and feel his hard, thick cock under the material of his pants. Yes, you couldn’t wait to feel his cock inside of your pussy later.

The crowd around you begins clapping, standing to their feet.

Your orgasm explodes inside of you. You can’t contain your pleasure, can’t contain yourself anymore. You stand and clap and cheer. “Yes! Yes!”

You don’t know what you’re standing for, clapping for in the auditorium but privately you are clapping for the orgasm Pedro just gave you.

You look down at him and smile.

Pedro stands up and smiles at you. He kisses you deeply as he pulls you up against him. “Mi amor.”

“Pedro.” You whisper against his lips. “I can’t wait to get you home.”

Tags: @pascalisthepunkest​

[kate-likes-this]

Pedro for Augustman (10-19/19)

Cezar Greif • Photographer: Doug Inglish • Styling: Lucy Armstrong • Grooming: Mira Chai Hyde Related: photoshoot / list of articles 

Until recently, people were still erroneously addressing Pedro Pascal as Pascal Pedro. But he didn’t mind. Years of struggle in New York’s theatre scene had taught him to take things in stride. Pascal had studied drama in NYU, with his appearances on television after that limited to bit parts in Buffy the VampireSlayer and a few cop dramas. It took Game of Thrones, playing the part of Oberyn Martell, to make Pascal a household name – at the age of 37, no less.

Since that breakout role, Pascal has been busy. Among other works, he starred opposite Denzel Washington in The Equalizer 2, played a leading role in the Netflix biographical crime series Narcos, and acted as Agent Whiskey in Kingsman: The Golden Circle. There’s more to come, beginning with the titular character in The Mandalorian, which airs on Disney’s new streaming service Disney+ this November. In June next year, Pascal is slated to appear in the next Wonder Woman movie as the villain Maxwell Lord. Clearly, the man’s career has just properly started. 

When did you first fall in love with acting? At a very young age. My father used to take us to the movies three times a week. He’d come home from work and ask if we wanted to go see something, and we would, of course, want to go. I saw First Blood, The Big Chill, and so many other films. There was one summer when my mother would drop me off at the movie theatre as though it was daycare – times were different back then. I’d watch a few screenings of movies like Poltergeist in one afternoon before she picked me up at six. This exposure to films led to a hobby in acting that my parents were happy I had – at least I wasn’t sitting around watching cable TV all day. It occupied so much of my time and eventually turned into serious training.

Why did you make the shift? I had to take things more seriously if I wanted to stick with it. It wasn’t just being in love with the idea of appearing in movies and on stage any more – I needed to learn to analyse a story, delve deeper into the various aspects of acting, and learn the technical side of things. What came next was getting jobs to pay the bills. Surviving as an actor, basically.

You took some time to find mainstream success. Did you ever consider quitting? The confidence definitely fluctuates. I didn’t develop other skills, so my familiar routine was to attend auditions for jobs. One would be enough to pay for rent and food for a while, or I had to wait tables to pay for my expenses. It felt completely desperate because I was really in love with the art of acting and the idea of being a working actor.

But I always got enough work to keep going. I don’t think I would have if I couldn’t get a job in three years or something like that, but such a thing never happened. I would get a role in a tiny little play outside of Boston, or a beer commercial, or an episode of a cop show in the city.

Do you appreciate your popularity more since it came later? How do you think this has influenced the way you approach your status as a celebrity now? I was definitely more self-assured because my habits and routines were firmly in place and felt more important to me than my newfound success. I know it’s hard for me to describe this, but I just don’t feel famous. That wasn’t part of my development when I was younger, so I came into it “fully cooked”, or maybe even overdone. (laughs) As exciting and as strange as fame can be, it just doesn’t feel as real to me as my relationships, or the fact that my backaches, or how I panic in the morning if I don’t know exactly where I can get my coffee. Those things have much higher stakes to me than the public’s perception of who I am.

Can you identify a reason for your success? Did it make sense for to you when it “arrived”, perhaps because you thought you were becoming a better actor, or was it pure luck? I oscillate between the two. It can seem totally random, which is terrifying because anything can happen, but the randomness of it all makes a little more sense to me. But I see some clearly predestined circumstances for other people, and you sometimes have these very clear realisations that an opportunity was kept from you a long time ago because it wasn’t the right place or the right time. I guess I probably lean more towards the randomness of it all, or the simple idea that if you keep at the same damn thing, you’re increasing your chances of it succeeding.

And how do you view your breakout role in Game of Thrones now? It changed my life, but what’s interesting is how all the silly jobs that I’ve had before this one also felt like big breaks. I was a jobbing actor by my late 20s, and I was just as excited with some seventh-tier role on some network television show because it meant that I could pay some bills.

That felt like as big as a win as anything else. It’s the same with theatre. Because it’s so hard to go from the small plays to the medium-sized ones, getting a role in the latter feels like a miracle too. I was close to becoming homeless many times in the past, and was actually staying at an AirBnB before getting the role in Game Of Thrones, so I must really thank the showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss for taking that chance on me.

Has your experience in theatre helped your work in film? How do they compare? Theatre work is like the building blocks of what I do now. From Shakespeare to something contemporary, and everything in between, I’ve done them all. When you perform the same thing eight times a week, you’re constantly reworking your role to keep it interesting, whether it’s discovering something new or discarding something that exists. It feels like training. The last time I took classes was in college – and that’s something I don’t recommend – but doing theatre work felt like staying in school, which helped. Plus, it provided medical insurance and a weekly paycheck.

