This one has been a long time coming! I've had the idea for this story for a while and I have it all plotted out. I just have to write them out. Updates will be slow, I'm telling you now, but hopefully I'll be able to churn some out when school ends.

The title comes from the song 'Kings and Queens" from 30 Seconds to Mars. The betrothal scene in this chapter was inspired by The Tudors. I hope ya'll enjoy it!

So many thanks to benedicted-cumberbatched, who helped me figure out the plot of this whole story. This might not be here if it wasn't for her help.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything! Not the title, not the characters, nothing!

In a quiet kingdom, tucked away in the West, the royal family's luck was about to run out. The only living child of the king and queen, Princess Madalena Catherine Victoria Hooper was welcomed into the world, at the cost of her mother's life. The death of the queen threw the nation into a state of mourning. The king and queen of this peaceful nation, ruled together as one. They were beloved by their people and did all they could to keep them happy. When the news of the queen's death got out, King Edward did what he could to assure his people that the nation would continue on as is always had. Though, during this time of loss, he had to remember the life that was exchanged for his beloved wife's. His daughter. She looked so much like her mother; it was all the king could do to put her down. He made sure to keep his only child close to him at all times, some thought too close.

As the princess grew, she became the most precious jewel in the kingdom. She was cherished by all. Formally, as all princesses were, she was known as Her Royal Highness Princess Madalena, but to those close to her, she was known simply as Molly. The young girl was clever and had a heart twice the size of her kingdom.

That kingdom was in danger though. They were quickly losing money, and the people were starving. The only thing that could save it was an advantageous marriage, a marriage that had already been set up. A marriage the 5 year old had yet to find out about, a task which her father dreaded more than war.

"Molly, could you come here, my love?" the King asked as he set down in the plush chair in his private chambers.

The young girl looked up from her place in front of the fire and stood up, ran to her father, and clambered up onto his lap. She shrieked as he began tickling her. After a couple of minutes, he allowed her to catch her breath. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him as tight as she could manage.

"You know that I love you more than anything?"

"Yes, Papa," the young girl murmured.

"You must speak up, Molly. The wisest of voices will be drowned out if they are not spoken with the ferocity of the mind behind them. Always remember that. Now, you know that you are the most precious thing in my life. First and foremost, I am your father, but I am also a King. I have to do what is right by my people," he pulled back and situated her where he could look her in the face. "I know that you are young, Molly, but you know that I like to keep you informed on what is going on in our kingdom," Molly nodded. "We are running out of money. The people and our lands are suffering. If we don't do something quick, our kingdom will fall."

"Is there anything we can do, Papa?" Molly asked, her brown eyes full of concern.

The king smiled at his young daughter. "You're so full of love, so like your mother," he took a moment to collect his thoughts. "Yes, there is a way to save our kingdom, a way that you can save our kingdom."

A look of confusion covered Molly's face, "what can I do? I'm only a girl."

He pulled back and took her by the shoulders, "never say that, Madalena. Girls are worth so much more than society thinks. You are a princess, and you will one day be queen. Never diminish your worth, my sweet child," the King said, brushing her hair out of her face. "That being said, we must do as society bids us. So what you can do is marry a prince from another kingdom, a kingdom that can save us from certain death. You won't actually marry until you are eighteen years old. I know that this is scary, but we have no other option. If we did, I would take it."

The young princess pondered this for a few minutes. Her father watched her, but let her process the information at her own speed. When she was finished she looked her father in the eye and shocked him by what she had to say.

"This is the only thing that can keep our people from going hungry?" she asked. The king nodded. "Then I'll do it. I'll do whatever it takes to keep them from being hungry. I hate being hungry, and I don't want anyone to be hungry, Papa."

The king's eyes filled with tears as stood up and gathered his daughter in his arms. He spun her around and chucked. "Molly, you are braver than men ten times your age!"

"Papa, I do have a question."

"What is it, my dear?" he asked as he settled her on his hip.

"Will he love me?"

"He'll be a fool if he doesn't."

The royal family of Holmes had been very lucky indeed. The king and queen had all that they could ever hope for; a rich country, fertile land, and three healthy sons. The lands they ruled were vast and secure. While they had many enemies, they had just as many allies. Should war happen, they would have no cause for worry. They were respected by their people, though not necessarily liked. Their sons would all be fit to rule. The oldest at 10, Lucian was the heir. He was being groomed to rule, as the eldest sons always were. He yearned to serve his kingdom as a soldier though. His lighthearted nature made him seem naïve, but his temper was something to be feared. The middle son, Mycroft, was born to be king. He was clever and had a brain for politics. At the young age of 8, he could talk his way around any member of parliament at any given time. Sherlock, a year and a half, was just starting to get a personality. He seemed to be a mix of his brothers. He was playful but had quite the temper on him, and even though he had few words, his eyes could tell you everything he was thinking. Between the three boys, the Holmes line was secure and thriving. Yet, one could never be too sure. For that reason, the boys were kept with their parents at all time.

