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This is a completely new chapter, not part of the old version. It's a detailed introduction to Rose's family with a dashing new character. Enjoy :)


Rose...

"Eddie, have you seen Rose?" My mother, Janine Mazur's voice reached to where I was crouching behind a large, antique vase.

"No, Aunt Janine," came my cousin Eddie's level voice. "I've not seen her since yesterday."

I heard a small huff from my mother and sound of footsteps. Hastily, I drew further into the shadow behind the vase, hoping she wouldn't discover me.

"I thought she'd be here," Mom said, her voice coming from my right, presumably near the door of the sitting room.

"I thought so too," Eddie admitted. "After the, uh...revelation yesterday, she'd want to talk to Neal."

Yes, Eddie, I do want to talk to him.

But what could I do, with Neal being stuck on a state visit to the neighboring country of Sharda?

"Yes, she's been missing Neal." Mom said briskly as if she was commenting on the weather. "Lately, she's taken to spending time a lot of her time here. I wonder what she's up to."

Janine Mazur wasn't used to being kept in the dark. Nor was she used to being ignored, which was what I was doing.

I'd been avoiding her since yesterday, knowing fully well that she wanted to talk to me about the betrothal. There would be no words of consolation from her. Rather, it would just be a reminder of my duty and what was expected of me as the Princess of Loha.

Tough love.

But then again, Janine Mazur was nothing if not disciplined and strict.

"I wouldn't worry about that, Aunt." Eddie reassured my mother, as if he had no clue what I did here- at the Chandra, the official residence of my brother, Crown Prince Neal Mazur.

Peering around the huge vase, I could see my mother near the door like I'd assumed and Eddie in front of her, blocking her view of the vase I was hiding behind.

He knew I was here.

"If you see her-" Mom's voice started fading away as she walked out. "-tell her to come see me."

"Yes, Aunt Janine."

When the room slammed shut, I jumped up from behind the vase, dusting my jeans. "Whew! I though she'd never leave."

"Why am I not surprised to find you here?" Eddie asked rhetorically as he turned to face me.

My cousin, Edison Castile, was many things but not dumb. Despite not being a Mazur by name, he had all the characteristics of one. Being brought up by a bunch of Mazurs tended to do that to you.

"I need to finish the work before Neal gets back," I replied, moving towards my brother's workshop in the basement. "He'll kill me if he finds out I destroyed the Rafael."

"He's going to find out either way," Eddie noted sensibly as he followed me down the stairs. "He's not going to be fooled by your rendition of the famous painting."

Switching on the lights of the basement, I turned to face Eddie. The dim lights reflected off his blond hair, making it shine like gold. Despite sharing facial features, he looked nothing like me or Neal.

He was nothing like either of us too.

While Neal and I had a penchant for breaking the rules, Eddie was a stickler for them. Being my father's only sister's son, Eddie had it tougher than we did. His father left my aunt when Eddie was just a baby, prompting my aunt to move back into the Mazur household. He was forbidden from taking on the Mazur name though, what with it being the ruling clan and all. He had to stick to his father's family name despite not wanting to.

The constant judgement from others drove Eddie to prove himself, so much that he never really had a chance to enjoy his life. He was forced to grow up soon, taking on duties as a soldier serving the Crown. Despite being a member of the Royal family, he never acted like one.

He was tough and strict but he had the heart of gold.

"What's your plan then?" Eddie asked as he came to stand next to me, facing the canvas that held a partial imitation of the famous Rafael painting.

A painting I was in the process of finishing.

I've never had enough patience for art and would never paint anything of my own free will. But Neal was crazy about it. He loved to paint. And being his younger sister meant he'd dragged me to all his art classes, forcing me to paint when he did. But I got to drag him to archery practices that he hated, so it was a fair trade.

"My plan?" I picked up the brush and dipped it in water, flicking away the excess water. "It's simple enough. I'll have this ready by tomorrow and then start on the process of aging it to make it look authentic. Neal's taught me enough about it. I can pull this off."

"But has he taught you enough that you can succeed in fooling him?" Eddie asked skeptically.

