Chapter 16

The morning outside dawned clear and cold. The wind whipped at the waves, making huge splashes against the docks as they broke, sloshing white foam over the wood. The sailors waiting there looked around at one another, unsure what to do. True, the weather wasn't perfect for sailing, but it would have been fine and they all would have left already had that odd woman not been standing there. They stared at her, then back at one another, curious as to what such a richly dressed lady would be doing out on the wharf at dawn.

Lizzie stood alone on the dock, staring out at the sea and waiting. It had been a week since Joshua, Rose, Anduin and the King had left. She shivered in the cold morning air and looked out at the light of the dawn. Where were they? And why hadn't they come home yet? She had fixed the mirror, but she knew it was impossible to see them so long as they remained underwater. And yet, how could she not worry? This was her family down there, the people she loved more than anyone in the world and the man who had saved her life more times than she cared to count.

"Please stay safe," she murmured, blowing a kiss to those she with whom she longed to be reunited. "And please come home." She walked off the wharf, her long velvet cloak blowing out behind her like wings. The sailors watched her go, wondering how she had walked into their lives and what she would do.

Lizzie reached a small alleyway and, with a sigh, used a simple invisibility spell to hide herself, then took flight. She flew home, distracted by her fears for those she held so dear.

XOX

Deep beneath the waves, two men stood by the side of a bed. On the bed lay a young girl with auburn hair that fell out behind her in waves and lay on the pillow like a fiery halo. The younger man turned to the elder with a worried look in his eyes.

"She'll be alright," Joshua replied, laying a gentle hand on Anduin's shoulder. Anduin shrugged; he knew that himself. But still, seeing her lying there so pale and fragile was scaring him. Admittedly, it was because he was the one who had to knock her unconscious to begin with, and he couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Although it had made sense to send him, he was the best at staying silent. That didn't matter, when it came to Diana, none of his feelings made sense anymore. It's amazing how much can change in just six days, he mused. Just last week, I would have married Rose in a second but now…well, let's just say I've had a change of heart. He stroked Diana's hair, watching for any sign of movement.

"She won't be awake until later in the day," Joshua murmured, touching his daughter's cheek cautiously. She stirred slightly, but didn't awaken. "Would you like to watch over her for me?" Joshua asked almost teasingly. Anduin glared at him, then smiled slightly and nodded his head. "Thank you," her father replied.

Joshua left the room, smiling to himself. It was strange; two months with Diana hadn't made the boy notice her, but take her away from him for one week and he was head over heels in…well something. Perhaps not love yet. He just hoped that Anduin would prove enough of a distraction for Diana; he had quite a few machinations to pull off. He strode away, lost in a memory from long ago, when another man had spent a long day and night at the bed of another woman, waiting for her to awaken and praying she would be all right. Although, he doubted Anduin was in quite the state he had been in at that time.

XOX

Anduin looked down at Diana again. Poor thing, to have been dragged into these ridiculous agreements that were going on between his uncle and the King. Once the fake King had revealed himself for who he was, Anduin and Joshua had spent a long time with the man trying to find out just what was going on. Their disguised friend had told all. When Joshua found out about the impending marriage for his daughter, he nearly exploded. To be fair, Anduin hadn't been pleased either. He didn't really like their current plan either, although it was a lot safer for Diana this way.

He sighed and petted Diana's arm. She rolled over a little and put her head on one shoulder. He wondered when she would wake up, he was most anxious to talk to her…or at least hear her story.

Anduin sat down on the chair next to her bed and let his head rest in his hands. This was going to take a while.

XOX

Joshua stalked into the room where Rose was waiting. "Are you sure about this?" he asked her, his eyes dark with worry.

"I'm sure," she answered bravely.

"You know that there's no backing out, right?" he pressed, watching her carefully.

"I know what I want," she persisted stubbornly, just like her mother.

"And are you sure you want to marry the Prince?" Joshua asked. "You don't need to, you know. There's no rule that says so."

"I know what I'm doing," she said softly. "Don't worry about me, Uncle Joshua. He won't hurt me."

