Author's Note: Hello everyone! Sorry it's been a while, but good news - I'm graduating law school this Sunday! Studying for the bar is next, but I'm hoping that writing will be a sort of outlet and that you will get much more regular updates moving forward. I still love both of my stories a lot. I hope you enjoy, and please review if you have a chance :)

While Lydia had mostly adapted to her temporary role as crown princess well, one of the things that she had never been able to take in stride was her required presence at garden parties.

It was such a silly thing to hate so much, but oh, did Lydia hate them. When she was just a spare, she, like Cohen, hadn't been forced to attend. It was always a requirement for Naomi, and she performed beautifully as always, spending just the right time talking with the guests to make everyone feel special. She never betrayed her boredom, and could seem engaged in the most heinous, unending droning.

Lydia wasn't and would never be as good as Naomi. At the very least, she supposed this day would be better, because she had forced Bex and the Selected to come with her.

It was no hardship for Bex, who loved any party, especially one where she could dress up. She had found the most enormous hat in her collection and fluttered around the grounds like the social butterfly she was. Meanwhile, Lydia parked herself with most of the Selected and flagged down passing waiters for snacks.

"What is the purpose of a garden party?" Shiv asked.

Lydia sighed through a mouth full of appetizers. "Beats me," she shrugged. "Politics and schmoozing and all that."

"So, why aren't you, uh, schmoozing?" inquired Rowan.

Although the real reason was just that she was terrible at it, Lydia instead forced a bright smile. "So I can spend time with all of you!"

Joey snorted. "Almost bought it." Lydia threw a cupcake wrapper at him.

"Okay, fine, there are better snacks here," she declared, sticking her tongue out at Joey. "It's so hard to eat when people keep talking to you."

"We're glad that we can give you a reason to hide out," Leif offered with a friendly smile.

"We should play a game," Pascal declared.

"And here's where I leave," Joey declared. Before Lydia could protest, he stood and abandoned the group. She glared at his retreating figure but decided not to let it affect her afternoon. Returning her attention to Pascal, she chuckled, "I mean, unless you know how to play croquet, we're a little short on games at the moment."

"I have a brilliant idea," he gasped. "'Don't get me started.'"

They all stared at Pascal, and he looked amazed and horrified that they didn't know what he was talking about. "No one has ever played this?" he demanded. There was a chorus of head shaking. "Oh my god, you poor, simple country folk. Okay, so basically you pick a super inoffensive topic, and then you have to go on like a full on rant about it."

There were varying levels of comprehension among the party's faces, so Pascal declared, "I'll show you. Pick a topic, Lydia."

"Hmm." She noticed a bee land on a flower near his foot. "Bees," she decided.

Pascal blew out a deep breath. "Do you know that bees literally defy the laws of nature?" he began. "Like, honestly, it is so frustrating to know that bees are the only ones people can really count on to continue keeping the flower population abundant? And don't get me started on their impact on avocados for all the hipsters like Shiv out there."

The group laughed, and Shiv glared at Pascal before muttering, "I don't even like avocados."

Pascal's eyes lit up, like he'd had a spark of genius. "Also, The Bee Movie—yes, the one with Barry B. Benson, don't make that face, Shiv, I know you know and love it—is so underappreciated and should be viewed as a cautionary tale for everyone."

With a final deep breath he concluded, in a voice that was practically a yell, "Bees are just so freaking majestic, and they don't deserve the crap they get!"

There was silence among the group before Lydia and Skadi—and Leif, at Skadi's prodding—broke into a round of applause. "I don't know how anyone is going to follow that," Fallon noted in his even tone.

"I'll try!" Lydia declared. "What's my topic, o great Pascal?"

Pascal considered her for a long moment before he smirked, which made Lydia nervous. Then, he announced, "Bubbles."

