Wouldn't It Be Lovely?

Chapter 4: Reunited

Disclaimer: Nope, not my rights.

RJ sighed through his nose as he looked out at the line of giggling and simpering potential suitors standing in front of his father, waiting to greet both their king and possible future in-law. The women were dressed in vibrant, glittering gowns, their visages covered by decorative masks. He had to find a wife and future queen somewhere in that line. Even though he had hoped he could be granted the time to fall in love, it was quickly made apparent that this would not be the case.

All RJ could hope for was finding a woman he could at least like, who could be a good partner for him, and who would be the right queen meant to rule Cordonia at his side.

Someone who, hopefully, actually liked him in return.

As soon as the first suitor began to approach him, RJ squared his shoulders and pasted his most charming smile on his face.

I was taught to actually be sincere, not just charming.

'Ooh no, dude,' RJ internally warned himself. 'We are not going to think of pretty brown eyes, mischievous smiles and sneaking onto a private beach. We're not thinking of warm embraces and the compassion she showed when she let me scream and cleanse the negativity from my aura.

'She's not here in Cordonia. She's thousands of miles away. Literally a world away. Much as it sucks, we gotta put thoughts of her on the back burner and we gotta keep those thoughts platonic.'

He greeted the ladies one at a time, making sure to be to be polite, genuine-to a fault, and keep the small talk small.

An auburn-haired woman garbed in a mermaid style silver satin dress accented with emerald pins, one at the base of her throat and on her right hip, dipped into a graceful curtsey. She smiled politely, her blue-grey eyes framed by a sparkly silver mask were bright, yet they seemed to hide behind a veil of dignified reserve.

"Good evening, Your Highness," she greeted the prince in a French accented voice. "I am Lady Hayley Ziktor of Castelsarreillan. I look forward to getting to know you better this social season."

Ooh, Lady Hayley. RJ actually remembered her. She was the Duke of Castelsarreillan's daughter, yet not the heir for the man also had an older son. Hayley was quite intelligent if he recalled, having a mind for both diplomacy as well as- if the rumors were correct- thermodynamic engineering. Quite the rebellious behavior in comparison to the typical more delicate ladies of the court, but RJ also knew that her parents were the type to encourage her to seek out whatever passions Hayley might have.

RJ bowed to Hayley. "Lady Hayley, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I too, look forward to getting to know you better this season."

She curtsied again and RJ was almost certain he caught sight of motor oil staining the tips of her fingers. He bit down on a laugh that bubbled in his throat. Well, it seemed that the lady was determined to build and experiment no matter where she was; something RJ could honestly and secretly relate to.

At very least, RJ thought that he could be friends with Lady Hayley.

He bowed again and saw her off, back to the main throngs of the masquerade when a flash of violet caught his eye. The prince had always been fond of the color; yet his reasoning had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it was the color of royalty.

Violet... purple was a color of creativity, a balanced hue of the fiery passion that represented red mingled with the cool serenity of blue. It was a semblance of that balance along with the creativity that RJ strove to achieve in his life, both as the future king of Cordonia and as a person.

As subtly as he could, without making it look like RJ was ignoring the next lady approaching him or giving an inclination to favoring Lady Hayley; RJ tried figuring out the newcomer but unfortunately could not discern anything more beyond the color of her dress, her curly hair, and the fact that her arm was hooked through Dominic's. Either the mystery girl was Dom's date for the masquerade or the Hargan family decided to add a contender of their own to the social season suitors.

RJ honestly couldn't decide if he was amused or annoyed by the possibility.

Pushing away his wayward thoughts for the time being, RJ tugged his lips into another polite smile as he faced his next suitor.

The next woman was platinum blonde with subtle pink highlights. Her mask was rose gold, emphasizing her brown eyes. Her dress was a very light shade of pink with gold thread embellishments.

A rather pretty girl but one that made RJ idly think of Barbie dolls, if he was going to be frank.

She lowered herself into a curtsey, smiling prettily, if a touch too widely. "Good evening, Your Highness," she greeted RJ. "My name is Nadira Ebrim of Portavira."

The only child of the Duke and Duchess of that land, if RJ remembered correctly. Though unfortunately, he didn't know too much else about her. She was fond of fashion and perpetually sunny in personality 24/7. It was a start, to say the least.

RJ bowed and spent a couple of minutes making small talk with her before politely sending her out of the line.

