Title: Anything For You
Rating: NC-17 in later chapters.
Pairing: Quil/Claire.
Summary: AU – Princess Claire has been betrothed to Prince Quil since she was two years old, but has never seen him. The wedding approaches, but Claire, at sixteen, doesn't want to marry a 30 year old man. What happens with the arrival of the wedding, and what secret is her new family hiding?
Warnings: AU. Contains smut. Other than that, not really anything to worry about. This is a pretty fluffy fic.
Disclaimer: Characters and ideas belong to Stephanie Meyer. The setting is all mine, baby.
Chapter One – Preparations
Princess Claire Elise Delafleur had been betrothed to a man she had never seen since she was two years old. Never in her entire life had she ever doubted that this marriage would come to be; her parents hadn't let any contrary thoughts enter her mind. As far as they were concerned, every single thing in her life was a preparation for her marriage to Prince Quil. She hated them for it; hated how her elder sister Virginie hadn't had half the trouble Claire had in regards to her marriage. Their parents had allowed her to wait and be courted, before choosing the suitor she liked best with whom her parents would arrange a marriage. Claire never could understand why this was. She was the younger of the two Princesses, therefore the less desirable of the two, and yet she was forced to marry a man nearly twice her age, while her sister ran around the gardens with her many pursuers.
She had been told it was because of her great beauty. With pale skin, golden hair and big blue eyes, she was the epitome of loveliness. But she had been betrothed at age two, she remembered, and she could hardly have been called a great beauty when she was still only learning to walk! Nevertheless, it was she who had been betrothed to Prince Quil, and now that she had reached sixteen years of age, the wedding was fast approaching.
Everyone was abuzz with excitement as preparations for the wedding were made. Claire could not help but feel reluctant and afraid; she did not want to leave her home for a distant land which she had never seen, to become a part of a family which she had never met. What if they didn't like her? What if they treated her poorly? What if she was not permitted to indulge in her favorite past-time; reading. She knew it was unusual for a lady, especially a princess, to be as educated as she was, but as a child her governess had been extremely lenient with her, and had allowed the girl's curiosity to develop into something more.
As it was, she was sprawled across her bed, a book in her hands, when her mother burst into her room. "Goodness, Claire, we've been waiting for you for half an hour! Did you not remember that the seamstress was coming today for the final fitting of your gown?" her mother, Queen Gabrielle, remarked.
Claire let out a groan of displeasure, burying her face in the coverlet beneath her. "Please, mother, you've been throwing that gown at me every week for the past month. Has that much really changed?" she whined, knowing she would be reprimanded for her attitude, but not really caring.
Queen Gabrielle scowled, at her daughter. "Claire Elise, you had best get yourself together right this very moment. You are being married in less than a week, and everything must be perfect!" the dark haired woman exclaimed, as her daughter carefully removed herself from her bed.
"Yes mother, I understand," Claire responded with a sigh, marking her place in her book before allowing her mother to direct her out of her chambers. The seamstress was waiting for them in her parent's rooms, with Claire's gown, as well as with her mother and sister's dresses.
"Ah! There's the bride to be!" the overly cheerful woman exclaimed as Claire approached. Up until that point the woman had been working on Virginie's gown, the elder of the two sisters standing on a step-stool while the seamstress adjusted the rose colored dress.
Claire resisted the urge to scowl at the woman as she was helped out of her day dress by the servants, and into her wedding dress. Virginie, however, noticed her younger sisters' displeasure. "Oh, Claire, stop making such a fuss. You only get married once, you know. Try to enjoy it."
Claire shot daggers at her elder sister. She had never gotten along very well with the dark haired girl, not only because of the betrothal situation, but because the things Virginie found important, Claire thought were trivial and frivolous. Virginie, on the other hand, couldn't understand how her beautiful younger sister could spend so much time with her nose stuck in a book. The two were as opposed to one another as night was to day, and nothing could ever change that.
"Perhaps I would enjoy it more if I were being married to someone of my own choosing," the younger girl replied, and then turned away from her mother and sister, not wanting to speak with the women any longer.
After that the fitting went uneventfully, with the final adjustments being made to her admittedly beautiful dress. As soon as the measurements had been taken and the changes pinned into place, she was allowed to take off the gown and leave her mother's chambers. She was desperately glad to be able to return to her own bedroom and continue reading the story she had started earlier that morning.
The next day was a busy one for the sixteen year old princess. Guests for the wedding were beginning to arrive; distant family who she hadn't seen in years, people she had never met, along with many with whom she was much more familiar, all began to take up residence in the palace. She was expected to play the perfect young bride-to-be throughout all of the events her mother had organized for the days leading up to the wedding, and she hated every moment of it. The young girl found it all to be terribly formal and dull, as she had always felt about the occasions her mother hosted.
Falling into bed that evening was a miraculous thing to Claire, after having had such a long and exhausting day. Who knew that entertaining boring guests could take so much work and energy? She wished that the next several days would pass quickly, so that all of this fuss would be over with, but she was also afraid of the wedding. More than the wedding itself, she was afraid of the man to whom she would be wed. She had never seen him – or, at least not since she was two years old, but she had no memory of that incident at all. She didn't know what to expect from Prince Quil, and that frightened her.