"It's not him I'm afraid of," Joshua muttered. "Very well, let's get this started." Rose sighed and stood up in front of her uncle.

"So what do we do?"

"Well, first we're going to have to get you into disguise," he said with a crooked grin. Rose's eyebrows lifted slightly.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" she asked.

"Well, if you're going to be impersonating Diana, you can't very well look like you," Joshua said cheerfully. "Now let's go."

Rose just stared at him as if her uncle had lost his mind, which was not unlikely judging by the circumstances they were in. "I thought you said that the whole reason this would work was because he was in disguise and I wasn't."

"No, no," said Joshua impatiently, feeling almost elated as the details of his…well, their brilliant plan ran circles around his brain. "There's nothing wrong with being in disguise, it's all in the manner of the chicanery."

"You know," Rose interrupted before he could launch into another long-winded and totally incomprehensible explanation, "I trust you. Let's just get on with this."

Joshua shrugged, never wanting to pass up a chance to expound on his own genius, but understanding the need for speed. "Very well. The first thing we need to take care of is your hair."

"It will return to its old color," Rose asked nervously as Joshua laid a hand atop her head and shut her eyes. "Won't it?"

"Don't be silly," he said with a chuckle. "Of course it will." And then Rose felt her long, straight tresses slowly curl into small waves and shorten until they were barely past her shoulders. She watched in awe as their dark mahogany color began to lighten and become the auburn she was accustomed to associating with her cousin.

"Wow," she breathed, combing her fingers through the long curls. "So you can change my hair to any color I want?"

"Were I so inclined," Joshua answered. "However, I have better things to do than serve as a hairdresser to any woman, Princess though she may be."

"What about your wife?"

"My wife insists that I have no taste and that she wouldn't allow me near her hair if her life depended on it. Besides, she's a competent sorceress in her own right, I see no reason to interfere." He paused. "And she's lovely as is."

Rose couldn't help but smile, it was nice to see that Joshua's soft spot for Lizzie was still in good order. "So why is it safe to allow you to do this to me?"

"I may not be creative, but I know what my daughter looks like. Besides," he added, smirking, "You have no alternatives."

Rose glared at him, not quite knowing what to say. "Now hold still," Joshua commanded. "There's only so much I can do without breaking my own laws, so we're going to be treading on thin ice here. I'm can't actually chance your facial features to mimic Diana's, so we're going to need to do a lot of camouflage work. Thankfully, you'll have a veil on, so all that ridiculous face paint should take care of most of my problems."

"You're putting makeup on me!" Rose squeaked in terror.

"Of course not," Joshua replied, throwing his head back and laughing. "You'd end up looking like some strange farm animal and not even Harry would marry you." Seeing the hurt look on Rose's face, he sighed and kissed her forehead. "I was teasing you, Rose. You are beautiful, never let anyone tell you otherwise."

She smiled at her uncle; as his children knew well, words of praise from him were sparing and all the more precious when received. "You really think so?"

"Definitely," he said, squeezing her shoulder. "You take after your mother's side of the family, after all." She glared at him, but he just snickered softly. "Now close your eyes."

"Why?"
"I'm changing their color. That would be the biggest giveaway and, even if the makeup isn't perfect, as long as you have Diana's eyes no one will suspect a thing."

Joshua drew back and eyed his niece critically. It was a strange combination of features that he saw and he hoped that the paint would cover up some vital details, like the fact that their noses weren't the same. Life would have been much easier had they actually been related, but technically, he and Belle had the same mother and Diana wasn't his biological daughter so there weren't even familial similarities between the two girls. However, they didn't look that different and were about the same height so, all in all, Joshua thought they had a good chance of succeeding.

"Now go and get dressed," Joshua said affectionately, patting Rose's head. "The wedding's in a few hours and we don't want to be caught under-prepared."

"That's all you're doing magically?" Rose asked in shock.

Joshua shrugged. "As I told you, the more I do to you, the shakier ground we tread with this deceit. Don't worry, everything will be fine." He strode out of the door, off to find the fourth member of their party.

Rose stared at herself in the mirror. How was she ever going to make this work?

