Of Princes and Princesses

AvalonReeseFanFics

A/N: Hello there my wonderful readers! How is everyone's long weekend going? We have a longer than normal chapter this time around to make up for all the smaller chapters we've had. And this one is super dramatic but cute at the same time. Also, we're getting close to the part of the story where we're in the movie. Isn't that exciting? As always don't forget to leave a review and I'll see you guys next Saturday.

27.

Though he argued, ultimately Marshall had no choice but to agree to go on the trip with her. All she had to do was threaten to go without him, as if he would let her go without him, as if she would actually go by herself. Luckily Marshall didn't call her bluff.

They started their trip by flying from London to Dublin. There they went on a whiskey tour in the Jameson Distillery on Bow Street, saw Dublin Castle, saw the Guinness Storehouse, took a picture together with the Spire of Dublin. They spent the night in a cozy in before setting out for more adventure in Dublin, like St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Ha'penny Bridge, then went to the Cliffs of Moher, which was out of their way but apparently worth the trip. And Marshall had been right, they were.

After another night in a cozy in, where Marshall had to spend most of the night massaging the pain out of her bad, they rented a car and drove to Galway where they had a picnic in Eyre Square, visited the Galway Cathedral, and the Lynch's Castle.

The next day they made it to Limerick, where she made him go King John's Castle, the Treaty stone, and then had lunch at the milk market.

Their next stop was Cork, where they went to Blarney Castle to see the Blarney stone. They had lunch at the English Market and, while they were relaxing in yet another little inn she had booked them in, she had noticed that Marshall was getting more and more antsy.

To be fair they had been doing a lot of touristing stuff, despite the fact that she was in pain and frequently getting nauseous. Marshall had gotten into the habit of carrying around cans of ginger ale for her to sip while they were walking. She also hadn't been able to sleep with him since the procedure. She was in too much pain. Maybe that was the problem?

The following day they made it to their final destination which was only a half hour away from Cork, which was Marshall's hometown of Kinsale. And that was pretty much when she figured out that the problem was not that he hadn't gotten laid. It was that he didn't want to be home. The second they saw the sign for Kinsale his demeanour changed. He went ramrod straight and seemed no longer able to smile.

To help him calm down they did all the tourist stuff first. Like Desmond Castle and Kinsale Mead Co. and then that was apparently all they had to do. It was after that that she finally convinced him to take her to the place she had been most excited to see. Where Marshall had grown up.

It wasn't even that far. He just took her up Rock street, turning off the main road to a small branch of it. He stopped their rental car right outside a little white cottage. It had a brown roof and white walls and a low stone wall to create a walkway to the driveway and to separate the house from the lush green lawn.

"This is it. This is where we grew up. Except it was a brown lawn, with a broken-down car in the driveway and covered in boys' toys like bikes and footballs."

"I bet it was super cute."

"The neighbours hated us. Our house was an eyesore and me and my brother were nuisances."

Kate just smiled up at him. "But you liked living here, I mean… it wasn't all bad, right?"

Marshall sighed. "I mean, no. It wasn't all bad. Just you know… some things were missing. Like a loving mother and sober father. After my mom left he just sort of lost his way. Hence why our house looked like a disaster."

"It happens. I'm sure I'd be pretty lost with you," she said snuggling up to him and beside her wrapped an arm around her held her really close.

Whoever had bought the house after they moved had really done a good job making it look homey again.

"I went to school not much farther from here. My brother and I used to ride our bikes on the sunny days. And if it was bad, we got a ride from one of our neighbours."

"Not your dad?"

"Nope. Dad was an alcoholic remember? He was never sober enough in the morning to drive us anywhere… or uh… anytime actually. Once I could drive, I drove all of us everywhere."

Kate turned up to him. Marshall was starting to look very sad and that was the opposite of what she wanted.

"Okay… maybe this is enough of a trip down memory lane. Why don't we go somewhere else? How about your favourite bar?"

Marshall smiled at her and she smiled right back. They were heading back to the car when there was a sudden shout: "Marshall?"

Both of them turned to where a man was standing on the porch. Kate turned to Marshall who looked like he had seen a ghost.

"Marshall… do you know that man?"

The man was moving slowly down to the driveway while Marshall looked like he was contemplating turning tail and running down the lane.

"Marshall, is dat yew, me boy?"

"Is that your father?"

"Yes. Son of a bitch… he's not usually awake this time of day."

"Wait… your father's alive?" she asked him. "I thought… well I unno, the way you talked about him. I thought he was dead."

"He's dead tae me."

Yes, he had mentioned that before. She should have clued in on that earlier. But there was no chance of running now, Marshall's father was already there. "It is yew!" he said once they were closer. Despite Marshall clearly not wanting it, the man enveloped him in a stiff hug.

