"So, she's coming then." It wasn't a question, just a statement.
"Sirius, I've told you a thousand times before and I'm telling you again – I have no choice in this!" replied the Prince, sighing.
"Of course. After all, you're only the crown Prince, heir to the throne. Why would you have any choice!" replied an exasperated Sirius.
"James, there's no point in bothering with him when he wants to act like a five year old." Their friend, Remus, cut in before they could argue any more.
"Don't act like you don't care, Remus! You hate her just as much as I do!" was the threatening whisper from Sirius.
"Yes, but I don't show it all the time, maybe you should try that too, at least in front of him. He has to marry her, imagine how he feels."
James sighed and let his eyes wander. He'd heard this argument many times before and it was always the same. His friends didn't like the woman he would soon be betrothed to. He didn't much like Cecilia De Lewes either, but it wasn't something he could do anything about. Out of all the women he'd been forced to meet, Cecilia was the one from the richest, most influential family. Her father had practically sent a proposal and refusing would be very epitome of 'tactless', not something the royal family would willingly do. He was brought back to the present by the arrival of a carriage, which would undoubtedly be carrying the woman his friends were plotting the death of.
"Look," he cut into his friends' argument before Cecelia reached them, "I just need you to be civil to her, especially since we'll be in public. Just when we're in public, please."
"My Lord! It has been far too long!" Cecelia said in her sing song voice.
"My lady, it is a pleasure, as always." James replied, making sure to keep his voice pleasant, and kissed the hand she'd offered.
The Lady De Lewes turned to greet the others and James again let his mind wander again. He looked at her, knowing she was beautiful. She could even have an interesting conversation every once in a while. As far as prospective brides went, he wasn't faring too badly, in fact, he knew many men would even be envious of him. Seeing them boarding a carriage, he quickly came out of his reverie and followed them.
--
The page came in looking flustered and seemed to take a breath to calm him down.
"Announcing, His Highness James Rónán Potter, Prince of Wales; Lady Cecelia Isabel Marguerite De Lewes; Sirius Black, Lord of Oldham; Remus Lupin, Count of Toulouse with the royal attendants." He managed to announce without any major faults.
Lily's father brushed his coat off and stood up, beckoning Lily to do the same. She was very excited at the prospect of showing off their horses to royals, but she was nervous as well. All the training she and her father had given the horses would be judged today.
"Your Highness," said Mr. Evans, bowing down in front of the Prince, as Lily followed his example and curtsied.
"Mr Evans, I have heard nothing but praise for you, it's a pleasure to meet you." The Prince replied courteously. "And you, Miss Evans."
"I assure you, My Lord, the pleasure is all mine." Lily's father said before turning to Lady Cecelia De Lewes and kissing her offered hand. "My Lady. Sirs." He added, bowing before the Lord of Oldham and the Count.
However, the Lord of Oldham and the Count of Toulouse shook off the formality and took his hand to shake. Lily was a little surprised at this as she had never seen noblemen being anything less than reserved with commoners, but it seemed they knew her father, as she soon found out.
"Mr Evans, I must thank you for Dinos (A/N: which means 'the Marvel'), she is a real jewel. Unbeatable, it seems." The Lord of Oldham was saying.
"And she hasn't even reached her peak yet, wait for a year or two and you'll be amazed. She wasn't named Dinos for nothing, My Lord."
"Mr. Evans, if your horses are half as good as Sirius tells me, then I doubt I'll see another horse breeder again." The Prince said, joining in the conversation.
"Your Highness, the standard seems to have been set high! I hope I will not disappoint." Mr Evans replied, turning slightly pink at the compliment. "Shall we see the horses right away then?"
There was a general murmur of agreement and the party moved to the stables to inspect the horses.
The Prince politely waited through the demonstrations but seemed to favour two horses in particular, Aeton (A/N: 'swift as an eagle') and Shadowless (a stallion and a mare). This seemed peculiar to Lily who had thought the Prince would want a palfrey, but he had instead leaned towards the destriers. Far as she knew, the Prince was not part of the cavalry and should have no use for a destrier, unless, perhaps it was to show off his lack of value for money, which wouldn't be too improbable.
