AN: Welcome to my second ever multi-chapter fic, and my first complete AU. This is the royalty AU that no one asked for. I came up with the idea in the shower over the summer, and figured after writing such a dark fic, the next one should be a bit lighter, so here we are. For the sake of making things sound a bit more medieval, a few names had to be changed. Mac will only ever be called Angus, and Bozer is always going to be Wilt. Diane will be Diana only in formal settings, and Riley will be Rileyna in those same settings. I know this chapter is a little rough, but aren't most first chapters? Also, Riley's section is rather short, but I promise she's one of the leading characters in this. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!
Riley sighed as her handmaiden, Samantha, informed her that her parents were requesting her presence. It had to be important. It was rare that they wanted to speak to her privately. It wasn't that they didn't care about her, but just that they didn't have time to spend with her often. They were king and queen, and had other pressing matters to attend to. The princess should have been pleased to be able to get some rare one-on-one time with them, but she was busy teaching herself to crack the codes used between the spies of various kingdoms, and she didn't really want to stop. It was just so simple to her, breaking these codes and creating her own. Her parents would kill her if they knew. Princesses weren't supposed to do things like that. But Riley was okay with not being a typical princess.
She gathered her skirts together and followed Samantha out of her ornately decorated bedroom, and into the throne room. To call it one-on-one time with her parents wasn't exactly accurate, since there were always a plethora of palace guards around, but still, this was the closest she was going to get in most cases.
"Rileyna, my dear, we have very exciting news for you," her mother, Queen Diana, exclaimed. She stood from her place at her throne, and walked down the steps to embrace her daughter. She had always been closer to her mother than her father. Her father, King Elwood, was often prone to fits of violence, which were well hidden from the kingdom. All they knew was that he was strong, and enjoyed battle.
"What is it?" Riley asked. It was rare that her mother was this happy these days. She didn't smile nearly as often as she used to, which saddened Riley. Her mother had a radiant smile.
"We've been speaking with the House of MacGyver, and it has been decided that you will marry the only child of King James, Prince Angus," Elwood said, not rising from his throne.
Riley's heart dropped. This was something that she had been dreading ever since she came of age. She understood that arranged marriages were a necessity for royalty, but her own parents had proven to her that there was no love in them. Elwood and Diane had only gotten along in the very beginnings of their marriage, and now only tolerated each other. That was no marriage that Riley wanted for herself. She saw how much happier the servants were who married for love than any of the royalty she knew in arranged marriages. But, as the princess, it was her duty to her kingdom to marry who her parents chose.
"When?" she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper. She wouldn't make eye contact with her parents.
"The wedding will be next month, but the prince will be arriving tomorrow. That will give the two of you some time to get to know each other before you're married," Diane said. "Rileyna, I know this isn't exactly what you want, but do not judge the boy before you even meet him. You may find that life with him could be everything you've dreamed of in a marriage."
"Excuse me," Riley said, slipping away from her parents and following Samantha back to her room.
"I'll be back before supper, Your Highness," she said, bowing to Riley before leaving the girl in her room.
She sighed in disappointment. This is not what she wanted, but she needed to make her kingdom proud. Hopefully, she could grow to love this Prince Angus. She only wished it wasn't so soon. A month was hardly enough time to fall in love. Still, it was better than marrying the boy the next day. Riley tried to look at the bright side of things. The House of MacGyver was known for being highly intelligent, and that was something that Riley prized in a man. A union between Prince Angus of the House of MacGyver and Riley of the House of Davis would be something that could join the kingdoms for centuries to come. It was a great political move between the two allies, she had to admit. But if only royal parents thought about their children, and not just their kingdoms.
Sometimes, Riley hated being a princess. She hated having to be proper all the time, constantly keeping up her manners and wearing dresses and never getting to do anything out in the woods. She relished her long walks through the courtyards with Samantha. The woman wasn't only her handmaiden, but her friend and part time bodyguard. Around the palace grounds, the king and queen didn't force Riley to have a bodyguard with her as long as Samantha was by her side. The woman had training from another kingdom, and was a formidable opponent. When Riley ever left the palace, she had to have a male bodyguard in order to keep up appearances, but she was grateful that her parents allowed her Samantha around the castle.
If only they would allow her to marry someone she loved too.