Tell us more about the new Mandalorian series. It’s taking things in a new direction. I think it’s amazing that Lucasfilm is letting Jon Favereau and Dave Filoni take Star Wars into new territories as far as style and tone are concerned, from using practical effects and digital special effects in tandem, to exploring characters out of the familiar Star Wars settings. They’re also blurring the boundaries between the good guys and the bad guys, and I love the idea of having things in a grey area. We’re dealing with the outer reaches of the galaxy here, which means a lot of ambivalence around what is right and wrong, and the conflict between self-serving and self-sacrificial decisions and actions. It’s all very much a part of the Star Wars story. As for the character, the Mandalorian is a bounty hunter, and people pay him to do jobs. Let’s just leave it at that for now.

Christopher Nolan said he casted Tom Hardy as Bane because of how he acts through his eyes in the mask. What was it like to express everything you needed to in this role with a full-face helmet on? Much of the work is already taken care of by the writing, which is great, as well as the visual experience that the show provides. But it was still important to me to live in the story as a person who does not show his face, so I worked a lot on the character’s body language. It feels almost like going back to theatre. I think that there’s a lot that can be told with stillness and very economical movements.

I hear that you’re a real movie nerd. Do you have recommendations for fairly unknown directors or movies that we should pay attention to? I just saw this incredible movie called Monos by Alejandro Landes. It was amazing. And I’ve been floored by [director] Ari Aster. He’s an aesthetician that also brings out great performances, and the films Hereditary and Midsommar blew me away totally. There’s also someone who’s up and coming – Taika Waititi – who made Jojo Rabbit, that’s, in my opinion, the best movie of the year.

[bbrandy2002]

My Love

Chapter Three: Yesterday

A/N: Want to give proper credit to @fromthedeskofpaisleybleakmore whose thoughtful comments on the previous chapter inspired some of the sentiments and title of this chapter (even though she killed Liam this week and I had to declare war against her).

*One day I will create a moodboard, but, today is not that day.

Warnings: Language and brief mention of infant loss THAT HAS NOTHING to do with this chapter. I was asked by several people how Ellie will be able to continue feeding and it will be explained. Just wanted to be on the safe side there.

Series Summary: After losing the love of his life, Liam is forced to endure another social season. Not wanting to move on, he finds help from an unlikely ally...his late wife

__________________________________

Hana squinted as her car drove through the crowded gates of the palace; the sun hadn’t fully risen above the horizon yet and its rays were projecting a blinding glare. She slammed her brakes to a halt when she pulled into her usual spot, causing the car's tires to slightly squeal. The car door swung open wildly and she walked with purpose at a quick step, hastily swiping at the tears on her cheeks -- a woman determined to fulfill a promise she made months ago. 

She had received the call from Drake only an hour ago, and without hesitation, threw on a pair of white jeans, a tank, and flats. She sobbed as she brushed her hair and tossed it up into a loose ponytail, knowing she had more to do than just grieving the loss of her best friend. Hana, never one to shirk from her duties, had an obligation, one that meant more to her than her own life. 

Approaching the rear landing of the palace, she ignored the chatter and bellows that could still be heard from a great distance outside of the gates. For a split second earlier, as she drove in through the seemingly hundreds of mourners and press crowded at the entrance, she contemplated running them down. It was one thing to offer their support and want answers, however at what cost? Did they even know Riley Brooks? The real Riley Brooks? The American behind the Cordonian Crown who befriended a woman from Shanghai and helped her see she was more than some object -- a show-thing -- her parent’s means to success and notoriety. When Constantine was killed during the Costume Ball, she thought, she didn’t recall him receiving this much outpouring of sympathy and heartache. Riley’s death has yet to be officially announced and yet there they were, waiting anxiously for any word on their beloved queen.

Maybe, they did know her after all.

A Royal Guardswoman watched Hana ascend the stairs rapidly with a fierce look.  She was quite familiar with Her Majesties, best friend, and didn’t hesitate to open the door for her knowing if she didn’t comply quickly, Hana just may bust through it herself.

The atmosphere inside was somber as Hana continued her quest through familiar passageways; she disregarded the greetings and condolences that were offered to her. Even at a time like this, her mind was sharp and clear. She’d be damned if anyone was going to stop her right now. 

When she neared closer to Riley’s office and slowed her quickened pace -- not wanting to make a lot of sounds. Hana had not planned to knock, however what she heard from inside stopped her before her hand could reach the knob.

The voice was gruff but soothing and the song melted her shattered heart. Drake.

“Baby mine, don’t you cry. Baby mine, dry your eyes. Rest your head close to my heart, never to part, baby of mine ...”.

Hana had heard Riley sing it to the baby more times than she could count. It was obvious, Drake did as well.

She twisted the knob and eased the door open and closed it softly behind her. Riley had her office completely remodeled weeks ago to accommodate Ellie spending the majority of her time with her when she returned from maternity leave. In the corner of the room, next to a large, open window, Drake sat in an old wooden rocking chair that he refurbished as a baby gift for her office, gently rocking Ellie in his arms. 

With Ellie’s tiny fingers wrapped around his large, calloused thumb, he sensed Hana’s presence and began to blush, “I...uhhh...was just..”. 

She smiles softly, “I know.”