When he turned back, he had to forcefully hold back a laugh while looking as polite and charming as ever.

If RJ thought that Lady Nadira looked like a Barbie doll, his old childhood friend Duchess Cassidy certainly had that aesthetic about her tonight!

He bowed before smiling a touch brighter than he ever had that night. "Lady Cassidy," he greeted her as he raised her from her curtsey. "It's good to see you braving the court this social season."

Deep down, RJ wasn't entirely certain that he would choose Cassidy for a wife. Yes, they had been close friends growing up; but as they had gotten older and matured, their ideals had them growing apart. Still, despite his desire to find love somehow in the social season, he knew he had to find the one who would be the best fit for Cordonia as her queen.

Cassidy gave him her brightest smile, with a hint of the warmth he remembered from their childhood. "Anything for you, Your Highness."

Ah. So she wasn't going to refer to him as RJ. Cassidy was going to play by all of the courtly rules, it seemed.

He could only hope the fierce Duchess he knew her to be would be at least somewhat cordial to her fellow suitors. Creating alliances would be a smart play after all, but sometimes Cassidy had a harder time seeing all of the smaller details that made up the bigger picture.

Only time would tell.

RJ was unsure how much time had passed as he continued to receive the ladies meant to be his suitors.

A familiar voice floated idly through his mind. "Sounds like the Bachelor."

'Yeah,' RJ internally agreed. 'It definitely doe-hey, wait a minute! We're not supposed to be thinking about Fran, man!"

He greeted the next girl with a bow and the cheeriest smile he could manage, hoping she hadn't noticed him spacing at an event meant for him. He realized it was the mystery girl dressed in violet he had seen with Dominic earlier.

'Dammit, Dom,' RJ thought exasperatedly. Aloud, he said, "My lady."

RJ fully expected her to smile, to curtsey and greet him formally just as all the ladies had done before her. What he hadn't expected her to do was stare with wide eyes framed by an elegant gold butterfly mask; her expression awed, and somewhat disbelieving. Perhaps it was merely her first time at court getting the better of her. It happened to plenty of people after all.

"RJ," she breathed.

Okay. Now that, he definitely wasn't expecting. Did she know him...?

"Forgive me, my lady," RJ began. "But I don't believe we've met before."

She seemed to remember herself and flushed as she swept into a curtsey. Her smile was bashful, yet RJ found himself endeared by it.

"We have met, Your Highness," she assured him as she rose to her full height. Her voice held a playful familiarity. "I suppose one might say we met once upon a time. But the truth to that cliché, is that we met merely a night ago in a little town called Ocean Bluff."

RJ swore he lost every single ounce of royal decorum he had ever possessed right then and there. His eyes became as wide as saucers, his mouth dropped open.

There was no way...there was no way that she was here.

"Fran?" RJ whispered, praying that she didn't notice the pure hope in his voice.

She grinned as she dipped another, playful, curtsey. "Hi, RJ."

"Wh... what are you... how are you..." He started to go in for a hug when a guard cleared his throat pointedly. Right...he probably couldn't be this familiar with the suitors just yet.

Instead, RJ reached out and grasped her hands in his. "You're really here." He shook his head and laughed. "How?"

"Dominic decided to sponsor me!" Fran replied brightly. She turned coy. "He thought that you and I would make a good fit. And while I think that it's slightly crazy that I flew across the world to have a chance to see a guy that I only met the night before again...I don't regret doing so. I know I felt something when I met you RJ. There was this spark, this warmth. I'd like to see if something can grow from that...if you feel the same way, that is."

RJ squeezed her hands gently. "I honestly never thought I was going to see you again, Fran. You have no idea how happy I am that I was proven wrong about that."

Fran grinned. "I'm very glad to hear you say that." She tilted her head, betraying her curiosity. "May I ask how you're doing with all of this?"

RJ couldn't help it. His jaw dropped for the second time that night; Fran really was casually bringing down all of his walls just by being herself.

"You're asking me that here? When you should...I don't know... be excited over this ball?"

"I'm the most excited to see you," Fran told him honestly.

'Dammit, Fran!' RJ mentally whined. 'Stop making me want to give you a hug when we're in the middle of a room full of gossipy people!'

RJ settled for a small chuckle. "I'm glad I could leave such an impression on you, and-" Here he lowered his voice. "-Something tells me that it was for me as me and not because of the crown I sometimes wear."

