CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
"Trev, Dude!" Shane called and the boy looked up from the DS he's been playing.
"Done ditching me?" Trevor asked sarcastically and Shane rolled his eyes.
"Haven't decided, Princess is more interesting." Shane shrugged and I gasped, swatting his chest.
"Don't be mean." I ordered whilst Trevor gaped at me.
"Mean would have been not coming back down and keeping you all to myself." Shane retorted and I rolled my eyes.
"Y-you-you're..." Trevor pointed at me with wide eyes and Shane laughed, slinking his arms around me from behind and holding me to hi possessively. I likked that, I liked when no-one else was here and Shane wasn't shy and forced to be proffessional.
"Princess, this is my little brother, Trevor." Shane introduced, his words soft breaths against my neck that made me shiver. "Trev, this is... The most amazing future Queen in the world, Her Royal Highness, Crown Princess Miley." Wow, the full title. I leaned back against Shane and settled my hands over his strong arms.
"Hi." I smiled shyly, I was actually meeting Shane's little brother, his family.
"Hi." Trevor mimicked back, blushing.
"Well, this isn't at all awkward." Shane stated bluntly and I rolled my eyes.
Princess Miley
I hesitated outside my Dad's bedroom door, biting my lip nervously before I knnocked lightly.
"Come in!" Dad called and I took a slow breath before I opened the door.
"Hi, Daddy." I smiled a little and he smiled as well.
"Hey, Baby girl." He beckoned me in and I went over and sat on his bed next to him. "You really are growin' up aren't you, Bud?"
"Is that why you don't like Shane?" I whispered, looking down. "Because you don't want me to grow up?"
"You've always been my baby girl." Dad sighed and I crawled over and hugged him just like I did when I was little. "I hate that you're growin' up, that you don't need me anymore, that there was some boy in your bed, no matter how old you are." I rolled my eyes at the last part, but I knew he meant well.
"I'm in love with Shane, Daddy, but that doesn't mean I won't need you anymore, I'll always need you." I looked up at him and he looked sad. "I'm not always gonna be a little girl, but I'll always be your little girl."
"And that boy in your bed?" Dad persisted and despite my best efforts I blushed.
"We didn't do anything wrong, I swear, we were sleeping. I just like it when he holds me." It wasn't a complete lie; it wasn't wrong, or at least it didn't feel wrong, and we did sleep after, and I do like it when he holds me. It makes me feel safe and loved.
"I don't like it, Mile, he's an older boy, he's in a position of power over you, and he's been in your bed, you're only fifteen, Bud." Dad said and I sighed.
"I'm the Crown Princess, Dad, I'm the one that has the power, the only person higher than me is the King. And he's only three years older than me, and he's sweet, he holds me, Daddy, and he tells me he loves me, and even when his career is on the line he'll break the rules so I know how he feels. He's a complete gentleman, Dad, I swear."
"Three years is still three years, Bud, and a boy in your bed is still a boy in your bed." Dad shook his head and I frowned. "I don't like it, I hate it actually, and I'm always gonna be checking up on him to make sure he's treating you right. But... If he really makes you happy I'll stop threatening the boy." I shot my head up sharply to look at Dad and sighed. I squeeled happily and hugged him.
Princess Miley
Tuesday, January 3rd
10:30 AM
"Lord Lewis, you have a daughter, don't you?" I asked quietly, Lord Andrew Lewis was the first member of Parliment I was meeting with this week. We'd met, we'd gotten the pleasentries out of the way and now it was time to get down to business.
"Yes, Abigail." Lord Lewis confirmed and I smiled a little, there was a picture of her on his desk, she was a cute little blonde girl with bright blue eyes.
"What if she was in my position?" I looked up from my hands and he looked confused. "Lord Lewis, I have to get married, I'm resigned to that, I'll do it, for Cyrus. What I won't-what I don't want to do is marry someone I don't love." I explained as he listened curriously. "The constitution says I have to marry a Lord, just because that's what it's always said. It wouldn't be so bad if I was in love with one of them, but I'm not, I love someone else, someone who I would do anything to be with." The mere thought of Shane made me smile. "I'm going to petition to have the constitutioin changed so I can be with the man I love, and I would very much apreciate your vote, Lord Lewis."
"I see." Lord Lewis murmured thoughtfully.
"What if it was Abigail, sir? What if it was Abigail that was being forced to marry someone she didn't love?" I asked softly and his eyes widened. "Would you be able to let her?"
"I understand where you are coming from, Your Highness, but how can we be sure this boy will have the countries best interests in mind, or that he isn't just using you?" Lord Lewis said and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
"If you can trust me, a fifteen-year-old kid, to be Queen of Cyrus then why can't you trust my judgement about who I love?" I replied and he was silent. "If I'm running the country every decision I make affects millions of people, me being in love only affects me."
"If it was my little Abigail I'd do everything to make her happy." Lord Lewis said and I smiled, that's what Daddy had said too, that he'd do everything I could so that I could be happy, no matter what it was. "You will have my vote, Princess." I grinned and he smiled at me.
