Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognize
A/N: Thanks a lot to all of those who reviewed and to Ally Serenity for betaing this chapter
Chapter Twenty-Four
"Well, your Majesty," started the Duke in an oily tone "I am a father devoted to my only daughter, Elianor. I could not help but notice what a wonderful couple they made at the ball. I know for a fact that she adores the prince, and I am sure that the heir is not indifferent to her. So that is my condition. In exchange of the information allowing you to make the dwarfs join our side and be here in less than a week, I ask that my daughter marry your son before the end of week, in four days…"
The King stared at the Duke. He had braced himself for something big, but not that big! He choked.
"Jonathan, are you sure this is wise? I mean they are still very young….."
"Nonsense. I was already married and a father when I was as old as the Prince." replied the Duke.
"Maybe," conceded the King "But is Elianor ready to the duty of a Queen? It is an important position, with which come a lot of duties….." said the King cautiously, careful not to hurt the pride of the Duke.
"Elianor has received the best education possible for a proper Lady." Answered the Duke, smirking.
"I do not know, Jonathan; it is not really my place to answer you. I will have to talk about it with James…."
"Alright your Majesty" said the Duke bowing. "I will wait until tonight. After that, it will be too late."
"Jonathan, you know I could force you to tell me your secret….."
"Of course, but you will not. A large part of your army are soldiers coming from my dukedom , they will follow me." Something in the duke's tone make the King think some would have to be persuaded….. "Their departure would put you in a position worse than the present one….." The smirk on his face was almost unbearable.
"You shall have your answer tonight, Jonathan." spat the King, scornfully.
Once the Duke was gone, the King paced in his room. He didn't know what to do: on the one hand, he needed this secret for the sake of the kingdom, which included the dukedoms. On the other hand he was very well aware of James's deep dislike towards Elianor, and of the fact she would make a disastrous Queen. He pondered the problem a bit before sighing and calling a servant. He needed to talk to his son.
"Please go fetch Sir Albus, Sir Exer, and James. Their presence is required as quickly as possible."
The servant bowed and left quietly the room.
"How am I going to tell him this?" sighed the King.
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"ME! MARRY ELIANOR!" yelled James, clearly not believing his father.
"Yes James. Her father is exchanging his secret against your marriage….." The King said.
Sir Albus and Sir Exer were starring at him. Finally Sir Albus spoke.
"Your majesty, I do not know what is the worse: having Elianor as the Queen, or affronting Voldemort without the help of the dwarfs….."
James was in shock. He was standing before his father, staring dumbly at him, blinking, as if his mind was trying to register what he had just heard. He managed to take a grip on himself. Not only the thought of marrying Elianor was disgusting to him, but the kingdom's welfare was at stake. On the other hand, there was Lily….. It was too complicated for him….. Who was he to decide? The logical answer was to accept, but spending the rest of his life with Elianor….. He shuddered.
"Father, can you give me some time to think about it?…" he asked.
"Of course, but I must have your answer before dusk….." replied the King.
"Yes Father, may I leave?"
"Yes."
James bowed and left.
Sir Exer looked at his companions and grimaced.
"I would not like to be in his position."
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James hurried back to the training building. He spotted Bella and dragged her outside.
"James! What are you doing!" she yelled.
"You must help me! And I need Lily, Remus and Sirius's help too!…."
"Alright, alright, ALRIGHT! Calm down! What is the problem?"
James looked straight in her eyes.
"If I do not find a way to gain the dwarfs' support before dusk, I will have to choose between letting the kingdom face Voldemort without them, or marrying Elianor. Her father is blackmailing my father: our marriage against the secret which will gain us the support of the dwarfs."
Bella's face was now ashen.
"Wait a minute, I am going to fetch Remus and Sirius."
She entered the training building and came back with two confused boys. She took James' hand and started to drag him forwards.
"Come on. We are going to find a solution….. That little bitch will not win….. The day she is Queen is the day I start doing embroideries in my spare time on my own free will!"
Despite the seriousness of the situation, her friends chuckled a bit, but James darkened immediately.
"I hope you are right Bella…."
"I am," she said with such determination that it did not let space for argument.
