Title: The King and I (the title of the story is a complete coincidence – the plot of this fic has little to no relevance to the plot of the movie!)
Author: Starbucksmocha
Discliamer: I own nothing! Nada! Zip! Zilch!
Rating: PG
Summary: Completely AU. Sark/Sydney. Spoiler warnings for those who haven't seen season 3. The plot of this came from a TV show I saw – I didn't exactly know what was going on since it was in another language but the gist of it was that this guy (famous actor or something) got married to this girl (a playwright or writer of some type) against either of their wishes (don't know how or even why – the episode I saw was halfway through the series). Thus the basic plot of my story was born!
Author's Note: Hi everyone! This is not my first piece of fanfiction (I have quite a few over at SD-1) but it is my first time posting here so I am a little nervous. I adore reviews - the speed of my updates do depend on the number of reviews I get so if you like this, please let me know! Also, I don't have a beta so I apologize if there are any mistakes - although there shouldn't be, you never know... I welcome criticism, as long as it is constructive - those of you who happen to not like my story, for whatever the reason may be, I just want to remind you that no one is forcing you to read this.
Well, now that we've gotten that over with, let's continue on with the story!
Chapter One
"You can't be serious!"
Julian sighed for what felt like a millionth time that day. "I wish I were joking. I'm not."
Eric, Julian's best friend, couldn't believe what he was hearing. "But... this is you we're talking about!"
"You don't think I know that?"
Silence fell upon the room until the latter broke it softly with a question. "So what are you going to do?"
Julian spoke with determination. "What I have to do. Not like I believe in love or marriage anyways. I'm sure there's someone out there who will comply with the wishes I plan to draw up in an ironclad contract."
Eric looked at his best friend in disbelief before replying, "Good luck. You'll need it."
Few hours ago...
"He is still trying to screw up my life, even from beyond the grave!" The younger man paced in front of the roaring fire, agitation clearly written in the usually impassive face.
"Julian, calm yourself."
"Calm myself? You want me to calm myself? This stupid will is forbidding me to be the next king and you want me to calm myself? I have worked way too hard for far too long to not fulfill my destiny. Find a way to get me out of this predicament. NOW."
The older man opposite Julian Aidan Sark Lazarey opened his mouth to reply but couldn't say the actual words.
"WHAT?" The older man flinched at hearing Julian's tone. He may have been the beloved godfather and advisor but even he did not dare to overestimate his position in his godson's eyes.
"You're not going to like this..."
About a year later...
"Sydney! Wait up!"
Sydney slowed but did not stop in her quick pace to her parents' home. "What is it Fran? I'm kind of in a hurry. Mom needs to see me asap."
Francie, Sydney's best friend since they were in diapers, stopped to lean against the corridor of an UCLA building before replying. "Don't forget that you're coming with Will and I tonight to see Charlie off!"
"Do I really have to? I don't feel like going out tonight," replied Sydney, a frown marring her features.
Francie sighed overexaggerratedly. "Syd! You haven't felt like going out in over a month! I know Vaughn hurt you – for which he'll pay as soon as I can come up with the worst possible punishment for him, EVER – but sweetie, it's been over a month. You need to move on, meet new people!"
"Look, I really thought he was the one for me, okay? And I was foolish enough to believe that maybe he felt the same way about me. This isn't going to go away overnight. I found him with Lauren of all people! I mean... if he had to cheat on me, couldn't it have been with someone else? Why did it have to be her?"
"I don't know. I'm not an expert on Vaughn and we both know that he is a deranged lunatic who is worse than pond scum."
Sydney smiled at her overprotective friend. "I know you're trying to make me feel better and I really appreciate it Fran. But I need to deal with this on my own and I don't think going out and dating right now is the best way to do that."
"Okay. I understand. So what if it's just the two of us?"
"Honey, I'm sure everything's fine with Charlie. He's not Vaughn."
"I know. You're right. I'll see you later, okay?"
"Have fun tonight!"
"Mom? Where are you?"
"I'm in the kitchen!"
Sydney's face broke into a grin as she caught a whiff of her mother's famous chocolate chip cookies. "What's the occasion?"
"What? There has to be an occasion for a mother to bake her favourite daugher cookies?"
"Well, first of all, I'm your only daughter. Second of all, you haven't baked me cookies since I was like 6. Plus, you told me to come to your house as soon as humanly possible. Spill."
Irina purposely took another bite to stall for time while she came up with a good way to say what she wanted to ask of her daughter.
"Well, you know Mr. Khasinau and Mr. Lazarey? My old friends from college?" At Sydney's nod, she continued in a nonchalant tone. "Well, Lazarey passed away about a year ago and his son has been trying to find a wife. It seems he is... selective - as he should be – but it appears there is a time contstraint to the will his father left him. He has less than two weeks to get engaged to be married or else his inheritance will fall to his nearest cousin."