The following day was as busy and full as the previous one had been, with entertaining guests, and trailing after her mother as they oversaw the final preparations for the wedding. Only two days left until the big day, and Claire was feeling more nervous than ever. She lost her appetite, and constantly felt restless. There was no relief for her. She no longer had time to sit and read a book, and she certainly didn't have anyone she could talk to – not that this was a new development. The girl had always been solitary, never having made any friends with the other members of her social class, and not being allowed to socialize with anyone her parents felt were beneath her. So the girl got the most comfort from her books, and her father.
Her father was possibly her best friend, Claire realized. She was his baby, and the affection they held for one another was ample. She could tell the man anything, she knew, and he would never become angry or cross with her. She had always suspected that the leniency her childhood governess had displayed towards her had been a result of her father's influence, knowing perfectly well that her mother would never have allowed her love of reading to become as important as it had. For that she was thankful, her father had allowed her the one indulgence which actually meant something to her.
The day before the wedding, Claire and her father went on one of their frequent riding excursions. They were both avid equestrians, and found great pleasure in taking their mounts on long, ambling journeys through the fields and forests of their lands. It also allowed the two to spend some much needed time together, and allowed for the Princess to escape the overwhelming anxiety which filled the castle.
"It's strange to think that tomorrow my baby girl will be taken away from me," King Ferdinand remarked as they rode side by side through a field of long, golden grass.
"Not as strange for you as it is for me, papa, I should think," Claire responded wistfully.
"I know, darling. I can see how nervous all this is making you. That's why I convinced your mother to let you come out with me. A bit of father-daughter time before I have to give you away," the gentle, dark haired man explained with a sigh.
"I'm so glad you did, papa, I could hardly bear another moment under mother's hands. She seems to think everyone has her energy and enthusiasm for this wedding, but she's not the one being married off to someone she's never met before," the petite, blonde girl remarked with distaste.
"Well, that's not entirely true, Claire my love" her father continued. "You see, your mother and I had an arranged marriage, just as you and Prince Quil have. And we have had a very loving, happy marriage, just as I'm sure you will."
Claire was moderately surprised that her parents had had an arranged marriage, but at the same time she was not. It surprised her because her parents, despite their many differences, had always been passionately in love with one another. She had, therefore, assumed that their marriage had been a love match. Obviously she had assumed incorrectly. The girl could not think of anything to say in response, and so she simply stared at her horses ears.
"I know you find that hard to comprehend, darling, but an arranged marriage is not the end of the world. Prince Quil comes from a good, loving family, and I believe he will be the perfect husband for you. You have nothing to be afraid of, and if anything ever goes wrong, all you have to do is send for me, and I will come and bring you home," her father insisted.
Claire relaxed at his statement. Maybe he was right. Maybe things wouldn't be as bad as she suspected. The girl certainly hoped that was the case.
"Thank you father, you always know just what to say," the girl replied.
"Well, I like to keep my Claire happy. I hate how stressed you've been the past several days. Not yourself at all," he remarked.
Feeling much more content and relaxed then she had in the past week, the girl and her father continued their ride in peace, talking about all sorts of things. The hours passed quickly, with the two simply enjoying the eternal bond of love which had ever existed between them as father and child.
Finally the day of the wedding was upon the Delafleaur family, and Claire was woken bright and early by her servants who would help her prepare. The girl was meticulously bathed and dried, her hair done up and adorned, and finally her dress was put on. Once they had left the girl found herself to be alone in her room. She settled herself at her desk, but could not find the urge to read. Instead she gazed out of her window at the courtyard below, were a tent was set up for the guests who were up and about. She was sure that all sorts of expensive delicacies were being served to her guests as they awaited the ceremony.
The girl wondered if Prince Quil and his entourage had arrived yet. They must have, she thought, since it was so close to time for the wedding. Unlike herself, her husband-to-be would probably be out and socializing with the wedding guests, not confined to a solitary chamber as the Princess was. Claire had always hated that superstition; the bride could not be seen on the day of the wedding until the ceremony itself.
Claire looked out the window, watching what was going on down below her without really seeing. She must have sat there for hours, lost in the act of not thinking, when a knock came from her closed door. "Claire?" a voice called through the heavy wood. "It's your father. Are you ready?"
Claire swallowed the lump which had formed in her throat. She was as ready as she would ever be, she supposed, and so she moved swiftly from her desk to her door, opening it to find her father lavishly dressed and waiting. He paused to look her over when she opened the chamber door, a look of surprise and something like sadness on his face. The look confused her, but she did not say anything.
"My goodness, Claire, you look beautiful," he said, taking his daughter by the arm.
The young blonde girl blushed, looking at the ground. "Thank you, papa," she responded quietly, as he led her down the corridors towards the chapel where she was to be wed.
"Remember what I told you yesterday, sweetheart. Everything is going to be wonderful for you," the King, her father, insisted, and then they were in front of the chapel doors.
Two attendants stood outside the large, double doors, which they swung open when music began to play inside the chapel. Claire nervously peered into the hall, past the rows and rows of people standing to watch her, to the dais where her husband-to-be was standing. Despite the distance, her eyes automatically found his, and her heart leapt to her throat.