AN: Apologies for the cliffhanger last time, here's a longer chapter to make up for it (:
Back at the palace the preparations for Princess Santana's coronation were in full swing. The palace was decorated through and through with hundreds upon hundreds of flowers and wreaths, and paper streamers in the royal colours hung from the ceiling. In the great ballroom, where the event was to take place, there were also scores of flowers, and decorations, and the crystal chandeliers had been polished to perfection, to ensure they shone, casting radiant beams of light throughout the large room.
The first of those lucky enough to be invited were just beginning to arrive, helping themselves to the proffered food and ale, some beginning to dance to the soft background music that played, while others chatted excitedly amongst themselves about the coronation and the engagement that was due to be announced.
Outside the palace walls, Mike Chang hovered nervously, barely believing what he was about to do. Steeling his nerves, he did one final check to ensure he wasn't being watched, before he used an unattended horse as a stepping stone, to spring himself up until he was perched haphazardly on the brim of the wall. Pulling the heavy bedpan he had brought for the occasion out of his sack, he waited patiently for one of the guards to pass below him again on his rounds.
Artie Abrams barely had time to react, as he heard a small noise coming from somewhere above him as he rode his patrol, before he was hit on the head and knocked out cold.
After transcending the other side of the wall, Mike had dragged the unconscious cripple into a shadowy corner, switched clothes with him and tied him to a stone pillar, before tethering the man's horse then heading off into the palace. Contrary to popular belief Mike was not an unintelligent boy, and he knew that the princess would be too heavily guarded and watched for him to have hopes of speaking with her directly, instead he had decided to try to get the attention of someone who was close enough to her that they could convey the situation, but also of lesser importance enough that they would not be under tight scrutiny.
Dressed in Artie's uncomfortable guard's uniform, mike could barely believe his luck when he saw none other than Sir Schuester hurrying down the path towards him, headed for the main ball room, a set list and some sheet music clutched in his hands. "Sir Schuester" Mike hissed, as the man almost walked right past him, he desperately hoped the musician recognized him from their brief meeting in the meadow earlier the week, and would see him as no threat so as not to raise the alarm.
"Hello again" Schuester greeted the boy politely, seemingly thinking nothing of the fact that he had transitioned from a working man to a member of the King's guard in less than a week. Mike hurriedly explained the situation, and Schuester, having watched the princess and the pretty blonde maiden interact from day one, knew that he simply had to help.
The older man hurriedly flagged down a servant to deliver the set list and music to his troupe of performers, along with strict instructions that the show must go on if he was not back in time to over see it, and with that, he requested that they be brought two horses, and the pair rode off hurriedly into the night, headed back towards Tubbington Manor.
When they reached their destination, Mike wasted no time in leading the musician down to the cellar, where Molly and Emma were desperately trying to find a way to break down the solid door holding the blonde captive, neither woman quite believing their eyes when the entertainer of the king descended the stairs, carrying with him a sledge hammer they had stopped to pick up from Mr Figgins's work shed, and simply smashed the door from it's hinges.
"My Dear" Sir Schuester greeted Brittany, who sat against the wall inside the tiny cellar room, her eyes red and face tear stained from hours of crying, "I do believe you have somewhere to be" he stated offering his hand to help the girl up, which she accepted gratefully, though her eyes barely left the ground as she mumbled a quiet thank you to them all.
"Shall I prepare the horses?" Mike questioned excitedly, elated that his plan had worked and his best friend was free to pursue her love.
"That wont be necessary" Brittany replied, surprising them all.
"Why ever not child?" It was Molly who spoke up, voicing the question that was on all of their lips. "San…The princess" Brittany corrected herself, "Would not want me there."
"I beg to disagree M'Lady" Sir Schuester spoke up politely, "It seems that her Lady Santana is just as enamored with you, as I know you to be with her" he confirmed.
"You do not understand" Brittany sighed, her voice soft and filled with sadness. "The princess does not love me, she loves Brittany Susan Von Gent, the courtier. I let her fall in love with a lie, and for that I fear we must both pay."
"Oh Mistress, you lied to save Arnold's life" Molly spoke up, tears in her eyes, "This all started because you were so kind as to save him, now please, let us help you" she pleaded, reaching out to take the girls hand.
