A/N: Though she hasn't reviewed yet, I'm blaming this entire 7th story on Raider.
TheRanger'sDaughter: Russ is the only 'grandchild' from Russ and Gabby they knew. He had to grow up to be a Ranger :) Yeah...I thought about following Hazen but wanted to limit the main characters to 3 and he just didn't make the cut. Perhaps later when the girls take a bigger part Mara will get some focus, but for now it will be mostly Reese, Robin, and Elizabet.
Aubrey: Robin's fun :) The feeling someone will die? Mm...perhaps because that is the natural order and, unfortunately...
Alex: Haha glad you like Gabby and her girls so much :p
Hammy: Being back...unexpected. This was all on a whim. We'll see how committed I stay to it I usually like to avoid starting stories when extensive absences are about to take place, but...you will see some longer gaps in post than you're used to this round. You'll get some focus on the previous generation, as you did last time. That's a Flanagan thing I've kept in this fanfiction.
Disclaimer: I'm not John Flanagan.
Elizabet smiled widely as she inspected every detail of her wedding dress in a full length mirror. Alicia, her nervous lady-in-waiting, made note of final alterations as she spun around her. Elizabet bit down on her tongue while Alicia worked. Alicia entered her service a year ago when Morgan, her former roommate at the Academy, married a wealthy baron and moved to a castle of her own. Elizabet still kept in touch with Morgan. She invited her to be a bridesmaid but Morgan had to decline, explaining that her first year as a baroness proved far more stressful than she'd bargained for and she had no idea how she'd manage the duties of bridesmaid to a princess on top of everything else. Morgan would still spend the night before her wedding with her and help in getting her ready. She just wouldn't walk down the aisle with a groomsman.
Morgan's engagement barely lasted a month, leaving Elizabet next to no time to find a decent replacement. She promoted Alicia from her post as a maid thinking she had the potential to fill Morgan's shoes. Instead, Alicia turned out to be an overly organized neat freak with almost no personality. Alicia's sense of perfection made Elizabet uncomfortable in her own rooms and, though Elizabet didn't think it was on purpose, she sucked in a sharp breath every time Elizabet did something that broke social codes.
Alicia wasn't a horrible lady-in-waiting. Her personality simply didn't suit Elizabet. Elizabet didn't have it in her to outright fire Alicia or send her back to her position as a maid. Alicia hadn't really done anything wrong, and a demotion would be a slap in the face. She needed to find another suitable post for her. Elizabet constantly checked in with other prominent females in Hibernia hoping one of the stiff elderly ladies or countesses wanted a no-nonsense companion to manage their lives for them. So far, she wasn't so lucky in her search. Elizabet had already reassigned Alicia to the role of reception coordinator for her wedding, letting her micromanage the food, musicians, waiters, and guards while Elizabet was tended by her friends and family. For now, Elizabet wanted to enjoy getting fitted into her wedding dress with minimal negativity from Alicia.
The door opened behind them. Elizabet glanced back and smiled at her mother. She'd kept her gown stored in her mother's dressing room, away from Neil's snooping. Not that Neil snooped, but the wedding made him more curious about her wardrobe than ever before. Kineta crossed the room and waved Alicia away. Alicia clearly wasn't finished, but she didn't dare contradict a superior…especially when that superior was her queen.
"So beautiful," Kineta told her as she worked to unbutton the back. "As always."
Elizabet stepped out of the heap and went to change back into her casual green dress while Kineta hung up the wedding gown. "Were you this nervous before you married Daddy, Mama?"
Kineta chuckled. "Yes," she answered honestly. "And I had no reason to be."
Elizabet smiled. She tightened her own laces and followed her mother out of the dressing room. "When will everyone arrive?"
"They should have boarded the ship by now. My guess is a week, less if the weather agrees." Kineta took Elizabet's hand, squeezing it as she gave her a sly grin. "Your father and I wanted to surprise you before everything becomes chaotic."
Elizabet laughed uneasily. "Surprise me?"