Seven years of watching the rambunctious prince grow up was taxing on all. Sherlock could nearly always be found outside or climbing on the furniture pretending to be a pirate. Most of the time Lucian would be following him acting as his first mate while making sure he didn't injure himself at the same time, though there were rare moments when Mycroft would play along. The occupants learned to dodge the flash that was the youngest Holmes son. They also learned to ignore his 'deductions' as he called them. It was a trick he learned from Mycroft, who learned it from their father. He rarely got anything right but he tried.

He did not like to be told what to do though. The minute his tutor would seek him out he would rush to hide in the kitchens. The only ones who could get him to behave was Mrs. Hudson, the Lady Governess, and his mother. Even at his young age, he knew better than to test his mother, on anything. It was because of this, that she was tasked with giving him the news.

Sherlock walked down the corridor toward his mother's rooms, following Mrs. Hudson closely. He couldn't figure out why she wanted to see him, he hadn't broken anything lately and he hadn't broken any of her rules, not any big ones at least. He tried to ask Mrs. Hudson, but her lips were sealed.

"You can at least tell me if I'm in trouble or not," the prince pouted.

"I can assure you that you aren't in trouble, your Royal Highness. Why, have you done something you should be in trouble for?" Mrs. Hudson glanced as the boy and smirked as he stood up a little straighter.

"No."

"I thought not."

"Then what does Mother want with me?"

"She has a...surprise of sorts for you."

They walked in silence. Every so often Mrs. Hudson would nod greetings at the other castle occupants, while Sherlock tried to think of what his surprise could be. Maybe his parents had relented and finally gotten him a dog.

When they reached the carved doors, Sherlock stopped short. What if he was wrong? What if it wasn't a dog? What if they were sending him away? They had two older sons, they really didn't need a third. Perhaps he could talk her out of it.

"Are you ready, your Grace?"

"I suppose so," Sherlock said, a look of determination on his face.

Mrs. Hudson knocked on the door and they were lead in. The Queen sat in the window seat, reading a book. Her greying hair was pulled away from her neck and face in an intricate braid. A small crown was atop her head. She looked up and smiled when the pair of them were announced.

"Thank you Lady Hudson, for bringing my son to me. You may leave us," Lady Hudson bowed deeply to the queen and Sherlock. As she turned to leave, she gave a quick wink to Sherlock.

"Come here, my son. Sit with me," She patted the spot beside her.

Sherlock kept his head down as he walked towards his mother. He was thinking of everything she could possibly have to tell him. He sat ramrod straight as his mind went from one thought to another.

"Relax, Sherlock, I may be the queen but I am also your mother. No bowing and scraping when it is just the two of us," she out her arm around him and gave him a gentle hug. "That being said, I have something important to tell you. There is a great opportunity for us to make a new ally. We need your help to make it happen though. Do you think you would be able to help us?"

Sherlock glanced around the room, not wanting to meet his mother's gaze. He had an idea of what she was inferring to, but he really hoped he was wrong. When she cleared her throat, he quickly looked up at her. "I suppose I could. What do I need to do?"

The queen sighed, not quite ready to break the news but she knew they had run out of time to tell the boy. She gently ran her fingers through his dark curls and looked him in the eye. "Sherlock, do you know how allies are made?"

"Mostly through treaties and marriages, right?"

"Yes, that's right. The kingdom of Egretia would like to form an alliance with us. The terms of the alliance, are money and marriage. The marriage of the King's only daughter to one of the sons of Rindoan. The selected son is you. You are close in age to the Princess Madalena and we feel that the match would be a good one. As you should know, at this point the two of you are simply betrothed. You won't be married until she reaches the age of 18, a point her father was unwilling to change. I know that you don't like the idea of this, but there was no other way to form the treaty."

"Who wanted the marriage, Mother? You or them?"

"Your father and I did. Both of your brothers are engaged and it is time to start planning for your future."

Sherlock once again looked down, though not in nervousness, this time it was in anger. His little body began to shake. "Am I being punished?"

"Not at all. I would look at this as an opportunity. Don't interrupt," she said as the boy started to argue. "An opportunity to learn how to interact with somebody who is not from this land, someone your age, not a Member of Parliament or court. You and the Princess may very well become friends, if you let her. You can get mad, but this is going to happen. They will be here next week and you will be on your best behavior or you will have me to deal with. Have I made myself clear?"

Sherlock mumbled his reply. "Sherlock, speak up and look at me at me when you speak to me."

