-story-
Duchess Matilda and Sir Bartleby arrived at the castle at the beginning of the week to prepare for their upcoming wedding celebration. The ballroom was decorated to Baileywick specifications. The guest rooms had started to be filled; the royal family was happy to welcome a new member into its fold, but that also meant another thing for the poor Knight.
A Stag party hosted by his soon-to-be brother-in-law and his King.
Bartleby was unsure of this, but after some reassurance from his fiancée, he agreed, much to Roland and Miranda's joy as they got busy with planning the parties. When Cedric was told about the party, he immediately disappeared into his tower, making the children chuckle, but the bride wasn't sure, so she decided to visit her old friend.
Parting ways from her sister-in-law, leaving her to plan the Hen party for later that night, Tilly made her way up the winding stairs of the Sorcerers Tower before coming face to face with the ancient oak door. Knocking on the door, she waits, trying not to laugh at the crashes and curses that came from behind the door as it was finally open to reveal the man she was looking for.
"Yes, yes, what do you...DUCHESS MATILDA!" Cedric belted, "I thought you were Baileywick; I'm so sorry...I...I…."
Tilly smiled, tilting her head, "Cedric?" she questioned, making the man stop his stuttering, "we've been friends for how long? You know you don't have to call me by my title."
Cedric gave her a friendly smile, "Tilly, it's been too long since I last saw you," he said, stepping aside, "where are my manners? Come in, come in."
"It has been a while, hasn't it? Any time I did visit, you always were tucked away in this old tower," Tilly said, moving inside, "Roland has been keeping me up to date on things, including what you've been up to and through this past year or so. Let me say that I am pleased that you have changed for the better." She said, giving him a quick hug, stepping back before he complained. She was happy to see he barely flinched, "but what has me curious is what my baby brother mentioned about a cave you discovered," she added; Cedric's eyes lit up as he conjured them some chairs.
Back on the ground floor in a small sitting room, Roland sat with his former Knight talking and going over the evening plans, "how many people will there be?" Bartleby asked.
"Well, obviously you," Roland jokes, "I was going to have both Cedric and Baileywick come, in case anything should happen and to keep things organized. With a dozen Knights in attendance, I can imagine it will get rowdy at some point," he added, standing and heading for the door.
Bartleby nodded, "you don't know the half of it," he said, following suit.
Spotting the Castle Steward as they walked to the ballroom, the King called out, "Baileywick, will you summon Cedric and the other knights to the dining room."
Baileywick gave a slight bow, "right away, your Majesty."
Roland thanked him before turning and making his way to the dining room.
"And that is how I found the cave," Cedric concluded as he and Tilly sipped some tea.
"And here I thought dresses were a hazard," Tilly laughed, tears falling from her eyes.
Baileywick made himself known at this point, knocking on the open door, "I do apologize for the interruption, but the King would like to see you, Cedric," the man said dryly.
Cedric thanked him, and both the Sorcerer and Duchess headed downstairs, where they parted ways promising to meet up for tea.
Upon entering the dining room, Cedric found over a dozen people sitting and talking with the King at the head of the table. Moving to him, Cedric asked, "you wished to see me, Sir?"
"Yes, I did; I would like for you to join us tonight," Roland said.
Cedric gave a bewildered look, "come again?" he asked, making sure he heard correctly.
Tilly, meanwhile, headed to the parlor to meet her nieces and sister-in-law for an early lunch, "good afternoon, ladies!" she sang, waltzing into the room.
"Hello, Aunt Tilly," Sofia and Amber greeted, each coming over to hug her.
"How are my favorite nieces doing?"
"Oh, Aunt Tilly," Amber laughed, Sofia shaking her head.
The three joined Miranda at a small table laid with food and drink, "so Miranda, I know you wanted to do a Hen party for me, but I thought we could go on an adventure instead?"
"That's fine with me; it's your party, Tilly," Miranda said, "what did you have in mind?"
The next hour consisted of the woman going over plans and making a list of supplies needed for the coming evening's excursion; Cedric entered the room looking worse for wear.
"Hello, Mr. Cedric," Sofia greeted.
