Author's Note: This story takes place in a fictional country with made-up aristocratic titles and royalty. I was inspired by several movies, as well as the real life romance of Prince William and his new wife, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. If you'll take notice, the names of the fictional countries can actually be translated into "Rogue" and "Wolverine" in their perspective languages (Italian and French).
Disclaimer: I don't own!
"Mariiiiiiiie!"
Marie jerked awake, then covered her head with the plush down feather comforter she'd been peacefully slumbering under. She heard her door open, and was suddenly confronted with the crisp air of her room when her roommate snatched her blanket off.
Her roommate plopped down on the bed, despite the fact that Marie covered up again.
"Marie! Wake up! Come on..."
She groaned and sat up in bed, "I'm awake. What is sooooo deathly important that you have to wake me out of one of THE best nights sleep I've ever gotten?"
Her roommate, Katherine Pryde, pouted, "He didn't call."
Marie gave her an "are you fucking serious" look and ran a hand through her disheveled hair, "Kitty...he's a guy. When he tells you he'll call you sometime, he has a three day wait period. Peter is a good guy and he's had a crush on you forever. He will call you, I can promise you that."
Kitty sighed and laid across the end of her bed, "I hope you're right. I've been dating all these assholes and Peter is the only decent guy who's ever shown interest in me."
She rolled out of bed and padded to her bathroom as Kitty walked to her closet and began picking through it. When Marie finished brushing her teeth and washing her face, she found Kitty in front of her full length mirror, holding up a purple sweater in front of her.
Marie rolled her eyes and smiled knowingly, "Take it."
Kitty smiled, "You're the best!"
She showered and got dressed before grabbing a banana and heading out.
Marie arrived for work at Xavier's Childrens Home a little early so that she could get her paper work out of the way. She preferred hanging out with the kids over filling out and filing paperwork.
"Morning Jubes, how's it going?"
Her friend and co-worker, Jubilation Lee, smiled from behind the desk as she smacked her gum, "Hey chica! How's it goin'?"
Marie nodded and opened the door to her office, "Kitty's freakin' out about Peter not calling her."
"I know. She called right before you walked in."
She laughed and shook her head as she walked into her office and dropped her bag and coat on her chair, "Of course she did." Marie picked up a stack of messages and began flipping through them, "How's our day looking?"
"Well, we have the fire inspection, practice for the Christmas pageant and the older kids are going on a field trip with Jess."
Marie nodded and looked at her schedule, "Perfect. I'm gonna get a few things done before the fire chief gets here. Could you hold all my calls?"
"Sure thing, chica!"
Marie closed the door to her office and sat down before pulling out her cell phone. She sighed when she saw that she had missed a call from a private number. The only person who would ever call her from a private number was her grandmother.
Anna Marie D'Ancanto was many things.
The Director of Xavier's Childrens Home.
A college graduate.
A grad student.
A friend.
A Duchess.
Her grandmother, Moira Marie Katherine, was the Queen of Furfante, a small, but heavily toured country located off the coast of the UK. Her mother, being the younger sister of the heir to the throne, was a princess, as was Marie, but in order to avoid confusion amongst their subjects, Marie was publicly regarded as Her Royal Highness, Duchess of Furfante Anna Marie Elizabeth.
Ten years ago, her aunt, uncle and parents were on a flight back from a tour of South America aboard the royal family's private jet. The plane crashed somewhere over the Atlantic, leaving both her and her cousin, Emma, orphans.
While Marie shunned the royal spotlight and did her best to live a normal life by going to America to attend college, graduate school and work, her cousin, and heir apparent to the throne of Furfante now that Marie's uncle was dead, played the part of a perfect princess. The beautiful, photogenic blonde made public appearances, attended fancy galas and traveled the world representing their country.
Her grandmother never did approve of Marie's decision to go to Westchester, New York and live the life of a "commoner".
"Why would anyone born to be extraordinary choose to be ordinary?" she'd say.
Well, if graduating Magna Cum Laude from Harvard and getting into Yale was "ordinary", she'd take ordinary any day.
Marie sighed as she dialed her grandmother's personal line. The phone barely rang once before her grandmother's quivering voice answered, "Anna Marie...oh dear...I'm so glad you called me back so soon..."
"Grandma? What's wrong? You sound terrible."
She heard the old woman sniffle and pause for a moment before she spoke again, "It's Emma...there's been an accident."
Panic welled within her as she spoke quickly, "What do you mean? What's happened?"
"She...she was out riding and, I guess the horse got spooked...he threw her off and-"
Marie covered her eyes as she sunk into her desk chair. She felt like she knew what was coming next. Her grandmother sounded the exact same way when she delivered the news that her parents had died...
She let out a shivering breath, "Oh no...oh god...Is she alright?"
"No, my dear...Emma is gone..."
Once again, Marie's world shattered around her.
One week later, Marie was sitting in the study of her grandmother's living quarters within the royal palace. They'd just returned from Emma's funeral and they were both emotionally exhausted. Thousands had turned out to pay homage to the beautiful young princess.
Her grandmother stood stoically at the window with her arms crossed, "When are you going back?"
