Summary: Arranged marriage (noun) - A marriage planned and agreed to by the families or guardians of the bride and groom, who have little or no say in the matter themselves.

After a long search for the most beautiful woman in the land, England's royal family is preparing for a momentous occasion. The King and Queen have arranged for their son, Prince Louis, to be married within a month's time to Eleanor, a young Berkshire girl, born and raised. With no choice, the Prince agrees to the arrangement and soon decides that perhaps an arranged marriage isn't so bad after all. That is, until a certain curly-haired boy is hired as Windsor Castle's new gardener.

Chapter 2, Pt. 1:

Walking into the kitchen, Louis took a quick glance around the busy room. Athena, was the first to catch his eye. The dark-haired woman was at the kitchen sink, scrubbing a pan vigorously. Queen Jay was next, standing beside the servant and advising that she "scrub with a little more elbow grease."

Moving on, Louis' gaze fell upon Phoebe and Daisy, who were sat on the kitchen floor. Surrounding the youngest Tomlinson's, was a small pile of doll hair, a pair of play scissors, and at least a dozen dolls that were either completely bald or weren't far from it. There was only one doll left with a full head of long, dark brown hair and it seemed to be the center of an argument. Nearby, Fizz was having her hair braided by Lottie, who was trying unsuccessfully to make the twin's share the doll.

Finally, there was Eleanor who had wrapped an arm around one of Louis' and was leading him toward the table. The table had been set prior to his arrival with plates, forks, and a serving of the Eggs Benedict was already situated on each plate.

Louis smiled at the arrangement and pecked the brunette's forehead. "It looks lovely, babe."

Eleanor grinned, triumphantly.

Tearing his gaze from the exquisite meal before him, something else caught Louis' eye. Seated at the table, was a boy that the Prince did not recognize.

"Who are you?" asked Prince Louis, studying the stranger with furrowed brows.

The boy lifted his gaze and pushed aside a few curly locks, allowing his green eyes to meet Louis' blue. It was then, that Louis noticed a bright yellow dandelion stuffed into the younger lad's curls, just above his left ear. "Harold Styles, your majesty," he replied, standing before the Prince.

The boy wore a white t-shirt that had been littered with dirt and grass stains and hung loosely from his thin fame. Protruding from the lowest v-neck that the Prince had ever seen, were two necklaces resting lightly upon a notable pair of collarbones. His jeans were a dark blue that had faded at the knees and he had on a pair of white converse that looked as if they'd walked the Trail of Tears..twice. Beside the beat up sneakers, was a basket full of gardening tools and within moments, Louis made the connection.

"He's the new gardener, " the Queen interjected and Harold bowed quickly before returning to his seat.

Louis nodded, eyeing the boy.

Taking advantage of the break from chaos, Eleanor spoke up. "If everyone would like to be seated, breakfast is served," she announced before seating herself. Looking up at Louis, she motioned for him to sit next to her.

Situating himself beside his fiancee, the Prince found himself sitting directly across from the green-eyed gardener.

The rest of the room followed their example, all except for Phoebe and Daisy who were still fighting over their doll. When Jay saw this, she smiled politely at Eleanor before beginning the countdown. "Daisy and Phoebe Tomlinson, five.." the Queen paused, watching them with an expectant expression.

The twin's looked at one another and giggled, but stopped suddenly when another number was called out.

"Four," Jay raised her brows as if to say "you don't want to be anywhere but this table when I get to number one." Clearing her throat, Queen Jay continued with, "Three."

Phoebe and Daisy exchanged nervous glances and soon enough, the twin's had dropped the doll and were hurrying over to their seats.

"Thank you," Jay said, smiling pleasantly.

Once everyone was seated, Athena placed a glass pitcher of orange juice and a small tray of buttered scones at the center of the table. Standing there for a moment, she chuckled along with everyone at the Queen's countdown before giving a polite curtsy and leaving the room.

"Shall we say a quick prayer?" asked Queen Jay.

The rest of the table nodded, awkwardly.