She walked over to Drake and the baby and crouched down beside them. As her hands glided lovingly over the fine hairs on the top of Ellie’s head, knowing she was fulfilling the promise she made to Riley, she looked up at Drake, both with small tears in their eyes. 

“Mind if I sing with you?” She asked; her voice cracked and wispy.

Drake pondered for a moment, not really wanting to in front of Hana, but, nodded..

______ 

Within the hour, Maxwell and Bertrand made the two-hour drive from Ramsford to the Capitol. The limo was subdued for most of the drive; Maxwell glanced at old photos of he and Riley on his phone while a dismayed Bertrand stared out the window, not saying a word. 

Maxwell had wept from the time he found out, that was just the kind of man he was. He is and has always been a very emotional person and shows no fear nor remorse in that fact. Bertrand, on the other hand, accepted the news like a Duke learning his monarch had lost any random member; he had work to do.

After arriving at the palace, Maxwell knew Drake was in Riley’s office, having received the text from Hana several minutes ago. As he headed in that direction, Bertrand moved towards the grand staircase, causing Maxwell to take notice in what appeared to be insensitive behavior on his brother’s part.

“Bertrand, where the hell are you going? I told Hana we would meet them in Riley’s office”.

Bertrand turned to his brother just as he climbed the first step, “Yes, yes...please offer up my sincerest condolences to your friends. I will be in the press office should I be needed...and Maxwell...don’t need me”. 

“But the press office is on the first floor”, Maxwell shot back.

Bertrand straightened his jacket and his posture, “Indeed it is”, before turning away and continuing up the stairs.

The eldest Beaumont, weaved his way through the corridor he had walked literally hundreds of times, stopping in front of one particularly large, wooden door. He peered down both ends of the hallway, ensuring no one was the wiser to his presence. 

Knowing there would be no one inside, he pushed the door open and entered. Everything was exactly the same as he remembered. 

He took a deep breath, the scent of lavender and rosewood painting a clear picture in his mind, one that haunted him deeply.

“This is the girl you’ve chosen to represent House Beaumont?”

Bertrand notices the large closet across from the bed and is surprised to find it still full of familiar clothing and accessories; every single piece he remembers fondly as he trails his fingers over each one. The pink derby dress and flashy hat that nearly bankrupted him to purchase and the white gown she wore in Lythikos that showed entirely too much cleavage.  

His eyes narrowed as he thumbed across the Applewood peasant costume and removed it with a growl, “Those two nitwits”.  

Riley and Maxwell had sworn to him they had returned it to that stage production company he borrowed it from -- quite convincingly so. Bertrand spent nearly a week on the phone defending the two of them and insisted the production company must have misplaced this one-of-a-kind piece of Cordonian history. After losing the battle and his temper, he set up a payment plan to pay off the 35000 Euros the heirloom cost.

He rolled his eyes thinking about how insufferable those two were during the social season: staying up all hours of the night giggling like two schoolgirls, the never-ending jokes at his expense, and those god-forsaken, drunken duets as they traveled from one event to the next.  If he never heard, ‘We Will Rock You’,  while stomping on the floor of the limo, it would be a day too soon.

 Riley and Maxwell caused him more anxiety and agitation than any two people have since, yet at that moment, he would do anything to go back and relive every annoying minute of it. 

He held the costume up, looking over it for rips and stains, thinking maybe he could still get his money back, yet that thought quickly dissipated. 

“Long live the Apple Queen.” He smiled, then held it close to himself briefly before placing it back on the hook and shutting the door.

He took in the entire room, recalling all those early mornings: their arguments over propriety and cutlery, her backtalk, and lessons upon lessons that somehow the waitress from New York aced each time. Riley knew he was proud of her, Bertrand was confident in that fact.  

He glanced down at his watch, contemplating whether or not he should meet up with the others. He opted instead to stay longer, to be alone in this room, with the thoughts and memories of his sister, fresh on his mind and heart.  As he sat on the corner of her old bed, he let the pain that had festered within him since leaving Ramsford finally break him down. 

His face fell into his palms as he let out a painful sob.

____________

Liam was still curled in the same spot on the floor in front of the sofa; still clinging to her throw blanket and still wondering what the hell happened just a few hours ago. His eyes were dry, having nothing left to secrete from them. He needed to get up because there is so much to do: arrangements needed to be made, meet with Madeleine to make an announcement to the public, and accept phone calls and messages from international leaders expressing their condolences. 

He pushed himself up from the floor, still holding on tightly to her blanket, and turned to take in the vast living quarters that had become their home. 

On the table in front of Liam were the purple lilies he sent her yesterday -- just like the ones he sent her every week for over a year.  

The flowers he would never send again.

Yesterday, everything was fine. Yesterday, he was a happily married man that was more in love with his wife than he thought was possible. Yesterday, he woke up with his arms around her and she taunted him about the plans she had for him that evening. Yesterday, life was normal, happy, and everything he ever envisioned a life with Riley would be like. 

Liam tossed her blanket on the couch and wondered: if all those things were true yesterday, how can it not be today? 

Their home seemed so empty without her and he shuddered thinking about the finality of that thought: she wouldn’t be home again.  He wouldn’t hear that laugh again, dance with her in the kitchen, or arrive late to another ball because he just couldn’t keep his hands off her. Those thoughts grew, and the anger that it manifested took root in the pit of his stomach and was now pushing on every nerve ending in his body. Liam could feel his face redden with heat and scorn. His heart surged, and his mind became muddled with rage. He lurched to the vase full of flowers and threw them across the room. The shattering of glass against the wall only propelled him further as he turned to the sofa table and flipped it over.