"Hello my dear," he greeted back, "Your Majesty, Princess Amber," he also greeted, before turning to Tilly, "may I have a moment of your time, Duchess?"
"Certainly," Tilly said, standing up. She and the Sorcerer moved into the hallway. "What's wrong? You seem paler than when we parted earlier?" she asked.
"The King asked me to accompany him and Sir Bartleby to the tavern tonight…."
"Ah, and that is a social setting not to your taste," Tilly said, "well, then it's a good thing, I and the girls planned an adventure for this evening. We could always use a Sorcerer on the team," she added.
"I appreciate the jester, but I may be stuck going to the party..." Cedric drawls, looking at Tilly with a smirk, which Tilly returns and says, "I will take care of my brother, now let's get ready to do some spelunking."
Before the small group was to head down into the network of caves and tunnels, the royal family first had to sit through the wedding portrait.
"Your Majesties, it is time for the official wedding portrait," Baileywick announced, gathering the growing group on the castle steps, "Queen Dowager, if you would please stand next to the bride, flanked by the King and Queen," Baileywick instructed. "Children, you're upfront, heir to the throne in the center, please."
As the children took their places, James went to stand in the center as told when, "oh, no, no, no, no, that's all wrong." Grand Mum shook her head. "Amber stands in the middle."
Roland was taken aback, "mother, the middle is for the future heir," he said.
"You are correct, but James is not next in line to the throne. Amber is," Grand Mum declared, turning to the twins.
"I am?!" Amber gasped.
"She is?!" Roland frowned.
"Wait, what?!" James gaped.
"I thought James was going to be King." Sofia declared.
"So did I," James breathed dazed, before looking to his father, "so did everyone!"
"Don't worry, children, we'll get this all straightened out," Roland assured them. "Mother, I'm afraid you are mistaken. The firstborn son inherits the throne as I did."
"Oh, but Roland, dear, that is not how the law is written," the Dowager revealed.
"Mum is right," Tilly admitted. "It's the firstborn child who gets to rule."
"Indeed," Grand Mum nodded. "Amber and James may be twins, but Amber is seven minutes older. Making her the future Queen."
"I just can't believe any of this!" Roland frowned.
"Oh, then I'll show you," the old Queen smiled, "follow me," she beckoned, turning and heading inside. The family did as such and soon found themselves in one of the older libraries of the castle where the Queen Dowager was looking through some records.
"Let me see..." she mused. "Here we are: 'Heir to the throne:' "Rulership of the kingdom shall be passed down from generation to generation. From firstborn child to firstborn child."
"That...that's me!" Amber gasped, "I was born first!"
"Yeah, we know," James pouted.
"But how can this be?" Roland asked. "If that's the law, then Tilly should have the throne instead of me!"
"Truth be told, I was supposed to," Tilly confessed.
"You were?!" The family chorused.
"That's right," Tilly nodded. "Many years ago, I was offered the crown. But I couldn't accept it. I knew I wanted to be an adventurer and that my baby brother would make a much better King."
"But...why didn't anyone ever tell me?!" Roland spluttered.
"Because we knew being King was all you ever wanted." Grand Mum declared. "And your father and I knew it was."
"I guess that's true..." Roland admitted.
"And we knew you'd be great at it," Tilly smiled.
"Maybe being King is all I ever wanted," James spoke up. "Did anyone ever think of that?"
"I'm so very sorry, son." Roland apologized. "But the law is the law."
"James, you don't even like doing most of the things a King has to do," Amber pointed out. "You said it's boring!"
"And you think you're going to be a good Queen?" James scowled, "you've always been more worried about how you look in your tiara than how the people in the kingdom are doing!"
Well...I'm not like that anymore," Amber declared
"James, I understand this is difficult to hear..." Roland began.
"No!" James stepped away. "You don't understand, dad. You got to be King!" James ran out of the room.
"James, wait!" Roland called, but his son was already gone.
"I will talk to him," Sofia declared as she ran after the distraught Prince.
James was behind the royal stables when Sofia found him; the Prince faced a training dummy wielding a sword.
"Not how the law's written..." He muttered. "Well, this is what I think of that law!" He attacked the dummy, "take that, law!"
