A Fairy Tale Romance

"Once upon a time in the land of New York, there was a small village nestled in the country side. They were close enough to the great city of New York for commuting but remained in the nearby bountiful farmland.

In this lovely little village their lived a family. At this time they had five sons who loved to play together and with their cousins. Four of those sons were identical quadruplets and their first birthday was coming up, so all of their family members were coming around to see them.

When the day of the party came, the carriages came from miles around and collected at the local park. Many of us younger children were watched and played with by the older children while the adults formed a perimeter of protection around us.

Both the young Squire Peter and the young Lady Elizabeth wished to play with me so I had all of the attention of two. I enjoyed their company and couldn't lavish them with enough attention in my pleasure.

Since the Lady Elizabeth was still a child, she decided to play house. Squire Peter became her pretend husband and I was their child. As a young pre-teenage boy, Squire Peter didn't seem too thrilled with her choice of play, but he went along with it as directed. We spent the day with them supposedly going to work, keeping house, and tending their young son. The lady was rather enthusiastic while the squire came around to enjoy the play as well. By the end of the day the beginnings of a pattern seemed to have begun.

You see, these two had been around each other their whole lives, but had never seemed to notice each other before. It took a day of playing house for them to find a common interest and after that, they tended to find a way to interact whenever they got the chance.

Being their favorite excuse to play together, I got to watch the two of them bond.

At first, they were just friends and when we had joint family gatherings they would both pay with me while talking about anything that they felt like sharing. Then Squire Peter got older and his interests changed, but he still had time for his young lady friend. Finally, Lady Elizabeth grew from a child into a young woman and their relationship matured as well.

Squire Peter noticed that Elizabeth was becoming a young woman that was intelligent, caring, kind, sweet, beautiful, and she was wrapping him around her little finger without evening knowing it. Meanwhile, Lady Elizabeth noticed that the squire was tall, handsome, had a quiet intelligence, and was a strong reliable person that she could always depend on.

That's when things got awkward. I remember this phase in their lives, but I didn't understand it at the time.

Suddenly, the two of them had trouble talking to each other, they paid more attention to how they acted when the other was around, and they watched each other when the other wasn't looking. To my chagrin, I was no longer the focus of attention, but an excuse for them to interact or for a distraction when things got too awkward for their comfort.

Then something horrible happened.

The three of us had walked to a nearby ice cream shop for some treats, and on the return trip the two teens were flirting over my head. I was listening to their conversation, but I was more content to focus on my ice cream cone. Then our pleasant time was interrupted by screeching, a crash, and followed by pain. When the attack was over, the fair Lady Elizabeth had been taken while Squire Peter and I were left injured.

Being in the village, a witness ran for the police while others moved to assist us. It didn't take long for an ambulance to arrive and we were rushed to the hospital with Squire Peter riding along with me.

At the hospital, everything happened in a blur. The routine was familiar so I allowed the doctors to do what was necessary as I waited to hear about Lady Elizabeth and Squire Peter.

Once I was settled into my room, and after Squire Peter was taken care of, he came to stay by my side. For the entire duration of my hospital stay he kept me company and we tried not to dwell on the absence of Lady Elizabeth. When I feared for the fair lady, he would pale, but tell me that she would be alright "She had to be."

For a few years we missed Lady Elizabeth, but Squire Peter threw that extra focus at me again and we became very close.

Then one night, Squire Peter was babysitting me when bad men attacked again. They broke through our castle's security and took us away. For some reason they wanted Peter to play a game, but he was unable to as he had been hurt. To protect my DeusIrmán, I played in his stead. When I lost the challenge, they took Squire Peter away and left me behind.

This time, it was just me who missed them as they no longer remembered me. I did my best to watch over them and tried to interact with them as much as was possible with the danger.

Many years later, I was visiting an art gallery when a robbery happened. Since I was a witness, Sir Peter questioned me. He had grown into a man and become trained. As a knight, it was his job to catch the bad men.

Lady Elizabeth had also grown up and worked at the gallery. Since she was a witness too, Sir Peter questioned her as well.

As the case proceeded, Sir Peter put Lady Elizabeth under surveillance. He wanted to know if anyone was courting her, or if she was available to approach.

