AN: Thanks for reading.
Still don't own Glee :(
The next time her vision blurred back into focus, Brittany saw nothing but light blue. She had a few seconds of internal panic, before a fluffy white shape floated slowly into her field of vision, and she realised she was staring up at the sky. All her other senses seemed to filter back slowly, and she soon realised she was lying on her back, the pebbles of the riverbank digging into her painfully, something warm pressed up against her left side.
She lay there for a few minutes more, focusing on just breathing, which was proving to be quite the task, as each time she inhaled and exhaled, it was like she was respiring fire, not air. Eventually, satisfied that her air supply was sufficient, Brittany turned her head tentatively to investigate the warmth that was radiating into her side.
She almost gasped at what she saw, but caught herself, and let out a small splutter instead. Lying beside her on the riverbank, her eyes closed, a peaceful expression on her face, a large maroon cloak draped over the both of them, was Princess Santana.
Hearing the girl beside her give a little cough, the Princess opened her eyes, and was assaulted by the clearest of blue orbs staring back at her. Brittany watched the gawping noble with interest, resisting the urge to squirm or break eye contact as dark chocolate eyes bared into her soul.
"I…I was…Just" she tried to come up with a reason as to why she, a supposed lady, would be floating around on the lake, fully clothed and dressed in the attire of a servant no less in the middle of the afternoon. Santana was broken from her staring, and found herself giggling slightly at the adorably flushed blonde, as she floundered for her words.
"Taking an afternoon dip?" the Princess enquired politely, somewhat amused and entranced by the odd customs of the girl she had known for such a short time. As Brittany flushed a pretty pink and gave a curt nod, Santana found herself wondering what it was about the strange and quirky girl that attracted her so. The blonde was strikingly beautiful – that nobody could deny, but from the little interaction they'd shared, Santana felt it was more than just physical want. Everything about Brittany Susan Von Gent drew her in, her aloof behaviour and less than traditional views, she seemed to have a way of thinking that was new and refreshing, as well as totally addictive to the Princess.
Her reverie was broken when the lady in question seemed to snap out of her intense study of the lakeside, undraped the cloak from her soaked form and began to get to her feet, leaving a wet print where she had once sat. "I must be going" she informed Santana hastily, barely daring to make eye contact with the other girl, both for fear of being exposed as the imposter that she was, and also knowing that if she looked into those dark mysterious eyes one more time, she might well never be able to look away.
Now it was Santana's turn to splutter in surprise, "You…You must leave so soon?" she questioned, fighting to catch Brittany's gaze and struggling to keep the disappointment from seeping into her voice, though the other girl caught it all the same.
"Sadly yes" Brittany replied, her heart giving a little lurch as she dared to hope the Princess wanted to remain in her company a little longer, "There is still much to be done at the manner, and I… I mean my servants may need some assistance preparing the dinner".
"You would assist them with their domestic duties?" Santana questioned taken aback.
"Well, yes" Brittany replied, deciding that if she was actually a lady, she most certainly would, and so she should be as honest as possible.
"But they are servants…workers, they belong to you, to serve" Santana shot back, raising an eyebrow.
Despite her need to escape, Brittany couldn't help but fix the Princess with a stony glare, "People are not possessions your Highness, a human life cannot and should not be bought and sold for a fixed price. Servants should be paid for their services yet be permitted to live as they wish, but not be bought and bound like animals."
Santana stared speechless as the blonde pressed on, "They differ in no way from you" she paused "Or I…" she added reluctantly, "And just as we expect to be treated in a certain manner, I believe all human beings should have those expectations, to be respected when respect is due."
"So tell me my lady, what other pearls of wisdom do you have to bestow upon me? Where do you spend your leisure time? For I nor anyone else has ever claimed to see you around the town" Santana asked, intrigued.
"I love to read" Brittany replied, a hint of a blush creeping into her cheeks. She wished she could tell the Princess she liked croquette, or other activities that really ladies undertook, but reading, and riding were all Brittany had ever been permitted to try since her father's death. "I also love to ride" she added as an afterthought, "Though books are my weakness and my main passion."
The Princess's face twisted into a thoughtful expression, the courtier was surely very unique, rather than perusing the markets for expensive jewels or drinking punch at the Queen's fortnightly garden parties, she loved to read… Santana found every little thing she learned about Brittany to be both interesting and refreshing, and longed to know more.
Fearing she'd said to much, Brittany reluctantly tore her eyes away from the vision that was Her Majesty Santana, and began a hasty retreat.
The movement brought Santana out of her musings, and reluctant for their conversation, or if she was perfectly honest, her time with Brittany to end, she called out to her back. "Wait… My lady… I am most intrigued by your controversial thoughts, we have much to discuss!"
Brittany wiped the Cheshire cat grin from her face -the princess was intrigued by her! - before turning back to the royal. "I'm so glad you are not offended by my somewhat less than traditional views your highness, but really I must be going" she called back, allowing her eyes to drink in the perfect form of Santana still seated Indian style on the lakeside, her dress skirts spread out around her in brilliant shades of red and gold, stark against the pebbled ground.
Desperate for just another second with the beautiful blonde, the Princess called out to her once more, momentarily forgetting concerns of appearing to desperate or bold in her pursuit…if that's what this was. "Tomorrow, I am entertaining the Princess of Asia in a dressage contest at noon… A friendly face in the crowd would certainly help!"
"I shall endeavour to attend" Brittany promised, cursing herself as she flashed the Princess one last longing smile, their eyes locking across the space between them, forcing her to use all her strength to turn and finally hurry away back into the woods to find Rufus and the truffles and return to the Manor in time to serve dinner.