Fran winked at him. "Got it in one."

The guard cleared his throat again and RJ sobered. "I'm afraid our time here is up, my lady."

"Is there any chance you could save me a dance?" Fran asked hopefully.

"For you?" RJ pressed a gentleman's kiss to the back of one of her hands. "Of course."

Fran blushed again as she backed away to a respectable distance before dipping another curtsey while RJ bowed.

RJ watched as Fran walked back to the crowd, not caring if he was being blatantly obvious about it. He couldn't stop the wince that crossed his face as he saw Cassidy sweep toward Fran from out of nowhere, hooking her arm through the other woman's and dragging her outside.

Oof. If there was one thing about his old friend, it was that she was rather tenacious.

Also, she was rather...possessive, if RJ was going to be completely honest.

He could only hope that Fran could hold her own against the fiery duchess.

Fran had a long-suffering expression on her face as she allowed Cassidy to haul her out of the palace and into the courtyard. She should have known that the domineering woman was not going to let her get away with the fact that she knew RJ on a personal level.

The pair of women stopped abruptly in front of a trio of women, Fran only maintaining her balance thanks to Cassidy digging her nails into the former's arm. Gathering her bearings, Fran quickly recognized one of the women in front of her as Lily. Relief swept through her at the sight of her friend. At least Lily wouldn't let her be humiliated.

"Why, Francesca!" Cassidy began in an overly loud voice. "I had no idea that you of all people, knew the prince." Her voice lowered at the last word, full of threats and possessiveness.

Fran schooled her face into a neutral expression, keeping her tone nonchalant. "I've met him once before," she replied.

"Well, don't expect that to mean anything," Cassidy informed her coldly. "After all, you're just some nobody from an unheard of House with a pity invitation from Dominic Hargan. Lady Hayley here, on the other hand, has strong diplomatic skills inherited from her father who is also a Duke. She can also speak multiplelanguages."

"C'est vrai," Hayley confirmed quietly. Her serious eyes bored into Fran, but her expression was indiscernible.

Cassidy then nodded to another blonde wearing a softer shade of pink compared to the duchess. "Lady Nadira can trace her heritage back an entiretwo centuries."

"Happy to represent my people," Nadira joked.

Okay. Fran supposed that was impressive.

The spotlight was then turned onto Lily. "Lily here has been spending her entire life training in the art of courtly etiquette, intrigue, and that of seduction."

Lily flushed as she shifted uncomfortably at Cassidy's words. She dropped her gaze from Fran. "Umm... thanks, I guess," she murmured.

Fran opened her mouth to snap at Cassidy when Nadira spoke up. "We all have our little advantages, sure, but you're the one who really knows Prince Robert the best, Cassidy."

"It's true," Cassidy preened with a careless smile. "I've known the prince since we were children. I practically grew up alongside Prince Robert and there's been talk of us getting married one day."

'If you're so sure those talks ever happened,' Fran thought. 'Then what's the point of all this pageantry and the social season?'

Fran mentally shook her head. If RJ was already engaged, he wouldn't have said anything about the social season, and he wouldn't have met with so many different eligible ladies.

'And he wouldn't have been so excited to see me.'

Fran decided to keep that fact close to her chest like a precious secret...which it was.

She tuned back in to hear Cassidy snidely mention that Fran had better quickly learn her place at court, which could very well be no place at all, and that it would only be brave of her to bow out and go home now.

Yeah, right.

She flashed Cassidy her most charismatic smile. "Well, unfortunately for you, Your Grace, I'm not an utter bore who would cower at a handful of mean words so easily. Last I checked, this was all to see who would be the best woman to stand as Queen.

"And something tells me that grade school level bullying is not becoming of any sort of ruler, let alone a queen."

Silence reigned after Fran's retort, but even she could make out the unheard "ooooooh" typically said after a verbal comeback.

"Suffice it to say, I don't scare easy."

Cassidy regarded her icily before smirking at her. "Well, well, well. Perhaps you'll be entertaining here after all. Maybe I'll make you my court jester when I'm Queen."

Fran rolled her eyes.

"At this point, Lady Francesca would make a better queen than you," Hayley muttered around the rim of the glass that she held.

"Excuse me?!" Cassidy snapped.

