First, this story has gotten almost 700 views since I put it up on the 25th. That was SIX days ago! Y'all are seriously awesome. End of story.

We've finally hit double digits! Stuff's getting serious guys! Ha! I'm not going to lie, I love this chapter. It took a lot longer to write than I expected, but hey, it happens. I hope y'all enjoy this one!

Chapter 10: The Perfect Moment Comes Too Late

The ball would have been impressive to Finn if he wasn't miserable.

After the announcement was made, a lot of people came and congratulated him or asked him questions about the past four years. Finn gave the shortest answers possible, always searching the room for Amanda.

He saw Willa and Philby dancing, clearly enjoying themselves. Finn knew better than to interrupt their moments together.

After searching for her most of the night, Finn gave up. He went over to a small table and grabbed a drink, finishing almost immediately.

Queen Charlene came over and asked him to come dance with her. Before he could object she pulled him out there. The newly betrothed couple being the only ones on the dance floor.

The song started and the queen pulled Finn in close and started a waltz. Finn kept scanning the crowd for Amanda.

"At least look like you're having a good time." She said through a smile.

"Huh? Sorry, what was that?" He focused in on the queen while she was talking.

"I said, at least look like you're having a good time. I'm not going to have you look miserable tonight."

"Sorry, I just—"

"You're obviously hung up over some girl. Here's what I'll say to you. Get over her. This is the best for both kingdoms. As future king, you know you have to put the welfare of your kingdom first. It's the first thing I've learned as queen here in Florida." She looked at him, saw his shocked expression. "Now smile and enjoy yourself!"

Not long after that, more couples joined them on the dance floor.

There was a tap on Finn's shoulder. "May I cut in?"

Finn turned to see his new friend, Captain Maybeck, standing there, and felt a sudden wave of relief.

"Sure thing." Finn let go of Charlene and took a step back.

Before he started dancing with Charlene, the captain leaned in and whispered "she's in the hallway."

Finn managed to get out of the ballroom with only a few people stopping him to talk. He saw her at the end of the hallway, sitting on a bench placed right in front of a giant window.

He also noticed how beautiful she looked. She wore a full-length white dress with a layer of elegant lace on top, but it complimented her tan skin and dark hair so well. He thought about how now would be the perfect moment for that first kiss.

He sat down next to her on the bench and said nothing for a few minutes.

"Amanda, I—"

"No Finn. Let me talk." She took a deep breath and Finn knew what she was going to say, and he braced himself for it. "I really thought we had something. I truly did. I bought into the fantasy that I could fall for a prince and someday become his princess. All girls believe it at some point, but for me it was almost a reality. I know the laws, but for some reason I thought this was going to be different. It was my mistake, so I want to say that I'm sorry."

Finn saw a few tears escape her eyes and stream down her face and he figured anyone within a certain distance could probably hear his heart breaking.

She wiped the tears away and continued.

"You're going to defeat Maleficent and you'll get married to Queen Charlene. You're going to have the perfect wedding and the perfect wife. You'll get everything anyone could possibly want and you'll be happy. And that's all that matters."

Amanda stood up and started to walk away when Finn let his impulses take over. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her toward him and kissed her on the lips.

He had expected her to slap him. But instead she kissed him back. And the last thing he wanted was to let go. He wrapped his arms around her waist, she put her arms around his neck, and he knew that there was no stopping this kiss. He couldn't do it. This would be their first and last kiss.

The perfect moment had finally come, but it had come too late.

"So you're the infamous Captain Maybeck?" The queen asked as the captain twirled her around on the dance floor.

"Ah, so you've heard of me. I must say I'm flattered." He smiled at her.

"Should I be warn the navy of your presence here?" She smiled back.

"Nah. I only go after Maleficent, not pretty ladies with armies."

She laughed, making the captain's heart skip a beat. "Lucky me."

"Can I ask you a random question?"

"I'll tell you anything you want to know captain." She winked.

"Why did you ask Finn for a marriage alliance?"

She thought for a second and then answered. "It seemed like the right thing to do." Captain Maybeck noticed that she didn't seem as enthusiastic about it as she had been when she had announced it earlier that day.