"Nice job cleaning up the place. I figured if it looked dis good you probably moved."

Marshall's father looked back to the house and then to Marshall. "Who's the girl yew got with yew?"

Marshall just stared at him then back to Kate and then back to his dad. It was clear as day that he didn't want to introduce them, but Kate put on her brightest smile and offered him a hand to shake. "Hi, I'm Kate his girlfriend."

"Oh, look at dat, yew got yerself another princess. A British one dis time. Didni yew learn from the first one?"

"Katie isni like her," Marshall growled. Kate would have thought hearing Marshall use her nickname would take a while to get used to. But it had only been four days and, let me tell you, she was used to it.

She glanced back to the man in front of her. He looked almost exactly like Marshall. He had the same sort of angles about him, the same color hair, with more grey in it, the same colored eyes. He looked like he might have had the same build as Marshall but he was smaller and more wrinkled now, which was common when someone aged. He also looked like he wasn't going to let them into the house. She then looked back to Marshall who looked about ready to throw a punch, and she realized it probably wasn't a good thing that they were there.

"I uh… I'm sorry about the intrusion," she said getting the older Connelly's attention onto her. "We were just driving by, I'm sure you're busy and we should really get going."

He turned bland eyes away from her and onto Marshall. "Yur really gonni come all de way here and then not even come in."

"You haveni invited us in!" Marshall thundered. "And why would I want tae go back intae that dump? You told me not tae come back, remember? What's the matter, pappy, need someone tae help yew sort through your bottles?"

She had no idea that Marshall's father had kicked him out, though, she was starting to think that she should have pressed Marshall for more details before coming here. And it probably wasn't good that his Irish brogue returning full fledged during the trip was really turning her on right now.

Kate put a hand to his arm to hopefully calm him down but the two seemed hell bent on getting into argument right then and there.

"I thought yew might like tae come in tae discuss old times. I would like tae know how yur brother is doing, but it's clear yur just as spiteful as when yew left."

"I didni leave, yew trew me out! Remember?"

"I'm sorry I didni want a delinquent living in me house! And looks like yew haveni changed one bit!" he then turned his eyes onto Kate and snarled: "Do yew know what yur getting intae, lassie? Do yew? The boy's never had a hold on his temper it's only a matter-a time before he turns his fists ontae yew!"

Marshall was away from her side immediately and in his father's face. "I donni pick fights with people who are smaller and weaker than me! Unlike yew!"

He had often hinted that his father used to hit him and his brother when they were younger but this sounded a lot more than a few cuffs here and there.

A smart man would have denied it, but just like Marshall, this Connelly wasn't going to back down. "Yew need a good whooping! Yew never could stay in line. And it still didni help yew! Yew were still the spawn of Satan!"

"Okay. That is enough!" Kate shouted and both men jumped and then turned to her very surprised by her outburst. "Marshall back up, right this instant and you," she whirled onto his father surprising him with her finger pointed into her face. "I am very sorry we came here, but you are not making things better!"

His father scoffed at them, he opened her mouth but she put her hand up. "Nu-uh, this is over unless you two stop arguing. Now, you both get a chance to say one nice thing to one another or we're leaving. I trust you two can handle that, at the very least?"

But he just shook his head and said: "Get yur good-fur-nothing ass off my property. Next time call first so I can tell yew not tae bother."

"There won't be a next time," Marshall spat and then whirled away. Kate chased after him and back to the car.

"I'm sorry! I… I didn't think…"

"Just get in the car Kate!" he snapped and she actually came to a standstill. They had been arguing a lot lately but he hadn't ever snapped like that at her before.

Usually when they got too snappy at one another they'd apologize but there was no apology on Marshall's face at that moment, just anger. She lowered her eyes from him and got into the car.

She had just wanted to see where he had grown up, she didn't think things would be… that bad. But it definitely proved that she and Marshall really didn't communicate as much as she thought they did.

-AR-AR-AR-AR-

He took her to the only bar in town. The Folk House bar. He had spent a lot of his youth in this bar, and outside it too. In a ring of men swinging his fists because Marshall was always the first to get into a fight.

He shouldn't have yelled at Kate. He knew that but when his father said he'd hurt her he just lost his mind. He hoped she'd never believe that, that he could never hit her but yelling at her probably didn't help the situation none.

They were in the bar for all of two seconds when he heard: "Well I'll be. No that isni Marshall Connelly I see."

"Oh, you know the bartender too?" Kate asked, even though since he was the one waving at him like a goof from where he stood, it was obvious he did. "Is this gonna be another altercation or are things good with him?"

"Dean O'Shanassy," Marshall said approaching the bar to shake the man's hand. "Always knew yew'd never get out of here."

Dean shrugged. "I own the place, now, so at least I've come up a little," he said and then turned his eyes to Kate. "And who is this here?"