He steeled himself and looked up at his mother. Her face strict, but her eyes showing understanding, the same blue-green eyes that he had. "Yes, Mother, I understand."

She grabbed his hand and held it in hers. "I know that you aren't happy with this but as royalty we must sometimes do things we don't want to. Like right now. You must be off. I have to meet with your father to discuss plans for the betrothal ceremony."

They both stood. The Queen guided Sherlock out of the room. Once they reached the door, he bolted away from his mother and out of sight. The Queen sighed as she turned the other direction. Maybe one day the boy would understand.

The day of the betrothal ceremony arrived and the kingdom of Rindoan was bustling with activity. From the kitchens to the stables, everybody had a part to play but the two guests of honor were still fast asleep. The young princess had arrived two days prior and was still worn out from her journey. Her father and the King and Queen of Rindoan had met and agreed that the children should be kept apart until the ceremony.

When the time for the ceremony arrived, the children were prepared and waited in the background until the time came for them to walk across the table to stand in front of the pair of kings. Molly in a light blue gown lined with gold, a crown of sapphires atop her head. Everybody fought to catch a glimpse of the young princess. With all of those eyes on her, Molly found it difficult to look up. She kept flattening out the front of her dress, as she had seen many of the lady's at court do. Her Governess, Lady Turner, kept pinching her in an effort to get her to be still and look up. On the opposite end of the table, Sherlock was trying to find a way out. He had four possible escape routes, if only Lady Hudson would take her hand off of his shoulder. Dressed in robes of white and gold and a crown placed on his curls, he picked at the fur that came across his shoulders from the cape he was forced to wear. He looked around to see if he could find a fifth route and instead found his brother, Mycroft sneering at him. Sherlock poked his tongue out at him in respond and nearly bit it when Lucian came up behind him and put his oldest little brother in a headlock, winking at his youngest and he pulled Mycroft away. Lady Hudson watched the pair of them, shaking her head as she patted Sherlock's back.

The sound of trumpets signaled the beginning of the ceremony. Both children snapped their heads towards the table. Sherlock steeled himself and walked toward the steps that would lead him towards his doom. On the other side, Lady Tuner led Molly by the shoulders towards the matching steps on her side. She looked back at the old woman for some sort of encouragement, but she received nothing but a slight push, which caused her to stumble a bit. She looked around at the audience that surrounded her as they started mumbling. She took a deep breath, picked up her dress and mounted the steps with her head held high. She was a princess after all!

The pair of them stopped once they reached the top. Molly looked around for her father and smiled when she found him. He gave her a small smile in return. Sherlock, on the other hand, was eyeing Molly up and down, trying to find something wrong with her. He decided that he wouldn't be able to tell anything for sure until he got closer to her.

"Presenting His Royal Highness, Prince Sherlock, of Rindoan," the page called out. It was obvious that the boy didn't actually know what he was supposed to do so his father tapped the table in front of him prompting Sherlock to walk toward the center of the table, stopping in front of him. He looked down at his father when he reached his mark and was rewarded with a slight nod.

"Presenting Her Royal Highness, Princess Madalena, of Egretia." Molly, having seen what the Prince did, walked towards the middle of the table and stopped in front of her own father. She looked at the Prince and she could swear he glared at her. He his face was neutral before she could think twice.

A cough from one of the kings caused the pair of them to bow. Molly slipped slightly and almost fell into the prince, but she caught herself before any harm was done. When they stood straight again, the room was filled with silence. Having had enough of it Molly finally said "You are the Prince of Rindoan?" She enunciated each word with care, not wanting to embarrass herself.

"Obviously," Sherlock replied with a slight sneer which could be seen by all who cared to look.

"I'm Madalena. It is am honor to meet you, Your Highness," she said, ignoring his rudeness. The crowd murmured around them.

"I know who you are and I am not pleased to meet you!" Sherlock said, reaching out and pushing her down.

"Sherlock!" King Stephan bellowed. Sherlock turned and jumped off of the front of the table and rushed out of the room, Lucian and Mycroft right on this tail. The Queen stood and walked calmly out of the room, following her children. The shocked crown made way for the exiting parties, talking amongst themselves.

King Edward stood up and reached for his daughter, ignoring King Stephan's apologies. She went willingly into her father's arms, trying to hold back her tears, though a few still escaped.

"He's so cruel, Father. Must I marry him?" She cried.

"I'm so sorry, Darling," he murmured, gently rocking her back and forth. "Give him time, he may change." He pulled back to look at her, pushing her hair out of her face. "Perhaps you are the change he needs. Do you think you can help him?"

"I'll try if that's what you wish," she sniffed.

"There's my girl," he said hugging her tight.

The battle to change Sherlock Holmes was one that Molly didn't know if she was prepared for.