"James," Sofia called, drawing closer. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"Sofia, I just went from being the future King to the future nothing," James sighed. "So no, I'm not feeling so great. How am I supposed to take care of the kingdom now?"
"I can't imagine how that must feel, but maybe you can find another way to do that?" Sofia suggested. "Without being King."
James thought for a second, "yeah," he smiled, a glint of mischief in his eye, "maybe I can."
"That's the spirit!"
""I'll go work on that right now!" James said, running off.
"Good luck!" Sofia called, "huh, that was way easier than I thought," the Princess muttered, heading back inside.
After Baileywick reassembled the royal family, the wedding portrait was completed, allowing Tilly and her party to head down to the cave entrance, with an added person.
"Hello, Mr. Rene," Sofia greeted the guard.
"Bonjour Princesses," the man greeted in return.
"Bonjour Rene, comment allez-vous? Ca fait tellement longtemps," Tilly said pulling the man into a hug.
"Ah, I am well, my friend; I am happy to see your French has improved," Rene said, returning the hug.
"Thank you for coming with us. It was the only way to get Roland to agree to let us come down here," Tilly explained to the group.
Cedric nodded as he grabbed the map from the bag at his hip; he reached past his wand, potions, food, and a canteen of water before finding it. Once they were at the mouth of the cave, Cedric pulled out his wand and cast a light spell into the dark cave. When they went into it, they all stared in awe at it.
"Wow, I had no idea that this cave even existed, "Tilly said to Cedric as they looked around in wonder.
Cedric just smiled at her, "coming from you, that is truly a miracle." Tilly just chuckles at the joke; she turned to him and asked, "did people or creatures live down here at one point?"
"Yes, from the evidence I've found. It makes me wonder who was using it and why? Plus, it made me wonder who else was using it to leave items behind. It is like people are using it underneath the King's nose this whole time," Cedric explains as he looks at a fossil on the wall.
Curious about what the rest of the cave walls held, Tilly leaves Cedric's side to look at it, unaware of Amber standing beside her.
"Aunt Tilly," she called, drawing the woman's attention, "what made you decide that you wanted to become an adventurer?" Amber asked, which had everyone else looking at her curiously as well.
Startled for a brief second, Tilly glanced around before looking back at the girl, "well Amber, when I was growing up, I was told from birth that I was the heir to the throne, while Roland was told that he was just the 'spare' in case something happened to me, and he has to take over. It both hurt and angered him deeply. That is why he did a lot of pranking and wasting time when we were children. As we grew, I realized one day that I could never see myself on the throne. I wasn't interested in politics or matters of state, war, or any of that boring stuff; I wanted to see the world and see the various sites and explore ancient places."
"I remember the day you told your parents that you didn't want to be Queen," Cedric said as he came to stand by Tilly.
Tilly winces as if the memory alone was unpleasant in itself, "yes, father made his displeasure known quite clearly that day. Mother had to calm him down, telling him that Roland was better at learning the ins and outs of being a King and leader of his kingdom. He was better at listening to other people's problems, and he knew how to fix them or at least how to compromise and find a solution to the problem at hand. I just didn't have the patience for that, and it felt the throne was the gallows, and the crown was my noose waiting for me to hang myself with it. I was always afraid I was going to screw up, causing a war or some international crisis, so when I was 16, as my coronation day came closer, I told my parents that I was denied my place as Queen, and so Roland was made heir to the throne that day."
"When did grandfather step down as King?" Amber asked
He didn't really. Your grandfather was a good King, but he was also very set in his ways, which often got him into trouble. I am sure you know from Goodwyn who saved him a lot, thankfully, but it was never said that Roland the First was gravely ill. He had an infection of the heart. He had all the doctors, healers both magical and non, come from all around to help cure him, but there was nothing they could do. He died when I was 18 and Roland was 16, mother took over until Roland was old enough to become King."
"But what about when you were kids? You, Mr. Cedric, Ms. Cordelia, and Dad all seemed close; what happened?" Sofia asked.
Tilly looks at Cedric, who had a pained expression on his face, but he nods his permission.