Angus ran around from tree to tree, trying to lose Jack. He'd never quite been able to do it yet, but he was sure that one day he would. He claimed it was good training for Jack, but really, it was just fun for Angus. Whenever he didn't have duties to take care of as the prince, his life was pretty boring. He was rarely let outside the castle walls, so every time he did manage to sneak out, he tried his best to lose Jack in order to be able to stay outside longer.
"Angus!" Jack called out. The man was his bodyguard, and he took his job very seriously. He was also the closest thing Angus had to a brother, and sometimes even a father. His own father was astonishingly distant. Everyone told him it was because James was the king and he had no queen to help him in his duties, so that was why completely ignored his son, but Angus knew there was more to it than that. His father had to be avoiding him, almost at all costs. Yes, the castle was large, but he never even ran into his father, and he wasn't allowed to dine with him. It was very, very rare for him to even see the man who was his father. He'd been raised much more by his grandfather, Duke Harry.
Angus bit his fist to control his laughter. Jack was right there, and he didn't even know Angus was behind the tree. It annoyed Jack to no end when Angus did this, but that was half the reason why he did it in the first place. Of course, it was nice to be able to sneak out of the palace to be alone for a while, but it was more fun to be with Jack anyway. Sometimes, he was able to convince Jack to disguise them both so they could be around the kingdom without anyone recognizing them. He rarely went for it, but every now and then, Angus would get lucky. That would usually happen around his birthday, or the anniversary of his mother's death, or other times when Jack wanted to do anything he could to keep Angus happy.
"Angus, your grandfather needs to talk to you. Stop messing around or I'll drag your royal butt back to the palace myself. This is serious," Jack said. Angus stilled himself. Jack didn't sound to be in a good mood like he had earlier. Was everything okay? "Gotcha!" Jack shouted. He had come around the tree and grabbed Angus' arm while the boy was lost in thought.
"Hahaha, very funny, Jack," he replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Now what's so important that you have to disturb my time studying these trees? They'll be changing color soon, and I want to figure out why" he asked. Angus had always felt that nature had so much to teach you, and he always wanted to learn. He truly treasured his time in the forest, and wanted to be able to spend more time out there. He would really love to teach Jack everything he knew about the woods, even though the man didn't actually care. His bodyguard only pretended to because it made Angus happy.
Jack sobered up immediately. "It's what I said. The duke needs to talk to you."
"Alright," Angus said, his smile falling. This did sound serious. "Is everything okay?"
"Just come on back," he said, waving Angus back towards the palace. He turned around and started walking. Angus quickly followed, letting Jack go back up the rope he had draped over the castle wall first. It was the smallest part of the wall, located in the back by the garden. It was Angus' escape route of choice. He let Jack help him climb back up, and directly followed him through the courtyards and hallways. Jack was walking a bit faster than normal, which only concerned Angus more. What was going on?
Jack knocked on the door to one of the many bedrooms in the palace. "Your Grace," he said. "I've brought the prince, like you requested," he called through the closed door. A servant opened the door a moment later, and bowed to Angus. Jack moved aside to let Angus through, but stopped him briefly the moment he set his foot through the door. "I'll wait right here," he said, his eyes full of sympathy. Jack didn't have to say that. Angus knew he was going to wait there. Why did he feel the need to remind him? Puzzled, Angus stepped through the door, and walked towards the bed. His grandfather was lying on the bed, and he didn't look like he had the day before. He looked sick.
"Grandfather, is everything okay?" he asked, taking hesitant steps towards the duke. Harry was pale, very pale, and made minimal effort to sit up.
"Yes, my boy, everything is fine." That clearly wasn't true, but Angus knew better than to interrupt. "Your father has something he needed me to tell you." For some reason, James still talked to Harry, he just ignored his own son. Angus tried not to be hurt, but it was hard. "Tomorrow, you'll be leaving for the House of Davis, and in a month's time, you'll be marrying Princess Rileyna. Now that you have come of age, it's time for you to take a bride."
Angus' eyes went wide. "What?" he said. No one had ever told him that since he came of age he would have to marry. He didn't even want to marry, not any time soon at least. His father was busy running the kingdom himself, so it wasn't as if he needed Angus to be married in order to rule any time soon. The House of Davis was important, but they were doing just fine by themselves, so they didn't truly need to marry for the political gain, though it technically would be good for the kingdom.
"Your father decided this long ago. He's been talking with King Elwood and Queen Diana, and he agreed to give you to the Princess Rileyna," his grandfather continued. "You will spend a month there with her, and you will be married there, then she will return here with you."