Lydia nodded. "Bubbles. See, bubbles are just so…" She giggled, and she noticed Gabe smile at her giggle which made her blush and feel even more frazzled. "Bubbles just…"

But she couldn't think of a single complaint about bubbles, or a single way to even be passionate about bubbles. Bubbles were just… bubbles. She turned her gaze to Pascal, her eyes narrowed. "I think the most infuriating thing about bubbles is this is so unfair because no one can say bubbles in an angry voice or without laughing a little, so I think you were trying to pull a trick on me, Sir Pascal," she accused him.

Pascal smiled coyly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

She rolled her eyes but smiled. "I think it's safe to say you won this round."

"The strategy works every time," grinned Pascal.

"And what is the purpose of this 'game'?" Alistair asked.

"Nothing dude," shrugged Pascal with an easy grin. "It's just fun."

Alistair simply raised an eyebrow and sipped his wine in response.

Logan offered to go next, but before he could begin his rant, Lydia's attention was captured by a familiar figure approaching her parents. It was a face she hadn't seen in years, but one she had longed for, given that he had been like family. Before her mind could remind her of how different things were, she mumbled a vague, "Excuse me," to the Selected and made a beeline across the lawn.

The happiness put a spring in her step, bubbled up her chest and out her mouth in an excited greeting of, "Ben!" He turned towards her, just in time for Lydia to throw her arms around him.

She had been looking forward to his arrival more than she realized. It was the closest she had felt to Naomi in a while, and all she wanted to was to melt into Ben's familiar embrace and feel some kind of comfort that things were going to be okay. He used to pick her up and spin her, commenting on how tiny she was. She would squeeze him until he pretended to gasp for air.

But she realized how rigid and uncomfortable Ben felt, and instead of feeling any kind of relief, a fresh fear coursed through her veins. She glanced up at him, hoping to see any tiny flicker of recognition.

But how could he recognize her? His memories of her were so engrained with Naomi—they had always been so close, the three of them, never making her feel like a third wheel—that it was impossible for him to remember her. When she met his gaze, his eyes were blank, like she was a complete stranger.

It hurt more than she thought it would, and she quickly dropped her arms and took a step back. Realizing that she had to do it to save face and hating herself for it, she turned to Jia and embraced her as well. "I'm so excited to see you both!" she ground out, ignoring how traitorous the words felt.

Collette gave a forced laugh. "That's our Lydia," she commented, "Always very… friendly."

Ben laughed, too. It was forced as well—nothing like his real laugh. "It's very nice to see you again, Your Highness," he greeted her. "I believe the last time we met you were much smaller."

Six. She'd been six. Naomi had been sick for most of the Italians visit, so Lydia had met Ben on her own. It stung to realize that of all the good times they'd shared together, all the laughs and adventures, that was all he remembered. Her nose tingled with sadness. "It is so nice to see you again," she replied. "And so nice to meet you, Princess Jia," she added.

Jia smiled. She was even more stunning in person than she had been in the newspaper. "Thank you so much for inviting us," Jia began. Feeding off of Lydia's 'friendliness', she reached out for the younger girl's hand. "I'm very much looking forward to getting to know you and your beautiful country."

Lydia forced herself to count to three before she pulled away. "Me too," she lied. Finally, the tears began to sting at her eyes, blurring their figures. "If you could just…. Excuse me…"

She wanted to run away, but she made herself walk. When she was almost out of sight, she glanced over her shoulder. Ben had put an arm around Jia's shoulders, and she was beaming up at him like he hung the sun in the sky. Her eyes flickered away and landed on the Selected. Even worse, they looked… upset?

She wanted to kick herself. They had probably seen the whole thing and were wondering why a prince was even there in the first place. "You're so stupid," she groaned to herself, pushing away a few hot tears that had managed to slip free.

As soon as she turned the corner of the castle, she broke into a run. She needed distance—away from Naomi's tower, away from Ben, away from the Selected. She needed to be able to breathe and think and figure out what to do next.

