Heyyyy guys! merry christmas! (i don't but into this "happy holidays" crap but i'm not prejudiced against people who don't celebrate christmas. okay? okay.) I wanted to give y'all a lil present by FINALLY updating! yes, i know, i suck. sorry. i'm not even kidding i've had 95% of this chapter written in my computer for like 2 weeks i just haven't gotten around to it. HOWEVER i will be trying very hard to post a small christmas/holiday one-shot tomorrow. if there's not too much going on. love y'all :)
DISCLAIMER: i don't own PPP, it's characters, it's plot, etc. i just own my plot. an' stuff.
"Princesa, this is Carter Mason, one of the Princess Protection Program agents that will be protecting you," William said. Carter reached out to shake Elisabeth's hand, but the princess didn't move. In fact, she looked at Carter's hand as if it was quite a foreign object.
The Princess of Costa Estrella had quite the similar look to Rosie, Carter noticed. Her dark brown hair was long and pulled back into an elegant braid that fell along her exposed shoulder blades. Elisabeth wore a relaxed golden dress that came to a halter at the neck and open along the back. Simple white gloves adorned her petite hands.
"You'll find, princess, that I don't take royalty into account. I'm not about to break out into a curtsey, so this is the best you're gonna get from me," Carter stated simply.
Elisabeth glanced uncertainly towards William, who simply shrugged at her, probably mentally suggested the princess take Carter's advice. She reached out in a fragile manner, gripping the agent's hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Carter Mason," she said.
Carter smirked, squeezing Elisabeth's hand. "Likewise. You got nothing to worry about with me and Rosie on the case," she said, letting go. "Where is Rosie anyway?" she turned to William.
"Ms. Gonzalez is being fitted for her guard uniform. She should be along shortly," he answered.
As if on queue, the door opened and Rosie strode through, closing it behind her. "I am sorry to be late, William. The seamstress was taking extra care to get my size, as it needs to be ready for this evening."
"It is no problem. Princess, this is Ros-"
"Your Majesty?!" Elisabeth cried out suddenly.
Rosie glanced uncomfortably at Carter, who shrugged at her best friend. Elisabeth made to bow deeply, but Rosie reached out quickly, stopping her.
"No, princess," she urged. "Right now I am not the Queen of Costa Luna, I am Agent Rosie Gonzalez of the Princess Protection Program."
Elisabeth's eyes quickly scanned between Carter and Rosie. They widened in realization. "And…and you are Costa Luna's Captain of the Guard!" she said, pointing at Carter.
"Princesa," William started, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Carter and Rosie are here to protect you. They were the closest team to Costa Estrella, and the Program was concerned with your safety."
Elisabeth closed her mouth, managing a nod. "I…thank you, William. And both of you as well. I am fairly certain that my uncle will make an attempt on my life very soon. He has been visibly more and more restless."
"You think he's gonna try something at the ball tonight? With all those people around?" Carter asked, crossing her arms.
Elisabeth shook her head. "I do not know. But I would honestly not put it past him to do so," she answered.
"Carter and Rosie will both be stationed in and around the ballroom for your protection. It will be alright, Princesa."
It was around sunset when Rosie met up with Carter outside the kitchens. The ball was scheduled to begin in about an hour, the guests already starting to arrive. Carter rounded the corridor with annoyed look on her face as she tucked her shirt into her pants. She was posing as a server in the ball room, and was dressed in black slacks, a white long-sleeve button up shirt, and a black apron around her waist. Her black hair was pulled back haphazardly into a loose bun. Rosie reached up, timidly tucking a strand of hair behind her own ear as her best friend came into view.
"You look lovely, Carter," she murmured.
Carter looked up as Rosie spoke, smiling at her. "Thanks, Rosie. You look pretty amazing yourself. I'm surprised they could tailor that monkey suit for you in a couple of hours."
Rosie blushed, suddenly aware of her appearance. She was posing as a palace guard and would be stationed to patrol the halls outside the ballroom, a convenient way to make sure no trouble was brewing. She wore black slacks with a black dress jacket. Blue trim was sewn onto tails of the jacket, and a strip of the same color ran down the side of each pant leg. White gloves covered the queen's hands as she gripped the hilt of the saber that she wore around her waist. Gold trim hung from it decoratively. She didn't wear a cover, but had her hair pulled back into a braid at the nape of her neck, her bangs loose in the front. "Thank you…"
Rosie pulled a couple of ear pieces out of her pocket, handing one to Carter. "We can use these to stay in contact with each other during the party," she explained, both of them placing it in their ear. "The Program dropped them off in my room before we left, and they have both been tuned to both of our voice frequencies, meaning that they will only pick up noise while one of us is talking. Tap the middle twice to turn it off or on, three times to mute. Holding it down will indicate dire stress, and an alarm will sound in both ear pieces."
Carter grinned as she turned the piece on and off again to ensure it was working. "You realize that this is going to pick up me saying 'Would you like another crab puff, sir?' all night? You're probably gonna be pretty annoyed after a while."
Rosie shook her head with a smile as well. "I will just have to push through," she replied. "Now, William suggests that we meet at least once or twice throughout the night to make sure nothing has happened and to recap."
Carter nodded in agreement. "Sounds good. How bout we meet every hour at the doors to the ballroom?"
"Very well, Carter, that sounds accepta-"
"Mason! Inside! Now!" A voice echoed through the small hallway. A man with a chef's hat and apron was sticking his head out of the doorway to the kitchens.
Carter rolled her eyes. "I'm coming, Armand," she answered, flicking her wrist at him and turning her attention back to Rosie. "I gotta go," she mumbled. "Got kitchen duty before we start. Plus we're supposed to be out serving royalty in the next few minutes."