"Alright, let's join hands," Jay instructed, holding both Eleanor's hand with her right and Lottie's hand with her left.

Slowly, everyone joined hands and bowed their heads.

"Dear Heavenly Father," the Queen started.

Keeping his head down, Louis listened to his mother's prayer. As usual, she thanked the invisible man for their food, begged him to watch over friends and family, and finished with an enthusiastic, "Amen!"

"Amen," everyone repeated, lifting their heads and forks.

Harold's eyes were focused on his plate, shoulders slouched as he worked at his meal. Bringing the fork to his lips, he leaned in to the forkful and parted his pink lips. Slowly, his mouth grew wider and his tongue stuck out as he consumed the bit of eggs.

Louis took a bite of his own breakfast, eyeing the gardener's odd way of eating as he did so. He watched the younger boy's tongue poke out when approached by a mouthful of eggs and then disappear once the two met. Taking a swig of his orange juice, the Prince nearly choked when the curly-haired boy leaned with his tongue into his food, only to have it fall back onto his plate.

Immediately, Harold's green orbs flickered up to meet the Prince, who hadn't looked away fast enough. The gardener's face burned at the realization that he'd been watched.

Meanwhile, Eleanor was patting Louis' back and the Queen looked on worriedly.

Letting out a final cough, Prince Louis smiled at everyone and said, "Juice went down the wrong pipe, s'all. I'm fine now." Quickly, he leaned over, brushing a wavy strand from his fiancee's face and pecking her cheek.

Daisy and Phoebe giggled and Lottie rolled her eyes, but eventually everyone went back to what they were doing prior to the outburst. Everyone except for Harold, who was playing with his food rather than eating it, eyes still locked on the Prince.

"Eleanor, this is delicious. Well done," the Queen raved, taking a sip of her orange juice.

"I'm glad you like it," said the young brunette as she reached for the glass pitcher. Carefully, she poured herself another glass of the orange liquid, checking that everyone's glass was full before returning the pitcher to the table. Spotting an empty glass, Eleanor cleared her throat. "Harold, is it? Would you like another glass of orange juice?"

"Sure," Harold replied, holding out his glass. From beneath a few stray curls, the gardener watched as the juice was poured. "Thank you," he muttered, bringing the glass to his lips.

"Harold, dear. Tell us about yourself. Do you live far from here?" Queen Jay asked, biting into a scone.

Louis looked up from his plate.

The gardener set his glass down and shook his head, his curls bouncing slightly. "No, not far at all. I live about fifteen minutes away, actually."

"Oh, that's not far at all. Is it a nice place?"

"Yeah, I like it. It's not nearly as beautiful as this," the boy explained, looking around the extravagant kitchen, "but I like it. It's small, easy to manage. It's sort of in the middle of nowhere, so I don't get bothered by much of anything except for a pesky squirrel or two."

The Queen smiled. "That sounds lovely. Sometimes I wish we could live more privately. I think we all do," she spoke with a hint of sadness in her voice, but her eyes still sparkled. "So, do you live alone?"

Harold nodded.

Queen Jay raised her eyebrows, a bit surprised. "I'll be damned. A handsome boy like you without a lady on his arm," she paused, shaking her head, "that's a sin."

The boy chuckled, his cheeks turning from pale to pink. "Maybe it is," he shrugged.

"It is! You should get out there and start looking. There aren't too many good ones left. We got lucky with this one," Jay teased, lightly cupping Eleanor's cheek.

Eleanor beamed.

Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat, still using his fork to maneuver what was left of his breakfast around his plate.

"In fact, if you ever need help finding the right woman, my husband and I would love to help. We could make an announcement just as we did for Louis here and -," the Queen was cut off by her son.

"Mum, will you quit interrogating him? You're putting the poor lad on the spot," the Prince exclaimed.

"Nonsense! Am I making you uncomfortable, Harold?" Jay asked.

Harold shook his head, "I'm fine, really."

"See?" the Queen shot Louis a knowing look. "So, what do you say? Would you like a match made by royalty?"

{To be continued…}