XOX

"Gilld?" said a quite voice from behind Joshua. He whirled around immediately.

"Christ, you scared me. Can't you announce yourself like an ordinary human being?" Belatedly, he remembered that they were continuing the charade that Harry had begun, that the man standing before him in the guise of the King of England was actually Henry the Tenth and added a grudging "Your Majesty".

The man chuckled at the addendum. "Really, I'm sure you don't treat the true king like this."

"I wouldn't bet on that," Joshua muttered to himself. "So why did you come to scare me today, Sire?

"I just wanted to see if all our plans were in order," he answered, the hint of a tremor in his voice.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Your Highness, everything will be fine." Joshua was utterly sick of answering this question, the only person he hadn't heard it from incessantly was Anduin, and that was because the boy couldn't speak.

"But how can you be sure that he won't do anything ridiculous and hurt her when he finds out about what we've done."

"Because I'm going to be there and if it comes down to him or me, I win."

"So how exactly did your daughter get kidnapped then?" the pseudo-King asked not so nicely.

"Don't go there, you little idiot," Joshua growled, his fists clenching. "We all know whose fault that was."

"Oh, so now this is my fault that you can't even watch over your daughter?"

"No, it's your fault that you have no idea how to say no to the king!"

"How dare you say that to me?" he shouted back. "You have no idea what its like trying to say no to that man!"

"Yes I do," Joshua answered. "I do it all the time."

"Well, I'm not you," he hissed at Joshua. "And I never will be."

"Thank Christ for small favors," Joshua retorted. "Now go away and hide your sorry face until we need you after the wedding."

"It was nice talking to you too," he shouted at Joshua's retreating back while he went to go and check on Diana.

"So much for keeping that act up," Joshua growled, stalking into Diana's room and slamming the door on his way, earning him a reproving look from Anduin.

"You're still here?" he asked, slumping down in the nearest chair. Anduin rolled his eyes in a 'where else would I be' expression. Joshua wanted to shout, just get out the anger he was feeling from wandering around the small hallway allotted to the air-breathers. It had been quite hard to break into this small, enclosed space that Triton had set aside and had it not been for Anduin's aquatic abilities and Joshua's oft lauded intellect, they still would be sitting out there in a small air bubble, snapping at one another. Or, in the pseudo-King's case, wishing he had done something, anything, differently.

Anduin grabbed a piece of paper sitting nearby and started scrawling in the only language they both wrote. It was always a little dangerous to carry on a normal conversation in wizard glyphs, but not half as dangerous as not letting Joshua talk.

So what happened?

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Joshua said with a sigh. "I think you're the only one with any brains around here."

I'll believe that Anduin scrawled, flashing Joshua a crooked grin.

"See what I mean," Joshua groaned. "Those two are impossible. I love Rose dearly, but there must be something wrong with her when you try and tell her something sensible."

She's not that bad, Anduin protested, more because he felt like he should defend her, though he had to give Joshua some credit. She was beautiful and loving and gentle, but not the best player on the intellectual field. And Joshua, as Anduin had seen many times, had no patience for anyone. You should have seen her lock minds with my uncle. She was incredible.

"Oh," Joshua said laughing, "That wasn't her."

It wasn't? Anduin wished he had his voice, no mere paper could express his shock. Though, now that he thought about it, he should have been able to figure that one out on his own. The Rose he knew didn't quite match the one he had seen there.

"No," Joshua answered.

Well then, who was that on the boat?

"Me," Joshua answered simply. Anduin's jaw dropped and very nearly hit the table. Joshua started laughing, unable to help himself. "I was kidding," he said finally. "Actually, it was Diana who did that. I only helped her get there."

Anduin wrote oh in very small letters. He had to admit, that did explain quite a bit about both girls. Why hadn't he seen that before? It was so obvious now that he thought about it. And yet, he had been so blinded.

Anduin reached out and touched Diana's cheek, an action not lost on Joshua.