But it was a stupid idea, because Bex had talked her into wearing a pair of wedges, and unsurprisingly, she was not very good at running in them. Her ankle twisted violently, and she flew face first into the ground. She managed to throw her hands out to break her fall, and when she steadied herself, she discovered that her knees and palms had taken most of the impact.

"Great," she sighed, sitting down to brush the gravel off of her bloody hands.

"You okay?"

She glanced over her shoulder to find Joey leaning against a nearby paddock. She was about to ask him why he was hiding over here until she realized that a couple of their horses were grazing in the enclosed field. It almost made her smile that he liked doing something so simple as watching the horses.

"Uh, no," she confessed. Her ankle throbbed, and she was bleeding more than she would've liked.

To her surprise, Joey pushed off the fence to take a step towards her. "Can I help you?"

"It'll be okay in a minute," she confessed. It made her a little uncomfortable to heel herself in front of Joey with his permanent leg injury, but she knew she couldn't put it off for long.

The pain in her ankle disappeared, and when she looked down, her hands and knees were good as new. "That's something," Joey noted.

"Yep," she mumbled. She sighed and laid back in the grass.

Although she had expected him to leave her alone now that she was physically fine, she was surprised when he took a step closer and peered down at her. "You sure you're okay?"

Lydia frowned, and not trusting herself to speak, shook her head. Joey sighed deeply, like he regretted asking. But instead of saying anything snarky or mean, he asked, "Wanna talk about it?"

Yes. But she had no idea where she could possibly even start. She opened and shut her mouth a few times, at a loss of how to explain anything without it all leading back to Naomi.

When he realized that she wasn't about to say anything, Joey offered her a hand. Lydia took it, and he heaved her to her feet. He quickly released her hand and started back towards the paddock. She frowned, feeling disappointed that he'd returned to his usual surly demeanor so quickly. But he paused at the fence and asked, "You coming?" before he slid between the rails into the field.

Though she was confused, Lydia hurried after him. It took a moment for her to maneuver between the rails because of her dress, and she had to run to catch up with Joey. "Are we allowed to do this?" she asked.

He barked out a laugh. Lydia realized it was the first time she'd heard him laugh, and it suited him—brusque and short. "You own the place, don't ya?"

She supposed that was fair. "I just mean, they're not going to be like… scared of us or anything, are they?" She knew how to ride a horse, of course, but she had never spent as much time around them as Naomi had. Her sister had been a very skilled equestrian.

"No, these are the sweethearts," Joey declared. As if to emphasize his point, he caught the nose of the horse closest to him and gave it an affectionate pat.

Lydia gently patted the horse closest to her. It was gray with a white mane, and it glanced over its shoulder to see who had joined them. "Well, what are ya waiting for?" Joey asked.

"What am I supposed to do?" Lydia replied, confused.

"If you can't talk to me—or probably anyone else, cause I think you would've done that before running through a field in heels like a madwoman—talk to them," he suggested. "They're good listeners."

She figured it couldn't hurt anything. After glancing to make sure Joey wasn't paying attention to her—he wasn't, his back already turned to her as he stroked a large bay horse near him—she leaned her head against the gray horse's shoulder and gently drew her hand up and down its neck. "Ben doesn't remember," she whispered, the hot tears burning her eyes again, "and it's all my fault."

The horse's ears flicked back towards her, as though it was actually listening. She continued on, "We had to do it though. After my parents…"

She had been frantic. After she'd gotten Naomi home, she didn't know what to do. She'd gone to the fairies, and Hazel had brought her parents to the tower. She could almost remember the exact tone of her father's voice—the mixture of horror and disappointment and absolute heartbreak—as he'd whispered, "What have you done, Lydia?"

"They had to forget," she whispered to the horse. "Just until we fix this."

She paused before she added, "I miss my best friend, though, and how things used to be."

She whispered a while longer, until she didn't feel like there were any words demanding to be spoken aloud, and when she joined Joey by his horse, he pretended not to see the tear streaks on her cheeks. "Feel better?" he asked.