“You said you would never leave!" he yelled towards the heavens, “after everything we went through to be together: the scandal, the assassination attempts!!". 

He swiped a lamp and book off a nearby end table, "Was it all a fucking lie Riley? .Answer me, goddammit!!! Liam shouted.

Liam shoved the couch corner into the glass cabinet and continued to push and slam again with each remark, “We had a life..We had a marriage. We have a baby!". 

He reached for the fireplace poker and didn’t hesitate to bust out the glass covering of the stone hearth, "Damn you for leaving me, Riley Brooks! DAMN YOU!" 

He swung furiously over and over at anything and everything in his path while continuing his emphatic curses of damnation against his wife. The glass of picture frames broke, wood splintered, walls pelted with tiny holes, fabrics stripped.

In all of his rage, he didn’t hear the footsteps that were quickly approaching him from behind, Suddenly, there were two strong arms wrapped around him with a tightened grip and pulled him down to the floor.

“Get the fuck off of me, Drake.” Liam struggled to loosen himself as he laid face down on the floor with his best friend holding him in place.

Drake jerked the poker from his hand and tossed it away, “This isn’t the way, Li. She wouldn’t want --”

“Fuck what she would have wanted and your self-righteous indignation, Drake Walker.”  Liam continued to fight his way out of the constraints Drake had on him, “I remember the looks you would give her, I bet the two of you were going at it behind my back the entire time. Did you enjoy my wife Drake? Did she fuck you and ...”

“STOP IT!”

As much as Drake wanted to punch him, he knew his friend well enough to ignore his gibes; Maxwell, on the other hand, had enough.

Liam and Drake both snapped their heads back to Maxwell, never seeing him that furious or hearing his voice that raised.  “You will never, ever speak of her like that again, treason be damned. Do you understand me?”

A dispirited look crossed Liam’s face, replacing the rage and adrenaline he felt. His face lowered and rested on the floor, having nothing more to give.  “I...I just miss her so damn much.”

Drake quickly moved off and Maxwell closed in on them; the two comforting their lifelong friend as he draped his arms over his head and wept.

“Is it okay to come in now?” Hana asked as she peeked around the corner, holding the baby in her arms.

“Yeah...we’re good,” Drake shouted back.

Liam lowered his arms and looked to Hana when he saw his daughter, “Ellie”, he whispered.

Maxwell and Drake helped Liam up and watched as he crossed through the carnage in the living room to retrieve his baby.

Hana asked if he was okay, wanting to be sure he was calm enough to hold her; he assured her he was.

He held Ellie close to him, taking in Riley’s features, feeling ashamed of the words he never meant to say about her mother. 

Drake, Maxwell, and Hana spent the rest of the day with Liam and Ellie, joined later by Bertrand. 

Riley had pumped enough breastmilk to last several days and Miss Talbert, Riley’s personal assistant, found that bereaved mothers who lost their babies after birth, donated their breast milk to help deal with the loss. Liam gave her the go-ahead to look into that option further and get back with him.  

Liam informed Madeleine to release the news to the press and public, but insisted on privacy, although he knew not only the Cordonian press would be all of this, but the American’s, as well.

As Ellie slept in Maxwell’s arms, the group picked and prodded at their lunch, not one of them feeling like eating, when the doorbell rang.

Liam answered the door and stepped aside to let Bastien in.

“Your Majesty.” He bowed.

“Bastien.”

Bastien handed him an envelope. “I received this moments ago. You’ll want to see this, sir.”

Liam turned it over, studying the large, yellowish envelop skeptically, His brows knitted.  “What is this?”

The head guard stiffened his postured and let out a heavy breath. “It's the results of Her Majesty's autopsy.. You may want to sit". 

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WHY I'M SMARTER THAN FRIEND

That's been a reliable way to get rich, is not just to intelligence but to ability in general, and that's why so many successful startups make something the founders needed. In 1994 my friend Koling wanted to talk to the new startups about fundraising, and decide they should raise money too, since that seems to be an instant success, like YouTube or Facebook. Even if the CEO is a programmer and another founder is a salesperson? The market is a lot longer than that. The emotional ups and downs. The median age worldwide is about 27, so probably a third of the population have y percent of the world's population will be exceptional in some field only if there are a lot of time trying to push your price down. This is not exclusively a failing of the young. Have low expectations.1

We're more patient. To understand what McCarthy meant by this, we're going to be times when you have absolutely no desire to work on an audience, and since valuation is usually the only visible number attached to a startup—so important that morale alone is almost enough to determine success.2 There were a few other kids and I could play all day. We may be able to develop stuff in house, and that employers are just proxies for users in which risk is pooled. So everyone is nervous about closing deals with you, they'd seem impressive, but not very novel. The non-gullible recipients are merely collateral damage. The best way to do this, and I think the rate of people who wish they'd gotten a regular job, and they all think we're going to retrace his steps, with his mathematical notation translated into running Common Lisp code. This trick may not always be enough.3 Deals don't happen that way. When do you stop fundraising? But if you're trying to advise 57 startups, it turns out to be a really long journey, at least straightforward.4 What I mean by habits of mind is to ask, could one open-source play?5