Then she led then to the castle, more particularly, the Royal Library.
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After a few minutes, Sirius spoke.
"Bella? Why are we going to the Library?"
"Yes, why are you dragging us there?" asked Remus.
"I will explain everything once we find Lily." Said James.
They finally reached the Library. Once there, Bella led them to the back of the room. They immediately spotted a redhead working on a thick, dusty manuscript. She heard them arrive, and looked up. She smiled as she saw Bella, but a blank look quickly replaced it as she noticed James's presence.
"Bella! You promised!" she said, betrayal audible in her voice.
"I
know Lil, but this is an emergency….. It concerns the kingdom….."
Immediately, she had Lily's whole attention.
"What?"
"James, explain it to her….."sighed Bella plopping in a chair next to her friend.
James started to tell her, Remus and Sirius what his father had told him. Once he was finished, Lily was thoughtful.
"So you need something to convince the dwarfs to join our side before dusk….."
"Exactly."
She bit her low lip.
"Well. I'll try to find something. If I do, I will tell you immediately. If you do not see me before the end of the afternoon, come back here." She said, before getting up and heading towards a few shelves.
"Can we help?" asked Remus.
She looked at them closely.
"If you really want to, yes, but I would prefer you to let me alone. I know the Library perfectly. Moreover, you have training to do, and I think that if you are here I will not be able to fully focus on this task…"
She said the last part quietly, looking down, avoiding James's eyes in particular.
The boys nodded reluctantly, understanding.
"Bella, stay, I must ask you something….."
The young men left the Library. Remus and Sirius went back to the training building while James wandered in the royal Gardens. Lunchtime passed, but James wasn't hungry. He was walking, replaying the same thought again and again, tearing his mind into tiny pieces to make the best choice, and then scolding himself for not trusting Lily. He walked, restlessly. As time passed, he grew more and more nervous.
Suddenly, he spotted Lily, walking in the gardens. He ran to her.
"Hello James," she said, smiling.
"Lily, have you found anything?" he asked, breathlessly.
"Yes, James, I have found something," she said, coming closer to him, her face inches from his.
It was nearly too much for James: to have Lily this close to him was making him crazy.
"Lily….." he whispered.
Then she grabbed his neck and kissed him.
Saying that James was startled, was an understatement, this behavior was very unlike the Lily he knew, but he pushed this thought away and kissed, not wanting to waste this opportunity with stupid suspicions. He grabbed her waist, pulling her closer to him. The suspicious part of his mind was bugging him, saying it was different from the last time. But he dismissed it too. He broke from the kiss, embraced her, his hands caressing the soft silk in her back. This hit him. Silver silk? When he had seen her this morning, she was wearing brown-leather clothes. He knew she only wore silver or white for ceremony, demonstrations, and parties or to show-off. Usually she wore brown or black, sometimes, beige colors, and her normal clothes were made of leather or cotton. He remembered very well the lecture she had given a rider who had wore a velvet shirt, which had been ripped after a few minutes. The rider had never made the same mistake. Then, why was she wearing her silver clothes? He pulled away a bit, looking closely at her. He noticed she was not wearing the talisman Praïn had given her. He knew she never took it off and that she was wearing it this morning. The suspicious part of his mind came back at full strength.
"Where is your talisman?" he asked casually.
"What talisman?" she replied, looking at bit confused.
There was definitively something wrong going on. James looked strangely at her.
"You know, the one Praïn gave you….." he said slowly, then added as in an afterthought, "The one you found really ugly….." It was a trap. James knew that the talisman was a masterpiece and that Lily loved it and wouldn't give it up for all the gold in the world. If it were really Lily, she would bite his head off. Imagine his reaction when she smiled and answered…..
"Oh! That one!….. Hmmm I ….. gave it to Bella! Yes, that's it!….. She liked it, even if it was horrible….."
James' face hardened. This wasn't HIS Lily. He caught the wrist of the girl.
"Who are you?" he growled.
"So you guessed? You are cleverer than I thought….." She laughed, then took her wand, pointed it at herself and muttered 'Revelia' Immediately the illusion surrounding her disappeared. James's grip on her wrist tightened as he recognized Elianor. He was radiating anger.