Marie pursed her lips and sighed, "You know I will stay here for as long as you need me."
The old woman sighed as she walked to a chair and sat down daintily, "I guess I figured that you would be eager to return to the children's home...I know how much you hate it here."
"Grandma...I don't hate it here. You know I love this country with my whole heart. This is my home...my birth place. I just...I just don't quite fit into the royal lifestyle."
Her grandmother smiled soundly, "You do...you just choose not to. Especially now with that dreadful American accent you insist on using."
Marie cracked a small smile and ran a hand through her hair as she corrected her "accent" so that she would sound more like the little girl her grandmother helped raise, "It has been a rough day for both of us. Why don't we just get some rest?"
"Are you going to stay?"
Marie nodded, "I'll stay for a few weeks."
True to her word, she stayed and helped fill the void Emma's death had left. She attended the groundbreaking ceremony of a new hospital in one of the smaller townships and toured a research facility in the capital.
She continued to check in on Kitty and how things were going with Jubilee and the children's home. To her relief, things weren't crashing and burning in her absence, so she decided to appease her grandmother and stay for a state dinner she would be having at the end of the month. Dignitaries and royalty from several other countries were scheduled to be there.
A week before the dinner, Marie was in her room, changing after yet another public appearance when her grandmother knocked on her door.
"Come in."
Her grandmother entered, "How did the ribbon cutting ceremony go?"
"Great. Lots of photographers...some smiles...plenty of protestors."
The queen sighed, "That doesn't surprise me." She sat down on the chaise lounge at the end of her bed and elegantly clasped her hands in her lap, "I need to speak with you about something important."
Marie turned around and sat down on the stool in front of her vanity, "Alright..."
"I understand that you feel as though you don't fit in here...and I understand that you love the life you've created in Westchester...but right now, I need you...Furfante needs you..."
Marie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "Grandma...what are you talking about?"
The old lady looked down at her hands before bringing one up to fiddle with the strand of pearls that hung around her neck. After a moment of silence and a few, shaky breaths, she looked back up at her granddaughter with sad eyes, "Before Emma died...she had just become engaged."
Marie gasped. Despite the fact that she and Emma were polar opposites in virtually every way, they were close. After their parents had died, they (along with their grandmother) were the only family they had left. To know that Emma had gotten engaged without Marie's knowledge was unbelievable.
Noting the shocked look on her granddaughter's face, the old woman stood and slowly paced, "It's not what you think...it was to be an arranged marriage."
"What? Why?"
"Anna Marie...our country is a dying breed. There are very few active monarchies left in this world...and what's left, are disappearing. Furfante's economy is suffering...and the people blame us. We have no exports...no natural resources...Furfante is broke and there is no way we can dig ourselves out of the hole we're in. We need help." The queen paused and walked over to the window to stare out over the grounds of the palace. Marie stood and walked closer to her grandmother as she continued, "My advisors and I contacted the only other active monarchy in Europe...Carcajou. The popularity of their royal family had dwindled, and there were active measures being taken within their country to actually dissolve the monarchy...so, they were also in need of a bit of help in the image department. What could be better publicity than a large wedding and a beautiful, young princess?"
"Emma was supposed to marry the prince of Carcajou to gain popularity?"
Her grandmother turned around and sighed, "In exchange for Emma's hand in marriage, Carcajou's government had agreed to grant us stateship...and a large infusion of cash and oil reserves."
Marie ran a hand through her hair, "So...now that Emma's gone, what now? Is the deal off? What happens to Furfante?"
Marie's typically elegant, stoic and unflappable grandmother looked at her with pleading eyes and took a few steps forward, "I'm afraid that the fate of our country and our monarchy...is in your hands."
She looked confused at first, but soon, the realization of what her grandmother was suggesting dawned on her. Marie shook her head and took an involuntary step backwards, "Oh no...no no no...I'm...I can't. I'm just-"
Marie continued to back away until her grandmother took her by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes, "You are a duchess, Anna Marie! Regardless of the fact that you feel you don't fit in, it IS who you are! It is your birth right and now, more than ever, your country and your family needs you...I need you!"
Tears streamed down her face as she shook her head and looked down, "This is too much grandma...you're asking too much of me!"
Marie shook her grandmother's hands off of her shoulders and began walking out of the room, but as she opened her door, her grandmother called after her, "Fine! If the thought of your home country falling into ruin doesn't inspire you to help...perhaps the knowledge that your family's legacy could be lost will. Do you know what happens to monarchies that are dissolved?" She paused for an answer, but of course, Marie had none, so she continued, "Precisely. Not many do. A name and some dates get mentioned in a history book somewhere...but legacies are lost...legends are forgotten. I don't know about you, but I do not want the memory of my husband, children or grandchildren to be soiled by being known as the last generation of our monarchy to ever exist. Up until now, very little has been asked of you by your family. You've been allowed to live the way you wanted...but now, I need you to become who you were born to be."
Marie glanced at a picture of her parents sitting on her nightstand before wiping the tears from her cheeks and looking up at her grandmother, "I need time to think about this..."
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