"We were all close as kids, practically born together at the same times; I was the oldest, Cordelia was second, then Roland, while Cedric was the youngest of our group, we were raised with the same education, but soon we were separated. With Roland and I going to Royal Prep and Cordelia and Cedric going to Hexley Hall, but we didn't let that stop us from hanging out together, but then the day of Cordelia's Sorceress Ball came, and well, you know what happened. After that day, father forbade Cedric from being near Roland without his father Goodwyn nearby, and so their friendship became strained, and it didn't help whenever Roland did something wrong. Cedric got the blame. I tried my best to get father to lay off Cedric, but no one took me seriously because I was just a silly tomboy. I am sorry you had to suffer like that, Cedric," Tilly said as she hugged Cedric, which at first surprised him, but he soon returned it.
"But what happened between you and Cordelia, Aunt Tilly? Surely you both remained friends, right?" Sofia asked.
Tilly sighs as she looks to Sofia again, "we did up until I was just about to leave home, we got into a terrible argument about something, and then we just stopped talking ever since."
Cedric turns to Tilly, saying, "Tilly, did Sofia tell you what happened with Cordelia?"
She shakes her head, curious and concerned for her once best friend.
"It turns out that Cordelia herself accidentally messed up the spell that caused Cordelia to lose her hair. She bumped into the table causing another potion to mix with the spell, and well, you remember the rest. Still, the point is thanks to my niece and Sofia, they showed us through the looking glass what happened, and I was able to restore her hair to its former glory, and Roland finally saw that I wasn't a screw-up."
Tilly looks at Sofia with pride, "You are becoming quite the little adventurer and detective. I couldn't be more proud."
Sofia beams widely at her Aunt for a moment before getting the curious look in her eyes again, "I remember Dad mentioning his grandfather once, but he never really mentions him more than that. Why?"
Tilly grimaces as she remembers her late grandfather, "he was a bit nasty and harsh when he was drunk or even sober and when Roland and I were children we quickly learned to fear his temper, even father was wary of him, thankfully he died long before the Sorceress's Ball happened."
The short explanation was enough for Sofia, and she let the topic die; as the group continued to walk down the cave, Sofia noticed that a couple of sections had been blocked off, "Mr. Cedric," she called, "why are a few of these sections blocked off?" she asked.
Cedric looks at Sofia, "well, my dear, down those sections of the cave are some deeply...disturbing...things that no one, let alone children, should be looking at." Cedric said to her seriously.
"But I have seen worse," Sofia protested, but her mother was quick to interject.
"Even if you have seen and faced the foulest of beasts, the only people that should be going through those sections are adults," Miranda, having been informed of the contents of the sections beforehand, said firmly. Which had Sofia pouting for a bit before turning to Cedric and asking, "Just how bad is it, Mr. Cedric?"
Cedric knelt in front of the girl and took her shoulders in hand to look her square in the eye, and said, "bad enough to haunt your dreams for life and make you so ill that food will be almost impossible to stomach easily."
Sofia went quiet at hearing that, and so the group walked in dead silence for most of the journey down the cave tunnels.
Meanwhile, at the Enchancia Jousting arena and Tavern, Bartleby, Roland, James, and the rest of his fellow knights were having the time of their lives talking, laughing, trading stories, tossing back whiskey or sparkling juice in the case of Roland and James who can't or don't drink under the promise or threat from their wife/mother. Still, for the most part, they were having a blast as they watched, amused by what the knights drunkenly tried to poke at each other with the thankful rubber jousting sticks.
"Dad, how come Cedric didn't come with us?" James asked, starting to get bored and thinking the Sorcerer would have been a good distraction.
"Well, partly because he would not have a good time with a bunch of knights and secondly Tilly wanted to go on a 'whiz bang' adventure," Roland answered; looking at his son, he added, "now go explore the stands with your friend, but be back before dark."
"Alright, dad," James said excitedly as he finished his drink before leaving and talking with Bright, the son of one of the knights.
They pretended to leave, talking about sweets, but then they backtrack, and watches from a safe distance as their fathers walked back into the Tavern, which forced James and Bright to look into the window of the building—watching with looks of both shock and disappointment as they saw the King order a whiskey and down it quickly before ordering another.
"Dad told mom that he wouldn't drink," James whispers sadly. Bright shakes his head, "people lie a lot, and it would seem your Pa is going to learn the hard way about lying if he continues, but let's get out of here and go do something fun."