"Looks like you're the perfect queen. Doing what's right and so on."

"Well I don't know about perfect. I'm just doing my best to be the person my parents would have wanted me to be."

"Is that who you want to be? The person your parents would have wanted?"

She hesitated before answering. He knew he had just struck gold. She was questioning the alliance. Maybe she'd call it off. Maybe he had a chance.

"Of course I do!"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, like your parents always dreamed of their son growing up to be the captain of a pirate ship!"

"Maybe they did! You don't know!"

"Oh, right. Every parent's dream is to see their kid become a pirate. What a wonderful life you must have. Being what your parents wanted for you must be wonderful." She spat off sarcastically.

"Oh and being the sole ruler of the kingdom isn't wonderful? Don't forget the fact that you're about to be married off to Finn and you'll rule two powerful kingdoms together." He laughed at her. "Yeah, your life must suck Charlie."

Before she could protest, the song ended. The captain bowed to her, kissed her hand and walked away without a word.

Queen Charlene had never felt more confused by a man in her life.

"My darling Charlene," her father held out his arms to her, inviting her into a hug. "How are you this fine day, my dear?"

"Great daddy!" Four-year old Charlene ran into her father's arm, jumping onto his lap.

"Now, Charlene, there's something I want you to learn right now. Okay?"

"What's that daddy?"

"That you can marry whomever you want to marry, as long as you love him."

The little girl thought about what her father had said for a second, and then perked up. "I love you daddy. Does that mean we're going to get married?"

Her father's laugh echoed throughout the halls of the castle.

"No my dear. You'll have to get married to a young man your age. And besides, I'm already married to your mother."

"What are you doing Elijah?" The queen walked out of the bedroom holding her stomach.

"Mommy!" Charlene jumped out of her father's arms and ran straight to her mother and hugged her legs.

"How are you feeling today love?" The king asked his wife.

"Oh just fine." She held her stomach. "The baby's been kicking, that's all."

"Do you need to rest? I can take Charlene out if you'd like some more rest."

"No, no I'm fine. I'd like to take my daughter on a walk." She picked up her daughter. "Is that okay with you Charlene?"

"Yay!" Charlene waved goodbye to her father as her mother walked her out of the hall and outside to the castle garden.

"Charlene, dear. I want you to know that if you end up having a baby brother, your father and I will still love you very much."

"When's my baby brother getting here?" The little Charlene picked the petals off of a flower.

"Soon enough dear. But just know that you'll still be very important to us either way. And one day, my sweet, you'll be old enough to marry a fine young man. But I want you to know one thing. Whether you have a baby brother or a baby sister, I promise you can choose who you want to marry. But you must choose wisely."

"Mommy, what does wisely mean?" Charlene put down the stem of the flower on the ground, all the petals were lying around it. Some blown farther away due to the slight breeze.

"It means you've got to be smart. Charlene, sweetie, choose a husband that loves you. If you don't, you'll be miserable. And we wouldn't want that."

Charlene's mother picked up her daughter and started walking back inside. "I don't even care if he's of royal blood. Marry somebody you truly love. I want my little baby girl to be happy."

"I'm not a baby mommy! The baby's right here!" Charlene pointed to her mother's stomach.

Charlene woke up with a start. She knew deep down in her heart that her parents wouldn't have liked her forcing a marriage alliance on Finn just because she thought he was cute and knew that he had power.

She knew that it wasn't the right thing to do, seeing that he obviously loved this Amanda girl. And Charlene could tell that she was starting to have feelings for the captain.

She knew this was a long, sleepless night ahead of her. She got out of bed and decided to go to the castle garden. She sat in the same spot that she had with her mother during that dream.

She could still feel her mother's presence in the garden. It was her mother's pride and joy. The tears streamed down her face. Charlene couldn't help but wish that her mother was here. She wanted to talk to her, ask her for advice, hug her. Charlene would do anything to have one more day with her parents. But knowing that was impossible, she put her head in her hands and cried.

While the army was preparing itself to head to California, Finn and the rest of the group stayed at the castle.

And to Finn, the week was about as normal as one could get.