"Kind of," she admitted. "Do you feel better after talking with them?"

"Kinda," he shrugged.

"Well, thanks," she smiled. "This was really nice of you."

"Don't go makin' me regret it," retorted Joey.

She rolled her eyes. "I think you're a lot nicer than you let on, you know."

"I'm not," he countered with a shake of his head. "I think you might just be a pretty bad judge of character."

"Maybe I just see the best in people," she shrugged.

"Well, good thing you got that power to stop you from ever getting hurt, Princess Peach," he chuckled, "cause from my experience, people can be pretty bad."

She watched him pat the horse beside him with a gentleness that surprised her. She was amused by her newest nickname, but she supposed a video game character was better than 'money bags.' "I'm sorry I snapped at you after the bus the other day," she muttered, thinking back to their last interaction.

"Pretty sure I started it," Joey reminded her with a rueful smile. "Usually do." He paused before he added, "Sorry I assumed everything's perfect with you. No offense, but you seem like you got some issues."

Lydia laughed at his bluntness. "If you only knew," she admitted.

"I'd like to be friends," she added, deciding to try her luck before Joey turned into his usual doom and gloom self again.

He grimaced. "Don't really have any of those."

"Well, now you do," Lydia declared.

He glanced at her from under his mop of unruly hair. "Doesn't seem like I have much of a choice in this," he commented.

"You don't," she shrugged. "So start getting used to it."

He didn't say anything but nodded, and Lydia thought she saw the tiniest hint of a smile. "There's something I need to take care of, but do you think we could maybe do this again sometime?" she suggested.

Joey gave an elaborate bow. "At your disposal, Princess Peach."

"I'll see you around," she smiled before she started to make her way back to the castle. She finally felt ready to do something she had been avoiding.

From an early age, Lydia had understood the dynamic between the three fairies that lived at the castle.

Hazel was, of course, the leader. It was something that anyone who met Hazel could easily tell. She had an easy air of authority about her and a commanding presence. She made the final decisions, and it was often impossible to sway Hazel's mind or opinion once it was made up.

It made sense that Hazel was in charge. She was one of the fairies who had brokered peace between the fairy community and the humans. Before that, fairies were hunted, often killed so that their powers could be utilized by their persecutors. They, in turn, attacked in retaliation and out of fear. It was a miracle that decades of mistreatment could be settled, but somehow, Hazel had managed it.

Iris was the second in command. She wasn't as old as Hazel, but she came from a prominent fairy family. Her grandmother had helped Hazel lead them from the dark days. Iris was smart, eternally loyal to Hazel, and powerful. It made sense that she had been picked to succeed her grandmother when she had faded.

Tallulah was the surprise pick. She had no connection to Iris, Hazel, or the previous water fairy that had served at the palace. She was the youngest, and Lydia's generation was the first she had granted powers to. She wasn't from a prominent family.

But Tallulah had worked hard to get to this position. She had worked to put herself through Orzyn Academy, one of the premier magic schools in Illéa. After that, she had been offered a position in the Angeles Cove. The Coves were sacred locations, once sanctuaries for fairies in the days that they had been hunted. Now, they served as centers of history and culture, places for fairies to hone their crafts outside of what the ordinary fairy might do.

It was here that Tallulah had caught Hazel's attention, and she had been handpicked to join the other two, much to the fairy community's surprise. Tallulah knew she was an unlikely candidate, and because of it, she always seemed to work a little harder. She tried to innovate, problem solve. One of her most important goals in life was to make Hazel proud.

And though she felt a little guilty, it was this desire that Lydia played on when she sought Tallulah out alone. She knew that Hazel was visiting an arboretum with Collette, and Iris was being consulted by environmental boards about air quality in the capital.

"Hi, Lydia," Tallulah smiled when the girl stepped into the tower. "Here to see Naomi?"

"No," countered Lydia, "I actually wanted to talk to you."