"Thank-you. You have no idea how much it means to me."
Princess Miley
12:00 PM
Lord Bradley Franklin was one of the prospective bachelors for me to marry. He was kind of a jerk, and I'm sure he had a stick ina very uncomfortable place that it wasn't supposed to be, but hopefully I could convince him.
"Lord Franklin, thank-you for your time." I said politely as we sat opposite each other.
"Anything for you, Princess." He smirked in a way that I think was supposed to be alluring or something. "Now, what can I do for you?"
"Do you really want to marry me, Bradley?" I asked, getting straight to the point. He was, like, 25.
"I could think of worse things to do than marry a pretty Princess." He smirked and I rolled my eyes.
"I'm ten years younger than you, you don't even know me, the only time we've talked other than now you were trying to feel me up." I pointed out and he frowned. "You don't like me, Bradley, you like the thought of being a Prince and being married to a Queen; never mind you don't love me, I don't love you, we don't know each other, and for the life of you your eyes can't stay on one girl long enough to know the color of her eyes."
"You really know how to charm a person, Princess." Lord Franklin said dryly.
"My point is that you should marry someone because you love them, not for their status, and so should I." I sighed, absently starting to play with my necklace. "That's why I'm here, Bradley, I'm going to petition to Parliment to have the constitution changed to let me, and any future Princess' in my position, marry a man for love, even if he doesn't have a title... I'd like your vote."
"No offense, Your Highness, but even if you had my vote, it's never going to work, constitution changes take years..." And I only have months; he didn't say it, but we both heard it. "And it was written that way for a reason."
"It's sexist." I burst, I really didn't like this guy, he kept feeling me up and leering at me at the balls and he was a jerk. "A Prince doesn't have to marry a woman with status, he doesn't even have to marry, he only needs to produce an heir. A Princess not only has to produce an heir, but be married, and it has to be with someone who fits the propper breeding criteria. The fact that a man could marry whoever he wanted and a woman must marry someone with a title is completely sexist and juvinile and barbaric." I ranted and Lord Franklin looked shocked. "I'm sorry if I've wasted your precious time, Lord Franklin, when you could be spending it doing worthwhile things like taking away womens right to vote, but I'm in love with another man, and I'll do anything for it to be him that I marry, and his children who I have next year." I stood up and walked out before he could say anything. I don't know why I just snapped like that, I've never done anything like that before, but I was just really angry and really desperate.
"Woah, Princess, where's the fire?" I was caught around the waist and pulled up against a warm body in a dark closet. Shane. I let out a breath before I inhaled his musky, comforting scent, letting myself relax against him. "You okay, Princess?" He cooed softly in my ear in the darkness of the broom closet. Serriously? A broom closet? Another one? How many stinkin' broom closets are there in this place?
"I good. Now." I smiled even though he couldn't see it and he held me closer.
"Did Franklin do something? Did he say something? Can I kick his ass?" Shane asked in quick succession and the last one made me laugh a little. Shane had seen very well how Lord Franklin looked at girls, at me, how he got handsy during dances.
"No. He didn't do anything." I assured and Shane let out a sigh, pressing his lips to the side of my head. "He's an ass, but he didn't say or do anything this time."
"Good." Shane muttered against my hair. "'Cause he'd hate to be on my bad side. Ecklestein was on my bad side and look where it got him." Dead.
"What side am I on?" I pulled away from the hug to look at him even though we couldn't really see each other with only the strip of light under the door casting a faint glow on our shoes.
"Good, Baby." Shane replied and I knew he was grinning as he gently pushed me up against the door. "Always good with you." He kissed me and I sighed happily as his lips coaxed mine open and our tongues touched together.
Princess Miley
12:50 PM
"We should leave." I murmured, holding tight to Shane's tie and keeping him against me. "I have another meeting in ten mminutes." I mumbled, kissing him again.
"All work and no play makes for..." Shane paused to kiss me, tugging my thoroughly kissed bottom lip between his teeth and making me moan before he pulled back. "... A very pouty CRS Agent." I giggled against his lips.
"Pouty Princess too, but a certain CRS Agent can fix that." I teased and he groaned against me.
"You're beautiful when you pout... Wait. You're beautiful all the time." He corrected himself and I giggled again, glad that he couldn't see me blush in the darkness. "Who're you meeting?"
"Lord Pembleton." I replied a few moments later when I had enough conscious thought to talk. "Conservative, family man, three daughters between seven and thirteen."
"Should be easy." Shane commented, his lips stopped working on me and he just rested his forehead against mine. "Three daughters, I'd murder anyone who tried to make our little girl do something she didn't want to." He said casually and my heart jumped. Our little girl. I knew I'd have to be married (hopefully to Shane) and have a baby, but I hadn't really given much thought to it. Shane and me and a little baby girl. The image that created in my head made my heart jump again and held Shane closer to me.
"I love you." Was all I managed to say in response and Shane kissed me again.
"I love you too, my Princess Miley." Shane whispered tenderly and I smiled and leaned into his touch when he stroked my cheek.
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