"This is my bird, Kate," he said and Kate offered her hand to him.

She hit him with a polite smile and a: "How do you do?" God could she be anymore more prim?

Dean turned his wide smile onto Marshall. "I see yew still have a type."

Marshall said nothing, except to order a beer for him and something girlier for Kate. "Did you wanna eat here?" he asked and she nodded.

"Never thought yew'd come back here," Dean said, offering up the menus to them so they could order. "Woulda thought yew'd stay away. Specially when little Laura Doon went and made herself Laura Byrne."

"Good for her, she got everyting she wanted then," Marshall said drinking everything down. He noted Kate staring at him but he didn't want to explain that Laura Doon was the first princess to break him.

"Well not everyting," Dean said. "Conner Bryne left her couple years back, she had a bad prenup, stuck with two squealing bairns, had tae move back in with her mam and she spends a lot of time reminiscing. Not gonna lie yew come up a lot."

Oh god. Like that was all he needed.

"Could I try the Boxty potato pancakes please?" Kate asked, interrupting their little catch up.

"That's a breakfast item, canni get it past elevenses love."

"Oh sorry," she whispered going back to the menu.

"We can do a regular Boxty, would that do?"

"I'm sure it would," she said with a smile.

"Just hit me with a cottage pie, Dean."

He nodded and left them to put their order in and Kate turned those big eyes up to him. He knew immediately she was going to ask him some sort of question. "How do you know Dean?"

"Dean and I went to school together. We got to be friends when we were upperclassmen."

Kate nodded. "And I'm guessing Laura is the old princess."

"Aye," he whispered though he didn't want to.

"Must please you to hear that her life went to shit."

"Woulda been shite with me too," he said. "Besides, I got meself a better girl, now haven't I?"

Kate just stared at him and his heart sunk into his stomach. "I do still have meself a better girl, right? I know I shouldni have yelled at yea, but my father always rubs me the wrong way…"

"Hmm?" Kate said as if jerked out of a trance. "I'm sorry, your Irish brogue has come back ten fold and I just keep thinking of getting you back to our hotel for a proper snog fest."

At that Marshall laughed. Dear god, he really did love that girl. "But thank you for apologizing. I suppose I should have asked more about your father before bringing you here. Though to be honest I thought he was dead so we wouldn't be running into him."

Yeah, he probably should have told her more about his childhood. But in all actuality, it wasn't really that bad and he only liked thinking of happy things when he was with Kate. He just wanted to leave the bad things in the past and move forward so they couldn't take up space in the perfect future he wanted with Kate.

"So yew went tae go see ol'Seamus?" Dean said butting into the conversation again. "He's cleaned up his act, not that yew'd likely care."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing. Just that, he's got himself all clean and sober now. Goes tae church on the regular…"

"Going to church doesni make you a saint, Dean. Both of us went to Church and we wereni angels."

"He comes in for a social pint every now and then, but nothing too bad," Dean continued ignoring Marshall's jab.

Okay so his dad had gotten his act together. Good for him, didn't mean he had to yell at him. Dean excused himself to go talk to a new customer who had come in, just as the server came back with their food.

"Sounds like your dad changed his ways," Kate said carefully.

"Yew donni know me dad, Kate," he whispered.

"Well that's cause you don't talk about him." For a moment she was quiet. "Did he really kick you out?"

"Yeah, it was one of the reasons we came tae San Francisco. That and the music. I turned 18, my juvenile record got sealed and I packed up Louey and left. Helped I had a good job then, bartender in a real bar, singing on the side. Coulda been something, really truly."

"You're still something to me," she whispered and he knocked his shoulder into her, because he liked that she still thought he was worth something, even if he wasn't really gonna go anywhere any time soon. Half his confidence was due to her.

"He uh… he wanted me tae give up music and get a menial job. Plumber or electrician or something. He didni like that I had dreams of grandeur. Made me too much like my mother."

"I think he was afraid you'd be too much like him," Kate said and he turned to him.

"Really, that's what you're going to say?"

"Well I mean, you clearly look like him. The two of you have the same temperament. And he only started arguing with you once he realized I was with you."

"Why would yew have started the argument, yew didni say anything!"

"No, but he must have been worried because I'm a Princess. As the two of you would say. No doubt he was really worried that you had regress back into old ways."

Marshall stared at her as she tucked into her boxty. It was true that he flipped out once he had realized that Marshall was with Kate and Kate was what his father would define as a princess. But he figured that was just the rage finally boiling over into an exploding point.

He knew this conversation was going to lead to Kate telling him that they'd have to go apologize to him, but luckily before that argument happened the door banged open and he heard a cry of: "Where he is."