Brittany shook her head sadly, "The princess is better off without me, I have lied to her, and let her believe I am something I am not, when she finds out…"
Before she could finish Mike cut her off, "She will love you anyway Brittany…She is in love with you, and love is as forgiving as it is foolish. You lied, and it was wrong, but you did it for love, because you wanted to be near her, and you thought being a courtier would let you do that."
"But I am merely a servant, and she is a princess… And we are both ladies, neither of those things are permitted in the Kingdom for romantic involvement." Brittany stated sadly.
"And I am the bastard child of a beggar woman", Sir Schuester admitted, "But I never let it stop me and now I am an entertainer to the royal family, and director of my show choir." Moving to stand directly before the girl, he gently lifted her chin until she was forced to look him in the eye, "Her majesty will be the Queen in a few short minutes, have you ever wondered why she was so keen to take the title all of a sudden?" he questioned.
Brittany thought back, remembering how Santana had told her she had never wished to be Queen, and puzzled she turned back to the older man for answers. Schuester chuckled at the innocence of the girl before him, before going on to explain, "Who writes the laws that says a woman may not love another woman, or a princess love a servant?" he prompted.
"The king" Brittany replied, uncertain of where this was all going, until suddenly it clicked into place. Santana had wanted to take the throne for her, for them! If she was the Queen, her word was the law, and no one could stop them from being together, just like she had promised. Brittany felt tears flood her eyes as realization dawned on her; Santana had planned on making her, Brittany S. Pierce, her bride, well Brittany Von Gent, but that was about to change. She wiped her tears, a determined look fixing itself on her face, it was time to tell Santana the truth, and hope to god she could forgive her, and that they could still get their happily ever after, after all.
"Come Miss Brittany" Emma sung happily, noticing her changed expression, "You have an evening out to prepare for!" And with that, Brittany was whisked away, everyone crowding round her, hurrying to make sure she looked just right and Mike running out to prepare her a carriage.
She was just about to slip on an old dress of Lauren's, when she felt a hand on her shoulder, turning around she gasped at what she saw. Emma and Molly stood in the door way to her chambers, both with tears in their eyes, and between then they held the most beautiful dress she had ever seen in her life. It was royal blue with delicate silver piping, and gemstones encrusted into the bustier. Thick silver ribbon held the bodice at the back, and the skirts billowed out, catching the light like waves of the ocean.
"It was your mother's" Molly explained, "When she passed your Father stored it away, before the Marquis came, he told us to move it away for safe keeping."
"We always knew this day would come, when we could give it back to you" Emma continued, her voice breaking with emotion, remembering back to when Brittany was just a little girl, refusing to sit still while she was laced into her frock, now here she was, about to go off into the night in pursuit of true love, in her Mother's dress.
"Thank you" Brittany breathed out, it came out as little more than a whisper, but it was enough to push all three of them over the edge, and each had a fresh wave of tears streaming down their faces as they clumped together for a group hug, before the two older woman helped Brittany put on the frock, conscious of the time, before she was ushered downstairs and into the waiting carriage.
Mike urged the horses forward, perched easily on the driver's bench, Will Schuester at his side, on the journey to the palace they chatted easily, though they remained constant of the time, and the need to get Brittany to the Princess, or now possible Queen as soon as possible.
Mike told the older man of how he loved to dance and that it was his dream to perform. By the time they were half-way destination it was already agreed that Mike should try out, and if he was as good as he claimed should join Will's show choir and use his dancing skills to enhance their already brilliant performances, the young man was thrilled.
Back at the palace Santana sat sadly in one of the small side rooms, just off the main ballroom. She could hear the sound of Sir Schuester performers serenading the guests as they danced around, laughing and joking and having a good time, though she did not much feel like joining the festivities.
Everything that had previously felt so bright and full of promise was now a dim distant memory. She had lost Brittany, or learned that the other woman was never even hers to start with, and Santana couldn't decide which was worse. She was minutes away from being coronated Queen of the Kingdom, a title she never wanted, but foolish requested for the sake of love…or what she believed to be love.
Before her thoughts could take her any further, she was interrupted as her Father joined her in her little hideout. "Whatever are you doing in here? It is almost time" he informed her bemused.