"What are you doing here, Lady?" he asked, his voice strained by his rage.
"Trying to know my future husband, James." She replied smirking.
"Really? There must be a mistake, Lady, as I did not know I was your future ….."
"Do not play dumb with me, James, I am not stupid….."
"Could have fooled me…" muttered James, teeth clenched; then added louder "If you say so, Lady….." his tone was doubtful, something, the young woman couldn't ignore. She flushed a bit but quickly composed herself.
Unexpectedly, she pushed him, making him fall on his back. But as he was still holding her wrist, she fell on top of him.
"Well, well, my prince, I did not know you wanted me so badly….."
"You are disgusting, Lady….." growled James.
"You did not seem to mind me when we were kissing….."
"I thought you were somebody else." Retorted James, coldly.
"Ah yes! The perfect Lily! Miss Duty! Miss Right! Just a stupid, good for nothing, bothering little peasant." She said scornfully.
James couldn't take any more. He rolled, pinning her on the ground, him on top of her.
"Never, never insult her again before me." He said, in an icy whisper, where the threat was clearly audible.
"Why?"
James glanced at her, with a look of utter disgust on his face. He eyed the young women, he had to admit that she was pretty, in a pair of ornate silver pants, and a superb tunic, with tiny embroideries. But appearance was the only beautiful thing about her. Her personality was horrible and dark. Only one thing was important to her: power. And she was ready to do anything if it meant that she could gain some power.
"Because she is worth ten of you."
At this moment, Elianor heard two people coming, talking animatedly. She recognized their voices: It was Lady Arabella and Lilyaris….. it could not have been better for her plans….. She smirked at James, and kissed him again, forcefully. She locked her arm around his neck to prevent him from pulling away. At that moment, Lily and Bella arrived.
"Lil! You are a genius! James will be delighted to know you have found a solution….." Bella's voice died in her throat as she saw Lily stopping brutally and her face being drained from all her colors. She followed her gaze and what she saw made her gasp.
"JAMES!" she yelled outraged.
He immediately jumped on his feet and looked at them. First his eyes were full of hope, but soon were filled with horror as he saw Lily's face and her expression, filled with hurt and betrayal.
"Lily….. I….."
He was cut off by Elianor.
"What a pleasure to see you!" she exclaimed with fake cheerfulness.
A long silence followed her words.
"Well, do you know the wonderful news?" she asked.
Her words only met odd stares and silence.
"Apparently….. no….. James and me are engaged and will get married in a few days! Is it not wonderful?" Her tone was so sweet, it was sickening.
Bella choked.
"Engaged!"
Then she turned to look at Lily. The young woman had a blank look on her face, she was expressionless, looking like a statue. She finally broke the silence.
"My Prince, I was coming to inform you that I had found a solution, but apparently it does not matter anymore, since you seem rather close to your fiancée" her voice which was a shaky whisper, nearly broke on the last word. She recomposed herself immediately. "Congratulations, I wish you a lot of….. happiness." She turned on her heels and left.
Bella faced James and looked at him coldly.
"James, Congratulations. My best whishes to you and your….." she paused and eyed spitefully Elianor "future wife" she finally spat venomously before leaving.
James stood there, helpless and speechless. Then he ran after them, dying to clear the mess. Elianor dusted herself, and headed towards the castle, smirking. The first part of her plan had gone smoothly, now it was time to play part two….. Her smirk widened, in a few days she would be the princess, heiress or Erkanswald and the dwarfs would crush Voldemort….. She would be Queen.
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James ran after Lily and Bella, he found them sat on a bench, Bella comforting a tearful Lily. He approached them silently. Bella heard him and looked up. Her features hardened.
"What are you doing here? Why are you not with your fiancée?" She asked angrily.
"Bella! She is not my fiancée!"
"Really, you seemed rather close while you were kissing…."
"She set me up!"
"Of course!….." It was clear that Bella didn't believe him. Meanwhile, Lily was starring blankly at the floor.
"Listen to me at least! It was a trap! I am not engaged to her and hope I will never be!"