The captain had surprisingly spent most of the week sober. He was almost always with Queen Charlene, helping her out with her day-to-day tasks. Every once in a while, Finn would glance their way and see the two flirting. If Finn had actual feelings for Charlene, he probably would have punched him by now.

But luckily for the captain, Finn was falling more in love with Amanda every passing moment. Finn figured every one knew, but no one had mentioned it. Every chance they got, they would sneak off and spend some time alone. Finn had never been happier in his life. The only thing that could have made it better was if the wedding would be called off, but Finn was working on that.

At least once a day, Dillard and Finn would venture out into the town near the castle and enjoy the city. They had tried all of the local delicacies, explored all of the sites and drank in all of the bars. Finn had even helped Dillard get kisses from a few girls.

Finn only saw Willa and Philby at the big dinners Charlene would hold each night for the "honored guests." They seemed very happy together. Every time Finn saw them together, Finn realized how perfect they were together. The overprotective feelings Finn had first felt for Willa at the beginning of the journey were long gone. He knew that Philby wouldn't dare hurt her and he respected him for it.

They had been staying in Charlene's castle for nine days when word came that Maleficent had forces landing on the other side of the island.

The seven were currently sitting around a large table in the royal dining room. Queen Charlene was sitting at the head of the table, with Finn and the captain on either side of her. On one side of the table, Amanda was squished between Finn and Dillard. On the other side, Willa sat in between Philby and Maybeck. Willa leaned into Philby and he wrapped his arm around her.

The soldier who brought in the news stood there awkwardly while the others sat in silence. Finn felt Amanda grab his hand under the table.

It was Queen Charlene who broke the silence. "Why is she coming here? I'm confused. I thought you were supposed to fight her there."

"I did too." Finn said quietly. He felt Amanda squeeze his hand for reassurance.

Another moment of silence.

"She wants to try to stop you before you have the chance to get to her." Philby answered. "So if she loses, she still has her kingdom. If we lose, she can get control over Florida. It's a win-win for her."

"You don't think Maleficent will come herself?" Amanda asked.

"No, why would she? She's got Finn's kingdom to run." Willa shot a sad look toward Finn. "She hasn't declared war either. I doubt she'll come unless it's absolutely necessary."

"So what do we do?" Dillard asked with a full mouth.

"Should I send out the army to deal with them?" Queen Charlene turned to the soldier. "How many people did she send?"

"My sources say a small number. Somewhere between fifteen and twenty."

"Why such a small number?"

"Probably a team to search the island." Captain Maybeck spoke up. "How big would you say her forces are Finn?"

"They're big." Finn looked down at the food on his plate, avoiding eye contact with everyone. He could still remember the night of the castle raid like it was yesterday.

"And they've been growing over the years." Willa said quietly. Finn could tell she was remembering her time there and saw Philby wrap his arm a little tighter around her out of the corner of his eye.

"So if her forces are so big, why is she sending only fifteen to twenty people?" Dillard asked. "Wouldn't it make more sense to send a lot more than that?"

"It would," Amanda started.

"If you knew where your targets were." Finn finished.

"She doesn't know where we are, so she sends out teams to find us."

"So when she finds us, she can declare war on whatever kingdom for giving us refuge."

"And the whole army comes." Philby chimed in. Another moment of silence.

"We need to intercept them." Willa stopped leaning on Philby and looked at each person before continuing. "It only makes sense. We don't need to involve your army, Charlene, for that would be taken as an act of war, giving Maleficent what she wants. If the seven of us go, we can surely take them by surprise before they can send word."

"That's brilliant Willa!" Philby kissed her on the cheek.

Charlene stood up and clasped her hands together. "Looks like that's settled! We head there in the morning!" She headed over to the soldier, presumably getting the enemy's location from him and as much information as she could on the matter.

And just like that, the seven started preparing for tomorrow's mission. All of them knew that this was the first of many steps to putting Finn back on the throne in the kingdom of California.

So...hmm...talk about an interesting chapter. Finn & Charlene are still engaged, but they both have things with other people...will the engagement last? I guess we'll see in chapters to come!

And the seven are off to meet Maleficent's little search team. We'll see how that goes in the next chapter. It'll be action packed! Stay tuned!

Please review! I love reading them!