"My apologies Father" Santana replied weakly. Seeing this act of submission from his usually fiery daughter, and her eyes that were red-rimmed from crying, the King realized that something was wrong.
"I trust your demeanor means that you failed, in your quest for love, or such a like?" he questioned.
"On the contrary Father" Santana replied, barely moving to look at him as she spoke, "I found love, true love, but sadly love did not find me in return."
Unsure of what to say, to his clearly downcast daughter, the King cleared his throat awkwardly – he had never been a man of many emotions. "So I trust you have made up your mind about the engagement?" he pressed on.
"Yes" Santana replied, her lips barely moving, "I will marry your Prince of Ohio Father, you have won."
Seeing the film of tears that covered his only daughters eyes, and the way her lip trembled ever so slightly as she stared down at the carpeted floor, fighting to maintain her composure, the King suddenly didn't feel like he had won anything at all. In that moment, he realized that all along he had pushed so, so hard, hoping to find Santana a suitable husband and an excellent monarch to rule alongside her, that somewhere along the line, he had forgotten about his little girl's happiness.
"If you truly do not wish to be wed to the Prince, that it does not have to come to pass" he allowed, his voice unsteady, the words sounding foreign coming out of his mouth, even though he knew they were right.
"I no longer care" Santana admitted absently, "The people want a Queen, I am about to give them one. They want an engagement, then I shall give them that too."
"And what of your own wants?" the King questioned, a little perplexed by his daughter's sudden concern for the wants of the people and the interests of the Kingdom. He thought he heard her mutter something under her breath about ships and Belgium, though he could not be sure.
A few more seconds silence passed between them, before Santana answered again, her voice clearer this time, stronger. "I want for nothing except things I shall never have, and that is no way to live one's life."
With a heavy heart, the King simply nodded his understanding, then took his daughter's hand, helping her to her feet as the trumpets signaled her entrance, before he lead her through the double doors and into the grand ball room, where she would be deemed Queen, and he would step down and finally have his retirement.
With the official ceremony over, all that was left for Santana to do was announce her engagement. Standing up on the large stage at the front of the grand ballroom, with all the eyes of the townsfolk trained on her, the princess felt more alone than she ever had. Things seemed to have spiraled out of control, and she no longer recognized her own life, but there and then she was too tired to fight it, and to numb to try and resist, so she simply stood by her Father as he made a long and tedious speech about the future of the Kingdom, and scanned the crowd for a friendly face…one face in particular.
There was no flash of blonde, and no piercing blue, and Santana mentally chastised herself for even looking, even daring to hope. She did however take some comfort in seeing Puck's familiar dark eyes watching her with some concern, as he stood in a far corner of the great ballroom, with the Lauren girl from Tubbington Manor at his side. Though it made Santana's chest ache even more, she couldn't help but be happy for her oldest friend, as he seemed to have finally found someone special.
As the King's Speech drew to a close, Santana steeled herself for what was to come next – her Father was to announce her engagement to the Prince of Ohio, then she would smile and act thrilled, mingle with her subjects – after all she was now Queen. It took every ounce of will power the Latina had, every tiny fiber of perseverance and determination, not to simply flee from the room, run to the stables, take Snow, and ride far, far away, away from all the obligation, all the loss and the lies… She would ride all the way to Belgium and beg Brittany not to marry someone else… She would regain her true love and all could be right.
Any glimmer of hope she held onto was crushed as her father began his announcement, "It is my great pleasure to announce, that my only daughter, and now Royal Queen of the Kingdom, Santana Maria Lopez's engagement to…"
"Stop" Santana interrupted him, her tone authoritative, her one spoken word sounding like a shout in the silent room.
Just as the announcement was to be made, the doors at the far end of the ballroom had opened, and the princess could barely believe her eyes as she surveyed the woman who now stood at the top of the entrance stairs, looking more beautiful than she ever imagined it was possible for any human being to look.
Thousands of pairs of eyes turned to see what had caused the princess's outburst, and many gasped at what they saw – the Marquis and Jesse included.
There at the top of the large wooden staircase was Brittany. Her long blonde hair loose and combed out, with pieces braded around her head, interwoven with silver silk ribbon that matched her dress, which comprised of a tight fitting bodice that clung to her in all the right places, and a series of long flowing skirts in alternating colors of blue and silver. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold, standing out stark against her pale complexion, and when her bright blue eyes met Santana's liquid chocolate ones, the princess found her feet moving against her will – taking her running down from the stage, and parting the crowd as she went, heading straight towards Brittany.
