I'm not sure if any of you have ever watched The Crown, but it's really quite amazing, and inspired me to write this, so if you're a fan of the show then you might catch quite a few references to it - especially in the early chapters.
"You're sure that you wouldn't have preferred one of those?"
Elizabeth cocked an eyebrow and pointed her chin as her soon-to-be-husband removed a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.
"One of those what?" she asked him, feigning ignorance as best she could.
The corner of Daryl's mouth turned up ever so slight at her response - not enough to even be considered a smirk, in all honesty, but she noticed it all the same - but after several beats of silence whilst he inhaled deeply on the cigarette, Elizabeth slumped her shoulders and let out the faintest of sighs.
"No," she said to him with a shake of her head. "I have made my choice, and I'm quite sure about it."
Exhaling smoke into the air, Daryl took the slightest of steps closer towards his fiancee, his piercing eyes roaming over her. "Well," he said, "it's done then. I've signed my life away."
Despite the serious expression that he wore on his face, Elizabeth had grown to know him over the last few months, and she could immediately hear the sarcasm in his tone of voice. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his statements - after all, she could appreciate the fact that his pride must have taken a blow since he had just renounced all of his foreign titles in order for her father, The King, to give him his new, royal title - The Duke of Edinburgh.
"Or", she responded, standing up as tall and as straight as she could. "You've won yourself the greatest prize on Earth."
Daryl snorted. "That's what they think", he said, inhaling once again on his cigarette.
At his words, Elizabeth's eyes immediately flew to meet with his, and she felt as though her breath had been taken from her lungs. It would seem that this man who stood before her was incessantly complex. Yes, his pride may have taken quite the knock; but regardless, he was happy about this marriage - they both were - and he had seemed so sure that this was something that he had wanted. Unfortunately, Elizabeth hadn't quite mastered the art of not giving anything away in her facial expression the same way that Daryl had, and she had no doubt that he would most likely be able to seethe panic and uncertainty in her eyes now.
As he exhaled, the corners of his mouth once again twitched upwards, but this time they formed the smallest of smiles. "It's what I think, too."
The next morning, Elizabeth awoke a little before six o'clock; and given that it was November, there was not yet any natural lighting from the sun in her bedroom. Whilst Elizabeth knew that it was far too early for her to stir due to the fact that nobody had not entered to wake her, she also knew that it would not at all be possible for her to go back to sleep now due to the combination of nervousness and excitement that she felt.
After all, today was a very important day - her wedding day.
The Princess had learned a long time ago that news travels fast within the palace, and once the staff had got wind of the fact that Elizabeth was awake, they quickly got to work in their efforts to assist her in getting ready for the day. Nobody could persuade Elizabeth to eat anything - she felt nervous enough as it was, and she was confident that if she did eat, then she would surely be sick - however, she did take the time to indulge in a forty-five minute bath in an attempt to help her to relax, and calm her nerves. Her hair had been pinned the night before, and once she was dry, her lady in waiting, Amy, began to remove the pins. Lock by lock, her blonde tresses began to fall down the length of her back; and once her make-up had been applied, Elizabeth's wedding dress was carried into her room.
The dress itself was awfully beautiful, and the sight of it made her heart want to burst out of her chest. On account of the war, Elizabeth had been given no choice but to use her rations coupons in order to purchase the dress; however, the government had allowed her some extra coupons so that she might afford something more luxurious. The long-sleeved, high-neckline gown had been tailor-made for Elizabeth by her royal dressmaker, and the satin body of it meant that it was soft against her fair skin. The dress was decorated with thousands of crystals and pearls that had been imported from her soon-to-be husband's native country, the United States of America, and the ivory silk train of it was decorated with flower patterns of jasmine, lilac and white-roses.
Once her dress had been fitted to her body, Amy carefully placed Elizabeth's glittering tiara onto the top of her head, along with the transparent veil that had been designed alongside her dress. Amy's eyes roamed over Elizabeth before she gave her a soft smile that Elizabeth returned. Just seconds later, there was a firm and steady knock on the door, which signalled to Elizabeth that it was time to leave, and the smile fell from her face.
Due to the large size of Elizabeth's bedroom, it took Amy almost ten seconds to walk towards the door and open it. Meanwhile, Elizabeth found herself rooted to the spot, completely still - as if someone had frozen her in place. There was doubt about it that the nervousness that Elizabeth was feeling had caused her to have almost no control over her body, however, the sound of familiar footsteps striding across the floor caused the Princess to break from the momentary spell that she had been under.
At the sight of her father entering the room, Elizabeth inhaled a deep breath, and stood up as tall as she could; her chin held high, her expression one of neutrality.
