Of Parties and Agendas
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this.
"Put on the damn tie!"
"Like hell!"
Clarke clenched her jaw and grasped the blue material in-between her fingers. Bellamy stared back at her, his arms folded and his shoulders back. Clarke took in a deep breath and started again.
"If you do not put on this tie, I will strangle you with it and hide your body in the palace fountain."
Bellamy's only response was an eye roll.
Clarke was really trying her best, she really was. Bellamy was just so difficult when it came to royal parties. You think he would have gotten used to them after twenty three years but no, he still dug his heels in and complained. Clarke was the only one who could get him to take part-that or else Octavia and his mother had to tear up.
Clarke threw the tie down on the couch and sat down heavily next to it. It was early evening and she was already exhausted. But she would have to spend the next few hours rushed off her feet, as always. It was the only way to get this ball to run smoothly.
Bellamy sat down across from her, on the edge of his large bed. His bedroom was a huge space that was covered in books, maps and battle strategies. Tables were piled high with papers and tablets that could run simulations in moments. Ever since the Wars ended over a hundred years ago, people had gone back to the monarchy and fighting over territory. The Blake Royal Family had come out on top and their kingdom of Ark was the largest and most powerful. But that didn't mean that Prince Bellamy wasn't a gigantic pain in the ass.
"I am a soldier Clarke," he said suddenly. He picked at the collar of his tailored suit between his fingers. "I don't dress up like a monkey and get paraded around for power hungry women!"
"For the last time, that is not what is going to happen," Clarke whined, "It's a ball-you go dance and chat with pretty girls-you meet a wonderful women, fall madly in love and live happily ever after!"
"Bullshit!"
"Oh my God!" she said as she slumped back against the couch again.
Life was not easy as the Prince's Royal Adviser. She was in charge of his day to day life and Bellamy didn't like anyone telling him what to do. He only listened to her because she had been bossing him around since they were six years old. With a sigh, Bellamy got up and sat down beside her on the couch. He said nothing at first, knowing that she needed a moment to calm down.
Finally, he asked, "Why is this ball so important to you? Why are so worried about me finding a wife?"
Clarke stared up at his ceiling, which was decorated like the night sky. When they were younger, the two of them used to lie on the floor and pick out the constellations. She looked over at him instead, taking in his handsome look. Despite his complaints, he really did look very good in a suit.
"You need to find a wife Bellamy," she said softly, "One day soon, you're going to be king and your wife will play a huge part in how the kingdom is run. She needs to be the right person. And I want her to be somebody that you love-that's the most important thing to me."
Bellamy just sighed heavily and leaned back against the couch again.
"Besides," Clarke added, "I put way too much planning into this ball for it to be wasted."
Bellamy chuckled at this and ran a hand over his face. "Alright fine, give me the tie."
"You're sitting on it."
He stood up and grabbed the tie. Clarke watched as he put it on, looping it around his collar and knotting it. When he was finished, she jumped up and started to fix it.
Bellamy smiled warmly and mumbled, "You just can't help yourself."
She concentrated on straightening the tie, even though she could feel his eyes on her. "Since you put in so much work, do you get to dance at the ball?" he asked and Clarke shook her head.
"I'll be way too busy. Besides, it wouldn't really be proper."
Bellamy frowned heavily and Clarke finished with the tie. "You may rule this kingdom with everyone being equal but you can't stop what others think. To everybody else, you are the most eligible man in the kingdom and the women here are the most intelligent, most accomplished people you could find. I should know because I invited them. You can't stop to dance with your Adviser."
A muscle in Bellamy's jaw twitched and Clarke knew it was time to change the subject. "Octavia is probably the most excited for the ball-she can't wait to dance all night. And your mom is happy that some old friends are visiting. This night isn't all about you, you know."
She brushed off some imaginary dust from his shoulder and stood back. "Good," she said, "You'll look like a handsome prince-as long as you keep your mouth shut."
"So no swearing at the guests, Princess?" he teased and Clarke shook her head.
"Just stand there and look pretty."
He winked at her, just as there was a knock on the door. A guard, Miller, stuck his head through the door and said, "It's time, you two. The wolves have arrived."
Bellamy laughed but mostly at the way Clarke's face turned red. "Both of you are terrible!" she fumed.
She pointed her finger at him, poking him in the chest. "You mark my words Bellamy Blake: I will find you the perfect women tonight and you will fall madly in love with her whether you like it or not. So there!"
"Well, that one just looks like a bitch."