Seeing Santana coming towards her, Brittany had to make a conscious effort not to break into tears with relief – perhaps she didn't hate her after all? As the blonde broke into a shy smile, Santana felt her legs going faster, her heart rapidly rising, all the sorrow and sadness placed on her that day lifting, as if she shed it with every step she took towards the love of her life. She cared not about how she had come to be so misinformed, all she could think of was that Brittany was there, not in Belgium, she was standing right there, still looking at her with that same adoring look she had worn since the day they met – and Santana's world was suddenly righted.
As they reached each other, they both reached out automatically, slender caramel fingers entwining with soft milky ones, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Since the moment their eyes had met, they had never ceased looking at each other, and standing there now, in front of the whole of the town, their gazes remained unbroken still, both of their eyes wet with tears of relief. "My Mother said you were engaged" Santana breathed out, keeping her tone soft and quiet, in the hopes that she could hide the break in her voice as she once again was forced to think about Brittany belonging to someone else.
"She was misinformed" Brittany replied simply, and the new Queen's face immediately lit up into a brilliant smile. "But there is something I must discuss with you urgently" Brittany added, though Santana did not hear. In her mind over and over again she replied Brittany's last words – she was not engaged, she did not belong to or love another, she was standing right there, and she was not bound or promised to another, she was there and she was for the taking, and that realization made the Latina feel almost drunk with excitement and happiness.
"Come, there are people I want you to meet" Santana declared, gently tugging Brittany forward by their linked hands, eager to weave her way through the crowd and present the beautiful girl to her parents.
"There is something I really must tell you first, please" Brittany added in desperation, trying to dig in her heels as Santana continued to gently but firmly tow her along. The blonde was suddenly conscious of the many people gathered there staring on in awe at the happenings before them, and the need to tell Santana the truth, to be free from the lies weighed heavy in her chest.
"Santana, please" she repeated, squeezing the other girl's fingers eager to get her to stop and listen.
"Just give me one moment, please" Santana replied, barely pausing to speak, "Let me introduce you to my family, and then you may speak until your heart is content my love" the term of endearment was given in barely more than a whisper, but Brittany heard and it sent her heart sky-rocketing to the clouds, before it came whistling back to earth with a crash as she registered that she was about to be introduced, as someone she was not.
Before she had time to react they were almost at the stage and Santana had begun to address her parents, "Mother, Father, this is the lady Brittany Susan Von Gent, she is most…"
"She is not!" an outraged voice spoke up from somewhere just to the pairs left, and Brittany spun around just in time to see the crowds parting as Terry stepped forward, Jesse hot on her heels.
"I beg your pardon?" Santana questioned, her irritation with the woman evident in her tone.
"I said, that is not the courtier Brittany Susan Von Gent your majesty" the Marquis repeated, a cruel glint in her eye.
"You will mind your tongue!" Santana ordered outraged
Brittany saw the anger in the Queen's eyes, and as she watched the other woman defend her, when she was in fact everything that she had been accused of – a liar, she wished for the ground to open and swallow her whole, or that she could go back in time and never have met Santana, for then, the beautiful woman she had fallen so in love with, would not have been hurt so, just as she was about to be hurt again by all of her lies and complications.
"Forgive me your majesty" Terry gushed bowing low, "But this girl is not who she has claimed, her name is Brittany Susan Pierce, and she is my servant…the courtier Von Gent was her Mother."
"Lies!" Santana snapped back almost instantly, stepping slightly in front of Brittany as if to protect her from the accusations, "I know her, and I know who she is, why do you make such claims?" she asked the Marquis.
"Ask her yourself" Terry purred, before adding a "Your highness" just for good measure.
Rolling her eyes, as if she couldn't quite believe the ridiculousness of it all, Santana turned to Brittany, annoyed that her perfect moment – the reunion with her true love had been tainted by some vicious and obviously inform jealous woman. When she looked at Brittany for the first time since the confrontation had begun, she felt a pang of uncertainty, and a cold slither of panic trickled down her spine. "Tell them who you are" she instructed the blonde, her tone soft.
