Water Lily

By: LadyMouse25

((This is a sequel to my story The Rose Bush. I've done my best to write it in a way that you wouldn't have to read the other story first, but also not bore those who had. If you still find yourself confused though, I'm sorry and try reading The Rose Bush first or go ahead and ask me any questions you like. That should clear it up :) ))

Bran knew the moment the spell had been broken. An icy chill washed over him that had nothing to do with the weather. It was only a matter of time now before the witch sought him out and made him pay his dues.

He had been the foolish one to send his friend, Ian Andrews, to accept the curse for him after stealing the coins. But he was a prince! It was his responsibility to watch over the kingdom and how could he do that when the witch would do...whatever she would do! The kingdom had suffered enough mishandle by incompetent rulers, namely his father, he was trying not to encourage them to revolt. A curse on the royal family would most certainly start a revolution!

He needed to find a wife and quickly before the witch found him. Fleeing to the safety of his study Bran poured himself over all the notes his mother had took about the ladies of the kingdom. Surely there was one he could fall in love with. Someone who would make Clara leaves his thoughts.


Months had gone by and despite all his attempts at falling in love with the near army of ladies he had met, Bran was no closer to getting engaged than he had been the day the spell had been broken. Even his attempts at winning Clara back in the beginning had gone no where. And now word was that Ian was back. The single woman he had fallen in love with and the one who still was in his dreams every night was choosing someone else. Fate certainly had a twisted sense of humor.

Suddenly the gardens he had been pacing in, trying to find the peace the stillness out there had always given, felt cramped and tight. He felt as if the flowers were pressing in on him and he found himself anxiously glancing around at the bushes and up into the trees expecting the witch to jump out at any moment.

His long, leanly muscled legs made long strides back to the castle door. Stone walls wouldn't keep her out either, but at least he felt more protected inside than out.

"Your highness! Your father is in the map room with the King of the Marshlands, he insists on your presence immediately." No sooner had Bran stepped inside than Duncan had miraculously just found him. Duncan was a friend first and foremost to Bran and a servant second. He couldn't remember when the young man had started working for his family, but he did remember the keen way Duncan had read his thoughts and managed to keep everyone at bay and allow Bran time to his thoughts ever since Ian had knocked on the witch's door.

Bran shook his head. "No."

After such a definitive word that went against the King's wishes most servants would fret about and stutter around and try to convince him to do otherwise. Not Duncan. The brown eyed man with tousled dark hair that went against every other servant's perfectly combed one simply stared at him with a raised eyebrow. "Ah. Well, I can't blame you. There is a certain stench surrounding the Scum King. It smells like...well...scum."

A smirk twisted Bran's lips. "One of these days, Dun, you're going to lose your head saying things like that."

Duncan shrugged not looking at all worried about the possibility. He had a pretty face though and there was bound to be a number of women would faint at the very same possibility just for the simple fact they wouldn't be able to look at it any more.

Bran sighed as his inner conscience kicked in. No one could ever doubt Bran's sense of duty towards the kingdom and how he did the very best for it, but Duncan always seemed to witness when his friend was weary enough to start fighting with it. "What is he here for anyway?"

"His daughter."

Bran could only remember a small ten year old girl with mousy brown hair and freckles all over her face. "For Marigold?"

Dun shook his head. "The elder one. Lilyann."

The small girl had always seemed to tag along with her father traveling, but Bran couldn't remember the older girl at all. He supposed he had heard of her, had probably seen her, but-

"Lilyann is struck with a certain affliction." Duncan had trouble keeping a straight face and eventually a bemused smirk lit it up. "She can't step outside her home. She is afraid of the vastness of the sky. Clouds may fall and crush her. The sun may drop like a rock on her head."

Brandon stared at his friend for a few long moments trying to judge the truth in his words before he laughed. "You can't be serious. She never goes outside?" When Duncan shook his head, Bran laughed louder. The girl was mad! And her father was here, no doubt trying to arrange a marriage.

"She'd be perfect for you Bran. When you fight and you go to the gardens for peace, she won't be able to follow you! The only time you'll have to deal with her is inside."

"Yes and your job will be easier for it." Bran shook his head. "I need to find a wife but I don't need one who is a few feathers short of being a chicken."

"Will you ever tell me why you are in such a desperate state to find a wife all of a sudden?" Duncan leaned back on his heels and cross his arms over his chest. "I will admit Clara seemed to be a good choice, but really, Bran. Why do you want some woman over your shoulder, demanding the world? They are nothing but a nuisance."

Bran didn't point out that the only reason Duncan found them to be a nuisance was because he put every girl he winked at against each other, each vying for his attention. Duncan led them on for a time until he got bored and started to ignore them. He played with them and made fools of them. And one day Bran didn't doubt it would come back to bite him. "It's time I found a wife. The kingdom needs a celebration, what better way than a marriage?"

It was a good enough excuse. A marriage would bring the kingdom together, but that wasn't the main reason. He needed to fall in love before the witch had a chance to cast her spell and now he knew time was running out. Love had broken Ian's curse. Love would surely prevent his own.

Duncan didn't seem all that convinced by Bran's excuse but he didn't push it any more. "So what would you like me to tell them? You'd rather a butterfly princess than the frog princess?"

Bran sent his friend a look and shook his head. "I'll go." He sighed and started walking past his friend. "We may need scum one day."


"Bran, the offer Lester is giving is considerable. Think of the kingdom." His father had pulled him aside and out of ear shot of the Scum King. "We'd have more than enough to jump start the towns prosperity. And when Lester passes our Kingdoms will become one!"

"Perfect, father. I'll have miles and miles of ponds, swamp, and toads at my disposal."

"Bran! Lester is urgent in finding her a wife, much like you seem to be these days. He is willing to give you more than what any other kingdom will and his daughter is apparently quite beautiful-"

Bran stared at his father knowing well he had married his mother on much the same principles. "Did you know she doesn't leave the castle? She's afraid of the sky falling on her!"

The older man considered that a moment. "There are worse things."

"Father!"

"Bran. Arranged marriages are common in our position. Your mother and I tried letting you make that choice but we all know how that ended-"

"Yes, thank you for rubbing that in-" Clara had accepted his offer of marriage and shortly thereafter ran off to Ian. Although Bran didn't keep many ill feelings toward her. He had, after all, initially invited her to the palace to get her away from Ian and breaking the curse on Ian. Which Ian had received when Bran hadn't accepted the consequence for stealing the witch's coins...

"Bran! If you truly want what is best for the kingdom you will accept this offer!" His father turned away then and left, ending the conversation in exactly the position that he knew would grate on his son's conscience.

Bran's whole life revolved around on what was best for the kingdom. It consumed his entire being and every waking moment. It was his duty to turn around the shambles his father's own actions had created early in his rule. His father had no idea about the situation Bran found himself in, running from a curse, but even if he did it wouldn't change much. Everything was for the kingdom and that would include staging a death to avoid any more infamy.

Love had broken Ian's curse. Love is what Bran assumed would keep him from his own. But could he love someone who couldn't bear to take a step outside? Someone so unstable didn't sound all that loveable to him. But there was the money to consider.

Sighing he followed the path his father took to the King of Scum. When he looked up into the mossy green eyes of a man who looked more at war with himself than even his own father at his worst seemed Bran mustered a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I am humbled you would offer the hand of your daughter and most graciously accept. I can not wait to meet such a intriguing lady." Intriguing was certainly one way to put it.