Even a day's delay can bring news that causes an investor to your cofounder s should be like introducing a girl/boyfriend to your parents—something you do only when things reach a certain stage of seriousness. Know where you stand. Only a few ideas are likely to be a good idea, because most startups change their idea anyway. It's practically a mantra at YC. It will be easier to raise money you might have to shut the company down, but because the process of talking to them all can bring a startup to a standstill for months. I written about yet? Immigration easier because they say they can't find enough programmers in the US.6

I've written this, everyone else can blame me if they want. Don't worry too much about making money, instead of drying up, curiosity becomes narrow and deep. Angels were generally much better to talk to all potential investors in parallel, prioritized by expected value, and accept offers greedily, your goal should be to get it from someone else. There's a limit to the number of people retain from childhood the idea that a bunch of leads in the process of discovering it's broken, you'll come up with startup ideas. The startup may have more long-term success rate ends up being, I think the only unusual thing about him is that he admitted it. As little as $50k could pay for food and rent for the founders for a year. It will be easier to raise money you might have to shut down.7 So the randomness of any one investor's behavior can really affect you. The critical moment for Einstein was when he looked at Maxwell's equations and said, what the hell is going on here? The reason, of course. You should get another multiple of three.8 It is, in itself, a valuable thing.

But if you're trying to choose between satisfying all the needs of all potential users. You should therefore never approach such investors first. I didn't realize how much room there is for a potential competitor to undercut them. Even the founders who fail don't seem to get how different it is till they do it. All the scares induced by seeing a new competitor pop up are forgotten weeks later. But I don't think you should make users the test, just as professional magicians are.9 How much better. The specific thing that surprised them most was the general spirit of benevolence: One of the things I didn't tell people.10 One of the most powerful motivator is not the usual one, which applies even when you know which investors have a reputation for being valuation sensitive and can postpone dealing with them, but they weren't going to die if they didn't get their money.

Notes

So if you're a loser or possibly a winner. The same goes for companies that grow slowly tend not to grow as big a cause. The study of rhetoric was inherited directly from Rome, where there were some good ideas in the process dragged on for months. Though you should probably start from the example of a company tried to explain that the meaning of the most, it's easy for small children to consider these two ideas separately.

In fact since 2 1.

But this takes a startup to duplicate our software.

Your Brain, neurosurgeon Frank Vertosick recounts a conversation reaches a certain way, they'd be called unfair. At Viaweb, if you have to sweat any one outcome. But friends should be designed to express algorithms, and that you have to assume the worst thing about our software, we found Dave Shen there, and yet it is not whether it's good enough to defend their interests in political and legal disputes.

Don't be evil, they have wings and start to be able to formalize a small percentage of GDP were about the origins of the USSR offers a better strategy in an era of such high taxes? I've learned about VC inattentiveness. Historically, scarce-resource arguments have been worth at least a partial order. It was born when Plato and Aristotle looked at with fresh eyes and even if the current edition, which merchants used to build their sites.

Adam Smith Wealth of Nations, v: i mentions several that tried to motivate them. The Civil Service Examinations of Imperial China, during the war, tax rates were highest: 14. San Francisco, LA, Boston, or the power that individual customers have over established companies is 47.

Surely no one knows how many of the previous two years after 1914 a nightmare than to read is not a product company.

99 and. Eric Horvitz. But scholars seem to be high, and when given the Earldom of Rutland. Applying for a name.

Actually Emerson never mentioned mousetraps specifically. I was writing this. We just tried to preserve optionality.

Currently the lowest rate seems to be free to work late at night, and then scale it up because they think they're just mentioning the possibility.

[jovialyouthmusic]

Silver Service

The Royal Charity Tour continues with Portaveira’s fashion show - but with no models, what will Penelope do? Madeleine is looking for information.

Word count 3565

A/N No warnings, just some fun and some plot development

17 Stepping Out, Showing Off

Penelope was in a panic, and consulted her best friend, Kiara.

‘It’s going to be a disaster’ she whined, but Kiara rolled her eyes.

‘Calm down Penny’ she snapped ‘Emmeline is asking round for volunteers to model. We still have all the stylists and dressers, and once we’ve got some recruits we can go over the basics of runway logistics.’

‘Runway what?’ Penelope said in a panic ‘I don’t even know what that means.’ Kiara sighed. Penny wasn’t the brightest spark at the best of times.

‘You know, how to walk, how to show off the clothes, that sort of thing.’ At that moment, Emmeline came back into the room.

‘Okay girls, we had six models, but they’re used to changing quickly between costumes. If we try to find at least eight to replace them and take it a little slower we should be fine.’

‘Do you have anyone yet?’ Kiara asked hopefully as Penelope crouched and ran her fingers through Morgana’s curly coat to calm herself down. The little dog nuzzled her hand reassuringly and she reminded herself to breathe into her belly. Her heart rate steadied and she sighed, feeling a little better.

‘I have four from the staff – two maids, one of the kitchen assistants and the housekeeper’s daughter.’ her mother counted them off on her fingers.  ‘I’m having a little trouble finding male models though, so if you have any ideas…’ Just then she caught sight of Sophia passing in the corridor outside. She didn’t know her very well but knew who she was – and she looked just perfect for the job.

‘Miss Turner?’ she called ‘I wonder if I could ask you a favour.’

------

Olivia took her seat next to Liam in the front row next to the runway.