Brittany's face fell, and when a single tear rolled down her cheek Terry rushed forward, grabbing at the bodice of her dress and ripping it cruelly. "You see your majesty, she is an imposter…a fraud," she explained.
Santana's eyes grew wide in horror and disbelief as she desperately searched Brittany's for any sign that this was all a big mistakes, some sort of misunderstanding, and found none.
The Queen stumbled over her words as the facts slowly fell into place. "That day…that day in the orchard, the apple…that was you?" Santana half questioned, half stated, as she thought back to when she was pelted with apples for borrowing the big black horse from Tubbington Manor. "Hoe could you?" she asked, a murmur running through the crowd as the villagers unashamedly buzzed with the newest scandal unfolding right before their eyes.
"Santana, please" Brittany begged, her heart breaking. The room fell instantly silent.
"You will not address me so informally!" Santana snapped, rage boiling within her. Her life seemed to be some cruel joke. First she falls in love, with a woman, and after finally finding a way for them to be together, she thinks she has lost her to another, then the same woman returns, only for her to find out she is not who she has said, and has lied all along. It made the Latina's stomach turn just thinking of it all and trying to understand.
"My name is Santana Maria Lopez, and I am the Royal Queen of this Kingdom" Santana bellowed, her fiery temper finally getting the better of her, "And you shall address me as is appropriate. I have no idea who you really are, but what I do know, is that you are just like them" Santana spat, gesturing to Terry and Jesse who hovered close by, both wearing masks of fake concern.
With Santana's final words, the venom in her tone and the anger in her eyes, Brittany felt herself shatter. As everything inside her broke into a thousand pieces, she took one last look at the woman she loved through blurry tear-filled eyes, Santana was the love of her life, who she would probably never see again, and so, she took just a second, to drink her in one last time. Though her face was contorted with anger, her nostrils slightly flared, her cheeks flushed red, her eyebrows slanted and her eyes burning hot with rage, beneath it all Brittany could still see a softness, but she could also see a brokenness, a weakness that wasn't there when they had met, and it killed her to know that she had put it there.
With that thought filling her mind, and tears streaming uncontrollably down her face, before she could be grabbed or humiliated further, she turned, and sprinted away as fast as she could, her blonde hair billowing out behind her as she ploughed through the crowd and up the stairs, making to the doors and hauling one open before disappearing into the stormy night.
As Brittany sprinted away from the palace, not caring about the thunder that rolled over head or the lightening that split the sky, she ran like a woman possessed, her arms wrapped tightly around her torso, holding together her broken dress, but also holding together herself, trying to stop to painful tearing and breaking that was happening in her chest, to keep it under control until she could find somewhere to give in and crumble.
The wind and rain whipped her blonde hair into dripping tendrils, which clung to her shoulders, neck and face, and the cold brought up tiny goose pimples all over her exposed skin, but still she ran on, letting the cruel rain hide the tears that were streaming from her eyes.
Somewhere along the way she stumbled into the woods, losing her shoes, and the overgrown shrubs tore more pieces from her dress, as well as placing cruel scratches on her exposed arms and legs. Her lungs began to scream for air, she had been running for miles, but Brittany did not stop. All she could see was the brokenness in Santana's eyes, and all she could hear was her words ringing in her head "You're just like them", and she was - she too had lied, at first it had been for a different reason, but in the end it was all the same, she too had lied to seek the Queen's affections.
When she finally reached Tubbington Manor, instead of going into the house she ran into the stables, startling Coal as she flung open his door, and threw her arms around his neck. Standing there, shaking with the cold, covered in scratches and scrapes, drenched to the bone, a very sorry looking Brittany buried her head in her Father's horse's neck, and let her heart break.
After Brittany had left, Santana too, unable to stand there, being scrutinized and judged by the people of the Kingdom – her people, had fled too, taking a different exit and running until she was out on one of the palace battlements, a place where she often like to go to think. The shelter overhead meant she would stay dry and would not ruin her outfit, incase, god forbid, she had to go back to the ball but it was unenclosed enough that she also felt like she was outside, like she was free. She watched the rain whipping down almost vertically, and the lightening striking distant points in the forest, she thought of her Father, it was not the Queenly thing to do, to leave the previous Monarch to deal with the chaos left in the wake of the current events, but she could not find the strength within herself to do her duty…not now.