The Lord of Oldham also seemed to have taken a liking to a war-horse, although it was a rouncey ("I already have far too many of your destriers, Mr Evans, perhaps its time to try something new…"). The count and Lady de Lewes decided to leave the buying of horses to their marshal who would undoubtedly know more about the animals than them.
The royal attendants took care of the purchases while the party retired to the Evans' living rooms for tea before leaving. The Count and the Lord of Oldham, as well as Lily's father, seemed have enough anecdotes about horses and their masters to keep them all entertained for quite a while before it was time to leave. The good-byes were said and the party started to climb into their carriages when the Prince turned to the Evans one last time.
"Mr Evans, it was a real pleasure being here, I do hope you and your family are able to attend the Ball." he said to Lily's father before turning to her. "And you too, Miss Evans, I hope you shall save me a dance for the Ball."
"Of course, Your Highness." Lily replied, blushing slightly. "Although I rather think I shall see you before the Ball."
"Oh, well that would be wonderful." said the Prince, looking slightly surprised that she hadn't erupted in giggles at his request. "Will you be coming by the palace then?"
"Oh, no…Well, I mean, yes, if that is your wish My Lord, but I was talking about the tournaments." came the flustered reply.
"You are not participating in the tournaments, are you?" the Prince asked, cautious as ever.
"No, Your Highness." her father replied for her. "My family and I are attending the tournament. We have two of our riders participating in it, so we shall be going to support them."
"Ah! Then they will be competing against me? Now I feel compelled to make a wager Mr. Evans!" said the Prince, full of enthusiasm.
"Oh I couldn't possibly bet against you, My Lord! I fear I would be called a traitor!" her father laughed.
The Prince laughed along but wasn't to be shaken, it seemed he wouldn't give in until he had gotten a wager.
"What about you, Miss Evans? Will you be willing to put your money where your mouth is? So to speak, I mean…"
Lily had never been one to run away from a challenge, that was one of the things her father had, unsuccessfully, tried to cure her of. She didn't care that it wasn't very ladylike to be making wagers with the Prince, because she had trained one of their riders and knew how good he was.
"Name your terms, My Lord."
"If both your riders lose to me, you shall…well, lets say you shall owe me a favour." replied the Prince, sounding gleeful. "And if I lose to any one of your riders, which I assure you I won't, then I will owe you a favour. Do we have an agreement, My lady?"
"We do, My Lord, and may the best man win."
As soon as the Prince had left, her father turned to her with a stern look on her face. Lily thought she knew what would follow, and follow it did. Her father seemed almost livid, even though Lily knew he wasn't, that she had made a bet against the Crown Prince of England, which, according to him, was 'hardly a sane thing to do'. He went on to repeat what he had already told her before – not to get caught up in the moment and make regrettable wagers with Crown Princes, not to get caught up in the moment and do regrettable things, and perhaps, just try not to get caught up in the moment at all. Lily listened to it all patiently, knowing she was in the wrong. But the Prince had challenged her and she couldn't have just let that go! Not to mention that she knew how good Augustus was, because she had trained him herself, there was no chance for the Prince, no matter how good he was rumoured to be.
--
Author's Note: A VERY big thank you to all my reviewers!! I seriously didn't expect that many reviews for the first chapter!!
OKay, n now the story - A 'page' during would basically be like a servant in a household who'd sort of 'run errands' and stuff but he'd also be sort of an 'apprentice' knight.
Also, for anyone who doesn't know stuff about horses, palfreys were riding horses ridden by noblemen while destriers were war horses used by knights (who had a lot of money). A 'marshal' was the guy in charge of the stables and horses.
And if i got any of that wrong, i'm really sorry, because all i know about horses has come from a couple of Saddle Club episodes and a little background research. So, everybody, REVIEW!! (n enjoy, lolz)