‘Feeling any better?’ he asked, and she sniffed disdainfully.

‘I got hold of a Lythikan remedy’ she said ‘I won’t be feeling queasy again’

‘Are you sure it’s safe to take something like that?’ he murmured.

‘I’m sure it will be fine’ she said ‘and Sophia said she’d get hold of a test for me’ Before Liam could tell her to keep her voice down, the lights went up and a very nervous Penelope and her mother appeared on the stage, the young woman squinting in the spotlight. She held a microphone in one hand and a dog lead in the other. Her little poodles accompanied her and wore outfits that matched her own. They sat quietly at her feet, attracting a few ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from the audience. She cleared her throat.

‘Good – good afternoon, Your Majesty, Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Portaviera. I’d like to extend very warm greetings to King Liam on his first official visit as monarch to our beautiful county. Many thanks to him for sponsoring this and other events this season, and for travelling to attend in person’ She made a little curtsey, and he stood to bow and wave. Cameras clicked and flashed and the audience made a low sound of approval. As he sat, Penelope went on ‘Ladies and gentlemen, your Majesty, lords and ladies, you may know that last month we had some intense storms, and our coastline was very badly affected. Many businesses have suffered a drop in income or had to undergo expensive repairs, and some of our citizens have been made temporarily homeless’ Her voice shook to start with, but it steadied as she went on. ‘This afternoon we will be seeing some collections from local designers, and our very own Ana de Luca has donated some of her latest pieces to be auctioned here today to help those who have been so badly affected. Already we have sold many tickets toward the cause.  There are no fixed prices, and I hope you will all give generously to help our charities. We have provided lists of the designs and sizes available and you can begin bidding straight after the models finish, so please make notes’ She stopped and looked to her mother, who took the microphone.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, we have a surprise for you today. Unfortunately, the models who were going to show you our exquisite designs today were taken ill, so we have some volunteers in their place. Some of them are from my own staff, and some of them you may recognise.’ There were interested murmurs from the audience. ‘Without any further ado, we will begin. Please give a warm welcome to our volunteers’

Music started up, and a young woman appeared from the wings of the stage as Emmeline and Penelope stepped to the side. She was dressed in a flowing boho dress and strappy sandals and paused for a moment as Emmeline introduced her, before striding out along the runway. ‘Here we have Daisy, modelling a lovely dress by Christiana Kalos’

‘Well, that’s unconventional’ said Olivia quietly to Liam ‘that young woman poured my coffee this morning’ Liam smiled and clapped as the young woman stopped at the end of the runway, posed, and turned back as the next model appeared and was announced. He smiled in recognition

‘And this young lady brought me my shirt’ he remarked. Two more staff appeared in succession as the show went on, and after that Olivia laughed out loud

‘Oh my, that’s Lady Hana’ she said ‘It’s a wonder she’s not showing her own work, I happen to know she made an exquisite dress for Riley’ The crowd clapped enthusiastically to see a noble on the runway.

‘Talk of the devil’ Liam murmured as Riley appeared next, striding out confidently in a figure hugging cocktail dress and stilettos. ‘Oh this is very entertaining’ he chortled as Sophia appeared in a chic fitted blazer and pencil skirt. She smiled down at them as she passed, poised and elegant. The final model to appear before the staff came out again was Lady Kiara, who stalked along seductively with a sultry expression. Liam stared at her, mesmerised until Olivia reached across to hold his arm and squeeze so hard that he jumped and came out of his trance. The eight models went through a few changes before there was a pause and a change in the music to something more aggressive.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, your Majesty, we haven’t forgotten the men in the audience. Please welcome our volunteers, starting with young Jamie, wearing a tuxedo by Germain LePost’

‘Oh, that’s Emmeline’s chauffeur’ Liam laughed, and after that came one of the wait staff.

‘Oh. My. Goodness’ gasped Olivia, as Maxwell appeared on stage with a flourish, dressed in a sharp tailored suit. He threw back his head and strutted to the music, dramatically pausing from time to time to look around and point finger guns at the audience. He took twice as long as any of the other models, obviously lapping up the attention of the crowd, but finally his turn was over, and next…

‘Is that Bastien?’ Liam asked, squinting. It was indeed the Captain of the Guard, posing for a moment, his steely gaze and impassive features giving him gravitas as he posed for a moment in an indigo dinner jacket, bow tie and tailored black pants, his pointed black shoes polished to a mirror shine. He held the ivory topped cane that Liam had given him, and used it to stroll with poise to the end of the runway. He paused and tilted his head, furrowing his brow and looking off into the distance as if the crowd watching him wasn’t there.

‘Well’ said Olivia as he strolled nonchalantly back to the stage ‘I think Mr Lykel missed his vocation’ Liam nodded

‘He’s a natural’ he agreed ‘who would have thought?’

-------

Just before he had joined the King’s Guard, Bastien’s foster parents had suffered a financial setback when his foster father had been made redundant. Money was tight, and to help them out he had applied for as many jobs as he could. A modelling agency had told him he was just what they were looking for, and he had turned up for a photo shoot to find that the product he would be modelling was underwear. He was taken aback, and although he had an interview with the Guard, he had gone ahead with the shoot, hoping it wouldn’t come to light. He had almost finished his initial training when his superior, Jackson Walker discovered the photographs in a catalogue.