Pain, anger and betrayal coursed through her veins, boiling her blood and burning her heart as it beat painfully in her chest. Brittany had lied to her, and worse still she had humiliated her. Santana had defended the girl, and then become a laughing stock as it turned out she had vouched for someone who was indeed dishonest.
She was not only mad at Brittany; she was also full of self-loathing. She had been tricked, and played, and she had not seen it coming in the slightest. Thinking back to the day she met Brittany, the memory somehow seemed different than it had before – the reluctance to tell Santana her name, the Queen had merely put down to her being coy, but now events had shone a whole new light on it. Coming back to the present she thought of how Brittany had tugged on her hand, just before her world had fallen apart around her, saying she needed to discuss something with her. Santana thought that perhaps she was going to tell her the truth; maybe she wanted to come clean.
For just a second the thought made Santana feel a little guilty, as she had ignored the blonde's requests to speak and insisted on introducing her to her family first, so desperate for them to meet the woman she was in love with. The feelings of guilt were immediately squashed, as it occurred to the Queen, that Brittany had probably spotted her mistress, the Marquis, and realized she was going to be exposed anyway, so merely wanted to tell Santana to make it appear as if that was her intent all along.
As she watched the rain bounce off the grey stone of the courtyard, and breathed in the cool crisp air, letting it permeate her mood, and bring her back from the brink of total emotional melt down, she couldn't help but wonder what would become of Brittany. By lying to her, she had committed treason, and that was a crime punishable by death, and she was sure her father would want to exact his price…then suddenly she realized, it was no longer up to her Father to commission such a penalty. The job was now hers, as she was now Queen.
It took her only a second to shun this notion. No matter how much the anger and betrayal rose inside her, she could not and would not have Brittany put to her death. She had loved her, so very fiercely and with everything she had, and despite all the hurt she felt, she could not see the beautiful blonde harmed. Deciding she would simply forget the incident, as she assumed Brittany would leave the Kingdom out of fear anyway, it seemed reasonable just to go about her life as normal, or as normal as she could manage, with the gaping metaphorical hole in her chest, she turned to make her way back indoors.
Santana jumped slightly with surprise, as Sir William Schuester appeared in the doorway, blocking her exit, again he was giving her one of his unreadable stares, and she turned her head to dab her wet eyes with her hanky, not wishing for the man to see her emotional display of weakness.
As the turned back around, the man stood there still, his pose casual, as he leaned against the door frame, dressed in all his evening finery, saying nothing, just watching her.
"Do you not have a show to oversee?" Santana finally questioned, forcing her tone to be strong and her voice clear, hiding any trace of emotion she felt.
Schuester did not reply for a few seconds, though to Santana, it felt like a lifetime. "Do you have any idea at all what she went though to come here tonight and tell you the truth?" he finally asked, his tone soft, his voice quiet and his eyes searching.
"She lied" Santana spat back, it came out harsher than she intended, but the subject stung, and it was not something she wished to discuss.
William smiled a sad smile, and Santana thought she saw the faintest hint of something flash behind his eyes, something a kin to sympathy, though she could not quite decipher it. "She came to tell you the truth, and you fed her to the wolves." He stated.
The Queen bristled visibly at his words, "What do you know?" she snapped, her lips pursed as she fought back her tears.
"A life without love, is not a life at all" he told her wisely, hoping she would here his words and see sense. He had watched the whole display with equal amounts of sadness and horror, as he watched such a perfect love fall asunder.
"And love without trust…what of that?" Santana retorted, her voice breaking slightly, as she angrily swiped away a stray tear that rolled over her cheekbone.
"She is your soul mate Santana" Schuester declared, not bothering with the formalities. At that moment Santana was not a Queen anyway, she was just a young girl who was angry and hurt whose heart had been broken.
A few seconds of silence pass between them, before Santana let out a shaky breath and replied, "I am the Queen of the Kingdom, I have made my decision, I will not yield."
Schuester's reply tore directly at Santana's heart, "Then you do not deserve her" and with that he gave her one last look over, with eyes full of sadness and disappointment, before he once again disappeared indoors, leaving the Queen alone with her thoughts.