Angus barely heard the rest of what the duke said. All he heard was "your father decided this". Since when did his father decide things for him? Ever since his mother died, his father had been cold and distant on his best days, and violent on his worst. He had no right to make these kinds of decisions for Angus, king or not.
"And I suppose telling me himself would have just been too difficult for His Majesty," Angus replied, putting as much spite and hurt into the title for his father as he could.
"Angus," Harry sighed. "One day, when you are king-"
"-I'll understand? Is that what you were going to say? What if I don't want to be king? Because if being king means that I have to be like- like him, then I don't want it," Angus seethed. He didn't want anything to do with the crown if it meant that he had to be like his father.
"Angus, you are the prince, and it is your duty, your responsibility-" the duke broke off in a coughing fit, hacking into his elbow. It sounded like he couldn't even breathe.
"Grandfather?" Angus called out. The duke was still hacking. "Guards! Guards!" he cried. "Get the doctor, my grandfather is sick!" Angus took hold of one of his grandfather's hands, holding it tightly between his own. "The doctor is coming, you're gonna be fine."
Finally, the coughing fit ended, and the duke looked completely exhausted. "No, Angus, I won't be. I'm afraid this will likely be the last time you'll see me," he said.
"What?" Angus replied. "What are you talking about? What do you mean?"
"I'm sick, very sick, my boy. I won't make it much longer, I'm sorry to say." Harry wouldn't meet his eyes.
"Your Highness, I'm sorry but you must move so I can check over the duke," the doctor said, brushing past Angus. He hadn't even noticed the man enter the room. "Guards, escort His Highness out, please," he said.
The guards flanking the room walked up to Angus, leaving no room for discussion. He may have been the prince, but he had very little power in the castle. They lead him out of the room, where Jack was waiting, just as he said he would be.
"Did you know?" Angus asked, tears forming in his eyes as he turned to look at his bodyguard. "Did you know he was dying? That they're forcing me to marry someone?"
"Not until today," Jack replied, putting a hand on Angus' shoulder. "I'm so sorry, kid." Jack took a quick glance around, as if checking to see if anybody was watching, then pulled Angus close to him. Angus gratefully took the embrace, holding onto the front of Jack's coat with white knuckles as Jack put his arms around him. They weren't supposed to be like this. Jack was supposed to be completely ready to lay down his life for Angus at any moment, of course, but he wasn't supposed to love him like a little brother. He was supposed to be distant, to be a cold figure of authority even, but not long after being assigned as his bodyguard, Jack had found that he couldn't. Angus had felt the same way. He wasn't supposed to care about his bodyguards, because they were expendable, replaceable. He wasn't supposed to think of them as his big brothers, yet he did. His last bodyguard, Alfred, had been similar to Jack, and Angus had been growing to truly love the man like family when he was killed protecting Angus from a bomb. It was precisely that reason why Angus wasn't supposed to get attached, and yet here he was, even more so with Jack than he had ever been with Alfred. He just couldn't help it.
As soon as the two heard movement, they pulled apart, but Angus would always be grateful for the physical comfort Jack provided. He had only ever received it from his mother, so when she died, he never got it. But Jack always gave him exactly what he needed. They couldn't let anyone find out, though, because if the king found out that Angus had grown attached to Jack, then he would have his bodyguard replaced, immediately. There was no way Angus was letting that happen.
A few members of the court walked down the hall, whispering to each other when they saw Angus. So it seemed the court knew about his unwanted betrothal as well.
"I'll be going with you," Jack said, reclaiming Angus' attention. "Wilt will be going as well. Despite the fact that he's your valet, I know you hate letting him take care of your clothes, so how about we go and help him pack for ya?" Jack asked, his southern dialect accent slipping in a little bit. He tried to sound as professional as he could when others were around, but when it was just him and Angus, he relaxed. Angus liked it. It was different, and it reassured him that the world was bigger than just the kingdom of his birth.
Angus sighed, then nodded. Jack swung his arm around the prince's shoulder, and began to lead him down the hall. As much as Angus hated the idea of marrying a woman he'd never even met before, he knew there was nothing he could do in the next eighteen hours to stop it from happening. He would have to leave, there was no getting around that. At least he would have Jack and Wilt with him. Maybe it could even be fun, with his two best friends by his side.