Clarke sighed heavily at Jasper's choice of words and was thankful that she was wearing an earpiece. If they had gone with the walkie-talkies then everyone would have heard Jasper judging the guests. The party was in full swing, the main ballroom decorated and filled with men and women dancing. The food was off to one side and the grand staircase was polished till it shone. The band played light music which Clarke could hear from her place by one of the large pillars. It was amazing and she was already congratulating herself on a job well done.
Her two assistants were helping her the best way they could, even if they did drive her crazy. Jasper was up on one of the balconies while Monty was severing food behind a table. Raven had been invited as a friend of the family as she was the kingdom's best engineer. But she had taken one look at the guest list and decided to spend the ball with Octavia.
Clarke took another look at the girl Jasper was insulting. "That women is the best in her career and own at least two homes," she told Jasper but all she could hear over her earpiece was a huff.
"She still looks mean..."
Clarke rolled her eyes but immediately found Bellamy again. He was dancing with a red head-marine biologist from the coast with a fabulous talent for cooking- and was actually smiling and making conversation. But she knew him too well and could see the tension in his shoulders. But at least he was making the effort.
"My ten o'clock, blonde standing by the salad dishes." Monty's voice made her snap her gaze over to the food table, where he was doing a great job of serving people and taking to her and Jasper without anyone noticing. Clarke saw the girl in a pretty orange dress.
"She's picking the olives out of her salad," Monty said, "First of all, rude and secondly, we can defiantly mark her off the list of potential wife."
"Because she doesn't like olives?" Clarke hissed in confusion.
"Bellamy hates olives too," Jasper reminded her, "You can't have two people who hate the same food because when they order a meal, whose going to eat that food to save the embarrassment?"
"Or they could just not order olives!" Clarke exclaimed.
Silence followed her answer and she could see Jasper leaning against the balcony's railing above her.
"I hate them all; we should just cancel the whole thing."
"I agree!" Monty chimed in.
Clarke pinched the bridge of her nose and counted to ten. Why was everyone around her so against this ball? "Seriously, if you are not going to help then just leave. I don't get why you two are determined to stop Bellamy finding the love of his life."
She watched as Monty stilled and looked up at Jasper who shrugged. Finally Jasper spoke through the communicators. "Listen Clarke...we just all thought that one day-after all this time- you and Bellamy would end up together."
She froze on the spot and clutched her clipboard to her chest.
"You know, childhood friends fall in love- the bickering couple that actually adore each other? But, here you are planning a party for him to find a wife that isn't you."
Clarke didn't say anything but she bit down on her lip hard. Of course she had thought about her and Bellamy that way. They weren't children anymore and instead of searching for a man to be her partner and best friend, she already had someone like that. She watched as he danced with another girl-famous singer in the theatre and collected much for charity- and, not for the first time, Clarke felt her stomach drop.
She was never the type of person to dwell on feelings. When she found out her ex-boyfriend cheated on her, she shut that down immediately. She broke up with him, stopped Bellamy from killing him and turned her back on the relationship. When feelings threatened to overwhelm her, Clarke just threw herself into her work.
But now her feelings were her work. She was planning a party for the man she was more than likely in love with so that he could find a wife.
Clarke swallowed harshly and realised that Monty and Jasper were waiting for her response. "Bellamy and I are just friends," she said quickly, "Besides, it wouldn't be proper."
Jasper let out a low whistle and mumbled, "Let's hope Bellamy doesn't hear that."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Clarke snapped but the music picked up suddenly.
Bellamy had spoken to the band and had taken Octavia by the hand to dance with her. His sister, in a deep purple dress, was laughing loudly as her brother spun her around the dance floor. She smiled, even though her gut felt like it was twisting. Bellamy knew that Octavia had been upset over missing her birthday party because of a serious storm just a month ago. It had devastated parts of the kingdom and everyone had been too busy re-building to plan a party for the young princess. So Bellamy wanted to make sure that Octavia had her moment.
Clarke took in a deep breath and looked at her list again. There were still so many girls that Bellamy could like; she just had to find him the right one. And her assistants better shut up and help.
"Alright, how about the blonde standing by the trumpet player?" Monty asked and Jasper craned his neck over the balcony to see her.
"Absolutely not-who matches that bag with that dress?"
The ballroom is empty by four in the morning and only Clarke and Bellamy were left. His mother and sister went to bed minutes before while Jasper and Monty had snuck away as soon as they had finished for the night. All the guests had left, the food was put away and the floor swept. Clarke sat on the edge of the stage and leaned back on her hands. Bellamy strolled towards her, his tie missing and the top button of his shirt undone. He looked tiered but so did Clarke.
"Over a hundred women," Clarke said sadly, "And you couldn't find even one girl that you liked?"
"Not my fault," Bellamy protested, "You have terrible taste in wives."