Rosie giggled at Carter's discomfort. "That is alright, I should probably report to William for my post as well. I will see you at 9 o'clock, yes?"
"You got it," Carter agreed, before walking past Rosie into the kitchens.
The queen stood for a few moments longer, smiling softly to herself, and fiddling with the gold tassels hanging from her saber. She forced down the butterflies in her stomach, resolving to figure them out at a more appropriate time, and turned to go find Captain Hernandez by the ballroom.
Rosie was pleasantly surprised by her sense of direction as she managed to successfully navigate her way through the palace's corridors. William was at the doors to the ballroom, towards the side, watching the myriad of guests make their way from the Grand Hall down the carpet. He smiled as Rosie approached him.
"Good evening, Ms. Gonzalez. You look very lovely in uniform," he said, bowing slightly.
Rosie bowed in return. "Thank you, Captain Hernandez, as do you. I came to inform you that Carter and I have planned to meet every hour outside the ballroom for briefings, should you need to speak to both of us," she explained.
William nodded. "Gracias, Ms. Gonzalez. I have arranged for you to walk the perimeter of the ballroom. Starting from the kitchens, up past here, and down that corridor," he pointed toward the hallway opposite them. "There is a whistle on your saber should you have urgent need of another guard's assistance."
Rosie's trained eyes scanned her guard route. "Very well. Thank you, Captain Hernandez." She turned to begin her patrol, before stopping at the sound of William speaking again.
"Save me a dance, will you, Your Majesty?" his timid yet resolved question made Rosalinda smile as she looked back at him.
"We shall see."
Carter had never been so bored and annoyed at the same time. Her tray full of hors d'oeurves was beginning to weigh down her arm. And every time it was empty, the agent had to continue returning to the kitchen to gather more.
What's more, Carter's stomach was still burning from the conversation Rosie and William had had earlier. "Save me a dance my ass…" Carter mumbled, pink dots appearing on her flushed cheeks. She wasn't quite sure why she was so upset at this turn of events, but Carter knew enough to just let it go and figure it out later.
The distressed Latino grimaced (it was as close to a smile as she could manage) as yet another overweight, middle-aged duke stuffed a handful of miniature sausages into his mouth. Carter didn't know exactly why she and Rosie were being forced into this. It was clear that nothing was going to take place during the ball. Marshall Kane hadn't been seen with the princess once all evening.
The waitress glanced towards her watch. 10:47. She groaned again. She and Rosie had met twice already outside, neither of them with any news to report.
Carter's bored eyes scanned the large dance floor, almost immediately landing on Elisabeth. She was gracefully twirling in William's arms, as she had been all night. Carter scowled slightly at the princess' guard. "You have your own princess, don't try to take mine…" she mumbled.
After telling a woman for the eleventh time that night (yes, she counted) that no, she did not know what the fat content of the crab cakes were, Carter began losing interest. She shuffled through the throng of people, desperately trying to avoid spilling the array sauces down her shirt. The second she broke free of the crowd, she dumped her tray on the nearest vacant table, making sure to tell an incoming duke to "have at it".
Her watch read 10:56, which meant it was close enough to being her break time. Carter caught William's eye, motioning that she was momentarily exiting the ballroom. He nodded with a smile, waving her away. She walked through the doorway, smiling as a pleasant draft of cool air wafted over her. The music also became slightly muffled as she exited, to her delight. She leaned up against the wall next to the entrance, letting her eyes close for a bit.
"Long night?"
Carter looked up as a giggled voice broke her reverie. She smiled, seeing Rosie standing in front of her, a grin on her face. She groaned, a slight smile coming to her lips. "I had no idea how many people would want friggin finger foods."
Rosie shook her head, continuing to laugh to herself. She offered a hand to Carter, pulling her off the wall. "You are so silly at times, Carter Mason." The queen glanced down at their intertwined hands, realizing that they hadn't let go. A blush appeared on her cheeks for the second time that evening.
The music coming from the ballroom changed, signifying a new song was beginning. Rosie picked it up immediately, having been to many balls during her life. She smiled. It was one of her favorites. "Would you…like to dance, Carter?"
Her request was so quiet, the agent wasn't certain that she had heard correctly. "Of course, Rosie," Carter replied with a smile. She stepped forward, their bodies pressing together. The queen squeezed her best friend's hand in her own.
Their steps became one, as they twirled in the empty hall. Carter held Rosie close, the soft orchestra beginning to pick up as they continued their waltz. Carter was lucky that the queen knew the man's part to their dance, as she would have been at quite a loss without her. The two women smiled at each other, both with red cheeks, though that could have been due to the dance they were performing.
Suddenly every image of Rosie was floating through Carter's head at light speed. Her heart was wildly pounding out of control. Was she getting closer?
The final notes of the waltz died in the echo that reverberated through the hall. The pair stopped their dance but didn't dare break their embrace. Their eyes remained locked as they both let out heavy breaths.
"So-" Rosie started with a sly grin. "Who exactly are you angry at for stealing your princess?"
The red in Carter's cheeks spread even deeper, if that were possible. "Oh…ah, you…heard me say that?"
Rosie nodded, dropping her arm from where it was being held during the dance. She slid them around Carter's waist. "Ear pieces," she murmured.
Carter raised an eyebrow. "Well they did allow me to hear you and William flirting earlier…"
Rosie shook her head, still smiling. "Then yours must have been malfunctioning. Captain Hernandez was the only one flirting."
Carter said nothing, continuing to look into Rosie. They came close together.
The lights shut off suddenly, violently throwing the entire ballroom and hallway into pitch blackness. Screams of terror sounded throughout the party, though with one sounding above the rest.
"Elisabeth."
Yes, cliff hanger, i suck :) R&R!