"Fine, but as long as we are back before dark, we should be okay," James said as they left to go explore the many stands with all sorts of food and trinkets.
Tilly was busy looking into a new section of the cave, while the others took a break to rest, eat and drink before continuing their adventure, 'This is so whiz-bang, I wish that Bartleby was here to see this. He always enjoyed a good adventure,' she thought to herself, 'but it was also good to catch up with Ced as well. I forgot how kind and smart he could be. I remember when that whole fiasco with Cordelia happened, he was treated like the castle's joke, and he was kept isolated from us. Still, I wouldn't let father do that, so I would sneak into his rooms and comfort him as best as I could until Cordelia caught us and we had that terrible fight. I hope that I see her tomorrow at my wedding; I need to apologize.' Tilly thought sadly as she looked at the cave drawings and symbols that covered the walls.
"Tilly? Are you there? It's time to get back; the sun will be setting soon," Cedric said as he spotted the woman looking at the walls, her eyes distant with a hint of sadness in them as she turned to smile at him.
Okay, let's go. I was getting tired anyway," Tilly said as they walked side by side back to the group, who were ready to head home.
James and Bright were having a ball, eating sweets, and playing games, when James looked up at the sky and noticed the sun's location, "it's time we head back. I am not sure how I am going to get dad home without mom noticing him smelling of booze."
Bright rubbed his chin for a moment before a wicked smirk came onto his face. "I think it's time we teach our dear old King a lesson in lying to his Queen, come on."
James looked at his friend, uncertain if this was a good idea, but it was true his father lied to his mother, so he decided to go with it. As they came closer to the Tavern, Bartleby and his fellow were coming out with a very drunk Roland in their arms.
"Wow, dad got drunk, let's get him home, and then tomorrow is when the real fun begins," James whispers to Bright, his smirk plastered on his face as they approach the knights and his father.
After greeting them, the two children walked beside Bartleby, whispering ideas to each other. At the same time, Roland was being supported by two other knights, as he was unable to walk a straight line without falling, and his words were slurred so severely that no one understood his ramblings. By the time they got back to the castle, they were greeted by Baileywick, who had a look of deep disapproval on his face when he spotted the state of his King.
"I will take over from here, gentlemen. Thank you for bringing our King and Prince home safely." Baileywick said as he puts an arm over his shoulder and drags Roland into the castle with James following after him after he told a quick goodbye to Bright.
Once inside, both Baileywick and Roland ran into Miranda, who was angry and upset at her husband's state. Still, before she could start to lecture, James pulls her aside, and after whispering in her ear, her frown was replaced with a wicked grin, and after saying good night to James, she turns to Baileywick, who was holding Roland.
"Put him in the living room, with a bucket in case he vomits during the night, and then tomorrow, I want you to…" the rest of what was said was whispered into Baileywick's ear, who nodded and did as he was ordered.
Amber was coming down the stairs; after having an extensive bath and change of clothes, she was surprised to see her father drunk and being physically dragged/carried in the living room by Baileywick, 'isn't it usually the Groom that gets drunk the night before their wedding, not the in laws' Amber wonders as she went to stand beside her brother, while her mother was off to do something, but Amber wasn't paying much attention to the details.
James just smiles, saying, "don't think about it too much, now come on, I have to go find Aunt Tilly, I need to tell her something."
Amber looks at her twin with a look of suspicion, "what about? wait, James!" she shouts, chasing after James, who was running towards the north wing of the castle, where the bride suite was located. Amber caught up to James as he knocked on the door, waiting as it opened to reveal Tilly.
"James, Amber? What is wrong? Is Bart alright?" She was worried that something happened to her Knight.
"Bartleby is fine. It's just that dad decided to go on a drinking binge after I left the Tavern and well, he is currently sleeping it off in the living room; mom isn't happy with him since he promised he wouldn't drink, but that was a lie, and I was wondering if you and Bartleby have a priest yet?
Tilly frowns when she hears about her brother's little misadventure but shakes her head at James's question, "No, why do you ask?"