Sydney looked at her mother suspiciously. "And what does this have to do with me?"
"Well, I know that whole fiasco with Vaughn has left you feeling... vulnerable and hurt and I figured this might be a good way to get away from it all."
Sydney choked on her milk. "You're serious? You want me to marry a complete stranger just so he can get his money?"
"Honey, there's a lot more at stake here than that and he's not a complete stranger! You've met Julian."
"When? When I was like 6? That does not count!"
"You'll be living in Europe. I thought you wanted to go!"
"I do, but I don't want to get married!"
"It won't be a real marriage – even the certificate will be fake! It's just for pretend and only for a year. You get to see Europe and go to all the places you wanted to see and he'll get his inheritance. Plus, Vaughn will get so jealous he'll see the light, so to speak."
"Mom, this is insane."
"I know, but I'm asking this as a favour to me. Sweetie, he's to be the next king and I know he'd be wonderful. His cousin cannot lay a claim to the throne."
Sydney sighed. "What did dad say?"
"I was supposed to tell him?"
Sydney smiled slightly at that. "I can't believe I'm even thinking about this! I must be losing my mind."
"It'll be good for you and you know it! Who knows? Maybe you and Julian will actually fall in love and you can get married for real!"
"Mom, I haven't even agreed to this yet."
"I believe the key word there is "yet". You will. Don't worry."
The next day...
"WHAT?"
Sydney cringed at hearing the sharp tone in her ear. "I'm getting married?"
"Sydney Anne Bristow!"
"What?"
"Tell me you're joking!"
"Fran, I'm being serious. I'm getting married."
"Oh my god. OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD!"
"What? What's wrong?"
"You're getting married? To who? And why wasn't I told? Wait a minute. Last night, you told me that you didn't feel like dating. Was it all a cover? I can't believe this! I'm your best friend and you couldn't tell me? Why the hell not?"
Sydney tried to remember all the details her mother and Mr. Khasinau came up with as soon as she agreed to this crazy plan. "Because of who he is. I'm getting married to Julian Lazarey."
When the phone became silent, Sydney began to worry. "Fran? You there?"
"You're marrying royalty? You're going to be queen! SYDNEY!!! Tell me all the details! When are you getting married? Don't forget all the little people once you move into your palace. Wait a minute – are you going to finish college or are you just going to live off being a queen for the rest of your life? What..."
"FRAN! Stop! Look, I'm on my way to the jet and I don't have the time to tell you the whole story. Since you're going to be my maid of honour, you can come earlier and while we plan this thing, I'll tell you everything you want to know. Just make sure you or Will don't tell the press anything, okay?"
"Of course! Wow... I cannot wait to tell Will! Oh, poor guy – you know how he has such a huge crush on you. And Vaughn! He's going to milk the whole "I dated a queen" thing for all its worth! And..."
"Fran! I got to go. I'll call you when I get there, okay?"
"You'd better. YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED!!!"
Sydney hung up her cell phone and leaned back against the huge stretch limo that picked her up from her parents' home. Wish I could be that enthusiastic... You'd think I'm marching to my death right now instead of to the supposedly happiest days of my life. Can't believe dad even agreed with mom on this... Wonder what she threatened him with...
Flashback to last night
"How much of Julian's history do you know?" Irina asked as they prepared Jack's favourite meal.
"Not much. I know his mother was half British royalty and half French royalty, and his father was Russian royalty but nothing much after that. Oh, and the fact that his combined fortune will top even the world's richest man."
"He'll only lay claim to the British throne if Charles passes away – so it looks like he still has to wait for that one – but the French and Russian thrones are his."
"I see. So do I have to do anything? I know pretty much nothing about politics."
"You don't have to worry about that. Alexander assures me that all you have to do is learn how to act like royalty for functions but otherwise, you're free to travel and relax."
"You'll visit, won't you? Considering I can't tell Fran the truth, it would be nice to have someone who knows the truth there."
"Of course! Now, come on, your father's waiting. Time to work the magic."
Once the meal was over and the last piece of the pie eaten, Sydney spoke. "Dad, I'm getting married."
Irina looked up sharply at that, sighing and shaking her head at the way her daughter broke the news to her father. "Jack, help me put this stuff away in the kitchen."
Without blinking, Jack stood up and he gripped the plates so hard the china cracked as he headed into the kitchen followed by Irina.
Half an hour later, he came out and without any preamble, spoke. "Vaughn was just a boy who was never good enough for you anyways. This'll do you both good."
End Flashback
The plane landed at the private airfield smoothly but Sydney felt like she just got off a rollercoaster. God I hope I made the right choice... Here goes nothing.