Clarke glared at him, her blonde hair taken out of its braid. It sat around her shoulders in waves and a few stands flew across her forehead. She brushed them away with her hand and leaned forward.
"Did you even enjoy yourself for one minute?" she asked, "Did you even try to find a girl that you were interested in?"
Bellamy shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. "Did you know that over half of them stepped on my toes? Wasn't dancing ability a must have for your super special wife list?"
"You're a jackass," Clarke bit out, "You don't get how important tonight was. Your wife will have such an influence and a power in the kingdom, you can't give that kind of access to just anyone. And you need to actually talk to a girl to find out you like her!"
Bellamy gave her a sly grin and he replied, "Well, there are other methods."
"Oh my God!" Clarke huffed and she put her face in her hands. "My ball was a disaster," she complained, her voice muffled.
She heard Bellamy sigh and his footsteps echoed on the floor as he walked towards her. "It doesn't have to be a complete disaster."
She looked up to see him holding out his hand to her. Clarke eyed it carefully before shaking her head. "I'm exhausted."
"So am I but one dance won't hurt. Come on Princess, take pity on me?"
Clarke sighed, her teeth chewing away at her lip again. "It's not proper Bellamy," she mumbled, as much as she really did want to dance with him. But she was in jeans and a t-shirt, her hair was a mess and he had just danced with countless beautiful women in long gowns.
Bellamy frowned again and before she could blink, he had grasped her hand and pulled her up. She landed against his chest and his arm wrapped around her waist. She let one hand come up to take his free one and rested her arm around his shoulder. "You really don't like that word do you?" she mused and Bellamy just started to dance.
Even though there was no music, Clarke was instantly reminded of their dance classes as kids. Bellamy had hated them of course but he had managed to become quite the accomplished dancer. They spun around the ballroom and said nothing but they didn't need to. It got to a point where they stopped moving so much and Clarke could rest her face against his shoulder.
She allowed herself this. She let herself have this one selfish moment with him, when it could just be the two of them in the room. When she pulled away, she was just his friend again. She would plan his wedding to another woman. She would organise the birthday parties of his children and she would spend her life watching him walk away from her. Clarke wouldn't be "Princess" anymore. How could she? The nickname came to be because she was so close to his family, because Bellamy hadn't wanted to be a king if she couldn't be a princess. But his wife should not have to put up with that. His wife should be his best friend, not her.
"You know," Bellamy said softly, "I still don't get why you put so much effort into his ball."
Clarke swallowed thickly and cleared his throat. "I've told you-you need to find someone. You should fall in love with a girl and spend your life with her. Isn't that what you want?"
"Of course but there wasn't much point in throwing this ball. I found her when I was six."
Clarke inhaled sharply and froze but Bellamy just kept talking. "You were standing on the garden bench, wearing that ugly blue jacket your mom made you wear and everyone was listening to you. I can't even remember what you were saying but you looked like this angry little animal, all full of fire. Obviously, it took me a few years to realise exactly how I felt about you but the point still stands. I don't need a ball to find the women I want to marry."
Clarke knew this wasn't easy for him; he showed his feelings through actions, not words. Maybe this was the reason why he was so against the ball; the reason why he had asked if she would dance with him in the first place. She had never before let herself really think they had a chance together. Yet, here they were.
She felt him sigh nervously and she felt it in her bones. "You're going to have to give me something Clarke or else I'll just be standing here looking stupid."
Clarke pulled away from him, with her hands still clasped in his. "Bellamy Blake, you better not be proposing to me when I'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt at the crack of dawn."
She said it with a smile on her face and he knew her well enough to know that was her "yes". "So when will it be convenient for me to propose to you Princess," he mused, "Would you rather it wait until after breakfast?"
Clarke pretended to think for a moment and then replied, "We might have to do it after lunch because I have a meeting-."
"OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, JUST KISS ALREADY!"
They both looked up to see Jasper, Monty, Octavia, Aurora, Miller and even Raven leaning over the upper balcony. Clarke opened her mouth to protest but Bellamy took her face in his hands and kissed her soundly. She barely heard the cheers from her friends as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him back.
Up on the balcony, Jasper was handing Octavia a tissue for her tears, Raven was taking her winnings from Miller and Aurora said softly, "It's about time-I thought I would have to pass a law or something."
Monty just grinned down at the two below, who were wrapped up in their own little world.
"Well," Miller said to him, "Clarke did say she'd find him the perfect women."
Monty nodded happily but then turned to his friend. "But we're totally never admitting to them that we told all those women Clarke and Bellamy were already engaged, right?"
"Oh yah, that secret's never getting out."