Neither of them remembered anything yet, but they both felt the old attraction in their hearts.

Noticing the knight's efforts and shyness to come forward, the lady gave him a sign… literally.

Assured that she was free and interested, the knight took courage to approach her and they began to court.

For a few more years, I watched as they fell in love. By this time I was very good at secretly being in their lives so I played many roles. Sometimes I would play their server at a restaurant, other times I was the street vendor where Peter would buy her flowers, and yet other times I was simply a passerby as they went for a walk. I generally kept my distance, but I also got to be involved in minor ways.

Eventually there came a special night. Sir Peter came into their favorite restaurant in advance and pulled me aside. My instructions were to seat them at a special table back in the corner where they could have privacy. It was to have flowers and candles to show that he was doing something romantic. Then after their meal, I was to serve them dessert with her ring displayed for him to propose.

His plan was simple with a sweetness that came from the heart, exactly what she would appreciate most. Still, I felt the need to add a few minor details of my own.

When they arrived, I escorted them to a secluded table as directed. As the lady perceived the details of the arranged flowers and candles, she noticed that they were her favorites and delighted in the personal touches.

While they enjoyed their meal and conversed, the other patrons kept the restaurant occupied, but also strangely kept the noise level quiet enough that our couple could hear the romantic music playing in the background.

Finally, it came time for me to bring out the dessert.

Since the room was full of family and we had paid to have our way for the evening, we arranged for the lights to dim slowly over the course of the evening so that the setting was romantic. The rest of the room went silent as I placed the covered dishes before them and made my retreat.

With soft romantic jazz in the background, the dim lighting hiding the rest of the world, the candles and flowers filling their corner with her favorite scents, her favorite Italian Dessert hidden beneath a lid, and the man she loved sitting acrossed from her... Things were going great for our lady, but they were about to get better. As she lifted the lid, Sir Peter started into his speech and by the time she was really looking, she noticed the ring nestled in the purple flower about the same time that he asked "Will you marry me?"

Squealing in excitement, she cried as she said "Yes. Yes, I'll marry you!"

For the rest of the time that they were there, we began to slowly brighten the lights back up and the family members posing as patrons slowly left. Due to the danger, we couldn't have our couple questioning why we were taking so much effort for a random engagement, so we had to keep them from thinking about it too much.

When Sir Peter and Lady Elizabeth were finished, they left for the night and continued on with other plans.

Those of us who remained behind made it like we were never there. The staff was paid for keeping the place open late, we cleared the decorations that we had purchased, and we dispersed like we didn't know each other.

For the months following, the family took up roles in their wedding plans… Let's just say that we are part of why their wedding exploded from the small even that they had intended for to what it became.

Personally, I played the assistant for their wedding photographer so I got to follow them around through the entire process of planning and the actually wedding day. Sir Peter was nervous, but also very excited, so I teased him until he forgot why he was nervous. Lady Elizabeth was also nervous, because the wedding was so much bigger than she had wanted, so I asked her questions about Peter to remind her that he was what mattered and that the day was just going to be another special day in their marriage. Then, when I finally got to watch them exchange their vows, I was reminded of the day that they played house with me. Now they were going to go on with their lives to play house for real.

Once they had left for their honeymoon, life went back to the normal interactions with them only it was almost easier with them being together so much.

The day came when our plan was advancing enough that Sir Peter was going to be in more danger. That meant that I got to work with him at the FBI and be his partner every day. For the first time in years, I was finally actively involved in their lives again.

After a few more years it was finally safe enough to take down the bad men who had taken them. With a series of actions we removed the danger from Lady Elizabeth and Sir Peter, we arrested their captors, and took down the evil empire.

Finally free, our sir and lady found their memories again and have been returned to the family. For the last several months we have been working to fill them in on what they missed and sharing stories of just how involved we have been in their lives.

Then they had the happy announcement that you were expected.

For the first trimester they tried to keep you a secret and worked really hard to ensure the surprise. Of course, we knew anyway because we have watched them closely for years and noticed when they started acting differently.

With your impending arrival I got to be involved with helping Sir Peter on his self appointed list of tasks to fortify your castle, Neal and I painted your nursery, and I didn't even have to sneak around to be a participant in preparing for you.