"Really? In this case, why were you on top….." Bella was cut as Lily put a hand on her friend's shoulder.
"Bella, I think we should listen to him."
After a few seconds, the young black-haired woman nodded and sat, still glaring at the prince.
Lily looked straight at James.
"You have two minutes." She stated.
Hurriedly, James started to explain what had happened in the Gardens. Two minutes later, Bella and Lily were apologizing to a slightly out of breath James, a bit ashamed of themselves.
"Lily….. I….." she silenced him, putting a finger on his lips.
"Not now James. We have a Dark Lord to defeat."
He took her hand and kissed it lightly.
"You are right as always, Lady of my heart. Shall we go reassure my father, fair ladies?"
"Lets." Chorused Lily and Bella.
They quickly headed towards the castle, happy that the situation was brightening. They went straight to the throne room. As they arrived there, they saw the Duke of Nearth exiting the room, a smirk plastered on his face. He bowed to James.
"I must thank you, James, for your wise decision….." he said.
"What?" asked the prince, puzzled; but the Duke was already gone. He shrugged and entered the room. Immediately he knew something was wrong. His father was looking depressed as were Sir Albus and Sir Exer.
"Father?" he asked cautiously. The three men seemed startled and looked at him a bit surprised.
"James? What are you going here? I thought you were going to prepare the ceremony….."
James was now really confused.
"What ceremony? I came to give you my answer….. Lily found a way to convince the dwarfs to join us, therefore I refuse the Duke's suggestion."
The three men paled.
"You refuse! But James!"
"But what?" asked the young men, bewildered by his father's behavior.
"You have already given me your answer! Ten minutes ago!"
"I have already….." James took a huge breath. "But that is impossible! I was with Lily and Bella!"
"It is true your Majesty." confirmed Bella.
They became paler, if it was possible.
"What was I wearing when I came here?" asked James, dreading the answer.
Sir Albus recovered enough to answer.
"You were wearing silver clothes, like the ones Lily wears during a competition."
Bella, James and Lily looked at each other, horrified, the same name on their mind.
Fearing the worst, the prince faced his father.
"What did I say?"
The King looked straight in his son's eyes.
"You said that for the sake of the kingdom, you were going to accept and marry Elianor.
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A heavy silence followed the King's sentence.
"Father, you are joking, are you not? You cannot be serious!" said James.
"I am afraid I am, James."
The young man seemed too shocked to speak.
"Your Majesty, have you given your answer to the Duke?" asked Bella.
The King nodded solemnly.
"I wanted to send a new message to the dwarfs as soon as possible, so as you told me you were sure of your choice, that he was definitive, I summoned the duke, gave him your answer, signed a contract in exchange of which he told me what to do to convince the dwarfs."
James stumbled.
"Is it removable?" asked Bella in a whisper.
"It is a magical deal," said Sir Exer, "It is unbreakable."
"Why are you asking this? Have you changed your mind?" asked King Regis.
"No," whispered James. "But the one who told you that I had accepted was not me."
Seeing the confused look that the three men had, he explained.
"It was Elianor disguised as myself with the help of an illusion; I never gave you my answer….. She trapped you, as she had trapped Bella, Lily and myself before."
At these words, King Regis, Sir Albus and Sir Exer became deadly white. Then after a few seconds the King's skin turned to an interesting shade of red as he exploded.
"They will not get away with this! How could they have dared to fool me!" he roared.
James looked at him and he was silenced by the look on his son's face.
"Father, we cannot do anything. It is a checkmate. They would just say that we are just saying that to break our deal. When will the ceremony take place?"
His tone was emotionless.
"In four days, at the cathedral, at noon." Said Sir Albus.
"I will be there. I just do not want to have to care of it. Father, find someone who will."
The King nodded.
"Well I do not think I am needed anymore. Just one thing: did you get the right information?"
"Yes" answered again Albus, as the King and Sir Exer remained quiet. "The dwarfs will fight for the Pure, as they are devoted to him or her."
"At least it will do some good." said James blankly. "May I leave Father?"
"Yes James, and you too Ladies." He added towards Lily and Bella.
They nodded and left quietly and slowly the room.
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