Santana watched her go, a flurry of cream and navy blue, her soggy and mud stained skirts billowing behind her as she ran, disappearing all too quickly into the trees. The Princess was smiling to herself fondly, pondering why a lady of class such as Brittany would chose to dress so, and deign to 'help' her servants, when she noticed Sir Schuester reclining in the boat, which was now once again right side up and floating on the waters surface.
"Many thanks for your help in recuing the lady Brittany after our earlier capsize!" she called out, neither concerned nor worried by the remarks her etiquette teacher would be sure to make on the inappropriate use of sarcasm by the next heir to the Kingdom.
"You seemed to have everything nicely under control" Schuester replied, with a twinkle in his eye that Santana could not place. She huffed as the man rowed back towards her, before wading out to climb back into the now sodden boat, and becoming lost in the rhythmic splash and pull of the oars, as the show choirmaster rowed them back towards the palace.
All the way back to the confines of her Father's, and soon to be her own, Palace, Princess Santana was plagued with worry and doubt, as well as anticipation and excitement. The lady Brittany seemed rather aloof, yet she intrigued and enchanted her like no one ever had before. The weight of her request to take the thrown in just four days time weighed heavy around her shoulders. At the time the words had poured out of her mouth so effortlessly, and she had signed away life as she knew it before she absolutely had to...something she swore she'd never do, all for the sake of a suitor…a woman no less, that she had known merely days.
Suppose Brittany thought her mad for even considering pursuing and courting her, even worse suppose she thought her vulgar and lacking etiquette being that they were both in fact woman. Santana felt sick at the thought. She had never been in love before, and had always thought 'love at first sight' to be the stuff of myths, made fact by lonely old serving ladies with nothing greater to aspire to nor achieve in life, but now, after the arrival of the mysterious and somewhat unobtainable blonde in her life, she was unsure.
Steeling herself against the prickles of fear building in the pit of her stomach, Santana chided herself mentally. As much as she detested it she was born a Princess, a noble, she was, and it was not in her nature, nor her blood to conduct herself in a cowardly manner. Since she was a little child she had actively pursued everything she had desired, making her a champion at most things she cared to try her hand at, and the matter of Brittany was going to be no different. After all, she was Santana Maria Lopez, Princess of the Kingdom, and if she had, by some stroke of genius found love or something like it, she wasn't about to let it go.
Schuester chuckled lightly, his expression unreadable as he broke her from her thoughts. "Love works in strange and most wonderful ways your highness" he offered cryptically, before turning his attention back to rowing.
Santana bit down a scorching remark, her aggravation with the apparent lack of straight-forwardness in the man threatening to bubble over, and adjusted her skirts, content to pass the rest of the journey home dreaming about the life she imagined for herself if her plan to make Brittany Susan Von Gent her Queen became reality.
The Marquis gingerly shifted her meat around her plate, staring absently into the roaring open fire of the dining hall. Her mind roamed back over her earlier conversation with the King's crippled messenger. Her majesty Princess Santana was to entertain a foreign Princess in a riding contest tomorrow and she was determined to make sure Jesse was there, in poll position to catch her eye. Getting her son noticed by the Royal was more important than ever now after all, given that her arranged marriage to the dreadful Prince of Ohio was in question, and she was free to select a suitor of her own.
"You prepared for tomorrow I trust?" Terry questioned, her attention turning back to her son.
"Always" Jesse promised, a smug grin on his face, "If Princess Santana wants a suitor, then that is exactly what she shall get."
The Marquis hummed her approval, before she was interrupted by a clatter as Lauren dropped her fork, and sucked in an excited breath, "The Princess is the talk of the town!" She told them excitedly, "In light of her upcoming coronation, she asked that all those slaves being sold to Caracas are released, and if they are to sale that they should be compensated!" She finished, looking eagerly to her Mother for approval.
Terry's face twisted into a tight lipped mask of disgust, "Slaves...compensated? Such nonsense...perhaps the Princess grows soft in the wake of her new found responsibility" she mused aloud, before returning her eyes to her son. "Yes, perhaps she needs a man with real strength, a shoulder to lean on, to spring her from this ethical nonsense, a real man, to lead her, and rule over the Kingdom."
From her position in the corner, Brittany resisted the urge to gag aloud. Seeing Jesse puff out his chest like a gloating bullfrog, a smug and sleazy smile plastered across his face... Imagining Jesse showing Santana what a 'real man' was like made her skin crawl.
However she was soon torn from her thoughts as Lauren once again burst out in excitement, "Or maybe Jesse won't rule the kingdom, not if the rumours about this blonde courtier the Princess has been enquiring after are true! Maybe it's a friend she seeks rather than a man or a lover."
To hide her sudden discomfort, Brittany grabbed a jug of wine and moved quickly to refill the Marquis's goblet.
"Nonsense!" The Marquis cried, forgetting in her rage for a second, her own rule about indoor voices. "The Princess needs a man, a King, she needs Jesse! We shall find out how this...blonde courtier is" she spat, "and bury her!"
She made the declaration with such venom, that Brittany started in both surprise and fright, almost toppling over the goblet in her hand, earning her a steely glare from her step-mother. Quickly righting her wrong, the young blonde retreated back to her position standing in the corner of the room, sharing concerned glances with Emma and Molly, who both knew what the Marquis did not. The blonde courtier that had caught the Princess's eye, was in fact not a courtier, but Brittany Susan Pierce, born of noble blood, but now demoted to a mere servant.
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