God he knew that lilting voice anywhere. He had sort of hoped that she wouldn't be here. That she'd be off with her rich husband far away from town, but her life had gone to shit and someone had to have snitched. He didn't want to, but he had to. He turned and sure enough Laura Doon nee Bryne was standing in the doorway her beady gaze sliding over each and every face in the place clearly looking for him.

"Aw flippin' hell," Marshall groaned out. This couldn't be happening. Laura had not aged well. Her hair was dyed platinum blonde badly, it had clearly killed her hair, it looked like straw and likely to break off. She was wearing a dress that was too short and showed off way too much cleavage, which she must have gotten done because it was a lot bigger than when he was with her. there was no way her boobs grew that much on their own. She had a fake tan that made her look orange, her make up was sparkling and gaudy and she was in heels that made her tiny frame look massive.

Behind him came a chipper comment from Dean. "Someone musta told her yew were here."

"I swear tae God Dean, if yew…"

"MARSHALL!"

God she had gotten her sights on him. He turned back to Laura practically throwing herself at him. He side-stepped her neatly and she slammed into the bar. A ruckus of laughter erupted from the table of older regulars but that didn't deter her.

She merely turned around, her eyes searching for him like a bull looking for it's next target to gore.

"Marshall my darling, my angel, my sweet. My prayers have been answered and yew have been returned tae me."

Behind her Kate was grinning ear to ear, struggling not to laugh. Why did she find it funny?

"Nope, I'm not returning fer yew, Laura. Me being here has nothin' tae do wit yea."

"No? Then why are you here, in our spot?"

"It's the only bar in town, Laura."

"Then why were yew in here asking fer me."

"That didni happen. I unno who's gossip led yew astray," he snarled being sure to send a glare in Dean's direction. "But I'm not here looking fer yew. I'm just passing trough, alright?"

Laura looked properly nonplussed, she started forward again, tears coming into her eyes. "I made a mistake Marshall. I shoulda picked yew from the beginning. It was always yew I loved and now yer here, and we can try again. Tell me we can try again…"

Marshall hadn't been quick enough to get away from her. She had grabbed his arm and was now pressing her severely inflated bosoms into his arm, trying to drag him even closer, angling him downward for a kiss.

"Okay… that's enough," Kate said hopping off her barstool. She quickly and easily stepped up, placed herself in between them and then smiled prettily into Laura's face. "He's here with me. I wanted to see where he grew up. Now back off."

Laura had the nerve to gasp as if Marshall coming back to town with someone else was unheard of. As if he would have stayed stuck mourning her his whole life. She looked Kate up and down, no doubt looking for some kind of flaw. Well she could look all she wanted Kate was flawless.

"I'm sorry your life went downhill when you chose riches over love, but that's what you get. You made your choice, and Marshal's mine now. So do us all a favour and take your theatrics elsewhere."

Marshall was grinning ear to ear now. He wrapped an around Kate's waist smiled at Laura and said: "Pleasure seeing yew again, Laura." and together the two of them walked back to that bar, to pack up their meal and head back to their hotel so he could properly ravish the girl he loved so dearly.

-AR-AR-AR-AR-

Marshall glanced back to the car where Kate was waiting. She had talked him into this last night. Of being the bigger person. He didn't want to do it, not really, but if it made Kate smile, he would do it.

So, he knocked on his father's door. It felt weird, knocking on this door, when he used to have a key. When it never used to be locked before.

There was a heavy silence where he listened to his father peter up to the door. For a moment Marshall was certain that the man wouldn't even bother to open the door but he did. Well damn, that meant he'd have to talk to him now.

Seamus looked Marshall up and down and then gruffly asked: "Well what d'yea want?"

"Katie said I should come up and apologize," he said. Which was about all the man was going to get. "We shouldni have surprised yew like that, and I shouldni have argued wit yea in the drive."

Seamus peered past him to the car where he was certain Kate's eyes were trained on the two of them.

"She saw all of dat and still stayed?" Marshall nodded. "And does she know, about the other girl and the arrests?"

Marshall nodded again.

"And she still stayed?"

"Yes, dah, she stayed. She's not like the other girl. She not like mam," Marshall said quietly. "Is that what set yew off? Her?"

"I supposed I didni want yew going down that path again," Seamus admitted and Marshall swore. "Wot? Wot you cursing for?"

"Cause she was right. She said our argument took a turn fer da worst when yew spotted her. I hate it when she's right."

"Smart and pretty, she's definitely nothing like the first one," Seamus said. "Well the two of yea might as well come in. I could scare up some Soda bread and whiskey and maybe yew can show her those photo albums yur mam was always making."

Marshall nodded and then turned, gesturing to Kate to come up. She was out of the car and rushing up the drive immediately. But Marshall didn't enter the house until he had her on his arm. This was a new beginning for him and his father, and he wanted Kate to be with him when it happened.