Hershel Greene was an incredible man. Not just her father, but The King, and Elizabeth loved him with all of her heart. Although he was growing older now (the hair on his head and his chin was as brilliant a white as her wedding gown was), her father's eyes - which were almost an identical shade of blue to her own - still twinkled as though he were a young boy, and he smiled so proudly at her that Elizabeth felt as though she might cry.
"Elizabeth," her father said, his voice soft and gentle and close to trembling. "You look beautiful."
Unable to contain her emotions at her father's compliment, Elizabeth felt her lip wobble, and a single tear fell down her freshly powdered cheek. The Princess licked her dry, shaking lips before dabbing at the tear whilst her father crossed the room to stand before her. When her cheek was once again dry, Elizabeth looked up at her father and smiled somewhat sheepishly.
The King leaned in ever so slightly and placed a gentle kiss to his eldest daughter's forehead, and Elizabeth felt like a young girl once again. Although her heart was pounding firmly in her chest, she felt incredibly at ease around her father, and was relieved to be in his company.
"You'll be fine," he murmured to her, his voice low and soft and incredibly calming. "Now," he said, outstretching his hand to her. "Shall we?"
In accordance with royal protocol, once the wedding at Westminster Abbey was finished, the newly wedded couple and their family returned to Buckingham Palace to have their photographs taken. Although Elizabeth had been incredibly nervous before the ceremony, having her father to walk her down the aisle greatly calmed her nerves, and also having her younger sister Margaret present as one of her bridesmaids had been incredibly reassuring, too. The look on her now-husband's face when he first saw her in her dress was one that she will never forget - an expression of awe and of pride and of surprise and of happiness, all rolled into one - and the joy that she felt to be able to kiss him gently on the lips in front of an audience was indescribable.
"Magnificent," the photographer called out as the camera flashed, and Elizabeth smiled once more before she stepped away from the backdrop so that her husband could have his photograph taken alone.
The Princess spotted her mother - who was perched alone, on a seat by a rounded table, no doubt waiting for the photographer to call out for her - and she drifted towards her with a soft smile upon her face.
"Mother," Elizabeth said as she approached the older woman. "May I sit?"
Nodding, Annette looked slightly surprised at the question. "Of course, darling," she said to her, gesturing towards the seat beside her that was decorated with a red velvet cushion. "You don't need to ask." As Elizabeth perched herself onto the seat, she strived to keep her posture perfect, and a moment of silence passed by before her mother spoke again. "So," she said, her eyes never moving from where she was watching Daryl have his photograph taken. "You must feel as though you have had quite the victory."
The smile that had been on Elizabeth's face faltered slightly, although she tried not to lose composure too much. "In what way?" she asked, not sure that she quite understood what point her mother was attempting to make.
Still, Annette did not look at her daughter. Instead, she continued to stare over at Daryl as the camera flashed once more. "Well, not a single person who attended the ceremony today supported this marriage," The Queen said. "You had no allies in government, either. And yet, here we all are."
Unsure of how to appropriately respond, Elizabeth simply blinked at her mother, stunned into silence for a good few seconds. The sound of the photographer asking for Daryl's family to join him now for photographs brought her back to reality, and the Princess smiled faintly before she cleared her throat.
"Yes," Elizabeth said, nodding her head sharply. "Here we all are."
Once the photographer was finally finished taking all of their pictures, there was one more thing that had to be done in line with royal protocol: Elizabeth, her new husband and their immediate family had to emerge onto the balcony at the palace in order to greet the crowds of people who had been waiting for hours to catch a glimpse of them.
The sound of chanting and cheering rumbled through Elizabeth's ears as she approached the doors to the balcony, and she looked to her husband for reassurance before they stepped out together. The Princess knew that Daryl was being mindful of the fact that both her mother and her father - The King and The Queen - were stood only a few feet behind them, and so she relished in the fact that he lent down to kiss her on the cheek before two members of staff pushed open to doors. The sound of the huge crowd grew impossibly louder once the doors were open, and Beth's light blue eyes widened slightly as a result.
"You look beautiful," her husband said in a voice loud enough so that only she could hear his words, but she smiled brightly nonetheless.
In return, he smiled, too, and the two walked out onto the balcony in a synchronised fashion, followed by The Queen, The King, Elizabeth's bridesmaid's - including her sister, Margaret - her brother-in-law, Merle, and her grandmother. The sea of people below them cheered and applauded at the sight of the newly weds, and as she waved out at the crowd, Elizabeth's nerves seemed to fade away.
At the age of twenty one, the Princess was now married, and she had never been happier.
So - what did you think? I changed things slightly so that they would make more sense in the story (e.g. Maggie is the younger sister for technical reasons) but I hope that didn't take too much away from it for you?
Thank you very much for reading and I hope that you enjoyed this first chapter. x