I suppose she would be in capable hands if I left her here, he mused to himself, trying not to smile. Although, that brings me to my next problem; what exactly are those hands capable of? Joshua's faith in humanity was usually high, but extremely low when it came to males and his daughter. He surely wouldn't do anything while she was asleep, though. Anduin had too much pride and was too moral…sometimes. No, he thought to himself, he'll probably wait for her to wake up…rather like I did. He smiled ruefully, remembering that night and trying to come up with reasons why it was so very different.

Anduin watched Joshua closely as numerous expressions flitted across his face and wondered what he could possibly be thinking about. Something told him not to attempt to interrupt, since he would probably be annoyed and just space out again. Then again, sitting here and watching him think wasn't exactly exciting either.

Anduin finally gave up on trying to wait through Joshua's daydream and tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped visibly, then turned to Anduin. "What is it?"

You should go to sleep, Anduin suggested. You look more tired than Diana.

Joshua laughed softly. "Good point. If you need me…or if either of the incompetents try anything stupid, come and get me."

Will do, Anduin agreed, Now go to sleep.

"Yes sir," Joshua said, laughing, but retreating. Thankfully, Prince Harry had left earlier in the morning to go and speak to Triton and work out many of the ideas in their new treaty. Joshua wasn't planning on telling anyone that he had tactfully influenced that decision to go. Or that some of the rights that the man would insist upon did not originate in Harry's brain, for while he was a skilled negotiator, Joshua doubted that England would remember the rights of her mages if he didn't take an active role in reminding her.

The next few hours passed swiftly and, far too soon, there were a loud rapping on Diana's door. Rose, who was the sole occupant of those rooms at that time, swallowed bravely. This was it. This was do or die for her.

"Come in," she called out in a voice not wholly dissimilar to Diana's.

Harry strode in, looking magnificently regal in his wedding clothes. He wore a tunic of deep blue that had Britain's heraldic device cleverly worked into the gold embroidered designs. Over that was a cape made from cloth of gold and edged in ermine. He wore the crown of the Prince of Wales on his head and looked dashing, to say the least.

"Why, my lady," said Harry, taking Rose's hand and pulling her to her feet. "You look positively ravishing." And she was. Her face covered in a veil that ran from ear to ear, leaving only her eyes to show, Rose's willow-like frame was even lovelier than usual. She hoped Harry wouldn't notice that she was slightly taller than Diana, or that her breasts were slightly larger. Although knowing the man, she wouldn't be surprised if he noticed the latter. But no, he merely allowed his eyes to rake slowly over her, before sliding his arm around her waist and leading her out towards their wedding. Rose only hoped he would not try and converse with her, for she knew she could never match her cousin's wit and that would give her away immediately. Fortunately, however, Harry seemed just as disinclined towards talk as she was.

They soon found themselves in what appeared to be a grand cathedral. The windows were vaulted in the gothic manner and filled with the most magnificent stained glass. The floor was veined marble and the altar was covered in the most sumptuous velvet.

"What do you think?" Harry asked her. Rose wracked her brains for a typical Diana response. "Well?" Harry pressed.

"It's not Westminster," Rose said finally and left it at that.

"No," Harry agreed. "It's not. And I seem to have forgotten to publish the banns. I'm sure heaven will forgive me though." After all, he added in his mind, God has overlooked far worse.

Rose ignored him, unsure how to deal with this stranger who was so unlike the man who had rescued her on the shores of England.

And so, like in a dream, they stood before the altar, in front of a man who, if he were not truly a Bishop in the Anglican Church, was doing a very good job pretending, and prepared to be wed.

"Dearly beloved," the bishop "We are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this congregation, to join together this Man and this Woman in holy Matrimony…"

XOX

Diana opened her eyes and realized she was staring up at a very familiar, concerned looking face.

"Anduin!" she nearly screamed, sitting up and flinging her arms around him. He caught her in his embrace and tried very hard not to kiss her. "Anduin," she whispered, "You're here." He nodded, then pulled away to get a good look at her.

"Are you alright?" he asked in their sign language.

"I've been better," she answered ruefully. "I'm going to marry Prince Harry today," she said softly, partially to see his reaction and partially in hope that he would offer to rescue her, silly though that was.