"I was thinking, and yes, I had mom agree to this as well, that dad should be the one that officiates the wedding while hungover, as a lesson never to break his promises in the future."
Tilly thinks about it for a moment and nods in agreement, "I agree. See you tomorrow, kiddos. Good night."
"Good night," they said in unison.
"I wonder how Bartleby is doing. I haven't seen him since we got home." James wonders out loud as both Amber and he walk down the hall and down towards the west wing, where they meet up with Sofia.
"Hey guys, I just found Bartleby talking to a lamp as if it was his wife . I had to direct him to his bedroom after convincing him that Aunt Tilly was home and in her room."
James let out a laugh for a few moments before saying with a smile, "no wonder he didn't talk much on the way home. He was drunk."
"Yes, but from the sounds of it, dad was worse. I could barely make out what he was saying to Baileywick as he was put on the couch to sleep," Sofia said.
"Well, I am sure by morning he will be regretting it since he is now going to be the one to officiate the wedding," James said with a look of mischief on his face.
Both the girls wince in sympathy for their father, but when it was told to them that he broke a promise to their mother not to touch a drop of alcohol, they understood and decided to help teach their dad a lesson.
The Next Morning shines bright and sunny, much to Roland's dismay as his head pounded and his stomach recoiled as he laid on the couch. His whole body ached as he tried to find a comfortable position to sleep in, but the sofa wasn't the comfy beds, but soon he was drifting off when he was woken by all three of his children.
"GOOD MORNING, ENCHANCIA!" James shouted, which had Roland cringing as he tried to block it out with his pillow only to have it wrenched away from him by Sofia, while Amber took away his blanket.
"Time to get up, dad, and have breakfast," Sofia said, unaware that Roland looked ill at the thought of food as he was physically dragged out of the living room and into the dining room where a full English breakfast was waiting. Still, the smells and sight of the food were enough to send Roland to the nearest bathroom.
After he was done, he got up, brushed his teeth thoroughly before leaving to eat, even though he didn't want to, as he walked down the hall and proceeded into the dining room. He paled when he saw his mother sitting at the table laughing and chatting with his wife, sister, and children. Poor Bartleby was seated beside his fiancé, his face pale and tired, but other wise, he was coping better than Roland was at the moment.
Kimberly spots her son standing in the doorway, and gone was her gentle smile as a deep frown quickly replaced it as she looked at her son with deep disappointment, which Roland knew was because he drinks himself stupid. As his father and grandfather had done in the past, so for Roland to not follow that same pattern, she made sure he knew the dangers of drinking and the health issues of constant alcohol in his system and as well as the temper of the men in his family as well be affected and ever since then Roland vowed and promised never to touch alcohol. Still, yesterday he has broken that promise and vow to not only his mother and wife but to himself as the shame and guilt hit him like a ton of bricks. Everyone watches with bated breath as the former Queen got up and walked over to her son; for a moment, she didn't say or do anything, but then she reaches up and gives Roland a hard slap to the back of the head, making everyone wince in both sympathy or Roland's case pain as he rubbed his smarted head.
"Roland Richard Regium the third! Explain to me why when reading the morning paper that I find your face on the first page with you coming out of the Tavern drunk out of your mind?" Kimberly started her tone firm and cold.
Roland looks down in shame as he says, "there is no explanation. I got myself drunk, plain and simple," he yelps when his mother grabs his tie and pulls him down to meet her eyes.
"Don't play me for a fool, boy, I taught you the dangers of alcohol and how it's in your genetics to be an alcoholic, now tell me what you were thinking last night, no wait, you weren't thinking at all," Kimberly wasn't messing around this time, and Roland knew it too.
"Mother...please, can we talk about this later," Roland looked at his mother pleadingly.
Kimberly looked at her son, tsk, and then went to sit back down, followed by Roland, who was still nursing a hangover. The rest of breakfast was silent, but soon the plates were cleared, and the children were sent off to play while the adults talked. Seeing the children leave, Kimberly looks at her son. She says, "you and I are going to be having a long chat, young man, but today is my little girl's special day. So you better be prepared for the day ahead, my boy, and before I forget, I made it so that you would be officiating Matilda and Bartleby, and you will do it, got it?"