I just shrugged, concentrating on my painting.

"Do you-?" Eddie cleared his throat and started again. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I paused. I knew what the 'it' was.

My betrothal.

"No." I said firmly without looking at him.

I saw Eddie nod from my periphery. This is what I'd always loved about Eddie. He would never push me to talk.

"What do you think?" I asked Eddie, changing the topic by pointing at my painting. "Does it look real?"

"To me, it does." Eddie confessed. "But I don't know if it's enough to fool Neal."

"Let's hope it is," I murmured, trying to discern any detail in my painting that wasn't in the original one.

"Why don't you just tell him the truth?" Eddie asked curiously.

I sighed. "Yeah, that will be awesome. 'Hey, Neal! You know what? While you were away in Sharda, I just so happened to destroy your priceless Rafael. Oops!' He'll kill me."

Eddie laughed. "You're being dramatic. He never yells at you for anything, no matter what you do"

"He doesn't," I admitted. "But you know what he does? He gets back at me."

"Like a typical Mazur," Eddie said, shaking his head.

Before I could say anything, loud music reached my ears.

What on earth?

The Chandra was supposed to be deserted, save for Eddie and I. Who then would have the audacity to not only barge into Neal's suite but also play music so loudly?

It couldn't be my mother and it sure as hell wouldn't be my father.

Which meant...an intruder?

Exchanging a look, Eddie and I ran up the stairs and into the drawing room from where the music seemed to be coming from.

Eddie pushed open the room and ran inside with me right behind him. But we both stopped short at the sight that met us.

Neal's suite were off limits to anyone except family. And standing before us was the one person who grossly abused that privilege.

Madhri.

Eddie's wife, Madhri. A sorry excuse for family.

With her arms held afloat like a ballerina, she looked quite ridiculous.

But then again, what was new in that?

If I was meeting her for the first time, I'd say she was pretty, with her long, light brown hair hanging down her back in straight waves. The blue eyes looked innocent, guileless.

In reality, she was anything but.

Having been married off to Eddie due to an old settlement between their fathers, Madhri was not content being restricted to one man. Flimsy gowns, seductive smile and innocent charm were her weapons of choice, unrestrained by the thought of shaming her family. Mom and Dad had long since given up trying to tame her and had adjusted to having her around.

But not me.

I hated her more than I've ever hated anyone. I firmly believed that Eddie deserved better, that he shouldn't have to put up with her. After everything he'd been through, he deserved someone to stand by him through everything.

He'd even found that one woman.

Jill Mastrano, daughter of the Court dancer Emily Mastrano.

But Eddie - honest, upstanding and righteous Eddie - refused to take things forward with Jill. He would never cheat on Madhri, no matter what she did. So, there was only one way forward.

A second marriage.

I loathed the very idea of a man taking up a second wife and supporting Eddie and Jill would mean supporting the institution of multiple marriage.

Till date, I was conflicted on what to do about Eddie and Jill but Neal had no qualms on that regard. He was always egging on Eddie, urging him to do something about his relationship with Jill.

Eddie would be happier. Infinitely more happier.

At the sight of Madhri, Eddie's shoulder slumped in defeat, his eyes showing the amount of exasperation he felt.

But he rarely told her off.

So, I did what I always did - put a stop to her nonsense.

Striding over to the old gramophone Neal had an great attachment to, I switched off the music and turned to face Madhri with my arms crossed.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked her sternly.

"Listening to music," she said with a mocking smile. "Is it forbidden now?"

"Actually, it is." I replied in the same sugary tone. "You're not allowed here."

Madhri turned to Eddie with a pout. "Ed, tell her I can be here."

I rolled my eyes when Eddie shot me a pleading glance.

"Get out," I pointed to the door. "I don't have patience to deal with you right now."

"You know, Rose." Madhri started with a nasty smile. "I'm glad you're going to be married off. It'll save me the trouble of dealing with pests."