To her surprise, he did neither of these things, he just smiled broadly.

"What's so funny?" she demanded. He shrugged with a 'come and see' demeanor, then rose to his feet. Diana, feeling a little groggy, followed.

"Where are you taking me?" she demanded as Anduin led her down the hallway. He let go of her hands to respond.

"To the wedding," he signed simply, before grabbing hold of her hands once again. They reached a small antechamber and Anduin cautiously pulled aside the curtains to allow her to see into the grand, makeshift cathedral.

There is no sensation odder than watching your own life through someone else's eyes. Yet that's what it felt like. Diana knew she was not the girl standing there, facing Harry waiting to be wed. And yet the figure in the pearls and white lace seemed to be her. How was this possible?

"Look with your witch sight," said a low, gravelly voice from behind her. It was a familiar voice, one she had heard many times, though it seemed oddly disguised. And yet, coming from the cloaked and hooded figure, she couldn't fit it to a face.

Whoever was there, Diana trusted his words and, more importantly, trusted Anduin to protect her from the person, so she turned back and looked once again. Harry was exactly the same, but the girl who had appeared like Diana was totally different.

"Diana Gilld," said the Bishop as the real Diana stared in shock, "Wilt thou have this Man to thy wedded Husband, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou obey him, and serve him, love, honour, and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?"

"No!" Diana screamed out, but a hand came down over her mouth, muffling her cry.

"I will," said Rose bravely. And Diana watched in horror as her cousin was given away to Prince Harry in her stead. Unable to watch Triton give the bride away, she turned to shout at the man who had kept her from crying out, the gloved hands over her mouth that could only belong to the cloaked man from earlier.

She was facing him and her eyes went wide as she stared into the face of Duke Joshua Gilld.

T.B.C.

A/N – So I lied a little about how long this would take. Admittedly, I wasn't planning on a seven page chapter either, but okay. Be grateful I left out most of the wedding ceremony. Anyway, if all my plans work, I have a little gift for you all. It's called Fan Art. I have pictures drawn of three characters, well, let me explain. I have a portrait of Harry, Diana (Joshua's mother Diana, not the younger one) and a picture from later on, Jonathan Gilld when he's about twenty. However, it will give you an idea of what Joshua looks like at the same age. So tell me if this link doesn't work, because the pictures are up on my homepage and I'm a little HTML illiterate. Ah well, I think it worked. Anyway, since Fanfiction loves being annoying (we love it anyway), I have borrowed TrudiRose's brilliant idea and am writing out the website. Homepage dot mac dot com slash jabenami slash ACOTart dot htm And if that doesn't work, I could always email it to you or you could check my homepage on my profile. Good luck!

And now onto the thank yous!

Short stef – I'm glad you liked the verbal war last chapter. Unfortunately, it doesn't really repeat itself here, this one's mostly Duke Joshua "Superior Intellect" Gilld getting pissed off at everyone else. And of course Anduin's going to chuck Rose. How could it be any other way? Just wait and see. And I'm glad you had favorite phrases. You definitely deserve Anduin time for your efforts with BatB, so you can have him until next chapter, when I'll need him back, k? Have fun!

Soofija – True, but you can't ruin someone's life every chapter. And I'm glad you have such faith in me. I think everything will be okay, but these characters have such minds of their own, all I can really promise you is an ending.

Lesalanna – That was a pretty impressive review for someone who had no time, but thanks. And you're right. If Joshua ever gets his hands on Harry though, he'll wish it had been the rack. And thanks for the grammar note, I'll go and fix it…eventually.

Anarea Rose – Well, I'm here to prevent lunacy in fanfic readers all over the world. And I couldn't help the sneaky man bit, it was just too tempting.

And…drumroll please…new reviewer of the day – Leotabelle13 – Thank you for reading both my stories, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy when people like them. Anyway, I didn't mean to steal any character (although, you gotta admit, Rose is definitely a good name for the Beast's daughter). I suppose great minds think alike.

I hope everyone's satisfied with this so far, and Diana's confrontation with her father over a certain, erm, incident will be occurring next, so stay tuned.

Levana (Damian)