Sean joined them as they crossed through the main room of her parents' apartment. Ever since Mason and Scout stepped up they'd been living in a much smaller set of rooms in a wing far away from the courts. This wasn't where Elizabet grew up, but it still felt like home. Her parents were good at making it feel that way. Sean hugged her, muttering something about losing his little girl. He did that a lot these days. Elizabet knew that, despite his grumbling, he was happy for her. More importantly, her parents were ready for grandchildren. They doted on Hazen and Mara, but they wanted Elizabet or Gabe to have one. Both were of age, and both were engaged. Gabe's wedding would take place two weeks after hers. Elizabet, however, was entering into a marriage in which she'd also adopt a son.
She'd met Neil while visiting Uncle Calvin and Aunt Tammy in Claymound. He came from a family of farmers and had no idea who Elizabet was when he met her. She'd been out riding her horse while her family worked, enjoying the freedom that came with visiting Claymound. She found Neil and his younger siblings, Nora and Noah, selling vegetables from a art on the side of the road. She'd introduced herself as Lizzie and spent a long time talking to the siblings. Neil caught her eye so easily with his suntanned muscles and dark curls. Nora and Noah had the exact same features. She saw him again in the village later that week buying fish, and then again her last day there taking Nora to pick out fabric for their mother. Elizabet saw him yet again her next visit, again with his cart.
Thus began their relationship. It was Noah who first figured out Lizzie was in fact Princess Elizabet. Neil shrugged her title off, keeping her nickname and only referring to her as 'Your Grace' when he wanted to tease her. Elizabet brought him to Roscrea a couple of times to meet her family, but his own family relied on him too much for him to spend too much time away from them. They began talking about marriage and Elizabet became comfortable with the idea of settling down with him on his farm. They made plans to purchase the adjacent property, whose owners were elderly with no children interested in taking over.
The plan was to buy out their farm and allow the couple to live comfortably in their home while they built a manor on the property line. Their new home would have been big enough to house Neil's siblings and parents, should they choose to come, as well as host official visitors and Elizabet's family. Elizabet could tend royal duties from afar, though frequent visits to Roscrea would be a must, and her allowance from the royal purse would allow her to hire a decent staff out of Claymound's population, bringing desperately needed jobs to the village. Claymound would go from a sleepy village people passed through to a thriving place of commerce. Elizabet's presence would draw attention in ways Claymound had never seen before. Then, in time, Elizabet would convince Uncle Calvin to show her where her old family's farm was. She wanted to buy it and rebuild the tiny cabin she vaguely remembered from dreams. That would become her family's escape from royalty, a place to disappear to after particularly rough negotiations or private celebrations.
But, all those plans were scrapped when Neil's father fell sick. Next was Nora, then his mother. Then Neil himself and Noah caught the deadly fever. The illness swept Claymound, and by the time Elizabet got a team of proper healers to the village all that was left of the Peterson family was Neil and Noah. It took a long time for Neil to come to terms with the sudden loss. He couldn't bear staying in Claymound, so Elizabet helped him move to Roscrea. He and Noah stayed at the castle as guests until Neil pulled himself together enough for Sean to bring under his wing. Sean and Mason helped him learn what it would be like to become a prince, giving him a crash course in policy and protocol. As it turned out, Neil had ideas about farming that could revolutionize Hibernia's ability to yield crops. Mason put him in charge of agricultural disputes and pursuits and Neil thrived in his new role. Elizabet sometimes thought about the grand manor she'd envisioned raising a family in, but was glad they would remain in Roscrea. Now she could raise her family without missing anyone.
"You'll like the surprise," her father assured her while her mother went to a chest in the corner. Elizabet knew the chest well. It was where Kineta kept special mementos from important events. The gown Elizabet wore when they introduced her to the court was in there, as was Gabe's christening gown and the tiny bow both siblings learned to shoot with. Elizabet bit her lip, realizing she was about to receive a family heirloom. They didn't have many heirlooms accumulated. After all, Kineta had been a penniless orphan and Sean passed many of his mother's things to Lina for Scout and Caitlyn before he and Kineta were married, let alone welcomed their own children. Most of the Dun Kilty heirlooms lacked significance anyway since the kingdom reunited under one monarch. The Treaty sisters passed a few things back to Elizabet and Gabe, but there was so little they didn't worry too much about it.