Hayley met her gaze steadily. "At least Francesca knows how to be both diplomatic and charming. She's got a spine and knows when to not escalate things."

Fran nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Lady Hayley."

The redhead smirked at her. "You're welcome. Just know that I'm not going to be an easy opponent myself."

"I wouldn't expect anything less."

As it seemed to be the constant, Cassidy steered the conversation back onto herself. "Well, this whole fuzzy new friendship thing is as precious as ever, and maybe just maybe, you won't be eaten alive here, Lady Francesca. Maybe you'll find someone to marry you out of pity since Robert won't be choosing you. Just try to make it last unlike Lily's own failure."

Lily jolted at the duchess's words. "Excuse me?!" She squeaked, her pretty face flushing a bright crimson as tears pricked the corner of her eyes. "How dare you bring that up! How is that any business of yours..."

Cassidy studied her nails, her face completely unapologetic. "I make it my business to know the juiciest scandals, darling."

Refusing to look at anyone as a sob escaped her lips, Lily gathered her skirts in her hands and fled.

Fran glared at Cassidy. "I thought we just learned that acting like a bitch isn't very becoming of a queen."

Leaving the duchess no time to answer, Fran ran after Lily.

Fran found herself impressed with Lily as she chased after the girl through the hallways of a palace while running in high heels.

'Though, I suppose with that logic, I should also be impressed with myself.'

Eventually, Lily darted through a door and slammed it behind her. Within seconds, Fran reached the room Lily had hidden herself in and gingerly tested the handle. To her relief, Lily hadn't locked the door. Carefully turning the slender handle, Fran gently pushed the door open and softly knocked on the painted wood, announcing her presence.

"May I come in?"

Startled, Lily raised her head and stared at Fran with a "deer-in-the headlights" expression. Fran's chest ached with sympathy as she took in Lily's reddened eyes and tear-stained face, one of her hands clutching at the comforter she was sat on.

Smiling self-consciously, Lily hastily wiped at her tears. "You, uh...you didn't have to follow me."

"And force myself to remain in Cassidy's company?" Fran snorted as she closed the door behind her and walked over to Lily's bed. "Besides, what kind of friend would I be if I left you to your misery?" She sat next to Lily and wrapped an arm around the girl. "What Cassidy did was uncalled for. She had absolutely no right to expose your past like that."

"I have no idea how she even found out about my failed engagement," Lily admitted in a murmur. "My parents did their absolute best to keep it quiet."

"Something tells me one of Cassidy's specialties is doing a deep dive into a person's weaknesses," Fran speculated. "Which, I suppose from a political standpoint kinda makes sense, it makes absolutely no sense here. We're not at war, no matter what any lady or her family might view this social season as."

Lily laughed weakly. "I'm so glad you're on my side, Fran."

"It's a very good side to be on."

There was a companionable silence between the two women before Lily spoke up again. "I was engaged to be married last year."

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Fran assured her.

"I want to tell you though," Lily insisted. "Everything was going smoothly...or so I thought. A few weeks before the wedding, my future husband called it off."

"Did he at least tell you why?"

Lily smiled sadly. "He could see my heart wasn't into this potential marriage and so he decided to let me go quietly. My parents were devastated."

Fran frowned at that. "Shouldn't your happiness matter more than a marriage you clearly didn't want?"

Her friend shrugged. "They want me in an advantageous match. They figure I'll be happy eventually."

'Yikes...' Fran certainly didn't like the sound of that. "And...how are you feeling about being involved with the social season here in Cordonia?" She asked Lily cautiously. "If the prince chooses you for his bride, you could one day be queen. Did you even want to come here?"

"I did," Lily confirmed, a real smile beginning to form on her lips. "Yes, this is a new chance to please my parents, but really, I wanted to please myself. I'm choosing to see this whole thing as a new adventure."

Fran giggled at that. "You know what? So am I."

Lily threw her arms around Fran in a hug. "I'm so glad you're here, Fran."

"Me too," Fran said as she stood from the bed and held out a hand. "Ready to get back out there?"

Lily took a deep, steadying breath before fixing her make up. She then stood up and nodded to Fran. "Ready."

Fran led her friend toward the door. "Let's go show this court what we're made of."

A/N: Almost done with the Masquerade! Just maybe half a chapter to go (hopefully) and then we move on to the next event of the social season! New characters to meet! New bits of drama and intrigue...ooooooooooh lol :P