Now you're here. You'll grow up surrounded by family and we'll always be here for you and your parents, no matter what. That's a promise."

Looking down at the sleeping babe in his arms, Nick switched to speaking to the people hiding in the hall. "He doesn't understand the words yet, but I thought you would enjoy the story."

"You're a lot harder to hide from now than when you were a kid." Peter teased as he and Elizabeth entered the room.

Nick just rolled his eyes as he passed little Neal to Elizabeth.

Accepting her son, Elizabeth moved to lay him down in his crib. "Do you actually remember all of that?"

Shrugging, Nick answered. "Vaguely. Some of it is clearer looking back as an adult and some of it has become more detailed from others inputting what they remember."

Bidding their sleeping son goodnight, Peter and Elizabeth followed Nick into the hall. Once they were downstairs they talked to Nick while he collected his belongings.

"So you're crediting yourself as our practice son?" Elizabeth enjoyed teasing Neal while picturing Peter forced to play house.

Turning it back at her, Nick teased. "No, you credited me as your practice son… apparently you knew young who you were going to marry too."

Laughing, Elizabeth could see Peter's embarrassment.

"Don't you dare tell the office anything about me playing house, Nick!" He didn't want to imagine how much teasing he would get for that one.

With his eyes glinting evilly, Nick pretended to ponder that idea.

Shaking his head, Peter glared at him threateningly. "Nick…" His tone was that paternal/big brother signal that Nick was crossing a line.

"Don't worry, I'm just messing with you." Nick enjoyed getting a rise out of Peter.

Catching him in a headlock, Peter ruffled Nick's hair until it was a mess.

Smiling at their antics, Elizabeth told Nick good night and was heading up to get ready for bed when he stopped her.

"Before you head up El there is an envelope on top of my bag. You'll understand it now that I have told you the story." Nick was still smiling from his few moments of happily tussling with Peter.

After El headed upstairs with the envelope in hand, Peter couldn't help but turn serious. "I still hate that you had to go through so much and I couldn't be there to help you."

Giving him a hug, Nick knew it was something that would always be a sorrow for Peter. He had gotten to a point where he was usually happy with life and how it had turned out, but occasionally those missed times would catch up to him and he would be sad.

"Thanks Nick, I'm glad that I at least get to have you around now." He calmed down a bit and tried to relax again.

"Like I told Neal… I'm here no matter what and that's a promise." He would do everything he could to keep that promise to both of them. If he couldn't be with them in person then he would keep them in his thoughts while residing in their hearts and minds.

Peter knew there could be problems to keeping that, but Nick had proven himself creative at overcoming problems in the past. "You always have done your best to be with us. Don't forget though, we are here for you and happy to help you too." Feeling relaxed enough, he released Nick from the hug.

"Anytime Peter, anytime." Nick re-collected his things to head home.

Walking him to the door, Peter made arrangements for Nick to come and babysit the next night as Elizabeth had an event she wanted Peter to attend.

Agreeing to be back, Nick told Peter good night and headed out while Peter locked up behind him.

While Nick was driving home, Peter and Elizabeth settled in for the night before going through the envelope. To their surprise, it contained the pictures of their engagement.

Going through the pictures, they watched as their meal progressed, the lights dimmed, and the candles burned down. Then when they got to the actual proposal they watched both of their perspectives as Peter said his speech and Elizabeth noticed the ring. After they got through the pictures containing them there was still more to see. True to Nick's story, their family was photographed as the crowd of patrons filling the restaurant. Flipping the pictures over they discovered the messages and signatures from those pictured on the front. The gift was something to treasure.

Settling in to sleep for the night, there was one thought that unanimously crossed all three of their minds. For a time, they seemed like star crossed lovers, but Peter and Elizabeth truly had a fairy tale romance.

Deus Irmán - God Brother

Thank you everyone for reading, reviewing, and leaving kudos :D

I think this chapter started at work, but I couldn't resist telling such a tale so I hope that you enjoyed it ;) If anyone has any requests, my post starting next week is open for recommendations. Please pick from the list of completed stories on my profile page and either PM me or leave it in a review :D