Now this was Cordelia's first time at a royal feast during the 14th
century, but she presumed that her finance was supposed to pay her a
bit of attention. Of that, she received none at all. Prince Edward
was too busy with his precious childhood friend Piers Gaveston to give
her any notice at all. Frankly, it was starting to piss her off. If
she was in the twenty-first century, she would've given him a piece of
her mind, and be done with him. But as she was posing as a princess
for someone else, she held her tongue.

That damn Piers. Cordelia felt she knew him like a brother. And that
was before she stopped paying attention an hour ago. Music was playing,
couples were dancing, and here she was, sitting here, listening to
Piers talk about fishing. "Edward, would you care to dance?" She
finally asked him.

Edward looked up at her in surprise. Of course he looked surprised,
a voice other than Piers was talking to him. "Dance?" He inquired,
frowning a bit. He glanced over at Piers, and Cordelia couldn't help
but wonder if this prince would rather dance with Piers than with her.
"I suppose- for just one dance." Piers looked disappointed. So did
Edward.

Cordelia sighed and led him out to the dance floor. There was a
problem, and that was she did not know what they were dancing to.
This was completely different than the dance class she took in 1995.
She looked at Edward, wishing he would lead, but he just kind of
stared at her, and awkwardly put his hands on her. No wonder Isabella
decided to bail.

**

"He's dancing with her!" Xander whispered excitedly, staring out the
window. Not that the two of them were a sight to watch. Neither
seemed to know how to dance. In Cordelia's case, it was extremely
excusable, considering she wasn't from this time. But Edward! He
was supposed to be a prince, and he couldn't even dance with the most
beautiful girl in the room, after ignoring her for several hours.
Xander was appalled. "Look at them!"

"Why don't you look at the work to be done," Clyde snapped. "You did
not help prepare the food, the least you could do is help clean up!
All you've done is watch the girl! Trust me, she's fine."

"Tell me how much you'll pay me, and maybe I'll help clean," Xander
replied, still watching Edward and Cordelia from his spot.

"Your supper is your pay- that is the way it works here," Clyde
said bitterly. "And as I recall, you ate about five servings of soup,
you stole some of the meat, and you've snuck uncountable slices of
bread from here. That's worth about two weeks of work."

"Hey, my girlfriend is here posing as your princess to marry some
jerk. I think we're even," Xander smirked and turned back to his
window, completely forgetting the fact that he and Cordelia were no
longer together.

**

The song finally ended, and Edward jerked his hands off her at the
speed of one who touches a hot stove. "Thank you for the dance." He
said without even looking at her, and quickly returned to Piers.
Cordelia sighed, feeling worse for Isabella, who would have to return
to marry this loser. Cordelia just stood there, not wanting to
return back to Edward and Piers.

Then a figure caught her eye. It was Xander and he was talking to
King Edward. Cordelia was worried, for she had no idea what he
would be talking about. She hoped that nothing was wrong, and that he
was okay. She subtly moved closer, as to hear what he was saying.

"As the uncle of Princess Isabella, I would like to say that I am
appalled at your son's behavior. All night he has shown no courtesy
or interest in her, as opposed to his friend over there. As they
are to be married, I believe that something should be done about this."
Xander exhaled, and watched the King's face anxiously, hoping his
nervousness didn't shine through his bold facade. Posing as Cordelia's
uncle and complaining about the way she was treated had seemed like
a brilliant idea at the time. But now, he really had no idea what
he was doing.

King Edward frowned, and glanced over at Edward and Piers. "Yes, of
course," he muttered. "That damn Piers." He looked up and faced
Xander. "Thank you for telling me. I assure you, the situation will
be taken cared of."

Meanwhile, Farrel rushed into the room. He urgently crossed to King
Philip, who was looked shocked at his entry. He whispered in his
ear, "I have managed to bring Isabella back!"