Her mentioning my betrothal was like adding fuel to the fire. All barbs and witty retorts flew out of the my head as the desire to punch this woman in front of me grew more powerful. She had no right, no right to-

"Relax," a soothing voice whispered in my ear as a warm hand loosened my clenched fists. "She's not worth it."

Instinctively, I jabbed my elbow at the person behind me, only to be blocked.

"Whoa, whoa!" Laughing blue eyes met mine, the eyes that looked infinitely much better on him than it did on Mom. "There's no need for violence, Firefly." My big brother, Neal Mazur himself, stood behind me, an amused grin stretched across a face I could only describe as 'devilish'. But all the other girls had a range of nicknames for him, ranging from Prince Charming to Hot Stuff to things that would make me vomit.

Women swooned over him, waiting for one smile, one smirk or just a glance. Honestly, I've never been able to understand what all the fuss was about. Sure, he's quite handsome but he didn't warrant that much attention. But no woman had ever agreed with me on that front.

Neal's features reflected mine in many aspects and I never failed to remind him that it was his saving grace. We've even been mistaken for twins on multiple occasions.

"Don't call me that," I warned him, though the effect was somewhat neutralized by the big grin I could feel stretching across my face.

"Sure, sure." He sang, pulling me into a hug.

I relaxed for the first time in days, all the tension melting away now that I knew Neal was here. It was cheesy but he was my favorite person in the whole family. It was almost as if Neal Mazur was a mixture of a brother, mother and best friend rolled into one.

He always knew how to deal with me, no matter what.

Laid back and easy going by nature, he was the epitome of a con artist, sly like a fox. But he cared deeply for his people and was very protective, often over-protective about me.

And he despised Madhri.

A fact heavily influenced by the fact that she'd tried, multiple times, to seduce him.

Even now, as he looked at her, his eyes filled with disdain. She was, perhaps, the only person who could ever elicit such a reaction from him.

I smirked at Madhri whose eyes were fixed on Neal, "Run along now. Don't you have some poor guy's bed to warm?"

Saying that in front of Eddie was cruel but I couldn't help it. Besides, he was used to it by now.

Shooting me a glare, Madhri strode out, her lacy robes billowing behind her. Eddie sighed but turned to me apologetically. "I'm sorry about that, Rose."

"Don't be." Neal waved off his apology.

"We all know what she's like, Eddie." I reminded him sympathetically.

"Which is why you'd better hurry up and snatch up Jailbait." Neal smirked, referring to Jill.

"Not that again," Eddie groaned. "I'm going now. Nice to see you, Neal."

"You too, Ed." Neal said as the door slammed shut. "How are you, my little firefly?"

"Peachy," I groaned, laying my head on his shoulder and ignoring the idiotic nickname only because I had bigger things to deal with. "I suppose you heard, huh?"

Neal sighed, raking a hand through his hair as he led us to the sofa. "I did hear about it."

I nodded sullenly.

"You know I'm here," he reminded me gently.

"You can't do anything about this," I pointed out. "Dad's not budging."

"I hate that he's doing this to you," Neal said through gritted teeth.

"Did he-" I swallowed, then started again. "Did he tell you anything about it?"

"No," Neal said shortly. "He told me yesterday. That's why I came back. But Rose, there's more. He hasn't told you everything."

"Great!" I threw my hands up. "What's he done now?"


"What do you mean next month?" Lissa asked me in horror.

I sighed, sitting beside her.

We were in the Nakshathra, the part of Palace that belonged to me.

It was an isolated structure, not actually attached to the main palace.

Nakshatra a two-storied structure, small and pretty. A brook flowed through my backyard, increasing the allure of the place. The ground floor consisted of the living room, guest bedrooms, bathrooms and a kitchen. The entire first floor was my bedroom with an adjacent bathroom and a wardrobe room. The second floor had a sitting room, a gym, theater room and an open balcony with a built-in swimming pool.

I had every comfort I'd ever need, right here in this building.

Currently, Lissa and I were in my living room. I'd just finished telling her everything that Neal had managed to find out from our parents.

She was just as shocked, if not more than me, to learn that Dimitri and his family would be here next month.

