Okay, second chapter!

Enjoy!

"Hey, just the Yacker I wanted to talk to." Eddie smiled, stepping up next to Patricia. She was dusting the picture frames and it reminded Eddie of the time he had tickled her until she ran off, leaving her friend to do the rest of the chore. Good times.

"Hey, Cockroach," she greeted, turning to him and resting the feather duster on her shoulders.

"What, you're not going to freak out on me and run off?" he teased.

"Don't know why I should." She shrugged.

"Yeah, I wanted to tell you about something. Um," he cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'm—"

"Betrothed, I know." She cut him off before going back to her chore.

Eddie stood still for a moment, but then followed her down the hall to the next painting; one of his father. And Eddie felt two feet tall in front of the man that stood high and mighty before him. "How did you know that?"

"Your cousin told me. And he told me to stay away from you." She replied and Eddie frowned.

"I don't like him right now. Don't listen to him; I want you to be around me. He's just trying to protect us."

"From what," Patricia wondered, spinning around to glance at him, her auburn hair almost whipping his face.

"Getting our hearts broken."

"Mara! Gerbil!" Poppy grinned, hurrying into the castle courtyard.

Jerome helped Mara out of the carriage they had been riding in and she hopped down, wrapping her arms around her sister-in-law.

"Hey, Poops," Jerome smiled hugging her tightly once she and Mara had pulled away.

John and Joan were the next ones to appear and they quickly hugged them.

"How is everyone?" Mara smiled happily, leaning into Jerome's side as he wrapped an arm around her. Her black hair fell over her shoulders in shiny waves and her brown eyes sparkled. Her skin was darker, from spending a month on a tropical island.

"Great," Poppy linked their arms as they started toward the castle's entrance.

"What about Eddie?" Jerome spoke up, raising his eyebrows knowingly.

"I actually haven't seen him very much lately. I assume he's just trying to get use to the idea; have some alone time. That's what you did." John reminded and Jerome nodded.

"I saw him this morning talking to Patricia, the hot tempered maid." Poppy told them, running a hand sideways through her dirty-blonde bangs, but they just flopped back down over her blue-green eyes.

"Why on earth would he be speaking with Patricia?" Joan wondered.

"She treats him like a normal person, and he likes that." Jerome answered easily. He didn't want to tell his parents that Eddie was in love with this maid when he was betrothed. He wasn't sure what they would do, but his uncle would end up finding out. And he wasn't sure what he would do.

"Eddie," Clarissa smiled loving, taking his hand and strolling with him down the hallway. "Are you alright, love?"

Eddie smiled to himself. At least his mother still cared. But did she know about the betrothal? "Clarissa, did you know that I'm betrothed."

She stiffened when he used her first name. He had never called her that; it had always been 'mom'. Why now? She licked her lips and looked down sadly. "I'm sorry I never told you."

Eddie let go of her hand in his anger and distanced himself, almost running into the wall to his right as they turned a corner into another hallway. Clarissa's expression fell and her stomach twisted painfully. She anxiously wrung her hands together.

"I couldn't stop your father and your uncle from making this decision." She explained.

"Was it planned the moment after I was adopted? Or did they already have this in mind, and they just needed an heir. So they thought that I'd be perfect material because I didn't know anything about being a prince?" he snapped.

Her silence confirmed his suspicions and he gritted his teeth. He pulled his orange cloak off and threw it onto a chair as they walked through the sitting room.

"Your father and I love you, Eddie." Clarissa promised, tears in her voice, reaching for his arm, but he stormed out of the castle without another word.

"Jerry," Eddie barked, pushing the throne room doors open so hard they smacked against the walls behind them.

"Eddie, calm down," John laughed.

"Hey, Edison, how are you?" Jerome grinned, clasping his hands behind his back and bouncing on his heels once. "How's the fiancé?"

"Hallway, now." He ordered, grabbing his collar and pulling him back into the hallway, pulling the doors shut.

"My goodness, what?" Jerome sighed, smoothing out his shirt.

"You told Patricia to back off." he said bluntly.

"Oh, you know about that?" he hissed sarcastically.

Eddie frowned. "Mate, would you stay out of it?"

"No. I'm going to do what you did for me and make sure you two don't get your hearts broken. I don't care what you say."

"When I did that for you and Mara, you and Mara had been the ones betrothed. This time, it doesn't count. You're going to let me do this. You are going to cover for me and Patricia; I'm going to help her fall in love with me. I'm going to find a way to marry her."

"Eddie, a secret affair isn't going to work; the princess will be here, and she'll be one your arm the whole time. You'll never be with Patricia."

"I've got to try – please, Jerry," he pleaded, grabbing his cousin's shoulder.

Okay, I've got next week off school, so I'll be updating stuff more often!

Also, I realized that when y'all throw out random suggestions for my stories, I might not use one or all of them, but they do give me ideas and I write things faster. So if you ever have any ideas for my stories, do not hesitate to slap me in the face with them! :)

"In the end, as we fade into the night. (oh whoa oh oh) Who will tell the story of your life? (oh whoa oh oh) And who will remember your last goodbye? (oh whoa oh oh) 'Cause it's the end and I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid to die."

-Rachel