Tallulah looked surprised but pleased. She was stirring a pot of liquid and set it aside to give Lydia her full attention.

Lydia didn't hold back. "Tallulah, we need fire fairies."

Tallulah looked alarmed, understandably so. Hazel had already vetoed the idea, so that should have been the end of it. "Oh, Lydia, I can't—"

"You have to know one," Lydia pressed, "Or know of one. Tallulah, I'm desperate. Naomi is getting worse every day, and Ben is about to make the biggest mistake of his life, and they're both in these positions because ofme."

Tallulah's brow furrowed in sympathy. "Oh, Lydia," she sighed, "I wish you weren't so hard on yourself. It could've happened to—"

She shook her head. "I have to fix it, Tallulah. Please help me."

Tallulah chewed her lip. After a long silence, she finally sighed, "I know someone. Someone who might be… motivated to help us."

"Who?" Lydia asked eagerly.

"His name is Castor," Tallulah explained. "I knew him from the Cove." She paused before she added, "There are… rumors. That he's connected to Agnimitra someone."

Lydia furrowed her eyebrows. "Like related?" Tallulah nodded. "Could we trust someone like that?"

"I don't know that we can trust any fire fairy," Tallulah admitted, "but Castor always seemed like a good person. And if he is related to Agnimitra… he might be strong enough to help us undo her curse. And if he's not—" Tallulah cut herself off.

"What?" Lydia encouraged her.

Tallulah sighed. It was clear that she was thinking about how much trouble they could be in if Hazel knew what they were planning behind her back. "He has a brother," she confessed, "Uriel. If Castor isn't powerful enough on his own, perhaps together he and Uriel…"

"Two fire fairies," Lydia breathed. It was better than she could have ever imagined.

"But there are… questions… about Uriel," Tallulah countered. "He doesn't live in society like Castor. He's reclusive and from what I've heard, there have been whispers about whether he sways light or dark."

"We have to bring them here," Lydia decided. "Tallulah, it's the best chance that we have. And there's no way he could try anything bad with you, Hazel, and Iris around."

After a long moment of contemplation, Tallulah reluctantly nodded. "I'll contact them," Tallulah promised. "But I don't know how there's any way we could get them to the palace without Hazel finding out first and ending it before we could even talk to them."

A smile slowly grew on Lydia's face as an idea sprang to life in her head. "Leave that part to me," she declared.

And that was how she ended up in the Men's Room later that evening. "We're having a ball," she announced.

The Selected responded with varying levels of interest. Joey rolled his eyes and picked up his racing magazine, Pascal punched the air in excitement, and a few guys, like Gabriel and Charlie, exchanged nervous looks. "But not just any ball," Lydia continued, "A masquerade. And we tend to go all out for those kinds of things here at the palace, so I encourage all of you to be creative, because you will be judged."

"Like a costume contest?" Pascal asked. While some of the guys might have been daunted by the task, he was clearly bursting with joy.

Before she could explain that it wasn't actually a contest, a voice interrupted and declared, "Sure. Loser has to go on a date with Lydia."

She glared at Cohen as a few guys chuckled at her obnoxious younger brother. "More like winner is safe from the wrath of Bex, who holds theme parties at the highest of regards," she countered. She could already imagine how many sketches Bex would be concocting that night for their own outfits.

"Is this party for the Italian prince?" Alistair asked bluntly.

Lydia knew that some of the guys were probably surprised—or intimidated—by Ben's appearance. She hadn't thought of it when she had invited him, but it had been clear from their faces after Ben's arrival that morning. "In honor of his engagement to Princess Jia," Lydia explained. But saying the words made her stomach churn, like she was somehow betraying Naomi. "Prince Benedetto's family and ours share a long and friendly history," she emphasized.

"Well, it will be nice to get to celebrate your friend, then," Creed declared, making Lydia smile. It was a sweet and generous gesture on his part.

"I can't wait to see all of you there," she beamed.