Roland nods quickly, "yes, ma'am!"
In the royal gardens, everyone was busy getting stuff ready for the wedding. Bright was busy helping set up some tables, well the King and Knights were talking about last night in the village. Brad, Bright's father, was talking with Bartleby, who, for the most part, remained silent as a ghost since last night.
"So, did your fiancé give you a rude awakening?" Brad just laughs and winces in sympathy at Bartleby's grimaces.
"At least you slept in, my boy along with my wife woke me up at the crack of dawn banging pots and pan with spoons, to say the wife gave me an earful was a gross understatement."
Coming out to check on the wedding and finding his son, Roland overheard them talking and decided to join in. "Want a bet? I was drifting off when the kids woke me early, and I was sleeping on the couch, which by the way, is the worst place to sleep it off. I don't know why I just got carried away, but it wasn't worth seeing my mother's disappointment or anger directed at me, not since my late grandfather and father were still alive and drinking heavily. She hated it and drilled into me that drinking was bad and why."
"Well, at least the boys weren't around to see that," Brad said, only for Bartleby to counteract that statement.
"Unfortunately, they saw you getting dragged out of the tavern, drunk, but for the most part, they were too busy whispering about something, but I was too busy putting one foot in front of the other to pay any attention."
Roland groaned while the others laughed at his embarrassment before he decided to change the subject, "you know I just realized if I am officiating the wedding, who is going to walk Tilly down the aisle? Our father is long gone, and I am not sure if James will do it right now."
James perked up at his name, having been helping Bright, "dad, I'll walk Aunt Tilly down the aisle."
Roland beamed with pride, "okay, son, go ahead and get ready and be back here at noon."
"Can do-dad," James said, running off, pulling Bright with him.
"What are you up to, James?" Bright asked, seeing the look on the Prince's face.
"Well, Bright, now is the time for me to protect the kingdom...by making sure Enchancia doesn't get a selfish, self-centered Queen-like Amber."
Bright's breath caught in his throat, "what if you get caught?"
"I won't," he said confidently, "if you can keep my dad busy..."
Bright sighed, "Okay, I'm with you, James, if only to make sure you don't make a big mess of things."
"You're the best, thanks! See you at the wedding," James yelled, taking off.
Baileywick and Amber walked the garden going over wedding details with Tilly, "now, Princess Amber, as heir to the throne, you have lots of important wedding duties," Baileywick announced. "Greeting the guests, presenting the cake..."
"And holding on to Bartleby's wedding ring for safekeeping," Tilly added, holding up the ring, "it's one of a kind, just like Bartleby," she said, giving Amber the ring. "I need you to keep it safe until it's time for me to give it to him at the wedding ceremony."
"I'll guard this with all my future Queen abilities," Amber pledged.
Baileywick and Aunt Tilly walked away, satisfied.
"Are you sure you want to get your sister, James?" Blight asked again.
"Everything will work out, Bright. I'll be fine."
"Alright, Jame, be careful."
Taking a moment to herself, the Princess began to think about the past and future,
I never thought this day would come," Amber admitted to herself, "and now that it has...it just feels so right!"
Amber:
I've always loved being a princess
The gowns, the balls, the jewels galore
But I started to wonder what else life has in store
And now I see there's something more
I will be queen, that's the path for me
I've always known deep down, that it was meant to be
Enchancia's queen, It is clear to see
That I was born to rule, yes, it was meant to be
' Amber smiled, unaware of the shadow lurking behind her, "
I have so much I know I could offer
I'll help the folks across our land
And I can't wait to tell them everything I've planned
The future will be so great and grand
I will be queen, that's the path for me
I've always known deep down, that it was meant to be
Enchancia's queen, It is clear to see
That I was born to rule, yes, it was meant to be
James pouted, '
I'm the one who was supposed to end up on the throne
Supposed to run this land and make the rules all on my own
If I show them all that Amber's nothing but a fool
They have got to see I'm far more fit to rule
Amber and James:
I will be queen/king, that's the path for me
I've always known deep down that it was meant to be
Enchancia's queen/king, It is clear to see
That I was born to rule Yes, it was meant to be
James:
Meant to be
Amber:
Yes, it was meant to be
End-