"But it's so soon!" She kept repeating it for the past five minutes.

"I know, Liss." I sighed, feeling defeated as I gazed out into the brook through the large, french windows in the room.

An odd sort of panic was building up within me, making me feverish. No amount of air-conditioning helped. I didn't want to have a meltdown but it was hard to come in terms with what I'd just learned.

I'd be married off to a stranger and taken to foreign lands. I'd be expected to fulfill all duties as a Queen, an Empress of a country I only knew vaguely about.

And what of me? My identity? My freedom?

"Does Abe know when the marriage is scheduled to happen?" Lissa asked.

"No," I replied automatically. It was like I was operating on an auto pilot. "There will be an engagement ceremony after the Belikovs arrive. The marriage date will be decided then."

"The engagement will be according to their tradition but marriage will be according to ours?" Lissa questioned, confirming what I'd already told her.

I nodded in answer.

"It'll be okay, you know." Lissa said quietly, squeezing my hand. "I've heard many people say that King Dimitri is a good man. I'm sure that if you just let him know your fears regarding the marriage, he'll prove that your apprehensions are misguided."

"Are they?" I asked in a whisper.

"You'll never know unless you talk to him about it." Lissa stated firmly, her inner psychologist coming through.

The Dragomirs had been healers for generations. Lissa had a degree in psychology but she didn't pursue it further. After the death of her parents, the responsibility of the entire Dragomir group of institutions had fallen on Lissa. Managing it was a full time task.

"Tell him what you expect from him," she continued then sighed, fixing me with a steely gaze. "It's all in your hands, Rose. You can either choose to sulk about this engagement, which won't get you anywhere, or you can step up and accept your responsibility, commit yourself to making this work."

I pondered over her statement before looking up at her. "What if he doesn't want to make this work, Liss? What if he's just agreed to marry me for the sake of the betrothal and he's secretly planning on meeting his mistresses behind my back?"

"You're too suspicious for you own good," Lissa noted.

I remained stubborn. "You can't deny that it's a possibility."

"I'm not denying it, Rose." Lissa insisted. "What I'm trying to say is that you need to keep an open mind. If he does turn out bad, you can break his bones and be done with it."

"I'll still be his wife then, won't I?" I said bitterly.

Lissa sighed. "There's nothing without trust, Rose. In relationships, the first thing is always trust. Then friendship. Only then is the possibility of love growing."

"You're wrong," I said, leaning back on my seat. "Trust is not what's most important. It's loyalty."

"Loyalty can be proved only if you give the relationship a chance," Lissa said wisely. "Besides, it could have been a lot worse. Not all kings have a such good reputation."

I shuddered, acknowledging that she was right. In the world of royalty, there were a lot of scumbags. Womanizers, power hungry rulers, cheaters or the ones who couldn't care less about their countries. This fact was actually the root cause of my hangups regarding marriage. A majority of kings took up a second or third wife while some preferred to have multiple affairs. It was almost as if the royal ladies were like dirt. They were all trophy wives, nothing more. Only a few queens, like my mother, were lucky enough to have power as well as their husbands' loyalty.

Both loyalty and power mattered to me. I needed power to ensure my freedom as well as help my subjects. I needed my husband's loyalty to have a happy and secure life. Moreover, I needed a loyal man because really, what's a person without loyalty?

I also had to acknowledge the fact that if I had to be married to someone, Dimitri probably was the most suitable one. He did have a pristine reputation, after all. But reputation wasn't always true.

I knew that Neal and Eddie would make sure the betrothal would be broken at the first sign of Dimitri being anything but a gentleman. Christian would most definitely help them. Hell, I'm sure Dad himself would break it off if he got the impression that I'd be less than happy with Dimitri.

Dimitri may be a good match for me or he may not be.

I'd just have to wait and see for myself.


AN: Soooo, how was it? New chapter, guys, meaning reviews! :p

What did you think about Neal, Eddie and Madhri. Most of you knew her as Stephanie but it's Madhri now :)

Leave a review and let me know what you think :D