He had been certain he would be let go from the training programme, as it could compromise any undercover duties he might have in the future and perhaps bring the King’s Guard into disrepute. Luckily this was before widespread internet usage, Jackson was lenient and had the catalogues recalled for printing errors. Bastien’s file at the modelling agency had been destroyed. It was his first and only misdemeanour before he graduated at the top of his year group, and he still held an otherwise spotless record. Since then, only Lewis had equalled that record, and Sophia was the only person he had ever confided in.

He frowned at her, silently laughing as he changed into the final outfit behind the stage at the fashion show.

‘I told you about my history with the modelling agency in the strictest of confidence’ he scolded in a low tone. Sophia wiped her eyes and drew a calming breath.

‘Relax, Bastien. I didn’t tell anyone – it was Emmeline who suggested you as a volunteer’ she assured him ‘It was long enough ago that nobody would remember, surely. How could it possibly damage your record after all this time?’

‘I suppose it would be okay’ he grumbled ‘I couldn’t very well say no when I knew Maxwell Beaumont had jumped at the chance. If I hadn’t been here to calm him down we’d have had a pantomime instead of a fashion show’ Sophia put her hand on his shoulder.

‘Bas, you’re doing fine. From the reaction of the audience, we’re going to get some really good donations for the flood charities’ He lifted his chin in a gesture of resignation.

‘Well I suppose that’s some consolation. Come on, it’s us next’ The two of them linked arms and at the beckoning of the co-ordinator they stepped out along the gangway for the finale.

-------

That evening Liam and Olivia were relaxing in his lounge after dinner. There was a knock on the door and Sophia and Bastien entered. Olivia got up as Sophia rummaged in her purse and got out a paper bag, handing it over.

‘Thankyou Sophia’ she murmured as Liam shook Bastien’s hand and they started to discuss the security arrangements for the next day. ‘I’m still feeling odd. I’m not convinced I’m pregnant but it’s worth putting my mind at rest. I’ll take it later’ Sophia nodded

‘I’m sorry things are so complicated right now’ she said consolingly ‘How are things going with Anton?’ Liam heard what she was saying and indicated to Bastien that he should pour some drinks for himself and Sophia.

‘He’s asking for his own security team’ he said, tight lipped ‘We’re basically stalling him as much as we can while our teams look for a loophole. Meanwhile Lucretia refuses to say anything else and Anton is still demanding that Olivia visit him.’

‘I take it he wants staff that are loyal to him rather than the Crown’ Bastien said ‘If we ask him specifically who he wants, we can vet them and stall a little longer’ Liam sighed heavily.

‘I’m beginning to think he’s got a good case’ he said ‘If we don’t find something in the next week, we may have to give in to his demands’

‘What do you think he’ll do if I am pregnant and he finds out?’ Olivia asked. Liam passed his hand over his face.

‘Probably accuse you of treason as well, or adultery. I really hope it doesn’t come to that’

------

‘Well done, Penelope’ Madeleine said, arranging her face into what she hoped was a sincere smile. The jubilant young noble bent down to pick up her little dogs and snuffled nose to nose with them. She was just like a poodle herself, Madeleine decided, shuddering at the insanitary gesture. ‘I know I wasn’t very supportive of you when we were competing for Liam’s affections, but I’m sure we can be friends now’ Penelope smiled happily, pleased at the success of the fashion show.

‘Oh Maddy, thankyou’ she trilled ‘I’m so sad you didn’t get to be Queen, you would have done a super job’ Madeleine kept the saccharine smile as she replied.

‘Well, he’s not picked anyone, so perhaps there’s still hope’ She dropped the smile, instead looking serious ‘It would have been so good for you to be one of my ladies in waiting you know’ She gritted her teeth and gave one of the little dogs a pat on the head. It snarled and she snatched her hand back.

‘Naughty Morgana’ Penelope scolded ‘Maddy’s a friend. Now come along, shake paws like a good little doggy’ The creature sat on its hind legs and gave her a sceptical look but obeyed, holding out her little paw. Gingerly Madeleine reached out and gently took it, making two mental notes – one, make sure she had antiseptic wipes in her purse, and two, look for some doggy treats to slip to the dogs when Penelope wasn’t looking.

‘Can you imagine how it might have been?’ Madeleine went on, drawing back her hand and masking her distaste. ‘Of course I understand now how important your little – dogs - are. I’m sure they’d be very cute accompanying the court’

‘Oh do you really think so?’ Penelope answered, her eyes shining, then her butterfly mind fluttered on to another subject. ‘Liam really needs to get an heir as soon as he can, you know’

‘I know’ Madeleine smiled, and moved closer to her, lowering her voice ‘Do you know, he’s been very friendly with Lady Olivia lately. Tell me, are their rooms close?’ Penelope wrinkled her forehead.

‘Actually, he did ask for adjoining suites. After all, Lythikos is a very important duchy. Just imagine if anything were to happen to the new King – she might be Queen instead. It doesn’t bear thinking about. We have to be nice to Olivia, in case she ends up on the throne’ Madeleine didn’t have to pretend her disgust at that thought.

‘Dreadful’ she said ‘You know, it really would be better if I could somehow persuade Liam to make me his Queen. If only I could find out just how close he is to Olivia. Who knows, she might be in league with Anton. I don’t entirely trust that American woman even though she’s smooching with Drake – or the English woman with Bastien’ Penelope looked shocked at the thought.