Kineta pulled out a torn sheet of paper and a sealed envelope. Sean guided Elizabet to sit on the couch in front of their unlit fireplace. Kineta joined them after closing her trunk.
"First, I want to return something to you," Kineta told her. She handed Elizabet the torn paper. Elizabet grinned as she looked at the faded image of Princess Valerie she'd given Kineta so long ago, back when she couldn't talk. She'd known Kineta kept it. "I planned to give that to you when you had your first child, but it seems you'll get one sooner than we realized."
Elizabet enjoyed helping Neil finish raising Noah. In Roscrea, Noah received his first formal education. He excelled in ways no one could anticipate and already had dreams of going to the Academy one day.
"Thank you," Elizabet told her mother, hugging her tightly. Kineta stroked her hair as she did when she was a child.
"There's one more," Sean reminded her, taking the envelope from Kineta and setting it in Elizabet's lap. "This one is from both of us."
Elizabet was still smiling when she ripped open the envelope. She unfolded its contents and studied the paper carefully. Her smile faded as she concentrated on what all the swirled words meant. The paper was watermarked with an official symbol and signed by someone called 'Mayor Busby'.
"What is this?" she asked as she held it closer for examination.
"A deed," Sean answered. "For land."
"You're giving us land?" Elizabet asked. "Is this for Neil's farming ventures? This isn't Roscrea's symbol. How far away is it?"
"It's outside Claymound," Kineta told her gently. Elizabet stared at her mother. Did they buy this when she and Neil were still planning to build the manor? Was this the deed to the elderly neighbor's adjacent property? Neil kept his family land in his name, but it was now being worked by tenants. He couldn't bring himself to keep it up anymore.
"We did some digging," Sean explained when Elizabet failed to figure it out. "This piece of land has changed hands quite a few times. We had to send one of our top scribes to turn it up."
"Look on the second page," Kineta told her. "It has a list of previous owners."
Elizabet did as told. She read through the list of names, unsure exactly what she should be looking for. Her Grace Elizabet O'Carrick Peterson was listed as the current owner, a person who would come to exist in the coming weeks. She liked seeing what would be her married name on a piece of paper, but at Kineta's insistence she searched through the previous owners until she finally settled on the last female owner.
Mistress Lyla Kerr Williams
Elizabet snapped her attention to her father. "How did you know?" she whispered, almost as though she were slipping back to mutism. The memory of her first mother shoving her into a trunk to save her from arson flooded back. The heat, the dehydration, Uncle Calvin finding her…it all rushed to the front of her mind.
"Neil told us how disappointed he was he wasn't able to find your old home," Sean explained. "It took our scribe over a month, and this was his only duty that entire time."
"With your permission we'd like to begin construction of the manor you had plans drawn up for," Kineta added. "As your wedding gift."
Elizabet shook her head. "Neil doesn't want to live in Claymound."
"This isn't meant to be your permanent home. It's for the two of you to visit from time to time, maybe spend a week or two with Noah when castle life becomes too difficult for him. The point is should Roscrea become too much for you and your family, you will have a place to relocate that's nearby and comfortable."
Elizabet set the deed in her lap and hugged both her parents. Tears stung her eyes, threatening to spill over. Just when she thought they couldn't do more for her, they did. It was overwhelming. Sean and Kineta both rubbed her back, laughing as they all embraced one another.
"I love you both so much," Elizabet wept. She told them she loved so often she was sure it annoyed them, but after being unable to for so long she wanted to say it every chance she got.
"We love you too," Sean assured her.
"That we do," Kineta agreed.
"What are you doing for Gabe?" Elizabet asked. Having two children marrying at the same time must put stress on her parents, even if they were eager for grandchildren.
"We've already taken care of Gabe," Sean answered. "He's getting a cottage near the sea."