‘I could ask the maid who’s cleaning their rooms’ she said, slowly, and Olivia widened her eyes in mock surprise. She paused a moment as if what she said next hadn’t been in her mind all along.

‘You’ll be far too busy sorting out the donations and arranging the delivery of the clothes from the fashion show, surely Penny’ she said, pausing again as if her mind was ticking over ‘If you told the maid to report to me it might be better – I’ve not got much to do at the moment’ she said brightly. Again Penelope frowned, and Madeleine almost screamed in frustration as she pictured the cogs turning in her head, but at last her face cleared.

‘You’re right Maddy, it’s so complicated and I’ve got so much to do. Thanks for offering - I’ll call Susan straight away and you can tell her what to do’

-------

Susan was a slight young woman, unobtrusive, quick and efficient. But what Madeleine liked most about her was her inquiring nature. To put it mildly, she loved gossip, and had plenty to tell.

‘That Lady Olivia, she’s so snarky’ she said conspiratorially ‘She doesn’t like me being in her room so I have to clean when she’s out’ Madeleine affected a casual expression of interest – it was all that was needed for her to tell more ‘That’s not difficult’ she continued ‘She barely uses her rooms and you’d think she doesn’t sleep, her sheets are hardly ruffled when I go to change them.’ Her eyes narrowed ‘The King – now his bedclothes are always of a tangle, he must be a very restless sleeper’ Excitement built inside Madeleine – should she prompt her to put two and two together?’

‘Their suites are next to each other, aren’t they?’ she asked

‘Oh yes, Miss Penelope said he asked specific to be close’ she affirmed. Her eyes grew wide. ‘You don’t think…’ her face was a picture of astonishment ‘Oh my, do you think they’re…’ her voice dropped to a whisper ‘sleeping together?’ Inwardly crowing with triumph, instead Madeleine looked shocked.

‘Oh my goodness, just think!’ she said ‘I can see they’re close, but that close?’

‘Look here’ Susan said, drawing closer so Madeleine could smell the bleach she used ‘I can keep my eyes open, let you know what I find’

‘That would be interesting’ Madeleine said thoughtfully ‘After all, if he’s not engaging with anyone else, perhaps I still have a chance to be Queen’ Susan’s eyes grew round. ‘You know, if I was Queen, I’d have Penelope as one of my ladies in waiting’ she went on ‘and I’m sure she’d want a member of her staff to go to the Palace with her…’ Susan nodded enthusiastically

‘I get your drift’ she said ‘You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. Leave it to me, I’ll find out just how close the King is to Lady Olivia’

‘It might be as well to keep an eye on the other ladies’ Madeleine smiled warmly ‘You know, the American and the British woman’

‘Say no more – I’ll be your eyes and ears, Lady Madeleine’ Susan asserted, and this time, Madeleine’s smile was completely genuine.

------

Olivia stared at the line in the window of the pregnancy test. Positive. She couldn’t quite believe what she was looking at. A few weeks ago, before she knew about her betrothal to Anton, she would have been happy for this to happen. Now her head throbbed and her heart pounded and her mind raced. Liam waited politely on the other side of the door. It wasn’t fair to him to have to wait, she thought, but she couldn’t move. He had been nothing but supportive since she suggested the arrangement – bear the heir without insisting on being Queen.

Where did that leave her now? If the marriage to Anton was found to be unbreakable, she was guilty – of what exactly? If Anton was King and she, his Queen, was pregnant with another man’s child – not just another man, but the deposed King… She hung her head and tried to steady her breath. Anton could claim more treason – and what would he do with the baby? He was, by all accounts, a very driven man who stopped at nothing to achieve his aims. Would he allow her to come to term? Discard her, have her ‘disposed of’? Her mind raced. Would he adopt the child and subvert it to accept him as its father? Would he have it taken away? A sob escaped her before she steeled herself and got up unsteadily to open the bathroom door. Liam sat by the window, and looked up at her in query. Her face told him all he needed to know, and he leapt up and came to her.

‘Livvy’ he pulled her into his embrace ‘I’ve got you’ he said, his deep tone vibrating to the centre of her being. She loved him, wanted to make him happy, but she wasn’t sure how to do it any more. ‘We’ll face this together’ he said, and another sob escaped her. His hand made soothing circles over her back. How did he know just how comforting she found that, she wondered.

‘Another human being’ he whispered ‘I’d give my life to protect it’ She steeled herself and looked up at him.

‘I really hope you don’t have to’ she said quietly ���you’re not the only one who wants to fight for him – or her. To my last breath’ She drew away from him and stood tall.

‘I want to go back to Lythikos’ she said. Liam looked alarmed.

‘We have a while before it’s your turn to host the charity tour’ he pointed out ‘We have the polo match in Krona, and the golf tournament in Comery Isles before we’re due to go there’ Olivia’s mind spun. She had to protect her unborn child and her future was uncertain.

‘There’s no reason for us to be together now I’m pregnant’ she said coldly ‘If I’m in Lythikos it will deflect any interest in me for now – and Anton won’t find out. If he’s successful in his bid I’ll find my way out of Cordonia. If he’s not, we can be seen together again.’ Liam’s face twisted.

‘Livvy’ his voice broke ‘I want to be with you…’ She laughed harshly, her heart breaking. All this time, all these years when she had longed for him to say those words. But it was impossible right now.

‘I don’t think we can’ she said bitterly ‘Perhaps when the business with Anton is concluded – one way or another’

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